Divorced woman with child travels through time

Everyone finished their meal with great satisfaction.

Chen Wenfang brought over a cup of tea for Uncle Liu and Liu Hai. The two were pleasantly surprised. Uncle Liu Hai said, "Fang'er, where did you buy this tea? It tastes so good, without any bitterness, and has a pleasant, lingering fragrance."

Chen Wenfang pouted, hesitated for a moment, then decided to just say it and said with a faint smile, "This? I made it myself."

Aunt Liu was startled as if she had been burned. "You can do this too? Fang'er is really amazing."

Chen Wenfang said apologetically, "Not at all, I found a tea tree on the mountain last time and made some tea, but the quantity is a bit small, just a little bit. By the way, Aunt Liu, do you want to sell your rice?"

Aunt Liu looked at Uncle Liu Hai and said, "We'll sell some. Fang'er, do you want some?"

"I'd like to know, Auntie, where do you keep your rice?"

“There’s a room with a barn. The grain is usually piled up there,” Uncle Liu Hai said, taking a sip of tea.

"I need about two or three hundred catties of rice. It's enough for a year's supply. I'll just have to buy it from outside anyway, so I might as well let you make the money. But could you buy it and leave it at your place first, and then help me with the rice processing when I'm done? The price will include the cost of processing the rice and the storage fee. All I have at home is a rice container," Chen Wenfang said with a smile.

"That's fine. Just give me some rice when you pack it, no need for storage fees. You're too kind," Aunt Liu said.

Uncle Liu Hai nodded and said, "With so much rice, how could I possibly charge you a storage fee?"

Chen Wenfang smiled and said, "Then thank you very much, Uncle Liu and Aunt Liu."

In the afternoon, after finishing their tea, the two got up and took the child home.

The next day, Chen Wenfang made some more pancakes and went with Liu Hai and Aunt Liu to chop firewood on the back mountain.

Chen Wenfang told Aunt Liu about her plan to make sweet potato chips. Although Aunt Liu trusted Chen Wenfang, she had never tried sweet potato chips before, so she asked, "Fang'er, how long will it take to make these?"

As Chen Wenfang chopped firewood, she said, "This is easy to make, but it takes a bit of effort to make it taste good."

Uncle Liu Hai asked curiously, "Why all the fuss?"

Chen Wenfang pointed to the firewood and said, "This stuff is such a waste. I'm afraid there won't be enough to burn."

Uncle Liu Hai chuckled, "How could such a big mountain not be enough to burn?"

Chen Wenfang smiled and nodded, "It can't compare to a mountain, so let's cut down more."

Aunt Liu tied up the cut dry branches beside her, and Uncle Liu Hai carried a load back first.

The two women continued chopping, both dry and wet. The dry choppers were simply put together to be tied up and carried back later, while the wet ones would be ready in a couple of days. Seeing Uncle Liu Hai leave, Aunt Liu asked with an air of nonchalance, "Fang'er, did that Ah Lue leave you any message?"

Chen Wenfang paused for a moment, then calmly said, "I didn't leave anything. I did have Xuanzai tell me he'd come pick me up sometime. Haha."

Chen Wenfang chuckled dryly, thinking to herself, "Does that tattered cloth under the pillow count? Who knows why I'd leave that thing behind? Shouldn't a decent person leave something like a jade pendant or a sachet, like in the movies? This isn't following any of the usual rules."

Aunt Liu asked doubtfully, "Then do you think he will come to pick you up?"

"I don't know, never mind him, saving him was just something I did on the spur of the moment," Chen Wenfang replied calmly, her hand moving without stopping as she chopped off a tree branch, then cut off the long, sharp edges. She acted as if she were just an ordinary person.

Aunt Liu laughed and said, "Maybe he's a great general. He'll come to greet you on a tall horse. He doesn't look like an ordinary person at all."

Chen Wenfang chuckled and said, "Aunt Liu, think about it. If he were a great general, how could someone like me with a child be a good match for him? We're not a good match. Whatever he says, just take it as a joke."

Aunt Liu scolded, "Why do you think like that? You're one of the best in our village, the very top-notch. Who wouldn't be good enough for him?"

Chen Wenfang smiled and said, "That's because in your eyes I am the best. But marriage is all about matching social status, don't you think? I am a widow. Even if I were to marry, in other people's eyes, I would be better off with a widower. If his family is wealthy and powerful, even if I married into their household, I'm afraid my life wouldn't be easy. So let's put this matter aside for now."

Aunt Liu was silent for a while, then said, "What if he really wants to marry you? He doesn't seem to be joking around when he's with you."

Chen Wenfang, unusually serious, said, "I'm afraid it's very difficult. Even if he's sincere, his family won't allow it, especially in these times." She casually tossed aside the branch she had cut and continued chopping.

Aunt Liu wanted to say something more, but stopped when she saw Uncle Liu Hai coming over, and continued chopping wood. Uncle Liu Hai brought Da Zhuang Shitou and Chen Xuanyu.

So everyone chopped and gathered firewood together.

Chen Xuanyu and Shi Tou picked up fallen branches from the ground. "There's one here. Since you're so straight, let's tie you up." Chen Xuanyu muttered to himself as he picked them up. After he had enough, he imitated Aunt Liu and tied them up. Surprisingly, he did a pretty good job, and the small bundle was quite cute.

Chen Wenfang couldn't help but praise him, "Xuanzai, you're so capable! You tied it up so well, it'll definitely burn very well."

Chen Xuanyu became even happier after hearing this, and started fighting with Shi Tou for the scrap branches the three of them had cut. Shi Tou also diligently tried to tie up a bundle, which was a bit bigger than Chen Xuanyu's. Chen Wenfang praised him for it, and Shi Tou then showed the bundled branches to Aunt Liu. Aunt Liu had no choice but to praise him as well. Only then did Shi Tou continue gathering firewood, satisfied.

With many hands making light work, they practically looted all the firewood, branches, and grass along the way to the back mountain. Chen Wenfang did this intentionally; it was nearing autumn, and the weather was dry. If a wildfire broke out, their houses, so close to the mountain, would be very dangerous. Chen Wenfang also mentioned this to Uncle Liu, who readily agreed and went back to cut down all the branches and grass on his side of the mountain. Both families chopped firewood for the next few days, only stopping when they felt they had enough to make sweet potato chips.