Even though she didn't have to do the laundry, cooking, or boiling water herself, Ye Manman still couldn't feel happy.
The conditions in this era were just too harsh. She used to sleep in hotel suites, sometimes complaining about the sheets not being soft enough. Let alone now, with this hard wooden bed.
A thin layer of cotton padding was almost like nothing, and the rough sheets made her whole body uncomfortable. But she had no choice but to sleep. She could only fall asleep by recalling her carefully designed luxurious big bed.
Pretending she was still on her original bed...
Unfortunately, when she opened her eyes the next day, she was still on that hard wooden bed. Her body ached all over, as if someone had secretly beaten her up during the night.
She hadn't eaten dinner the night before, and when she opened the door with her stomach growling, she saw everyone in the main room was drinking multi-grain porridge.
The reason she called it multi-grain porridge was just because she couldn't quite describe what was mixed in it. There were sweet potatoes, potatoes, brown rice, and other things.
The taste of the porridge was a bit hard for Ye Manman to accept.
"Why doesn't it have any flavor?"
Seeing her drinking the porridge with discontent, Xiaotong snorted impatiently.
"Humph, you wasted all the sugar, where would the flavor come from?"
Ye Manman was already annoyed to find herself in this place, and since no one dared show her such attitude usually, she burst into laughter out of anger on the spot.
"Oh, I see, then I won't say anything more. But my dear sister, do remember to help me with work today and record the work points for me. I've arranged this with Lili."
Hearing this, Xiaotong's face turned pale green, and she instantly put down her bowl and went out.
"Humph, got it!"
Ye Manman, knowing the plot of the original story, was also aware that Xiaotong would "accidentally" push her into a nearby irrigation pond while she was working today.
Consequently, even if someone saved her, in this heat of summer, whether or not she was touched in the water, she would have to get married.
Now that she didn't have to go to work, Xiaotong would surely come up with a different plan.
Ye Manman rested her chin, thinking of several plans to avoid getting tricked into marriage, and finally thought of He Chen, her nominal husband in the original story.
The reason she's called a nominal husband is that even though they had been married for years, He Chen had never consummated the marriage with her.
Despite her timid character in the original text, Ye Manman was particularly tough about her affection for Fengmian, not only being forced into marriage but also resisting He Chen's attempts to share a room with her with dramatic displays of crying and making scenes.
Over time, He Chen gave up; he would only fulfill some husbandly duties, including but not limited to helping her with work initially, doing all the household chores, and sending her considerable monthly living expenses after attaining success later.
Thinking to this point, Ye Manman frowned.
Why didn't the original character like such a good housekeeper-cum-nanny-cum-ATM?
Could it be that he was really ugly?
After imagining all kinds of unsightly figures in her mind, she shivered and decided to secretly see what he looked like.
Given that Xiaotong was the protagonist, and she was unfamiliar with the village, if Xiaotong's protagonist aura suddenly kicked in and she couldn't escape the fate of marrying He Chen, at least she wanted to know his appearance beforehand.
Although it was already September, the temperature hadn't dropped.
When Ye Manman left home, the sun had just risen, but she already found it a bit unbearable.
Initially interested in the crops in the village, she now just wanted to quickly see what He Chen looked like and return home.
As luck would have it, walking along a small path between fields, seeking shade under trees, she soon heard someone shout, "He Chen."
She looked over in response to the voice and saw a middle-aged man with a towel draped over his shoulder handing a shovel to the person next to him.
The man had a tall and sturdy build; his gray-white short-sleeved shirt was unbuttoned, revealing well-defined abs. Beads of sweat were visible on his tanned skin, and overall, the muscle lines on his upper body were quite perfect.
Ye Manman saw him take the shovel and, with a slight effort, easily uproot a sweet potato. The sweet potato was impressively sized, and as he took it, he knocked off the dirt on the ground, his arm muscles forming a nice arc.
Seemingly sensing a strange gaze, He Chen turned his head to look over.
After seeing his face, Ye Manman felt a sense of relief, as the worries in her heart finally settled. Fortunately, he was decent-looking, not ugly.
And quite to her taste.
Ye Manman smiled satisfactorily and left.
However, He Chen kept watching her until she vanished from sight before gripping the shovel again.
Did she remember?
Or perhaps…
"Hey, He Chen, what are you thinking about?"
The uncle beside him couldn't resist asking as He Chen stood there dazed for a long time.
He Chen snapped back to reality, gave a self-deprecating smile, "Nothing."
In a field with so many people, maybe she was just smiling at someone else, a misunderstanding indeed.
As he thought of this in his mind, a feeling of bitterness gradually spread in his heart…
Ye Manman went back home and took a nap, but it was so hot. In these times, there was not even a fan, let alone air conditioning. In her twenty years of life, she had never suffered like this; the heat made her want to cry.
Just then, Xiaotong came back from work, soaked in sweat and feeling incredibly hot, her hair matted to her face from the sweat. She was thinking about the upcoming proposal from Fengmian in a few days and what to wear. Entering the room, she saw Ye Manman emerging from her room looking freshly awakened, and was extremely annoyed.
Why?!
Why was it like this even after she had reborn?
She could have come back to rest just by doing her five work points, but now she had to return to work in the afternoon to make up her work points!
And Ye Manman only needed to sleep at home!
Xiaotong was resentful, and this situation reminded her once again of her self in the past life, always watching Ye Manman idly enjoy life, and ultimately dying filled with resentment without having enjoyed a single day of comfort.
Just as she was about to explode, a sound came from the entrance.
"Ayyo, I'm starving and thirsty, today was so hot, my clothes are soaked with sweat."
Ye Guoqiang and Yang Xiumei came back with the heat still on them, and as soon as they arrived, they downed a large cup of water each.
Xiaotong suppressed her anger and said nothing, while the three of them exchanged glances at the table.
"Didn't anyone cook?"
Ye Guoqiang looked at Ye Manman in confusion.
Ye Manman took out an IOU, "In black and white, when I'm home, my sister has to cook for me."
She said this without waiting for Ye Guoqiang's shock and sat down herself.
"Sis, hurry and cook, everyone is hungry, and you'll need energy to go back to work this afternoon."
Ye Guoqiang held the IOU, speaking in a deep voice, "Manman, how could you make such demands... She's at least your sister."
As he spoke, neither Yang Xiumei nor Xiaotong dared to make a sound.
But Ye Manman laughed, "Even brothers must settle accounts clearly, and if you want me to do something, there must be a price. It was her agreement, I didn't force her."
Ye Guoqiang was still not pleased, staring at her unhappily, "But whatever we are, we are a family. If she hadn't agreed to these unreasonable demands, would you really report your sister for inappropriate relationships?"
Ye Manman looked straight into Ye Guoqiang's eyes, a sarcastic smile forming on her lips.
"And what if I really did report?"