Chapter 56 : Where did the chicken come from?

Zhou Tingyue knew he was in the wrong and looked at her with gentle eyes. It was clear that he felt even more remorseful and guilty than she did.  

Forget it. Song Shiwei didn’t want to argue with him anymore. However, she was determined to have a proper discussion with him about how to educate the children in the future.  

Fortunately, Zhou Tingyue had controlled his strength well. Aside from the redness, swelling, and bruises from the beating, Zhou Cheng’s bones were unharmed.  

Song Shiwei carefully massaged away the blood bruises and only left after watching Zhou Cheng fall into a deep sleep.  

Back in her room, she looked at the red hair ornament in the box and couldn’t help but feel sad.  

When Zhou Tingyue walked in, the first thing he saw was her red-rimmed eyes like a little rabbit’s filled with sorrow and guilt.  

His heart clenched, and he walked over, gently holding her small hand in his.  

“I’m sorry about today. I didn’t expect Zhou Cheng to be such a thoughtful child. Since we got married, I haven’t even given you a proper wedding banquet. Do you blame me?”  

Song Shiwei shook her head.  

Back in Beijing, Shen Xiu’e had told her that due to time constraints, there hadn’t been a chance to hold a wedding banquet, and they could make up for it after the Chinese New Year when Zhou Tingyue returned from his annual leave.  

So, she had never taken it to heart.  

After all, her only thought back then was to leave Beijing as soon as possible, get married, stay away from the storyline, and distance herself from the male and female leads.  

So, after getting the marriage certificate, she had simply followed him here.  

But unexpectedly, Zhou Cheng had remembered.  

Thinking about what had happened today, Song Shiwei held the hairpin tightly and began crying again.  

This hair ornament wasn’t brand new, nor was it expensive, but in her heart, it was the most precious and beautiful hair ornament in the world.  

Seeing her cry, Zhou Tingyue panicked and hurriedly wiped away her tears.  

“Don’t cry. If you’re really upset, why don’t you hit me, scold me, or… bite me to vent your anger? Just don’t hurt yourself by being mad!”  

As he spoke, he raised his arm and placed it near her mouth.  

Song Shiwei looked at his tanned arm, hardened by years of training, and without hesitation, bit down.  

She used a lot of force, as if pouring all her frustration and anger into that one bite.  

Yet, Zhou Tingyue didn’t even flinch. Instead, the corners of his lips curled up slightly.  

It seemed that as long as it made her feel better, it didn’t matter what happened to him.  

Song Shiwei looked at him helplessly and let go.  

“I bit you so hard, why are you still smiling?”  

Zhou Tingyue smiled softly, gently stroking her hair, his eyes filled with tenderness.  

“It doesn’t hurt at all. As long as you’re happy, I’m happy.”  

Song Shiwei truly didn’t know what to do with him.  

She handed him the box in her hands.  

“Can you help me put it on? I’ve never worn a hair ornament before…”  

Zhou Tingyue’s heart ached at her words. He was already on his second marriage and nearly ten years older than her. She was still so young…  

In the end, he was the one who had let her down.  

With the utmost care, he placed the hairpin in her hair.  

Song Shiwei’s hair was long, black, and silky smooth. The red hairpin against her dark locks made her fair skin look even whiter like a delicate red plum blossom blooming in the cold winter. She was breathtakingly beautiful.  

For a moment, he was completely entranced.  

Song Shiwei touched the flower in her hair, then looked up at him with a smile. “Does it look good?”  

Zhou Tingyue snapped out of his daze and quickly nodded. “It looks amazing. You’re beautiful.”

It was so beautiful that it touched his heart. He just wanted to keep this moment to himself, to hide this breathtaking sight so no one else could see it.  

After wearing the hairpin for a while, Song Shiwei asked Zhou Tingyue to help her take it off and carefully put it away.  

“I’ll wear it when we go back home for the New Year and hold our wedding banquet!”  

Zhou Tingyue’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed.  

“Alright!”  

After the incident with Jiang engqin, it was already noon.  

There weren’t many vegetables left at home except for a few pickled goose eggs, and all the fresh produce Zhou Xiaoyan had sent had already been eaten.  

Song Shiwei simply took out two yuan and handed it to Zhou Tingyue. “Go to the service counter and see if there’s any meat left. Buy some so we can make dumplings for the children!”  

As long as she made a request, Zhou Tingyue would always agree. He nodded, took the money, and left without a word to buy the meat.  

Qilian Island was a remote place, and meat wasn’t available every day. Whenever it was, people would rush to buy it.  

She wasn’t sure if Zhou Tingyue would be able to get any.  

Sun Meimei and her friends had told her that besides buying vegetables from the service counter, they could also take a boat to the county town across the water or visit the larger market on the island.  

The big market wasn’t held daily only twice a month, in the middle and at the end.  

The vendors were local villagers selling their homegrown produce, poultry, and crops. If lucky, one could even find meat from a deceased farm ox being sold by the production team!  

Pork and goat’s milk were available only occasionally.  

Even baby chicks and ducklings were sold there.  

Song Shiwei had wanted to go for a long time, but she hadn’t known about it at first and had missed the mid-month market. Luckily, the end-of-month market was just a few days away. She planned to ask Sun Meimei to take her along.  

She wanted to buy some chicks to raise, and if she was lucky, she might even find some beef and goat’s milk for the children!  

Of course, that was a plan for later.  

For now, she remembered there was still some brown sugar and red dates at home, along with two leftover eggs from last time.  

Since she had some free time, she decided to make brown sugar steamed cakes for the children.  

Brown sugar steamed cakes were soft, sweet, and delicious, and they also helped replenish blood.  

Brown sugar was rich in nutrients, provided quick energy, and had a high absorption rate. Besides sucrose, it also contained small amounts of iron, calcium, carotene, and other beneficial elements.  

Not to mention the benefits of red dates.  

The children were in a crucial growth phase and needed as much nutrition and trace elements as possible.  

She poured some warm water into a bowl and pinched in a bit of yeast, this was the yeast she had previously borrowed from Sun Meimei.  

Then, she added brown sugar and stirred until it fully dissolved.  

Next, she mixed in flour and eggs.  

Just then, Zhou Xinxin ran over, curious about what she was making.  

“Mom, what are you doing?”  

Song Shiwei smiled, picked up a small piece of brown sugar, and placed it in her daughter’s mouth. “I’m making brown sugar steamed cakes for you!”  

Zhou Xinxin’s eyes curved into crescents as she savored the sweetness.  

“It’s so sweet! What’s brown sugar steamed cake?”  

Song Shiwei smiled mysteriously. “Just wait until Mom finishes making it. I promise it’ll be sweet and delicious!”  

“Yay! That sounds amazing!”  

Zhou Xinxin cheered excitedly and ran off to share the good news with her brothers.  

Meanwhile, Song Shiwei placed the bowl near the stove to let the dough ferment until it doubled in size before steaming it.  

At that moment, Zhou Tingyue returned home.  

But instead of bringing back pork, he was holding a freshly plucked chicken!  

Song Shiwei was stunned.  

Pointing at the chicken, she asked in surprise, “Where did the chicken come from? Didn’t I ask you to buy pork?”