Newlyweds Next Door: The Gruff Farmer Falls for Her

[A story set in a bygone era. This isn't a pure love story. Not suitable for readers new to adult life.] One sweltering noon, Chen Baiqing's father, Chen Yingqin, was mauled to death by a wolf while watching the family's melon field. His body was left mangled. The Chen family was plunged into grief overnight. His mother, Cui Xiulan, wept inconsolably, while Chen Baiqing hid in the side room and wouldn't show himself, leaving Li Jinju to hold everything together alone. Nineteen-year-old Li Jinju had bright, almond-shaped eyes, rosy cheeks, and skin like jade. But for the price of ten dan of wheat as a bride price, her father had promised her to the wealthy Chen family in the neighboring village. The day after their wedding, Chen Baiqing, a dissolute wastrel, left his lovely new wife at home and went right back to drinking and carousing, leaving her alone in an empty room. Next door lived Wang Deyi, a shepherd, and his eldest son, Wang Dajiang. The twenty-five-year-old, brawny man had seemingly endless strength, with a broad, sun-bronzed chest covered in thick hair. But in his heart was a tender spot: he'd secretly watched Li Jinju for years, able only to stand by and see her marry the man next door.