“No,” Li Tingyun said impatiently, no longer bothering to beat around the bush. “I already told you—I don’t want anything to do with you people anymore. Are you coming to me now because you no longer have a sucker to take advantage of?”
Xu Hui hadn’t expected Li Tingyun to say out loud what both sides had always silently understood. An awkward expression immediately appeared on her face.
She stammered, “Sister Xiaoyun, how can you think that of my brother and me? We’re not that kind of people.”
Whether they were that kind of people or not was obvious to anyone with eyes.
Back then, because the original Li Tingyun liked Xu Feng, whenever she bought something good, Xu Hui would always get a share too.
Xu Feng couldn’t stand the food at the educated youth station, so whenever he wanted something tasty, the original Li Tingyun would go into town to buy him food. And whatever Xu Feng got, Xu Hui naturally benefited from as well.
Among all the educated youths, the Xu siblings ate the best and used the best things.
Everyone at the station knew about it. Both openly and secretly, people thought Li Tingyun was foolish—she wouldn’t even spend on herself, yet she willingly fed others.
Li Tingyun didn’t want to keep arguing with Xu Hui anymore. She said, “Just leave already. Go back and tell your brother that if he keeps pestering me—a widow with three children—don’t blame me for not giving him any face.”
Xu Feng cared a lot about his reputation. Chasing after a woman with three children was already considered improper behavior in this era. Not to mention the villagers of Shuangbanqiao Village—just their gossip alone could drown him alive.
Xu Hui still wanted to say something and pressed her hand against the door to stop it from closing.
From a distance, it looked like the two women were arguing.
“Well now, who do we have here? So it’s Educated Youth Xu,” Mother Yi said as she walked over. She looked between the two women, noticing Li Tingyun’s unpleasant expression. “So early in the morning—what brings Educated Youth Xu here?”
Xu Hui and Xu Feng always came looking for her at night when few people were around.
When the original Li Tingyun gave things to Xu Feng, Xu Hui had always been the one to receive them. So Mother Yi never knew Li Tingyun had once liked Xu Feng.
Xu Hui forced a smile. “Auntie, I just came to chat with Sister Xiaoyun.”
The two weren’t even close. What would an educated youth have to chat about with the third son’s wife?
Li Tingyun said coldly, “No thanks. We’re not close, so you should go find someone you actually know to talk to.”
Then, turning to Mother Yi, her expression softened. “Mother, why did you come over this morning?”
Only then did Mother Yi remember why she had come.
She lifted the item in her hand and said, “I saw that Third Baby has gained quite a bit of weight lately, and I was worried you might not be producing enough milk. So I brought you an old hen to make soup with. You should eat more too and keep up your nutrition. You’ve gotten thinner lately.”
So she had come to bring nourishing food. A warm feeling spread through Li Tingyun’s heart.
Although the chickens in her space weren’t any worse than this one, the Yi family had so many mouths to feed, yet Mother Yi still brought her an old hen. Li Tingyun was genuinely touched.
“Mother, you don’t have to. I still have some pork bones here,” Li Tingyun said.
Mother Yi stepped inside as she replied, “How can bones compare to old hen soup? Just look how thin you are.”
“Mother, really, it’s not necessary,” Li Tingyun said. “My sisters-in-law still have children to feed too. You should take it back for them.”
How could Mother Yi not understand what Li Tingyun was thinking? She was obviously worried that bringing the hen here would cause conflict among the other daughters-in-law.
Mother Yi placed the chicken into the kitchen cabinet and said, “They’re not breastfeeding. Besides, this is a chicken I raised myself. I’ll give it to whoever I want.”
Li Tingyun and Mother Yi continued chatting back and forth, completely ignoring the awkward Xu Hui standing nearby.
After standing there for a while and failing to join the conversation, Xu Hui finally turned and left.
Watching Xu Hui’s retreating figure, Li Tingyun hesitated for a moment before deciding to tell Mother Yi now instead.
“Mother, I’m planning to wean Third Treasure soon, so I don’t need such nourishing food anymore.”
Mother Yi had been wiping her hands with a cloth. Hearing this, she froze.
She glanced at Third Treasure, who was sucking his thumb in Li Tingyun’s arms, and said, “But isn’t Third Treasure only six months old? You’re weaning him already?”
“Mhm,” Li Tingyun replied without wanting to explain further. “I just want to wean him earlier.”
Truthfully, she had been bitten one too many times by the baby.
It took Mother Yi a moment to react. “Well, it’s up to you. If you don’t want to breastfeed anymore, then stop. At least you’ll be able to sleep better.”
Then she pointed at the cabinet and added, “I already cleaned the feathers off the hen. Just chop it up and stew it.”
Seeing that Mother Yi still insisted on leaving the chicken for her, Li Tingyun was about to protest again when Mother Yi continued:
“Even if you stop breastfeeding, you still need to eat well. If a woman doesn’t take care of her body after giving birth, she’ll suffer from all kinds of aches and illnesses when she gets older. Since I brought it for you, just eat it. No need to be polite with an old woman like me.”
At that point, Li Tingyun could only accept it.
At the same time, she added, “Mother, I’ll need to go to the county again in a few days. I’ll have to trouble you to watch the children for me then.”
Mother Yi waved her hand dismissively. “Why call it trouble? Just tell me what day you’re going, and I’ll come over earlier.”
She had come before work started, and now that she had delivered the hen, she hurried back to prepare for work.
Since Mother Yi had brought over an old hen, Li Tingyun decided to stew it for lunch.
She placed Third Treasure on a blanket to play by himself, chopped up the chicken, and added red dates, goji berries, and longan before setting it to stew.
An old hen needed to cook for a long time, so she used the pressure cooker from her space.
If she used the kitchen stove, she’d have to keep checking the firewood constantly, which was troublesome.
As the sun grew harsher and the air turned muggy, Li Tingyun picked up Third Treasure and prepared to go out and call the older two children home.
After wandering around for a bit, she found Eldest Treasure and Second Treasure beneath the village’s famous giant banyan tree.
Shidan and Chun’er were carrying baskets on their backs and crowding around Eldest Treasure, chatting about something.
Second Treasure, as usual, was poking at the ground with a stick. If nothing unexpected happened, he was definitely digging for little earthworms again.
Li Tingyun stayed alert, afraid Second Treasure might fling an earthworm onto her.
As she got closer, she heard Chun’er say, “Dawa, the butterfly ribbon in your hair today is so pretty. Your mother treats you so well.”
Eldest Treasure smiled. “Chun’er, you can ask Auntie to buy one for you too.”
Shidan also chimed in, “Dawa, you look really beautiful today, just like a princess.”
Dawa burst into laughter. “Shidan, have you ever even seen a princess? And you’re saying I look like one.”
Li Tingyun took a closer look. After this period of careful nourishment, Dawa and Erwa’s complexions had already lightened considerably. They no longer looked like skinny refugee children.
Their hair was now glossy black, completely different from the dry, straw-like texture it used to have.
She didn’t know whether it was because of the nutritious food or the spiritual spring water.