Witty Wife, Better Life

Early the next morning, Shen Yunfang got up and was busy feeding her four old hens. She found two eggs in the chicken coop, washed them, and boiled them in a big pot. She also stuck a few cornmeal pancakes to the side of the pot, eating them with soybean paste and salty vegetables until she was full.

She was someone who had lived an extra lifetime, and her mentality was different from the current people who were reluctant to eat good food, always saving for later. It was not until her dying day that she understood a principle: What is the point of living life? It's all about satisfying your stomach. Only when you eat well can you have good health. Only with good health can you be in the mood and have the ability to do more, and only then can life take a turn for the better and have meaning.

Just like in her previous life when she reached her fifties, she was wealthy, but her health was poor. At that time, even if delicacies from land and sea were placed before her, she lacked the appetite and mood to eat. Reflecting on her past, Yunfang very much agreed with the saying that one should avoid sickness at all costs and never be broke. Life's good times are few, so one should enjoy themselves when the conditions allow.

Of course, to stay healthy means taking care of one's body. Besides exercising, one must eat well.

So, early in the morning, Shen Yunfang boiled the only two eggs she had at home and ate them. Only what you eat is truly yours. If the other old ladies in the village knew, they would definitely say she didn't know how to live. In these times, who would be willing to eat two eggs in one go, like her? They were supposed to be saved and sold for money.

After a full meal, Shen Yunfang shouldered her hoe lazily and headed to her family's private plot of land.

The private land belonging to Shen Family was allocated during her father's time. Because they were a family of three, the village gave them nine points of land. Later, when only mother and daughter were left, no one bothered them, and now that she was alone, even less so.

In Gaijiatun, each family's private land was for farming, and the yards were separate, with the majority of the private land used for growing grains, while the vegetables were grown in the front and back yards of their own homes.

Guided by memory, Yunfang arrived at the edge of her family's plot. Looking over the land, she saw weeds overrunning the furrows, with only faint signs of wilting sweet potato vines among them.

In her previous life, Yunfang had been lazy. She was small and lacked strength, and in matters of farming, she fell far short of the villagers. This year, she didn't even plant corn, choosing instead to plant sweet potatoes on all the nine points of her private land.

Looking at her family's land, Yunfang, even with her lack of farming experience from her past life, could see that the harvest would certainly not be good. All the nutrients were being taken by the vigorously growing weeds, so it would be strange if the sweet potatoes grew well.

Nevertheless, whatever she harvested would still be her sustenance. Her task now was to dig out all the sweet potatoes from the field.

She spat twice onto her hands, rubbed them together, and grabbed the hoe before setting foot in the field. She cast all other thoughts aside and put her back into the work.

In reality, Yunfang's ambition to work hard was not very practical. She tended to sheep every day, and before her morning shift, she estimated she could only work about an hour, managing to dig up just one row of sweet potatoes…

Her slow pace was due partly to her inexperience with farm work after many years, and partly because she lacked the strength. For her, doing this kind of labor was challenging. She was meticulous, carefully feeling around in the soil for a long time after digging up each sweet potato vine, worried she might overlook her hard-earned produce.

In the end, she had filled one basket with sweet potatoes of various sizes. She didn't dare to use her space ability here so she could only grit her teeth and carry the load back home.

"Sister Yunfang, what are you up to, digging up sweet potatoes by yourself?" Wang Da Nainai was feeding chickens in her yard when she saw Yunfang from behind, slowly carrying something towards her. It wasn't until she got a closer look that Wang realized Yunfang was carrying a basket of sweet potatoes, freshly dug from the ground, as evident from the soil on them.

"Yeah, Wang Da Nainai, you're feeding the chickens, huh." Yunfang was sweating profusely, her hands tightly gripping the basket, with no free hand to wipe the sweat off her face. It was only by holding her breath that she made it this far, so when she saw someone, she forced out a soft voice through clenched teeth, afraid of losing her breath, for she might not be able to get up if she sat down.

While in the field, she had felt that the yield from one row was meager, but when she lifted the basket, it felt like it weighed about forty or fifty pounds, and now it seemed excessively heavy.

My goodness, her physical strength had not recovered yet.

"Hey, kid, put that down, put that down! Your tiny body can't handle that, if you needed to dig up sweet potatoes, why didn't you say anything? I would have had Brother Dashuan help you out," said Auntie Wang, who was quite familiar with this delicate girl. Seeing Yunfang wobble under the weight, she feared the girl might collapse right outside her own door and hurriedly shouted into the house, "Dashuan, Dashuan, come out quick!"

Before Shen Yunfang could even politely decline, a grown man's voice came from inside the house, "What's up?"

"Your Sister Yunfang is carrying sweet potatoes all by herself; you hurry up and help her take them back," Auntie Wang instructed her son once more, pulling him along.

Dashuan, who was called out to work, looked at the frail Shen Yunfang still struggling and wasn't too impressed. He really didn't have much affection for this little girl and blamed his mother for being too nosy. With plenty of chores to do at home, why bother with others' matters?

But in front of outsiders, he had to save face for his mother.

So with a somewhat sour expression, he strode forward and effortlessly lifted the basket off Yunfang's back.

Then, without a word, he strode towards Shen Family's house.

Yunfang finally got a chance to catch her breath. She quickly thanked Auntie Wang and followed Brother Dashuan's steps, running towards home.

As she ran, her mind wandered. She was envious, oh how she envied those thick arms and immense strength, and even those long legs of his were objects of her envy.

If only she could wield a hoe with ease like swinging the Golden Cudgel, then she would be perfect.

Shen Yunfang's house was never locked, so Dashuan walked right in through the gate, and then turned to ask the panting girl behind him, "Where do I put these?"

Yunfang quickly pointed towards the base of the wall, and Dashuan dropped the basket he was carrying with one hand right there.

"Alright, that's it, I'm heading back," said Dashuan and turned to head to his own place.

"Wait, Brother Dashuan," Yunfang called out subconsciously.

When Dashuan turned back impatiently to ask, "What else is it?" she was at a loss for words.

She was just acting out of habit; after someone had helped her, she always wanted to give them something to express her gratitude. But the only thing presentable from her house, eggs, had been completely eaten by her that morning. Now she regretted it. Why had she been so greedy? Wouldn't it have been better to eat one and save one? Even one egg would have prevented her current embarrassment.

"Haha, Brother Dashuan, I was thinking of taking an egg back for my niece to nourish her, haha, but I forgot that the chickens at my house were being lazy today and didn't lay a single one. Oh well, tomorrow I'll bring an egg to nourish my niece." Yunfang stammered this out, feeling shamefaced even to herself. It was better not to say anything at all, lest people think she was all talk with nothing to show for it.

"No need, it's just a small favor, not worth that much fuss," said Dashuan upon hearing why she had called him. He walked away without looking back, but as he reached the doorway, he paused, turned towards the still foolishly standing girl in the yard and said, "You haven't finished digging up your sweet potatoes yet, right? After I get off work today, I'll come and help you finish it up, the sooner it's done, the better."

His last sentence was muffled as he began walking towards his house, taking big strides. But it still deeply touched Yunfang, who thought to herself that she must save an egg tomorrow morning, no matter what, to give to Auntie Wang.