Divorced woman with child travels through time

After inspecting the fields, Chen Wenfang added an extra tael of silver to Liu Hai's monthly allowance as he returned home, making Liu Hai extremely happy. Just then, an old farmer came to borrow a cow, and Liu Hai immediately took him to the cowshed, while also boasting about the chili peppers he had grown.

Chen Wenfang was willing to lend cattle to the villagers, since it was really difficult for some elderly and weak farmers to clear land. Uncle Liu Hai initially disagreed because he felt sorry for the cattle, but after Chen Wenfang's repeated requests, he agreed. However, he had to make the decision on lending cattle. For some particularly elderly people who did not have any able-bodied young people at home, Uncle Liu Hai still agreed to lend them cattle, but with a condition: for every day the cattle were borrowed, two days' worth of hay had to be provided. This way, some families who wanted to borrow cattle for free but did not have the means were filtered out, and very few people lent cattle.

The villagers were a little curious about the chili peppers and sugarcane that Uncle Liu Hai grew, but once they heard that they came from the south, they accepted it. After all, Uncle Liu Hai had taken the initiative to plant the sweet potatoes last year and the peanuts the year before. Uncle Liu Hai liked to plant some strange things, and if they succeeded, everyone would benefit. In addition, Chen Wenfang had a good reputation, and it was said that he was helping Chen's wife plant the crops. Therefore, everyone in the village, young and old, knew about Uncle Liu Hai's land, and no one dared to have any ulterior motives.

At the end of April, Chen Wenfang went to the market just like last time, the only difference being the sign he put up, which clearly read, "Selling pastry recipes, one recipe costs twenty taels." This caused an uproar in the crowd, and the onlookers immediately ran around telling everyone.

Boss Li was the first to get the news. "What? They're selling their daughters? Twenty taels each? Why doesn't she just rob them?! That's so expensive!"

Mr. Li paced back and forth in the shop, wondering what to do. Should he buy it or not? This Mrs. Chen was up to no good; he couldn't buy it now, or he'd fall for her trap. He'd wait until she had no one else to buy it and then offer a discount.

Just then, he saw a traveling merchant at the stall pointing at the sign. He couldn't hear him because he was too far away. After a while, the merchant took out two silver ingots. Madam Chen reached into the cabinet below, took out a folded piece of paper, handed it to him, said a few words, and then left. Oh dear, this was too obvious. Someone was buying the son! Boss Li was furious, but he couldn't do anything about Madam Chen. He wanted to buy it but thought it was too expensive. He was very conflicted.

The news spread quickly, and many restaurants on Rich Street sent people over to sell their recipes. Of course, most of them didn't care about the rice candy recipes, but they mainly wanted the Sachima recipes. Almost every waiter who came bought one. Boss Li estimated that in this hour, the other side had sold at least two hundred taels of silver. What a waste! She made all the good stuff. Boss Li had no interest in doing business, so he sat on the counter and stared intently at the restaurant across the street.

Before he knew it, Li Fengshou's eyes met Wang Erniu's. Feeling a little guilty, he looked away. Wang Erniu's eyes were too sharp; Li Fengshou felt like he was being stared at by a wild beast.

Wang Erniu had been staring at Li Fengshou for a long time. The man opposite him had been looking this way the whole time, with a shifty look on his face. He was probably calculating how much money they had made. Wang Erniu was itching to teach him a lesson. When he saw that Li Fengshou was staring at him, he deliberately met his gaze and glared back at him fiercely. "What are you looking at? Look at your sister!"

Soon, the news of Chen Niangzi selling pastry recipes spread throughout the town, and people flocked to buy them. Every now and then, a traveling merchant would come and buy one recipe. Boss Li couldn't bear to watch any longer, so he reluctantly bought three recipes, only to find that the recipe for Sachima was the same, except for the sugar. He couldn't help but give Chen Wenfang a piece of his mind in the shop.

Just after noon, the Li family arrived; it was the same steward as last time.

“Madam Chen, that’s not very kind of you. My master is not happy about it.”

"This? Butler Li, I have no choice. Too many people are eyeing my things. The other day when I went back, someone dug a hole for me and I almost fell to my death," Chen Wenfang said with difficulty.

"That's your problem. Since you sold it to the Li family, you have to abide by this rule."

“But you didn’t tell me I couldn’t sell it to anyone else,” Chen Wenfang explained.

“That’s right, how can one person enjoy it all by themselves?” Just then, a traveling merchant came to buy fried rice. “Madam Chen, don’t mind him, just give me a recipe for fried rice.”

"You! You guys! You're going to be the death of me! Just you wait!" Butler Li was so angry that he was practically spitting fire. His face was contorted with rage. He flung his sleeves and stormed off.

Chen Wenfang was a little uneasy. She looked at Wang Erniu, who patted her shoulder knowingly and said softly, "It's okay, don't worry, I'm here." Indeed, what's meant to happen can't be avoided.

Chen Wenfang handed the recipe to the merchant, who then ordered another fifty catties of fried rice. Chen Wenfang asked in surprise, "Brother Zhou, you've already bought the recipe, why do you still need to order fried rice?"

“Buying the house is buying the house. I’ll resell it at the border and get my twenty taels back in no time. The fried rice is for rations or to sell to others. The two are unrelated.” Zhou Erge laughed heartily, clearing up her confusion.

"Oh, I see. This is brown sugar sachima. Second brother didn't get to try it last time, so he specially saved some for you to try. Please take it with you." Chen Wenfang took a handful of sachima, placed it on top of the fried rice, and handed it over.

"Then thank you very much, Madam Chen."

"You're too kind, please take care!"

As they were finishing up work, Wang Erniu noticed a few thugs sneaking around on the street corner and knew what was going on. He said to Chen Wenfang, "Fang'er, you guys eat first. I have something to take care of and will be back later."

"Okay, I'll wait for you to come back for dinner. Hurry up and finish your work," Chen Wenfang said with a smile.

Wang Erniu looked at her gently, "Okay, I'll go first then."

Chen Wenfang and Dazhuang packed up the goods together and put the shelf in the shop next door. They would take it out again every time they went to the market. The rent had been agreed upon. After Dazhuang saw that everything was packed up, he went to fetch the carriage. Together with Chen Wenfang, they loaded the remaining rice and flour products onto the carriage. Chen Wenfang was shrewd. Today's total sales, including the money from selling the goods, amounted to about four hundred taels. Chen Wenfang only took some loose silver of a few dozen taels and had Dazhuang take the rest to exchange for banknotes.

After waiting for a while, Chen Wenfang got hungry. Since Wang Erniu still hadn't returned, she asked Dazhuang to order a few dishes from the restaurant and set aside one portion for them. The two ate quickly. After finishing their meal, seeing that Wang Erniu didn't seem to be coming back anytime soon, she asked Dazhuang to watch the things while she went to wander around. The market had already closed, so they could only see what they could buy on the Rich Street.

As soon as Chen Wenfang turned the corner, she felt something was wrong, as if there was something strange. The shopkeepers passing by were all looking at her, and she thought to herself, "I'm afraid a thief has followed me."