"Oh, you're crying already?"
Tian Jing chuckled, teasing her, "Two good families become one, and you'll be well taken care of. Your older brother, your mother, and I won't have to worry about you anymore, right?"
"Mm, I will definitely make a good life for myself," Li Min nodded resolutely.
Tian Jing didn't quite believe it, but she couldn't discourage her, as the exchange marriage was already set in stone.
She didn't want to return to the Tian family, and Li Min wanted to escape this mountain that felt so dangerous to her.
"Old Mrs. Tian loves to hear nice words, but it's not enough to just flatter her. You have to show her your actions, and you can't do them secretly. You have to let her see your hard work."
"If someone else pushes their work onto you, don't make a fuss. Let her see the work you've done, then go do someone else's work, and subtly let her know that you're doing someone else's chores."
"It's not that you're snatching work, it's that others aren't following her instructions, ignoring her orders. Of course, you can't say this directly, you have to let her figure it out herself."
"It's so hard," Li Min felt the difficulty was too high just listening.
"When you feel it's difficult and don't know what to do, learn from Zhang Fangcao. How did she, right in front of you, make you feel so grateful without even a hint of it showing?"
Tian Jing never forgot to point out Li Min's foolishness, but if Li Min could learn some tricks from Zhang Fangcao, it wouldn't be a complete waste of her years being played by her.
"Okay," Li Min nodded vigorously, "I will carefully recall how Zhang Fangcao spoke to me."
Her mother had just said that if she could learn half of Zhang Fangcao's skills, she would thrive in the Tian family. She had to prove her own foolishness wrong.
Tian Jing gave her an approving look. "Uncle Tian has inherited almost all of Old Man Tian's true skills. You need to pay close attention to him, protect yourself, and at the same time, try to find his weaknesses."
"It's not convenient for you to meddle in his official matters, so pay more attention to his personal life, like his secret stash of money. Once you find anything, tell Old Second Tian immediately."
"Tian Yongyi is not as indifferent to competition as he appears. He really wants to compete, but as the second son, without the eldest making any mistakes, he has no standing."
"You can't go to Tian Yongyi alone to discuss matters. You have to bring Tian Lifu with you. He's not someone who is content with mediocrity either, and talking to your father-in-law in secret would create a bad impression."
Li Min nodded vigorously, her sister-in-law was genuinely teaching her.
"...Finally, there's Third Aunt Zhang Mei. She's Old Mrs. Tian's cousin and shares her heart. She's deep-thinking, so your little schemes must not be discovered by her."
"Then there's Tian Lixiang. This child loves food and worships strength. You could say he bullies the weak and fears the strong. You need to win him over, but not fawn over him. If you have excellent cooking skills, you might be able to win his heart."
"Lastly, of course, is Tian Lifu. He's a chauvinist. You have to rely on him for everything, which will give him face, but without overshadowing him."
"Actually, this person is very easy to deal with. If you discover your uncle's secrets, or any strategies you want to present to Old Man Tian, discuss them with him first."
"Use pleasant words to coax him, making him feel like you can't live without him. Even if you have some abilities, make him feel like you can only survive with his reliance."
"Subtly guide him to think along your lines, making him believe that everything you do is his arrangement."
"If you find this difficult too, please refer to Zhang Fangcao. Didn't she manage to charm both her husband and her in-laws?"
"Even though she lied about your older brother's health, she managed to charm her husband. When the incident happened yesterday, and to this day, we haven't heard of her being beaten or scolded, have we?"
"Mmhmm, mmhmm," Li Min nodded her head like a pecking chick. She was determined to carefully recall Zhang Fangcao's expressions and tone.
"Alright."
Tian Jing had said everything she could and couldn't say, fulfilling her promise from yesterday. "Go make dinner. Don't we have any rice or flour left?"
"Mm, only some sweet potatoes in the cellar."
Li Min couldn't help but recall yesterday when Tian Jing said she had exchanged her to fend for herself.
The grain was distributed after the autumn harvest, and it was gone. Most of it had been returned to other families.
From winter to summer harvest, they either borrowed from the production team or continued borrowing from the village. She felt she had been quite selfish.
"Steam the pumpkin," Tian Jing waved her hand. "Wash some sweet potatoes this afternoon and make sweet potato starch noodles. Tonight, we'll eat plain boiled pork liver, and tomorrow, stewed pork."
As she spoke, Tian Jing felt her mouth watering.
"Sweet potato starch noodles? What are those?" Li Min had never heard of sweet potato starch noodles.
"Oh, you'll know once we make them! We'll make the starch this afternoon first."
Tian Jing knew that food was scarce now, especially in remote mountain villages like Koushan that had poor harvests. It was normal for her not to have heard of sweet potato starch noodles.
Furthermore, the skills at this time were kept very secret, and very few people knew how to make them.
"Can I learn?" Li Min asked with surprise. Didn't her sister-in-law's words imply that?
"Of course. Are you going to make me do all the work alone?"
Li Min happily bent down, picked up a pumpkin, and went to the kitchen to cook, completely forgetting about her own mother.
Tian Jing helped Li Mu get out of bed. "Come in, you've been in the sun too long."
"Thank you, Tiantian, thank you for diligently teaching Minmin."
Li Mu thanked her sincerely. She had almost given up on her daughter's education, but unexpectedly, Tian Jing had managed to turn things around.
Not only did Tian Jing not blame her daughter, but she also carefully taught her.
"You're welcome. I hope she can live well in the Tian family, so she won't regret it later and blame me and her older brother."
Tian Jing spoke her true feelings. In her opinion, the Tian family was a furnace of trouble. Although the Li family was poor, their family structure was simple.
Regardless of Li Min's intention for the exchange marriage, whether it was for herself or for her older brother, although she had some complaints about the Li family before coming here based on her memories.
After two days of contact, she felt that the simple family like the Li family was better.
Especially Koushan, and Li Zhengguo's willingness to give her space. These were much better than being married off to any family by the Tian family.
Perhaps if she went to another family, she would have to be vigilant every night for fear of being taken advantage of. Thinking of this, she felt that Li Zhengguo's character wasn't bad.
"Alas~"
Li Mu sighed deeply. The exchange marriage was arranged by her daughter herself. Although Zhang Fangcao had a hand in it, her sister-in-law was the matchmaker. Whether she deliberately chose the Tian family, no one knew.
Her husband and the strong laborers from the team had gone hunting in the mountains and returned injured. The reason was that the cousin, Accountant Li, who was Zhang Fangcao's father-in-law, had acted recklessly and without regard for orders.
Her elder brother and second brother wanted to go and demand an explanation. Her husband disagreed, which made them unhappy. After her husband's death, they gradually stopped visiting.
When Zhengguo returned with a瘸腿, Zhang Fangcao broke off the engagement and entered that cousin's family. Her sister-in-law and second sister-in-law came together, wanting to go to the cousin's house to demand an explanation.
But Zhengguo disagreed. The families of the elder brother and second brother never visited again, and their kinship seemed severed.
"Everyone has their own fate."