Su Fu’s room was the largest in the entire Su family home, and she had it all to herself.

Inside stood a two-meter-wide bed, a large wooden wardrobe, and several old trunks stacked on top of one another, their paint long since chipped away.

The walls were covered with yellowing newspaper, and in the center hung a portrait of a kindly old leader.

Beside the window sat a dressing table. On it were a mirror, a thermos, an enamel mug, and a flowerpot filled with dirt.

The flowerpot had belonged to Su Fu’s mother.

It used to contain a small cactus.

Unfortunately, the Su family had thrown it into the outhouse. By the time Su Fu found it, the cactus was already dead.

The Su family was large and prosperous.

Wang Xiaojiao had given birth to four sons and one daughter: Su One, Su Two, Su Three, Su Four, and Su Meimei.

Aside from Su One, the others had all married and produced three or four children each.

All together, the household numbered well over a dozen people.

Su One was Su Fu’s father.

And he had been quite a character himself.

In most families, the eldest son became the responsible pillar of the household—the hardworking ox who carried everyone else.

Su One was different.

He was famous for slacking off, cutting corners, and avoiding real work whenever possible.

Su Fu’s mother came from the neighboring village.

She was just as lazy and food-loving as he was.

The two of them had truly been made for each other.

Unfortunately, she suffered severe bleeding during childbirth and died before she even finished her postpartum confinement.

Su One raised Su Fu alone until she was five.

Then he, too, died in an accident.

Ever since childhood, Su Fu had possessed unusual strength.

Combined with all the strange life philosophies her father had drilled into her head, she had never appeared particularly normal in other people’s eyes.

Without parents to protect her, if she hadn’t acted crazy, this family would have long ago squeezed her dry and sold her off to some old bachelor.

Thinking of that, Su Fu remembered her father’s final words.

He had said:

“Life is cheap. You’ve only got one miserable life, so do everything you can to make it a good one. No one is more important than yourself.”

“My biggest regret is that I didn’t get to eat my fill before I died.”

“…Sigh.”

Su Fu let out a long breath.

She wondered whether all the spirit money she’d secretly burned over the years had actually reached her parents.

It probably had.

Otherwise, those two unreliable people would’ve definitely appeared in her dreams to complain.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Wang Xiaojiao was grumbling nonstop.

“That damned girl wants a fair-skinned handsome husband. What fair skin? Men work in the fields all day!”

Su Er was sneaking food while listening.

“She went to high school in the city and still couldn’t find a boyfriend. Look at Little Sister—she found herself a good marriage before she even finished middle school.”

Wang Xiaojiao snorted.

“How can that dead girl compare to Meimei?”

“I’m going into town tomorrow. The sooner we marry her off, the better.”

Su Er nodded.

“Don’t find someone too good.”

“Why should that crazy girl get to enjoy a good life?”

“I know.”

Wang Xiaojiao lowered her voice.

“That girl likes pretty boys…”

“A family meeting tonight after she falls asleep.”

“We need to get her married within three days.”

Mother and son spent half the day plotting.

Meanwhile, Su Fu sat nearby listening through the wall while stuffing herself with food.

She let out a satisfied burp.

Eavesdropping really did improve one’s appetite.

She wasn’t opposed to marriage.

But she had one condition:

The man had to be at least as good as her father.

Su One had been fair-skinned.

Tall.

Handsome.

Clean.

Able to cook.

Able to do housework.

Other than being poor, he had practically no flaws.

As for the men in the village?

Not a chance.

There had been a few high-school classmates who barely met her standards.

But…

Two months after enrolling, she’d chased a teacher around campus with a dung scoop.

After that, she’d become famous for all the wrong reasons.

Sigh.

The more she thought about it, the sadder she felt.

The next morning, when Su Fu got up, the house was completely empty.

Going to work in the fields?

Impossible.

The whole reason she’d studied through high school was to avoid field labor.

After washing up, she went into the kitchen.

There were two wild-vegetable flatbreads left in the pot.

Chewing with her cheeks puffed out, she stared at the chicken coop.

“One of these days, I’m eating all of you.”

Fortunately, Wang Xiaojiao had already left for the day.

Otherwise, hearing those words might have given her a heart attack.

At that moment, Wang Xiaojiao had arrived at Su Meimei’s in-laws’ house.

Tears streamed down her face as she complained.

“My daughter… blah blah blah… that crazy girl… blah blah blah…”

Su Meimei naturally knew exactly what Su Fu was like.

Before getting married, she’d suffered plenty herself.

“Mom, are you saying that crazy girl likes pretty boys?”

Wang Xiaojiao nodded.

“Exactly.”

“You know what she’s like.”

“Who in the neighboring villages would dare marry her?”

Su Meimei actually knew of someone.

A distant relative of a neighbor.

They lived in a place called Shangougou—literally “Mountain Gully Village.”

The village was so poor that if everyone pooled their clothes together, they still couldn’t produce two pairs of underwear without holes.

That distant relative’s family was even poorer.

Their pants had to be shared and worn in shifts.

The whole family was lazy, too.

Every meal consisted of bran mixed with wild vegetables.

The neighbor woman had once cursed them out loudly, saying the family wanted to buy one wife for all the brothers to share.

Back then, Su Meimei had joined in criticizing them.

But now…

Wasn’t that practically the perfect match for Su Fu?

After all, the neighbor had mentioned that the youngest son looked rather delicate.

A genuine pretty boy.

Wang Xiaojiao looked doubtful.

“Su Fu isn’t stupid.”

“Would she really agree to marry into a place like Shangougou?”

Su Meimei smiled confidently.

“We’ll do this first…”

“And then this…”

After hearing the plan, Wang Xiaojiao revealed a wicked grin.

That damned girl had tormented the family for years.

It was time she got a taste of her own medicine.

In a small grove outside Kaoshan Village, Su Fu suddenly sneezed.

“Achoo!”

“Which plague-ridden bastard is talking about me now?”

She rubbed her nose and took a stack of money from Wang Mazi’s hand.

After counting it several times, she frowned.

It was half of what she’d received last month.

“Mazi, you…”

Wang Mazi immediately raised both hands.

“I didn’t skim anything!”

“The inspections have gotten much stricter this month. The guys are scared.”

A group of them had secretly been raising pigs deep in the mountains and selling them on the black market.

Su Fu wasn’t involved in the operation itself.

But when Wang Mazi had been short on startup funds, she’d invested some money.

Su Fu frowned.

“Then pay back my principal.”

“I’m pulling out.”

Wang Mazi didn’t really understand why.

Still, one less person meant more profit for him.

“You chose to leave.”

“No causing trouble later.”

Su Fu nodded.

Once she made a decision, she never changed her mind.

“Be careful yourself.”

“If something happens to you…”

Wang Mazi’s real name was Wang Cheng.

He was the same age as Su Fu.

His father had died two or three years earlier, leaving him to support his elderly mother and younger sister.

After thinking for a while, he asked,

“By the way, Sister Fu… are you really going on blind dates?”

Su Fu tucked the money away.

“So what if I am?”

“Am I supposed to stay unmarried forever?”

Wang Cheng grinned.

“Everyone for miles around has heard of your glorious achievements.”

“I’m afraid nobody will dare marry you.”

Su Fu punched him.

“With a face like mine?”

“You think I can’t get married?”

She wasn’t bragging.

There genuinely wasn’t a prettier girl anywhere nearby.

Wang Mazi studied her carefully.

Bright eyes.

Long eyelashes.

A high nose bridge.

Fair skin with a healthy rosy glow.

He swallowed.

“I take it back.”

Su Fu waved him off.

“Just remember to bring me the money.”

“I’m leaving.”

Wang Mazi hurried after her.

“I’m going into town too.”

“We can walk together.”

Su Fu did indeed have business in town.

But she also intended to gather information.

Because Su Meimei was no saint.

In fact, among the entire Su family, she was the most vicious one of all.