The Young Lady of the Mountain Village

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Blurb:

At the start of spring plowing, the Ye family's second daughter ran away from her arranged marriage.

Her stepmother was determined to "sell" her for a good price, demanding a dowry several times larger than anyone else's. To Yin Xian's astonishment, someone actually agreed to the match.

What kind of decent person would accept such an outrageous dowry? Besides, villagers had seen the man eating raw meat in the mountains. He had a bad temper and a limp... She had no idea what kind of life she'd face if she married him!

Without a second thought, Yin Xian packed her things that very night and went to the city to seek refuge with her older sister.

Her sister slapped her thigh and came up with a plan. "I'll find you a match in the city. Let's see what she and Father have to say then!"

The prospective groom was the distant nephew of a woman her sister was close to. Seen through a gauzy window, he looked honest and strong while speaking with the elders. He was clearly a tall, burly man, yet he blushed easily, with dimples in both cheeks.

Yin Xian agreed to the match.

When her father learned that she'd found a man herself, his face turned pale with anger. Her stepmother wailed that she'd brought shame on them.

But when the new son-in-law came to formally propose, everyone exchanged bewildered looks. Wait, wasn't this Chen Erlang, the man whose earlier match had fallen through?

After the wedding, something even more shocking came to light. What? This entire mountain belongs to him?

*

With a mountain to call their own, the young couple began a brand-new life.

They planted a vegetable garden, grew fruit trees, and raised fish in the pond;

They gathered mushrooms, picked wild jujubes, and dug up Chinese yams;

And that wasn't even counting the wild rabbits, pheasants, and plump bamboo rats darting all over the mountain.

Before long, the rabbits at home were having litter after litter. The fish in the pond were plump, fresh, tender, and delicious, and there was no shortage of buyers for their pickled vegetables.

The man she'd married was handsome and strong, and an excellent hunter. He took her into the mountains to snare rabbits and catch wild boars. Their life in the wilderness was free and abundant.

When winter came, they lit a little charcoal stove. Sweet potatoes and chestnuts nestled in the embers, while peanuts and red dates roasted on the rack. She gazed at the smiling man in front of her, then took a sip of fragrant, mellow new tea--

How could life be this good?

* Updates follow the ranking schedule before the paid chapters begin, then there'll be two updates a day. I have completed works to vouch for my writing.

* The setting is fictional, so please don't scrutinize it too closely.

Theme: All one could ask for is three meals a day and peace through all four seasons