Carefree Farmwife: Training the Husband, Raising the Bun - Chapter 40

The corners of Ying Su’s lips curved into a faint smile, and she let out a small sigh of relief. Rubbing the little bun’s hair, she said softly, “Good boy.”

The little bun showed off his pearly white teeth and gave Ying Su a sweet, innocent smile.

Her heart instantly melted. All thoughts of him being stingy or tight-fisted disappeared. Her son looked so adorable like this, just like a little princeling!

When they got home, Ying Su casually planted the Jianyang Butterfly in a shady corner. Since she had the system, even if it withered, she had a way to revive it. There was no need to treat it so preciously.

Borrowing the little bun’s brush, ink, and paper, she lit the oil lamp and began sketching design patterns. Immediately, the little bun’s chatter started up again.

“Mommy, let’s go to sleep! You can draw when it’s light out tomorrow. It wastes so much lamp oil! Lamp oil is expensive. Look, there isn’t much left from what you bought last time. We need to save it. Even though you’ve earned some money now, we still need to build a house…”

In that moment, Ying Su truly understood how Sun Wukong must have felt whenever Tang Sanzang recited the tightening spell. She could only take a deep breath and remind herself to stay calm, not argue with a child.

The little bun guarded the lamp with a pained expression, muttering nonstop, trying to get Ying Su to go to bed.

Ying Su smiled at him instead, telling him to sleep earlier. But the little bun stubbornly snuggled up beside her, watching her draw, and said with pure earnestness, “It’s wasteful if you sit here alone with the lamp lit. If I stay awake too, then it’s not wasted, since both of us are using it.”

Ying Su was left utterly speechless. She could only stroke his head in silence.

As night deepened, the little bun began rubbing his eyes, his small face wrinkled up with sleepiness. His large black eyes slowly drooped shut, and his head kept bobbing up and down like a chick pecking at grains, it was unbearably cute.

Ying Su pretended not to notice. Before long, the little bun had leaned against her and fallen asleep. Only then did she gently set down her brush and carefully carry him to bed.

When placed on the bed, the little bun stirred uneasily. Ying Su froze, waiting until he slept soundly before moving the lamp to the corner and resuming her sketching.

The next morning, as soon as Ying Su got up, the little bun woke as well, looking at her with a face full of unease.

Those pitch-black eyes staring at her made Ying Su’s heart skip. She quickly rubbed his head and asked softly, “What’s wrong, baby?”

The little bun pouted, looking as though he was about to cry. “I dreamed you spent all our money, and we both starved to death.”

Ying Su: “…”

He continued his accusations, “Mommy, if you don’t fix your habit of spending money carelessly, the two of us will starve to death!”

Ying Su thought for a moment, then decided it was best to comfort him first and work on correcting his miserly ways later.

“Baby, dreams are always the opposite. I’m not wasteful at all, and we still have plenty of money. We’ll be moving into our new house soon. Mommy will keep working hard and will never let you go hungry.” Gently, she wiped away the tears on his face, her heart aching.

She had been too focused on correcting his money mindset, forgetting the hardships he’d endured. The child lacked a sense of security, the hunger and cold of his past had left a shadow too strong. To him, only money meant safety.

Ying Su hugged him tightly, blaming herself for not noticing his emotions sooner. Out of her sight, a sly glint flashed in the little bun’s black eyes. With the same pitiful expression, he said, “Mommy, I’m really so scared…”

“Don’t be, don’t be. With Mommy here, I’ll never let you go hungry again!” Ying Su quickly comforted him.

The little bun calmed down a little, his teary black eyes gazing up at her, making her heart soften once more.

“Then let me keep the silver,” he said, biting his lip nervously.

Ying Su was stunned. After a moment, she laughed helplessly, flicked his forehead, and scolded with a smile, “You little rascal, already scheming against your own mother! If you want to manage the money, you’ll have to wait until you can do proper accounting!”

Caught out, the little bun’s face flushed red like an apple. With a hint of shyness, he protested, “I can count numbers!”

Ying Su stood up. “That’s not enough. You have to learn arithmetic and bookkeeping first.”

The little bun quickly grabbed her pants leg, unwilling to give up. “Then teach me bookkeeping!”

Ying Su’s lips curved, her phoenix eyes sparkling. “Alright! Once you learn, then I’ll let you manage the money.”

The little bun’s face lit up with joy, though he still looked doubtful. “Mother, do you really mean it?”

“Of course!” Ying Su lifted her chin slightly, smiling confidently. In her heart, though, she thought, ‘of course not!’

The little bun was so excited he nearly lost his bearings. “Then start teaching me bookkeeping today!”

“Fine! From now on, I’ll teach you arithmetic for one hour every evening,” Ying Su readily agreed.

He was overjoyed. After they both washed up, Madam Li and Liu Chuncao arrived with food. Li Dalang had taken the wheelchair to town early, while the two women had woken at dawn, eager to pick more hawthorn berries from the mountain.

After breakfast, Ying Su and the little bun joined them, each carrying baskets to gather more berries.

With Dazhuang at school, the little bun was the only child around. With no one to compete with, he was especially obedient and affectionate, calling out “Grandma” and “Auntie” so sweetly that Madam Li and Liu Chuncao were over the moon.

Watching him, Ying Su felt relieved. He seemed to be opening up and becoming more cheerful lately, which was a very good thing. She never expected him to achieve great success, she only hoped he could live a free, happy life.

“The weather’s been hot lately. If we just make dried fruit, it won’t store well and may spoil. Let’s use the hawthorns we pick today to make candied hawthorn skewers. The Yunwu Mountain temple fair is coming up soon. When the time comes, we’ll go sell them there!” Ying Su said while picking fruit, sharing her plan.

Madam Li and Liu Chuncao had no objections. In fact, they were curious about what these candied hawthorn skewers were.

Seeing their curious faces, Ying Su laughed. “They’re a kind of snack. Children and young girls love them. When the time comes, we’ll just go around the streets selling them. But for now, let’s hurry and finish picking the hawthorns these next few days, so others don’t copy us.”

A sharp gleam flashed in Liu Chuncao’s eyes. She nodded. “Cuihua’s right. Let’s be quick and gather as much as we can.”

With that, everyone picked with renewed energy. They only stopped once all their baskets were filled to the brim, planning to go down the mountain for lunch before coming back up in the afternoon.

But just as they reached the foot of the mountain, a tall figure rushed straight toward them. He almost collided with Ying Su. Luckily, she reacted quickly and dodged in time. Even so, her basket tilted, and hawthorns spilled out, rolling all over the ground.