Divorced woman with child travels through time

Chen Wenfang didn't even look at him, still staring at the man, and only nodded slowly and gently, as if afraid of waking herself up. So, under her gaze, Wang Erniu slowly walked towards the middle-aged man who was haggling with the shopkeeper, stood next to him, greeted him, and joined the conversation.

Upon seeing this scene, Chen Wenfang couldn't help but cover her mouth, tears streaming down her face. She murmured softly, "Dad! Dad!..." She called out the name she had called out countless times in her dreams, but the unfamiliar and awkward tone revealed her deep affection for her father.

Finally, she couldn't hold back any longer and rushed straight to the man, shouting, "Dad... Dad!" Just like when she was little, she would run into his arms countless times. The man would gently pick her up with tenderness and ask, "What's wrong? What's making you happy today, my darling daughter?"

This time, however, he didn't. He just looked at her with a strange and unfamiliar expression. Chen Wenfang was then pulled into Wang Erniu's arms by his side.

"Wife, don't be impulsive..." Wang Erniu said, holding Chen Wenfang who was in tears and losing control.

Chen Wenfang remained unmoved, heartbroken and distraught, her eyes fixed on the man opposite her who had the same large, captivating eyes as hers. His face was square and slightly thin, and his figure was slender, unlike the plump man in her previous life. For so many years, she had seen his blurry figure in her dreams, but this was the first time she had seen him so clearly, alive and well, standing right in front of her.

Upon realizing this, Chen Wenfang clutched her chest, tears streaming silently down her face. Pain spread like a spiderweb through her veins, rapidly surging from her trembling fingertips to her chest, pounding wildly. Chen Wenfang struggled to control her racing heart, which felt like it was about to burst from her chest. Breathing was difficult; she desperately tried to suppress this overwhelming joy, afraid of frightening him with her loss of composure. She wanted to say something, but only sobs escaped her lips…

But discerning people had already seen through the trick, and Wang Erniu had guessed what was going on. He subtly supported Chen Wenfang, who was almost exhausted from nervousness, and said in a very respectful tone, "Uncle, we are the owners of Chen's Restaurant over there. My wife was surprised to see that you look so much like an old friend of hers, and she couldn't help but lose her composure. I wonder if you would be willing to come into the teahouse and have a seat? We would like to invite you to have a simple meal to ease my wife's longing."

When Wang Erniu chased after the distraught Chen Wenfang, Wang Hanyang and Chu Yi had already noticed and rushed over. Along with Da Zhuang, the three men stood behind the two. As soon as Wang Erniu finished speaking, Wang Hanyang quietly moved his body, intending to capture the old man if he tried to run away and bring him into the teahouse.

The other two, seeing this, also moved slightly, forming a pincer movement to surround the old man.

Seeing that they didn't seem like people he could afford to offend, and although he felt a strange pang of sympathy for the weeping woman, he couldn't very well go to the teahouse with a few strangers. Besides, he had nothing to be fooled, so he bowed and politely declined, saying, "I'm sorry, sir, my wife is waiting at home, so it's inconvenient for me to have a meal. Please let me leave."

Upon hearing his refusal, Chen Wenfang panicked, clutching her chest and gripping Wang Erniu tightly with her other hand. Looking at him with desperate eyes, she sobbed softly, "Keep me here..."

Wang Erniu gently wiped away her tears and nodded with a determined look in his eyes.

Chu Yi looked him over for a while, then, with great shrewdness, took out a small piece of silver, weighed five jin (2.5 kg) of rice cake from the vendor, and placed it in his uncle's hand, saying, "Don't worry, old man, our shop is right here, and we won't do anything to you in public, right? Why don't you ask everyone? We're all good people."

The old man looked around, and the vendors next to him advised him, "Uncle, Chen Ji is a trustworthy person, go ahead."

"That's right, Madam Chen is a really good person."

"Yes, yes, Uncle, don't be afraid. I know them. Let them go. It's no big deal to eat for free." The rice cake seller had just received the money and was very happy, so he immediately helped to persuade them.

The old man, carrying a heavy five-pound bag of rice cakes, nodded and said, "Then I'll go in with you and sit for a while. I'll just have some hot water. There's no need for the host to be so polite and treat me to a meal." It was clear that he didn't want to take advantage of the situation, but he was short of money.

Chen Wenfang breathed a sigh of relief and, supported by Wang Erniu, went into the shop. The heart-wrenching feeling slowly dissipated, and her hands finally stopped trembling. Chen Wenfang wiped her face haphazardly with a handkerchief, looked at Wang Erniu affectionately, and gave him a gentle smile, saying, "Thank you, husband."

Wang Erniu smiled and wiped away the tears that hadn't quite dried from her face, saying, "No need to thank me, I'm your husband." The two looked at each other and smiled, everything understood without words.

Surrounded by several people, the old man entered Chen's Teahouse. The surrounding diners looked at him curiously. How could this down-on-his-luck middle-aged man have such a grand entrance that the owner of Chen's Teahouse personally welcomed him in?

The uncle was very embarrassed when faced with so many curious eyes for the first time. His face turned bright red, and he didn't know what to do with his hands and feet.

Only Chen Wenfang and the others remained unmoved, greeting the guests with smiles and laughter. When a curious old host asked who they were, Wang Erniu replied frankly that they were his relatives who had brought people up for dinner.

The elderly people watching all praised him, saying that not disliking a poor relative was truly a sign of a good character.

Wang Hanyang went even further, skillfully leading the group upstairs. Chu Yi then gave Wang Xiaoer a wink, signaling him to prepare a table of fine food and wine and send it to the private room on the second floor.

After everyone sat down around the table, the old man couldn't help but ask, "Master, what brings you here?"

Wang Erniu looked at Chen Wenfang, who had regained her composure. Her eyes were filled with tears but she smiled gently as she said, "No rush, Uncle, you eat for a while first. Hey, Chuyi, tell the waiter to hurry up and bring out the dishes, especially some meat dishes." Chen Wenfang urged him eagerly, wanting to serve him the best dishes possible.

"Alright!" Chu Yi laughed, guessing what was going on, and looked at his uncle, saying, "I'll go urge them now." Wang Hanyang and Dazhuang also tacitly withdrew. Only Chen Wenfang, Wang Erniu, and his uncle remained in the room.

The room was warmed by the burning of fine charcoal. Wang Erniu got up and added a few more pieces to make it a little warmer. Chen Wenfang picked up the warm tea that was sitting next to her, poured a cup, and handed it to him, saying, "Uncle, it's cold, have some tea."

Actually, she wanted to call him "Dad." The man in front of her was her father, who had passed away five years ago in her previous life. How could she hold back? Although he was younger than her father in her previous life, she recognized his face at a glance. It was her father, the one who had worked hard for decades for his unworthy children, never sleeping in a hard sleeper train or riding a high-speed train, always working away from home, still working even in his fifties, who had died of a heart attack one night while sleeping alone without saying goodbye, and whose body was already dead the next day when the landlord called the police...