Wen Yining said this as she pulled a small cake topped with dried strawberries from her pocket. She didn’t believe a little girl could resist the temptation of a strawberry cake.
Sure enough, seeing the tiny cake in her mother’s hand, Yaoyao’s eyes widened.
She wanted to ask where Mom had gone, why she had suddenly disappeared, and why she had appeared again.
But the candy her mother had given her was so sweet, and the little cake in Mom’s hand smelled so good!
Even better than the sponge cakes Dad had brought home for Grandpa and Grandma!
Mom’s little cake looked prettier than any of the fancy pastries sold at the cooperative store!
Yaoyao swallowed the saliva from the candy, carefully took the cake from Wen Yining, and held it in her tiny hands, reluctant to eat it.
“Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll keep your secret. I won’t tell anyone,” Yaoyao said, her eyes sparkling as she whispered her promise.
Wen Yining tore off a small piece of the cake and fed it to her. “Eat quickly. Remember to rinse your mouth after, or you’ll get cavities and toothaches.”
Yaoyao held the cake in her mouth. The sweet-and-sour strawberry flavor mixed with the milk candy taste was unlike anything she had ever experienced.
The cake melted in her mouth, but she was reluctant to swallow.
Such a delicious cake deserved to be savored slowly.
Yaoyao was still young and couldn’t hide her emotions, and Wen Yining could read her thoughts instantly.
“No need to save it. What’s given today should be eaten today, or the mice will get it,” Wen Yining said, smoothing Yaoyao’s messy hair. “If you wait until bedtime, the mice won’t just eat your cake—they’ll follow the scent of the sweetness on you and bite you.”
Wen Yining wasn’t trying to scare the child. The small, drafty western room they lived in had clearly been converted from a storage space. There were probably not just mice, but maybe snakes and insects as well.
“Enjoy today’s treat today. You can have another flavor tomorrow.”
Yaoyao held the cake out. “Mom, you eat first.”
Wen Yining pinched a small piece of strawberry cake. “Yaoyao, you eat too.”
Yaoyao licked the crumbs from her lips and smiled sweetly. “Delicious.”
Watching Yaoyao carefully lick the cream, Wen Yining’s heart softened. The child had likely never been properly fed, let alone had a strawberry cake she had never seen before. No wonder she treasured it so much.
Wen Yining promised solemnly, “Eat slowly. I’ll bring you treats every day from now on.”
Late at night, Yaoyao fell asleep with her head on Wen Yining’s arm, a sweet smile on her face.
Wen Yining, however, couldn’t sleep. She reviewed the story in her mind.
In the original story, Zhang Xue would soon “accidentally” open the bracelet with the spatial space.
The “space” was useless to Zhang Xue, but extremely valuable to Cheng Yifeng.
Zhang Xue valued her only son above everything, and naturally, she would give all the good things to him.
Once Cheng Yifeng discovered her “accident,” he would immediately send his parents south, leaving the original Wen and Yaoyao behind. Worse, he would hand over her ID papers to Gu Yuxuan, leaving the mother and daughter alone and helpless in that era, eventually dying tragically in the streets without anyone to bury them.
Wen Yining sneered. Now that she was here, none of that would happen.
She took out some medicine from the space to promote circulation and reduce bruising, treated the marks on Yaoyao, and finally went to sleep.
The next morning, the Cheng family elders got up and found the kitchen cold, with no breakfast prepared. Wen Yining was nowhere in sight. Zhang Xue stormed to Wen Yining’s room, yelling.
“Why isn’t breakfast ready yet? Lazybones! Do you think the Cheng family is here to feed you?”
Cheng Yifeng’s father, Cheng Daqing, glared at her. “Instead of yelling, you could’ve cooked noodles! All this shouting early in the morning has scared away the household’s luck!”
“She’s your daughter-in-law and doesn’t cook. Should I, her mother-in-law, wait on her? Why doesn’t she just fly to the heavens? And if she’s wrong, can’t I teach her a lesson?” Zhang Xue slammed the knife hard on the cutting board. “Am I supposed to let her ride on my neck and take a dump?”
“Whether she rides on your neck or not, if you keep yelling, she might cut your neck off!” Cheng Daqing glanced at Zhang Xue’s empty hands. “Did you forget yesterday she almost cut your hand? If you provoke her now, and she loses it, I won’t be able to stop her.”
Zhang Xue wanted to argue, but thinking of the fear Wen Yining had instilled yesterday afternoon, she muttered and cooked just enough noodles for herself and Cheng Daqing. She didn’t invite Wen Yining or Yaoyao, ate quickly, and left the dirty bowls in the pot without washing.
Since Wen Yining had married into the Cheng family, she had to work.
If she didn’t cook, she had to wash the dishes.
Wanting to do nothing at all? Dream on.
Wen Yining had no idea about Zhang Xue’s petty schemes. If she had, she would have dunked her head in water to wash it herself.
Wen Yining slept until she woke naturally, sunlight streaming through the window.
Yaoyao was already up, sitting in the yard.
Seeing her up, Yaoyao handed her a boiled egg. “Mom, eat.”
Wen Yining held the warm egg and patted Yaoyao’s face. “You eat.”
Yaoyao shook her head. “Mom, you eat. I’ve already eaten.”
“What else did you eat besides the boiled egg?” Wen Yining asked, giving her a piece of egg white and noticing some dried batter stuck to Yaoyao’s cheek.
“I also made some dough-drop soup,” Yaoyao said shyly. “The eggs are from our house, but Grandma usually locks them up and doesn’t let me eat. But there was a hole under the cabinet, and I could reach in and grab an egg.”
Her eyes flickered nervously at Wen Yining. “Mom, don’t be mad. I won’t steal eggs again.”
“You ate your own eggs. Why would I be mad?” Wen Yining said. “Taking eggs from your own cabinet isn’t stealing.”
“Just because Grandma says no, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t eat what’s yours. There’s nothing wrong with taking back what belongs to you.”
Wen Yining tied her hair into a braid and led Yaoyao outside. “Kids need to eat eggs to grow tall.”
Yaoyao hesitated. “But Grandma will scold me.”
Wen Yining snorted. “Let her scold. You eat. Kids just need to eat well and grow. Don’t worry about anything else.”
After breakfast, Wen Yining saw the unwashed dishes in the pot. As Yaoyao reached to help, she accidentally dropped them. With a few crisp cracks, they shattered into pieces.
If no one likes washing dishes, then they won’t be used.
Yaoyao looked at Wen Yining in awe.
Wen Yining rummaged through a chest and found her household registration papers. She planned to go to the street office to get a reference letter, then go to Cheng Yifeng’s military unit to divorce him while the Cheng elders were out.
“I’m going out for a bit. Can you stay home alone, Yaoyao?”
Yaoyao nervously tugged at her dress. “Mom, where are you going?”
“Mom’s running some errands. I’ll be back soon.” Wen Yining pulled a small bun from the space and tucked it into Yaoyao’s pocket. “If you get hungry, eat this. Don’t start a fire or cook anything. Keep the door closed, and don’t open it if anyone knocks.”