Chapter 22

By the time Li Hehua reached Shangshui Village, it was already past noon. Every household had finished lunch, and the village was quiet—most people were likely taking their afternoon nap.

She couldn’t go in. Even if Zhang Tieshan and Zhang Qingshan weren’t home, Madam Zhang would definitely be inside. Li Hehua had no desire to run into her. Aside from that little one, she wanted nothing to do with the Zhang family.

Her stomach growled fiercely, and Li Hehua found herself torn. Should she return another day, or wait until Madam Zhang woke up and left?

I should go back, she thought, but she couldn’t bear the idea of leaving without giving the little one the treats she had brought. But if I wait, who knows when she’ll wake up? Am I supposed to starve while I wait? And if I stay too long, I won’t have time to make the pastries.

After struggling with indecision for nearly an hour, Li Hehua was just about to give up when she suddenly saw Zhang Tieshan coming out of the house, carrying the little one in his arms.

Startled, she quickly ducked behind a massive tree. Luckily, it was a clump of several huge trees growing together; otherwise, her figure wouldn’t have been easy to hide.

She watched as Zhang Tieshan carried the child to a large tree nearby. A swing had been mysteriously set up there. Zhang Tieshan gently placed the boy on the seat and told him to hold onto the ropes. Then, standing behind, he began to push.

Li Hehua could see everything clearly through the gaps in the tree bark.

The boy didn’t smile or laugh like most children would, but his eyes weren’t empty either. They were focused, present, clearly taking in the experience of swinging.

Li Hehua hadn’t expected such tenderness from Zhang Tieshan. Who would have thought he’d go so far as to build a swing to make the child happy?

She had originally planned to leave, but now that the little one was out, she decided to stay and watch a while longer—at least until he’d had his fill of fun.

After about fifteen minutes, Zhang Tieshan crouched in front of the child and said something before walking away, leaving the boy alone.

Li Hehua assumed he was going to fetch something, but he never returned. After waiting a long time, she began to worry. Had something happened? Had he forgotten about the child?

Should she take this opportunity to go over and give the child the food? But what if Zhang Tieshan suddenly returned? Would he accuse her of sneaking around again?

Conflicted, Li Hehua hesitated. But when even more time passed with no sign of Zhang Tieshan, she finally made up her mind. So what if he sees me? Is it a crime to look at a child?

Resolving to take the chance, Li Hehua stepped out from behind the tree and walked over to the boy. Kneeling in front of him with a smile, she greeted warmly, “Bao Bei! Did you miss me? I missed you so much!”

The boy had been staring at the ground, lost in thought. At the sound of her voice, he flinched slightly, then slowly lifted his head to look at her.

Li Hehua froze. This was only the second time he had reacted to her—the first being when she gave him grilled meat over rice. Now he had looked at her when she called out. Her heart surged with excitement, more intense than meeting a celebrity in her past life.

Is he not afraid of me anymore? Is he starting to trust me?

Li Hehua was thrilled, but she didn’t have much time. She quickly uncovered the basket and pulled out the treats. “Bao Bei, I brought you something delicious! Look—candied hawthorns, hawthorn cake, and lotus seed pastries. They’re all so yummy!”

She picked up a lotus seed pastry and held it near his mouth. “Come on, Bao Bei, open up and take a bite.”

The child’s eyes slowly focused on the pastry. After a long pause, he opened his mouth and took a bite.

Li Hehua grinned like a fool, completely overjoyed. He had eaten from her hand without resisting like he did the first time. Her heart swelled.

“Little one,” she whispered, “you know I’m not the one who hurt you, right? You’re not scared of me anymore?”

He didn’t respond, but she was already content.

After he finished all the lotus seed pastries, Li Hehua knew she couldn’t linger. She placed the rest of the food on his lap. “it’s getting late. I have to go now, but I’ll come back to see you soon. Eat well, okay? Goodbye, Bao Bei.”

The child stared at her with wide, dark eyes, lips tightly pressed together.

Li Hehua smiled, took two steps back, and turned around. Seeing that no one had noticed her, she slipped away toward Lianhua Village.

……

When Li Hehua returned to Lianhua Village, Cao Simei had already eaten and taken a nap. Upon seeing her, she quickly pulled her into the kitchen. “Hehua, why are you so late? You must be starving! I saved you some food—hurry and eat.”

Li Hehua had been hungry earlier, but now her stomach felt empty in a different way. She had no appetite.

Seeing her listless expression, Cao Simei frowned. “How can you not eat? You can’t skip meals!”

Li Hehua laughed a little. “Cao jie, look at my size. If I want to lose weight, I need to eat less.”

Cao Simei gave her a once-over, about to argue that skipping meals wasn’t healthy. But then she paused. “Hehua, you actually look thinner!”

“Really?” Li Hehua looked down at herself. She still saw plenty of flesh.

Cao Simei nodded earnestly. “You’re wearing the same clothes as when you first came here, right? Back then they looked like they’d burst. Now they’re loose! I remember worrying they wouldn’t hold up. But look at you—they’re hanging off you now!”

Li Hehua hadn’t noticed. Without a scale, she had no idea how much weight she’d lost. She’d been too busy making money to think about it. But now that it was pointed out, she realized it was true.

Her robe had slack in it, and her pants weren’t tight anymore.

Had she really lost weight?

Overjoyed, she felt a jolt of energy course through her. Her hard work was paying off!

Seeing her delight, Cao Simei laughed. “Hehua, you’re such a good woman. Your only flaw was your weight. If you slim down a bit more, you’ll have a whole line of men trying to marry you!”

Li Hehua chuckled. “You’re exaggerating! Who would want to marry me?”

In truth, she had no desire to marry. As a divorced woman in this era, she’d be looked down on. Most suitors would be widowers or shady characters. She’d rather earn her own money and live freely. Of course, she didn’t say that out loud.

Cao Simei, oblivious to her real thoughts, went on, “Don’t worry. I’m keeping an eye out for you. I’ll help you find someone good.”

Li Hehua just nodded absently and began eating her meal.

……

After they finished eating, Cao Simei pulled her to the table and excitedly dumped a pouch of coins onto the surface. “we earned so much today! My pouch was almost bursting!”

They sorted the coins together. Li Hehua counted ninety-eight wen, while Cao Simei counted one hundred and two—exactly two hundred wen in total.

“Two hundred!” Cao Simei’s eyes sparkled. “Hehua, I sold two hundred wen worth of pastries!”

Li Hehua smiled and handed her twenty-five wen. “Cao jie, this is your share for the day.”

Cao Simei took the coins and beamed. Twenty-five wen in one day—more than a laborer made in two. She could hardly believe it.

Li Hehua gathered her own share and did some quick calculations. After deducting the ingredient costs, they’d made a profit of 325 wen today.

It was a good day’s income, but it still felt small when she thought of her dream of buying a courtyard home in town. That would take a lot more.

She patted Cao Simei’s hand and said, “Alright, let’s keep going. If we can earn this much every day, we’ll get there.”

“Right! Let’s go make more pastries!” Cao Simei responded, full of motivation.

…….

While the two of them were busy in the kitchen, Da Ya suddenly rushed in. “Aunt Hehua! Someone’s here to see you.”

Li Hehua was surprised. Who could be looking for her? How did they even know where she lived?

Seeing her confusion, Da Ya added, “They said they want to hire you for a banquet.”

At that, Li Hehua quickly took off her apron and went to the front room. A middle-aged couple stood up as she entered.

“Chef Li! So you’ve moved? We just went all the way to Shangshui Village to find you. You were hard to track down!”

Li Hehua frowned. They had gone to Shangshui Village looking for her? Who had told them she was staying with Cao Simei? As far as she knew, no one should have known where she lived.

Before she could question it, the couple launched into their request—one that immediately piqued her interest.