Chapter 97

Shen Yuxuan was playing in the courtyard with the Three Baos, their laughter filling the air.  

Meanwhile, Shen Yiyi pulled Li Chen back into the house. As they changed the bedsheets and duvet cover in the small house, she teased with a mischievous smile: “Brother Chen, you’ll have to stay here with Shen Yuxuan for the next few days.”  

Li Chen neither agreed nor disagreed. He was not particular about such things, especially since the person in question was his brother-in-law. However—  

He wrapped an arm around his wife’s waist. “Then let me hold you for a while while we still have time!”  

So clingy!  

Shen Yiyi muttered under her breath. As she lifted her head, she accidentally bumped into his Adam’s apple.  

Li Chen paused for a moment, then lowered his head, his dark eyes locking onto her. He looked somewhat dangerous.  

Shen Yiyi smacked his hip and said playfully: “Stop right there! Don’t even think about it! Otherwise, you’re the one who’ll suffer!”  

Li Chen: “…”  

The thought of his mother-in-law and brother-in-law being in the house instantly deflated his mood. He rested his chin on her shoulder, his voice filled with suppressed frustration. “Wife~”  

Shen Yiyi cupped his face, gave him a quick peck on the lips, and then dashed away.  

Li Chen reached out to grab her hand but missed. “…”  

Shen Yiyi fled so quickly that she almost ran into Xiao Bao, who was about to enter. She skidded to a stop just in time and scooped him up. “Almost bumped into my little Xiao Bao!”  

Xiao Bao giggled happily.  

Shen Yuxuan looked at his sister curiously. “Why is your face so red?”  

“Red? Is it? I don’t think so.” Shen Yiyi put Xiao Bao down and patted her cheeks innocently.  

Just as Shen Yuxuan was about to move closer for a better look, he saw his eldest brother-in-law walk out of the house. In an instant, he understood everything and shot him a glare.  

Shen Yiyi smacked him on the head. “You’re just a kid! What are you thinking about?”  

“Huh?”  

“What did I think about?” Shen Yuxuan felt wronged. “I didn’t even say anything!”  

“But I saw you glare at your eldest brother-in-law!” Shen Yiyi insisted, though her argument lacked conviction.  

Huh?  

Just because he glared at his eldest brother-in-law, his sister thought she knew what was on his mind? Her thoughts were so dirty!  

Shen Yuxuan, who was just as dirty-minded as his sister, pulled the Three Baos along and stormed off angrily. As they left, Shen Yiyi overheard Er Bao “whispering” to his little uncle: “Little Uncle, don’t badmouth my dad in front of my mom. She won’t like it either!”  

“Then we’ll do it in secret!” Shen Yuxuan “whispered” back.  

Li Chen & Shen Yiyi: “…”  

That night, the sleeping arrangements were supposed to be as follows: Shen Yiyi, her mother, and the Three Baos would sleep in the main house, while Li Chen and Shen Yuxuan would stay in the small house, each with their own bedding.  

But somehow, Er Bao had cozied up to his little uncle and sneaked over to the small room as well.

The big one and the little one huddled together, making a ruckus.  

Under the covers, they whispered to each other—  

“Er Bao, are there any wild pheasants or game in the mountains here?”  

“There are! Little Uncle, do you want to go hunting?”  

“I do, but I don’t have a hunting rifle!”  

“I know who has one! I can borrow it, but you have to promise to take me with you, or I won’t get it for you!”  

“Deal!”  

Li Chen was kept awake by their hushed chatter. He turned over, sat up, and said: “Yuxuan, you want to go hunting?”  

Shen Yuxuan, who wasn’t particularly fond of him, replied reluctantly: “Yeah.”  

“I’ll go with you tomorrow.”  

Shen Yuxuan was about to say something, but Er Bao excitedly grabbed his hand and exclaimed: “Little Uncle, my dad is amazing at hunting! If he comes with us, we’ll definitely catch lots and lots of game!”  

“I’m amazing too.” Shen Yuxuan emphasized. He had trained in shooting and had excellent scores!  

But the little traitor, Er Bao, had already abandoned him, climbing over to his father’s side and eagerly asking: “Dad, if Little Uncle doesn’t want to go with you, can I go with you instead?”  

Li Chen glanced at Shen Yuxuan, then patted Er Bao’s head. “Go to sleep now, and I’ll take you tomorrow.”

“Yay!” Er Bao immediately lay down beside his father and obediently closed his eyes.  

Shen Yuxuan: “…”  

When it came to hunting, the more people, the better.  

So the next day, Li Chen called Li Dabin to join them, and Li Sanhong shamelessly tagged along as well. The group set out in a grand procession up the mountain.  

Shen Yiyi, her mother, and Xiao Bao didn’t go. Since the weather was cold, they chose to stay home.  

Mother Shen noticed that Shen Yiyi still had quite a bit of yarn in her wardrobe and asked: “What are you planning to do with all this yarn?”  

Shen Yiyi glanced at the extra yarn her mother had taken out. “I haven’t decided yet.”  

“Then I’ll decide for you.” Mother Shen said, taking the yarn out without hesitation.  

Curious, Shen Yiyi asked: “Mom, what do you want to do with it?”  

“I’m going to knit a sweater for Li Chen.” Mother Shen replied as she smoothed out the yarn. But as she spoke, her tone grew irritated. “Look at you! You say you want to live well with Li Chen, but marriage is about mutual care and understanding. If he treats you well, you should treat him well too. Do you understand?”  

“Huh?”  

Shen Yiyi felt completely wronged. “How am I not treating him well?”  

“You dress so nicely yourself, yet you let Li Chen wear such ragged clothes. Is that what you call treating him well?” Mother Shen huffed.  

“What ragged clothes…” Shen Yiyi’s mind suddenly flashed to the sweater Li Chen had worn this morning—the one she had knitted for him. She was momentarily speechless.

Mother Shen thought Shen Yiyi’s silence was an admission of guilt and was about to start lecturing her again.  

“What do you mean ‘ragged clothes’? I just knitted that for him this year, okay?” Shen Yiyi retorted.  

Though it wasn’t well-made, it wasn’t that bad, right?  

Mother Shen nodded and continued to twist the knife. “Oh, so you made it. No wonder.”  

“…” Shen Yiyi fell silent. “Fine, fine! You knit it then! Hurry up!”  

Mother Shen chuckled behind her back and sat down on the heated brick bed to start knitting.  

With nothing to do, Shen Yiyi picked up a book to read, while Xiao Bao sat beside her flipping through a picture book.  

Mother Shen noticed and found it surprising. “You’re actually reading?”  

By now, it was already the end of 1973, with almost four years left until the college entrance exams resumed. Since Shen Yiyi had time on her hands, she would read whenever she had a chance.  

But she couldn’t explain it to her mother too clearly, so she simply said: “Mom, learning never stops.”  

Fine, learning never stops!  

Mother Shen nodded approvingly before asking: “What about the Three Baos? When are you sending them to school?”  

“Next September when the school year starts.” Shen Yiyi replied.  

Because Qingshui Village wasn’t too far from other villages, the commune had an elementary school, so the village never built one of its own. If the kids wanted to study, they had to go to the commune’s school.

Back in September, the Three Baos should have started school, but at that time, Shen Yiyi hadn’t returned yet, and Li Chen was busy with work, so there was no one to send them. As a result, their schooling had been put on hold.  

Technically, they could still enroll mid-year, but Shen Yiyi planned to teach them at home first. She wanted to make sure they mastered first-grade lessons so that when they started school, they could go straight into the second grade.  

Mother Shen nodded. As long as her daughter had a plan, that was enough.  

As they were talking, Mother Li arrived. Seeing Mother Shen knitting a sweater, she asked: “Why are you suddenly knitting a sweater?”  

“Oh, it’s for Li Chen.” Mother Shen replied. After spending time together the previous day, the two had grown familiar with each other and no longer spoke so formally. She then recounted how she had mistakenly thought Li Chen was wearing ragged clothes.  

Mother Li immediately defended Shen Yiyi. “In-law, you don’t know Yiyi well enough! She treats Li Chen very well. She would never let him wear tattered clothes!”  

“Yes, yes, yes.” Mother Shen agreed, but she couldn’t resist poking at her daughter again. “It’s just that her knitting skills aren’t great.”  

Mother Li covered her mouth and laughed.  

Shen Yiyi: “…”  

Noticing the large bag of yarn—more than enough for two sweaters—Mother Li’s hands started itching to knit as well. She volunteered to make one for Shen Yiyi and sat down, working on it while chatting with Mother Shen.  

From village gossip to the customs and culture of Beijing, their conversation flowed endlessly, as if they would never run out of things to talk about.  

Shen Yiyi: “…” She seriously suspected that her mother and mother-in-law weren’t actually interested in knitting sweaters for her and Li Chen—they just needed something to do while they chatted.