Chu Fuyu spent about half an hour finally laying out a full table of dishes.
Crab dumplings, Dongpo pork, and fish soup were placed in the center—these were bought from the restaurant Qianwei Lou. On her own, she made golden chicken, and also brought out from her space a braised sea bass dish, beef brisket with potatoes, and stir-fried greens.
Finally, worried the children might not have enough to eat, she made a large meat-filled dragon-shaped bun as the staple.
For Huzi and Xiaoying, this meal was truly a feast. Everything in sight was meat—just looking at it made them swallow their saliva, the aroma so rich it seemed to drill straight into their noses.
“Chu Auntie, your cooking is amazing! Even better than my mom’s!”
Huzi was devouring the food, his mouth stuffed full as he spoke.
Grandma Li looked at him helplessly. Seeing how he still dared to complain about his own mother, she laughed and scolded him,
“You little brat, always complaining about your mother! You’ve got meat to eat and you still won’t shut your mouth!”
Chu Fuyu smiled and kept serving dishes to the children. She also gave a chicken drumstick each to Grandma Li and Xiaoying.
Grandma Li originally wanted to give the drumstick to little Hua Yi, but Chu Fuyu stopped her.
“Eat it, Auntie. You’ve worked the hardest today—you’re the real hero! You must have the drumstick!”
Grandma Li tried to refuse again, feeling a bit embarrassed, but eventually gave in and ate it. She immediately praised her,
“Girl, your cooking is really something! Honestly, it’s no worse than Qianwei Lou. If you opened a restaurant, business would definitely be better than theirs!”
Chu Fuyu took a sip of fish soup and smiled.
“I’ll pass. Cooking for the children is enough for me.”
As she spoke, she looked at the children’s satisfied little faces and felt quite happy herself.
After the meal, Chu Fuyu brought out the toys she had bought for her sons, and the group of children immediately ran outside in a rush to play kickball.
She then sat in the courtyard and chatted with Grandma Li.
“Girl, I heard from Aunt Zhang—Wang Cuihua still hasn’t given up. She’s been running around asking where you got all your money, trying to find some mistake to catch you on so she can force you into marrying that Zhao landlord.”
Grandma Li was grinding her teeth in anger as she spoke.
“That Wang Cuihua does nothing good all day! If she comes again, you must call me!”
Chu Fuyu was a bit speechless.
Wang Cuihua really was persistent. Even after being scolded so badly, she still wouldn’t give up. It seemed the benefits promised by that Zhao landlord were indeed substantial.
Besides this, Grandma Li was worried about something else.
“Girl, you know… you’re really outstanding in appearance. You stand out even in ten miles and eight villages. Now that everyone knows you’re living well, plenty of people will come sniffing around.”
Chu Fuyu had long expected this day.
But one couldn’t avoid getting wet just because one feared the rain. If she hid for life, what kind of living would that be?
She came here precisely to let herself and her children live well—not to suffer.
So even if she attracted attention, she did not intend to lower her standard of living.
Fortunately, everyone she had met in Lishui Village so far had been good people. But if truly ill-intentioned people appeared, she wouldn’t be afraid.
After all, she had stored quite a few weapons in her space.
Worst case scenario—she would meet blade with blade.
Seeing her lost in thought, Grandma Li thought she was afraid and quickly comforted her.
“Don’t worry, girl. There aren’t any truly bad people in our village. At most a couple of lazy men—they won’t harm you. Just might annoy you a bit.”
After a pause, she looked at Chu Fuyu carefully and asked,
“Girl… you really don’t plan to remarry? You’re only twenty-five, still young, still able to bear children, and you’ve got good conditions. Plenty of people would want you. Are you really planning to spend your whole life raising these three sons alone?”
Chu Fuyu lowered her eyes slightly and said in a low voice, “I’ve already suffered once. I don’t want to repeat the same mistake again.”
Seeing this, Aunt Li didn’t press further. She had already said what needed to be said—after that, it was up to Chu Fuyu to stay alert. So she smoothly changed the topic.
Meanwhile, five children were holding a shuttlecock ball and heading toward the western side of the village.
On purpose, they passed by Da Niu’s house.
They saw Da Niu squatting in his yard catching bugs from the soil. Huai Yu deliberately raised his voice.
“Let’s hurry! This new shuttlecock ball is so fun! But this place is too small—we’re going to the grain drying field on the mountain!”
Da Niu was already eight years old, one year older than Huai Hu. He was tall and sturdy, just like his name suggested.
He had been digging in the soil with his backside sticking up when he heard voices outside the gate. He immediately stood up.
Then he saw Huai Hu, the same kid he had just fought with earlier, now leading the others proudly as they ran off together. His sharp eyes immediately caught the shuttlecock ball in Huai Yi’s arms.
It looked brand new!
How could something this good not include him?!
Did they even know how to play properly without him?
Da Niu curled his lips. He could easily beat all of them by himself.
Without hesitation, he ran out of his house and followed them.
Huai Jin saw that Da Niu had taken the bait and was trailing far behind, so he whispered, “Quick, let’s go faster. There’s a big pit at the grain field. It’ll be dark soon—we’ll hide there, and he won’t find us!”
Hearing this, the children all sped up, eventually breaking into a run as they headed up the mountain.
Da Niu, seeing them run even faster, also quickened his pace, muttering angrily, “Stingy bunch! You clearly know I want to play, and you still won’t let me join! Hmph! Just wait till I catch up—I’ll teach you a lesson!”
He clenched his fists and panted as he ran up the mountain.
The sky gradually darkened. The sun had already set by the time Da Niu reached the grain drying field.
Standing beside the grain pile, he looked around—but not a single person was visible.
He frowned. He had clearly heard Huai Yi say they came here. Where did they go?
So he raised his voice and shouted:
“Huai Hu! Huai Da! Huai Er! Huai San! Xiao Ying! Where are you?! I’m here to play shuttlecock ball with you! Come out! Or else I’ll make you regret it!”
At that moment, the children crouched in a large pit beside the grain pile, covering their mouths and trying not to laugh.
Seeing Da Niu grow more and more anxious as darkness fell, they knew that if he still couldn’t find them, he would have to go home soon.
Just as he was about to turn and leave—
Suddenly, he heard a rustling sound.
Da Niu’s hair stood on end. It felt as if all the blood in his body had frozen.
He sensed something breathing right beside him.
He didn’t dare turn around.
Then, a faint, drifting voice echoed in the dark:
“Da Niu~ I like eating naughty children the most~ come closer~ let me swallow you whole——”
Da Niu froze.
A wave of chills rushed through him.
He slowly turned his head—
And saw a white-clothed ghost standing right there.