Zhou Yiyi, the protagonist of this story, and Zhou Songlin were from the same village. Her father was a soldier who died in the line of duty during a mission. Her mother wasn't well and passed away after only a few years, and Yiyi's paternal grandparents had already died of illness. Although she was from Zhoujia Village, she was an outsider with no clan relatives, which left Yiyi, just fifteen years old, as an orphan with no one to take care of her.
Zhou Songlin's father, Zhou Yu, and Yiyi's father, Zhou Hai, had been as close as brothers and both bore the Zhou family name. Furthermore, since the Zhou family had three sons and was extremely poor, Yiyi was not only beautiful and a good student, but also very capable. Zhou Yu and his wife came up with a plan: bring Yiyi into their home and have her become their son's future wife—a solution that would benefit them in many ways.
Only three years to raise her, right? Surely that was more cost-effective than an expensive betrothal gift.
