Carefree Farmwife: Training the Husband, Raising the Bun - Chapter 114

Shen Hefu and Mother Shen exchanged a smile. Mother Shen stood up from the stool and said with a laugh, “Cooking and tending the fire, those things I can still handle. I’ll go make the meal!”

Ying Su shook her head. “Mother, you and Father should try my cooking. Just let Changyun tend the fire for me.”

The kitchen was very shabby, with gaps in the roof where you could see the sky. Ying Su quickly tidied up the stove, then began washing vegetables and preparing the meal. Shen Changyun, long accustomed to farm work, was skilled at tending the fire. He never stopped talking the whole time, chattering away at Ying Su, asking her all sorts of questions.

Ying Su responded to each one, and in no time, the two of them had grown familiar with each other. “Sis, it smells so good!” Shen Changyun sniffed deeply from beneath the stove and couldn’t help but praise.

Ying Su chuckled. “Then eat more later.”

“Sis, we haven’t had meat at home for so long, I’m practically drooling already!” Shen Changyun said without exaggeration.

Ying Su laughed. “Is that all you think about? From now on, there will be plenty of fish and meat!”

A little embarrassed, Shen Changyun rubbed his nose and gave a sheepish grin.

The run-down little courtyard filled with the fragrance of food. Once bleak and desolate, it now rang with laughter and cheer, as though even the air above the yard glowed with sunlight, warm and peaceful.

After dinner, the four of them did nothing else but sit together and talk. Of course, Ying Su didn’t mention that Shen Cuihua had been sold to a brothel by Liu An. She only said Liu An had sold her, and that she hadn’t dared return home, later being bought by Madam Li of Dongjun Village to marry her son for good fortune. She skimmed over many details, but the two elders listened intently, as if trying to piece together how she had lived through each day of those five long years.

When Father Shen and Mother Shen learned Ying Su had a child, they were delighted. But when they heard that the man she had married for fortune had died, leaving her a widow, their joy turned to sorrow. Mother Shen pulled Ying Su into her arms, sighing, “My poor, suffering daughter…”

Fearing she would cry again, Ying Su quickly said, “Mother, I’m doing fine now. Back then, I made my own mistakes, and now I must bear the consequences. This hardly counts as suffering.”

Mother Shen sighed softly and stroked her hair. This warm embrace, this loving touch, Ying Su had never experienced it before. She hadn’t known it could feel so tender and wonderful.

Mother Shen went on, “And your mother-in-law, she agreed to let you come back? What about Huzi? Will she allow you to bring the child?”

Ying Su smiled calmly. “She agreed.”

Mother Shen nodded. “That’s good, that’s good.” Her hand, thin and rough as dried branches, gently patted Ying Su’s back. Five years ago, she had been a delicate young girl, and now she was already a mother… 

Mother Shen sighed, though her face soon softened into a smile. Turning to Shen Hefu, she said, “Lao Shen, we’re grandparents now!”

A simple, honest smile spread across Shen Hefu’s dark face. He nodded, pleased. “And he’s a big, healthy boy.”

Seeing how warmly her family received Huzi, Ying Su felt relieved. The reason she hadn’t brought him home right away was because she hadn’t known how the Shen family would react. If they hadn’t liked her little bun, she would have stayed in Dongjun Village with him, only visiting her parents occasionally. That had been her plan at first.

But now, those worries could be set aside. The two elders loved children, and even Shen Changyun chimed in excitedly, “Sis, when Huzi comes, I’ll play with him!”

Ying Su couldn’t help but smile. Though nearly twenty, Shen Changyun still carried a childlike air in how he spoke and acted.

That night, Ying Su shared a bed with Mother Shen, while Shen Father squeezed in with Changyun.

Mother and daughter had endless things to say. Mostly, it was Mother Shen speaking, while Ying Su listened. She knew her mother had searched for her for four or five years and now finally had her back, of course there was much she wanted to say. So Ying Su listened attentively.

At some point, she drifted off to sleep. She had always been a light sleeper, quick to wake at any movement. When Mother Shen tucked the blanket around her, Ying Su stirred awake, but she didn’t move or open her eyes.

Thinking her daughter fast asleep, Mother Shen gently brushed Ying Su’s face with her rough hand and whispered, “My child, you’ve suffered so much… my poor daughter…”

Suddenly, Ying Su’s nose stung with emotion. In her past life, she had lived through storms and battles, licking blood from the knife’s edge, taking lives with bullets, never once had anyone stroked her face with such rough hands, nor spoken to her with such aching tenderness.

Before long, Mother Shen fell asleep. In the darkness, only the steady breathing of the family could be heard, peaceful and quiet. Ying Su, too, sank into a deep slumber.

The next morning, Ying Su rose early and prepared breakfast. After they had eaten, she explained her plan. She couldn’t rest easy with her little bun alone at home. She wanted to return, settle matters in Dongjun Village, and then bring him back.

Though reluctant to see her leave again, Father Shen and Mother Shen agreed, knowing Huzi was still so young.

Shen Changyun went to borrow an ox cart from Wang Dachui’s family. Remembering that Ying Su’s return home had been thanks in part to the Dachui couple, Mother Shen hurriedly said, “Take some of the meat your sister brought back yesterday and give it to them.”

“Got it,” Changyun answered. He cut off a piece of the meat and carried it out.

Meanwhile, Ying Su inspected the area around their yard. She noticed the Shen house stood a little apart from the rest of the village, with open space on all sides. She asked Shen Hefu, “Father, is this land ours?”

Shen Hefu nodded. “Your grandfather divided this plot to us, it’s ours.” His face grew strained at the memory of being cast out by his own father.

“And what about this space around us? Is that ours too?” Ying Su asked again.

“No,” Shen Hefu explained. “This house originally belonged to an old bachelor in the village. He had no children, and after he died, he asked your grandfather to see to his burial. The house became your grandfather’s. But the land around it belongs to other families.”

Mother Shen chuckled. “Cuihua, why are you asking about this?”

Ying Su smiled. “Mother, I was thinking, what if we buy up the land around here and rebuild the house?”

“Oh, that would cost a fortune! No need. This house is still livable. Once you bring Huzi back, I’ll have your father and Changyun build a shed in the yard. He and I can move into that.”

Ying Su shook her head. “How could that be?” She pulled a money pouch from her sleeve and pressed it into Shen Hefu’s hands. “Father, go ask around and see if we can buy the surrounding land. We’ll rebuild the house, add more rooms, and expand the yard. Who knows, maybe one day Big Brother will return with a wife. Better to be prepared.”