The clothes that had been laid out to dry in the morning were already dry by now.
Holding them in her hands, she could still feel the warmth of the sun, though as the evening glow faded, they gradually cooled.
She was about to put them away, wondering what to cook for dinner, when a noise came from the gate.
“Sister-in-law! Sister-in-law!”
The voice belonged to someone who looked vaguely familiar.
It was Fang Jingshan. He was carrying several large and small bags in his hands, his head pressed comically against the gap in the gate as he peeked inside.
“Sister-in-law, do me a favor, please…”
When he saw Ye Shizhi looking at him, Fang Jingshan broke into a wide grin. Seen through the narrow gap, he looked a little simple and honest.
But once Ye Shizhi remembered who he was, she didn’t feel that way at all.
Fang Jingshan—his mother had abandoned him, his father had remarried and become more like a stepfather, turning a blind eye to his hardships and leaving him hungry and cold. Later, he was even driven out of the house.
In the original storyline, Fang Jingshan had followed Jiang Sinian doing business. As Jiang Sinian’s ventures grew bigger and bigger, Fang Jingshan chose another path.
He shrank into the shadows, doing shady things and handling trouble for Jiang Sinian.
The early plot hadn’t focused much on him, but Ye Shizhi, who had read the story, knew that later on he would become a smiling tiger—looking gentle and friendly one moment, and pointing a gun at someone the next.
A hypocritical and cunning fellow.
Of course, Ye Shizhi wouldn’t let the plot influence her.
She walked over and opened the gate. Seeing not only the bags Fang Jingshan was carrying but also the pile on the ground, she couldn’t help but fall silent.
“Why so much?”
“Yeah, it’s all stuff my brother bought. Said it’d be useful.”
Fang Jingshan, tall and broad, carried the things inside. When he came back out and saw Ye Shizhi moving things herself, his heart nearly leapt into his throat.
“Sister-in-law, don’t touch it!”
He quickly snatched what was in her hands, stepping back a few paces as if afraid of bumping into her, raising the items high. “I’ll carry it, I’ll carry it. You go rest.”
“These are all things Brother said were good, so I brought them back,” Fang Jingshan explained while moving the items.
“Oh right, Sister-in-law, Brother will be back soon. I just got here before him.”
By the time he finished speaking, everything had been neatly arranged.
Fang Jingshan had fair, clean-cut features, but paired with his sturdy build, people would instinctively overlook his face.
“Thanks for your hard work. Sit for a bit. When Jiang Sinian comes back, stay and have dinner with us,” Ye Shizhi invited, then changed the subject. “But what good thing happened today?”
She wasn’t very familiar with Fang Jingshan—at most, they’d met a few times.
Still, since he’d worked hard bringing everything over, she handed him a cup of water and voiced her curiosity.
From the moment he arrived, his eyes had been shining, and the smile at the corner of his mouth just wouldn’t fade.
“Sister-in-law, let me tell you—today’s batch of goods made a killing!”
“Guess how much we earned?”
Talking about this, Fang Jingshan had no trace of embarrassment. He was brimming with excitement.
“One hundred?” Ye Shizhi guessed casually.
A hundred was already a lot at this time.
“Three hundred! A full three hundred!”
He held up three fingers. It was money he’d never even dared to imagine. When he used to flip goods to middlemen, the most he’d make was ten or twenty yuan on expensive items; on cheaper ones, just a few cents.
Who would’ve thought that changing the method and working with Brother today would earn almost a year’s worth of money in one go? How could he not be excited?
“Brother is really amazing!”
Fang Jingshan’s eyes sparkled with admiration.
Hearing him praise Jiang Sinian, Ye Shizhi’s lips twitched. If he knew how much more Jiang Sinian would make in the future, she wondered what his expression would be.
But that was for later.
While they were talking, Jiang Sinian returned.
Unlike when he’d left at noon, there was a hint of a smile at the corner of his eyes this time, and the oppressive aura around him had lessened. His tall, slender figure stepped through the door, a large bag in his hand.
He wasn’t surprised to see Fang Jingshan. His gaze swept briefly over Ye Shizhi before he headed straight into the kitchen.
“Come eat.”
“Alright!” Ye Shizhi responded cooperatively.
Looks like Jiang Sinian had brought food back. Perfect—she didn’t feel like cooking anyway.
Compared to her ease, Fang Jingshan seemed somewhat restrained.
“Brother, I’ll head back first.”
Jiang Sinian turned to look at him. The weight of his dark gaze made Fang Jingshan feel enormous pressure.
“They’ll leave food for you?”
Fang Jingshan moved his lips, wanting to say something, but swallowed his words.
With the people in his family, they wouldn’t care about him at all—forget leaving him food, they probably wished he’d die outside.
“Eat first. We’ll split the money after.”
That settled Fang Jingshan’s hesitation. Split the money—he was someone with money now.
“Okay!”
When the three of them sat at the dining table, Ye Shizhi looked at the mostly mild dishes in confusion. There was meat, sure—but why was the fish steamed?
And the only dish that looked spicy was placed on Fang Jingshan’s side.
Without thinking much, Ye Shizhi reached her chopsticks toward the spicy dish—only to have them intercepted halfway.
“Jiang Sinian, what are you doing?”
She was just a tiny bit dissatisfied.
Jiang Sinian replied calmly, “That’s his.”
“Then what about mine?”
Seeing Jiang Sinian glance at the mild dishes, Ye Shizhi immediately understood.
Other than that bowl, she could eat everything else.
She wasn’t unreasonable. Craving good food was only natural, but the original owner of this body couldn’t really handle spicy food. And now that she was pregnant, it was necessary to watch her diet.
Even so, while eating, Ye Shizhi shot Fang Jingshan resentful looks. Why could he eat it?
Fang Jingshan was so frightened he picked up food cautiously, then quickly shoveled down the rest and declared he was full before fleeing outside.
Once he left, Ye Shizhi settled down and ate quietly.
She’d noticed that Jiang Sinian hadn’t touched the spicy dish either. From her memories, he actually liked spicy food.
The original owner hadn’t eaten many meals with him. A few times, Jiang Sinian had brought food back, and the two of them had eaten in silence.
At first, the dishes were probably chosen according to Jiang Sinian’s own tastes. Later, perhaps after realizing the original owner couldn’t handle spicy food, out of three dishes only one would be spicy, and the rest mild.
Now he wasn’t touching the spicy dish at all.
While Jiang Sinian wasn’t paying attention, Ye Shizhi quickly picked up a piece and dropped it into his bowl.
Jiang Sinian’s movement paused. He stared at the extra piece of food in his bowl in silence.
The little bit of oil seeped into the rice, its fragrance stimulating the taste buds.
He looked up to see Ye Shizhi slightly raising her chin at him, smiling. Her eyes curved, faint dimples appearing on her soft face, making her already gentle features seem even softer.
“I remember you like it,” she said.
“Mm.”
Jiang Sinian’s gaze slid over the smile at her lips, ignoring the fleeting hint of mischief in her eyes, taking it as genuine concern.
As long as she didn’t cause trouble or make a fuss, he could accept this little bit of cleverness.
Was Ye Shizhi really being that kind? Of course not. Seeing that Jiang Sinian suspected nothing, she took a bite of rice. The faint trace of spice clinging to her chopsticks made her deeply satisfied.
Sure enough, spicy food really made rice taste better.
After finishing his meal, Jiang Sinian deliberately picked up the bowl of spicy food and, right in front of her, placed it into the cabinet.
“Leave the bowls after you’re done. I’ll boil some hot water for you later,” he instructed carefully. “Open up the things we brought back. Some of them will be useful.”
With that, he strode out on his long legs.
Sitting inside, Ye Shizhi soon heard voices starting up outside.