Chapter 28

Shen Yiyi was carried back to the bed and ordered by the four people- her husband and her three sons to lie down.

As she watched them bustling around, bringing her tea and water, she began to suspect—had she overdone it?

“Mom, are you still scared?” Da Bao’s eyes were red.

He had been the one who directly saw the wild boar charging toward them with Shen Yiyi, so he had cried the hardest and was the most frightened.

“I’m not scared, not even a little.” Shen Yiyi quickly comforted him.

Seeing his swollen, tear-streaked eyes, her heart ached terribly. She reassured him: “Don’t cry anymore, okay? See, Mom is safe now, isn’t she?”

“Mm!” Da Bao wiped away his tears with his sleeve, his small face filled with determination. “Mom, when I grow up, I’ll protect you!”

“Mm-hmm.” Shen Yiyi responded immediately.

Xiao Bao clumsily crawled up onto the bed and wrapped his tiny arms around his Mom’s waist. In his soft, childish voice, he declared: “Xiao Bao will protect Mom too!”

Just then, Er Bao rushed in from outside. “If only I had been there! I would have punched that wild boar and sent it flying! Hmph, let’s see if it dares to bully my Mom again!”

Shen Yiyi, who had been deeply moved to tears just a second ago: “…”

What was she supposed to do when she found this funny?

She couldn’t help but laugh as she pulled them out of the room, only to run straight into Li Chen, who was carrying a bowl of prepared malted milk.

Seeing her come out, he frowned. “Why are you out of bed?”

“It was getting a little stuffy inside…” Shen Yiyi felt a bit guilty, but since she had already told a lie, she had to follow through with it.

Li Chen paused for a moment before saying nothing more. He simply handed her the bowl of malted milk. “I made this for you. Drink it.”

“Alright.” Shen Yiyi grinned sheepishly as she accepted the bowl and took a sip.

Noticing Xiao Bao looking at her with big, expectant eyes, she crouched down and fed him a spoonful.

Xiao Bao shook his head. “Mom, you drink.”

“Mom can’t finish it all, let’s drink together.” Shen Yiyi said.  

Only then did Xiao Bao happily drink from her hand.  

After Xiao Bao finished, Shen Yiyi fed Da Bao and Er Bao one after another.  

Li Chen stood at the side, watching: “…” He was the only one left out.  

After finishing the malted milk, Shen Yiyi took a small stool and sat under the eaves, holding a nail clipper to trim their nails.  

Li Chen was a rather rough caregiver, rarely paying attention to such small details. If Mother Li noticed, she would help clip their nails, but if she forgot, the Three Baos would end up chewing them off themselves.  

At the moment, their nails were not very long, but there was black dirt hidden underneath them. They needed to be trimmed and cleaned.  

The Three Baos were very obedient, lining up one by one.  

Since Li Chen didn’t have to go to work, he grabbed a stool with a broken leg and sat under the eaves to fix it.  

The autumn sun set quickly, and the scorching sunlight gradually became warm and gentle.  

Outside, people began shouting that the wild boar had been butchered and asked each household to send someone to the threshing ground to collect their share of the pork.  

Wild boar meat was firm and had a strong flavor, which Shen Yiyi didn’t like.  

She actually didn’t want any. She had already bought big marrow bones and pig trotters today, enough for their family of five.  

However, if she didn’t go, people would surely gossip, so she decided to go and take some anyway.  

Li Chen was busy fixing another table, so Shen Yiyi took the Three Baos with her.  

The threshing ground was bustling with activity. Since it had been a long time since people had eaten meat, some even abandoned their fieldwork to come and claim their share first.  

By the time Shen Yiyi arrived with the Three Baos, the line for the meat had already formed into two long rows. Without hesitation, she took the Three Baos and joined the queue.

Everyone already had a general understanding of how the meat had come about. When they saw Shen Yiyi appear, their gazes flickered toward her, but no one greeted her. Given her usual proud and disdainful attitude, they didn’t feel the need to acknowledge her presence.  

Shen Yiyi didn’t bother trying to warm up to those who clearly didn’t want to interact with her. She simply offered a polite smile whenever she met someone’s eyes.  

But even this small gesture was enough to cause a stir.  

Those with good memories still recalled the arrogance she had when she first arrived in the countryside. She had been delicate and pampered, incapable of doing this or that. Even a small cut on her hand had sent her into a panic, screaming as if she were about to die, demanding to be taken to the town’s clinic.  

After marrying Li Chen, she had completely stopped working and looked down on the villagers. Unless absolutely necessary, she rarely interacted with them.  

The village was poor, but people still had their pride. Without any familial ties, no one was willing to flatter her. As a result, even when they encountered her, they typically ignored her.  

And now, she was smiling at them?  

The villagers were astonished.  

Shen Yiyi was well aware of her reputation in the village, but she also felt quite innocent in the matter. It wasn’t as if she could just tell them, “Sorry, everyone, it was all part of a script. I was just following the role I was given.”  

So, if she could repair her relationships with the villagers, that would be ideal. But if not, then so be it.  

The line moved quickly, and before long, it was Shen Yiyi’s turn.  

The village chief was the one distributing the meat. When he saw her, he greeted her with a smile and even gave her an extra five pounds of meat.  

The people waiting in line exchanged subtle, knowing glances.  

Noticing their reactions, the village chief spoke loudly: “If it weren’t for Li Chen’s wife, none of us would even be eating this wild boar meat. Let’s not forget she nearly lost her life because of it. Giving her an extra five pounds—don’t you think that’s only fair?”

As soon as the village chief spoke, many people felt that his reasoning made sense.

However, some remained dissatisfied. They believed that the wild boar had crashed into the tree on its own and that it was Chen Shan and the others who had carried it back from the mountain. Shen Yiyi hadn’t contributed any effort, so why should she receive so much meat?  

Qingshui Village had over ninety households and more than six hundred people. If the wild boar meat were distributed evenly per person, each would receive only about half a pound.  

Since it was harvest season, the village had agreed to allocate more meat to households with more laborers. Because of this, the amount of meat each family received varied depending on the number of able-bodied workers they had.  

For families with fewer strong laborers and more children, the amount of meat they received was already small. Now, with this additional adjustment, their share was reduced even further. It was only natural for them to feel resentful toward Shen Yiyi’s family.  

Old Li’s family was originally supposed to send Dahua, who stayed home to cook, to collect the meat. However, Jiang Ailing didn’t trust Dahua, thinking she was too young and naive—if the portion was cut short, she might not even notice.  

So, Jiang Ailing volunteered to come instead. Mother Li also felt uneasy letting Dahua go alone. Upon hearing that Jiang Ailing was going, she readily agreed.  

Jiang Ailing happened to be standing right behind Shen Yiyi in line. Seeing her in a difficult situation, she couldn’t help but gloat.  

Shen Yiyi, however, paid no attention to Jiang Ailing, nor did she concern herself with the looks of the others.  

After the village chief finished speaking, she said directly: “Village Chief, I didn’t contribute much effort. If we’re talking about the wild boar, the ones who did the most work were Comrade Qiang and the others who carried it back. Why don’t you give them more instead? As for our family, we’ll take the same share as everyone else.”  

The village chief immediately understood Shen Yiyi’s intention and broke into a smile.  

He had only suggested giving her an extra five pounds, and some villagers were already jumping in protest.

Now she had turned around and proposed that Comrade Qiang’s group receive extra portions, with a completely reasonable and legitimate argument.

Wouldn’t those unhappy villagers now be left wringing their hands in frustration?

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T/N: Imagine if there were 3-5 people who helped in carrying the wild boar, that’s like another 20 pounds. 😭

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