Chapter 39 2/3

As for the vegetables and eggs, they were all from her own garden, and she didn’t charge for them anymore. The extra cent would be saved for tomorrow’s use.

With the dishes on the table, Mrs. Chen could tell from Shi Erlang and Lu Dalang’s reactions that her goal had been achieved. Smiling, she invited everyone to sit down and eat.

When it came to seating, the men politely insisted on the elders going first. Here, when there were guests at home, children and women generally didn’t sit at the table. However, Mrs. Chen was the elder, and Shen An and Shen Ning could be considered guests. Besides, Sang Luo was the one who had paid for the meal, so they were also treated differently from ordinary children and were invited to the table.

…

Both siblings waved their hands, serving themselves rice and picking up some dishes with Chen Erlang and the little girl, then went to eat in the courtyard.

The breakfast was devoured quickly, leaving everyone exceptionally satisfied because the meal was so hearty. Shi Erlang and his companions, unwilling to rest for long after the meal, only lingered at the Chen household for a little over ten minutes before heading back to the mountains.

As Shen An and his siblings were also returning to clear the land, passing by Shen Jin’s house, they didn’t hear any crying from inside. Shen An leaned over to peek inside but didn’t see Shen Jin.

He hesitated for a moment. Clearly, this used to be his home, but now he hesitates even to enter the gate.

Standing outside for a while longer, listening to the incomprehensible chatter of Shen Tian and Shen Tian but not hearing Shen Jin, Shen An finally turned around and went up the mountain with Shen Ning, who was waiting nearby.

However, the person they couldn’t find in Shen’s house was unexpectedly found behind their own grass hut.

Shen Jin, Shen Yin, and Shen Tie were all busy behind his house, continuing the work they hadn’t finished that morning. The difference was that this time Shen Jin didn’t bring a hoe but used the stone hoe previously used by Shen An and Shen Ning.

Hearing footsteps, Shen Jin turned around and saw Shen An and the others coming over. Normally, he would be quite arrogant, but today he just turned his head away, facing his back and the back of his head towards them.

Even Shen Ning, who loved to argue with him, didn’t say anything today. Even little Chen didn’t say anything and was very quiet, occasionally glancing at him.

Shen Jin felt extremely uncomfortable, and when Shen An called him, “Come here,”

With the people right in front of him, with red and swollen eyes that couldn’t be hidden, Shen Jin, feeling rebellious, said to Shen An, “What for?”

His voice was still thick with a nasal tone.

“Just come over.”

Shen An looked at him with some warmth in his voice, seeing how miserable he looked after crying.

The two brothers walked to the front of the grass hut together. When they reached the eaves outside the house, Shen An stopped, and the hand that had been in his pocket all along stretched out, handing Shen Jin a bunch of green vegetable leaves.

Shen Jin: ???

He had indeed skipped breakfast in a huff, but why was Shen An giving him vegetable leaves?

Shen An held his hand and prepared to pass the thing over. When he saw his blackened hands, his face darkened. “Go wash your hands, then come over.”

Shen Jin blinked round eyes.

Shen An had a habit of making people wash their hands before eating something.

Eating?

He took the clump of vegetable leaves from Shen An’s hand, only to realize upon grasping it that it didn’t feel like vegetable leaves.

He unfolded the clump of light green leaves to reveal a piece of aromatic braised pork nestled within.

Hmm, a piece of braised pork with preserved vegetables, most of it still intact but with a small portion missing where someone had used chopsticks to take a bite.

Shen Jin’s tear ducts suddenly felt sour. He had barely stopped crying, and tears welled up again.

He wiped his face with the back of his dirty hand, mixing tears and dirt to create a flowery pattern on his face.

Shen An: …

Shen Jin didn’t know what his face looked like now, smeared with dirt, so he wiped his other hand across his face, staining his right eye and cheek.

“Shen An, you’re really something. You’re willing to give me meat to eat,” he said, sniffing and wiping his tears while feeding himself the pork, crying, and promising, “Don’t worry, I’ll be good to you from now on.”

He cried, felt touched, and ate deliciously.

Shen An replied, “I didn’t treat you well; I just felt sorry for you being beaten.”

Shen Jin: ???

He could still eat meat after being beaten.

He hiccupped, looking at Shen An in a daze, thinking about the possibility of getting another piece of meat if he endured another beating.

Shen An could guess what he was thinking just by seeing him blink his eyes. Feeling somewhat speechless, he looked at Shen Jin’s dilemma and suddenly said, “Why don’t you leave a little for Xiao Yin and Xiao Tie to taste?”

Shen Jin’s body stiffened at the thought, staring blankly at Shen An. He lowered his head to look at the half-piece of braised pork left in his hand after Shen An took two bites. He was dumbfounded.

Seeing him like this, Shen An smiled a little, seeing how troubled Shen Jin was that the meat in his mouth didn’t taste as good anymore. He decided not to tease him further. “Go ahead and eat. An Ning brought some for them. Aren’t you their big brother?”

Today, each of the siblings got a piece. Probably because they saw Shen Jin being beaten so badly before breakfast, the two siblings had a tacit agreement to only taste a little, and they asked the little girl to help them bring out the remaining pork from the kitchen.

Shen An thought that it was because his sister-in-law had been trying hard to make them good food every day recently that he and his sister could do such a thing as giving up meat. A few days ago, he wouldn’t even be willing to part with a few grains of rice.

Shen Jin didn’t know what Shen An was thinking. As soon as he heard that his two younger brothers had meat to eat without him having to give it up, he immediately broke into a smile. He didn’t feel embarrassed at all, even losing most of his grievance from being beaten. He stopped sniffling and stood there, eating the meat contentedly. Even with his slightly swollen eyes, he could still manage to smile.

…

When Sang Luo returned in the afternoon, she and Qin Fangniang were noticed by the villagers, who had been watching the village entrance all along.

Then came the crowd. Wasn’t that cart too eye-catching?

Sang Luo was glad that she had taken back the buckets and pottery through the side path, leaving only the basket for selling vegetables and the new pair of winnowing baskets and a bag of grain on the cart.

Since everyone wasn’t very familiar with Sang Luo, they all greeted Qin Fangniang.

“Qin Fangniang, are vegetables selling well? You even brought a cart?”

“Qin Fangniang, what kind of vegetables are you selling?”

Qin Fangniang was usually an honest person, but now she had to show off her acting skills. She smiled with a simple and shy look. “How could it be? Isn’t this because A’Lie’s wife wants to build a house? She needs to buy some grain and household items, so we decided to take the cart. Along the way, we can take turns resting on the cart.”

As for whether the vegetables sold well and how much money they made, she didn’t want to lie, so she just skipped over that part.

After receiving the attention of everyone all the way, they finally returned to the Chen household and entered the courtyard, finally free from the scrutinizing gazes of the villagers.