Chapter 1: The Exchange of Brides

“Jun, come out for a moment.”
“Auntie has really found a bride for you this time, no joke.”

Wang Guifen’s voice, tinged with urgency and joy, pierced through the thin wooden door of the inner room and drilled straight into Lin Junsheng’s ears.

Lin Junsheng was sitting at a worn wooden table, fiddling with a pencil worn down to just the length of his thumb.

Hearing Wang Guifen’s call, he was momentarily startled. Slowly standing up, his left leg still limping from a meniscus surgery, he walked with a noticeable limp.

The doctor had said the treatment options here were limited and suggested trying Shanghai. But his family was in Baigou Village, Yuzhou—how could they afford to go to Shanghai?

They already owed relatives and neighbors over two thousand yuan for his leg treatment. In this era, over two thousand yuan was no small sum; pork cost just 0.73 yuan per jin. And there were still follow-up treatment expenses to consider—astronomical for his family.

It was partly his own fault for being a veterinarian who was too kind-hearted. During the last heavy rain, he had tried to help deliver a calf in the neighboring village. On the way, he fell badly and ended up with this crippled leg.

*Creak.*

Pushing open the creaking wooden door, Lin Junsheng stepped out of the house, dressed in a blue work uniform.

Sunlight filtered through sparse clouds and bathed the humble mud-and-tile house in a warm glow. Shielding his eyes from the glare, Lin Junsheng saw Wang Guifen standing outside the fence, clad in a bright red coarse cloth jacket, waving at him.

“Auntie, are you introducing me a girl covered in pimples again?” Lin Junsheng joked lightly, but his eyes betrayed a trace of bitterness.

It was exactly like before. According to this script, Lin Junsheng would marry a girl barely eighteen through an arranged exchange involving his sister.

His sister, Lin Junwan, had a boyfriend then but was almost driven to drink pesticide under their mother’s pressure. When that didn’t work, their mother even threatened to jump into the river. Filial obedience, no matter how misguided, is still filial.

Reluctantly, Lin Junwan gave in, sacrificing her love to be the bargaining chip for Lin Junsheng’s marriage.

Lin Junsheng’s previous life had been miserable.

Lin Junwan bore daughters—Zhaodi, Laidi, Pandi—until finally giving birth to a boy, but she died from severe hemorrhaging. The boy also died young.

Their mother, Li Aimei, died of grief and guilt.

Having been reborn, Lin Junsheng was determined not to be passive this time.

“Jun, you’re wrong. I’ve seen that girl myself; she’s pretty and has a good personality. She’s definitely someone you can build a life with. So, do you want her or not?”

Wang Guifen, displeased by his words, immediately protested.

Lin Junsheng shook his head; no matter what, he wouldn’t agree this time.

“No!”

He knew the girl was pretty, but he wouldn’t sacrifice his sister’s happiness for it.

“Sister-in-law, which family is she from?”

His mother, Li Aimei, dressed in similar work clothes and carrying freshly cut firewood, her face lined with the traces of time, appeared.

Wang Guifen quickly stepped inside, leaning close.

“Aimei, let’s talk in the inner room,” she said, casting a wary glance at Lin Junsheng.

Li Aimei set the firewood down and followed Wang Guifen inside.

Lin Junsheng lost interest immediately—surely, it was about the arranged marriage again.

Was this all because of his left leg?

Was he being treated like a cripple?

Who in the countryside had money in these times?

It was 1982. The state had just divided up the land; each household farmed its own wheat, and everyone was poor.

On the blue brick walls of the commune, new slogans were freshly painted:

“Fulfill the state’s, reserve enough for the collective, and keep the rest for yourself.”

Lin Junsheng turned and went back to his room by himself.

It had been over a month since he was reborn. To change his current situation, he had to return to his old trade.

But not as a part-time veterinarian anymore.

After all, he had graduated from middle school. In his previous life, his limp stopped him from doing heavy labor, so he started writing novels and later worked as a screenwriter, supporting his family.

He was not against hard work—labor was a noble profession—but it was impossible to escape poverty through labor alone, generation after generation.

Although making money by writing novels was tough, only best-selling authors earned well.

Like Yu Hua said, he lived by “To Live.”

Ordinary writers were beggars with meager incomes.

But even a small income was better than selling physical labor in the countryside.

Since the 1980s, cultural and film industries were booming.

Literature clashed fiercely with cinema.

To make money, one had to write scripts; if a film was produced, there would be a buyout fee.

He walked over to the table and picked up the mail the postman had just delivered.

The handwriting on the envelope was still clear:

*“Story Club” Editorial Department!*

Lin Junsheng’s heart quickened as he carefully opened the mail and took out a thin payment slip.

The amount on the slip made his eyes brighten—eighteen yuan and three cents.

Though not much, it was the first income he had earned through writing since his rebirth, making it profoundly significant.

Nearly twenty yuan was like a month's wages for him.

“What? An exchange marriage?”

Lin Junwan’s voice struck like a thunderclap.

It shattered Lin Junsheng’s sweet daydream and dragged him back to the cold reality.

Lin Junwan’s eyes were wide, staring at their mother in disbelief, as if hearing the most absurd joke in the world.

“Mom, have you lost your mind? Who gave you this rotten idea? I swear I’ll tear her mouth apart!”

Li Aimei’s face darkened, and she lowered her voice to warn, “Quiet, don’t let your brother hear.”

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