Chapter 62 – The Self-Pitying Stepsister in a Historical-Era Novel (Part 10)

Just as Wu Yu's job was beginning to settle into a routine, the Sun household had descended into chaos. The main reason was the increasingly strict "sent-down youth" policy: any young person without a job was now mandatorily required to relocate to the countryside, with every household expected to send at least one person.

As a result, Sun Lanting had been making a huge fuss at home, desperately trying to take over Yang Mother's job in the hopes of avoiding being sent down. But with tensions so high—and compounded by recent gossip—Yang Mother was now powerless to help.

Sun Lanting deeply resented her mother for this. In her mind, if Yang Mother had just handed over her job at the canning factory earlier, she wouldn't be stuck in this impossible situation now.

But more than her mother, she loathed Wu Yu. Wu Yu didn't have to go to the countryside, while she was stuck powerless—how could she not be driven mad with jealousy?

Besides avoiding being sent down, Sun Lanting's only other option was to marry into a good family. At this point, she was determined: unless it's the absolute last resort, I'm not going to the countryside to suffer.

After all, the girl next door had already been sent down for three years, working sun-up to sundown in the fields every day. That girl had recently written home, admitting that she had no hope of returning to the city, so she married a local farmer just so she'd have someone to share the labor.

Thinking of this made Sun Lanting restless—that was a living, breathing example right next door.

So, to increase her "market value," Sun Lanting asked Yang Mother for money and ration coupons, justifying it by saying, "Clothes make the person. If I want to marry into a good family, I need to look the part. Then I can help our whole family live well."

Yang Mother was seduced by the rosy picture her daughter painted and agreed. After all, if her daughter married well, she'd benefit too.

In her eyes, no matter how capable a daughter might be, it was still better to marry well. Deep down, Yang Mother still hoped her younger daughter could stay in the city.

Why was Sun Lanting so important to Yang Mother? Besides being sweet-tongued and flattering, she had once had her fortune read. The master had said she was born with a "rich and noble fate," destined to bring blessings to her family.

Because of that prophecy, even though the younger daughter had poor grades and often bullied Wu Yu (the "jinx"), Yang Mother had always favored her.

She'd held on tightly to her job for so long, hoping her daughter's supposed lucky destiny would eventually win her a position. But fate had other plans.

So Yang Mother went to her room to dig into her private stash. But when she opened the box… it was empty. Staring at the hollow container, Yang Mother's mind went blank.

With all the commotion around the relocation policy lately, she hadn't checked the stash in a while. Since it was her secret hoard, she had to be discreet about it, avoiding the other family members—so she hadn't noticed until now.

But Yang Mother wasn't new to hardship—she quickly zeroed in on her most likely suspect. After all, Wu Yu hadn't returned home once in the past several days.

Looking back, it all made sense now. Wu Yu must've had money in her hands, that's how she could afford to live so comfortably outside. Clearly, that brat had been setting her up all along.

Since Wu Yu left the household, rumors of Yang Mother kicking out her own daughter had spread like wildfire. People were calling her biased and cruel—and she'd even been demoted from her position as team leader.

The worst part was, Yang Mother couldn't report this to the police. But swallowing this silent loss—it was infuriating. That was a huge sum of money!

In her heart, Yang Mother knew the truth: that money was technically Wu Yu's in the first place. If she publicly tried to cause trouble for Wu Yu over it, her own standing in the Sun family would crumble.

So no matter how you framed it—while she had held the money, the true ownership belonged to Wu Yu. Now, Yang Mother paced in frustration, unable to come up with a good solution.

Meanwhile, Sun Lanting was getting impatient in the living room. She barged into the room, only to find Yang Mother standing there like a statue, dumbfounded. A flicker of disdain flashed in her eyes.

But it quickly disappeared. Sun Lanting was practical—she knew she still needed money from her mother.

So, she sweetly clung to Yang Mother's arm and blurted out, "Mom, about that money and those ration tickets you promised me—I've been waiting for ages."

As she spoke, her eyes darted around the room, clearly trying to spot where the stash was hidden.

Seeing her daughter so eager for money, Yang Mother began to doubt: Is this the kind of daughter who can really bring wealth and blessings?

But she quickly banished the unsettling thought. Yang Mother didn't want to destroy the faith she had clung to for so many years.

In the end, pushed by Sun Lanting's insistence, she fished out a crumpled five-yuan bill from her pocket—leftover grocery money. As for ration coupons, she only handed over a one-jin dessert coupon.

Sun Lanting accepted it with a fake smile, all while inwardly sneering. She returned to her room appearing sweet and grateful.

Once inside, her expression turned dark. She knew Yang Mother had a private stash. Ever since discovering it, she'd considered the money inside as her future dowry.

And now, she'd only gotten this measly amount? What is this, charity for beggars? Fuming, Sun Lanting silently vowed: Once I marry into a rich family, I'll have nothing to do with this useless woman again.

But Sun Lanting's fantasy about escaping rural labor through marriage soon reached Wu Yu's ears.

That's because, when Wu Yu first arrived in this world, she had installed a listening device under the Sun family's dining table—just in case she needed intel after leaving the household. She wanted to be prepared for anything.

Now that she knew Sun Lanting wanted to use marriage to dodge being sent down, Wu Yu naturally wasn't going to let her succeed.

In her past life, the original Wu Yu had been the one forced to the countryside because of this "dear stepsister." So this time, Sun Lanting had to go—no one else should suffer because of her.

Someone like Sun Lanting had no right to ruin the lives of other young people with dreams. She deserved to go to the countryside and learn some humility.

But before Wu Yu could even act, Sun Lanting had already started sabotaging herself. She only targeted young men from well-off families, thinking too highly of herself. Unfortunately, those same men had no interest in her average looks.

The truth was, Sun Lanting had no self-awareness. She truly believed she was too good for anyone—thought it was perfectly reasonable to marry into a military family compound.

After her first failure, she refused to give up. She continued digging for intel on male classmates, clinging to the delusion that proximity would give her an advantage.

But none of the boys were interested in her flat figure or her plain, skinny face. To put it bluntly—Sun Lanting was the kind of leftover stock no one wanted on the marriage market.

Still, Wu Yu wasn't about to sit back. What if someone out there had strange tastes and somehow actually liked Sun Lanting? She had to act first—strike while the iron was hot.