Chapter 39

“I will explain it to Dad and Mom.” Li Chen said, continuing to look at her with a focused and serious gaze. “You don’t have to worry. I will definitely stand by you and our Three Baos.”

After speaking, he resumed slicing the fish.

Shen Yiyi felt so touched that her heart melted into a puddle.

She looked at his clean and sharp facial features, his high nose bridge, and the thin lips beneath it.

Suddenly, an intense desire surged within her—a desire to get close to him.

Li Chen sensed that she hadn’t left. He lifted his head to look at her, as if asking what else she wanted.

Shen Yiyi encouraged herself in her heart—just once! A quick kiss and then run away.

Just as she was about to make her move, a sudden voice rang out from behind—

“Dad! Mom!”

The unexpected sound startled Shen Yiyi so much that she trembled slightly.

She turned around and saw Er Bao, who had just finished bathing and changed into new clothes, running toward them with excitement.

Er Bao beamed. “Mom, do my new clothes look good?”

Shen Yiyi: “…”

She stood up, forcing a smile. “Yes, yes! Er Bao looks the best!”

She repeated her response hastily, too flustered to even glance at Li Chen. Then, as if escaping, she fled the scene.

Er Bao watched his Mom’s retreating figure with confusion. Seeing how fast she ran, he assumed she must have needed the restroom urgently. So, he called out: “Mom, the toilet is not that way!”

Shen Yiyi nearly stumbled.

Er Bao then turned to his Dad, expecting some praise. However, all he saw was his Dad’s cool and indifferent gaze.

Sensing something was off, Er Bao quickly turned around and ran back to find his older and younger brothers.

Li Chen… was thinking—had she just tried to kiss him?

It seemed like it… but also not quite?

Conflicting thoughts wrestled in Li Chen’s mind.

His gaze burned as he fixed it on Shen Yiyi’s retreating figure, a thousand thoughts swirling in his head.

Shen Yiyi… pretended to be calm, grabbed some hot water, and went for a bath.

After Shen Yiyi finished bathing and came out, Li Chen had already sliced all the fish and even cleaned the pot.  

She took the seasonings and marinated the fish. Remembering the jars of pickled vegetables she had seen at the Chen family’s house earlier, she handed three eggs to Er Bao and told him to exchange them for a head of pickled mustard greens.  

Er Bao returned quickly. Lin Daniu had given him a whole plateful, along with a generous amount of dried chili peppers.  

Shen Yiyi chopped some of the pickled vegetables, dried chilies, and scallions, along with ginger and garlic, into fine pieces for later use.  

Then, she heated oil in the pot, added the scallions, ginger, and garlic, and fried the fish bones and fish head until golden brown. She poured in water, and once it boiled, she added the pickled vegetables and seasonings, letting the soup simmer until it thickened. She then fished out the pickled vegetables and fish bones and placed them in a clean, large aluminum basin.  

Next, she added the fish slices to the pot. Once they were cooked through, she poured everything into the aluminum basin, sprinkled Sichuan peppercorns and dried chilies on top, and drizzled hot oil over it. The rich aroma instantly filled the air.  

The Three Baos stared eagerly at the dish, even Li Chen, who was tending the fire, couldn’t help but swallow his saliva.  

She had cooked two whole fish with pickled vegetables, filling the aluminum basin to the brim.  

Tonight’s dinner would be a single dish—pickled fish soup.  

After bringing it to the main hall, Shen Yiyi asked Li Chen to call Father Li and Mother Li over for the meal.

Er Bao, excited about his new clothes and wanting to show off in front of Tiezhu, insisted on going along. Xiao Bao followed his second brother.  

Da Bao stayed behind to help his Mom serve the rice.  \

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Meanwhile, over at Old Li’s family, the atmosphere was heavy and somber.  

Earlier, after being rejected by Shen Yiyi, Li Tiezhu had run home crying with Goudan. When they discovered that Jiang Ailing wasn’t at home, they went crying to the fields to find her.

He only recounted parts of the story, omitting the fact that he had bullied the Three Baos. Instead, he complained that Second Aunt-in-law had caught a lot of fish and given them to He Weidong’s family but refused to share with him and Goudan.  

Upon hearing that Shen Yiyi had treated them differently, Jiang Ailing flew into a rage and went straight to Father Li and Mother Li to lodge a complaint.  

Father Li and Mother Li were doubtful but, out of a desire to protect their own family, told Jiang Ailing to keep quiet about it.  

However, Jiang Ailing felt that they were siding with Shen Yiyi, which infuriated her even more. She burst into tears right there in the fields, loudly lamenting her grievances.

As a result, the whole village quickly learned that Shen Yiyi had caught a lot of fish today.

For a moment, everyone’s expressions became rather complicated.  

After last night’s incident, when Shen Yiyi had fiercely confronted Wang Yan, the entire village had come to realize that Shen Yiyi’s family was well-off. Some admired her, while others were envious.  

Naturally, the envious ones started to spread rumors, claiming that Shen Yiyi had taken communal resources for herself.  

Wang Yan was also present. Last night, because of Shen Yiyi, she hadn’t gotten any wild boar meat and had been scolded by her Mother-in-law upon returning home. She harbored quite a bit of resentment toward Shen Yiyi.  

Initially, she had planned to join the others in criticizing Shen Yiyi, but when she heard that Shen Yiyi had actually given her son a whole fish, she was overjoyed! In an instant, she cast aside all grievances from the previous night and started defending Shen Yiyi—  

“It’s just a few fish, isn’t it? Whose family hasn’t caught some before? Has your family never caught any? Or maybe his family hasn’t? Why didn’t you call it ‘taking communal resources’ back then?”  

“I remember the village chief catching two fish some time ago, didn’t he? Oh, and the Brigade Leader—his son caught one just a few days ago! Are you saying they were stealing public resources too?”  

“Come on now, there aren’t many fish in this river to begin with, and for years, it’s been understood that whoever catches them gets to keep them. Li Chen’s wife caught them, so naturally, they’re hers! Why should she have to share them with you?”  

“Besides, you lot still have wild boar meat hanging at home, thanks to her! And now you’re eyeing her fish too? Have you no shame?”  

On and on she went…  

Wang Yan, being the most notorious gossip in Qingshui Village, had an exceptionally sharp tongue. She left the accusers speechless.  

The Brigade Leader, who had initially come over to scold the crowd for causing a scene, silently walked away after hearing Wang Yan’s argument.  

The others, recalling the wild boar meat in their homes, awkwardly fell silent, no longer daring to speak up.  

And just like that, Wang Yan won a verbal battle. Feeling immensely pleased with herself—and even more excited at the thought of having fish for dinner—she worked extra hard that day. She was so motivated that she even finished her tasks ahead of schedule.  

Heh, she was going home to cook some fish!

Jiang Ailing watched Wang Yan sprinting home with excitement, her face turning red with anger. In that moment, she unilaterally declared that the friendship she had just established with Wang Yan yesterday was now completely over.  

Even after returning home from work, she was still fuming. No matter what she did, she was full of impatience and frustration.  

Mother Li couldn’t hold back and scolded her a few times.  

Although she also felt that the second household had acted unfairly in this matter—  

Keeping all the fish for themselves was one thing; Mother Li wouldn’t have cared. But catching fish and giving them to outsiders while not sharing any with their own nephew? That, in Mother Li’s eyes, was unacceptable.  

However, no matter the issue, it should have been handled within the family. Jiang Ailing had made a huge mistake by publicly stirring up trouble against Shen Yiyi in front of everyone.  

If the accusation of privately hoarding communal resources had really stuck, wouldn’t that have implicated the whole family?  

This only fueled Jiang Ailing’s anger further. As the aroma of fish wafted in from next door, she sneered and said to Li Sanhong: “You treat them as your elder brother and sister-in-law, but they clearly don’t see you as a younger brother. From now on, just pretend you don’t have a second brother or second sister-in-law. From now on, we go our separate ways. They shouldn’t expect to get anything from me ever again!”  

Mother Li snapped: “Jiang Ailing, that’s enough! They don’t owe you anything. Besides, what do you even have to give them?”  

“Mom!” Jiang Ailing’s face turned pale. She was about to argue back when—  

“Grandma!”  

A voice interrupted her.  

At the doorway stood Er Bao. Jiang Ailing turned toward him, already annoyed.  

Her gaze swept over his hands—empty.  

Based on the past two days, Er Bao showing up usually meant he was bringing meat for Father Li and Mother Li. But now, seeing his empty hands, Jiang Ailing immediately assumed that Shen Yiyi had finally stopped sending meat to even the elders.  

She sneered sarcastically: “That’s right, I might not have anything good to give her, but even when she does have something good, she wouldn’t be willing to share with you—”  

Before she could finish, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a tall man standing at the doorway, holding Xiao Bao in his arms.  

Her words instinctively got stuck in her throat.  

Then, unexpectedly, she choked on her own saliva and started coughing violently.

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T/N: You deserve it!

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