Returning to the Old Hometown

In the stifling heat of midsummer, the sun hung high in the sky, shining directly down so that passersby could not even see their own shadows. The relentless chirping of cicadas made everyone feel exhausted and suffocated. The old willow tree under the scorching sun had withered. Since it was noon, no one was working in the fields; everyone took shelter indoors.

Only the eldest brother of the Jiang family took advantage of the noon break to borrow a water cart to water the crops, preventing the soil from cracking.

"Why is Jiang Rang back home?"

Jiang Weimin had just returned from the fields. Taking off his straw hat, he was drenched in sweat. He didn't even have time to take the towel his wife handed him, asking anxiously, "Didn't Cheng Wennian send us a telegram? He said he would be home in a few days. Shouldn't Jiang Rang have stayed in the city to wait for him to register their marriage? Why is she back?"

Eldest Sister-in-law Jiang quickly covered her husband's mouth, telling him to lower his voice. Her eyes were red with anger. "The old Cheng family told our Jiang Rang to come back. They aren't going to register the marriage with her anymore."

"What did you say? No marriage registration..."

Eldest Brother Jiang ran into the kitchen, grabbed a wood-chopping knife, and prepared to rush out. "I'll hack the whole Cheng family to death!" He had said it before: marrying his sister off to this guy was a bad idea. Yield, yield, yield! Now even in marriage, she had to "yield"!

Sister-in-law Jiang desperately held her husband's waist, as Eldest Brother Jiang was truly capable of running all the way to the city to hack the Cheng family. The Jiang and Cheng families had arranged this marriage together. Three years ago, Cheng Wennian went for an internship in the Northwest, so the Cheng family wanted Jiang Rang to marry into their house first, and they would register the marriage once they reached the legal age. Seeing that many families in the village married first and registered later, the Jiang family agreed. Once they agreed, the Cheng family held a wedding banquet according to custom, and on that day, Jiang Rang officially became the Cheng family's daughter-in-law. But the very next day, Cheng Wennian left for his internship.