Ye Yunniang recounted the matter of being matched for a ghost marriage in Lincheng.
"I am very grateful; he saved my life repeatedly. But every time I see his face, I can't help but think of being face-to-face in that coffin," Ye Yunniang paused here. That scene was too intense; the more she tried to forget it, the clearer it became in her mind.
"Tong Mo is a very good young man. But he and I are truly not suited."
After hearing Ye Yunniang's account, Tong Tiemei and Zhou Bowen didn't know how to persuade her.
"It's my fault." Tong Tiemei blamed herself for not raising Tong Mo properly.
"Sister Mei, this has nothing to do with you. It's all Bao Min's fault for his teaching." Zhou Bowen shifted the blame onto Bao Min.
"Bao Min was taught by me." Tong Tiemei was displeased with Zhou Bowen speaking ill of Bao Min.
"It's my fault, as a father, for not teaching my son well." Zhou Bowen immediately changed his tune.
"Madam Ye, rest assured. I won't let Tong Mo bother you again." Tong Tiemei gave her assurance and left the Li household.
Ye Yunniang closed the courtyard gate and went to the main room.
The three children were rummaging through boxes and cabinets, looking for something.
"What are you looking for?"
"We're looking for," Li Pan glanced at Li An, how should she say it?
"Money." Li Ping spat out two words.
"Money?" Ye Yunniang's gaze turned to Li An. "What money are you looking for?"
"I wanted to find the New Year's money I hid before." Li An lowered his head as he spoke.
Ye Yunniang understood what Li An wanted the money for. She stepped forward and hugged him.
"You are my son, that will never change."
"But," Li An wanted to say something but didn't know how, biting his lip in silence.
"An'an, Mother will tell you a secret."
"What secret?" Li Pan moved closer, and Li Ping also ran over to listen.
"What secret does Mother want to tell?" Li An wanted to know.
"The secret is this. An'an, you are very, very rich." The three sons didn't believe Ye Yunniang's words.
"Mother is lying." Li Ping was the first to speak.
"Our family isn't rich." Li Pan, being seven years old, knew a bit about the family's circumstances.
One house, one shop, one farmland estate.
"Mother, why am I the one who's rich?" Li An didn't understand.
"An'an is so clever, catching the meaning in my words right away." Ye Yunniang praised.
"Pingping is clever too." Li Ping pushed his head under Ye Yunniang's hand.
"Yes, yes, yes, our Pingping is also very clever." Ye Yunniang patted her youngest son's head, then raised her hand to pat Li Pan's head as well.
"Did his birth mother leave it for him?" Li Pan thought of something.
"Impossible." Li An refuted immediately. If Jin Huifang had money, she wouldn't have been driven to murder.
"It's your Second Uncle. He retrieved all the property your birth father took away. All of that belongs to you." Ye Yunniang explained.
"He is not my birth father." Li An harbored great hatred for Jiang Mingrui and didn't want anything from him.
"An'an, but it rightfully belongs to you. Why won't you take it?" Li Pan was puzzled.
"Second Brother is silly. Take it, give it to Mother to spend." Li Ping spoke up.
Li An came to his senses. "I'll take it, I want it now."
"Not now. You have to be 18, grown up and capable, and pass your Second Uncle's tests before you can receive it." Ye Yunniang explained.
"Second Uncle is so annoying." Li Ping pouted. Hiding money and not letting them spend it.
"Don't say your," Ye Yunniang paused, "Don't say An'an's Second Uncle is wrong."
"But he clearly is wrong." Li An agreed with Li Ping. "Mother spends money raising me; he should give Mother money."
"Who said he hasn't given any." Ye Yunniang regretted her words as soon as she said them; she seemed to be making things worse.
Facing the three children's intense stares, Ye Yunniang momentarily didn't know what to say.
"Mother, don't say we can't know just because we're children." Li Pan anticipated what Ye Yunniang was about to say.
"Mhm, I'm 4 years old, not a 3-year-old kid." Li Ping chimed in.
Ye Yunniang: ...4 years old is still a little kid.
Li An also wore an expression eager to know the truth.
Ye Yunniang was in a dilemma; she didn't want to lie. But how could she explain the matter between her and Jiang Mingzhe to the children?
"Let me explain." A mature, steady voice sounded at the door.
Ye Yunniang looked up in shock.
"You, you're back!"
Li Pan and the other two turned around to see a man they didn't recognize.
Li An hesitated. "Second Uncle?"
"Second Uncle." Li Pan and Li Ping followed suit.
"You should call me 'Father'."
"Father?" Jiang Mingzhe's words surprised the three of them. Why?
"Yes." Jiang Mingzhe acknowledged.
"Our father is Li Jun, not you?" Li Pan retorted.
"That's right, our father is Li Jun." Li An nodded in agreement.
Li An remembered something but didn't speak.
Jiang Mingzhe didn't answer the three children. Instead, he said to Ye Yunniang, "You go out first. I'll talk to them."
Ye Yunniang hesitated for a moment before leaving the room, sitting in the courtyard in a daze.
Today's events, one after another, had been too overwhelming for her.
These matters would still require Ye Yunniang to handle them later.
The matter with Wang Daxing, the matter of Jin Lanxuan wanting to take An'an away, and the matter of Jiang Mingzhe's return.
Ye Yunniang felt her mind was in a mess. With so many things, how should she handle them?
She looked up at the sky; it was growing dark. Time to prepare dinner.
Ye Yunniang got up and went into the kitchen to cook. Her hands hurt, making it impossible to chop vegetables or stir-fry, so she decided to cook noodles.
The noodles were dried noodles bought from the Xu family.
Besides selling noodle soup at their stall, the Xu family also sold dried noodles to the public. Many people bought them; they were convenient and saved trouble.
Boiling water, adding noodles and greens, finally sprinkling with chopped scallions.
The simple green vegetable and scallion noodle soup was ready.
For side dishes, there were the previously fried small crispy fish, the spicy meat jerky bought from the Zhang Family, and the pickled radish strips mixed in the morning.
"Let me serve the noodles." Jiang Mingzhe took the chopsticks from Ye Yunniang's hand and served the noodles.
"The little red fish bowl is for Pingping; he doesn't like scallions.
The ingot bowl is for An'an; he likes a drop of vinegar in his noodles.
The bamboo bowl is for Pan'er; he doesn't like sesame oil." Ye Yunniang reminded Jiang Mingzhe to pay attention when serving.
"And you?" Jiang Mingzhe picked the scallions out of the little red fish bowl.
"I'm not picky; anything is fine." Ye Yunniang arranged the bowls.
"I'm not picky either; I can eat anything. I once led a merchant caravan south and even ate a bug banquet there."
"Bugs can be eaten?" Ye Yunniang exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes, they taste quite good. Especially bamboo worms, which feed on tender bamboo. After being deep-fried, they are fragrant, tender, crispy, and have a fresh bamboo aroma." Jiang Mingzhe spoke with a hint of nostalgia.
Listening, Ye Yunniang felt a bit tempted to try.
"Next time I go south, I'll take you with me."
"I can't." Ye Yunniang shook her head. She had children to care for and couldn't just leave.
"When the children are older, I'll take you traveling, to taste different local delicacies from various places." Jiang Mingzhe said as he finished serving the noodles and carried them to the main hall.
Leaving behind Ye Yunniang, once again stunned by his words.
