Chapter 33.2

As Zhang Tieshan walked home, his mind was far from at peace.

He was certain that the Li Hehua before him was not the same woman he had known. They were fundamentally different.

He had come to town to sell his game. Remembering that Shulin often followed Li Hehua around, he decided to check on them. He found Shulin standing by her leg while she prepared various dishes.

She would occasionally glance down and murmur something to him, her demeanor remarkably gentle. This was a stark contrast to the Li Hehua he remembered—the obese, overbearing, unreasonable, and shameless woman he had known. He couldn’t help but stare at her for a long time. As he watched, he even began to feel that their faces were gradually growing less alike.

That’s right. She had lost a significant amount of weight, no longer the obese woman he remembered. Her appearance had changed accordingly.

While he was observing her, she unexpectedly noticed him. Even more surprisingly, she picked up Shulin and invited him to sit down and eat with them. Without hesitation, he agreed.

The dumplings she made were truly delicious—the best he had ever tasted. Such culinary skill was beyond the capabilities of the original Li Hehua.

His suspicions were confirmed when the waiter mentioned that she had written the menu herself.

She wasn’t Li Hehua.

Could someone’s personality change so drastically in such a short time? Could they learn to write so quickly? There weren’t any books in the house, not even a single piece of paper. Li Hehua didn’t know any scholars. How could she possibly have learned to write?

Once he realized this, all the strange things suddenly made sense. Though the idea seemed absurd, he inexplicably believed she truly wasn’t Li Hehua.

Then who was she? Had she been possessed by a wandering spirit? If so, why was she so kind to Shulin?

Zhang Tieshan’s eyes darkened, a sudden urge to uncover the truth gripping him.

Meanwhile, Li Hehua was unaware that Zhang Tieshan had already guessed her secret. She was busy preparing tomorrow’s ingredients with Sister-in-law Xie. Once everything was ready, she let the little one play by the table while she counted the day’s earnings.

The day’s income was kept in a wooden box. She poured it out—a clattering heap of copper coins.

Li Hehua slowly counted them one by one, stringing together every hundred coins. It took her nearly half an hour to finish. Today’s earnings totaled 504 copper coins. Adding the 412 coins from pastry sales and deducting expenses, her net income for the day was roughly half a tael of silver.

In an era when one or two taels of silver could sustain a farming family for several months, earning over half a tael a day was considered a substantial income. However, for someone like Li Hehua, who dreamed of buying a house and opening a shop, it was still far from enough. She hoped her stall’s business would continue to improve.

Li Hehua locked the money in a chest before turning to the little one, who was sprawled across the table playing. “Sweetheart, Mommy’s finished counting the money. Time for bed now.”

The child ignored her, continuing to scribble with the brush.

Li Hehua had brought out paper and a brush earlier to record her accounts. Noticing the little one watching her, she had given him a sheet of paper and a brush to doodle with. Children seemed to love scribbling on paper.

The little one dipped the brush in ink, mimicking Li Hehua’s movements, and began drawing intently. Li Hehua let him continue, figuring she could wash the ink off his clothes later.

“Sweetheart, are you having fun? But it’s bedtime now. Mommy will let you play again tomorrow, okay?” Li Hehua walked behind the child to take away the paper and brush. But as she glanced down, her heart skipped a beat.

The paper in front of the little boy wasn’t just a random scribble, as Li Hehua had assumed. It was a painting—a landscape painting. Though the lines were messy and large ink stains marred some areas, it was unmistakably a landscape painting, and one that bore a striking resemblance to the one Teacher Gu had unfurled earlier that day. The similarity was at least seventy percent.

Li Hehua’s hand trembled. She lowered her gaze to the little boy holding the brush, a sudden sense of panic gripping her.

What if my son isn’t an ordinary child?

She sat down, gripping the edge of the table as she watched him continue to paint, her heart pounding.

Back in her modern life, she’d heard that autistic children often possessed extraordinary talents, excelling in specific fields beyond normal capabilities. She’d never imagined it was true, yet here was her son, displaying a unique gift that seemed to be painting.

How could an ordinary child create such a landscape painting? Especially when this was his first time holding a brush and seeing such a work? What else could this be but genius?

Previously, Li Hehua had felt responsible for the child since she had taken over the original owner’s body. Seeing how pitiful the little one was, she wanted to ensure he ate well, slept soundly, and was happy every day. But now, she realized that simply providing for his basic needs wasn’t enough. The child was a genius—could she afford to let his talent go to waste? He needed proper nurturing.

But how could she nurture him? She had never raised a child, let alone a prodigy. How could she ensure his gifts wouldn’t be buried?

Li Hehua felt at a loss. After much deliberation, she decided she needed to discuss this with Zhang Tieshan. After all, he was the child’s biological father, and his support was essential for the child’s development.

That night, Li Hehua held the child in her arms, unable to fall asleep for a long time. The moment dawn broke, she got up, carefully stored the painting the little one had drawn the previous night in the stroller, and planned to show it to Zhang Tieshan when he arrived.

Zhang Tieshan should be coming today. The child had already stayed with her for three days, the agreed-upon limit. He would definitely come to pick him up.

Sure enough, at roughly the same time as yesterday, Li Hehua spotted Zhang Tieshan standing in the same spot.

Li Hehua quickly waved Zhang Tieshan over.

Zhang Tieshan hesitated for a moment before finally striding toward her.

Li Hehua, still busy with her hands, said, “Zhang Tieshan, why don’t you take a seat at the table first? I’ll talk to you when I’m done here.”

Zhang Tieshan nodded silently, scooped up the little one into his arms, and found an empty seat.

Li Hehua took a moment to make an extra-large portion of beef fried rice for them, then carried it over. “You and the little one eat first. I’ll be busy for a while longer. I’ll talk to you when I’m finished.”

Zhang Tieshan nodded and lowered his head to feed the child.

Li Hehua continued working tirelessly for another hour before the crowd of customers began to thin.

Today’s crowd was larger than yesterday’s. On their first day of business, most customers had been loyal regulars, with few new faces. Perhaps yesterday’s meals had satisfied them, because today not only did the regulars return, but many new customers appeared as well. Many were dockworkers stopping by for a meal and a rest, making her even busier than the day before.

As the customers gradually dispersed, Li Hehua, too busy to eat, grabbed the little one’s drawing from yesterday and sat down beside Zhang Tieshan.