Divorced woman with child travels through time

Seeing that there were chestnuts for sale, Chen Wenfang bought a bag. When she returned to her stall, which was also about to close up, she bought some food so that everyone could have dinner at the stall before going home, so that they wouldn't have to cook after a long day.

As they were eating, a woman came over angrily, dragging a child along. Chen Wenfang was confused and just wanted to continue eating when the woman pointed at her nose and cursed without asking any questions, "You filthy bitch, you're the one who kidnapped my son! Everyone come and see! This Chen woman is no good! She stole someone else's son! Why is my life so miserable?"

Chen Wenfang couldn't remember who she was for a moment, and said with some confusion, "Who are you? Don't talk nonsense here. Who is trying to steal your son? I have my own son. Why would I steal your son? Watch your mouth and speak properly!" Aunt Liu and the others next to her were also looking on angrily.

The woman cried and shouted, "My son is right behind you, I can see him! Hiding won't help you, you shameless filthy woman!"

Chen Wenfang looked back and saw Chu Yi glaring fiercely at them. Suddenly, she realized what was happening. "Are you talking about Chu Yi?"

The woman cried as she said, "That's right, he's my son! How could you take him away? And what about the other one, Fifteen! You two little brats, get out here!"

Chu Yi stepped forward with Shi Wu, who was hiding under the table. Chu Yi pulled him out, and the two of them stood next to Chen Wenfang.

Chu Yi said, "Madam Chen didn't kidnap us; we sold ourselves to her willingly."

His stepmother laughed instead, "If you sold yourselves to her willingly, what about the money? Who gave you permission to sell yourselves? What right do you have to sell yourselves?"

Chu Yi said, "That day, many people in the town had stomach aches, including us. We were in so much pain we were almost dying. It was Madam Chen who spent money to save us. That's why I sold myself to her. The money for saving our lives was used to pay for the sale. We have nothing to do with you. Besides, if it were you at the time, you wouldn't have had the money to save us either. What could you have done?" Chu Yi spoke with reason and evidence, leaving the stepmother speechless. She stood there motionless, speechless. The little child, who was being held by his stepmother, drooled as he looked at the rice candy still on the table. He secretly picked up a grain of rice candy with his dark little hand and put it in his mouth.

Chu Yi felt sorry for them and Chen Wenfang noticed it too. She wanted to give them some rice candy but hesitated. Liu and the others behind them saw that the woman was no longer making a fuss and continued eating their meals without paying any attention to her.

Seeing that no one paid attention to her, the woman started to act up, sitting down on the ground and crying and shouting, "I don't care! If they're going to sell themselves, they should at least give me the money they're owed. If they want nothing at all, no way!"

Chu Yi stared intently at the woman covered in dust, rolling on the ground and begging him for money to sell himself. He had to remember what she had done today. Just as Chen Wenfang was about to say something, Chu Yi interrupted, "Then give back the money we paid for your medical treatment to Madam Chen, and we'll go back with you!"

Chen Wenfang immediately understood and quickly stopped Chu Yi, pointing at the two of them and saying, "What nonsense are you talking about? You two have been sold to me. You think you can come and go as you please? If you want to leave, you have to pay, including the money for medical treatment, the money for recuperating at my house, and the money for food and clothing."

The woman was taken aback. Why wasn't this person playing by the rules? Normally, if someone made a scene like this, they would definitely pay up. What should she do? It must be because she came too late today. Everyone's already closed up shop, and there are fewer people. Oh well, today's timing isn't right. She'll come back tomorrow!

During the months that Shiwu had been staying at Chen Wenfang's house, she ate and slept well, and had grown quite a bit taller, already as tall as a cupboard. She happened to see her stepmother's child, her half-brother, standing on tiptoe, pitifully struggling to pick up bits of rice puffs. Shiwu remembered seeing him as a child, looking adorable, and felt a pang of pity. She knelt down, reached into the cupboard, and took a large piece of rice puff candy, handing it to him. The child quickly took it, put it in his mouth, and started eating, his other little hand still reaching out to catch the bits of rice he bit off, afraid of dropping them.

After giving the rice candy to Shiwu, he belatedly looked up at his brother. Chuyi didn't say anything, pretending not to see him. Shiwu then looked at Chen Wenfang, who naturally knew what was going on and smiled at him, which was considered tacit approval. Only then did Shiwu secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

Seeing that she wouldn't get anything out of him, the woman angrily pulled the child away. Seeing the rice candy in the child's hand, she asked him, "Who gave you this? You're just eating it?" The child was busy eating and said, "My fifteenth brother secretly gave it to me."

The woman paused for a moment, sighed, and said nothing more.

After Chen Wenfang and the others finished their meal, they packed up and went home. In the carriage, Aunt Liu asked, "Fang'er, I'm afraid Chu Yi's mother will come to make trouble again tomorrow. What should we do?"

Uncle Liu Hai also asked, "How about the indenture? No problem, right?"

Chen Wenfang laughed and said, "It's okay, everything's taken care of. Brother Erniu got the village chief to notarize it, so we're in the right and not afraid of her."

Uncle Liu and Aunt Liu nodded together, "That's good!"

Only Chu Yi remained quiet and didn't say anything. Chen Wenfang patted his head and comforted him, "Chu Yi, don't be afraid, it's okay. I won't hand you over to her. Your mother just wants some money at most. We can just give it to her. It's not a big deal."

Chu Yi said angrily, "We can't give her money. Why should we give it to her? She didn't raise us, and she's not my mother."

Chen Wenfang explained, "But she is nominally your mother, and a stepmother is still a mother."

Aunt Liu patted his shoulder and said, "That's right. No matter what she does, if we can't get past the rules of etiquette, she's still your mother."

Chu Yi said angrily, "She doesn't deserve to be our mother at all. She even wants to sell us herself."

Chen Wenfang comforted her, "Forget it, don't think about it anymore. Don't be afraid, I won't abandon you. I promised I would make sure you grow up well. Don't worry. By the way, what's your mother's name? I don't even know it yet!"

Chu Yi felt a pang of sadness when she thought of her own mother and whispered, "Her name was Zhou Qinglan. It's been so long, I've almost forgotten it."

Chen Wenfang patted his back, feeling a bit of sympathy. She had almost forgotten what her own mother looked like and wondered how she was doing. Not knowing how to comfort him, she could only say, "Never mind, never mind. As long as we're doing well in the future, we don't need to worry about her."

Chu Yi nodded and didn't say anything more. No one else said anything either, and they arrived home in silence.

Chen Wenfang told Chu Yi to take the other children to wash up and rest early, while she pulled Wang Erniu to sit in the main room to discuss today's matter.

Wang Erniu carried a stove, put a few pieces of embers from the firebox into it, lit the new embers, and placed it next to Chen Wenfang.