Chapter 35

Lin Daniu confirmed: “You said you want to make clothes for Brother Chen?”  

“Yeah!”  

Lin Daniu paused for a moment, picked up her fabric, and asked: “What kind do you want to make?”  

“I’ll start with an undergarment. I haven’t traded for cotton yet to make a padded jacket.”  

Lin Daniu nodded and began teaching Shen Yiyi how to take measurements and use the sewing machine.  

Shen Yiyi spent almost the entire morning barely managing to learn how to operate the sewing machine. Her hands got pricked multiple times, and she wasted several pieces of fabric.  

Lin Daniu looked at the wasted fabric, her heart aching. Even though it wasn’t her family’s fabric, this was just too wasteful.  

Noticing her expression, Shen Yiyi comforted her: “It’s fine. The wasted fabric can be used to make something for Three Baos and the others.”  

Lin Daniu: “…” Having money really makes one willful!  

After Shen Yiyi’s persistent effort, along with Lin Daniu’s help, she finally managed to finish a men’s undergarment by noon. However… the garment was crooked, the stitches were uneven, and there were many loose threads.  

Shen Yiyi sighed: “Forget it, forget it. Let’s go back and cook first!”  

Before leaving, she took the undergarment with her.  

Lin Daniu held back her laughter.  

Shen Yiyi: “…”  

When she got home, Three Baos and the others had not returned yet.  

Shen Yiyi started steaming the rice, put the leftover pork trotters from yesterday on the stove to stew, and then went to the small plot of land to pick a large Chinese cabbage.  

After washing it clean, she had just started stir-frying when she saw Li Chen returning with Three Baos and the others.  

“Mom!”  

Er Bao ran toward her excitedly, his face full of joy. “Mom, did you make a piece of clothing for Dad?”  

???

Shen Yiyi quickly glanced at Li Chen. He was outside washing his hands.  

She immediately squatted down and whispered: “Yes, but don’t tell—”  

Before she could finish saying don’t tell your Dad, because the clothes were too ugly, Er Bao had already shouted excitedly: “Dad! I wasn’t lying! Mom really made you a piece of clothing this morning!”  

Shen Yiyi: “…”  

“It’s already finished?” Li Chen indeed walked in, his voice carrying a hint of barely noticeable anticipation. “Let me see?”  

Cough!  

Shen Yiyi straightened up and directed him to help stoke the fire, speaking seriously: “Later. Let’s finish cooking first.”  

As for when exactly “later” was, she didn’t specify. In any case, even when Li Chen left for work, he still hadn’t seen the clothes.  

After he left, Shen Yiyi, as usual, cooked mung bean porridge, tidied up the house a bit, and then took a nap with Three Baos. When she woke up, she went out to deliver the porridge.  

After returning and drinking some water, she headed to the Chen family’s house.  

Da Bao and the others, unable to sit still, had run off to play again. Shen Yiyi didn’t stop them.  

After her experience in the morning, she had finally gotten the hang of it. She practiced for another two hours and managed to make a garment that was barely presentable.  

Of course, this was thanks to Lin Daniu’s help.  

Since Lin Daniu was pregnant, she didn’t have to go to work. Apart from cooking and looking after Chen’s bedridden Mom, she had some free time.  

She occasionally guided Shen Yiyi, and seeing how serious she was, she busied herself with sorting out the wasted fabric. Using the measurements of Three Baos, she cut the scraps into small pieces.  

Once Shen Yiyi finished her garment, Lin Daniu sat at the sewing machine, and with a few quick stitches, several small garments were neatly sewn together in no time. Shen Yiyi clicked her tongue in amazement.  

Although Lin Daniu repeatedly refused, Shen Yiyi insisted on giving her two of the small garments.

Wangcai was about the same age as Da Bao and Er Bao, so he could fit into the clothes.  

Just as Shen Yiyi was about to call it a day and head home, Da Bao and Er Bao came back, dragging along a bawling Xiao Bao and Wangcai.

All four of them were covered in mud, with Er Bao and Wangcai being the worst—practically walking mud statues.  

If they weren’t her own children, Shen Yiyi might not have even recognized them.  

“What happened?” Shen Yiyi and Lin Daniu each stepped forward, picking up the crying Xiao Bao and Wangcai to soothe them.  

Da Bao and Er Bao looked guilty, avoiding their mothers’ gazes.  

Shen Yiyi knew they were afraid of being blamed for causing trouble, so she got straight to the point. “Who bullied you?”  

Hearing that their Mom was on their side, Er Bao immediately puffed up with anger. “Tiezhu!”  

As he spoke, he clenched his fists tightly, as if Li Tiezhu were in front of him, he would have swung a punch right then and there.  

Shen Yiyi’s expression turned cold upon hearing Li Tiezhu’s name. “He hit you?”  

“He stole our fish again!” Da Bao couldn’t hold back anymore, his face filled with fury. “Wangcai saw it first, but he insisted he saw it first and pushed Wangcai into the ditch!”  

Da Bao had tried to pull Wangcai out, but Li Tiezhu, standing nearby, had deliberately flung muddy water at him, splattering his entire face.  

Seeing his big brother and best friend being bullied, Er Bao, of course, couldn’t just stand by.

He stepped forward to push Li Tiezhu away, but unfortunately, Li Tiezhu was bigger than him, and he had his friends backing him up.

The result? Er Bao ended up getting shoved into the muddy ditch as well.  

As for Xiao Bao… well, he had simply started crying because Wangcai was crying.  

“Are you hurt?” Shen Yiyi wiped the mud off their little faces.  

Three Baos shook their heads, looking aggrieved.  

Shen Yiyi let out a breath of relief. As long as they weren’t hurt, that was all that mattered.  

“Go wash your faces. Mom is taking you to get revenge!” Shen Yiyi declared.  

“Mom, really?!” Er Bao’s eyes widened in delight. He still vividly remembered how terrified Li Tiezhu was the last time his Mom had taught him a lesson.

“Mom won’t let you be bullied for nothing.” Shen Yiyi said. “Go wash your faces first.”  

Hearing this, Er Bao quickly grabbed Xiao Bao and ran to wash their faces. Da Bao glanced at Wangcai, who wiped away his tears and followed him.  

Lin Daniu watched Wangcai’s small figure and hesitated before looking at Shen Yiyi. “Yiyi, are you really planning to get revenge for them?”  

“Yes.” Shen Yiyi answered without hesitation, watching the muddy backs of Three Baos as they walked away.  

Lin Daniu looked uneasy.  

Shen Yiyi noticed her hesitation, turned to glance at her, and quickly understood her concern.  

After all, Wangcai was a child Lin Daniu had brought with her when she remarried—he wasn’t Chen Qiang’s biological son. This made his position in the village sensitive. People gossiped about it behind their backs, and some were even bold enough to mock him as a burden to his face.  

If he got into a conflict with the village children, the villagers would likely side with their own. This would only make Wangcai’s situation in the village even more difficult.  

As Wangcai’s Mom, Lin Daniu naturally didn’t want her son to face such hostility. That was why, most of the time, when Wangcai was bullied, she simply taught him to endure it.  

Shen Yiyi didn’t agree with this approach, though she acknowledged that Lin Daniu’s concerns were valid.  

But when she saw Wangcai’s small, thin figure, she couldn’t bear it. She said: “If you keep enduring, others will only think you’re easy to bully.”  

She then called Three Baos over.

Wangcai noticed that Shen Yiyi clearly wasn’t planning to take him along. His expression turned blank for a moment before he seemed to realize something. Lowering his head, he quietly stepped back and walked slowly to Lin Daniu’s side.  

Seeing the disappointment and timidity in her son’s face, Lin Daniu’s heart ached.

Suddenly, she grabbed Wangcai’s hand and declared: “Let’s go! Mom will get revenge for you!”