Witty Wife, Better Life

Chapter 41: Chapter 39 Part-Time Babysitter Chapter 41: Chapter 39 Part-Time Babysitter Although Shen Yunfang didn’t have a watch and couldn’t tell time by the sky, she had set out at six in the morning and then stopped by her work unit, so she deduced that it must be at least eleven in the morning now. Most importantly, her stomach was grumbling.

She walked briskly to the Xue Family’s house and was greeted by the second aunt, who hadn’t left yet. When she saw Shen Yunfang at the door, she asked, surprised, “Why are you back so soon? You didn’t get into trouble, did you?”

Shen Yunfang felt a mix of amusement and helplessness. “Second aunt, I came back to eat. They said they won’t provide food.”

Shen Yunfeng’s eyes twinkled as she said with a smile, “Look at me, I forgot to tell you about that. The work hours at the purchasing station are pretty flexible. Now that it’s winter and the days are short, we start work at eight-thirty in the morning and finish at four in the afternoon, so I used to eat just two meals a day. From now on, you’ll probably do the same, just come home to eat every day even though it’s a bit more troublesome.”

Shen Yunfang, though not fond of coming to the Xue Family, because after all she was living at someone else’s mercy and couldn’t stand seeing their faces every day as if nothing was wrong. But compared to paying for her own meals, these grievances were bearable.

“Yunfang, this isn’t like being at your own home. Although you’re here to help out, you should keep your wits about you and take the initiative to work where you can. Plus, your cousin Yunfeng is pregnant and can’t do much, so you should help her out more while you’re here,” the second aunt said as she began giving instructions to Shen Yunfang.

Shen Yunfang just smiled without a word, thinking this not only seemed like wanting her to work like a laborer but also expecting her to double as a nanny.

Shen Yunfeng, observing her cousin’s reaction, could no longer manage the girl’s temperament. She had always felt at home that Yunfang was spoiled into laziness by her third aunt, but now that Yunfang was on her own, she needed to learn to grow up. Coming here, Shen Yunfeng felt responsible to take on the role of a cousin and teach Yunfang how to cook, which would be beneficial to her in the future as well.

“There isn’t much to do around the house. You just need to focus on cooking and doing a bit of cleaning,” Shen Yunfeng said nonchalantly. “Mother, take Yunfang to the kitchen and show her around. We use honeycomb coal here, and I’m afraid Yunfang might not know how to use it. Yunfang, for lunch, it will just be the three of us. Just make two dishes, and I’ll have a taste of your cooking.”

Shen Yunfang mentally rolled her eyes—such nice words, but in the end, it all meant that she would be the one cooking from now on.

Fine, she could cook, and do it quite well at that, as long as her cousin wasn’t too stingy.

And so, Shen Yunfang was led by the second aunt to cook in the kitchen.

Unconcerned about the second aunt’s bossiness, Shen Yunfang preferred it this way—she would cook with what was available.

After the second aunt finished her directions and went to the house with her daughter to wait for the meal, Shen Yunfang rolled up her sleeves and got to work.

When Shen Yunfang called for the meal, bringing the dishes to the kang table inside, Shen Yunfeng’s face instantly turned green.

Shen Yunfang hadn’t done much, just saw a small bag of rice on the floor and steamed a large pot of white rice. Then she noticed preserved salted duck eggs in a jar, boiled four of them, cut them in half, and brought them out on a plate—since preserved vegetables don’t count as a dish. Spotting quite a lot of oil on the stove, she stir-fried a large platter of shredded potatoes so glossy they whetted the appetite. She also found a piece of streaky pork in a basin and conscientiously cut only half of it, then made a big basin of cabbage and tofu stew.

She didn’t exceed the limit, really. It was just two dishes.

“Cousin, don’t be shy. Have a taste of my cooking. If you like it, I can make it like this for you in the future,” Shen Yunfang said cheerfully.

Shen Yunfang ate heartily, while Shen Yunfeng barely tasted her food, her chopsticks hovering over the two greasy dishes in concern. She needed to think about how to explain to her mother-in-law who would return in the evening why the food meant for the whole family’s New Year celebration had been finished in just one or two meals—even with a baby on the way, she wasn’t that precious.

Shen Yunfang didn’t worry about that and wasn’t shy about her eating; she devoured the dishes with her chopsticks and shoveled down two large bowls of rice before finally laying down her chopsticks.

Shen Yunfeng couldn’t tell if her cousin was eating in such an unrestrained way on purpose, but seeing her so comfortable at the table, she genuinely felt distressed. She thought if it continued like this, even if she didn’t let her cousin cook, she would still resent how much her cousin could eat.

During the New Year period, the family’s meals were already better than usual. If her cousin ate at their home every day, wouldn’t all the good things end up in an outsider’s stomach?

She felt quite sick at heart while eating this meal.

“Yunfang, it’s not convenient for you to come home several times a day for meals, so how about this? I’ll give you some money, and ask your brother-in-law to get you some coal briquettes. How does that sound to you, cooking by yourself in the dormitory?” She was genuinely afraid that when her mother-in-law came back and saw how much her cousin ate, she would pick on her. Although their family was better off than others since they were cadres, the state’s supplied rations were fixed and couldn’t be bought with money.

Her cousin had eaten half of the family’s fine grains in just one meal, and Shen Yunfeng could already imagine her mother-in-law’s long, sour face when she returned.

Shen Yunfang’s eyes twinkled as she heard the offer of money. That really worked for her.

“But I went there to look, and there’s no kitchen.” Indeed, there was no kitchen, just a room with a heated brick bed, and in the middle of the room, there was also a stove.

Technically, if she wasn’t too demanding, she could manage to cook by setting a small pot on that stove.

However, she couldn’t say that. Why should she demean herself? Even if she had to, others should pay a price for it.

“Oh, you can make do for a month. What do you need a kitchen for?” Her aunt complained, finding her niece too troublesome.

“Isn’t there a small stove in that room? Later this afternoon, I’ll have your brother-in-law bring you some coal briquettes. Then I’ll get a small pot for you, and you can fend for yourself with something simple to eat and drink.” In just that short time, Shen Yunfeng had thought it all through. “Yunfang, what do you think?”

Internally, Shen Yunfang was more than willing. She would rather gnaw on cornbread by herself than have to look at others’ faces, not to mention she had prepared so many delicacies in her space. But she had to let them beg her a bit before agreeing.

“I have to cook myself?” Shen Yunfang’s tone carried a hint of reluctance. “But, Sister Feng, that place lacks everything.”

“What else do you need…”
Shen Yunfeng quickly interrupted her mother, about to lose her temper, and hurriedly said: “That’s easy to deal with. I’ll give you some money, and whatever you lack or want to buy, you can go to your brother-in-law. He works at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative. Isn’t that just a word away?”

Shen Yunfang feigned hesitation for a moment and then nodded her head in agreement.

“Yunfang, it’s not that I’m trying to cry poor to you. You don’t know how hard life is in the city when you’re living in the village. Here, even wanting to eat a green onion costs money. Although our house looks impressive, the monthly salary is just barely enough.” Shen Yunfeng said up to this point, then stopped speaking, looking at Shen Yunfang, waiting for her to respond.

What did she mean, talking about giving money and then immediately playing the poor card? Was she trying to avoid giving money?

“Sister Feng, you are right, life in the city is not as comfortable as in the village. Everything costs money, everything needs Food Coupons. Don’t just give me money; I don’t even have a single Food Coupon. I’ll need to calculate how much money and Food Coupons I’ll need to get by for a month if I stay here,” said Shen Yunfang, pretending to be confused.

Shen Yunfeng felt her cousin was being absolutely insensible and wished she could just send her packing. There were plenty of people out there who wanted to come to the city to work, weren’t there?