Divorced woman with child travels through time

In the evening, Chu Yi and Li Huanqiu sat side by side soaking their legs in the medicinal solution, and unsurprisingly, both of them developed blisters on their feet.

The two exchanged a smile, and Chu Yi said, "Uncle Huanqiu, you've got blisters on your legs from running so fast!"

Li Huanqiu grinned, his bright white teeth gleaming in the sunlight. "Hehe, no matter how fast you run, you're still just a fleshy leg. You're bound to get blisters. The main problem is that I haven't walked around the Wang family's place enough. The calluses are gone, and my delicate feet are naturally getting blisters."

Chen Wenfang came over with a smile, put the medicine aside, looked at their feet and said, "Stop being silly, hurry up and finish soaking them. Then pop the blisters, apply this medicine, and then come over for a late-night snack. I specially made stewed pork trotters and ribs until they were very tender. Thank you for your hard work, eat more later."

"Okay, sister-in-law," Li Huanqiu replied with a smile, scratching his head.

"Okay, did Godmother put in the chili peppers? I want it spicy," Chu Yi said happily.

"I've added it, I've added it. You two both love spicy food, so of course I added it." Chen Wenfang said with a smile as she left. "Hurry up, it's keeping warm in the pot."

Li Huanqiu quickly wiped his feet and returned to the kitchen. As soon as he lifted the pot lid, wow, there was a huge pot full of meat: pig's feet, pork ribs, pig's head meat, pig's stomach, stewed peanuts, soybeans, lotus root, bean curd sheets, kelp, tofu, red chili peppers, soybean paste, and glistening red oil. It was fragrant and tempting.

Aunt Liu was tending the fire in the stove. When she saw him open the pot, she smiled and said, "Are you hungry? Do you want steamed buns or flatbread? There are some in the pot over there. Take whatever you want and put it in your bowl. Fang'er said we need to be on guard against bandits. Someone will always be busy. If anyone is hungry, they can just come and eat. Someone will also be watching the fire at night, so you can always have something hot to eat."

"Then I won't be polite." Li Huanqiu loved Aunt Liu's cooking the most. He was amazed when he first ate it, especially the chili peppers. He felt that being able to eat such things in his life was a gift from heaven. He filled a large bowl with meat and a few pieces of tofu, took five steamed buns from the pot next to him, and sat down in the side room to enjoy his meal.

Aunt Liu added some water to the pot on the other side of the steamed buns and put in a large piece of blanched pig's trotter. There was also a lot of pork that had been drained of blood in the vat next to it. Chen Wenfang had specially ordered a pig and a sheep for this bandit incident. Not to mention the other vegetables provided, the officials were working so hard, so at least they should be fed well and have enough to eat.

This night was destined to be anything but peaceful. The officials and villagers patrolled in pairs. Last night they were in pairs, but tonight they were in pairs. The sentries on the mountain were also in pairs. Brother Nie and Ma Liu took turns patrolling until dawn, but there was no trace of bandits.

The next day, after dawn, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The villagers went home to tidy up, make breakfast, and busy themselves with the vegetables in the fields, harvesting rice, and drying rice. They all went about their work, as they still had important things to do that evening. However, they were still somewhat worried and were not focused on their tasks.

Aunt Liu accidentally put too much salt in the food, but luckily there were many people and a lot of food, so she added a lot more radishes and some water to stew the mutton.

Just as everyone finished lunch and the aroma of mutton filled the air, a large troop of soldiers finally entered the village. Uncle Liu Hai looked at Chen Wenfang with some apprehension, then at Brother Nie, and finally at Ah Li. Seeing that no one was moved, he inadvertently spotted Ouyang Junyan leading the soldiers at the front, and his heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down.

"Greetings, Your Excellency!" Chen Wenfang and the other villagers bowed to them.

Ouyang Junyan dismounted and gave a slight nod to help him up, saying, "Greetings, everyone. This is Commander Xu, who has brought troops to our aid."

"Greetings, Commander Xu!" Everyone bowed in greeting.

Xu, the military commander, had gained enough face and was very satisfied. He stroked his beard and said, "Get up. I am here at Junyan's request and will certainly protect you all. There is no need for such formalities." With that, he dismounted.

"Please!" Ouyang Junyan gestured. "This is the famous Chen Ji. It's still early, sir, you can go in and have some snacks."

"Let's go!" Commander Xu was also very interested. Chen's food was famously delicious, so it was worth a look. "Chunlai, you go with Aben to find out the situation so we can arrange personnel later." Commander Xu ate, but he didn't neglect his duties.

Once inside, Ouyang Junyan said politely, "Madam Chen, quickly present the prepared snacks and dishes to the master for him to try."

"Okay!" Chen Wenfang nodded slightly and directed the men from the brick shop to bring up the snacks and dishes.

When Xu Tixia looked at the elegant Chen Niangzi, his eyes lit up. She was very beautiful and charming, truly living up to her reputation. However, it was a good thing that he preferred delicious food to beautiful women.

After exchanging a few words with Ouyang Junyan, Chen Wenfang tactfully left. The county magistrate was quite protective of her.

Ouyang Junyan accompanied Xu Tixia to enjoy some snacks. The two went outside to arrange matters when Xu Tixia suddenly sniffed and said, "What's that smell? It smells so good!" Without waiting for a reply, he followed the aroma into the kitchen. Aunt Liu, who was busy cooking, hadn't gone out. Seeing someone come in, she didn't care who it was, assuming that someone in official robes must be there to help. She smiled and said, "Sir, are you hungry? There's meat in the pot. Please help yourself to a bowl." She was busy kneading dough. These past few days hadn't been busy, and Chen Wenfang had sent Chunlan and the others home. Her family, including Aunt Liu and several of Brother Nie's aunts, had been cooking. Chen Wenfang only came to help around mealtimes.

Without any ceremony, Xu Tixia picked up the pot lid and revealed an expression exactly like Li Huanqiu's fourth brother, Li Si. He casually grabbed a large bowl next to him, filled it with meat, picked up a pair of chopsticks, and started eating. Ouyang Junyan, who followed him in, looked at him with amusement.

"Brother Ouyang, don't laugh. This is how you truly enjoy eating. Try it if you don't believe me." Commander Xu ate heartily, savoring the delicious meat. Ah, so satisfying!

Unlike him, Ouyang Junyan elegantly took a small bowl, filled it with some meat without hesitation, and started eating. However, he put it down after eating a few pieces of meat, but picked up more vegetables instead, as he thought vegetables were delicious.

The two chatted and ate, and soon arranged for their men to lie in ambush. Aunt Liu listened blankly. Were these two high-ranking officials? Was it inappropriate for her to be listening? Going out didn't seem right either. Oh well, she'd better continue focusing on making steamed buns.

Having eaten too much meat, Commander Xu finally dragged Ouyang Junyan out to check the situation. Everything was arranged, and they were just waiting for the big fish to bite that night.

As night fell, lights were either off or on in every household. After dinner, people would relax in the cool evening air, then extinguish their lights and go to sleep. The night patrols, which had been conducted in groups of five, were now carried out by a single person. The night grew deeper, and Wang Xiaoguang, hiding in a tree, heard the faint calls of night birds. He knew the bandits were coming.