Chapter 12 The Man Carried Her to Town

That evening, Shen Chuning picked Buddha’s hand gourds from the yard, stewed braised pork, picked tomatoes and made tomato and egg stir-fry, roasted fresh chilies to make a chili sauce, and picked tender cabbages to make a cabbage and pork slice soup.

When Father Shen and the three Shen brothers reached their yard, they smelled the strong aroma coming from the house.

When the father and sons saw the three dishes and one soup on the table, they were happy but also felt a pang of heartache.

Ningning was truly spoiled by them and didn’t know the hardships of life.  At this rate, even if they had a fortune, it would all be eaten up!

After the initial heartache, Father Shen seriously instructed his three sons, “Don’t say anything to your sister later, don’t upset her, understand?”

Not long after Shen Chuning was born, Shen Mu died of postpartum infection.

Since then, Father Shen, feeling guilty towards his deceased wife, had cherished his youngest daughter, showering her with love and pampering.

Influenced by their father, the three Shen brothers also felt that their sister was weak and had a hard life, treating Shen Chuning as if she were made of glass.

As soon as Father Shen finished speaking, he saw Shen Chuning’s small figure carrying a large steamer of rice from the kitchen.

The steamers were made of solid wood and were heavy, especially when filled with rice.

Shen Chuning’s small face was flushed red from the effort!

Shen Zhengxu quickly stepped forward and took the steamer, “Ningning, if you can’t carry it, just call Big Brother. Why bother yourself?”

Shen Chuning showed two small dimples, smiling sweetly, “Big Brother, I’m getting married soon, I need to learn to do things myself, I can’t rely on you for everything!”

This statement made the Shen father and sons feel a mix of emotions.

Shen Zhengliang went to the kitchen to get the bowls and chopsticks.

Father Shen returned to his room and took out his treasured half-bottle of liquor.

“It’s a joyous occasion, let’s, father and sons, have a few drinks, as a farewell for the third son.”

Father Shen poured liquor for his three sons.

Shen Chuning, looking at the clear liquid, felt curious and brought her bowl closer, “Dad, I want to try some too.”

Even when Father Shen spoiled his daughter, he would never let her drink alcohol.

But this time was different. His daughter was engaged, and today was a special day for her, so letting her have a sip was fine.

Father Shen poured a small amount for Shen Chuning.

Shen Chuning took a sip, and the spiciness made her stick out her tongue and open her mouth to gasp, “Spicy, so spicy!”

This amused the Shen father and sons.

Shen Chuning didn’t understand why the liquor was so unpalatable, but her father and older brothers always seemed to enjoy it.

She looked at the bowls of the father and sons.  She had cooked half sweet potato and half rice.

But her father and brothers’ bowls were filled with sweet potatoes, without a single grain of rice.

And when the father and sons picked up food, they did so in a tacit agreement, not touching the meat or eggs, only eating the chili sauce, occasionally picking a piece of Buddha’s hand gourd from the braised pork, or cabbage from the pork slice soup.

Shen Chuning stood up angrily. Before the Shen father and sons could react, she took the rice spoon and added a large spoonful of white rice to each of their bowls.

She also scooped a spoonful of braised pork, a spoonful of tomato and egg stir-fry, and a spoonful of pork slices for each of them.

“Eat!” She said firmly, pouting, “Dad, Big Brother, Second Brother, Third Brother, as long as I’m still at home, you eat what I eat. If you treat me differently, I won’t eat.”

Seeing her angry, the Shen father and sons quickly agreed to appease her.

Mainly because she wouldn’t be at home for much longer.

Now, marriages weren’t as complicated as before.

Plus, Zhou Yubai’s special status as a soldier meant his vacation time was limited.

When Lin Shulan proposed marriage yesterday, she had made it clear that Zhou Yubai only had a month’s vacation, so they should make simple preparations and finish the children’s marriage within this month.

As for the thirty-six pieces of furniture and dowry, they were all from the same village, so they didn’t need to be so particular.  They could prepare them after the wedding banquet.

The next day, Shen Chuning woke up early for the first time in her life.  After her father and brothers left, she got up.

After getting up, she found the family’s backpack and headed to town.

During the slack farming season, there were ox carts going to town.

But now it was busy farming season, so she had to walk.

She had previously gone to town during the slack season by ox cart.

Walking for the first time, she realized how far it was from their village to town.  Her waist and legs were thin, she lacked strength, and the weight of her breasts and buttocks was too much, causing blisters on her feet after only half the journey.

The pain in the soles of her feet was excruciating, and the sun was scorching. Shen Chuning couldn’t walk anymore and sat down to rest in the shade by the roadside.

She took off her shoes and looked at the blisters on her feet, wanting to cry.

She bit her lip and held back the tears, only her eyes reddening, tears welling up.

Zhou Yubai, riding his bicycle to town, saw a girl sitting in the shade of a tree by the roadside, wearing a white shirt, with a red hair tie tied into a beautiful bow, tying up her black hair.

The girl’s eyes were red, like a wronged little rabbit.

He stopped his bicycle in front of her, “Get on.”

Shen Chuning, feeling sorry for her feet, heard a familiar voice and looked up to see Zhou Yubai’s somewhat stern face.

“Oh.” She obediently responded, getting up to sit on the back of the bicycle.

However, the bicycle was too high, and her feet were blistered and hurt so badly that she couldn’t stand steadily on one foot.

After two attempts, not only did she fail to get on the bicycle, but because she couldn’t stand steadily on one foot, her body fell straight to the ground…

“Ah—”

Shen Chuning screamed in terror, instinctively covering her eyes with both hands to protect her face.

However, the expected pain of hitting the ground didn’t come.

Her body fell into a solid embrace, a strong hand passing under her right armpit, holding her slender waist, the hand perfectly fitting against her left softness.

She gasped, her small face instantly flushed red.

Zhou Yubai had never understood a woman’s body. When his hand touched that softness, his mind blanked for a moment.

Because the feel was so good, he even subconsciously squeezed it.

When he realized what he had done, he quickly let go.

As if Shen Chuning was some kind of monster, he took several steps back, stammering, “Comrade Shen, I’m sorry…”

After the man finished speaking, his face turned red from his ears to his neck.

But his skin was darker, so it wasn’t very noticeable.