The Koi Wife of the Prime Minister

Feng Shaoling's words were mixed with dissatisfaction with Shen Yan and eager anticipation for Song Yunfeng, and all this made the atmosphere in the living room even more subtle.

Song Yunfeng was about to open his mouth, and the rebuke gathered between his eyebrows was like a dark cloud, but Zhao's gentle words were like a spring breeze, and instantly melted away. Zhao's eyes stayed on her son for a short time, with a hint of inquiry, and then turned to Shen Yan, her eyes filled with maternal tenderness and pampering, "Yan Yan, don't stand there, come and eat. Today, mother specially tried to make braised pork, the first time to try, you come and try it and see if it suits your taste."

Hearing this, Shen Yan's lips curled up into a brilliant smile, as if the sun was shining through the cracks in the dark clouds, warm and bright, "Okay, mother's craftsmanship is absolutely correct!"

After saying that, she walked around Song Yunfeng lightly and walked side by side with Zhao. The atmosphere between the two was harmonious and intimate, and they walked towards the smell of rice rising from the kitchen. Song Yunfeng looked at their backs as they walked away. The nameless anger in his chest was gradually replaced by daily trivialities, and finally turned into a long sigh, mixed with curiosity and confusion about Shen Yan's past experiences. Her way of thinking often made him feel incredible, even a little absurd, but her courage to speak out made people admire her.

Yi Ge'er slowly woke up after the effect of the anesthetic wore off. Zhao held a bowl of warm porridge and fed him carefully. The child drank it in small sips and soon fell asleep again, with a satisfied look on his face. On this day, Shen Yan went out to work and brought back five taels of heavy silver. After deducting the necessary expenses, he kept one tael for himself and handed the remaining three taels to Zhao. His tone was firm and full of hope, "Mom, please save this money for me. When we have enough, we will dig a well in the yard."

Zhao heard this and a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, "Hey, do you really want to dig a well?"

Shen Yan's answer was firm, "Yes, this is necessary."

When Yuanyuan heard this, her hands holding the chopsticks trembled slightly, and her eyes reflected the fear of the deep well. Zhao seemed to be in a dilemma. She stroked her forehead and said with concern, "But mother heard that before digging a well, you have to repeatedly survey the terrain. Sometimes you may not find water even if you dig a lot. Maybe there is no water at all under our house."

"The work of a craftsman is not cheap. Even if what we dig out is a dry well, we still have to pay according to the depth of the excavation. If we are unlucky and can't dig up water, wouldn't it be a waste of money?" Zhao continued to explain, with a trace of sadness between her brows, "Besides, mother thinks it is convenient to go to the river to carry water every day."

Shen Yan smiled brightly upon hearing this, her eyes sparkling with unquestionable confidence, "Mom, don't worry, we will definitely be able to dig water. Moreover, our well is different from those in the village, and I guarantee that you will be surprised and jump for joy!"

"Jumping for joy?" Song Yunfeng almost laughed out loud when he heard this. Shen Yan's straightforwardness and innocence always made people love her but also... helpless. Zhao couldn't help but cast a slightly reproachful look at her, but her eyes were full of unconcealed doting, "When I was a child, I didn't jump for joy for anything! Tell me, is our well inlaid with gold and silver?"

Shen Yan winked playfully, "Hehe, Mom, we don't have gold or silver, but our well is very magical. We don't need any effort or buckets. Even Yuanyuan can easily draw water. Just wait and see!"

Day after day, Zhao knew that what her daughter said was not groundless, and she could not help but feel a little curious and expectant. Is there really such a wonderful well in the world?

Song Yunfeng thought about it for a long time, but was still confused, so he asked, "How can you be so sure that we can dig well water?"

Shen Yan's smile was a bit cunning and proud, and this confidence was due to the knowledge and experience she had learned in modern society. "You all know willow trees, they prefer shady and moist places, and usually grow by the water. There happens to be a willow tree in the open space behind our house, with lush branches and leaves, obviously full of water. The same is true for wormwood, they all like moist places, do we often have wormwood growing in our scallion fields?"

"That's right!" Zhao nodded repeatedly, her expression full of approval.

"So, there must be a water source underground. How could we not be able to dig out water? But..." Shen Yan changed the subject and asked another question out of curiosity, "There is a saying that goes, don't plant mulberry trees in front of the house, don't plant willow trees behind the house. Why do we have a willow tree behind our house?"

Zhao was stunned for a moment when she heard this, then she sighed and seemed to be lost in memory. "That's what Li Maocai's family grows. They say it's convenient for weaving baskets. The land at the back is split equally between our family and theirs. We can't interfere if they want to grow crops."

“That tree was planted the year your father passed away. I went to discuss cutting it down with them, but unfortunately we couldn’t reach a consensus.” Zhao’s voice trembled slightly, revealing a barely perceptible bitterness.

This past event was completely unknown to Song Yunfeng. Hearing this, his brows knitted tightly, and a layer of gloom covered his heart. "That won't do, mother. Look at that willow tree. It has grown to be as thick as an adult's waist. The root system of the willow tree is well developed and spreads everywhere. It may be as tall as the trunk. If this continues, it may have touched the foundation of our house. After a long time, the house will be affected!"

Shen Yan seemed to be thinking about something, and suddenly asked a question, "There is no unsolvable grudge between our two families, right?"

Otherwise, how could it be such a coincidence that such a tree was planted after her father-in-law passed away? Song Yunfeng also realized this problem, his face became serious, and his eyes were deeply cast at Zhao, full of inquiry.

"There was no festival, but... it shouldn't be that serious, right?" Zhao first firmly denied it, then seemed to remember something and her expression became hesitant. Facing the waiting eyes of her son and daughter-in-law, she slowly told a long-ago and insignificant past event. Ordinary people might not even care about this event.

It was about ten years ago, when the Song family built these four blue-tiled houses, Li Maocai and his son came to help. On the day of the roof-raising ceremony, according to custom, zongzi were thrown onto the roof and distributed to each helper to worship the gods and pray for peace. Unexpectedly, a few of the zongzi that Zhao had carefully prepared were missing, probably because some dishonest neighbor took them away during the chaos.

In that era of relative material scarcity, if such a small matter was distributed unevenly, most people would choose to keep quiet. After all, compared with neighborly harmony, the gains and losses of a few rice dumplings seem insignificant.