Chapter 26: Manman, I Like You!

“You b*tch!” Granny Xu shouted through gritted teeth, shaking with anger — she had never been so humiliated in her life!

“Oh?” Chen Manman looked at the old woman’s fleshy, furious face with amusement.

It was that exact expression that Granny Xu hated most. “You demon!”

“Demon? If you want to blame someone, blame your grandson for being a bully. Blame your whole family for being greedy and shameless!” It wasn’t that Chen Manman was cold-blooded — they were simply too much! Besides, she didn’t feel she’d done anything wrong.

Chen Manman didn’t want to bother with them anymore. She turned and looked at Grandma, who stood frozen in shock. “Grandma, let’s go home.”

Her grandmother clearly hadn’t processed everything yet. Things had happened so fast. She thought there’d be some kind of mess when the police came — but instead…

“Sigh! Alright!” Originally, she came to visit her daughter and planned to give her the ten-plus yuan she’d been saving. But now… it didn’t seem appropriate. She’d wait for a better time.

On the way back, Grandma remained silent. Sensing this, Chen Manman took the initiative to start a conversation. “Grandma, the embroidery you showed me last time was so beautiful. Can you teach me too?” Recently, she had often seen Grandma doing embroidery.

“You mean the one with the phoenix flying through the peonies? That one’s for you,” Grandma said, proud when her granddaughter brought up embroidery. She’d worked on that piece for over half a year.

Chen Manman was stunned. She had seen that embroidery before — it was two or three meters long. She had thought her grandma was amazing — her needlework was exquisite. In modern times, that kind of craftsmanship would definitely be collectible.

“Grandma, that’s way too valuable! Keep it for yourself! Just teach me how to embroider — that’s enough.” Her grandma was seriously incredible.

“I’ll teach you, sure.” Grandma didn’t say much more. Once the embroidery was finished, she’d give it to Manman. When elders give gifts, how can a granddaughter refuse?

After returning home, Chen Manman sneaked into her space and took out a brand-new vintage radio from her storage. Earlier at the supply store, she’d seen a similar one — it cost 160 yuan and required ration tickets too. She decided to take this one out so her grandparents could listen to operas or radio shows.

“Grandpa, Grandma, look! This is something fun!” Chen Manman installed the batteries in the radio and began tuning.

Different voices came out from the small square box, and the whole family was amazed.

“Manman, the voices come from inside this box?” Grandpa asked. Normally quiet, he lit up like a child encountering something new.

“Grandpa, this is a radio. It receives broadcasts. You can listen to stories, songs, and opera on it!” Chen Manman explained.

The two little boys, hearing the commotion, also ran over and started poking and prodding it, big curious eyes glued to the device.

As she tuned the dial, the two elders and the little ones perked up their ears.

“Hello kids! ‘Little Trumpet’ is starting now! Ta-di-ta, ta-di-ta, ta-di…” The radio happened to land on this children’s program. An elderly voice began telling the story of Journey to the West.

Instantly, the four of them were captivated by the fantastical tale on the radio, huddling close, listening intently.

Seeing this, Chen Manman smiled. She checked her watch — there was still time before dinner. She decided to take out the ginseng she’d dug up yesterday and process it.

She soaked the ginseng in cold water for 10 minutes, then used a soft toothbrush to gently scrub the roots, body, and fibers clean of dirt.

Chen Manman didn’t plan to sell the ginseng. A century-old ginseng was too rare. She wanted to make Immortal Longevity Wine, a special tonic her grandfather used to brew back in modern times. People used to pay a high price for just a bottle. The method was complex, but she had plenty of time.

Once it was ready, the whole family could enjoy it. It would nourish the blood, strengthen the liver and kidneys, balance the spleen and stomach, energize the body, beautify the skin, improve vision and hearing, promote fitness and weight control — full of benefits!

She got to work, pulling out a variety of traditional herbs from her space.

Ingredients included:
Cistanche, raw rehmannia, cooked rehmannia, asparagus root, ophiopogon, angelica, achyranthes, eucommia, fennel, morinda root, chuanxiong, white peony, goji berries, phellodendron, anemarrhena, psoralea, amomum, atractylodes, yuanzhi, ginseng, acorus, biota seed, costus root — all measured and picked out according to ratio.

After removing impurities, the herbs were quickly rinsed in cool boiled water, dried, packed tightly in a clean cloth bag, placed into a wine jar, and covered with top-grade white liquor. She then double-boiled it for two hours, sealed the jar with a lid and clay after it cooled.

The wine needed to be buried underground for five days — she’d wait for her brother to come back to do the digging.

By the time everything was done, it was getting dark. Chen Manman was exhausted, but luckily her grandma and sister-in-law were preparing dinner.

She was completely worn out and collapsed onto a recliner in her room, falling into a dazed sleep.

When Lin Shuhe returned from a long day of work, he saw the girl quietly sleeping in the recliner. Her youthful features were delicate and serene — willow-like brows, a noble nose, soft pink lips — like a blossoming red bud.

Lin Shuhe couldn’t help but stare, remembering her alluring figure under the moonlight the night before…

He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. His eyelashes trembled slightly, as if holding something back…

After last night, he had finally understood — he liked her! He wasn’t sure when it started. Maybe it was that night when he held her in his arms.

Staring at her rosy lips, Lin Shuhe leaned closer, unable to restrain himself…

The moment their lips touched, a wave of soft warmth overwhelmed his senses.

Still half-asleep, Chen Manman felt a moist touch on her lips. She subconsciously licked her lips — something felt wrong!

Her eyes flew open. The moment their eyes met, she saw a burning, fervent light in his eyes.

“You! What are you doing!” No way — did he just do what she thought he did?!

Lin Shuhe’s mind had short-circuited. All he could see was her cherry lips parting, her soft voice crying out.

Seeing no response from him, Chen Manman stammered, “You… you…”

Before she could finish, she was suddenly pulled into a firm embrace. Her words drowned in a passionate kiss. A cool tongue slipped into her mouth.

Her mind went blank. She reacted instinctively, struggling to break free.

Lin Shuhe held her face with one hand, ignoring her resistance, the other hand supporting her back, keeping her close.

His kiss made her entire body tingle, her head spinning. Slowly, she forgot to fight back and reflexively responded to his kiss.

As if receiving approval, he began kissing her more gently, lingering tenderly on her lips. The world around them seemed to pause. Her fragrance, her softness — he was completely lost in her…

After a long while, Lin Shuhe finally loosened his embrace and leaned close to her ear. “Manman, I like you.”

Her face flushed red. Just as she was about to speak—

“Mama! Time to eat~” Dabaobao burst through the door.
“Huh? Why is the light off? Mama?”