“Goodness me! When did the little girl from Qiao San’s family become so radiant?”
“She looks more like a city girl than those city educated youth who came before!”
“If she grew up this gorgeous, marrying a big city official wouldn’t be impossible at all. After all, she’s even prettier than the fairies in New Year paintings!”
“But was Qiao San’s little girl this pretty before?”
“She should have been… right? After all, Old Village Chief Qiao’s granddaughters are all quite fresh-faced, especially the little girl from Qiao San’s family—she’s the prettiest granddaughter in the Qiao Family…”
“Old Village Chief Qiao is so lucky to have such a beautiful granddaughter…”
The villagers who had originally been skeptical about how a country girl like Qiao Shu could marry a city dweller now dropped their malicious doubts after seeing her beauty.
After all, with such stunning looks, which man wouldn’t be moved?
As for how Qiao Shu had suddenly become so beautiful… the villagers of Qiao Village didn’t suspect much.
Qiao Shu had been attending high school in town all along and rarely came home. Even when she did, she stayed indoors without stepping out, doing no chores at all. The villagers seldom saw her.
That was why she had earned the nickname of Qiao San’s lazy daughter.
And the Qiao Family members who saw her every day?
They suspected even less. After all, Qiao Shu had grown more beautiful day by day right under their noses.
The Qiao Family just thought she had finally blossomed—girls change so much when they grow up, after all.
Besides, Qiao Shu had always been recognized as the prettiest and most radiant among the Qiao Family’s granddaughters.
That was exactly why the elders at home doted on her the most.
“Qiao Chang, I really can’t bear for our daughter to marry far away…”
Listening to the villagers around them marveling enviously at their daughter, He Meijun sighed wistfully.
She had never wanted her daughter to marry far away, let alone to a city person.
She knew her little girl’s temperament better than anyone as her mother.
This little daughter of theirs had been spoiled rotten by the family. If she married far away or to a man from a family with higher status, she would likely suffer.
So He Meijun had originally planned to find her a match from a familiar family—ideally a man with few relatives who could become a live-in son-in-law.
Of course, he had to truly love her daughter, be upright and kind-hearted. Money didn’t matter; after all, she and her husband were hardworking and could support their daughter.
Unfortunately, no matter how well she planned, the Feng Family had come up as an unexpected twist.
Not only did the Feng Family have prominent background, but it was also a very distant marriage. It combined all the worries she had.
And her daughter was still just a child herself, yet she would have to become a stepmother to two kids right away. He Meijun’s heart ached even more.
She worried not only for her precious daughter but also for those two children.
With her daughter’s personality, how could she be a good stepmother?
“Alright, the child’s mother, things are already set now, so don’t overthink it. No matter what, our father saved the old Feng Family master’s life, so the Feng Family definitely won’t mistreat our daughter.”
Seeing the worry on his wife’s face, Qiao Chang said optimistically.
“Besides, with our daughter’s looks, who would bear to bully her? They’ll surely pamper her just like we do!”
Seeing the silly grin on her husband’s face, He Meijun rolled her eyes speechlessly.
But she didn’t refute him.
Though her husband was a bit overly optimistic, she agreed with one thing.
That was—with their precious daughter’s current stunning beauty, whoever married her would be blessed and would cherish her like a treasure.
At that moment, the very Qiao Shu whom the Qiao couple and Qiao Village villagers were discussing returned to the Qiao Family with her empty water jug and began preparing lunch!
But as soon as she entered the Qiao Family’s earthen-covered kitchen, she was dumbfounded.
The dream was beautiful, but reality was harsh. Though Qiao Shu knew how to cook, she truly didn’t know how to use a rural earthen stove!
Qiao Shu stared at the countryside stove that required kindling firewood to light for cooking and fell into thought.
Fortunately, this problem was quickly solved—she invited over Qiao Wu Ya, who had just returned from digging pig grass next door, to help her tend the fire!
“Shushu-jie, I, I can help you tend the fire just like that, it’s, it’s no trouble at all. You, you don’t need to give me so many spiritual spring candies…”
Looking at Qiao Shu’s fair and pretty face, listening to her soft and sweet plea for help with the fire, and receiving so many candies as reward, Qiao Wu Ya felt her heart melt like honey. She would do anything for her.
Especially after she agreed, when Qiao Shu’s fair, glistening hands gently grasped her dirty ones without a hint of disgust, and those beautiful eyes looked at her with immense gratitude—Qiao Wu Ya, already shy and nervous from Qiao Shu’s beauty, felt even more dizzy.
At that point, forget tending the fire; even if asked to go up the mountain to gather and chop firewood for her, she would carry back a whole basket without a word!
“Thank you, Wu Ya. You’re so kind!”
Qiao Shu’s eyes curved in a smile as she looked at Qiao Wu Ya, who was a head shorter than her, with dark skin and an honest face, and sweetly thanked her.
Completely unaware of her devastating charm, which had left this tomboy girl utterly smitten.
And so, with Qiao Wu Ya’s help, Qiao Shu successfully cooked the meal.
The Qiao Family had a large household. Even with a few members away working and eating elsewhere, there were still over ten people to feed.
So preparing this lunch was no easy task for Qiao Shu.
Though the Qiao Family was the wealthiest in the village, they were still farmers at heart.
Qiao Shu had to make do with the limited ingredients.
Since meat was scarce, most of the dishes she made were vegetarian.
Yet even so, watching the fairy-like Qiao Shu slowly wash and chop vegetables, wield the spatula to stir-fry, left the fire-tending Qiao Wu Ya stunned!
She had thought Qiao Shu didn’t know how to cook and was just whimsically trying it for the first time for the Qiao Family—otherwise, why wouldn’t she even know how to use such a simple earthen stove or light a fire?
But seeing Qiao Shu’s slow yet effective movements produce one dish after another, each fragrant, colorful, and appetizing, with scents that made one’s mouth water!
“Gulp—!”
After the final milky-white tofu grass carp soup came out of the pot, smelling its irresistibly fresh aroma, Qiao Wu Ya finally couldn’t help swallowing hard.
Of course, Qiao Shu noticed Qiao Wu Ya secretly gulping as she ladled out the soup. She blinked and silently grumbled in her heart, ‘It’s not that my cooking skills are so amazing. They’re just a bit above average for an ordinary person.
‘After all, I never took any cooking classes on purpose. I just got tired of takeout from staying home too long, so I followed online recipes to cook for myself.
‘In my previous life, my skills were decent—I could make flavors I liked—but nothing exaggeratedly delicious.
‘As for why the aroma alone now makes people drool, it’s entirely because—I added spiritual spring water to every dish.’
Originally, she just wanted to use the spiritual spring water to nourish the Qiao Family while she was still home.
But unexpectedly, she discovered another use for it.
It seemed to enhance the flavor of ingredients, making dishes with spiritual spring water taste even better.
For Qiao Shu, this was a pleasant surprise.
After all, she had been a foodie before transmigrating. With the spiritual spring water as a culinary cheat, her resentment toward transmigrating to the 1980s lessened quite a bit.
“Shushu-jie, I didn’t expect you to be so amazing at cooking.”
Though she hadn’t tasted the dishes yet, just from the aromas, Qiao Wu Ya knew this meal Qiao Shu made was surely delicious beyond words.
Hearing Qiao Wu Ya’s praise, Qiao Shu smiled a bit embarrassedly and said nothing.
After all, her skills weren’t that great; she just had the spiritual spring water as an external aid.
“Wu Ya, thank you for helping me tend the fire and cook. Here are the candies, and some dishes too. Take them.”
After setting all the food on the table, Qiao Shu wanted to give Qiao Wu Ya her ‘payment’.
But unexpectedly, as Qiao Wu Ya helped carry the dishes to the table and saw her hand over the ‘payment’, the girl bolted like smoke.
“Shushu-jie, no need! I’m heading home!”
Seeing Qiao Wu Ya dash off at top speed, Qiao Shu couldn’t help but laugh helplessly.
But before she could chase after her with the items, the Qiao Family women who had been out working returned one after another, drawn back by the mealtime.
“What a fragrant smell! Who’s cooking so early, and what is it? Smells amazing.”
“Exactly! This aroma’s making my mouth water.”
“With a scent like that, they must’ve used a ton of oil! And fish and meat too—who’s this wasteful woman?”
Old Lady Qiao, who controlled all the family’s grain, sniffed deeply and, with her seasoned nose, detected the oily fishy scent in the air. She spat lightly and said,
But soon, as the thick rice aroma grew stronger upon entering their own courtyard, and she saw the lavish spread under the big tree’s shade in the yard, she realized—the wasteful woman she mentioned was from their own family!!!