Zhou Yuedong immediately tensed up, his small hands clenched tightly.

Si Nian couldn't help but find his nervousness both awkward and adorable. Normally, he was so serious and stern, but now he was showing a bit of vulnerability. Of course, this wasn't a bad thing. Kids should be like this. The harsh environment had forced him to grow up too quickly, but in reality, he was just a child.

"My little Dong is amazing, getting such a high score. Tonight, Mommy will make something special to celebrate."

She reached out to pat his head, showing her encouragement and approval.

Zhou Yuedong's eyes lit up, but his expression remained a bit shy. His face turned slightly away, yet he couldn't hide his joy. He used to think that maintaining good grades was necessary to change his situation. But now he realized that doing well in school not only helped with that but also brought warmth and recognition. He couldn't help but feel a bit elated, a small smile appearing on his lips.

Si Nian noticed and couldn't resist pinching his gradually chubbier cheeks.

"Mom, I'm going to feed the rabbits," Zhou Yuedong said, his face turning bright red as he quickly ran towards the door.

His blush was visible from afar.

Si Nian chuckled softly. Seeing him so easily embarrassed, it was hard to imagine him as the future stern and brooding scientist.

Nearby, Zhou Zehan saw Si Nian pinch his brother's cheek and immediately leaned his face over.

"Mom, pinch mine too."

Si Nian chuckled and reached out to pinch his cheek too, causing the little one to giggle and hold his face with a silly grin.

"Alright, hurry up and do your homework. Big brother has finished, so Xiao Han can't slack off either," Si Nian said before heading into the kitchen.

For dinner, they had stewed pork ribs and some fresh baby bok choy they had bought. The baby bok choy was crisp and sweet, perfect for soup.

Just as the soup finished stewing, Zhou Yueshen returned, dragging along enough firewood to last them through the winter.

Because their village preferred cooking on a large stove, they often needed a lot of firewood. They had used up what they had stored during the banquet.

Cooking with firewood always made the food taste better, and a few pieces could burn for a long time, making it both energy-efficient and safe.

Si Nian remembered when she was a child, they used to burn coal, but nowadays coal was expensive, so most rural households only bought it in the winter. Most people still preferred using firewood. She didn't like using coal anyway; it could be really smelly.

She had been thinking of going up the mountain to gather some firewood tomorrow, but she hadn't expected Zhou Yueshen to bring some back.

Behind him was Yu Dong.

The two men neatly stacked the firewood they had brought on the wall. Now that he had changed into a vest, Zhou Yueshen looked like the tall and strong rough man he usually was.

Si Nian stood at the doorway, admiring his back.

Taking in the fragrance wafting from the house, Yu Dong took a deep breath. "Sister-in-law, what delicious meal have you cooked today?"

Si Nian replied, "I stewed pork ribs. Come in and have a seat, and we'll eat dinner together before you go."

"Alright!" Yu Dong nodded enthusiastically, his pace quickening as he resumed his work.

In no time, the two men had stacked the firewood neatly in the corner. Yu Dong wiped his sweat and pulled out a cigarette, offering one to Zhou Yueshen.

Zhou Yueshen glanced at him, expressionless, and raised his hand to ward off the offer, refusing it.

Yu Dong raised an eyebrow, realizing something, and withdrew his hand, promptly putting out the cigarette he was holding in his mouth.

He had forgotten that the boss never smoked in front of children.

After all, setting a bad example for kids was not a good idea, and smoking was bad for them too.

Zhou Yueshen casually picked up the broom nearby and swept the wooden debris off the floor.

Yu Dong glanced over and saw his bending motion, noticing some ambiguous marks on his chest.

He hadn't eaten pork but had seen pigs run; it seemed the boss had an intense wedding night!

His laughter held deep meaning.

Si Nian finished cooking a couple more dishes. When she noticed the men hadn't come inside yet, she walked out and saw Zhou Yueshen bent over sweeping the floor. There were tiny beads of sweat on his forehead, the setting sun casting a warm glow on his profile, accentuating his bronzed skin, stern eyebrows, and robust neck.

Si Nian blinked, looked for a moment, then spoke up, "Zhou Yueshen, Yu Dong, dinner's ready."

The pork rib soup was rich and fragrant, and the ribs were tender and fell off the bone with a gentle bite, even little Yao Yao found them easy to eat.

Si Nian served a few pieces of ribs into a bowl to cool down for Yao Yao to eat herself, then ladled some soup into a bowl and placed it on the table.

Yu Dong was the first to step inside and saw the bowl of soup on the table, filled with wolfberry, Chinese yam, and sea cucumber.

Yu Dong: "..."

Zhou Yueshen had just walked in when he received a meaningful look from his friend.

He frowned but didn't say anything.

Seeing Si Nian sitting on the sofa feeding Yao Yao, he turned and walked towards the dining table.

Soon, he noticed the conspicuous bowl of nourishing soup placed on the table.

Finally, some emotion flickered across Zhou Yueshen's typically indifferent face: "..."

Then, he sat down expressionlessly and quickly finished the soup in a few gulps.

Yu Dong couldn't help feeling emotional.

He had to start supplementing already right after his wedding night.

Yu Dong couldn't help but marvel at how poorly the boss was performing.

But the sister-in-law's behavior was too obvious. Didn't she realize it was damaging the man's pride?

Or maybe the boss really had reached a point where the sister-in-law couldn't take it anymore.

He had initially thought their relationship must have been intense. After all, their boss was the most formidable man in the village.

Back when they first met, they went to the toilet together, and he was scared to death by his boss's imposing figure.

At that time, he had envied and resented him quite a bit.

But now, he realized he was all show and no substance.

No wonder he hadn't married for so many years. He had thought it was because of his three children, but now he knew it was just an excuse, a shield!

The boss was truly something!

Yu Dong admired him in his heart!

After finishing his meal, Yu Dong noticed it was getting dark. Si Nian thanked him by giving him some mung bean cake, and Yu Dong rode his bike back home.

Si Nian finished feeding the children and then walked over, only to find the empty bowl of pork rib soup that had been left cooling on the side. She blinked in confusion, frozen in place.

Where was her nourishing soup?

Si Nian almost thought she was experiencing memory loss. She hadn't seen it in the kitchen either.

Even as she washed the dishes, she was still puzzled. She had definitely put it on the table.

Although she had transmigrated into the body of an eighteen-year-old girl, she reminded herself that in her previous life, she was almost thirty years old. She had never had a good memory, and it seemed that hadn't changed now.

Si Nian sighed and scooped herself another bowl of soup to cool down. Then she carried the drowsy Yao Yao upstairs. The little girl was already nodding off after her meal, so Si Nian decided to put her to bed first.

These days, Zhou Yue Shen's temper was already fiery, and drinking that bowl of soup in the evening only made him more heated. Just as he went to take a cold shower before heading upstairs, his steps halted abruptly. He turned around and looked at the dining table, where a steaming bowl of pork rib and wolfberry soup sat.

Zhou Yue Shen: "..."

Si Nian had intended to put Yao Yao to bed before coming back downstairs to drink her soup, but she ended up falling asleep herself.

In the middle of the night, she woke up feeling like her whole body was on fire, jolting awake. Only then did she realize she was being held in a broad and scorching embrace. She was startled at first but then, upon regaining her senses, she instinctively reached out to touch Yao Yao beside her, only to find the child missing. Panicked, she quickly sat up, reaching out to feel Zhou Yue Shen's forehead, which was burning with fever.

"Zhou Yue Shen, what's wrong?" Si Nian asked anxiously. Could this man of steel actually be sick? But that couldn't be right; it didn't fit his character.

Her hand moved to his face, then downward. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and his chest was hot and damp from sweat—sweat she had inadvertently caused. She called out to him again, and Zhou Yue Shen emitted a low groan.

Suddenly, a large hand gripped her waist and pulled her downward, and before she knew it, his lips were on hers. His breath was hot, and his tongue was scalding.

Caught off guard, Si Nian pressed her lips against his chest, her head held in place by his large hand, their tongues intertwining. After a while, Zhou Yue Shen released her, his voice low as he asked, "Does it still hurt?"

Si Nian then realized something wasn't quite right with his reaction, and her face flushed slightly. How could this thirty-year-old man still be so impulsive?

She shook her head. "It's okay now."

Zhou Yue Shen wrapped his arm around her waist, holding her close. After a long silence, he spoke in a deep voice, "Let's go to sleep."

Feeling too warm, Si Nian tried to push him away, but Zhou Yue Shen didn't let go. Instead, he pulled back the covers, and a rush of cool air enveloped them both. Si Nian stopped resisting and nestled into his embrace, drifting back to sleep.

The next morning, Si Nian woke up early. She had prepared a bowl of pork rib soup in advance the previous night and left it to cool. Now, it had turned into a jelly-like consistency, with plenty of tender meat and a faint aroma of pork fat. The dough she had fermented the night before was also ready, and Si Nian planned to make pork rib soup dumplings for breakfast.

Si Nian enjoyed cooking very much, especially making desserts or dumplings and steamed buns. She found the cooking process to be very relaxing and took pleasure in eating her own creations. It was one of her few joys in life.

She wrapped the jelly-like pork rib soup filling in the dough. Since she was making soup dumplings, she made them small in size. The soup, in its jelly-like form, contained finely chopped meat filling. Once steamed, the jelly would melt, releasing a burst of savory juice with each bite.

Si Nian managed to wrap fifty of them before finishing the dough. Aside from packing some for the kids to take to school, she also planned to have Zhou Yue Shen take some as breakfast, and she'd send some to her eldest brother who was now helping out at the pig farm, waking up around the same time as Zhou Yue Shen.

As soon as the dumplings were placed in the steamer, the rich aroma of the pork rib soup filled the kitchen, enticing and dominating.

Si Nian added some extra fire to the stove, and soon, the entire kitchen was filled with the enticing aroma of the pork rib soup. Little Zhou Er was awakened by the aroma. His eyes barely open, he followed the fragrance until he found himself in the kitchen. He rubbed his eyes; his hair had grown fast, despite being freshly shaved. He looked disheveled, with his clothes askew, revealing a small shoulder. Rubbing his eyes, he eagerly watched the steamer.

Si Nian was initially surprised to see him awake so early, as Zhou Ze Dong was usually the first one up. But now, seeing his dazed expression and the drool threatening to escape his mouth, she understood why.

So, the little one was awakened by the aroma? How adorable.

"Zhou Han, are you awake? Hurry up, wash your face, brush your teeth, and have breakfast," Si Nian said.

"Mama, mama, what's this? Is this a baozi?" Zhou Ze Han heard her voice, snapped out of his daze, and asked Si Nian curiously, swallowing his saliva.

Si Nian ruffled his hair and explained, "It's not a baozi, but it's similar. It's called soup dumplings. You'll see later. Now, go wake up your brother."

Zhou Ze Han nodded vigorously, too excited about the prospect of trying soup dumplings to bother washing his face. His mind was consumed by the thought of the soup dumplings his mother had mentioned. He had never tried them before, but they smelled so delicious. They must be even better than regular meat buns!

He hurried upstairs to wake up his older brother. "Brother, wake up! Mom called us for breakfast," he said, hastily putting on his clothes, oblivious to the fact that he had put them on backward.

As Zhou Ze Dong woke up, he saw his brother rushing off without even looking back, wearing his pants backward.

Zhou Ze Dong, still groggy from sleep, was taken aback. He was usually the one to drag his younger brother out of bed, so this reversal of roles left him disoriented.

After sending the two children off to school, Si Nian packed another portion for Zhou Yue Shen. He rarely had time to eat at home.

Seeing Si Nian packing in the kitchen, Zhou Yue Shen paused for a moment before walking up behind her and pulling her into his arms from behind.

After a restless night, he was feeling unusually weary today. With one arm around her waist, he turned her around, pressing her against the counter, and kissed her.

Si Nian tilted her head back, not finding anything odd about the situation. After all, Zhou Yue Shen had always been fond of kissing her.

She was so preoccupied with the moment that she failed to notice anything amiss with Zhou Yue Shen. He stood there, his muscular frame emphasized by the tank top, his long legs supporting him, with a stern expression on his face.

Perhaps it was the newlywed phase coupled with the fact that they were still in the honeymoon stage of their relationship. With the children gone, they felt a bit more liberated.

Feeling the man's hand reaching into her clothes, Si Nian sensed his reaction and quickly pressed down on his hand. "Stop."

This was still the kitchen, after all. The window faced outside, and even though it wasn't large, anyone passing by could easily catch a glimpse.

Zhou Yue Shen took a deep breath, burying his face in her neck, his hot breath against her skin. His reaction this morning was even more exaggerated than before. It was then that Si Nian noticed his crimson eyes, blazing with anger.

She was taken aback. "Zhou Yue Shen, what's wrong with you?"

Why did he look like he had been drugged?

Last night, he had been burning up as well. Si Nian had thought he was just feeling too hot.

Zhou Yue Shen stared at her with intense eyes. After a moment, he spoke, his voice low. "I haven't wanted to drink soup these past few days."

Si Nian paused, then realized what he meant, her eyes widening. "You drank yesterday's soup?"





Sorry, sorry, I was lazy for a day. Please don't be angry because I updated a big chapter today.(⁎⁍̴̛ᴗ⁍̴̛⁎)