When Su Wanwan returned home, the Village Chief was feeding porridge to Pei Changfeng. Su Wanwan had kept it warm in the pot since morning, so the Village Chief only needed to handle the feeding.
Smelling the aroma of the porridge, the Village Chief smacked his lips. He had to admit, Su Wanwan was truly generous—the bowl was filled with meat.
"Village Chief, thank you for your hard work today. How is our Changfeng doing?"
Hearing her voice, the Village Chief hurried out to greet her. "He's doing fine, just fine. You're back so early? Didn't you stay longer at your parents' home?"
Su Wanwan set her bamboo basket on the ground, wiped the sweat from her brow, and smiled. "This is my home now. I couldn’t stop worrying about Changfeng, so I went early and came back early. You’ve really worked hard today. Why don’t you stay for dinner tonight?"
"No, no," the Village Chief quickly declined. The couple’s household was already struggling, so he’d better go home for his meal. "You’ve carried so much back and are drenched in sweat. You should rest now. I’ll be on my way."
Ignoring Su Wanwan’s attempts to persuade him to stay, the Village Chief left. Su Wanwan wiped the sweat from her forehead and went to check on Pei Changfeng first, wiping his mouth before taking the empty bowl outside.
She was utterly exhausted, unable to utter a single word. After washing her face with cold water, she finally felt a bit refreshed. She secured the chickens in their coop and began sorting through the things she had brought back.
Seeing Pei Changfeng lying quietly, with what seemed like beads of sweat on the tip of his nose, Su Wanwan fanned him with a cattail-leaf fan. "Are you feeling hot? It’s only May, yet it’s already this sweltering—truly unusual. I nearly melted from the heat on my way back from my parents’ home."
"But washing my face with well water cooled me down quite a bit. I brought back twenty eggs and two old hens from my parents’ home. From now on, we won’t have to worry about running out of eggs!"
"Your condition still needs a doctor’s attention," Su Wanwan rubbed her arms and took off her clothes to look. Sure enough, both arms were bruised from carrying the heavy load. "I’ll go fetch a doctor tomorrow. Even if he can’t cure you completely, it doesn’t matter. As long as I have food to eat, I’ll never let you go hungry."
Su Wanwan was unbearably hot. She tied up all her hair, took off her skirt, and wore only a Dudou and knee-length trousers, sitting by the bed and fanning herself.
But she didn’t realize that even the breeze passing over her carried a faint fragrance.
The breeze drifted and swirled gently until Su Wanwan got up to cook. At that moment, Pei Changfeng’s finger twitched slightly, a barely noticeable movement.
In truth, only Su Wanwan needed to eat in the household now, as she was still feeding Pei Changfeng various easily digestible porridges.
In the evening, Su Wanwan stir-fried a bowl of amaranth greens and ate two bowls of rice with pickled vegetables. Then, she cooked a porridge with minced meat and greens for Pei Changfeng.
After feeding him, Su Wanwan thought for a moment and brought a chamber pot to the bedside. "Changfeng, do you need to relieve yourself?"
Su Wanwan waited for a while, but seeing no reaction from him, she took the chamber pot away. Well, if he really wet the bed, she’d clean it up later. What wife would ever resent her own husband?
Early the next morning, a knocking sound echoed at the door.
Su Wanwan rubbed her eyes and sat up, throwing on a coat before going to answer the door. "Who is it so early in the morning?"
It was actually quite late by then, at least past the usual waking hour for the villagers. But Su Wanwan had been so exhausted the day before that she felt she couldn’t get enough rest.
Pei Yaozu had deliberately changed into new clothes just to get closer. Seeing Su Wanwan's lazy, just-awakened appearance, he even softened his voice when he spoke, "Sister-in-law, I've come to help take care of my cousin. Is there anything you need me to do?"
Su Wanwan's eyes immediately lit up, and she quickly said, "Your brother hasn't urinated for several days. How do you usually handle it? Hurry up and teach me!"
Pei Yaozu choked on his own saliva. He didn't know how either. "I—I can do it! Sister-in-law, don't come inside. Leave this matter to me. There's no reason for a woman like you to do it."
Closing the door behind him, Pei Yaozu picked up the chamber pot, hoping Pei Changfeng would give him some face. After all, this was his first time here—he couldn't let Su Wanwan think he couldn't even handle something as simple as helping someone urinate.
Surprisingly, Pei Changfeng cooperated exceptionally well. Pei Yaozu carried the full chamber pot and muttered to himself, "Could it be that if something is big, it also produces more urine?"
Fortunately, the matter was resolved. Su Wanwan hadn't seen how Pei Yaozu did it and still wanted to learn, but Pei Yaozu saw this as a perfect opportunity to earn credit. If he came every day to help Pei Changfeng urinate, wouldn't he have an excuse to visit daily?
Not only could he win Su Wanwan over, but he might also have a chance to kill Pei Changfeng without anyone knowing! Even if someone found out, they would only think he was kind-hearted. It was truly a win-win strategy!
Faced with a free laborer who had come knocking, Su Wanwan adhered to the principle of "if it's free, why not use it?" She had Pei Yaozu chop firewood while she yawned and wiped Pei Changfeng's face.
After chopping a pile of firewood, Pei Yaozu was so exhausted he couldn't even straighten his back. He had never done such work at home. If Su Wanwan weren't so beautiful, he wouldn't have rushed over to find work.
Once the firewood was finally chopped, he hadn't even sat down on the bench before Su Wanwan asked him to fetch water. Pei Yaozu immediately went to do it.
Of course, Su Wanwan knew what Pei Yaozu was up to—she wasn't foolish. But she was simply too tired, and if someone was eager to work, she was more than happy to let them.
By the time the sun hung high in the sky, Su Wanwan had finished feeding Pei Changfeng egg custard and stepped outside. Pei Yaozu was just about to ask Su Wanwan to make him a bowl of food when Pei's Eldest Aunt ruined his plans.
Pei's Eldest Aunt had been looking for Pei Yaozu all morning. When she heard he had gone to work for Su Wanwan, she was furious. She had never seen Pei Yaozu work so diligently at home.
Seeing Pei's Eldest Aunt about to make a scene, Su Wanwan didn't indulge her and smiled, "What's wrong, Auntie?"
She shook the water dipper in her hand. Pei's Eldest Aunt, seeing the door wide open, wasn't afraid. "What's wrong? You seduced my son, and you ask me what's wrong? Have you no shame? Just because your own husband is useless, you seduce my son to work for you?"
"Oh? I don't understand," Su Wanwan frowned. "It was Cousin himself who said he was worried about my Changfeng and came to help voluntarily. How did it become me seducing Yaozu in your words?"
"Auntie, didn't you say just a few days ago that you treated Changfeng like your own son and me like your own daughter? How did I become a seductress today? Could it be that everything you said before was false?"
Pei's Eldest Aunt was stunned by her audacity and said incredulously, "You hit me, and you still expect me to treat you like my own daughter?"
Su Wanwan neither confirmed nor denied it. "Hitting is affection, scolding is love—this just proves how close our two families are. Otherwise, why would I hit you and not others, Eldest Aunt?"
What a twisted logic…
Pei Yaozu also nodded. "Exactly, exactly. Sister-in-law treats me like her own younger brother, that's why she asks me to work. Oh, no—I volunteered to help. It has nothing to do with Sister-in-law."
As soon as Wu Sanniang arrived, she witnessed such a lively scene. Her gaze fell on Su Wanwan. Was this the new bride the Pei family had married off to Pei Changfeng?
Seeing Wu Sanniang, Pei's Eldest Aunt's face turned even sourer. "What are you doing here?"
It seemed there was a story here.
Su Wanwan deftly twirled the water dipper in her hand. No matter. She'd take on one if one came, and two if a pair showed up. Let's see who was tougher—them or the water dipper in her hand!