Chapter 9

Chapter 9

(Some revisions were made to the previous chapter, but they don't affect this one.)

Shen Dechang's bluster instantly vanished. His mouth opened and closed several times before he finally blurted out, "I won't divorce."

Others might think Wang Guizhi's words were spoken in anger, but Shen Dechang knew better than anyone. This wife of his was a tough one. Back during the war, she dared to shelter wounded soldiers right under the noses of the Japanese. So, what wouldn't she dare to do?

If they really divorced, his second and third sons wouldn't lift a finger for him. Then he'd have to rely on the eldest... Even though he favored the eldest, deep down he knew that the eldest son and his wife couldn't be counted on.

Shen Dechang thought bitterly, *It's just adopting a child. Aren't they all my grandsons in the end? What difference does it make who raises them? Was it really worth making such a big fuss?*

Wang Guizhi raised her eyes. "Then we'll split up the household."

Shen Dechang remained silent.

Seeing that not only had the adoption matter not been settled, but splitting the family was now being brought up, Old Hu hurriedly interjected to smooth things over. "Seems to me the three brothers getting along and helping each other is just fine, isn't it? Besides, your second son lives in Jiangcheng all year round, and the third isn't even married yet. There's truly no call for splitting up the household. Today is a joyous occasion. Let's not talk about this now. Where's the groom? Hurry and call the bride and groom out to toast!"

Hu Huaihua, unwilling to give up, wanted to say something more, but Old Hu shot her a glare and waved his hand, signaling her to take Shen Ailin and leave.

Given Wang Guizhi's attitude, the adoption wasn't happening today. If the family really got divided on top of that, they'd be losing out completely.

Shen Zhenxing said, "Today is a joyous day. Let's just get through the wedding properly, that's what matters. Sister-in-law, Guoqiang, let's not discuss other matters for now."

Shen Zhenxing was really disgusted by the Hu family's way of doing things. For the sake of their youngest son, they didn't even care about embarrassing the newlyweds.

But letting this commotion continue was indeed unseemly. Hadn't they noticed the bride's family looked furious? They were embarrassing themselves in front of people from another village.

Wang Guizhi nodded. "Then we'll talk about it tomorrow."

The dishes, which hadn't been served for a while, started coming out one after another again. The tense atmosphere also became lively once more, though while digging in, people would often put their heads together, whispering or exchanging meaningful, gossip-filled glances that both parties understood.

Shen Banyue's table, however, was unaffected. They were some distance away. Those little rascals couldn't hear clearly what was being said at that table, and even if they did, they wouldn't understand.

Shen Banyue, however, had pricked up her ears to listen. After hearing everything, she gave Wang Guizhi a mental thumbs-up.

This old lady was quite interesting.

Actually, Shen Guoqing was also quite interesting.

The kitchen had probably only prepared food for five tables. It was unclear how he managed it, but he managed to carve out a whole extra table's worth, and a generous one at that. As a result, they were all stuffed to the gills, and there were still leftovers.

After confirming they were all full, Lin Xiaohui found a few containers and packed up all the leftovers, saying she'd keep them for the kids to eat tomorrow.

Don't look down on them being leftovers; it was a banquet after all, and the dishes were rich and oily. While Lin Xiaohui was packing them up, an auntie from another table even tried to snag some.

Once everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, the guests left with bellies full of oily food and gossip. Those who had borrowed tables and chairs simply carried them away on their way out. Those who had come from far away went to find relatives or friends in the village to stay with.

The few people who had helped in the kitchen cleaned up the dishes, then left carrying the leftover food and the cigarettes and candies given as tokens of thanks.

—

The Shen family had three tiled-roof rooms in total. Each room had a partition wall built in the middle, meaning there were actually six half-rooms.

Shen Guoqiang and Shen Guoqing, the brothers, lived in the front and back halves of the west room. Shen Guoxing and his wife, along with Shen Ailin, lived in the front half of the east room. The brothers Shen Aimin and Shen Aihua lived in the back half of the east room. Wang Guizhi and her husband lived in the front half of the middle room. Shen Aizhen, being the only girl in the family, lived alone in the back half of the middle room.

For Shen Aimin's wedding this time, the back half of the east room became the bridal chamber, so Shen Aihua moved out to stay with Shen Guoqing.

Now, with seven more children in the house, it would have been most appropriate to have the two girls share a room with Shen Aizhen. However, Wang Guizhi was still fuming, so she told Shen Aizhen to move into her parents' room, freeing up her room for the five boys. She then chased Shen Dechang off to squeeze into a room with Shen Guoqing and the others, while she herself took Shen Banyue and Xiao Dizi to sleep with her.

"Let's change to a clean set of bedding."

Wang Guizhi sat on a chair with her feet up, directing Shen Guoqing to dig out clean sheets and quilt covers from the storage chest.

The sheets were washed nearly white. The quilt covers had several patches here and there, but they were all clean, neatly folded, and smelled faintly of camphorwood.

Shen Banyue and Xiao Dizi crowded around the bed, watching Shen Guoqing struggle to undo the quilt. It took him a long time just to get a corner loose.

Wang Guizhi watched, her teeth itching with impatience. "Drag it over to the bed. I'll do it myself."

Shen Guoqing: "Ah, I'm just out of practice, Mom. Be a little more patient."

Wang Guizhi: "If I'm any more patient, it'll be dawn."

Shen Guoqing: "..."

Shen Banyue also found it hard to watch. She said, "Let me do it."

"No, no, you're just a kid. Go play over there..." Before he could finish, Shen Banyue snatched the thread end from his hand. Then Shen Guoqing watched as her hands flew, pulling and tugging, pulling and tugging, and in the blink of an eye, the entire quilt cover was removed.

Uh.

By comparison, he really did seem quite useless.

Shen Banyue took a needle from the sewing kit nearby, threaded it with the thread she had just removed, then gestured with her chin for Shen Guoqing to spread out the clean quilt cover. Then, with a serious little face, she began sewing it up.

Shen Guoqing was amused by her expression. "Hey, this kid."

Wang Guizhi said disdainfully, "Not as capable as a nine-year-old."

Shen Guoqing grinned, not feeling embarrassed at all. "Of course not. This is a kid who could steal food from human traffickers. How could an ordinary person compare?"

He reached out and playfully ruffled Shen Banyue's hair. Shen Banyue turned and gave him an impatient glare, but he wasn't bothered. He just chuckled, picked up Xiao Dizi, and moved closer to his mother. "Mom, you're not really thinking about divorce, are you?" An old lady, saying the word 'divorce' so casually.

Shen Banyue's hands paused for a moment. She secretly glanced sideways, pricking up one ear to listen.

Wang Guizhi looked at her youngest son and said, "I'd like to divorce. If I did, I'd follow your second brother to Jiangcheng, live a city life. How comfortable would that be? But, aside from being biased and a bit cowardly, your father doesn't have any major faults. Back when I was fleeing here as a refugee, if he hadn't given me a bowl of rice, I might have starved to death long ago. Just for that one bowl of rice, I can't just abandon him like that."

Today, it was just that the Hu family's stunt was too disgusting, and she was furious, which is why she said that.

Of course, if Shen Dechang had really agreed, divorce wouldn't have been a big deal either. She couldn't really let the eldest son's family leech off the second son for a lifetime.

Shen Guoqing gave his mother a thumbs-up. "You're really something."

You couldn't find another old lady like her in ten villages around.

Wang Guizhi slapped away his clowning hand. "When I was fleeing back then, what hadn't I seen? No one is going to manipulate my sons."

Once the quilt was sewn, Shen Guoqing carried the old lady to the bed, got her settled, and then left.

Shen Banyue first stripped Xiao Dizi's clothes and tucked her into the quilt, then extinguished the kerosene lamp, quickly took off her own clothes, and burrowed into the quilt.

Wang Guizhi patted the top of their quilts. "Go to sleep now."

Xiao Dizi had been sleepy for a while. Earlier, when Shen Guoqing was holding her, her head had been nodding. Not long after lying down, she was sound asleep.

Shen Banyue didn't fall asleep at first. It wasn't until she heard Wang Guizhi's soft snoring that she, smelling the faint scent of camphorwood, gradually sank into a deep sleep.

She slept exceptionally soundly that night.

Ever since she crossed into this post-apocalyptic world, living each day on the brink, Shen Banyue had always kept a part of her mind alert even while asleep. The slightest disturbance around her would snap her awake.

After arriving in this world, whether in a human traffickers' den or staying in the almost public setting of the clinic, that alert part of her mind never let up.

Finally, in a place that felt completely safe, her guard dropped. The exhaustion she had forcibly suppressed in this young, frail body seemed to surge all at once, pulling her down into a deep, dreamless sleep.

When she woke again, daylight was already streaming in. Shen Banyue was surprised to find that Shen Guizhi had gotten up and left at some point, and she hadn't noticed at all.

Xiao Dizi was also awake, rubbing her eyes and calling out "Sister," before wriggling her little bottom under the covers.

"What are you doing?"

"Gotta go pee-pee. Xiao Dizi needs to go pee-pee."

"..."

Shen Banyue quickly sat up, threw on her clothes and hurriedly dressed Xiao Dizi, scooping the little one up and bolting out the door.

Shen Guoqing was squatting in the yard splitting firewood when he felt a sudden swish—something had just sped past.

He looked up, puzzled, and asked Wang Guizhi, who was sitting on the porch with her feet propped up, "What just went by?"

Wang Guizhi chuckled, "Those two girls."

"..." Shen Guoqing stared, axe in hand. "Now that was fast!"