Chapter 42

Chen Qiang came home later than usual today. When he saw the fish on the dinner table, he was a little surprised. After asking, he learned about his wife and stepson’s encounter that day.

Upon hearing that it was Shen Yiyi who stood up for them and even gave them the fish, he looked utterly bewildered.

Was it the same Shen Yiyi he knew?

Seeing the doubtful expression on Chen Qiang’s face, Lin Daniu, who had always been meek and obedient in front of him, uncharacteristically showed some defiance. With a hint of reproach in her voice, she said: “Yiyi is a very good person. She’s nothing like what you said.”

“You just don’t know her.” Chen Qiang instinctively refuted. He wanted to bring up how Shen Yiyi had married Li Chen under questionable circumstances and how she had desperately tried to get a divorce. The words swirled in his mouth but, in the end, he swallowed them back down.

The past matter of Shen Yiyi liking that Educated Youth had long since lost people’s interest. It was better not to mention it anymore.

So he simply said: “Anyway, she’s not as good as you think. Who knows what kind of scheming thoughts she’s brewing? You should be more cautious when dealing with her. Don’t let her fool you.”

As soon as Lin Daniu heard this, she suddenly snatched the fish soup from Chen Qiang’s hands.

“Hiss—!” Chen Qiang yelped as he was scalded. “What are you doing?”

Lin Daniu said: “Since you think Yiyi has ulterior motives, and this fish was caught by her, you’d better be careful. Don’t eat it. If you get poisoned, that wouldn’t be good.”

After saying that, she directly drank the bowl of fish soup.

Chen Qiang was dumbfounded: “…”

What the hell?

Was this still his originally timid and reserved wife?

Could Shen Yiyi really be poisonous? His wife had only interacted with her for a day, and her personality had already changed so drastically?

What Chen Qiang didn’t know was that in the year Lin Daniu had been married to him, she had always felt inferior in Qingshui Village. She had gotten used to swallowing her grievances, even when her son was bullied—she never dared to stand up for him.

But Shen Yiyi had helped her!

Although it was just a small gesture, Lin Daniu’s goodwill toward Shen Yiyi skyrocketed.

As for Chen Qiang… Even though he was her husband now and the Dad of the child in her belly, the two of them were not like a real married couple. They were more like partners simply getting by together.

So, how could she stand by and watch as Chen Qiang threw mud at Shen Yiyi without saying a word?

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Days passed at a steady pace.

Shen Yiyi had been engrossed in making clothes for Li Chen these past few days. Thanks to the sewing machine, she was able to work quite quickly.

However…

Her sewing skills were terrible. She wasted piece after piece of fabric. In the end, the clothes that were originally meant for Li Chen ended up being outnumbered by the ones she accidentally made for the Three Baos instead.

Still, her sewing skills were improving, and she was finally capable of making padded cotton coats.

To make padded coats, she needed cotton.

Initially, Shen Yiyi planned to barter with the villagers for some, but their supplies were limited as well. Everyone had heard that this winter would be particularly harsh, so they all wanted to keep their cotton for their own use.

Shen Yiyi decided to drop the idea.

She did have some in her personal stash, but since she hadn’t gone to town recently, it wouldn’t be convenient to take it out just yet. She planned to retrieve it the next time she went into town.

Fortunately, she had previously taken out a few bundles of yarn, so she decided to knit some wool sweaters first.

She took a few eggs to Lin Daniu and asked her to teach her how to knit.

Lin Daniu was very patient, and the two of them gradually became more familiar with each other.

After two days of learning, Shen Yiyi barely managed to grasp the basics of knitting a sweater…

Lin Daniu couldn’t stand to watch her struggle any longer and offered to help.

Seeing that Lin Daniu indeed had nothing else to do, Shen Yiyi handed her the remaining yarn and asked her to help knit for the Three Baos. Naturally, she also gave Lin Daniu a good amount of yarn to knit a sweater for Wangcai as well.

After spending so many days together, Lin Daniu had already figured out Shen Yiyi’s personality.

She knew that if she didn’t accept the yarn, Shen Yiyi wouldn’t let her help knit sweaters for the Three Baos. So, she took it without further hesitation.

Shen Yiyi had always considered herself a quick learner with a sharp mind—otherwise, she wouldn’t have become an agent for the Quick Transmigration Bureau.

Yet, when it came to knitting, she suffered a crushing defeat, which left her feeling incredibly frustrated.

However, after the frustration faded, an intense determination to win took over. Other than cooking, she devoted all her energy to battling with the art of knitting.

Li Chen had tried to speak up several times but stopped himself. Seeing her so focused, all just to knit a sweater for him, made him both happy and excited.

His original suspicion—that her change in attitude was just a ploy to secure a divorce—began to waver. Bit by bit, he started to believe that she truly wanted to build a life with him.

When he looked at her, his gaze became deeper, filled with both affection and growing intensity. Even his usual sharp and intimidating demeanor when dealing with others seemed to soften.

This change did not go unnoticed by Chen Qiang, who had grown up wearing the same pair of pants as him.

He secretly resented his Brother Chen for being so spineless—absolutely disgraceful!

He could only hope that this time, Shen Yiyi would be merciful and not leave his Brother Chen completely broken and battered.

In the blink of an eye, the autumn harvest was coming to an end.

The cured meat they had taken out earlier had all been eaten, and out of the seven fish they had caught, five were gone. The wild boar meat had not been touched—it had been made into preserved meat and was still hanging on the wall. There were also seven or eight eggs left.

After counting the household supplies, Shen Yiyi finally tore herself away from her great knitting crusade. Though their food stores would last a few more days, she knew that the villagers hadn’t been to town in a long time due to the harvest.

Once the autumn harvest ended, there would be a two-day break, and by then, the villagers would surely swarm to the county town all at once.

Shen Yiyi didn’t want to join the crowd, so she planned to take advantage of this brief window to go into town, sort through the items in her personal stash, and bring them back in a way that made sense. At the same time, she wanted to check on the man who had bought two watches from her last time—to see if he was still interested in more goods.

If he wasn’t, she would have to find another way to make money.

Since she was going to town, she naturally had to make arrangements for the Three Baos.

These past few days, it had been Dahua staying at the old house to cook meals, so the night before, Shen Yiyi went to find her, just like last time, and asked her to help watch over the kids. She also gave Dahua thirty cents in return.

The next morning, however, it wasn’t Dahua who came—it was Mother Li. When Shen Yiyi brought the Three Baos over, she was surprised to see Mother Li staying behind.

Mother Li immediately stuffed the money back into her hands and said that from now on, if she ever needed someone to watch Xiao Bao, she should just call her—there was no need to pay.

Shen Yiyi had no choice but to put the money away before hurrying off to catch Uncle Niu’s ox cart.

The autumn harvest was nearing its end. Although most people were still scrambling to finish gathering crops, a small portion of them had already started to wind down.

Naturally, those who had free time wanted to go into town, so Uncle Niu had resumed his passenger service.

By the time Shen Yiyi climbed onto the cart, there were already four or five people sitting inside.

When they saw her, their expressions became somewhat subtle, but no one said anything. Shen Yiyi ignored them as well.

Upon arriving in the county town, she first went to the supply and marketing cooperative. She glanced at the left-side wall and noticed that the spot where a brick had been missing before now had a new brick placed in it.

Although it was possible that some kind passerby had simply put it there, Shen Yiyi still decided to check out the address the man had mentioned last time.

What if it really was him?

That would mean more money coming in.

Still, she made a quick round inside the cooperative before heading out. After leaving, she found a small alley, entered her personal space, and disguised herself as a thin, middle-aged man before going to look for him.