Divorced woman with child travels through time

After dinner, Sister-in-law Nie went to wash the dishes, and Aunt Hu followed her, carrying the bowls with her. Seeing that no one was around, she asked mysteriously, "Um, Sister Yang, do you have to pay rent for living here?"

Sister-in-law Nie was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "Of course not, this house will be yours from now on."

Aunt Hu was very surprised, "How could such a nice house be ours?"

Sister-in-law Nie laughed and said, "Madam Chen said that if our family works here for three years, we can live in the house, and after five years, the deed will be given to us."

"Is there really such a great thing?" Aunt Hu was very skeptical.

Sister-in-law Nie laughed and said, "Just relax and work here. Our boss said that if we make money, everyone will get a share. We'll work our lives away for her, and she definitely won't treat us badly. She'll give us a home forever. Wang Hanyang's family actually got the property deed. She treats us like human beings, so we should naturally treat our boss sincerely too. Don't think too much about it."

Aunt Hu nodded and didn't say anything more. Just for the food, staying here was worthwhile.

On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, Chen's restaurant put up a sign that it would be closed for three days. Hu Chengxin couldn't understand it and grabbed Wang Erniu, saying, "Erniu, the New Year is a good time to make money. How can you stop working and rest? This won't do."

Wang Erniu smiled and said, "I think my wife is right about what she said. You can never earn enough money. We've worked hard enough this year, so let's rest for the rest of the year and let others earn this money. This year, because our business is booming, even restaurants are having a hard time. We have to leave some room for others."

Uncle Hu remained silent and said no more.

After a few busy days, on the 26th of the twelfth lunar month, Chen's Teahouse officially closed for the holidays. It would reopen on the 8th of the first lunar month. Chen Wenfang settled everyone's wages and distributed New Year's red envelopes, including those for the singers and storytellers who usually performed at the teahouse. The amount of money was not much, twenty red envelopes per person, but it was all about the sentiment. Everyone who received the money was very happy, hoping for good luck.

Chen Wenfang and Wang Erniu notified the men in the family to start buying New Year's goods, mainly to stock up on chickens, ducks, and fish. They bought and bought, and from the 27th to the 28th of the first lunar month, the horse-drawn carriages made six round trips in two days. The two carriages filled the family's warehouse, chicken coop, and cattle and sheep pen to the brim. Not counting the chickens they raised themselves, they bought back thirty or forty chickens, just in case they were worried that it wouldn't be enough to eat.

Wang Erniu then notified Liu Xuetian to send over four large baskets of firecrackers. Since meeting Chen Wenfang, Liu Xuetian had become famous and his business was growing bigger and bigger. As soon as he received the notification, he immediately drove his oxcart to deliver the firecrackers himself. He ran a small shop with a small storefront, but he made quite a bit of money selling festive items for entertaining guests and giving gifts.

As usual, Liu Xuetian secretly slipped a large bag of firecrackers to Chen Xuanyu when the adults weren't looking.

Overjoyed, Chen Xinyu whispered, "Brother Liu, is this firecracker the kind that explodes really loudly?"

Liu Xuetian replied in a low voice, "Yes, yes, it's the same as last year, but I made some improvements. It's not wrapped in firecrackers anymore. You can put it back and take a look. I've tried it, and it's absolutely fine and safe. It's just that it's a bit louder, hehe."

"Thank you, Brother Liu." Chen Xuanyu happily stuffed a handful of candy into his pocket.

Liu Xuetian smiled broadly, patted the bag of candy, and then patted his head. "Thank you, young master."

Chen Xuanyu put his hands behind his back and nodded, "You're welcome! Brother Liu, it's what I should do." Liu Xuetian was very pleased. This young master was so simple and unpretentious. He liked him very much. Last year, when he gave her a pack of firecrackers, Madam Chen saw it but did not stop him. He figured she wouldn't stop him this year either.

After settling the payment and delivering the firecrackers, Liu Xuetian pulled his carriage away to take his leave. Sure enough, Chen Wenfang walked over. "Chen Xuanyu! Let me see your firecrackers..."

Chen Xuanyu was only happy for a few minutes before dejectedly pulling out a pack of firecrackers from his pocket and saying, "This was specially given to me by Brother Liu, so you can't take it back."

Chen Wenfang ignored him, opened the paper bag in the package and looked inside. Huh? It was still firecrackers wrapped in red paper, and they were already somewhat similar to the firecrackers from her previous life, except that the fuses were particularly long.

"I won't take yours, give me two, I'll play with them..." Chen Wenfang said without any politeness.

Liu Xuanyu's fair face immediately lit up with a smile, and he happily said, "Mom, come, play with me." He then generously pulled out a firecracker and handed it to her.

Chen Wenfang rolled her eyes at him, took the bag, and held out her palm with her hand facing up, saying, "Oh, so stingy, I want more."

"You play first, and I'll give it to you when you're done," Chen Xuanyu said, pulling her hand affectionately.

"Okay...okay, let's go, let's go play." Chen Wenfang said speechlessly.

Fifteen, the little follower, had spotted it early on and immediately caught up, shouting, "Oh, let's go, let's set off firecrackers!..."

As soon as he shouted, Xiao Hao, who has super sharp ears, heard it immediately. He threw down his pen and ran out. Cheng Cheng, not to be outdone, followed him out. This stirred up a hornet's nest, and a whole bunch of little kids came running after them.

"Sigh!" Chen Xuanyu sighed. It was hopeless; with so many people, he wouldn't have enough firecrackers to go around. He quickly called out to Da Xiong, who was at the very back, "Brother Da Xiong, go get a basket of firecrackers and distribute them to them."

Da Xiong, not understanding what was going on, nodded from afar and went straight into the unlocked storeroom in the kitchen. He carried a basket of firecrackers over and put some incense in it as well. "I must say, Da Xiong is really strong," Chen Wenfang said, looking at him. "He'll be a great helper in the future."

"Come on, you guys play in here," Chen Xinyu shouted to a group of children, then skillfully lit an incense stick and handed it to Chen Wenfang. "Mom, you light it later."

Chen Wenfang felt no shame at being taken care of by a six-year-old and nodded, saying, "Okay, shall I put it here?"

Chen Xuanyu took the firecracker that looked like a firecracker, found a pit a little further away, stood the firecracker up in it, stretched out the fuse, and said, "I'll put it here, Mom, come a little closer!"

"Okay." Chen Wenfang walked over timidly, and Chen Xuanyu and the children immediately ran away. Chen Wenfang held the incense stick and tried to light it with all her might. Perhaps the incense stick was too long or Chen Wenfang was nervous because it was her first time setting off firecrackers, the incense stick bounced and she couldn't light the fuse. Chen Xuanyu was getting anxious watching from behind.

He ran over and grabbed Chen Wenfang's big hand with his little one, saying, "Mom, don't shake..."