Speaking of Liuliu's maternal family, she was the daughter of the butcher Liu Family from the next village. Every member of their Liu clan was a butcher, killing pigs, sheep, and even wild animals. This family, regardless of age or gender, was known for their fierce demeanor. They were quick to defend their own.
Once, when people mocked Liuliu for being unmarried, her younger brother attacked and maimed the offender with a knife. Although the brother was arrested by the constable and put in jail, the Liu Family had no regrets and refused to apologize. Their attitude was, whoever dares to ridicule our Liuliu will be cut down first! Since then, Liuliu's fierce reputation spread far and wide, and no matchmakers dared to knock on her door. Who would dare marry such a formidable woman?
But Liuliu was bold and vigorous. Since suitors weren't coming to her, she chose to seek one out herself! Right then, she set her sights on Yang Xiaotian from the neighboring village. She deliberately jumped into the river only steps away from the path where he would return from hunting, showing only half of her head and one hand above the water.
It was Yang Xiaotian's bad luck. Being a softhearted man, he knew nothing of the story of the farmer and the snake. Upon seeing someone in distress in the river, he dropped his hunt without hesitation and plunged in to save the person. It was a hot midsummer day and he had light clothes on. The bold Liuliu purposely ripped her clothes, making Yang Xiaotian the scapegoat!
Yang Xiaotian rescued Liuliu and carried her, pretending to be unconscious, back to her home in the neighboring village. However, the Liu Family accused him of ruining Liuliu's reputation and forced him to marry her.
Yang Xiaotian refused, but the Liu Family stormed the Yang household with swords drawn, demanding a forced marriage. The Yang Family was terrified – mostly because they were aware of the fate of the man who'd been maimed by Liuliu's brother. They feared the reckless behavior of these people. Eventually, they decided to sacrifice one son for the safety of the rest, and so agreed to the marriage.
The Liu Family acted swiftly and married their daughter Liuliu off within a few days. Yang Xiaotian was humiliated, but fearing for his family's safety, he swallowed his pride and agreed to marry Liuliu. However, he never consummated the marriage, causing Liuliu to become enraged!
She slammed tables, overturned stools, all to no avail! Her husband chose to ignore her completely. At that time, the Yang Family household was still pretty affluent. They had enough to eat and drink, and even managed to send the youngest brother to school. However, Liuliu, in order to gain her husband's attention, partook in all kinds of activities, from eating and drinking to gambling, anything to provoke a reaction from him. Even him disciplining her would have been a welcome change!
But no one dared to control her! Yang Xiaotian was often not seen for months, and even his parents didn't dare to provoke their fierce daughter-in-law. The youngest brother also turned a blind eye, focusing only on his studies.
Liuliu was furious! To spite them, she dragged her brother-in-law, who was similarly aged to her, into gambling. Yang Xiaoquan, being young and impressionable, was quickly brought into her gambling endeavors. The two gambled away their family fortunes, including the youngest brother's school fees.
This finally angered Yang Xiaotian, even going so far as to discuss divorcing Liuliu. At his words, Liuliu stood defiantly, threatening to murder his entire family! The mother-in-law was terrified and immediately placated her son, promising Liuliu that they would never divorce her. That very night, Liuliu tried to force herself on her husband, but Yang Xiaotian refused. This led to a physical altercation that resulted in Liuliu hitting her head on the bedpost and losing consciousness. After waking up, Liuliu was not the same person anymore.
Liuliu got out of bed after forcing herself to eat a coarse vegetable pancake, immediately feeling a chill. Looking around, she noticed a pile of clothing at the foot of her bed. Were they hers? Why weren't they hung up?
Liuliu picked up the clothes and put them on. They fit quite well. The plan for now was observation and understanding. Firstly, she needed to gather information about her current household situation, then understand the village dynamics, including the standing of her maternal family. The most important part was to grasp the basic knowledge about this world. Once everything was clear, only then could she make decisions about staying or leaving and how she would proceed in the future. Being a corporate leader, Liuliu was adept at calmly analyzing and dealing with situations.
Liuliu, with a headache, put on a cotton-padded jacket found at the foot of her bed, which made her feel much better. Walking towards the window, she glanced outside and noticed the glaring sunlight. It seemed like it was noontime.
There was a fairly large courtyard in front of the window, and oddly, nothing was planted there—not a single vegetable or flower. However, a heap of thick bamboo poles were propped diagonally across the yard. What were they for? Liuliu was puzzled.
After surveying the front view, she turned to look through the window at the back. Opening the window, a cold gust of wind hit her face, making her feel as if she'd been scratched by a knife. Quickly, Liuliu turned away and partially closed the window, just enough to catch a glimpse of the outside.
Behind the house, there were three mud huts and a courtyard, which was presumably connected to the front yard, and smoke was coming out of the chimney. Liuliu was surprised. She'd just eaten vegetable pancakes, so what could they be eating? She decided to investigate.
Leaving her room, Liuliu found herself in a hall with a front and a back door. The front door led to the courtyard, and the back door opened to the three mud huts she'd seen earlier. On the other side of the hall were two brick rooms positioned directly opposite her room. One was for Xiaoquan and the other for Yang Xiaowen, the youngest brother. She crossed the hall to the back door, braved the piercing wind, and walked towards the mud huts to see who was there and what they were eating.
As soon as Liuliu entered, the low hum of voices disappeared. There were three people sitting at a small table: the old woman she'd met earlier, who was supposed to be her mother-in-law; and a weathered old man, who could only be her father-in-law. And who was the young boy? He looked healthy, besides his pale complexion suggesting malnutrition. Could he be her younger brother-in-law?
Then, she looked at the object they held in their hands. It seemed to be some sort of cake that was yellowish in color. Were they eating something good behind her back? Liuliu pulled up a bamboo stool and reached out to grab one of the yellow cakes on the table.
She took a delighted bite, but then felt a sudden urge to vomit. No matter how much she resisted, she couldn't help but rush outside and vomit. As she held the bitten cake in her hand, Liuliu wanted to cry. This was the rice bran pancake that her grandfather had told her about when she was little! This rice bran is used to feed pigs back in her hometown!
Liuliu stared at the yellow bran pancake. Should she eat? Or throw it away? It tasted even worse than the vegetable pancake she'd just eaten! The fact that her family had given her the best they had, while they ate pig food, was truly shameful! However, no matter how shameful, she couldn't bring herself to swallow the rice bran cake. What to do?
While Liuliu was hesitating in the cold wind, her younger brother-in-law came over and glared at her fiercely, before snatching the bran cake from her hand without a word. His hostility was palpable.
This left Liuliu taken aback. She watched him return to the mud hut and followed him inside.
"Dad, you can have mine." The boy handed his intact bran cake to his father, the old man who was Liuliu's father-in-law. The boy began eating the cake that Liuliu had previously taken a bite of.