Chapter 14

Shen Yiyi carried a basket full of firewood on her back. At Da Bao and Er Bao’s persistent request, she gave them each a few sticks, tying them into two separate bundles for them to carry.

Xiao Bao held one stick in his hand, hopping and skipping behind his two older brothers, while Shen Yiyi walked at the very back, watching over them.  

When they returned to the village, most of the people were still out working and had not yet come back. Only a few elderly, weak, or disabled individuals remained, some sitting at their doorsteps, curiously watching as Shen Yiyi and the children passed by.  

Shen Yiyi usually kept her distance from the villagers and rarely participated in chores or casual conversations. Her poor relationship with Li Chen and her neglect of the children were well known to everyone.  

Now, seeing her out and about with the children was as if they had spotted some rare and exotic creature.  

Of course, the villagers themselves did not take the initiative to greet her. However, the Three Baos were exceptionally sweet-mouthed, calling out greetings such as “Grandpa Wang.” “Grandma He.” and “Auntie Zhang” whenever they saw someone.  

Naturally, the Three Baos were well-liked, and the villagers responded with warm smiles, greeting them kindly in return.  

Shen Yiyi noticed this, her lips curling into a faint smile.

If she met someone’s gaze, she would nod in acknowledgment and offer a greeting as well.  

This clearly took some of the villagers by surprise. An elderly person, seeing this, kindly asked: “Da Bao’s Mom, taking them to collect firewood?”  

“Yes.” Shen Yiyi responded pleasantly, easily slipping into conversation. “Have you started cooking?”  

“It’s on the stove. You haven’t cooked yet, have you?”  

“Not yet, but I’ll start as soon as we get back.” Shen Yiyi said with a smile, glancing back at the children as she spoke.  

The villagers watched them leave with expressions of curiosity. Zhang Xiaolan, still uncertain, asked: “That’s Li Chen’s wife, right?”  

“You just called her Da Bao’s Mom—who else could she be if not Li Chen’s wife?”  

Zhang Xiaolan rolled her eyes. “It’s just such a big change, I can’t believe it. Wasn’t she fighting with Li Chen for a divorce?”

“Probably won’t end in divorce.” someone said.

“When I brought water to my husband this afternoon, I heard from Wang Yan that Da Bao’s Mom cooked mung bean porridge and took some to Li Chen, as well as to his parents. Madam Li even said that Da Bao’s Mom had come to her senses and promised to live well with Li Chen from now on.”  

“Really?”  

“Why would I lie to you?”  

The crowd shook their heads, not entirely convinced.  

Regardless of whether they believed it or not, Shen Yiyi had already arrived home.  

She set down the basket, sent the Three Baos to wash their hands, and then unloaded the firewood. She also retrieved some from her personal stash and mixed it in with the pile she had gathered earlier, making it difficult to tell how much had been added.  

Once that was done, she fetched some water and set it to boil. She scalded the chicken and had just finished plucking its feathers when she saw Li Chen returning. Surprised, she asked: “You’re done with work so early?”  

Her expression did not seem particularly pleased, which dampened the urgency that had pushed Li Chen to hurry home. His pace slowed slightly as he nodded.  

Glancing around, he immediately noticed that the courtyard was noticeably cleaner than before. He paused for a moment, then spotted the chicken in her hands and frowned. “Where did the chicken come from?”  

“Dad, it’s a wild chicken!” Before Shen Yiyi could answer, Er Bao eagerly spoke up. “Mom found it, and I caught it!”  

Er Bao looked expectantly at Li Chen, hoping for praise, but Li Chen did not seem impressed. “You went up the mountain?”  

Shen Yiyi thought he was concerned about the dangers of taking the children into the mountains, so she quickly explained: “We only stayed at the foot of the mountain to gather some firewood.”  

“Is there no firewood left at home?” Li Chen frowned. He distinctly remembered that there should have been enough for at least ten more days. He had calculated it carefully—by then, the autumn harvest would be over, and he would have time to gather more.

“It’s not that we’re out of firewood, but winter is approaching, so we need to stock up more.” Shen Yiyi explained.  

“You don’t need to do that. Once the autumn harvest is over, I’ll go gather more.” Li Chen said as he stepped forward. “Let me handle it.”  

Shen Yiyi wanted to argue that she was capable of collecting firewood, but seeing that he was already reaching to take over her task, she decided to drop the subject for now. Instead, she said: “No need, you’ve been working all day. Go and rest—”  

“I’m not tired.” Li Chen interrupted, directly taking the knife from her hands.  

Worried that they might accidentally hurt each other over the knife, Shen Yiyi refrained from fighting him for it. Just like that, Li Chen naturally took over her work.  

Well, fine. The feathers were already plucked anyway. The chicken was certainly quite plump, but if he asked about it, she would just feign ignorance and brush it off.  

Li Chen removed the chicken’s innards and looked at her. “How do you want to cook this?”  

“Use the innards for soup and cut the chicken into pieces for stir-frying.” Shen Yiyi instructed.  

Li Chen nodded and continued cleaning the innards.  

Since there was nothing else for her to do, Shen Yiyi left him to it.  

The Three Baos were playing in the courtyard. She entered the kitchen, set the rice to steam, and then went into her room. Quietly, she retrieved a package of dried mushrooms from her personal stash.  

She decided to use these for the soup tonight. After tearing off the packaging, she tossed the wrapper back into her space.  

After some thought, she also took out a few more packs of mushrooms, a bag of White Rabbit Creamy Candy, five kilograms of brown sugar, five kilograms of red dates, some salt, soy sauce, and two cans of malted milk.  

She didn’t take out any rice or flour since she had already done so in the morning.  

If Li Chen asked, she would just say it was sent by her maternal family. They often sent her things, sometimes in large packages, which she brought to her room. No one ever knew what was inside anyway.  

With that, she felt justified in taking out these supplies.  

Since there was still some time before dinner, Shen Yiyi mixed three small half-cups of malted milk and called the Three Baos over to drink.

The Three Baos sipped their malted milk with immense satisfaction.  

Xiao Bao, being a little foodie, smacked his lips and said in a soft, milky voice: “Mom, it’s sweet.”  

“Then I’ll make you a cup every day from now on, okay?”  

“Okay~” Xiao Bao responded enthusiastically. He then scooted closer to his eldest brother and asked: “Big Brother, isn’t it really sweet?”  

“It’s alright.” Da Bao replied. Seeing Xiao Bao staring longingly at the contents of his cup, he simply handed it over, allowing Xiao Bao to take a sip.  

Xiao Bao eagerly took a small sip from Da Bao’s cup.  

Er Bao, who had been watching, immediately became annoyed. “Xiao Bao, you greedy little thing! You already have your own, and now you’re drinking Big Brother’s too? Give it back to him right now!”  

Caught red-handed by his second brother, Xiao Bao could only grin sheepishly.  

Da Bao, however, scolded Er Bao: “Er Bao, how can you say that about Xiao Bao? He’s our little brother.”  

“But he has his own! You barely had any yourself, you can’t just spoil him all the time.” Er Bao argued, then shot an exasperated look at Xiao Bao. “You little glutton.”  

Xiao Bao, feeling wronged by his second brother’s words, huffed and lifted his own cup. “Big Brother, drink!”  

Da Bao sighed helplessly but still took a small sip from Xiao Bao’s cup to appease him.  

Watching the entire scene unfold, Shen Yiyi felt like her heart was about to melt.  

She then poured another half-cup of malted milk and brought it over to Li Chen. “Brother Chen, you should have some too.”  

The autumn harvest was exhausting; he needed proper nourishment.  

Li Chen had been quietly observing her the whole time. Naturally, he had noticed that she had taken out quite a few things, even making malted milk for the Three Baos. But he had not expected her to bring him a cup as well. A complicated mix of emotions stirred within him, and he refused: “I don’t need it.”  

“You do.” Shen Yiyi insisted. Seeing that his hands were occupied with cleaning the chicken’s innards, she directly lifted the cup to his lips, motioning for him to open his mouth. “I already drank half a cup, and the Three Baos each had a little as well. If we drink more, we won’t have room for dinner. If you don’t drink this, it’ll just go to waste.”