Becoming the Villain's Discarded Wife
Chapter 35_1

Chapter 35: Chapter 35_1

Shen Qinghe’s face was dark and somber, and there was a faint anger in his voice, "The cellar is being pressed down, and we can’t move the beams out for a while. It seems we’ll only have sweet potatoes to eat tonight."

After speaking, he scoffed coldly, "I don’t know if it could be considered that the little thief still has some conscience, leaving us a bag of sweet potatoes."

Ms. Qin’s eyes were already red as she cursed softly, "This person is really a son of a bitch, doing such despicable things at a time like this, stealing food even from someone in postpartum without fear of choking to death."

Ms. Zhou also took a glance at her sleeping sister-in-law, feeling somewhat mixed emotions. A woman’s postpartum period is absolutely critical and cannot be taken lightly; neglecting proper care can lead to illness for life. When she was in confinement herself, her mother-in-law had provided her with white flour and fresh rice. Who could have imagined her sister-in-law would suffer like this now?

Not only was she frightened last night, but now even the slightest bit of good food had been touched by the thieving scoundrel.

In the end, with no other choice, Shen Qinghe, distressed for his wife, ran around trying to borrow fine grains from anyone who had any. However, after making the rounds, he came up empty-handed.

After all, in these times, any household that shows a hint of wealth is easily targeted by others.

Seeing Shen Qinghe return with slumped shoulders, Ms. Qin understood the situation. She only asked him to bring back some salt and sesame oil from home. Without fine grains, adding some sesame oil and salt to sweet potatoes was still tastier than boiling them in water.

But Ms. Zhou suddenly remembered something, told Ms. Qin, and hurried off toward Nanzhi’s place.

When she saw Nanzhi talking to Gougou, she felt a bit awkward but finally spoke up, "Nanzhi, I’ve come to ask you for a favor."

Nanzhi was surprised to see the awkward-looking Ms. Zhou and couldn’t understand why Ms. Zhou would seek her out. She nodded and agreed, "Ms. Zhou, what do you need? Just tell me."

"My younger brother’s wife is currently in her postpartum period, but we’ve run out of fine grains, and I was hoping to borrow some from you."

As Ms. Zhou spoke, she was somewhat nervous. Although Nanzhi had been married here for five years, the two of them didn’t usually interact. It felt like taking advantage of a widow and her son by suddenly asking to borrow grains, especially fine grains.

After waiting a moment without hearing Nanzhi’s reply, Ms. Zhou felt a bit disheartened and was about to thank her and depart when she heard Nanzhi speak.

"I only have old rice at home, but if it’s for the postpartum woman, I have some other things."

Hearing this, Ms. Zhou’s eyes widened in surprise. She had thought Nanzhi wouldn’t agree, but it turned out Nanzhi said she had other suitable items for her sister-in-law.

"Just wait here for a moment. I didn’t bring anything with me, so I’ll go home and fetch them for you."

Ms. Zhou eagerly nodded, agreeing to wait there.

Nanzhi exchanged a few words with Gougou before taking the clothes he had changed out of and returning home.

Dried Scallop cooked into porridge is nourishing for women in postpartum, and although it’s not as good as the conpoy from scallops, it’s still beneficial as long as one doesn’t eat too much of it.

Thinking this, Nanzhi packed a handful of conpoy and a bowl of old rice. Hesitating for a moment before leaving, she still grabbed two Crucian Carps Gougou had caught a few days ago from the bucket.

Crucian Carp Soup is good for lactation. Ms. Qin’s family had helped her a lot, so this little bit of food wasn’t much in return.

Before leaving, Nanzhi made sure to lock the door carefully. After all, better safe than sorry—if even Diniu was a target, wouldn’t she and her son, being alone and vulnerable, be an even easier target?

Ms. Zhou paced back and forth, feeling uneasy. After all, her mother-in-law had specifically instructed not to borrow grains from Ms. Lin. If she returned with the items, she wondered if her mother-in-law would scold her.

"Mommy’s back!"

Gougou, who was dizzy from Ms. Zhou’s pacing, waved happily as soon as he saw his mother’s figure from afar.

Nanzhi, noticing Gougou waving under the tree, felt slightly amused but also concerned that he might hurt his hand. She quickened her pace toward him.

"Ms. Zhou, you know my situation; this old rice should be enough for two days. Clean the Dried Scallop and cook it with the old rice for porridge; it’s nourishing, but don’t eat too much. I haven’t packed a lot."

Ms. Zhou accepted the grain sack, feeling nothing but gratitude in her heart. In Lihua Village, with so many "relatives," not a single family was willing to lend a hand. In the end, she still had to rely on the charity of a widow and her orphaned child for grain.

"Sister, thank you so much."

"Sister Zhou, here are two crucian carp. I thought the shudders from last night’s earth-shattering movements might’ve kept little Sister Zhou from resting well. My maternal family has a traditional remedy, claiming that drinking soup made from crucian carp can promote lactation. You should take it home, clean it thoroughly, and boil some soup for little Sister Zhou to drink for her own good."

Ms. Zhou paused, her eyes reddening as she stared at the two crucian carp that Nanzhi was offering.

Nanzhi saw Ms. Zhou’s lack of reaction and thought she might not know how to deal with the fish bones, so she added, "The fish have tiny bones; you can wrap the fish in a clean cotton cloth before boiling. That way, you can drink the soup directly."

"Eh, eh, that’s really, I’m truly grateful," Ms. Zhou felt a tremor in her voice as if unsure of her own emotions. She carefully noted Nanzhi’s advice and thanked her several times before taking the items and leaving.

Gougou saw that Ms. Zhou had left and tugged at Nanzhi’s sleeve, speaking with a hint of coyness, "Mom, I was very good just now; I missed you in just a little while."

The child’s voice was soft and whiny when acting spoiled. Nanzhi, listening, laughed heartily. She hugged Gougou and kissed his little face before saying, "Gougou is so well-behaved; when we get home tomorrow, Mom will boil some fish soup for you to drink."

Gougou giggled and agreed.

The mother and son resumed their playful teasing.

Mrs. Qin had been worried. After the commotion of the earth turning over last night, little Ms. Zhou must have been frightened, and her milk supply wasn’t plentiful to start with. Today, without any fine grain available, she didn’t know if her grandson would have anything to eat at all.

But then she saw Ms. Zhou returning, one hand carrying a bag and the other holding two crucian carp as wide as four fingers.

"What is this...?"

Ms. Zhou just handed the grain sack to her mother-in-law, "Mother, here are some old rice grains; you can take them to make some porridge for my sister-in-law."

Mrs. Qin took the grain sack, somewhat surprised. Qinghe had been everywhere asking for grain to no avail, so how did Ms. Zhou manage to bring back old rice after just a short while?

Upon opening the sack and seeing the dried scallops inside, Mrs. Qin finally understood. Only Nanzhi had such items to spare. Looking at Ms. Zhou, who stood by with her head lowered, waiting to be scolded, Mrs. Qin sighed softly.

Although Ms. Zhou hadn’t heeded her words and had gone to borrow grain from Ms. Lin, she did it for the sake of the little Ms. Zhou who was in confinement. If she scolded her now, she would seem too harsh.

"You’ve also had a hard time; go and rest."

Ms. Zhou, who had been bracing herself for a scolding, heard her mother-in-law’s words without any reproach and heaved a sigh of relief. She then lifted the two crucian carp she held, "Nanzhi said that drinking soup made from crucian carp can help with lactation, so she gave me two. She said that if I stew them in a clean cotton cloth, there won’t be any bones."

Mrs. Qin also felt surprised upon hearing this. She had eaten fish from the river before; they were bony and fishy, not to mention with little meat. She hadn’t known they could promote lactation.

If it truly helped, her daughter-in-law would suffer less.

She nodded her head and then she and Ms. Zhou got busy.

Only after the fish soup was ready, with its creamy color and fragrant aroma, did the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law taste it and smack their lips in appreciation. How had they not known how delicious this fish soup was?

"It’s strange, this fish soup is so delicious, why hadn’t Nanzhi ever made it for Gougou before? Otherwise, how come Gougou is still so small?" Ms. Zhou, savoring the taste of the fish soup, asked curiously.

Mrs. Qin thought it odd too but didn’t say much. She just urged Ms. Zhou to quickly bring the clay pot over.

Although most families only had sweet potatoes and chestnuts for provision, some used the temporary stove to make some soup.