Chapter 6 Will Sister-in-Law Feed Us Enough to Eat From Now On?

Jiang Yiyi cooked in the kitchen. Perhaps because she had worked up a sweat going to Qinjia Village, she felt much lighter.

She boiled water, cooked noodles, and ladled them into bowls, topping them with shredded pork and braised sauce. She specially made two small bowls and called Gu Yunyang and Gu Yuncan to carry them into the room.

The two children, smelling the aroma, poked their heads out from Gu Yunchi’s arms, staring intently at the bowls in Jiang Yiyi’s hands. When Jiang Yiyi placed the two small bowls in front of them, they didn’t dare to move, looking expectantly at their mother.

Gu Yunchi’s eyes turned red again, but she forced a smile and said to her two daughters, “Eat.”

The two little ones’ eyes lit up, and they eagerly picked up their chopsticks and began to eat. They were only a year and a half old, but they already used chopsticks very skillfully.

“Sister-in-law, thank you.”

“What’s between family? There’s more in the pot, eat more, don’t leave any. We’ll be making dumplings tonight.”

The fragrant shredded pork and soft noodles were so delicious that not only the two children, but also Gu’s mother, Gu Yunyang, Gu Yuncan, and Gu Yunchi ate without lifting their heads. Seeing them gobble it down, Jiang Yiyi’s appetite also increased, and she ate two bowls. The family finished all the noodles and shredded pork braised sauce.

After finishing, Jiang Yiyi put down her chopsticks, and Gu Yunyang and Gu Yuncan quickly started to clean up. Their stomachs were round from eating, and they were afraid that Jiang Yiyi would see them and say something. They held their breaths, trying to hide their full bellies, and their cleaning movements weren’t as quick as before.

Jiang Yiyi pretended not to see. The noodles weren’t filling, and they would be digested by evening. However, she would let them eat less dumplings at night to avoid them being too full and unable to sleep.

In the kitchen, Gu Yuncan glanced into the room and whispered, “Brother, do you think Sister-in-law will feed us enough to eat from now on?”

Previously, Sister-in-law always served a fixed amount of food, one bowl per person, no more. This was the first time she had let them eat their fill. She was afraid Sister-in-law would get angry and controlled herself from eating too much, but the shredded pork noodles were so delicious that she couldn’t help herself.

Gu Yunyang didn’t speak, but also looked towards the room. He faintly heard Jiang Yiyi’s voice from inside, “Little Sister, do you need me to accompany you this afternoon?”

He retracted his gaze and pursed his lips. That woman wouldn’t be so kind to them without reason; she must be planning something. But his little sister was still young, so he couldn’t tell her these things. “Didn’t she say she’s making dumplings tonight? Let’s see then.”

Inside the room, Gu Yunchi stroked her two drowsy children and shook her head. The Qin family desperately wanted her to divorce, so nothing bad would happen.

“Remember to write a divorce agreement. We don’t need a penny in child support, and the two children will have no further relationship with the Qin family.”

In the future, couples would have divorce agreements. She didn’t know if they existed now, but whether they did or not, she had to have Gu Yunchi write one to prevent the Qin family from using the children as an excuse to pester them later.

Gu Yunchi nodded.

Jiang Yiyi didn’t say anything else and returned to her room. Although she had a high fever, and although she felt much lighter, the soreness still hadn’t completely subsided. She lay on the bed and soon fell asleep.

She slept soundly and woke up in the late afternoon. The sky outside was completely clear. The refreshing feeling after the rain had gone, and the summer heat surged. Her body felt much lighter, but her skin was sticky and uncomfortable.

She was always clean and couldn’t stand it, so she got up to boil water.

Gu’s mother heard the noise and came out of the room. Seeing her adding water to the pot, she hurried over, “Go lie down in the room, Mom will help you.”

“Thank you, Mom, I’m fine, I can do it myself.”

Gu’s mother went to Jiang Yiyi and touched her forehead. It was indeed no longer hot, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

She had been shocked at noon and completely forgotten that Jiang Yiyi still had a fever. Only after she returned to her room did Gu’s mother remember. While she was sleeping, she quietly went to her window several times to check on her, and seeing that she didn’t seem to have a fever, she didn’t disturb her sleep.

“Go to the bathroom and wait, Mother will bring you the water.”

When Gu’s father built the house, he even built a separate bathroom.

“I can do it myself, go back to the room and watch the two children.”

After persuading Gu’s mother to return to the room, Jiang Yiyi boiled the water, filled a basin, and took it to the bathroom. After washing and changing into clean clothes, she washed and hung up the dirty clothes and went to Gu’s mother’s room.

The two children had already woken up, wearing their dried clothes, sitting next to Gu’s mother. When they saw her, they subconsciously leaned towards Gu’s mother.

Noticing their unease, Gu’s mother smiled, “Tiantian, Yueyue, call Aunt.”

“Aunt.”

“Aunt.”

They had only recently learned to speak, so their calls were unclear and quiet, and cautious.

Jiang Yiyi touched their heads, “Aunt will take you to the garden to pick vegetables, and then we’ll make dumplings, okay?”

The two little ones seemed to have never eaten dumplings before and didn’t know what they were, looking at her blankly.

“Meat dumplings.”

Hearing “meat,” the two little ones’ eyes lit up, and they looked at Gu’s mother. Their mother had told them to listen to their grandmother before she left.

“Go.”

The two little ones stood up. Jiang Yiyi put on their shoes and carried them down from the kang, holding one in each hand and walking out. At the gate, she had the two little ones hold hands, and she freed one hand to take down the sickle hanging on the door.

The vegetable garden was to the left of the house, not big, but it had all kinds of seasonal vegetables, enough for the family. Before she came, the original owner would pick vegetables every Sunday and sell them in the county, and then buy vegetables that Bai Jun liked from the state-run restaurant.

She let the two little ones wait by the garden, picked two medium-sized cucumbers, washed them and gave them to the children, and then went into the vegetable garden to cut some chives and fennel.

She liked chives, but Gu’s mother had a weak stomach and couldn’t eat them, so she would make some fennel dumplings separately for Gu’s mother.

Seeing that some cucumbers, tomatoes, and eggplants were ripe, she picked them as well.

Gu Yunyang, who had returned after cutting grass, changed his expression. He wanted to rush up and argue with Jiang Yiyi. Before, she had sold those vegetables, but now there were three more people in the family, especially the two nieces who were still young. How could they not eat vegetables?

“Brother.”

As twins, they had a telepathic connection. Sensing his impulsiveness, Gu Yuncan nervously grabbed his arm. She didn’t know what was wrong with Gu Yunyang; he had been hostile towards Sister-in-law these past few days.

Jiang Yiyi also saw them, “You’re back just in time, help me carry these home.”

Seeing Gu Yunyang standing still, Gu Yuncan tugged at his clothes. Gu Yunyang took a deep breath and strode over, Gu Yuncan quickly following.

As they got closer, Jiang Yiyi sensed Gu Yunyang’s emotions and knew he thought she was going to sell these vegetables again. She didn’t explain.