Recaps

After exhausting herself with housework, Su Ya Ni was told that women in the Wu household had to eat apart from the men. Humiliated by the supposed village custom, she refused to eat and left the family at the table.

• Wu Chunlian hurried to cook before the Wu men returned from looking for work.
• Su Ya Ni finished washing clothes and bedding and cleaning the courtyard, then helped bring the meal to the table.
• Mother Wu called Su Ya Ni over to eat beside the kitchen while Father Wu and the men ate at the table.
• Mother Wu claimed that women were not allowed to sit at the table, and Wu Haishan failed to persuade Father Wu to let Su Ya Ni join them.
• Su Ya Ni said she was not hungry and refused to eat after being humiliated.

Su Ya Ni refused to eat after Wu Haishan’s family barred her from the table, then softened when he brought her a Roujiamo and apologized. She proposed finding factory work with him the next day so she could earn money and improve her standing in the family.

• Su Ya Ni stormed back to her room, and Father Wu forbade Wu Haishan from following her while Mother Wu and Wu Chunlian criticized her.
• Wu Haishan stayed at the table, and Su Ya Ni cried herself to sleep without eating lunch or dinner.
• After dinner, Wu Haishan brought Su Ya Ni a Roujiamo and apologized, promising to try to change his parents’ views.
• Su Ya Ni turned around and told Wu Haishan she would look for work with him at a factory the next day.

Su Qiao agreed to rent her vacant city-center house to a desperate migrant worker after remembering her own hardship. She met him at the house to arrange the rental, leaving the property rented out again despite her earlier reluctance.

• Su Qiao bought a bus ticket home and packed her luggage.
• A man called to ask about renting her vacant house, pleading that his heavily pregnant wife needed somewhere safe to stay.
• Remembering her past poverty and the money stolen from her at a cheap hotel, Su Qiao agreed to rent the house to him temporarily.
• Su Qiao printed two copies of the rental contract and went to the house to meet the man.
• The man greeted Su Qiao as Boss and accepted the contract.

Su Qiao rented a room to a man and prepared to return home, while the Wu Family grew anxious about their lack of work and money. Su Ya Ni struggled to find a suitable job, and Wu Chunlian refused factory work despite the family’s worsening circumstances.

• Su Qiao let a man rent Room No. 1, waived his deposit, and gave him the keys after he signed the contract.
• Su Qiao set out early the next morning with a travel bag to take a long-distance bus home.
• After Su Qiao showed no sign of returning, Su Ya Ni panicked when a day of job hunting brought no suitable, well-paying work.
• The Wu Family ate dinner in a tense silence, while Su Ya Ni stayed in her room and ate a cold steamed bun to save money.
• Wu Chunlian complained about the mosquitoes, heat, mud, and bugs, then demanded to know when the family could move somewhere better.
• Mother Wu told Wu Chunlian to find factory work and help pay the family’s expenses, but Wu Chunlian refused because the pay was too low and the work was unpleasant.

Wu Chunlian and Mother Wu discussed getting Su Ya Ni to reconcile with her sister so the family could benefit from the storefront, while Su Ya Ni struggled with money. The chapter ended when Su Ya Ni discovered that clothes and other belongings had been stolen from her room.

• Wu Chunlian complained that Mother Wu expected her to work while Little Brother was supposedly looking for a job.
• Wu Chunlian suggested that Su Ya Ni ask her sister for the storefront so the family could earn money selling goods wholesale.
• Wu Chunlian told Mother Wu that Su Ya Ni had little money left, and Mother Wu decided Su Ya Ni should lower her head and reconcile with her sister.
• Su Ya Ni called Wu Haishan to her room and showed him that her luggage had been rummaged through and clothes, sneakers, and a silk scarf were missing.

Wu Haishan discovered that Wu Chunlian had taken Su Ya Ni’s clothes without permission, but Mother Wu dismissed the incident and urged Su Ya Ni to accept it. As Su Ya Ni described her unsuccessful job search, Mother Wu argued that she should take a low-paying factory job and thought of Su Ya Ni’s older sister.

• Wu Haishan found Su Ya Ni’s bags ransacked and went to question his family.
• Wu Chunlian admitted taking Su Ya Ni’s clothes, and Wu Haishan accused her of stealing.
• Mother Wu defended Wu Chunlian, pressured Su Ya Ni to forgive her, and ushered her to dinner.
• Su Ya Ni said the jobs she found paid less than two hundred yuan, and Mother Wu suggested factory work.
• Wu Haishan objected that Su Ya Ni was a college graduate, but Mother Wu argued that she should start at the bottom and thought of Su Ya Ni’s older sister.

Mother Wu urged Su Ya Ni to reconcile with her sister, and Su Ya Ni agreed to visit her the next day with Wu Haishan. After Wu Chunlian offered her food and Su Ya Ni refused, Su Ya Ni returned to the east room while Wu Haishan went back to eat.

• Mother Wu asked Su Ya Ni whether she had contacted her sister, and Su Ya Ni admitted she had not.
• Mother Wu told Su Ya Ni to put aside her anger and apologize to her sister first.
• Su Ya Ni agreed to visit her sister the next day, and Wu Haishan offered to go with her.
• Wu Chunlian served Su Ya Ni rice and vegetables, but Su Ya Ni declined, saying she had already eaten.
• Su Ya Ni went back to the east room, and Wu Haishan returned to the small sitting room to eat.

Su Qiao refused to pay for the overpriced meal the bus crew demanded, and Wang Laoba threatened her. Ding Jihan stood up to defend her and challenged Wang Laoba to fight.

• The bus stopped at a roadside restaurant, and the driver and conductor ordered the passengers to get off and buy meals to reboard.
• Su Qiao refused to pay for the meal and challenged Wang Laoba over the forced purchase.
• Wang Laoba threatened Su Qiao and bragged about his control of the bus route.
• Ding Jihan threw his cap at Wang Laoba, insulted him, and challenged him to fight.

Su Qiao and Ding Jihan got out of the vehicle after Wang Laoba insulted Su Qiao, and Ding Jihan threatened him before switching back to an ingratiating manner around her. When Wang Laoba called out thugs from the restaurant, Su Qiao attacked him.

• Ding Jihan threatened Wang Laoba for insulting Su Qiao and demanded that he kneel, kowtow, and call her Auntie.
• Su Qiao dismissed Ding Jihan’s claim that she was his woman and got out of the vehicle to use the restroom.
• Ding Jihan tripped Wang Laoba when he tried to grab Su Qiao, then offered to cover her as she walked away.
• Wang Laoba called out four or five thugs carrying clubs to attack Su Qiao and Ding Jihan.
• Su Qiao kicked Wang Laoba down and struck his face and chest with her shoes.

Su Qiao and Ding Jihan stopped Wang Laoba from forcing passengers to buy boxed meals before boarding the bus. After they intimidated him into letting everyone board, they prepared to continue their journey.

• Su Qiao knocked Wang Laoba to the ground, and Ding Jihan aimed an iron object at the restaurant thugs to stop them from interfering.
• Su Qiao stepped on Wang Laoba’s hand and forced him to let the families with children board without buying meals.
• Su Qiao released Wang Laoba and walked toward the public restroom.
• Ding Jihan warned Wang Laoba not to provoke his wife again and insisted that Wang address him as Boss.
• Wang Laoba agreed to bring them the restaurant’s food, including meat and eggs, instead of the boxed meals.

Su Qiao confronted Ding Jihan about following her, while he shamelessly refused to leave and claimed that his status as a foreign investor protected him from the police. She suspected that his behavior came from memories of a previous plane and wondered what he was planning.

• Ding Jihan rejected the greasy fast-food restaurant and told Wang Laoba to find a proper restaurant for them.
• Ding Jihan poured water over Su Qiao’s hands, then followed her back to the car and sat beside her.
• Su Qiao demanded to know when Ding Jihan had started following her and reminded him that she had threatened to break his legs.
• Ding Jihan said he would keep following her and joked about dressing in women’s clothes.
• Su Qiao threatened to take Ding Jihan to the police, but he claimed the government had brought him in as a foreign investor.
• Su Qiao recalled that she and 444 suspected Ding Jihan had memories from a previous plane and wondered if he was pretending to have lost them to deceive her.

Ding Jihan tried to stay close to Su Qiao and explain his weapon, while she challenged his claims that he had lost his memory. He revealed when he had first fallen in love with her, leaving Su Qiao to hear that it was at a restaurant when she spoke with a young girl.

• Ding Jihan explained that his weapon was a tranquilizer gun from a wildlife reserve, but Su Qiao told him to stay away.
• Ding Jihan offered Su Qiao snacks and milk, then stumbled over calling her Qiaoqiao and corrected himself to “little sis.”
• When Su Qiao accused him of calling her old and ugly, Ding Jihan reassured her that she was beautiful and adorable.
• Su Qiao mocked Ding Jihan’s first appearance as a disheveled man who had crashed into her bicycle, and he clarified that he had fallen in love with her at a restaurant.

Su Qiao returned to her hometown, visited relatives who had cared for Su Ya Ni, and used local connections to update her household registration and identity card. Before she could leave to register for a self-study examination, the restaurant owner offered to introduce her to an unmarried businessman.

• Su Qiao arrived in her hometown and stayed at an inn after Ding Jihan forced her to stop for a meal on the way.
• Su Qiao slipped two thousand yuan to her uncle's family in thanks for caring for Su Ya Ni, then obtained a certificate from the Village Party Secretary.
• Su Qiao visited the restaurant owner, who recognized her and helped her change the name on her household register and identity card.
• The restaurant owner learned Su Qiao had devoted years to supporting her younger sister and offered to introduce her to a thirty-two-year-old businessman.

Su Qiao was caught up in the Boss Lady’s blind-date arrangement, while Su Ya Ni and Wu Haishan searched unsuccessfully for her. Su Ya Ni later overheard her mother-in-law boasting to neighbors about Wu Haishan’s education and prospects.

• The Boss Lady arranged for Su Qiao to meet a thirty-two-year-old man at her restaurant, and Su Qiao stayed behind because she was annoyed by the person following her and wanted to provoke him.
• Su Ya Ni and Wu Haishan found that Su Qiao’s door lock had been changed, then checked another rental house and her shop, but could not find her.
• Su Ya Ni and Wu Haishan returned home, where the Wu Family argued again, and Su Ya Ni grew increasingly anxious about Su Qiao’s absence.
• Su Ya Ni went out alone to look for work, returned home hungry and penniless, and overheard Mother Wu telling neighbors that Wu Haishan was a handsome college graduate who had left a secure job to seek his fortune in the city.

Mother Wu gossiped with Aunt Li and Big Sister-in-law Liu about Su Ya Ni, portraying her as an indecent woman clinging to her son because they had not married. She also described Su Ya Ni’s older sister as a wealthy, unmarried woman who had supported her younger sister’s education.

• Mother Wu, Aunt Li, and Big Sister-in-law Liu discussed how people could make money by going into business.
• Aunt Li praised Su Ya Ni’s beauty and hard work, but Mother Wu revealed that Su Ya Ni and her son had no Marriage Certificate and had held no wedding banquet.
• Mother Wu condemned Su Ya Ni for living with her son before marriage and claimed that Su Ya Ni refused to leave him despite her older sister living in the city.
• Mother Wu said Su Ya Ni’s older sister owned two houses and a rented shop in the Wholesale Market, prompting envy from Aunt Li and Big Sister-in-law Liu.
• Mother Wu said Su Ya Ni’s thirty-year-old older sister had never had a boyfriend because she had spent years supporting Su Ya Ni through school.

Su Ya Ni overheard Mother Wu and two neighbors insulting her and Su Qiao, then ran to her room in tears. Wu Haishan learned that his mother had spread hurtful gossip about Su Ya Ni, but Mother Wu insisted she had done nothing wrong.

• Aunt Li and Big Sister-in-law Liu criticized Su Qiao while Mother Wu hinted at gossip about her.
• Su Ya Ni arrived at the courtyard gate and overheard the women speaking ill of her and her sister.
• Su Ya Ni ran to her room crying, shoved Wu Haishan away, and bolted the door.
• Wu Haishan questioned Mother Wu, who admitted she had told the neighbors that Su Ya Ni was living with a man before marriage.
• Wu Haishan reproached Mother Wu for spreading the gossip, but she defended herself as merely making conversation.

Wu Haishan tried to soothe Su Ya Ni after Mother Wu offended her, and promised the couple would move out once he started earning. Su Ya Ni opened the door, and Wu Haishan told her about his new job and expected pay.

• Wu Haishan argued that he and Su Ya Ni were engaged and reminded Mother Wu that she had encouraged them to have a child so Su Ya Ni's sister would agree.
• Mother Wu dismissed Su Ya Ni's anger, while Wu Haishan went to comfort her behind the closed door.
• Wu Haishan apologized for his mother's remarks and promised Su Ya Ni they would live on their own once he got paid.
• Su Ya Ni's anger eased, and she opened the door for Wu Haishan.
• Wu Haishan said he had found a job paying 180 yuan a month, with bonuses and attendance pay raising his earnings to 240 yuan.

Su Ya Ni and Wu Haishan discussed moving out, supporting his family, and saving for a house while wondering where Su Qiao had gone. The chapter ended with Su Qiao meeting a slick-haired man in a gray suit at a restaurant in a small town.

• Wu Haishan promised to persuade his parents to let them move out and said he would work toward buying a house of their own.
• Su Ya Ni argued that Su Qiao should let them live in one of her houses, while Wu Haishan refused to covet her property.
• Su Ya Ni told Wu Haishan that Su Qiao had left with a bag and had not returned for several days.
• Su Ya Ni guessed that Su Qiao had gone to find a place to buy stock for a shoe store, and Wu Haishan reassured her that Su Qiao would return soon.
• Su Qiao sat down across from a man in a gray suit at a small-town restaurant.

Su Qiao went on a blind date with Jia Xianzhi, while Ding Jihan watched from a nearby table and criticized him. Jia Xianzhi began laying out his expectations, leaving Su Qiao ready to hear them.

• Jia Xianzhi ordered the restaurant's signature dishes without asking Su Qiao what she wanted.
• Jia Xianzhi said Aunt Li had told him about Su Qiao's situation and apologized for being direct.
• Ding Jihan overheard them and muttered that Jia Xianzhi had a short, useless problem.
• Jia Xianzhi told Su Qiao that he wanted to clarify their expectations because they were both seeking marriage.
• Su Qiao agreed to hear Jia Xianzhi's requirements, and he smiled as he prepared to state them.

Su Qiao met Jia Xianzhi at a restaurant, where he criticized women who wore makeup, dressed revealingly, or did housework. Ding Jihan intervened on her behalf and confronted Jia, leaving the two men facing off.

• Jia Xianzhi told Su Qiao he disliked women wearing makeup, and Ding Jihan declared that he liked her makeup.
• Su Qiao denied knowing Ding Jihan when Jia asked about him, and Jia continued criticizing revealing clothes and women doing manual labor.
• Ding Jihan slammed down his teacup and said Su Qiao could wear whatever she wanted and should not have to do housework.
• Jia Xianzhi confronted Ding Jihan, who insulted him and ordered him to get lost.

Su Qiao heard Jia Xianzhi explain that he wanted a wife to manage his home, care for his mother, and give up her own property and ambitions. Ding Jihan lost his temper and confronted Jia, leaving the matchmaking meeting on the verge of a fight.

• Aunt Li asked Ding Jihan to lower his voice, and he reluctantly sat down after Su Qiao warned him.
• Jia Xianzhi said he wanted his future wife to help with his mother and the family’s household and farm responsibilities.
• Su Qiao asked why Jia Xianzhi’s younger siblings could not help, but he said he still needed to care for them.
• Jia Xianzhi asked Su Qiao to sell her houses and shops, return home, and focus on being a wife and mother.
• Ding Jihan slammed the table, defended Su Qiao’s right to live as she pleased, and accused Jia Xianzhi of doing it on purpose.

Su Qiao challenged Jia Xianzhi’s sexist expectations and explained why she would not give up her independence to become a housewife. Ding Jihan praised her and pleaded for forgiveness, but Su Qiao left, still distrustful of him because of what happened in a previous life.

• Jia Xianzhi tried to argue with Su Qiao, but Ding Jihan backed down after she glared at him.
• Su Qiao told Jia Xianzhi that women’s makeup and clothing were appropriate and that she would not give up her property and business to serve a husband’s family.
• Su Qiao argued that men who suppress capable women lack confidence and should improve themselves instead.
• Ding Jihan praised Su Qiao and declared that he would support her success rather than suppress her.
• Su Qiao left and told Ding Jihan to get lost, recalling how he had deceived her in a previous life.
• Ding Jihan blocked Su Qiao’s path and begged her to forgive him.

Su Qiao confronted Jia Xianzhi about his unreasonable demands and left the blind date with Ding Jihan. After compensating Aunt Li for the commotion, she heard her advice to forgive Ding Jihan and accept him, leaving their relationship unresolved.

• Jia Xianzhi demanded to know Su Qiao and Ding Jihan’s relationship, and Ding Jihan said he was pursuing her.
• Su Qiao denied having someone, pushed past Ding Jihan, and headed out as he followed and apologized for hiding the truth.
• Su Qiao told Ding Jihan not to follow her while she went to say goodbye to Aunt Li.
• Su Qiao gave Aunt Li money to make up for the trouble, and Aunt Li told her to forgive Ding Jihan and accept him.

Su Qiao rejected Jia Xianzhi’s marriage conditions and left the restaurant with Ding Jihan, who tried to win her over with promises of wealth and gifts. They drove toward the county so she could register for her exams, while Aunt Li comforted Jia Xianzhi after the failed match.

• Su Qiao said she would consider Jia Xianzhi’s proposal but left with Ding Jihan before Jia Xianzhi could cause another scene.
• Ding Jihan insulted Jia Xianzhi and insisted that Su Qiao should not have to do housework, prompting Jia Xianzhi to accuse him of making a fool of him.
• Aunt Li told Jia Xianzhi that Su Qiao could not accept his conditions and that they should act as if they had never met.
• Ding Jihan offered Su Qiao his businesses, jewelry, skincare products, and custom clothes, but she told him to be quiet because he was giving her a headache.
• Ding Jihan took Su Qiao in his car toward the county so she could register for her exams, and Aunt Li comforted Jia Xianzhi at the restaurant.

Aunt Li explained to Jia Xianzhi why Su Qiao would not want to marry him and share responsibility for his family. Jia Xianzhi reflected on his expectations, then asked whether he still had a chance with Su Qiao.

• Aunt Li told Jia Xianzhi that Su Qiao would not have chosen him even if the other man were not in the picture.
• Aunt Li criticized Jia Xianzhi for expecting Su Qiao to sell her properties and devote herself to his mother and younger siblings.
• Aunt Li urged Jia Xianzhi to recognize that his younger siblings should share the duty of caring for their mother.
• Jia Xianzhi reconsidered how he had treated his family’s needs as his own responsibility and realized this made it hard to find a wife.
• Jia Xianzhi asked Aunt Li whether he still had a chance with Su Qiao because he thought she did not like the other man.