Chapter 22: Chen Jiusi, You Are Too Bold

As soon as Chen Jie arrived home, he saw Little Bean sitting at the doorway, watching several children playing with pig trotters.

Specifically, pig kneecaps—the favorite toy for children of this age.

In this era, for a child to have such a thing was equivalent to a modern child having a set of Transformers; they would be the envy of all their peers.

Little Bean watched the children outside with envy. There were both boys and girls among them, the oldest appearing to be around six or seven, and the youngest about four years old.

They were all squatting on the ground, playing with their pig trotters.

Only Little Bean sat alone at the doorway, ignored by everyone, looking quite pitiful.

Chen Jie walked over and looked at Little Bean. "What's wrong? Why aren't you playing with them?"

Little Bean pouted and said, "I don't want to play with them."

Hearing this, one of the children nearby retorted, "It's us who won't play with you!"

"You're lying! It's me who won't play with you..." Little Bean shouted urgently, but the children replied, "That's right, we won't play with you!"

Hearing this, Chen Jie looked at the children and asked, "Why won't you play with Rui Rui?"

Stunned by Chen Jie's question, the children immediately fell silent and scurried away.

Chen Jie looked at Little Bean. "Why did they..."

"I'm the one who won't play with them," Little Bean argued.

Hearing this, Chen Jie stroked Little Bean's head. The little one was quite headstrong. He knelt down and asked, "Then why won't you play with them?"

"They... they said my sister is a jinx, and I'm a little jinx. They said playing with me brings bad luck..."

Listening to Little Bean, Chen Jie let out a sigh. Children wouldn't come up with such malicious language on their own; they must have been taught by adults. This showed just how much suffering the Su sisters had endured in the past.

As Little Bean spoke, her eyes were fixed on the large yellow apricot in Chen Jie's hand.

"Brother-in-law, what's that?"

Chen Jie couldn't help but laugh at her greedy expression. How could she not know it was an apricot? Asking when she clearly knew was obviously because she wanted to eat it.

"An apricot, but it's a bit hard and very sour."

"Smack~ Can I taste it?" Little Bean smacked her lips, looking at Chen Jie expectantly.

"If you don't mind the sourness, go ahead."

He gave the apricot to Little Bean. She took it, took a bite, and her entire expression instantly changed—it was incredibly sour.

Chen Jie thought she would give up, but to his surprise, after adjusting for a moment, she took another small bite. She grimaced, but a moment later, she took another.

Bit by bit, through the sourness and the pleasure, she actually ate more than half of it.

*This child really isn't a picky eater,* Chen Jie thought.

He led Little Bean back inside. Dinner was already prepared; today's lunch was lard-crumb rice.

The rendered lard had been sealed in a jar. This time, they had rendered a large jarful, which would last two or three months if eaten sparingly. However, Chen Jie didn't want to eat too frugally, so this amount would likely only last a month.

The lard crumbs had been scooped out and chopped into small pieces while hot. He then served out the freshly steamed sorghum rice, added the lard crumbs, some chopped wild scallions, and a splash of soy sauce.

A bowl of lard-crumb rice was ready.

"Dinner is served!" Su Yunjin called out as she brought the food to the table. Little Bean could no longer hold back; she stared longingly at the lard-crumb rice, drooling.

Chen Jie served her a large bowl and then a large bowl for Su Yunjin. As he handed it to her, he said, "You've worked hard, wife."

Su Yunjin's body stiffened slightly, and her cheeks flushed. It was a wonderful feeling.

Chen Jie served himself a bowl and then said to Su Yunjin, "Wife, give Rui Rui a bowl of lard crumbs this afternoon."

"Huh?" Su Yunjin looked at him, puzzled.

Chen Jie smiled. "Rui Rui, this afternoon, take a small stool and your lard crumbs to the doorway. If any children want to play with you, give them a piece. That way, they'll want to play with you in the future."

"Huh? Why would I give such good lard crumbs to those annoying brats?" Little Bean looked at him in confusion.

Chen Jie smiled. "Rui Rui, you must remember one thing: a person must have friends. The more friends you have, the better your life will be. You don't want to play alone every day, do you? Listen to your brother-in-law. I guarantee that in the future, you'll have a whole group of children following you."

Little Bean blinked. "Really?"

"Listen to your brother-in-law. It's true."

As Chen Jie spoke, Su Yunjin said from the side, "Isn't that a bit... our family isn't wealthy."

Chen Jie smiled and said, "It will get better. With me around, our family won't lack food."

As he spoke, Chen Jie reached into his robe and said, "By the way, wife, I've redeemed this for you."

He pulled out an old hairpin.

When she saw the hairpin, Su Yunjin's body visibly swayed. She stared blankly, and tears began to fall.

This hairpin was the only memento her mother had left her, but unfortunately, she had taken it to a pawnshop.

On that day, she had been beaten by Chen Jiu-si again. In her despair, seeing no hope, she had taken the hairpin to the pawnshop and traded it for two hundred wen. Afterward, she used that money to buy a packet of arsenic and two catties of fine rice.

She had tried to poison Chen Jiu-si, but unexpectedly, he had seen through it...

She thought she would never see this hairpin again in her lifetime, yet today, she saw it once more.

She tried to hold back her cries, but she wept bitterly. She clutched the hairpin to her chest with both hands, sobbing uncontrollably.

Little Bean looked at her sister in confusion, but her hands were still busy shoveling the lard-crumb rice into her mouth. Why was her sister crying? Was the rice so delicious that it made her cry from joy?

Chen Jie looked at Su Yunjin. He could feel her emotions, so he reached out and took her hand in his.

Feeling her hands enveloped by a large, warm hand, Su Yunjin's heart fluttered. That slight warmth was something she had never experienced before.

Chen Jie leaned into her ear and whispered, "It's over. It's all in the past. From now on, I will make sure you and Rui Rui live the best life in this world."

Su Yunjin looked up and met Chen Jie's eyes. In that moment, she melted into his gentle gaze. She had never imagined this man could be so tender.

"Eat... let's eat."

After locking eyes with Chen Jie, Su Yunjin shyly lowered her head. From Chen Jie's angle, her ears were bright red, looking like an enticing peach. He felt a sudden urge to take a bite.

*Smack!*

Caught in the moment, Chen Jie gave her a kiss. Su Yunjin covered her face in shock, looking at him with a crimson, disbelief-filled face. *The child is right here! You are far too bold!*

Little Bean seemed to hear something. She looked up at the two of them, her mouth moving like a hamster's, before lowering her head to continue eating, ignoring these two strange adults!