Today’s four dishes and one soup were enhanced with scallions, ginger, and garlic for flavor, making them even more delicious than yesterday’s preparations.
Grandpa Sheng and Grandma Sheng lacked the vocabulary to describe the exquisite taste of these dishes, repeatedly exclaiming “delicious” while urging their granddaughter and grandson-in-law to eat more.
In the end, the four dishes, soup, and a full basin of miscellaneous grain rice were completely finished by the four of them. Even the remaining sauce at the bottom of the plates was wiped clean by Grandpa Sheng using half a leftover cornbread from breakfast.
Having rarely eaten so much meat, Grandpa Sheng patted his full stomach and sighed contentedly: “How wonderful it is to eat meat until you’re full!”
Sheng An felt a pang of sadness hearing this—just one meat-filled meal could bring the old man such satisfaction.
“Grandpa, take good care of your health. I’ll buy meat for you and Grandma every day,” Sheng An earnestly promised Grandpa Sheng, deciding to prepare all necessary supplies tomorrow and start selling Wonton at a street stall the day after.
“Hahaha, An An, your filial piety is enough. Your grandma and I are old—we don’t need to eat meat every day,” Grandpa Sheng said, thinking his granddaughter was just trying to cheer him up. He instinctively glanced at his grandson-in-law and felt relieved only when he saw no displeasure on his face.
An An was filial but tactless—how could she talk about buying meat daily for two old folks right in front of her husband?
The four family members chatted idly, filling the room with a warm atmosphere.
Just then, a cheerful voice called from outside the courtyard: “An An, are you home?”
Sheng An immediately recognized the speaker—Zhang Zhaodi, her childhood friend and closest companion.
Despite her name “Zhaodi” (meaning “beckoning a younger brother”), she was the beloved center of the Zhang family. This was because before her birth, all five or six children in her generation were girls, while after she was born, the next five or six were all boys. The Zhang family believed she had brought them male heirs, ensuring the family line, and thus treated her as their lucky star, showering her with affection.
“It’s Zhaodi! Come in, come in—there are no strangers here,” Grandma Sheng warmly called out, inviting her to enter directly.
Sheng An stood to greet her. As she reached the main hall’s entrance, she saw a tall, spirited young woman in gray clothes entering the courtyard.
Spotting her friend after two days apart, Zhang Zhaodi rushed forward in quick strides, slinging an arm over Sheng An’s shoulder and pulling her close: “You heartless thing! If I don’t come find you, you never think to visit me, do you?”
With their height and build difference, Sheng An appeared petite and delicate nestled against Zhang Zhaodi.
Unaccustomed to such enthusiasm, Sheng An stiffened slightly: “Nonsense! It’s not that I wasn’t going to visit you—you just couldn’t wait and came first.”
Pretending to be upset, Zhang Zhaodi pinched Sheng An’s cheek: “Look at you, getting clever and playing mind games with me now.”
“Ouch!” Sheng An winced, swatting away her pincer-like hand. “That hurts!”
Did this woman grow up eating weights? Her grip was so strong!
Zhang Zhaodi sheepishly withdrew her hand: “I’ve always been like this since we were kids—you know that.”
Laughing and joking, they entered the main hall. Seeing Xu Jinnian, Zhang Zhaodi greeted him familiarly: “Xu Tongsheng.”
Xu Jinnian stood up, nodded slightly to Zhang Zhaodi, and pulled over a chair to place beside Grandma Sheng.
Seeing that her good friend’s scholar husband was so perceptive and didn’t put on airs, Zhang Zhaodi felt genuinely happy for her friend and unceremoniously took a seat.
Zhang Zhaodi always had endless things to say to Sheng An. Glancing at the others, she leaned close to Sheng An’s ear and whispered, “Did you hit Liu Huazhi this morning?”
Sheng An nodded: “Slapped her once and kicked her once.”
Zhang Zhaodi clapped her hands excitedly: “Serves her right!”
Her voice was too loud, drawing the attention of the other three people. Grandpa Sheng and Grandma Sheng looked over with questioning eyes.
Zhang Zhaodi coughed dryly, grabbed Sheng An’s hand and pulled her toward her room: “Grandpa Sheng, Grandma Sheng, I need to talk to An An about something. I’ll come chat with you two later.”
Grandma Sheng waved her hand with a smile: “Go ahead, go ahead. Don’t mind us old folks.”
When they reached the room Sheng An had lived in before her marriage, the two sat down by the bed. Zhang Zhaodi cupped Sheng An’s petite face in her hands, her eyes shining as if looking at a rare treasure:
“Our little An An has finally made progress, finding ways to deal with that bitch. I won’t have to worry about you getting bullied every day anymore.”
Sheng An modestly said: “Just basic skills. I actually think I didn’t perform well enough – I went too easy on that Liu woman.”
Zhang Zhaodi ignored the unfamiliar term “basic skills,” focusing entirely on the last sentence:
“You definitely went too easy. Only half her face swelled up – it’s not symmetrical at all, looks really awkward.”
Sheng An: “…”
Was she obsessive-compulsive?
Not bad, not bad. Confirmed – she’s a kindred spirit.
This partner-in-crime, no, this bosom friend Zhang Zhaodi – Sheng An was determined to keep her.
The two put their heads together, passionately criticizing Liu Huazhi and discussing what kind of memorable lesson they should teach her next time she ran her mouth.
Before they could reach any conclusion, Sheng An remembered that Liu Huazhi might be acting strange. Changing the subject, she nudged her friend with her elbow: “Has Liu Huazhi been acting weird these past couple days?”
Zhang Zhaodi nodded vigorously: “There actually is something!”
Sheng An perked up: “Tell me.”
Zhang Zhaodi: “Yesterday a woman went to the Liu family, saying Liu Huazhi had tricked her son out of their family heirloom silver bracelet. She demanded Liu Huazhi return it, but Liu Huazhi denied it, so the two got into a fight.”
During the fight, Liu Huazhi was no match for the woman. The woman pushed her to the ground, she hit her head and immediately passed out.
“When Liu Huazhi woke up, she started crying and screaming in the yard, saying heaven had given her a second chance. People in the village all said she was possessed…”
At this point, Zhang Zhaodi scratched her head: “Her mother was about to find a shaman, but then she suddenly recovered. Anyway, it was really strange.”
After listening, Sheng An closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.
Considering Liu Huazhi’s strange behavior yesterday and her performance this morning, she was most likely reborn.
Since she herself could time travel, having a reborn person appear wasn’t impossible.
With Liu Huazhi’s walnut-sized brain, even if she was reborn, she probably couldn’t cause much trouble.
What concerned Sheng An were the things Liu Huazhi had said this morning –
Being divorced and cast aside.
Dying with her unborn child, meeting a bad end.
Seeing Sheng An’s poor complexion, Zhang Zhaodi asked worriedly: “Are you okay? Did it scare you?”
Sheng An shook her head, casually making up an excuse: “I ate too much at lunch, my stomach feels a bit uncomfortable.”
Zhang Zhaodi took it seriously, covering her mouth with a giggle: “Then you’ll have to bear with it. Whatever you do, don’t throw up – that would be such a waste.”
As she spoke, her other hand gently massaged Sheng An’s lower abdomen to ease her discomfort.
Looking at the earnest young girl, a warm current surged in Sheng An’s heart.
In her previous life spanning over twenty years, she hadn’t formed any close friendships.
Unexpectedly, just three days after arriving here, she had gained a genuine friend like Zhang Zhaodi who treated her with sincerity.
This was the original host’s good fortune, and hers as well.
Zhang Zhaodi stayed at the Sheng residence for a long time, making wontons together with Sheng An, before finally leaving with a plate of raw wontons that Sheng An had packed for her.
The Zhang family had more laborers and farmland, enjoying a much higher standard of living than the Sheng family. Zhang Zhaodi always shared delicious food with Sheng An.
Even if there was only one piece of braised pork, she would invariably give half to Sheng An.
For dinner at the Sheng household, they had wontons. After tasting the first wonton, Grandpa Sheng and Grandma Sheng remained silent for a long while.
It wasn’t until finishing an entire bowl that Grandma Sheng said to Sheng An with lingering satisfaction, “Setting up a stall to sell wontons—Grandma thinks it’s feasible.”
“Exactly! With my granddaughter’s skills, it’s bound to succeed!” Grandpa Sheng declared confidently, his words and smile full of recognition and encouragement for his granddaughter.
So what if city folks were picky eaters? He refused to believe anyone would dislike the wontons made by his granddaughter.
Sheng An cheerfully accepted the moral support from her elders: “With your encouragement, I feel even more confident about this business venture.”
Though it was still early, the couple didn’t dare linger too long.
Even though Xu Xiaogu’s eldest son would go to the Xu family during the day to help take care of Xu Chenglin, being away from home all day left them both genuinely uneasy.
Though reluctant at heart, Grandpa and Grandma Sheng didn’t show it outwardly. They simply pressed a basket of eggs they’d saved at home into Sheng An’s hands: “Take these back to eat. Don’t be sparing with them.”
Sheng An firmly refused: “We keep chickens at home. You should keep the eggs for yourselves.”
Grandma Sheng pretended to be angry: “If you don’t take them, Grandma will personally deliver them to you tomorrow morning.”
Left with no choice, Sheng An only accepted half, explaining that in the hot weather they wouldn’t be able to finish them all and excess would easily spoil.
Finally, the couple left carrying half a basket of eggs.
Before they had even left the village, Sheng An spotted Liu Huazhi standing under the ancient locust tree, glaring at her with intense venom.
Tsk tsk, such immense resentment—no wonder she managed to be reborn.
However, having this resentment directed at herself was far from pleasant.
Searching through her memories, she found no deep-seated hatred between them. Where did this woman’s bitterness even come from?
Sheng An remained utterly perplexed. As she passed by Liu Huazhi, she didn’t even glance at her and walked straight past.
Liu Huazhi stared sinisterly at the couple’s retreating figures, a vicious and eerie smile spreading across her face:
“Sheng An, let’s see how long your smugness lasts!”