Divorced woman with child travels through time

Chen Wenfang stared for a while, then couldn't help but burst out laughing, "Brother Erniu, what are you doing?"

Wang Erniu hesitated before saying, "Fang'er, do you... do you remember what you said yesterday?"

"I remember, so what?" Chen Wenfang looked at him with amusement.

"It's okay, just remember it, and don't go back on your word." Wang Erniu felt like a young boy, a bit impatient.

Chen Wenfang laughed and said, "I'm not going to go back on my word. Why would I go back on my word?" She thought to herself, "Even someone like you is getting the better deal."

"Hehe, you said it! I'm going to find Uncle Liu Hai." Wang Erniu was overjoyed, and without even drinking his porridge, he ran off.

"Drink your porridge before you go!" Chen Wenfang thought to herself as she watched Wang Erniu running away. "I'm so lucky to have that physique."

"I'm not drinking anymore!" Wang Erniu called out from afar, then happily ran off to find Uncle Liu Hai.

Uncle Liu Hai was in the field with the Liu Xiaoguang and Xiaoming brothers, tending to the chili peppers and weeding. After having a big meal yesterday, they had grown to love the chili peppers even more; they were going to make a lot of money from them in the future.

"Uncle Liu, Uncle Liu!" Wang Erniu shouted loudly.

Uncle Liu thought something had happened and hurriedly came out of the field, asking, "What's wrong? What happened?"

Wang Erniu, breathless from running, excitedly grabbed his hand like a teenager and said, "She said yes! She said yes to me!"

Uncle Liu Hai was baffled. "What? You agreed? What's wrong?"

"Fang'er, she agreed to marry me, hehe!" Wang Erniu, having caught his breath, scratched his head and grinned foolishly.

"Really? That's wonderful! I'll go find someone to calculate the auspicious date." Uncle Liu Hai was extremely excited and quickly turned to leave.

“I’ll go with you,” Wang Erniu said.

"Don't cause any trouble. Just keep an eye on the land. I'll go, don't worry." Uncle Liu Hai headed towards Wangjiazhuang.

Xiaoguang and Xiaoming also heard the commotion and came out.

"Xiaoguang and Xiaoming, Fang'er has agreed to marry me! We're getting married!" Wang Erniu couldn't wait to share the news with them.

Congratulations, brother!

"Congratulations, we have a sister-in-law now."

Wang Erniu ran back excitedly, first repeating the news to Dazhuang and Zhuantou, then went into the main room and saw Chen Wenfang. Suddenly, he became embarrassed, blushing as he went in and shook Wang Hanyang awake, saying to him, "I'm getting married, brother!"

Wang Hanyang rubbed his eyes, still half asleep. He had been drinking too late the night before and was on night watch, so he had just fallen asleep.

"Who are you marrying?"

"Chen Niangzi, you've forgotten!" Wang Erniu excitedly rubbed his face.

"Oh, congratulations, brother!"

"Sigh!" Wang Erniu left again, having achieved his goal.

When he arrived at the kitchen, Aunt Liu and Chunlan were frying rice. Seeing him come over with a happy expression, they asked, "Why are you so happy?"

Wang Erniu looked at Aunt Liu shyly and said, "Fang'er has agreed to marry me."

"Oh, this is wonderful!" Aunt Liu said happily. "Go find your Uncle Liu and let's set a date. You two don't have any elders, so it's just the two of us who have to worry about it."

"I've already discussed it with Uncle Liu."

"Come and lend a hand, I'm going to talk to Fang'er."

“This…” Wang Erniu looked at Chunlan and said, “I’ll go and call Fang’er over, you can talk to her.”

Aunt Liu was quite pleased to see this; it was to avoid suspicion, not to stay in the same room as Chunlan. "This child is so sensible!"

A short while later, Chen Wenfang came in and said, "Auntie, you were looking for me?"

"Yes, I heard you and Erniu are getting married."

"Yes, I agreed to it, so what?"

"Have you prepared your dowry? What about your wedding dress? And the embroidery? We have to prepare everything," Aunt Liu said.

"Oh? Is it that complicated? I'm remarried, right? I can just invite a few guests, can't I?" Chen Wenfang was a little embarrassed; this was too much trouble.

"What are you saying? A girl's second marriage should be properly arranged too," Aunt Liu scolded.

"Okay, then come with me to buy it later."

"Alright, then paint the house properly again. I'll let your Uncle Liu Hai take care of it, so you don't need to worry about it."

Chen Wenfang laughed and said, "Okay, I'll pay for it." That was the decision, and the wedding date was set for two months later, in mid-July.

After the Dragon Boat Festival, Chen Wenfang ordered a batch of small jars. The earthenware jars could hold half a jin (250 grams), and the small bamboo tubes with lids could hold about two liang (100 grams). Once the money was in place, the goods were made quickly and arrived in seven or eight days.

Chen Wenfang collected some chili peppers and taught them how to make chili sauce. This time at the market, they wanted to promote the chili peppers and make a big splash. However, they didn't have enough garlic at home. They told Chu Yi, and Chu Yi went to Wangjiazhuang on his way to school and collected about 20 jin, which was enough. After that, the Chen family's yard had an extra lane for collecting garlic and ginger.

Chen Wenfang made two kinds of chili sauce this time, one pickled and one stir-fried. The stir-fried one was more fragrant and delicious. They tied red and white threads to the chilies respectively. The main task was to work together. Aunt Liu and the others washed and chopped the chilies, while Chen Wenfang and Wang Erniu put on white cloths to cover their noses and stir-fried the chilies in the kitchen, which was filled with the smell of chili. Although it was a bit hard work, the taste was really good. Aunt Liu and the others praised it after tasting it. From then on, there were always two jars of chili sauce on the table as a side dish. Several of the younger people had completely fallen in love with it and added some to every meal. They loved it so much.

Chen Wenfang dried the earthenware pot and bamboo tube after boiling water, put in chili sauce, sealed it, and waited to go to the market to sell it.

The chili sauce was being made for the first time, mainly for advertising purposes. The quantity didn't need to be large, just enough to promote the product. After making the chili sauce, Chen Wenfang would give a small bamboo tube of chili sauce to anyone who ordered fried rice, inviting them to taste it and offer suggestions for improvement. The method worked very well, but after only a few days, five days before the market day, a merchant came to visit. The merchant tasted it and loved it, asking how much it cost per pound and wanting to order fifty pounds. Chen Wenfang, not wanting to cheat anyone, ordered the fried chili sauce at thirty coins per pound and the pickled chili sauce at twenty-five coins per pound. She understood it was hard-earned money. Seeing Chen Wenfang's honesty, the merchant directly ordered fifty pounds of fried chili sauce and fifty pounds of pickled chili sauce, paid, and said he wanted to pick it up on the third day.

Having no other choice, they sent Wang Erniu to buy garlic and ginger the next day. After returning, Chen Wenfang began teaching Aunt Liu and Chunlan how to make chili sauce. They also ordered another batch of two hundred earthenware jars, the kind that weigh one jin (500 grams). Fortunately, they always bought syrup at home, so they had stocked up on earthenware jars, about a dozen of them. They took Chen Wenfang, a big customer who always ordered earthenware jars, to heart, and the product was ready quickly. The workshop in the Chen family's courtyard helped many surrounding farmers become rich.

Chen Wenfang finally managed to finish processing the chili sauce order from the merchant, and then made over 300 small jars and 500 small bamboo tubes of chili sauce, just in time for the market at the end of June. This time, she needed a large crowd to make it happen, so everyone except Chunlan and Aunt Liu came. The stall was still the same, but there wasn't enough room, so Chen Wenfang got up early and picked 50 jin of fresh chilies to put on the stall.