Divorced woman with child travels through time

Over the next few days, Chen Wenfang started bringing him food. Thinking that his body needed nutrition, she boiled two eggs and added dandelion juice that morning. Chen Wenfang felt a pang of regret. "Once he recovers, his appetite will probably increase, and I can't afford to feed him anymore."

Seeing that he was enjoying his meal, I brought him an egg pancake and fried fish in the afternoon.

Zhao Lue hadn't expected Madam Chen to be such a good cook. The egg pancakes were tender and smooth, and the fried fish was crispy and flavorful. The amount she brought wasn't nearly enough. Eating so well every day, he couldn't bear staying in this graveyard anymore; the weather was so hot, he was practically rotting away. Zhao Lue looked at Chen Wenfang with pleading eyes and said, "Madam Chen, could you take me to your house to recover? I'll definitely thank you handsomely when I'm better."

Chen Wenfang said, "Young master, it's not that I'm unwilling, but it's really inconvenient. I'm a widow, what am I going to do about the gossip? Besides, a few days ago there were government officials looking for someone. I don't know if they were looking for you." Little did they know that the government officials had indeed come, but Chen Wenfang had just picked up the piece of cloth and it had rained, so there was no blood and they had disappeared.

Zhao Lue pondered for a moment. "Official officers," he thought, "I wonder if they're my men or my brother's? But several days have passed; we should be safe now." He then asked, "Has anyone else come to inquire these past few days?"

Chen Wenfang said, "No one has come to ask about it these past few days."

Zhao then pleaded, "It should be safe now, Madam Chen, could you take me to your house to stay? I really stink." His voice was almost breaking with emotion. I'm a general, yet I can't blame Madam Chen for this humiliation; she's my savior. Sigh, so frustrating.

To be fair, Zhao Lue had been on the run in the woods for many days and was injured, so he did smell bad. Moreover, he relieved himself near the grave every day, and with the hot weather, Chen Wenfang had to drop off his food and run away as soon as she brought it to him. It must have been tough for him.

Chen Wenfang felt a pang of pity and said, "But you can't walk either. I can't carry you."

Zhao Lue quickly replied, "I can walk, I can walk. I've been able to walk slowly these past few days."

Chen Wenfang said, "Then I'll come pick you up again tomorrow to stay at my house."

Zhao asked anxiously, "Why do we have to wait until tomorrow?"

Chen Wenfang said, "There's no room for you in my house, I need to tidy up."

Zhao Lue said helplessly, "Then it's settled. You can pick me up when you bring breakfast tomorrow."

Chen Wenfang agreed, speechless. She turned and went home, and behind her came Zhao Lue's voice reminding her, "Remember, come over quickly."

Chen Wenfang waved her hand in response.

When he got home, Chen Xuanyu was not home again; he must have gone to Aunt Liu's house to play.

Chen Wenfang took a broom and cleaned the side room, then opened the window to let the smell out. Luckily, she had enough money to buy several extra sheets, and since the weather was hot now, he didn't need a blanket. Otherwise, she would have had nothing to cover him with. Chen Wenfang had already started planning to buy a cotton quilt. Cotton quilts should be cheaper in the summer.

After packing her things, knowing her child would be back soon, Chen Wenfang started cooking again. With the arrival of the hottest days of summer, everything dries incredibly fast; the dried meat and fish in the house were thoroughly dried. The vegetables in the garden were also growing wildly, and Chen Wenfang dried a lot of green beans and eggplants. She also dried a lot of herbs.

After what happened with Wang Ximao, Chen Wenfang hadn't gone to the market for many days, and her family had stockpiled a lot of medicinal herbs. If it weren't for rescuing Zhao Lue, Chen Wenfang would probably have gone to the market again this time. However, she still needed to tell Aunt Liu and the others about the rescue.

Chen Wenfang picked some green beans, rolled out handmade noodles, and stir-fried some meat to make a braised noodle dish with green beans. The noodles, with their golden sauce, looked very appetizing. Seeing that Chen Xuanyu hadn't come home yet, Chen Wenfang covered the fire with ashes after finishing the dish and locked the door. She then took a dried fish and went to Aunt Liu's house to call Chen Xuanyu home for dinner. Before she even arrived at Aunt Liu's house…

From a distance, you could hear Shi Tou's laughter, "My turn, my turn! Water Buffalo, you lead the rope. Xuanzi is too small, he's too short." It turned out that several children were jumping rope. It was the same rope Chen Wenfang had given them, but it looked like it had been broken, because there were obvious knots on it.

Seeing Chen Wenfang arrive, the children all stopped to greet her, "Hello, Madam Chen!" "Hello, Sister-in-law Chen!"... A chorus of greetings followed. Chen Xuanyu also exclaimed with delight, "Mother, what brings you here?"

As Chen Wenfang walked, she said, "I came to call you home for dinner. Don't you know you're hungry?"

"I'm not hungry. Lady Liu secretly gave me some pastries just now," Chen Xuanyu whispered smugly to Chen Wenfang.

"No wonder, Mother made braised noodles. We'll eat them when we get back. I'll go and have a word with Lady Liu first."

Chen Wenfang went inside, where Aunt Liu was cooking. "Fang'er, you're here? Have you eaten? Eat here," Aunt Liu asked.

“I’ve already cooked dinner, so I won’t eat here. I came to find Xuanzai to go home for dinner,” Chen Wenfang replied.

"Where are Uncle Liu Hai and Da Zhuang? Haven't they come back yet?" Chen Wenfang asked again.

"No, I'm in the field weeding the rice. The rice is growing well this year, so we should be able to harvest a good amount," Aunt Liu replied.