Chapter 17

“Then let me thank you first, Auntie.”

Smiling, Gu Keqing handed the two glass bottles of milk powder to Old Lady Chen before heading back to the Shen household.

After his cold-water bath, Shen Yan didn’t see his wife, so he went out to look for her.

Seeing her walking out from the yard across the way, he finally relaxed.

“Did you go to Old Lady Chen’s place?” Shen Yan asked in puzzlement.

“Mm, I went to give her grandson two bottles of milk powder. Neighbors should keep good relations,” Gu Keqing said, taking his hand as they walked back inside.

“She didn’t give you a hard time, did she?” Shen Yan knew all too well what the two families across the way were like and feared she might have been wronged.

“No, I gave her something—she was too happy to even think about making trouble for me,” Gu Keqing replied warmly, touched by his concern. “Shen Yan, you’re so good to me!”

“I’ll always be good to you,” Shen Yan said seriously, his dark eyes steady.

“You’re not allowed to lie! Even when I’m old and wrinkled, you’re not allowed to despise me!” Gu Keqing said playfully, wrapping her arms around his waist.

“I’m older than you; I’ll get old faster. I’ll be happy enough if you don’t despise me!” Shen Yan patted her head indulgently.

“That’s more like it!”

At this moment, feeling full of happiness, Gu Keqing was no longer as downhearted as she had been when she first arrived here.

Shen Yan cherished her, cared for her, earned money for her to spend, and even looked after her feelings.

In the materialistic 21st century, such men were practically an extinct species.

If they could live out their lives together in mutual support like this, it would truly be wonderful.

Glancing at the sky outside, Gu Keqing thought it was time to rest.

So she pulled Shen Yan onto the kang bed, beginning their “sleeping” session.

It wasn’t until the middle of the night that their “activity” finally ended.

…

Since Gu Keqing didn’t work, she always woke up late in the mornings.

By the time she woke up, it was nearly lunchtime.

Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she thought about going to ask her family members for their shoe sizes.

Then she’d take some cloth over to Old Lady Chen and have her make a few pairs of shoes.

She had bought plenty of fabric yesterday—enough for shoes and still more than enough to make clothes for the whole family.

Before she transmigrated into this book, Gu Keqing had been a super-rich second-generation heiress.

Her biggest daily worry was how to spend money.

But in this era, even though she had so many beautiful clothes and jewels in her grand space, she couldn’t wear them or show them off.

She was deeply frustrated.

She thought, if she couldn’t wear the jewels, then tomorrow she could take them to the black market and ask Liu Mangzi about them.

Maybe some rich lady in the provincial capital liked gemstone rings or diamond necklaces—she could sell a few pieces every now and then, and the money would flow in.

Thinking of this, her mood instantly brightened.

“Keting, are you home?”

Old Lady Chen’s voice came from the yard.

Gu Keqing quickly scrambled out of bed, put on her clothes, and slipped into her cloth shoes.

“Auntie, you’re here?”

Qi Zhiyun came out from the kitchen, smiling.

“I’ve brought Keting some homemade pickles, and I’ll take the shoe pattern back to make you a few pairs of cloth shoes,” Old Lady Chen said politely.

“Why, thank you, Auntie! I was just about to come find you,” Gu Keqing said with a bright smile, taking the bowl from her and stuffing two pieces of fabric into her hands.

“Auntie, I’m troubling you, but take this cloth and make a few little outfits for our nephew.”

“Oh my, I really can’t take this! You already gave me such expensive milk powder yesterday, and now you’re giving me fabric? I feel so embarrassed!”

Still, Old Lady Chen couldn’t help stroking the two pieces of cotton again and again, clearly delighted.

“If you don’t take the cloth, then I won’t take your pickles. Don’t treat me like an outsider,” Gu Keqing said with a squinting smile.

“Well… then thank you!”

Old Lady Chen left happily with the shoe pattern and the cloth.

Standing in the yard, Gu Keqing looked up at the blazing sun and thought how nice it would be to have an ice cream or a chilled watermelon.

Her eyes lit up, and she said to Qi Zhiyun:

“Sister-in-law, when I took the ox cart back from the city yesterday, an auntie gave me a watermelon. It’s in the house—I’ll go get it so we can have some at lunch.”

Summer was the perfect season for watermelon, and the ones in her space were improved varieties—big and incredibly sweet.

Not wanting to eat alone, she decided to take it out and share it with everyone.

“Great! When we take lunch to the fields later, we can send some to your big brother and the others too,” Qi Zhiyun said, increasingly impressed with her new sister-in-law.

Not only could she handle the most difficult old lady in the village, she also knew how to make money.

“Then I’ll go get it.”

Hopping away, Gu Keqing returned to her and Shen Yan’s room, slipped into her space, and picked a perfectly chilled watermelon.

“Sister-in-law, let’s go together when we deliver lunch later.”

“Sure!”

The four Shen men worked in the fields and didn’t come home at noon, so delivering lunch was important.

“Mom, time for watermelon!”

Using the kitchen knife, Gu Keqing split the melon in half—the red, grainy flesh made everyone’s mouth water.

“Where did this watermelon come from?” Mother Shen asked in surprise.

“From an auntie in the village,” Gu Keqing replied with a smile, taking a bite.

She thought, since even Old Lady Chen had brought her something, it wasn’t strange for others to do the same.

“Sister-in-law, you’re really well-liked. In all the time we’ve been here in Caohua Brigade, no one’s ever given us anything,” Qi Zhiyun said with genuine envy.

“It’s nothing. I give the aunties food too—it’s called… ‘courtesy demands reciprocity.’ Mom, isn’t that right?” Gu Keqing said, offering Mother Shen a slice of watermelon.

“That’s exactly right!”

The three women chatted happily over watermelon.

Today’s lunch was braised pork knuckle, stir-fried green peppers with pork leg meat, and scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

The braising spices came from a pre-mixed pack in Gu Keqing’s space.

Mother Shen also used leftover chicken soup from last night to make a pot of chicken noodle soup—delicious and fragrant.

After packing six aluminum lunchboxes full, Gu Keqing and Qi Zhiyun also filled a basket with sliced watermelon.

But Gu Keqing loved to look pretty.

From her space, she picked out two of the plainest floral summer dresses—one for each of them—and only then did they set off.

These dresses were actually the latest releases from an international brand, but in a 1970s rural village, they were absolute showstoppers.

“Little sister, dressed like this… won’t we get scolded?” Qi Zhiyun asked uncertainly.

“Let them scold—we didn’t spend their money,” Gu Keqing said nonchalantly. “Besides, our men earn money. Can’t they buy us dresses? You’ll see.”

Sure enough, as soon as the two sisters-in-law reached the fields, they instantly drew a crowd.

Young girls, old ladies, and married women all dropped their farm tools to come and look.

After handing Shen Yan his lunch, Gu Keqing pulled candy from her shoulder bag, giving it out in handfuls to the curious onlookers.

“Here, everyone, have some candy!”

“Aunties, don’t be shy!”

Smiling, she handed out all the candy in her bag before patiently answering their questions one by one.