Chapter 103: The Couple’s Afternoon Conversation  

“Old man! Old man!” Mother Li’s suppressed voice carried an unmistakable excitement.  

Hearing her voice, He Zhaodi and Jiang Ailing couldn’t help but look over. However, Mother Li ignored them and went straight into the house.  

Father Li was squinting as he smoked his pipe. “What is it now?”  

“Da Bao is a little genius!” Mother Li clenched her fists in excitement.  

“What do you mean?” Father Li opened his eyes and looked at her.  

Mother Li recounted everything that had happened. Father Li was so thrilled that his pipe nearly fell to the ground. “R-really?”  

“Really!” Mother Li nodded fervently.  

Unlike Mother Li, Father Li had always believed that studying was valuable. Unfortunately, their family had never produced anyone good at it. Now, he couldn’t contain his joy and kept nodding. “Great! Great! In a few years, we might even have a worker-peasant-soldier university student in our family!”  

Mother Li’s eyes welled up with tears. “Yes, yes! If you ask me, Da Bao must have inherited it from Second Daughter-in-law. That’s why he’s so smart!”  

Because of Mother Shen, Mother Li already viewed Shen Yiyi with a layer of affection as if she were her own daughter. Now, she liked her even more!  

As she thought about it, Mother Li told Father Li about how their entire family was studying. Father Li kept nodding in approval. Then, he turned his gaze out the window and sighed: “Second Son really married the right Wife!”  

The earthen walls of the Li family home were not soundproof. Even though they had lowered their voices, He Zhaodi and Jiang Ailing outside still heard everything.  

Jiang Ailing curled her lips in disdain and turned to go back inside.  

He Zhaodi lowered her eyes slightly, hiding her disappointment.

Li Chen did not always stay at home; he often went out.  

Although the weather was freezing, Qingshui Village was not too far from the county town. Moreover, now that the family had a bicycle, traveling back and forth had become much more convenient.  

It had to be said that Mother Shen’s visit in her small car had indeed brought great convenience to Shen Yiyi’s family.  

Take the bicycle, for example—Shen Yiyi could have afforded one before. However, considering that her family was already living better than others and had even dug a well, buying a bicycle at that time would have definitely stirred up a lot of controversy. So, she had originally planned to delay the purchase.  

Now, although they didn’t need to buy a bicycle anymore, in the future, if they wanted to purchase other large items, they wouldn’t have to be overly cautious about it.  

Of course, this also caused Li Chen to bear quite a bit of gossip—accusations of “relying on his wife’s family” and being a so-called “phoenix man.”  

But Li Chen remained completely unfazed. He rode the bicycle gifted by his mother-in-law to town and back home without giving those nasty rumors a second thought.  

Naturally, no one dared to say such things in front of him.  

As for why Li Chen went out, it was, of course, to make money.  

Shen Yiyi roughly knew that he had acquired a lot of goods from elsewhere and was busy selling them.  

She didn’t interfere. It was too cold, and she was too lazy to go out. So, she didn’t use Old Hei’s identity to get him more supplies either.  

Half a month later, Li Chen returned with five hundred yuan and a bunch of ration tickets.  

Shen Yiyi rewarded him with a kiss. “Amazing!”  

Li Chen reached around to hold her neck, deepening the kiss.  

He had initially intended for it to be light, just a quick taste, but unexpectedly, he found himself unable to stop.  

When he finally pulled away, his breathing was a little heavy. He glanced around and asked: “Wife, where are Da Bao and Er Bao?”  

“They went out to play.” Shen Yiyi replied, holding onto him.  

As for Xiao Bao, he had caught a slight cold the night before. She had secretly taken some cold medicine from her personal stash and given it to him. Now, he was still sleeping.  

Li Chen had only one thought—there was no one to disturb them now.

“Wife~” Li Chen wrapped his arms around Shen Yiyi, his voice husky, his intentions unmistakable.  

“It’s broad daylight!” Shen Yiyi reminded him.  

“There’s no rule saying we can’t do this during the day.” Li Chen replied, his reasoning far from solid but his determination unwavering.  

Shen Yiyi was momentarily speechless, about to retort when Li Chen scooped her up and carried her to the next room. He even put on a serious act, whispering: “Wife, don’t talk yet. Don’t wake Xiao Bao. Let’s go next door to talk!”  

“…”  

Once they were in the next room, everything slipped out of Shen Yiyi’s control.  

They had never tried it during the daytime before. The sunlight filtering through the window, the thin walls that failed to muffle sound, and the constant possibility of Da Bao and Er Bao returning at any moment made Shen Yiyi both nervous and exhilarated. She kept urging Li Chen to hurry up.  

Li Chen hadn’t felt anything unusual at first, but her anxious excitement rubbed off on him, making him nervous too.  

But the more nervous he got, the longer he lasted.  

By the time it was over, Shen Yiyi, both exasperated and spent, smacked him. The fully satisfied man immediately began coaxing her: “Wife, next time I’ll earn even more money for you!”  

…?  

Since when did coaxing involve throwing money around?  

“You…” Shen Yiyi hit him again, laughing in disbelief. “Do you really think I care that much about money?”  

“Of course not.” Li Chen was quick to reassure her, though he couldn’t deny that his Wife always looked exceptionally happy when she received money. “But I still want to earn more for you!”  

“Hmph.” Shen Yiyi scoffed with a laugh, though the corners of her lips betrayed her amusement.  

She did like money. Who didn’t?  

But to her, money could always be earned. Li Chen, however, was one of a kind.  

“Brother Chen, I’m serious.” she said. “We already have more than enough to live comfortably for a long time. You don’t have to push yourself so hard.”

“No.” Li Chen shook his head. He knew his Wife was worried about him, but he said: “I like making money.”  

?  

Shen Yiyi looked up at him in surprise. In her impression, Li Chen had never been someone particularly obsessed with money. On the contrary, his material desires were quite low.  

Li Chen held her close and explained: “To be more precise, I don’t love money itself—I love the feeling of making money. It makes me feel like I have value, that I’m more than just some countryside man who only knows how to dig in the dirt for food.”  

Shen Yiyi hadn’t expected such an answer. She was momentarily stunned, her emotions difficult to put into words.  

Li Chen was an extremely capable person, far ahead of his time in both thinking and methods. That was why, in the future, he would become someone who could stand on equal footing with the “Son of Heaven’s Will”—the male protagonist of the novel.  

But right now, he was just an ordinary man, restricted by his family background and the era he was born into.  

“Brother Chen, don’t worry.” Shen Yiyi hugged him tightly. “You will never be just a countryside man digging in the dirt for food.”  

Li Chen curved his lips into a faint smile, knowing she was trying to comfort him.  

What he didn’t tell her was that, more than proving his own worth, what truly concerned him was the fear that she would be dragged down by him—forced to suffer a lifetime of hardship in the countryside because of him.  

What Li Chen didn’t know was that Shen Yiyi was already making her own plans in secret.  

Understanding his thoughts, she decided to reach out to him as Old Hei before the New Year.  

This time, she didn’t sell grain. Instead, she traded a large quantity of pork, cured meat, chicken, and a small amount of beef. In addition, she brought a huge supply of fabric. The final earnings? 8,000 yuan.  

As before, the transaction took place in the same abandoned house on the outskirts of the city. After collecting the money, Shen Yiyi dusted off her hands and left without looking back.  

Just like last time, she walked around the alleys of the city a few times before slipping into her personal space. Half an hour later, she emerged, her disguise removed.  

But this time, she didn’t go straight home.  

Instead, she took a detour and wandered around the city.