Chapter 11

After Li Chen left, Shen Yiyi put the mung beans into the pot to cook. Once the water had been boiling for a while, she added the rice. When it was almost ready, she finally stirred in the brown sugar.  

She then scooped the porridge into a large basin and placed it on the water’s surface to cool.  

At the same time, she led the three little ones to tidy up the house, both inside and out—the rooms, the main hall, the kitchen, and the courtyard…  

The little ones were full of enthusiasm, arranging things, sweeping the floor, and wiping off dust, almost competing with each other to get things done.  

Before long, the house had undergone a simple cleaning.  

The temperature that day was estimated to be around thirty degrees. Shen Yiyi and the Three Baos were drenched in sweat from the heat.  

Worried they might catch a chill, Shen Yiyi quickly took the Three Baos inside to change into fresh clothes.  

By then, the mung bean porridge had cooled to a suitable temperature. Taking advantage of the fact that the Three Baos weren’t paying attention, she secretly took out some tiny ice cubes from her space, added them into the porridge, and stirred it evenly.  

She filled a bowl for each of the Three Baos and called them over to drink.  

In the sweltering heat, a bowl of chilled, sweet mung bean porridge was simply a delicacy beyond compare.  

The Three Baos drank with eyes squinting in satisfaction, especially Er Bao and Xiao Bao, who, after finishing their bowls, still wanted more.  

However, Shen Yiyi didn’t allow them to have another serving. She coaxed: “Little ones shouldn’t drink too much, or you’ll get an upset tummy, and that would be very uncomfortable.”  

She then glanced at Da Bao, who seemed hesitant to speak, and directly pulled him over to her side. “Don’t you agree, Da Bao?”  

Da Bao had actually wanted to say that he also wanted more. But being singled out by his Mom, a sense of trust and responsibility welled up within him. Though he wasn’t entirely sure if it was true, since his Mom said so, it had to be right.  

So, with a righteous and serious tone, he lectured his two younger brothers: “Mom is right. Drinking too much will upset your tummy, so you mustn’t have more. Even I, your big brother, won’t drink another bowl.”

Er Bao and Xiao Bao, who had originally wanted to act spoiled, pouted and said: “Mom, then we won’t drink anymore.”  

“Good.” Shen Yiyi said with satisfaction. It wasn’t that she didn’t want them to drink, but they were still too young.

After all, the porridge was cooling in nature, and little children who drank too much could easily get an upset stomach.  

She then took out an aluminum rice bucket they had just found while cleaning. Though it was a bit old and had some dents, it was spacious enough to hold food for several people.  

After washing it clean, she poured the mung bean porridge inside, grabbed a few bowls, and prepared to take it to the fields for Li Chen.  

The Three Baos were overjoyed when they heard they were bringing porridge to their Dad. They couldn’t wait to go along.  

Shen Yiyi had initially wanted them to stay home since the weather was so hot, but—  

“…”  

Alright, she couldn’t be at ease leaving such young children at home alone anyway.  

So, she set off with the three little ones in tow.  

The vast, flat fields stretched endlessly before them. Looking across the landscape, there were people harvesting crops every few meters.  

——-

At noon, Shen Yiyi had forgotten to ask Li Chen which section he was working in, so she could only take the children along the main road, searching as they walked.  

She did ask someone along the way, but instead of telling her where Li Chen was, the person kept secretly prying, asking if she was looking for Lin Jiadong.  

Only after taking a closer look did Shen Yiyi realize that it was one of the Educated Youths from the Educated Youth Station. Her expression cooled slightly as she replied: “No, I’m looking for my husband, Li Chen.”  

She deliberately emphasized the words “husband” and “Li Chen.” then stood up and left without paying any more attention to the person, who looked as if they had just seen a ghost. Taking the Three Baos by the hand, she continued on her way.  

As she walked along the main road, she unintentionally attracted a lot of attention. People harvesting crops would glance at her after cutting a handful of grain, then glance again after cutting another.  

Shen Yiyi: “…”  

Finally, after much persistence, she managed to find—  

Not Li Chen, but Father Li and Mother Li.

The Three Baos were overjoyed to see their grandfather and grandmother, shouting excitedly,  

“Grandpa! Grandma!”  

Their crisp, childish voices immediately drew the attention of many people, who all turned to look in their direction.  

Mother Li put down the bundle of freshly harvested grain, squinting as she looked over. She saw her three adorable grandchildren and her second daughter-in-law standing on the embankment, waving at them.  

She quickly tugged at her husband’s sleeve. “Old man, isn’t that our second daughter-in-law and the Three Baos?”  

Hearing this, Father Li also looked over. “Yes. Why did she come all the way here? And she even brought the children?”  

Wang Yan, the village’s well-known gossip, overheard their conversation and smirked maliciously. “Could it be that she’s trying to dump the kids on you again, Granny Li? I’m just saying, your second son really married the wrong wife. Aside from looking pretty, she’s as lazy as they come—won’t even take care of her own children…”  

“Mind your own damn business!” Mother Li had never liked Wang Yan’s sharp tongue.

She snapped back without hesitation and, after a brief thought, added: “My second daughter-in-law told me she’s going to live well with our Li Chen from now on. So, you lot better stop with your gossiping and keep your nosy minds to yourselves.”  

Wang Yan scoffed and sneered: “Who’d believe that?”  

Mother Li retorted: “Then open your damn eyes wide and watch carefully in the future!”  

Wang Yan’s face instantly turned red, then white, as she was scolded into silence.  

“Grandpa! Grandma! Come up quickly!”  

The Three Baos’ childish voices rang out again from the embankment.  

“You should go up and see what they need.” Father Li said.  

Mother Li was also worried that something urgent had brought them here. Casually, she added: “You go too. They’re calling for you as well. Take a short break and have some water before getting back to work.”  

“I’m not thirsty.” Father Li replied. He had taken on a workload of ten work points, the same as the young and able-bodied men.

However, his stamina couldn’t keep up with them, so he had to make up for it by working harder.

Mother Li immediately understood what Father Li was thinking. Knowing she couldn’t persuade him, she simply headed up the embankment herself.  

Seeing this, Wang Yan followed along. She wanted to see for herself whether Shen Yiyi was truly planning to live a proper life with Li Chen.  

Not far away, Jiang Ailing was also present. Earlier that day, she had dragged Tiezhu along to stir up trouble for Shen Yiyi, only to be pulled aside by Mother Li and forced to work instead.  

She shared the same thoughts as Wang Yan—she believed Shen Yiyi had come just to dump the Three Baos on Mother Li.  

That wouldn’t do!

Mother Li was earning work points today. If she left to take care of Shen Yiyi’s children, who would finish her tasks?  

Wouldn’t the burden just fall on her husband in the end?  

With that thought, she ignored Li Sanhong’s warning to stay out of other people’s business, tossed her sickle aside, and walked over.  

Er Bao, noticing that only Mother Li had come, shouted again: “Grandpa! Grandpa, come over too!”  

Father Li, unable to bear his grandson calling out like that, finally put down his sickle, washed his hands, and followed them.  

Mother Li was the first to reach the embankment. Smiling, she asked the Three Baos: “What’s the matter? Why are you calling for Grandma?”  

“Grandma, drink mung bean porridge!” Xiao Bao ran over excitedly, his little feet pattering against the ground as he pointed toward his Mom.  

Mother Li followed his gaze and saw Shen Yiyi sitting in a shaded spot. She had placed two bowls on the ground and was pouring mung bean porridge from the rice bucket. Smiling, she called out: “Mom, come have some porridge to cool off.”  

Mother Li, Wang Yan, Jiang Ailing, and Father Li were all so stunned that they couldn’t say a word.  

It wasn’t until Shen Yiyi handed bowls of porridge to Mother Li and Father Li that they finally snapped out of their daze.

Each of them wore an expression as if they had just seen a ghost, staring at Shen Yiyi in disbelief.  

Shen Yiyi, unfazed by their reactions, glanced around and asked: “Dad, Mom, do you know where Brother Chen is working?”  

Mother Li had already recovered from her shock. Smiling so widely that wrinkles formed at the corners of her eyes, she pointed: “There.”  

Following her gaze, Shen Yiyi looked over and saw a tall, sturdy man among nearly one-meter-high rice stalks, gazing in their direction from a distance.