Divorced woman with child travels through time

Chen Wenfang took Wang Erniu to the rice shop. They ordered 100 jin of wheat flour and 100 jin of corn flour. Wang Erniu asked, somewhat puzzled, "Why order so much?"

Chen Wenfang smiled and said, "I'm afraid of being hungry again. I'll order as much as I can, and it's almost Chinese New Year, so there are a lot of people in my family."

Wang Erniu felt ashamed, as if he had been freeloading all along.

Wang Erniu reached into his clothes and rummaged around. He took out two taels of silver and gave it to Chen Wenfang, saying, "Madam Chen, here's some money for you, consider it my and Ahao's living expenses."

Chen Wenfang smiled, pushed the silver back, and said, "Your wild boar is worth several taels of silver, and I still eat your meat and live in your house. I can't accept this money, so don't be polite with me."

Wang Erniu had no choice but to put the money away.

Chen Wenfang paid the deposit for the flour. Then she took Wang Erniu to the tailor shop, where they bought a bolt of cotton cloth and ten jin of cotton.

Passing by a pastry shop, they bought three more pounds of pastries. Wang Erniu snatched all the items and carried them, leaving Chen Wenfang empty-handed. The two then returned home.

Seeing Chen Wenfang and the others return, Aunt Liu got up to say goodbye. Chen Wenfang gave Aunt Liu a pound of pastries, saying, "Thank you for your hard work, Auntie." Aunt Liu took the pastries and said reproachfully, "You're too kind. I'll go back now."

After saying this, she led Stone away to take his leave. Stone earnestly and reluctantly bowed to the four children in farewell. Seeing this, Aunt Liu said, "You'll be coming to play again tomorrow, why are you saying goodbye?"

Stone ignored her, still bowing and saying with his arms crossed, "I'll take my leave now, no need to see me off." Chu Yi was unmoved, thinking it childish.

Chen Xuanyu and Shiwu were just a match, and Chen Xuanyu followed suit, saying, "Take care, brother, come again tomorrow."

Chen Wenfang and Wang Erniu looked at the three of them with amusement.

Chen Wenfang returned to the kitchen to prepare dinner. When she opened the pot, she found that Aunt Liu had already made pancakes for them. Chen Wenfang was very touched. Aunt Liu was so thoughtful.

Inside the county government office, Ma Liu came in to report on Chen Wenfang's matter to Ah Li. Ah Li was discussing the resettlement of refugees with Ouyang Junyan. The imperial court had handled the matter properly, requiring each county to resettle a group of refugees. Therefore, there were not many disaster victims coming to Lijia Town. In addition, the charitable institution was empty, so resettlement was not troublesome.

After Ma Liu recounted the events, Ouyang Junyan and A Li both sighed, thankfully it was Chen Niangzi who had acted quickly and cleverly; if it had been any other woman, she might have lost both her money and her husband. Ouyang Junyan immediately ordered portraits to be drawn and posted as wanted posters, hoping someone would provide clues. This also served to warn the public that, with the year-end approaching, some demons and monsters might come out to cause trouble. He also sent men to the barracks to assign two detachments of local soldiers to patrol the county more often and manage affairs.

For the next few days, Chen Wenfang was busy making yinmi (a type of glutinous rice), and Wang Erniu helped out. Making yinmi is very simple: after soaking and washing the glutinous rice, steam it, then rinse it with cold water. Spread it out on a mat to dry.

Two people were busy making two hundred catties of glutinous rice. They made one hundred catties first and set them aside, while they continued to make the rest intermittently. Soon it was the first month of the lunar calendar.

With Wang Erniu around, Aunt Liu and Uncle Liu Hai didn't come to help as often, feeling a little embarrassed. Wang Erniu was also diligent. He rushed to do everything, hardly letting Chen Wenfang interfere. Since he arrived, Chen Wenfang felt her hands had become a bit more rusty. Chu Yi also volunteered to do chores, and the younger children were quite sensible. Apart from cooking, Chen Wenfang hadn't even swept the floor. Chu Yi swept the floor, Shi Wu fed the chickens, and Chen Xuanyu was responsible for feeding and changing Luo Xiaohei's water. Xiao Ahao was too small, so he was taken out by the rabbit every day, and then Chu Yi cleaned the chicken and rabbit coop. Wang Erniu was skillful; he modified the chicken coop himself, making it two-tiered. He put wooden boards on the top, lined it with straw, and it could house about twenty chickens. He then used wooden boards to create a low shed underneath. The chickens and rabbits could jump up to live there, and their droppings were cleaned up below.

The glutinous rice was all prepared, and it was time to start preparing for the New Year. Wang Erniu wanted to hunt some game to keep for the New Year, but he was worried about leaving Chen Wenfang alone at home. That day, Wang Erniu said to Chen Wenfang, "Chen Madam, let's go to the back mountain together, take the children, and hunt some game to prepare for the New Year." His tone had the air of an old married couple.

Chen Wenfang thought it would be good to go out for a walk and not stay at home thinking too much, so she turned around and went back inside, taking out two newly made jackets. One for Wang Erniu and one for Xiao Ahao. There wasn't enough time, so she only made two for now. Xiao Ahao originally wanted to alter the jacket that Madam Ouyang had given him, just adding some cotton, but someone had taken it, so he had to make another one. He would wear the ones made in this cold weather for now, and make the cotton trousers later. He asked Aunt Liu to make the cotton shoes; she was fast at making shoes and she could probably finish them before the market opened.

Chen Wenfang handed the coat to Wang Erniu and said, "Brother Erniu, this is a cotton-padded coat for you and Ahao. I saw that you two were wearing something a bit thin, so I made a cotton-padded coat for you. Try it on."

Wang Erniu was deeply moved. He hadn't bought any new clothes for several years, and had worn the same padded jacket through the winter for four years. He never expected that she would actually make him new clothes. His hands trembled slightly as he accepted the clothes, saying, "Thank you, Madam Chen."

Chen Wenfang smiled and said, "You're welcome."

Little Ahao jumped up and down excitedly, saying, "Oh, I have new clothes! Thank you, godmother!" Just like Shiwu, he automatically called Chen Wenfang his godmother. He originally wanted to call her "mother" directly, but Wang Erniu stopped him, so he changed it to "godmother," regardless of whether Wang Erniu agreed or not. Little Ahao had long envied them all for wearing new cotton-padded coats, while he didn't, probably because he didn't have a mother. Now he had one too, haha, he was so happy.

Chen Wenfang helped Xiao Ahao take off his padded jacket and put on a new cotton-padded coat. Xiao Ahao's face was flushed, and he was very excited. The new coat fit him perfectly, not too big or too small. The sleeves were a little long, so Chen Wenfang rolled them up for him. Xiao Ahao leaned close to Chen Wenfang and said, "Godmother, this coat is so warm, I love it, thank you." Actually, he really wanted to jump into Chen Wenfang's arms, like Xuanzai, but he was a little shy. He was also afraid of upsetting Chen Wenfang. His godmother had been so good to him; he couldn't let her be angry.

Chen Wenfang smiled, patted his head and said, "You're welcome. You've already called me godmother, so what's wrong with making you a padded jacket? I'm making cotton-padded trousers, and I'll put them on you when they're done, so you won't be cold."

Xiao Ahao nodded emphatically and smiled brightly, "Yes!"

Wang Erniu took off his old padded jacket and put on a new cotton-padded coat. Wang Erniu felt warm inside. His heart was warm too, and he was very grateful.

After they got dressed, Wang Erniu led them, saying, "Let's go hunting." Chen Wenfang nodded. The children cheered and led Luo Xiaohei, locking the yard and heading out.