Divorced woman with child travels through time

Uncle Liu and Aunt Liu were slightly taken aback when they saw Ah Li dressed so elegantly. Ah Li nodded to them.

Upon seeing this, Uncle Liu Hai clasped his hands in a gesture of respect.

Ah Li stood behind their stall watching them do business, not saying much. Aunt Liu whispered to Chen Wenfang, "Fang'er, what does this guy do? Why isn't he saying anything? Did you get into trouble again?"

Chen Wenfang said helplessly, "It's nothing. The county magistrate wants to come back with us to check on the sweet potato fields. The county heard that the yield of sweet potatoes is 800 jin per mu, and they want to promote its cultivation to the people next year so that no one will go hungry. I guess we'll have to consult Uncle Liu Hai, since he's so good at farming."

Aunt Liu breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's good that everything is alright. This is a good thing. I'll talk to Old Liu about it later. If everyone plants it, it will be a bumper harvest, and no one will go hungry. It's a wonderful thing."

Chen Wenfang joked, "But then the dried sweet potatoes won't be able to sell."

Aunt Liu laughed and said, "I'll learn your method and make it fragrant and soft. If all else fails, I'll eat it myself. It's better than letting others go hungry."

Looking at Aunt Liu's kind face, Chen Wenfang said, "Aunt Liu, you are such a good person. I'm so glad I met you."

Aunt Liu patted her shoulder and said, "Everyone has a heart. Our family has been getting better and better under your leadership. We all came from poverty. If it weren't for the good weather this year, countless people would have starved to death in the famine years. Who with a conscience could really bear to see that?"

Chen Wenfang nodded. "That's true. Only poor people would understand."

Aunt Liu added, "We've met a good official. Lord Ouyang truly lives up to his reputation as an upright official."

Ah Li, standing behind, smiled, his expression deeply moved. It seemed that Madam Chen's family was indeed very thoughtful.

After selling his goods, Chen Wenfang, as usual, went to buy some more. Aunt Liu, having been provoked too much, refused to go, complaining that Chen Wenfang was a spendthrift. She stayed to watch the stall, while Uncle Liu Hai went to browse the seed shop, hoping to find some new and interesting plants to plant.

Chen Wenfang then took the three children to buy things, and Aunt Liu still instructed Dazhuang and Shitou to keep an eye on Chen Xuanyu. Ah Li watched as the box remained on the stall, waiting.

Wandering to the stalls ahead, they found fresh grapes and autumn pears—a rare find! Chen Wenfang generously bought five jin of grapes and five jin of pears. The grapes were in a basket, and the owner, seeing Chen Wenfang's generosity, even gave her the basket for free. Shi Tou held Chen Xuanyu's hand, Da Zhuang carried the basket, and Chen Wenfang reached in, grabbed a pear, wiped it on her clothes without washing it, and started crunching away. The three children followed suit, each taking a pear and starting to eat.

It was the first time Shi Tou had eaten such a sweet fruit. He even ate the pit, and the juice dripped all over his hands. Not wanting to waste it, he licked his hands. Chen Wenfang couldn't bear to watch and said, "Shi Tou, you can't lick it. Come on, let's find a place to wash our hands. You can eat the pear after you wash them."

Stone was a little confused, but obediently followed Chen Wenfang. Chen Xuanyu ate slowly, still nibbling on his pear. Dazhuang ate a little better, so he was a step behind and was currently gnawing on the pit. Chen Wenfang saw this and said, "You can't eat the pit, throw it away."

Dazhuang was also a little reluctant to part with it, holding it in his hand for a long time without letting go. Chen Wenfang snatched it away and dropped it with a "smack." A little beggar by the roadside rushed over, picked it up, and gnawed on it without spitting out any crumbs.

Looking at the child, who appeared to be seven or eight years old, Chen Wenfang suddenly felt she had gone too far. The little beggar, having finished the pear core, remained huddled under the eaves as if nothing had happened. He didn't look at Chen Wenfang or the others, his eyes narrowed, his legs curled up like a hedgehog, remaining perfectly still, as if the incident of the pear core being snatched had never occurred. The three children were stunned. They fell silent.

Chen Wenfang silently led the three children to the pastry shop. She washed her hands, and also washed the pears, saying, "We need to wash our hands before eating because there are tiny bugs on our hands that we can't see. If we eat them, we'll get a stomachache. And it's very likely we'll get diarrhea, even death from it."

Chen Xuanyu asked curiously, "Mom, what about that dirty brother from earlier? He even picked up things from the ground and ate them. Will he die?"

Chen Wenfang said calmly, "I don't know either."

Stone then said, "If I hadn't licked my hand, I could have eaten the pit without dropping it on the ground, right?"

Chen Wenfang handed him a pear and said, "We don't need to eat the core. We have pears to eat, so we don't need to eat the core. Do you understand?"

Stone took the pear, still not quite understanding, so he gave up and continued eating the pear obediently.

Chen Wenfang handed another pear to Dazhuang and said, "Dazhuang, you eat one too. Don't give me the core. I'll go buy some more after you finish this one."

Looking at the delicate pastries, Chen Wenfang weighed out two jin (approximately 1 kg) for twenty coins, intending to give them to the little beggar. Turning around, she thought he probably didn't need them. Then she saw someone selling steamed buns not far from the pastry shop, three coins each, solid steamed buns. Chen Wenfang went over and took twenty. Wrapped them in paper, she went back to the eaves she had just seen.

Chen Xuanyu volunteered, "Mom, I'll go get it for him."

Chen Wenfang handed him the paper package, which was a bit big, so Chen Xuanyu carried it over.

"Brother! Brother! Here's a pancake for you."

The little beggar watched Chen Xuanyu approach. He didn't say anything, but simply shrank back. But there was a wall behind him, and nowhere to retreat.

He only realized it was for him when Chen Xuanyu stuffed the large paper package into his arms.