Chapter 13

Li Sanhong was speechless. “The family has already separated. Why should she bring you a bowl too?”  

“The problem is that Chen Qiang has one, but I don’t!” Jiang Ailing fumed. “Fine, I’m just your wife. If I don’t have it, then I don’t have it. But what about you? You’re Li Chen’s own younger brother, yet she gave one to Chen Qiang and not to you!”  

“Chen Qiang has a good relationship with my second brother, and he usually helps take care of the Three Baos. It’s not surprising that she brought him a bowl—”  

Before he could finish, Jiang Ailing cut him off. “And you don’t take care of the Three Baos? I do too!”  

“…” Li Sanhong wanted to say that he really didn’t.

Leaving aside the fact that he had four children of his own and barely had the energy, even if he spared some of his own food to help, Jiang Ailing would go mad if she found out.  

But he didn’t say anything and simply turned back to continue his work.  

Jiang Ailing was livid.  

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Meanwhile, on Shen Yiyi’s side, after everyone finished eating, they hurried back to the fields to continue working. Li Chen helped clean up the dishes before returning to the fields as well.  

Only when Shen Yiyi saw his figure once again buried in the golden rice fields did she take the little ones back home.  

The little ones were already exhausted, yawning endlessly before they even reached the house.  

Shen Yiyi was actually tired too. After getting home, she lay down with them and took a nap.  

When she woke up again, it was already past three in the afternoon.  

The Three Baos were still sleeping. Worried that they would sleep too much during the day and be restless at night, Shen Yiyi woke them up.  

The Three Baos were still drowsy, slowly sitting up from the bed while rubbing their eyes.

When they saw their Mom in front of them, they looked a little confused. Their large, black, grape-like eyes carried a hint of timidness as they gazed at her.  

Da Bao and Er Bao were twins, and the two looked almost identical—over ninety percent alike. However, they were easy to tell apart because Da Bao’s gaze was gentle and warm, while Er Bao was livelier and more mischievous. Just one look, and it was clear who was Da Bao and who was Er Bao.

Although Xiao Bao was not from the same birth as his two older brothers, he had inherited the same facial features from their Dad and bore a three-to-four-point resemblance to them.  

As Shen Yiyi gazed at them with affection, she couldn’t help but feel a tinge of jealousy. After all, she had carried them in her womb for ten grueling months—so why didn’t even one of them resemble her?  

Seeing the Three Baos still looking dazed and bewildered, Shen Yiyi waved a hand in front of them. “What’s wrong? Did one nap make you forget your own Mom?”  

“Mom?” Er Bao pouted, crawled over to her, and hugged her. “I thought such a gentle Mom was just a dream.”  

Da Bao also climbed over, wrapping his small arms around hers as he looked up at her. “Mom, are you really never going to change back?”  

They had asked this question more than once already, yet every time Shen Yiyi heard it, a wave of sorrow swept through her.  

She had truly been too awful in the past. Now that she had changed for the better, her children still lacked a sense of security.  

“I won’t.” Shen Yiyi hurriedly hugged her two eldest sons, who were already old enough to understand. “If you like me this way, then I will always be like this.”  

“Mm-hmm~” Da Bao and Er Bao nodded eagerly, burying their faces in her arms.  

Their Mom smelled nice, was soft, and was so gentle—they loved this version of her.  

Xiao Bao, still young and not as emotionally insecure as his two older brothers, saw that his Mom was hugging them but not him. Feeling left out, he squeezed in to get a hug as well.  

After the four of them shared this warm moment, Shen Yiyi urged them to get out of bed.  

Once they washed their faces, she planned to take them up the mountain to gather firewood.  

In the past, collecting firewood had been something Li Chen did whenever he found the time. But with the busy autumn harvest keeping him occupied from dawn till dusk, there was now barely any firewood left at home.  

Although what they had could last another ten days or so, winter would follow soon after the harvest. If they didn’t gather more, they would run out of fuel to burn.

Of course, Li Chen would never let their family go without firewood in the winter. Even if she didn’t gather any, he would make time to go up the mountain after the autumn harvest.  

But Shen Yiyi had come back because she wanted to live a good life with Li Chen. Even if she couldn’t help much with farm work, she would still do whatever tasks were within her ability.  

Since she had the children with her, she only gathered firewood at the foot of the mountain. She didn’t dare go any higher—what if they ran into a wild boar or a snake?  

Fortunately, every household was busy with the autumn harvest and had no time to collect firewood, so even the foot of the mountain had plenty of dry branches.  

The Three Baos were thrilled to be outside collecting firewood with their Mom. They were full of energy, running back and forth, picking up sticks and holding them in their arms before piling them together.  

Shen Yiyi didn’t restrict them. While gathering wood herself, she kept reminding them: “Watch where you’re going. Don’t go near the bushes—there might be snakes… Don’t run too far. Stay where I can see you… Da Bao, don’t carry so much at once. It’s too heavy—put some down first… Er Bao, you don’t need to go that far… Xiao Bao, stay close to your brothers or me…”  

Even Xiao Bao wanted to help, but he couldn’t carry much. So, he picked up one stick at a time, huffed and puffed his way back to the pile, put it down, then ran off to get another.  

Shen Yiyi couldn’t help but laugh at the sight. She carried a basket on her back, placing firewood into it as she collected it. In reality, she was storing it in her personal space and would secretly take it out once they got home.  

At the same time, she was already thinking about what to make for dinner.  

At noon, she had taken out five catties of cured meat and cooked two, leaving three catties. However, since cured meat was quite salty, she and Li Chen could handle it, but the Three Baos were still young and hadn’t eaten meat in a long time. They couldn’t resist indulging, and most of the meat had ended up in their stomachs.  

If they ate more of it at dinner, they might end up with mouth ulcers.

After some thought, Shen Yiyi glanced around, then closed her eyes and entered her personal space. She took out a chicken, deliberately injuring its leg before bringing it outside and tossing it onto the ground.  

Inside the space, the chicken remained static, but the moment it emerged, it suddenly “came to life.” clucking loudly.  

Shen Yiyi immediately shouted: “A wild chicken!”  

Hearing this, the Three Baos, who were busy gathering firewood, rushed over. They saw a plump chicken, and Er Bao, the fastest among them, lunged at it without hesitation.  

Since the chicken’s leg was injured, it couldn’t get far even as it flapped its wings. Within moments, Er Bao had caught it.  

“Mom! It really is a wild chicken!” Er Bao held onto the bird and shouted excitedly. Da Bao and Xiao Bao were just as thrilled.  

The chicken’s feathers were smooth and glossy, and it was so plump that it didn’t look like a wild chicken at all. But the Three Baos were too young to notice the difference.  

Shen Yiyi smiled as she took the chicken from Er Bao. “That’s right! I can’t believe how lucky we are. You three keep gathering firewood while I take care of the chicken. Tonight, we’ll have chicken for dinner.”  

“Okay~” The Three Baos’ eyes sparkled at the mention of chicken for dinner.  

As soon as they turned their backs, Shen Yiyi swiftly raised her knife and slaughtered the chicken. She then stuffed it into her basket, planning to clean and process it as soon as they got home.  

After all, Li Chen wasn’t as easy to fool as the Three Baos.  

Shen Yiyi originally wanted to look for some mushrooms, but after searching for a while without success, she decided to head back.  

The Three Baos had collected more firewood than she could carry. Since she couldn’t store it in her space in front of them, she led them to place the gathered firewood behind a dense tree.  

Of course, if someone happened to pass by, they might find it.  

But if it got taken, so be it. It was just a bit of firewood—they could always come back and gather more.