Chapter 68

During the meal, Mother Li barely picked up any food for herself. Shen Yiyi couldn’t bear to watch and asked Da Bao and Er Bao to give her some.

Mother Li repeatedly said: “That’s enough, that’s enough.” yet she still glanced at Shen Yiyi’s expression, as if she were an evil daughter-in-law who refused to let her mother-in-law eat.

Shen Yiyi quickened her pace in eating. When the Three Baos had also finished their meal, she said: “Mother is going back to the room to write a letter to your maternal grandparents. Do you want to come with me?”

To the Three Baos, the term “maternal grandparents” was still very new. But from their mother’s descriptions, they had already formed an image of kind and benevolent elders.

Hearing that their mother was going to write a letter to their maternal grandparents, the Three Baos became excited. “Mother, can we write a letter to them too?”

“Of course. But do you know how to write?”

“No…”

“Then tell me what you want to say, and I’ll write it down for you. How about that?”

“Okay!” The Three Baos, who had been slightly downcast, instantly became enthusiastic.

They were even more eager than their mother, each grabbing one of her hands and pulling her toward the room.

Now, only Li Chen and Mother Li remained in the main hall. Li Chen reached out and moved the dishes closer to Mother Li. “You can eat now, right?”

Mother Li, realizing her thoughts had been seen through, coughed awkwardly and asked in a low voice: “Second Son, do you think if I stay at your place, your wife will be unhappy?”

“She won’t.” Li Chen replied, gesturing toward the table. “If she really didn’t want you to come, she wouldn’t have cooked so much food.”

Mother Li let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good, that’s good.”

“So, you should also treat my wife better. If you treat her well, she will treat you well too.” Li Chen glanced at his mother, this time with a hint of warning. “My wife has her own way of doing things. She has never mistreated you or Father, and she treats me and the Three Baos wholeheartedly. Don’t be foolish and let others provoke you into making trouble for her.”

“I absolutely did not.” Mother Li immediately denied, almost raising her hand to swear. “I was also furious about what Third Daughter-in-law said today. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have hit her.”

“Mm.” Li Chen responded.

Since he had never been close to her since childhood, he didn’t know what else to say after that. Instead, he gestured toward the food on the table. “Eat. There’s still rice in the pot.”

“Alright.” Mother Li replied. She was much more at ease when she was alone with her son.

After finishing the meal, Mother Li took it upon herself to do the dishes.

Li Chen then went back to the room to find his wife.

Inside, Shen Yiyi had already finished writing the letter. When she saw Li Chen enter, she called out to him: “Brother Chen, do you want to say something to Mom and Dad?”

Mom and Dad…

She wasn’t referring to her parents.

Li Chen’s lips curved up slightly, but he also felt a bit nervous. “I… What should I say?”

“Dad is a fool.” Er Bao seized the opportunity to tease his father immediately. “Just say whatever you want to say! Do you even need to ask?”

After speaking, Er Bao even looked around for support. He turned to his older brother. “Big Brother, don’t you agree?”

Da Bao glanced at him and defended their father. “Dad is not a fool.”

Er Bao: “…”

“Dad is a fool!” Xiao Bao, seeing that his second brother looked disappointed, quickly echoed him.

Unfortunately, he was too young for his words to hold much weight. Er Bao merely gave him a perfunctory smile.

Xiao Bao pouted and changed his stance. “Dad is not a fool!”

Li Chen: “…”

His second son really needed a good scolding one of these days.

“Hurry up!” Shen Yiyi poked him with the pen, her brows raised mischievously. Her teasing expression was enough to make one’s teeth itch with frustration.

Li Chen, however, didn’t brush it off. He thought seriously for a moment before saying: “I want to tell Father and Mother that I will definitely take good care of you.”

“…” Shen Yiyi had intended to tease him, but instead, she ended up blushing furiously.

She shoved the pen into his hand. “You can read and write. Write it yourself!”

Li Chen had studied for a few years. After Shen Yiyi’s words, he really did pick up the pen and began writing, each stroke slow and meticulous—

[Dad, Mom, this is Li Chen. First, I want to sincerely apologize to both of you. I married your precious daughter without informing you, and I haven’t contacted you all these years. I am truly sorry! But please rest assured, my feelings for Yiyi are genuine. I will love her and take good care of her. Please believe me!]

Shen Yiyi stood beside him, watching as he carefully wrote each word. Her eyes grew moist with emotion.

But then, Er Bao, the little troublemaker who couldn’t read, completely ruined the touching moment. He started counting on his fingers and smugly said: “Father, isn’t ‘I will definitely take good care of you’ just ten characters? Why did you write so much?”

After speaking, he even had an expression that said, I may not know how to read, but don’t try to fool me.

Li Chen: “…”

Shen Yiyi: “…”

At that moment, even Shen Yiyi, who spoiled her children endlessly, had the urge to give him a beating.

After sealing the letter, they found that Mother Li had also finished washing the dishes.

Not knowing how many days Mother Li would be staying, Shen Yiyi went next door to change the bedsheets and blankets. Mother Li watched from the side, her face full of gratitude.

Once everything was set up, they took a short afternoon nap. When they woke up, it was already close to two o’clock.

By then, Uncle Niu had returned after finishing his transport work and was ready to help Shen Yiyi move the grain.

In total, including Li Chen’s share, the grains they had bought, and the fine grains allocated by Chen Jiayi, they had gathered 380 jin of rice and 300 jin of wheat.

Li Chen’s portion of the grain remained untouched, reserved for their own consumption. As for the rest, Shen Yiyi planned to send 200 jin of rice and 200 jin of wheat to her parents.

In addition, she packed 10 jin each of the dried meat and dried fish she had previously prepared, intending to send them along with the grain to her parents.

There wasn’t much else to add.

However, what surprised Shen Yiyi was that after learning about this, Mother Li made a special trip back to Old Li’s Family and returned with 20 jin of dried vegetables and 20 jin of dried sweet potatoes. She smiled sheepishly and said: “It’s nothing special. I don’t know if the in-laws will like it, but these things are rare in the city. They might enjoy them just for the novelty.”

The gift was modest, but the sentiment was sincere. Shen Yiyi gratefully said: “Mom, thank you.”

“There’s no need to thank me. I haven’t even thanked you yet for saving me today.” Mother Li replied with a smile. “Go ahead. I’ll stay home and watch over the Three Baos.”

“Grandmother, we don’t need watching! We’re going to the city with Father and Mother too!” Er Bao ran out in a brand-new outfit, looking thrilled.

Inside, Da Bao had also changed into new clothes and was helping Xiao Bao get dressed.

Mother Li was taken aback. “The Three Baos are going too?”

“They’ve been clamoring to go for a while now. Since the sun isn’t too harsh today and we have an ox cart, we decided to take them along.” Shen Yiyi said helplessly.

“Then go ahead. I’ll stay home and look after the house for you.” Mother Li said.

Just as the family of five was about to set off, the door next door suddenly burst open with a loud bang.

Li Sanhong dragged a wailing Li Tiezhu outside. “You little brat! You made such a huge mistake, and you still don’t know what you did wrong? Then get out! Don’t come back until you figure it out!”