The male supporting character was actually myself.

It was almost noon, and He Yongqiang, tired from running and playing outside, should go home for lunch. He was particularly fond of enjoying himself and being pampered; now that the sun was shining brightly, he liked to lie in the yard and bask in the sun.

His dad even made him a rocking chair, it's so comfortable!

Li Tiantian's eyes twitched as she listened. If what the young man said was true, then they absolutely could not let the fishing boat marry into the family!

There's a saying that a woman marries a man for food and clothing, but this family is taking advantage of an orphan to make them work as laborers. Their character is utterly despicable. My good friend Liao Yuzhou is beautiful, kind-hearted, and talented. Marrying into such a family is like jumping into a fire pit!

She made up her mind, found a place to sit down and coax the child to count on his fingers, chatting casually while keeping an eye on the activity in the neighboring yard.

The He family's courtyard was a typical rural courtyard, with a mud-brick wall about half a person's height around it. The spacious courtyard was quite clean, with a jujube tree and a pomegranate tree planted inside. The courtyard was quiet, with the fence and gate locked, and no one knew what the family members were doing.

"Host, mission accomplished!" The fluffy little dumpling wagged its tail happily. As expected of the host I chose, the way it speaks is truly different!

Jiang Chen figured it was about time, so he put the corn cobs into the wicker basket, stood up and said with a smile, "I have to go home and cook. If you're tired, come over and have some water and rest."

"Thanks, but no need!" Li Tiantian waved her hand and pointed to the next room. "I'm here to help someone find out about someone, so I need to get to the bottom of things first. You go ahead and do your work; my husband will come pick you up later."

He returned to his bare room and glanced inside. There was only an old earthen bed and not a single decent piece of furniture.

"Host, isn't our best supporting male character just too pitiful?" The little white cat hopped onto the kang (a heated brick bed), looked down at the edge of the kang where the straw mat was sticking out, looked up at the thin quilt that was neatly folded and placed in the corner, grinned and wiped the corner of its eyes, "This is so poor... we really have nothing!"

Jiang Chen casually placed the willow basket aside and said coldly, "The original owner's family wasn't like this before. His parents were frugal, smart, and capable, and they had everything they needed for their home."

However, He Yongqiang's parents, who were the original owner's uncle and aunt, were lazy and poor.

However, after the original owner's parents passed away due to illness, how could a fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy possibly win against his uncle and aunt? The family's belongings were gradually taken away, and his uncle and aunt kept telling him how difficult it was to raise their nephew and how good they were to him, but in reality, they left all the land to the original owner to cultivate and work on by himself.

The original owner never ate a single grain of rice or a single vegetable from them; on the contrary, they plundered the original owner's family until they were penniless, and all the grain harvested from both families' fields had to be taken to their house.

"A classic case of kindness being taken advantage of, Meow is so angry!" The fluffy ball hugged its short paws and snorted coldly, "Host, find a way to teach them a lesson, we must help the original owner get revenge!"

Jiang Chen ordered lunch from the food maker and said with a light smile as he carried it out, "Take your time, slow and steady wins the race."

The little white cat jumped onto the windowsill, grabbed a dried fish from the plate, and took a vicious bite. "Ugh! This is so infuriating! This piece of junk is supposed to be the main character? Ugh! The most hateful ones are He Yongqiang's parents. If the main character can't be killed, why can't they be killed? Watch me, the assassin cat, strike! I'll chop them down!"

"What did you say?" He raised an eyebrow, staring at the fluffy little ball with a serious expression. "Say it again?"

Chapter Three: Better to tear down ten temples than break up one marriage

The fluffy ball of fluff didn't realize there was anything wrong. It blinked its big, deep blue eyes and meowed, "Assassin Cat, why don't you just kill the bad guys directly?"

"Xiaobai, you're getting more and more aggressive, which isn't good."

Jiang Chen explained earnestly, "Some people are indeed so evil that it makes you grit your teeth and wish you could kill them to vent your anger, but not everything can be solved by killing, understand?"

The little white cat tilted its head, thought carefully for a moment, and then shook its head. "I don't understand, meow~ But I'll listen to my host. If you say I can kill, I'll kill; if you say I can't, I won't kill."

Jiang Chen: ...

Forget it, it's just an auxiliary system that often runs out of CPU resources, so we can't expect too much from it, as long as it's obedient.

There wasn't even a stool in the room; one person and one system could only stand in front of the windowsill covered with yellowed, rough window paper and make do with a simple meal.

Li Tiantian sat under the tree, coaxing her child to rest in the shade, while keeping a close eye on the activity in the neighboring yard.

Before long, a woman in her forties, wearing a floral-patterned jacket, walked over while humming a tune.

She ran into a woman carrying a sack who greeted her, "Yongqiang's mom, haven't you cooked yet?"

"I didn't have time!" the other person laughed, raising their voice. "I had a really good run of luck at cards today and won quite a bit! If I didn't have to hurry home to cook, I wouldn't have left the card table. I'd just grab a quick bite and then rush off."

"Look at you, living such a good life!" the other person said with obvious envy. "After raising my nephew for several years, he now knows how to repay you. From now on, he'll enjoy a life of leisure!"

He Yongqiang's mother clapped her hands with a satisfied smile, "Of course! You have no idea how difficult it was for us to raise a boy a few years ago. He's not our own child after all. He's disobedient, stubborn, and always causing trouble."

As she spoke, she frowned in disgust, pursed her lips, and lowered her voice, "She's got a tough fate; both her parents died because of her."

We're also on tenterhooks, afraid of getting involved with bad things. Thankfully, he's become much more sensible in the last two years and can help with chores, but his uncle still has to worry about everything.

"You know, with something like this going on, if your own uncle and aunt don't take care of you, who will? We've had it tough, like we've been through hell, and this is just the beginning..."

"It's a favor to support them, not an obligation. At least you've done a decent job, you haven't raised any enemies..."

The two women whispered for a moment and then laughed as they said goodbye. He Yongqiang's mother, Qian Shuandi, was in a particularly good mood today. She had won two cents playing cards and was practically floating on air. Usually, when she played cards, she would only gamble for rice, noodles, vegetables, and cigarettes, and she wouldn't get much at the end of the day.

But today, for some reason, someone suggested playing something big.

The people in the village don't have much money, and they're even less willing to spend it on gambling. The fact that he won two cents in a whole morning has already made others extremely envious.

"Click." Qian Shuandi took the key tied with a red rope, turned the lock, pushed the door open, and went in. Humming a little tune, she started a fire and scooped water to prepare a meal.

"Mom! Is dinner ready? I'm starving!"

Not long after, a tall, strong young man came running back from outside the village. His new military green clothes were covered in dirt. He ran straight into the house, scooped up a ladle of cold water and gulped it down. He wiped his mouth and chuckled, "Mom, I had so much fun playing the 'big-eyed thief' game on the east hillside today!"

Qian Shuandi cooked the rice in the pot, then took out a towel and swished it at him to remove the dust, complaining, "How old are you? You'll have someone to introduce you to a wife by now, and you're still rolling around in the mud every day, trying to find some big-eyed thief. Do you think you'll find a wife or money by catching mice?"

Upon hearing the word "wife," He Yongqiang's beady eyes immediately widened as he asked, "What wife? Where is she from? Is she pretty?"

"The female educated youth who was sent to the countryside in the next village, her name was something like Liao Zhou, what a terrible name, so hard to pronounce."

After brushing the dust off him, Qian Shuandi stood on tiptoe and wiped his face with a towel, her face beaming with joy. "You're beautiful! I've heard that you're a girl from a big city, with fair skin, a big bottom, and good for childbearing."

Listen to your mother, behave well these next few days and don't cause any trouble.

They're from the city and don't know any of the proper etiquette. If someone were to inquire about the people in the village, they wouldn't say a bad word about you. I'll put in a good word for you with the matchmaker, and the deal will be done.

Qiangzi, remember this: when you get married, don't forget your mother.

Your parents raised you with great difficulty. Now that you're getting married, your wife is there to carry on the family line and serve your parents-in-law. Remember that, all women have gone through this. No matter who wants to enter the He family, they must follow the rules.

A grown man, strong and upright, who can't even control his wife, is a spineless coward, understand?

"I understand, I understand, I'll listen to Mother!" He Yongqiang pulled the rocking chair out of the house, lay down under the jujube tree, squinted his eyes and swayed back and forth, and said in a long, coquettish tone, "Mother, hurry up and cook, I'm starving. After I eat and take a good nap, I want to go to the river to catch loaches this afternoon."

Qian Shuandi responded and added some firewood to the stove.

A wisp of smoke drifted from the chimney, carrying the faint sound of her loud voice. Li Tiantian listened intently; it was probably a complaint about He Yongqiang's father being out drinking and not coming home again...

"Pah! That damned matchmaker, isn't she trying to ruin someone?" She got angrier the more she thought about it.

Compared to what the handsome guy said to the villagers who praised He Yongqiang against their conscience, it's clear that he was subtly reminding He Yongqiang not to marry him!

Listen to what his mother just said, so disrespectful! The relationship isn't even close to being established yet, and she's already trying to manipulate her son and control her future daughter-in-law. She doesn't know anything and yet she criticizes the name "Fishing Boat"...

Li Tiantian, seething with anger, carried her child toward the village entrance. Just then, her kind-hearted husband came to pick her up in a wheelbarrow. Upon seeing her, he took the child, kissed him twice, and put him on the wheelbarrow. "How was it? Have you inquired around? I'm not familiar with Qilizhuang, but I heard that the matchmaker who introduced your friend is quite capable. She can arrange many marriages throughout the year, and there's almost nothing she can't do."

"If you rely entirely on deception, tricking your wife into coming to your door and then abandoning her, how can you expect things not to work out?"

Li Tiantian sat in the back of the truck with a sour expression, patted the child on the shoulder, and said, "People say that rural people are simple and honest, but I don't think that's necessarily true."

I spent the whole morning asking around, and everyone I met praised He Yongqiang to the skies. I really thought Yuzhou had found a great husband!

If it weren't for He Yongqiang's neighbor's subtle reminder, and me taking a closer look at his house before discovering the truth, I would have terribly ruined Yuzhou's life! That He Yongqiang looks exactly like his mother, with beady eyes, a bulbous nose, and a face full of red bumps. He's twenty years old, idle and lazy, and even goes so far as to pickpocket people. Do you really think someone like that is marriage material?

The man pushed his wife and children home in a wheelbarrow, whispering a reminder: "That's how it is in the village."

As the saying goes, it's better to tear down ten temples than to break up one marriage. Who wants to invite bad luck by telling the truth and criticizing others?

If the marriage proposal doesn't work out, I'll definitely be resented. We're all from the same village, we see each other all the time, so even if she's not really that great, nobody will tell the truth.

You should have a serious talk with your friend. Marriage isn't something you can rush; meeting more people and getting to know each other will give you a better idea of ​​what to do.

Li Tiantian took out a cornbread from the printed bundle in the cart, took a bite, and couldn't help but sigh, "The key is that she's anxious. You have no idea how disgusting that director is. He squats under that young lady's window every night. Yuzhou is so scared that he doesn't dare to sleep at night!"

"And to make matters worse, she went on a blind date with someone not so great." The man sighed. "There's not a suitable one in our village. It's a real shame your friend is going to marry just anyone..."

Chapter Four: Pulling and Tearing

Wanjiazhuang is a relatively small village in the surrounding area, nestled at the foot of the mountain.

At noon, smoke rose from the chimneys of every household as they cooked. Liao Yuzhou sat in the small courtyard, lost in thought, holding a hemp rope in his hand.

To be honest, she had little concept of rural life before she turned eighteen. After all, she came from a scholarly family; her parents were both intellectuals who were usually very busy with work, and she had lived in the provincial capital since she was a child.

Life is unpredictable, and even well-read parents find it hard to understand.

But when they sent him to the countryside, they always told him not to forget to study, to read books to gain wisdom and distinguish right from wrong, and that even if he could not return to the provincial capital and had to stay in the countryside, he should read more books and study more to become a useful person.

But now...

She sighed and put down the unfinished hemp rope. In the distance, she saw Director Wu walking over with a lewd smile, and Liao Yuzhou's heart trembled.

He had his eye on me ever since I was assigned to Wanjiazhuang.

At first, he was more restrained, only occasionally making jokes or using his power to assign me to do some work for him; later, he started to flirt and even tried to touch me inappropriately, but luckily I wasn't stupid enough to escape each time.

If she can't find a suitable person to marry, Liao Yuzhou doesn't know if she can escape Director Wu's clutches.

After all, this is a remote rural area, and the villagers are very united. Director Wu's maternal grandmother's family is from Wanjiazhuang and holds real power. As a young girl with no relatives, connections, or backing, she has no chance of defeating him...

As Director Wu drew closer and closer, turning into the alley, Liao Yuzhou's heart pounded.

She had to come up with a legitimate reason to avoid him immediately, otherwise the old lady she was staying with wanted to help Director Wu arrange this marriage, and if it dragged on for too long, he would obviously lose patience and might take the opportunity to force himself on her!

Just as Liao Yuzhou was anxiously trying to figure out how to save himself, Li Tiantian's familiar voice suddenly came from afar, "Yuzhou? Yuzhou, have you eaten yet?"

"No!" Hearing her best friend's voice, she immediately relaxed and hurriedly got up to greet her. "Tiantian, come sit here with me."

A simple, honest man pushed a wheelbarrow, and Li Tiantian sat on it, holding her child, waving to her from afar, "Come here quickly, I have something urgent to tell you!"

When the bald-headed director Wu Jiande heard their conversation, his face immediately fell.

This morning, I gave two jin of rice to the old lady where Liao Yuzhou was staying. We agreed that I would deliberately cook a little later at noon so that the young girl would have nothing to do at home, and I could go over to chat and sound her out.

If that girl continues to be so ungrateful, I might as well take advantage of the villagers' lunch break and force her into marriage. Then I can turn the tables on her, accusing her of being unwilling to work and trying to seduce the boss for personal gain, forcing her to agree to marry me.

I originally wanted to have a romantic, free-choice relationship, but now it seems I have to take a hard line!

Wu Jiande refused to believe that a young girl with yellow hair could not succeed in his territory.

Who would have thought that just after dealing with the summer planting, before even entering the courtyard, that damned Li Tiantian would come over.

This young woman was one of the educated youth assigned to Walnut Gully in the same batch. She got married less than half a year after arriving in the countryside and now has a baby, but she's still restless, running around doing farm work all day instead of doing it properly.

However, after marrying a man, her household registration was transferred to Walnut Gully. Even though farmers are no longer under the jurisdiction of the authorities, as long as her family has no objections, she could stay at home like a corpse and no one could interfere.

"Good afternoon, Director Wu!" Liao Yuzhou jogged out of the courtyard and greeted him without any courtesy as she passed by. Wu Jiande could only force a smile and nod, pretending that he hadn't come to see her.

She ran all the way to Li Tiantian and his wife, panting and clutching her chest, and said in a low voice, "Thank goodness you came, you really saved my life!"

What's wrong with He Yongqiang? Have you found out anything? I can't hold out any longer. I just need someone honest, law-abiding, and not disabled, otherwise I'll...

Liao Yuzhou looked at his good friend with expectant eyes.