Divorced woman with child travels through time

The meal was a great success, with everyone enjoying themselves. Aunt Liu, who used to lack confidence in her cooking skills, became quite confident because all the dishes were eaten.

After finishing her meal, Chen Wenfang took her child home. Uncle Tian gave her a bundle, saying he was giving her a few pairs of shoes, which Chen Wenfang happily accepted.

The weather got very hot after the Dragon Boat Festival, and Chen Wenfang recently started altering clothes, turning all her child's long-sleeved shirts into three sets of short-sleeved shirts. Aunt Liu said she was being wasteful and should have just made the short-sleeved ones.

Turning around, I saw Chen Xuanyu having a blast and Shi Tou looking so sour. So I altered three more outfits for Shi Tou and Da Zhuang. After the alterations, the three kids happily went to play in the water.

Seeing this, Uncle Liu Hai also asked Aunt Liu to alter a few sets of clothes for him. As a result, the custom changed, and Aunt Liu said that now in Wangjiazhuang and even Lijia Town, every man has a set of short-sleeved shirts.

Seeing that they all looked so comfortable, Aunt Liu couldn't resist and altered a short-sleeved shirt for herself, though the pants were still long. It was indeed comfortable to wear. When she went to Wangjiazhuang, the farm women there saw this and also altered their shirts to three-quarter sleeves, which was definitely much cooler.

With the weather getting hotter, Chen Wenfang, who already disliked going out, is even less so now. Apart from picking vegetables in the garden in the morning, weeding in the late morning, and chopping firewood or gathering herbs in the afternoon when the weather is less hot, she basically doesn't go out for walks.

Aunt Liu told Chen Wenfang that the officials had been searching everywhere lately for someone—a thief or a notorious womanizer—but it was all just hearsay and no one really knew the details. The officials had already been to Wangjiazhuang and would likely come back here. Aunt Liu told Chen Wenfang to be careful and not to wander off unnecessarily.

Little did they know that ever since the Wang Ximao incident, everyone was afraid of Chen Wenfang, calling her a shrew who would kill anyone who dared to provoke her. Although Chen Wenfang had taught everyone how to make syrup, and now every household in Wangjiazhuang made their own syrup as a snack, and there were many more syrup vendors at the market, it didn't stop these people from eating and cursing her. Chen Wenfang's reputation in the village was still not good. Few people approached her, but those few young wives who kept their word last time had a few more children playing with Chen Xuanyu and his friends.

Chen Wenfang didn't feel anything special, just a little bored. She planned to buy some books at the market next time to learn about the local culture. Chen Xuanyu had already become friends with the children, and kids from Wangjiazhuang often came to play with him. Plus, Shi Tou and Da Zhuang played in the ditch every day, and with Da Zhuang watching over them, Chen Wenfang felt at ease. Da Zhuang could swim, and the ditch in Wangjiazhuang, which wasn't really a river, was only knee-deep, not even as deep as the pond next to her house. The bank was also the village's gathering place, with many adults, many children playing, and even more adults watching. So Chen Wenfang didn't really keep an eye on him.

One afternoon, right after lunch, Shi Tou and Da Zhuang arrived, bringing bamboo winnowing baskets. They wanted to go fishing in the stream together. Bamboo winnowing baskets were a new item at the market. Ever since Uncle Tian's improved slippers became a bestseller, everyone seemed to have discovered a new business opportunity: making novelties. If done well, the whole town might come to buy them. Of course, if not done well, they might lose money; it all depended on their skills.

Chen Xuanyu eagerly grabbed his little shovel and bucket, wearing a vest and shorts. These were made by Chen Wenfang at Wang the carpenter's house for Chen Xuanyu to play with in the water; now every child in Wangjiazhuang has one. Chen Wenfang has single-handedly boosted the toy industry, and it's said that Wang the carpenter plans to sell these at the next market, which some children who spoil their kids might need.

"Mom, I'm going to play in the water with Brother Stone and the others." Chen Xuanyu happily grabbed his things and went out with them.

"Go ahead, be careful! Shi Tou and Da Zhuang, keep an eye on things!" Chen Wenfang said.

"Okay!" The three tanned children answered in a few scattered voices and ran off.

Chen Wenfang's attitude towards raising her child was very hands-off. As long as he wasn't hurt, she didn't care about tans or anything like that; she believed that a more relaxed upbringing would lead to better health. Therefore, since Chen Xuanyu came to live with them, he had basically never been sick. Of course, this was also because Chen Wenfang took good care of him; although he didn't have breast milk, he consistently received meat and eggs every day.

After the children left, Chen Wenfang closed the courtyard gate, opened the house door, lay down, and took a nap. She had no sense of time and slept until she naturally woke up. Feeling a little hungry, she ate a piece of pastry, boiled water, and started cooking mung beans, turning off the heat to let them simmer. She then opened the courtyard gate and leisurely leaned against the wall, gazing at the sky in a daze.

After a while, Chen Xuanyu and Shi Tou Dazhuang came running back, laughing and carrying small buckets, saying, "Mom, look at the fish we caught..."

Chen Wenfang peeked out and saw a few tiny fish, probably caught right after they were born. She praised them, "You guys are really amazing, you actually managed to catch fish. But they're too small, they won't eat much. Dazhuang, take them back to the pond, but be careful not to slip."

Dazhuang led the two younger ones carefully and meticulously to pour the fish into the pond, and returned satisfied.

Chen Wenfang took out some snacks and called the three of them over to eat. She then said, "I've cooked some mung bean soup in the pot. Dazhuang, please watch over the two of them. When you have time, go check the fire and add some more firewood. I'm going to the back mountain to fetch some firewood. The firewood I cut last time should be mostly dried by now. I'm worried it might get wet if it rains, so I'll go and collect it first."

Dazhuang agreed and left, and the three of them chattered as they went into the kitchen. Chen Wenfang took the rope and carrying pole and went to the back mountain.

"Big Brother Dazhuang, why don't you open it and see if it's cooked?" Chen Xuanyu suggested.

"I don't think so. Sister-in-law Chen didn't say anything about opening it to look." Da Zhuang insisted.

"Brother, please open it so I can see," Stone pleaded.

"Big Brother Zhuang, take a look, I'm starving," Chen Xuanyu said in a spoiled tone.

"Then move over a little, don't get burned. I'll open it and take a look." Unable to resist Chen Xuanyu's starry eyes, Dazhuang gave in.

Dazhuang opened the pot lid, scooped up a few unripe mung beans with a spatula, and the three of them each took one and put it in their mouths. After chewing, they all spat it out together—it was indeed undercooked.

Dazhuang silently put the pot lid on, added two more pieces of firewood to the stove, and the three of them left the kitchen.

The three of them sat idly in the yard, playing around. Chen Xuanyu looked around, trying to find something interesting. Turning his head, he noticed an unusual tender green patch on a wild cabbage leaf in the yard.

"Hey, what's that?" Chen Xuanyu walked over.

"Xuanzai, what are you looking at?" Shi Tou walked over curiously as well.

Wow, what a long, plump green worm! It's as long as an adult's finger.

Chen Xuanyu broke off a branch from the nearby firewood and picked it up. He said, "Is our cabbage delicious? Look."

Stone poked at it with his finger and said, "Put it down, or I'll stomp on it."

Dazhuang said, "Those shoes are so dirty, Mom will scold you again. Let's throw stones at them."

Chen Xuanyu walked towards the kitchen and said, "It's too cruel, let's burn it to death."

Stone said, "This is good."