The wife of a shrewd woman travels to the 80s, and the sick factory manager asks for mercy - Chapter 3

Hearing the sound of the courtyard gate closing, Shen Yunqing’s chest heaved with anger—she was furious.

Just because she ate two of his buns, she had to marry him? Why didn’t he just go out and rob someone on the street instead?

The water in the large pot began to boil. Shen Yunqing stopped her wandering thoughts, got up, went to the snakeskin bag filled with bran next to the stove, scooped several big ladles of dry bran into the pot, then picked up the stirring stick on the stove and stirred the bran mixture.

Pig feed only needed to be cooked briefly. Shen Yunqing didn’t bother adding more firewood to the stove. She climbed upstairs, picked up some potatoes, threw them into the fire stove, and sat in front of the stove, waiting for her mother to come back with pig grass.

Shen’s mother came back carrying a large basket of pig grass on her back. She first led the cow into the cowshed and locked it in before pushing open the courtyard door.

She placed the heavy basket of pig grass on the ground and shouted toward the kitchen, “Yunqing, have you cooked the pig feed?”

Shen Yunqing, dozing off in front of the stove, was startled awake by the shout. She frowned in annoyance and replied, “It’s already done.”

Shen’s mother smiled, picked up the kitchen knife used for chopping pig grass, removed a handful from the basket, and began chopping it.

Standing under the eaves, Shen Yunqing walked out and asked her mother to test the waters, “Mom, did Dad really promise me to the Du family?”

Shen’s mother didn’t stop chopping the grass and tried to persuade her kindly, “Yunqing, the Du family is one of the best in the village. Ruhai is a decent young man. You won’t suffer if you marry him.”

Even Shen’s mother—who had always spoiled the original owner without any principles—said this. With her father’s stubborn personality, Shen Yunqing knew she wouldn’t be able to change his mind. Clearly, this marriage was set in stone.

No way—she had to leave. But how?

Shen Yunqing was extremely anxious, trying to think of a solution.

Got it! She could go to her grandmother, who had always loved the original owner dearly.

Grandma lost her husband in middle age and had two sons—her uncle and Shen Yunqing’s father. After the family separated, the two sons took turns caring for their mother each year.

Grandma had great authority. If Shen Yunqing told her she didn’t want to get married, even if she later ran away from the wedding, with Grandma’s protection, her father wouldn’t dare do anything to her.

Having made up her mind, Shen Yunqing walked toward the courtyard gate. “Mom, I’m going to see Grandma.”

Shen’s mother, holding a dustpan filled with chopped pig grass, looked up at her and instructed, “Come back right after you see her and feed the pigs.”

At the gate, Shen Yunqing let out a long sigh. “Got it.”

Everyone in the Shen family had their own assigned tasks, and unless there were special circumstances, no one could slack off or pass their duties onto someone else.

Shen’s mother was in charge of daily meals and helping to take care of the grandchildren.

Her eldest sister-in-law, Zhang Guizhi, had taken her two kids back to her parents’ home for a wedding banquet and wouldn’t return until tomorrow. So for these two days, Shen’s mother had taken over the job of tending the cattle and collecting pig grass.

Her second sister-in-law, Lin Lina, was a former educated youth who didn’t pass the college entrance exam when it was reinstated last year. She married Shen’s second brother, who had liked her for years.

After marriage, Shen’s second brother borrowed money to buy her a job at the supply and marketing cooperative. Now six months pregnant, Lin Lina still insisted on going to work in town every day.

Feeding the pigs and chickens was Shen Yunqing’s responsibility. Originally, she was also in charge of taking care of the geese, but on her first day after time-traveling here, she took the geese to the river and failed to watch them properly—one got bitten to death by a village dog.

That noon, Shen’s father came home and chased her around the yard with a broom, cursing the whole time.

Since then, taking care of the geese became Shen’s mother’s job.

Shen’s uncle’s house was just next door, a few steps away.

Seeing that the main gate wasn’t closed, Shen Yunqing walked straight in.