Chapter 12

She immediately raised her hand and called out: “Brother Chen!”  

From a distance, Li Chen gazed at the young woman on the shore waving at him, a glimmer of light flashing in his eyes.  

Chen Qiang also noticed the figure on the shore and said curiously: “Brother Chen, isn’t that Shen Yiyi…”  

“Call her sister-in-law!” Li Chen, who had been watching Shen Yiyi, turned his head and shot him a glance.  

“Yes, yes, sister-in-law.” Chen Qiang quickly responded.

Seeing Li Chen’s protective stance, he swallowed back the words he had intended to say—wondering if Shen Yiyi had come with some ulterior motive.  

Li Chen had already set down his sickle, his tone carrying a barely perceptible joy. “My wife is calling me. I’ll go over first.”  

Wife, wife—it’s not like your wife likes you that much!  

Chen Qiang pursed his lips, feeling indignant on behalf of his Brother Chen.  

Just as that thought formed, he suddenly heard—  

“Conrade Qiang, you come over too.”  

“???”  

While Chen Qiang was still wondering if he had misheard, his Brother Chen glanced back at him. “Your sister-in-law is calling you. Hurry up and come with me!”  

Chen Qiang quickly followed. He wanted to see what exactly this woman, Shen Yiyi, was up to! Hmph!  

Shen Yiyi, seeing that both of them had come over, was just about to turn back to get the porridge when she noticed Father Li and Mother Li standing there, holding bowls of mung bean porridge, staring at her in a daze.  

“Dad, Mom, what’s wrong?” Shen Yiyi asked. “Mung bean porridge helps with the heat. Hurry and drink it. The weather is too hot—getting heatstroke wouldn’t be good.”  

The Three Baos also chimed in enthusiastically: “Grandfather, Grandmother, drink it quickly! It’s sweet and delicious!”  

“Ah.” Father Li and Mother Li, urged on by the Three Baos, quickly took a sip. Even holding the bowl, they could feel the cooling sensation through it.  

As the porridge entered their mouths, the icy sweetness spread across their tongues. The heat and exhaustion that had made them irritable seemed to meet a refreshing spring, instantly soothing their entire bodies.

Father Li and Mother Li narrowed their eyes in satisfaction.  

“It’s so good!” Mother Li said, but she also felt a little embarrassed. “Yiyi, you added sugar, didn’t you?”  

“Yes.” Shen Yiyi replied casually, watching as Li Chen and Chen Qiang got closer before turning back to fetch more porridge.  

“T-That must have been expensive…” Mother Li held the bowl hesitantly, unsure whether to drink it or not.  

These days, brown sugar was a rare commodity—people only used it when someone in the family had given birth or was sick.  

And now… adding brown sugar just for a simple mung bean porridge? And seemingly a generous amount at that? To Mother Li, this felt like a waste.  

In reality, Shen Yiyi hadn’t added much sugar, since Li Chen didn’t like sweet things. But the Three Baos did, so she had balanced the amount between their preferences.  

However, in Mother Li’s view, mung bean porridge simply shouldn’t have sugar at all—so no matter how much was added, it always felt like too much.  

Of course, she wasn’t blaming Shen Yiyi. She knew that Shen Yiyi was using the money given to her by her own parents, which made her feel embarrassed.  

Shen Yiyi understood Mother Li’s mindset but saw no need to explain further. Instead, she said: “Mom, I made it for Brother Chen and the Three Baos. I just cooked too much and brought some over for you. If you don’t drink it, it’ll go to waste. Come on, have some.”  

Mother Li could tell it was just an excuse, and she wanted to say something, but Father Li scolded her: “Just drink it.”  

Only then did Mother Li take another sip.  

Meanwhile, Wang Yan pretended to take a sip of water as she spoke to Jiang Ailing. “Your second sister-in-law actually brought mung bean porridge for your parents. How come you didn’t get any?”  

Jiang Ailing had realized her own mistake after arriving. Seeing that Father Li and Mother Li both had mung bean porridge, especially noticing their contented expressions and hearing that it even had sugar, she couldn’t stop glancing over at them, her intentions obvious without needing to say a word.

However, she never heard Shen Yiyi call her over. And now, hearing Wang Yan’s deliberately loud remark—loud enough for Shen Yiyi to hear—she intentionally raised her voice as well. “I have no idea either!”  

Shen Yiyi, of course, heard it. But honestly, the fact that she hadn’t spat at Jiang Ailing already was restraint enough—did she really expect her to give her mung bean porridge?  

With that thought in mind, she turned her attention back to Li Chen and Chen Qiang, who had just arrived. Quickly, she scooped out two bowls of mung bean porridge and handed them over.  

Li Chen took both bowls, then passed one to Chen Qiang.  

Chen Qiang had already noticed from afar that Father Li and Mother Li were drinking porridge. But he hadn’t expected that Shen Yiyi had actually called him over just to give him some as well. He stood there, momentarily stunned.  

Shen Yiyi didn’t even look at him. She was too busy smiling at his Brother Chen.  

His Brother Chen, who had been calling her “my wife” so effortlessly in front of him, suddenly became reserved when facing her. “You…”  

“It’s really good.” Shen Yiyi said, then pointed toward a nearby food container. “There’s still another bowl over there—it’s for you.”  

And for some reason, she added: “Everyone else only gets one bowl, but you get two.”  

This… this was blatant favoritism!  

Li Chen’s heartbeat thudded loudly in his chest.  

The moment the words left her mouth, Shen Yiyi realized something was off—because Mother Li was looking at her with a knowing, mischievous expression.  

Feeling slightly embarrassed, Shen Yiyi chided: “Hurry up and drink.”  

Then she turned to Chen Qiang and called out: “Comrade Qiang, you should drink too.”  

“Uncle Qiang, drink up! It’s really good!” Xiao Bao chimed in.  

“Oh?” Facing Xiao Bao, Chen Qiang’s demeanor softened. “Then, Xiao Bao, have you had some yet?”  

“I have!” Xiao Bao said excitedly.  

But then, looking a little downcast, he added: “But… Xiao Bao hasn’t had enough yet!”

Chen Qiang stiffened, suddenly feeling as if the bowl in his hands were a scorching hot potato. Had this porridge been saved for him at Xiao Bao’s expense? He immediately tried to hand it over. “Then Uncle Qiang will give this bowl to Xiao Bao…”  

“Xiao Bao!”  

Da Bao and Er Bao scolded him in unison. “Mom already said that you’re a child—drinking too much isn’t good for you. You—”  

“I never said I wanted to drink it!” Xiao Bao, feeling wronged after being scolded by his two older brothers, tugged pitifully at Chen Qiang’s sleeve. “Uncle Qiang, you drink it. Xiao Bao won’t.”  

Everyone was amused by the Three Baos’ innocent bickering.

Shen Yiyi also laughed and simply picked Xiao Bao up in her arms. Then, turning to Chen Qiang, she reassured him: “Comrade Qiang, just drink. This bowl was meant for you. It’s to thank you for taking such good care of my Brother Chen and the Three Baos in the past.”  

“It was Brother Chen who took care of me.” Chen Qiang said with an awkward laugh, but in the end, he didn’t refuse anymore.  

Shen Yiyi carried Xiao Bao over to a shady spot beneath a tree. Before coming out, she had filled her own water flask and brought it along—otherwise, walking such a long way under the scorching sun would surely leave them dehydrated.  

She fed Xiao Bao a few sips of water, then let Da Bao and Er Bao take turns drinking before finally taking a sip herself.  

Li Chen sipped his mung bean porridge as he watched the scene before him. It felt like a dream, almost unreal. But he was reluctant to wake up—if only she could always be like this forever.

On the other side, Jiang Ailing was so furious she was practically grinding her teeth to dust as she stormed back to the fields.  

Li Sanhong noticed her expression and asked curiously: “What’s wrong?”  

“Shen Yiyi brought mung bean porridge for Li Chen and Dad and Mom.”  

Li Sanhong was just as shocked. “Shen Yiyi? How—”  

“Do you even know what I’m trying to say?!” Jiang Ailing snapped, instantly realizing he had missed the point.

Angrily, she continued: “She gave Li Chen some. She gave your parents some. I was standing right there, and she didn’t even offer me a single bowl!”  

“???”