Divorced woman with child travels through time

The next morning, Aunt Liu and Uncle Liu Hai came over with their two children and found that Chen Wenfang's door was closed, presumably because she and Chen Xuanyu were still asleep.

They were too embarrassed to bang on the door. The group discussed the situation at the door, and Aunt Liu said, "Stone, why don't you go around to the back and see if your aunt is awake?"

"Alright!" Stone ran around to the back and called out, "Sister-in-law Chen, are you awake yet?"

The mother and son, who were fast asleep, were woken up. Chen Wenfang called out, "You're awake, you're awake. Wait a minute, I'll open the door."

Chen Xuanyu, wearing a tank top, jumped out of bed, opened the door, and rushed out to open the courtyard gate.

"Brother Stone, you're here." Chen Xuanyu happily greeted them as they entered.

Chen Wenfang quickly combed her hair, put it in a bun, and put on her coat before entering the house. She smiled and said, "What's wrong? Why are you here so early?" She seemed a little embarrassed.

Aunt Liu smiled and said, "We harvested the sweet potatoes yesterday and were thinking of helping you harvest them today. Didn't we tell you a few days ago when we went up to Shitou?"

Chen Wenfang looked at Shi Tou, who looked at Chen Xuanyu and said, "Xuanzi, I've already told you."

Chen Xuanyu scratched his head and said, "Really? I don't remember. When?"

Stone said seriously, "When we were playing in the ditch."

Chen Xuanyu said, "I don't know." He spread his hands and looked innocently at Chen Wenfang.

Chen Wenfang smiled playfully and said, "The child doesn't remember things, she must have forgotten. We already harvested the sweet potatoes yesterday, Aunt Liu, you're late."

Uncle Liu Hai said angrily, "What kind of thing did you do, child?" He then turned to Aunt Liu and said, "Next time, just tell Dazhuang. It's too much of a hassle."

Then she said to Chen Wenfang, "You don't call us when you need something. Do you treat us like outsiders? If you keep doing this, I'll get angry."

Chen Wenfang explained with a smile, "It doesn't look like much, but I didn't expect the sweet potatoes to be so heavy. Speaking of which, I should ask Uncle Liu what to plant after the sweet potatoes are harvested. It's a waste to leave the land empty." Chen Wenfang quickly changed the subject.

Uncle Liu pondered for a moment and said, "Usually we plant radishes and cabbages. Since your family is small, you can plant radishes and cabbages and some green onions as well. They are easy to freeze during the winter, but it's better than not planting anything at all."

Chen Wenfang nodded, indicating she understood. Uncle Liu Hai said, "You don't need to worry about it, I'll plant them for you later." He then took out a large bag of red chili peppers from his pocket and handed it to Chen Wenfang, saying, "These chili peppers you mentioned should have become seeds. They're all dried from the tree. I picked them one by one as they ripened and stored them. There are still a few unripe ones over there, so I didn't pick them. I'll pick them for you later when they're dry."

Chen Wenfang carefully took the peppers, opened them, and saw that there were about fifty or sixty. She smiled happily and said, "Uncle Liu Hai is indeed a master farmer. These peppers are growing really well. Thank you, Uncle Liu."

Seeing Chen Wenfang's big smile, her eyes crinkling with laughter, Aunt Liu and Uncle Liu Hai were very happy. Aunt Liu said, "Fang'er, go wash up first. Since we're here, let's go help you tidy up the land and plant some vegetables, so you don't get tired yourself out."

Uncle Liu Hai nodded and led Da Zhuang and the other two to the field.

Chen Wenfang couldn't stop her, so she said, "Then let's have lunch here after we're done with our work."

Uncle Liu Hai responded with a "Okay" from afar.

Chen Wenfang took out a sheet of oiled paper from the cupboard, carefully wrapped more than twenty chilies, put them in a basket, and hung it on the wall in the room. She wrapped the rest in oiled paper and put them in the cupboard as well. Then she took out some money, called Shi Tou and Chen Xuanyu, and asked them to go to Wangjiazhuang to buy two pieces of tofu. The tofu was being made by a new family that had moved to Wangjiazhuang; apparently, the family of five made tofu every two days and sold it at the market. Chen Wenfang told them to go and check it out, and also to buy a few ounces of liquor. The two kids had nothing better to do anyway.

Chen Wenfang has been taking care of Zhao Lue for the past two months and has barely gone to the market, except for that one trip to deliver some cakes to Young Master Ouyang. It's so hot today; I hope Young Master Ouyang won't be angry with me.

Chen Wenfang casually washed her face with cold water, picked up a broom and swept the ground, then used a dustpan to clean up the chicken droppings in the chicken coop and dumped them into an old basket next to the fence outside the yard, which she would take to the vegetable garden and scatter on the ground later.

The main reason for not using new baskets is to prevent theft. Although Madam Chen is notorious, there are always petty thieves. Last time, Chen Wenfang chased her chickens out for a whole morning, wanting to enjoy the delicious taste of free-range chickens. When she returned in the afternoon, she found one missing. And this was only in the nearby wasteland. What if a wild animal ate it? Chen Wenfang checked the area thoroughly and didn't even find a single feather.

A couple of days later, Chen Xuanyu said he had seen his own chicken in Wangjiazhuang. Chen Wenfang made an excuse to go and check. It was indeed her chicken at Aunt Wang's house. Chen Wenfang had pierced a small hole in her chicken's comb, something most people wouldn't notice. After thinking it over, she let the matter drop. Chen Wenfang didn't bother arguing. It was just a chicken; it wasn't worth going all the way to Wangjiazhuang to argue, and besides, she knew she wouldn't win. There were many people in Wangjiazhuang, and Aunt Wang's son was dead; stealing one of her chickens was best left alone.

After feeding the chickens, I noticed three chrysanthemums had bloomed. Dewdrops still clung to their white, curved petals. I crouched down and smelled them; their delicate fragrance was quite pleasant.