Chapter 74

Shen Yiyi returned to the big house. Three Baos and the others had not yet woken up.

After grabbing some clothes and changing, she went to wash up. Just as she was about to prepare breakfast, she suddenly heard a knock on the door.

She was puzzled.

Who would come visiting so early in the morning?

When she opened the door and saw the familiar face outside, she was genuinely startled—it was Zhou Fengshou!

She couldn’t help but touch her own face. Had she been exposed?

Clearly not.

Zhou Fengshou’s eyes lit up the moment he saw the young woman standing before him.

There was actually such a beautiful girl in Brother Chen’s house?

Was she his younger sister?

He blurted out: “Female comrade, hello.”

Shen Yiyi maintained a calm expression as she looked at him and nodded. “Hello, may I ask who you’re looking for?”

“I’m looking for Brother Chen, that is, Li Chen.” Zhou Fengshou said while looking at her, his face carrying a hint of embarrassment. “May I ask, are you Brother Chen’s younger sister?”

“She’s my wife!”

A cold and deep voice suddenly interrupted.

Shen Yiyi turned her head and saw that Li Chen had already dressed and come out. However, his expression was far from good—his face was so dark that it seemed ink could drip from it.

Shen Yiyi quietly glanced back and forth between Li Chen and Zhou Fengshou. Suddenly, she understood something.

So, the “Brother” Zhou Fengshou had mentioned last time… was actually Li Chen???

She wasn’t entirely sure yet, but this world was way too small!

Zhou Fengshou felt as if he had been struck by lightning on a clear day!  

Such a beautiful young woman was already married?  

As if to completely crush any last hope he had, a tender, childish voice suddenly called out: “Mom!”  

“Huh?” Shen Yiyi turned her head and saw Xiao Bao, freshly awake, walking out.  

She went over to straighten Xiao Bao’s crookedly worn clothes, then glanced at Li Chen and Zhou Fengshou before taking Xiao Bao by the hand and heading into the kitchen to prepare breakfast, leaving the space for the two men.  

Zhou Fengshou looked devastated, his face filled with disbelief. “She looks so young, and she already has a child?”  

“That’s right!” Li Chen smirked, though his eyes carried a warning. “Three, in fact! Two of them are already six years old, and they’re all mine!”  

“Do you still dare have thoughts about her?”  

That last sentence sent a shiver down Zhou Fengshou’s spine, instantly extinguishing any lingering fantasies.  

The girl—no, the woman—was indeed beautiful, but she was his Brother Chen’s wife!  

Thinking about coveting Brother Chen’s wife?

Unless he had a death wish!  

He quickly distanced himself from the idea. “Brother Chen, what are you saying? That’s my sister-in-law! How could I possibly have thoughts about her? I couldn’t! I just didn’t expect Sister-in-law to be so young and beautiful. Brother Chen, you’re truly lucky! Hahaha!”  

Trying to appease Li Chen, he pulled out a large piece of meat from behind his back and offered it with a flattering smile. “Brother, have you had breakfast yet?”  

But that hefty chunk of meat didn’t even earn him a glance from Li Chen. Instead, Li Chen coldly gestured toward the bicycle parked in the courtyard. “The bike is over there.”  

His expression might as well have had the words “Hurry up and get lost” written all over it.  

Zhou Fengshou felt utterly frustrated. How could he have been so blind? A woman appearing in Brother Chen’s house so early in the morning—who else could she be but his wife?

No, how did he know that his Brother Chen’s wife would be this stunning? She looked like an eighteen-year-old girl, not at all like a mother of three!  

Zhou Fengshou felt secretly wronged. He hurriedly carried the meat over and hung it on the hook under the eaves, his tone full of flattery. “Brother, this is my offering for you and Sister-in-law.”  

He didn’t dare mention that, in reality, he had heard from Chen Qiang that Shen Yiyi’s cooking was exceptionally good, so he had conveniently brought two pounds of meat along, hoping to get a taste of her cooking.  

Li Chen cast him a cold glance.  

Zhou Fengshou forced a sheepish smile and quickly changed the topic to business. “Brother Chen, do you have any other ways to make money?”  

The thing Zhou Fengshou loved most in life was money!  

From selling that last batch of watches, he had made a huge profit of 800 yuan. That windfall had made him so ecstatic that he went to the city and splurged for a few days, even buying himself an Erba Dagang bicycle.  

But what interested Zhou Fengshou the most was making money!  

After a few days of indulgence, his itch to earn more kicked in again. So, using his bicycle ride back as an excuse, he came to discuss business with Li Chen.  

Coincidentally, this was something Li Chen had been contemplating over the past few days. He pondered for a moment before saying: “Right now, the production teams are distributing grain, and the members have a lot of food on hand. Most of the refined grain will be sold—some people will sell it to the grain stations and supply cooperatives, while others, hoping to make more money, will take it to the black market. We need to find a way to collect this grain.”  

“We collect it and then sell it at the county’s black market?” Zhou Fengshou asked.  

Li Chen shook his head. “With grain distribution happening, the authorities will definitely be cracking down on illegal grain trading. The black market won’t be safe during this time. We need to sell it somewhere else.”

Zhou Fengshou’s eyes lit up. He knew that his brother had connections to sell goods in big cities. “Then how much profit can we make per jin?”  

Li Chen replied: “Grain isn’t like watches. When we purchase it, the price will depend on the quantity—the more we sell, the higher the price we get; the less we sell, the lower the price. Since we haven’t finalized our costs yet, I can’t say exactly how much profit we’ll make. But one thing’s for sure—we won’t be losing money.”  

Zhou Fengshou nodded, half-understanding. If his brother said there wouldn’t be a loss, then there definitely wouldn’t be one!  

But he hesitated. “Brother Chen, you also said the black market isn’t safe. The people who want to sell grain will definitely be afraid of getting caught. They won’t act recklessly. So how do we even find these sellers?”  

They couldn’t just go from village to village asking people—that would be suicidal.  

Li Chen smirked. “How did you sell those watches before?”  

“I asked around to see which families had weddings coming up or looked for older bachelors who hadn’t gotten married yet…” Zhou Fengshou trailed off, suddenly looking at Li Chen in realization.  

Li Chen continued: “If they can’t sell grain at the black market but still want to sell it, they’ll have to find people who need grain. And the people who lack grain are city residents who rely on government rations. So they’ll secretly carry their grain to residential areas to sell.”  

Of course, these sellers would try to be discreet. That meant their ability to observe and identify them would be crucial.  

Zhou Fengshou grew excited. “That way, not only can we find them, but since they’ll only be selling small amounts, while we’re buying in bulk, that gives us an advantage.”  

He finally understood and now looked at his brother with starry eyes. As expected, following his brother meant there would never be a shortage of money to earn.  

Just then, Chen Qiang arrived.  

Zhou Fengshou quickly repeated everything to him, then concluded: “Brother Chen will handle selling the grain, and we’ll handle collecting it. Sound good?”  

The thought of making money again made Chen Qiang’s face light up with excitement. “Of course!”  

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Shen Yiyi was preparing breakfast. Her gaze occasionally drifted toward the three men outside.  

They had deliberately lowered their voices, so she couldn’t hear their conversation clearly. But from the fact that Li Chen had admitted to reselling goods, and that Zhou Fengshou was here, she could more or less guess what was happening.  

Her feelings were suddenly complicated.  

So in the end, her watch had somehow ended up in Li Chen’s hands?  

What kind of bizarre coincidence was this?

With mixed feelings, Shen Yiyi finished preparing breakfast and stepped outside to call the others. “Brother Chen, Qiangzi and…”  

Zhou Fengshou hadn’t had a chance to formally introduce himself yet, and Shen Yiyi had to pretend she didn’t recognize him.  

Without missing a beat, Zhou Fengshou quickly said: “My name is Zhou Fengshou, Sister-in-law.”  

The moment he finished speaking, he felt an intense death glare locking onto him. A shiver ran down his spine.  

“Fengshou.” Shen Yiyi smiled warmly, fully displaying the gentleness and kindness expected of a good sister-in-law. “Breakfast is ready. Why don’t you all eat first before continuing your conversation?”  

There was no way Zhou Fengshou dared to stay! Even though the rich aroma of food filled the air, making his empty stomach grumble loudly, he forced himself to decline.  

“No need, Sister-in-law! Actually, we’ve already finished talking, Sister-in-law! I’ll be heading off now, Sister-in-law! Goodbye, Sister-in-law!”  

He called her “Sister-in-law” extra loudly several times, as if to emphasize to his Brother Chen that he truly, really had no other intentions toward her.  

After blurting that out, afraid for his life, he hurriedly grabbed his lbicycle, jumped on, and sped away.  

Chen Qiang, watching this unfold, was dumbfounded.

Zhou Fengshou always acted arrogant in front of him, and he had never seen him so cowardly before. He turned to his Brother Chen and asked: “What’s up with him?”  

Li Chen let out a cold chuckle.  

Sensing danger himself, Chen Qiang rubbed his nose awkwardly.

He suddenly felt it would be wise to leave as well. Not daring to stay for breakfast, he quickly copied Zhou Fengshou and called out: “I’m off! Bye, Sister-in-law!”  

Shen Yiyi: “…”  

She turned to look at Li Chen.  

When Li Chen looked at his wife, his entire demeanor softened. He rubbed his nose and asked: “What’s wrong?”  

“Your friends are quite interesting.” Shen Yiyi remarked as she turned back toward the kitchen. After taking a few steps, she noticed he hadn’t followed. She glanced back at him with playful annoyance. “Not eating breakfast?”  

Li Chen immediately followed after her.  

As they walked side by side, Shen Yiyi casually inquired: “Brother Chen, are you close with that Zhou Fengshou?”  

“He’s alright.” Li Chen replied.  

“So, that business you’re doing…” Shen Yiyi asked: “you’re working with him?”  

Li Chen glanced at her, trying to figure out her intentions. Did she want him to continue, or did she want him to stop? He couldn’t tell. But he still answered honestly: “Yes.”  

Shen Yiyi had already made some calculations in her mind. Without revealing her thoughts, she probed further. “And what exactly are you selling? How do you sell it? Can you explain it to me in detail?”