Chapter 60

Li Chen cast a glance at him. “If he can get his hands on so many watches, he must have access to other industrial goods as well.”  

Zhou Fengshou seemed to see another opportunity to make a fortune and was beyond excited. “Brother Chen, I got it!”  

Li Chen nodded. “But remember, don’t get too close to him. Just maintain a mutually beneficial trade relationship.”  

Zhou Fengshou was shrewd and immediately understood what his brother meant.  

Industrial goods were all mass-produced nowadays. If Lao Hei could supply that many, there had to be something significant behind it.  

Zhou Fengshou replied cautiously: “Brother, I understand!”  

After giving his instructions, Li Chen tucked a box into his pocket. “I’m leaving first. Wait for my news.”  

Zhou Fengshou tried to keep him. “Brother, why not stay for lunch before heading back?”  

Li Chen waved his hand and left behind only a carefree silhouette.  

“I’ll stay and eat with you.” Chen Qiang chimed in eagerly. He had just seen quite a bit of meat in Zhou Fengshou’s kitchen. “Brother Chen still has to go back and accompany his wife. You can stop hoping he’ll stay with you.”  

“Wife, wife.” Zhou Fengshou muttered, staring at Li Chen’s departing figure with a look of grievance. “In the end, is a wife more important, or are brothers more important?”  

“Then to you, is Brother Chen more important, or am I more important?”  

“Of course, Brother Chen!” Zhou Fengshou answered without hesitation.  

The next second, Chen Qiang smacked him hard on the head, making him suck in a sharp breath and glare at him in anger. “You—”  

Chen Qiang looked at him like he was an idiot. “You actually dared to compare yourself to Sister-in-law in Brother Chen’s heart? You’re just asking for trouble.”  

“…” Zhou Fengshou let out two dissatisfied grunts. “I was just worried that Brother Chen might miss out on making money.”  

“Don’t worry.” Chen Qiang said. “In Brother Chen’s heart, making money still can’t compare to Sister-in-law.”  

“…” Zhou Fengshou was even more frustrated and roared angrily: “Then how dare you compare yourself to Brother Chen in my heart? You’re not even worth a fart!”

“You’re not even worth a pig or a dog in my heart!” Chen Qiang, unwilling to back down, cursed even more harshly.  

…  

After leaving Zhou Fengshou’s place, Shen Yiyi found a spot to remove her makeup. Then, she took out two pounds of pork belly, a slaughtered chicken, and fifteen pounds of lean meat from her storage space.  

Seeing Zhou Fengshou’s stash of dried vegetables earlier had suddenly reminded her that she needed to prepare some food in advance for the winter.  

As for staple foods, the team would be distributing grain in a few days, so there was no need to take any now.  

For vegetables, Li Chen had planted a large patch of cabbage and radishes in the backyard’s private plot. It was a bit monotonous, so she planned to ask Mother Li later if any families had grown other types of vegetables. She could exchange some items for them and dry a batch for storage.  

That only left the meat.  

By the end of the year, the team would also distribute meat, but a few pounds wouldn’t be enough to satisfy Shen Yiyi.  

Since she would be coming to the county again later, she planned to stock up in batches.  

The pork belly and chicken she took this time were meant for the next few days, while the lean meat would be made into jerky.  

She also considered whether she should take advantage of her free time to catch some small fish from the river—this way, she could make it seem like she had caught them naturally and then bring them back to make dried fish.  

It wasn’t a bad idea. After all, ever since the last time, her full-level fish-catching skills had already become widely known throughout the entire brigade.  

As these thoughts ran through her mind, Shen Yiyi reminded herself that there were many children at home, so she had to stock up on enough food. When winter came and she didn’t feel like going to town, at least the little ones wouldn’t have to survive on rough grains and pickled greens.  

When she arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative, she saw Li Chen waiting for her outside, just as expected. She jogged over and called out: “Brother Chen!”  

The moment Li Chen saw her, a smile appeared on his face. Noticing the heavy basket on her back, he reached out to take it from her. “Just finished writing the letter?”

“No!” Shen Yiyi pouted, looking displeased. “My mom’s letter hasn’t arrived yet.”  

“Then we’ll come back and check again tomorrow.” Li Chen comforted her.  

“Mm-hmm.” Shen Yiyi smiled. She was just about to wrap her arms around Li Chen’s when she noticed a young man with a red armband staring at them. She thought better of it and instead followed Li Chen into the supply and marketing cooperative.  

As they chatted, she said: “I had nothing to do earlier, so I went to the meat processing plant and bought some meat.”  

“Mm.” Li Chen responded, having already noticed that her basket was filled with meat.  

Inside the cooperative, the ration tickets Shen Yiyi had exchanged last time came in handy.  

She used them to buy a jar of snowflake cream, two pounds of egg cakes, and a can of malted milk powder.  

After shopping, the two of them headed to the scrap station, where they picked up a stack of picture albums and storybooks weighing nearly five pounds.  

Since the Three Baos and Li Chen all loved meat buns, Shen Yiyi made a trip to buy twenty of them. This time, she skipped the steamed buns.  

With that, they were just about done and ready to head home.  

On the way back, Li Chen, thinking the basket was too heavy, refused to let her carry it and instead slung it across his chest.  

Shen Yiyi sat sideways on the back seat of the bicycle as they rode toward home.  

She wasn’t sure if it was because Li Chen looked unusual riding a bicycle with a basket hanging from his chest or if it was simply because the two of them were such a strikingly good-looking couple, but they attracted quite a few gazes along the way.  

Whatever the reason, in a way, it was an indirect compliment to the man she had married. Shen Yiyi felt secretly proud.  

From her perspective, his broad back blocked her view of the road ahead, standing like a protective wall, giving her a deep sense of security.  

She had the urge to hug him, but since there were red-armband patrols frequently moving about in town, she didn’t dare act recklessly.  

However, the moment Li Chen pedaled into the entrance of Qingshui Village, Shen Yiyi no longer hesitated. She threw her arms around his strong yet lean waist.  

“Brother Chen~”  

Her voice was sweet and coquettish, and with her soft body pressed against his firm back, Li Chen…

Since that night, although they still moved to hold each other after the Three Baos fell asleep every night, Shen Yiyi had been so exhausted from chopping firewood in the mountains that she would fall into a deep sleep as soon as she clung to him.  

Li Chen was a man in his prime, and before, he could endure it. But now, having her in his arms every night yet unable to do anything further was driving him crazy. Even so, he felt sorry for her. Seeing how tired she was, he couldn’t bear to disturb her, so that matter never happened again.  

Now, with her teasing touch, he was instantly set ablaze. His voice turned hoarse as he asked: “What’s wrong?”  

Shen Yiyi didn’t notice his reaction. Images of the young couples they had passed by the cinema earlier floated in her mind, and she whined: “Next time, let’s go watch a movie together.”  

“Mm.” Li Chen’s Adam’s apple bobbed.  

Still unaware, Shen Yiyi continued: “Just the two of us. No Three Baos.”  

“Alright!” Li Chen agreed.  

Shen Yiyi’s lips curled into a smile. Resting her cheek against his broad back, she suddenly nuzzled against him coquettishly.  

Li Chen’s entire body tensed instantly. Right here, in public, he had to suppress himself and remind her with great difficulty: “Wife, stop messing around.”  

His voice was deep and raspy, strikingly similar to the way he had sounded that night when he was overwhelmed with passion. Shen Yiyi finally realized something and felt her face heat up instantly.  

In front of the Three Baos, she was a gentle and composed mother, but with Li Chen, she couldn’t help but become a soft, coquettish little woman.  

Still, embarrassment was one thing—after all, they already had three children, so there was no need to be overly reserved.  

Sitting on the back seat of the bicycle, she had no way to lean into his ear on the old 28-inch road bike, which didn’t have rear footrests. Instead, she pressed closer against his back and whispered a single sentence.  

Her words floated into Li Chen’s ear with the wind, making the tips of his ears flush red.  

He responded in a deep, low voice: “Alright!”