Si Nian blinked, thinking she must be seeing things. But when she looked again, she was stunned.

It was indeed the dress she bought yesterday. Though the color was different, the style was exactly the same.

How could this be?

She hurried downstairs, finding the house empty and the lights off. At this time, Zhou Yue Shen should have gone back to the pig farm.

If it weren't for seeing the dress outside, she would have thought he hadn't come back at all. But if he really had returned, she should have sensed something.

She wasn't a light sleeper; she usually felt his presence when he came home. Today, she didn't feel anything, which meant he must have come back but didn't get into bed to rest.

Since he went to the pig farm not long after arriving home, if he had to go to the city, he would likely wait until evening after finishing his work.

So, this man, after a long day, went to the city just to buy her a replacement for the dress?

Si Nian was stunned.

In all her years, even considering her experiences from the book, she had never been so cherished and pampered by anyone. To think someone would go to such lengths, sacrificing sleep and making a trip to the city just for a dress, was beyond anything she had experienced.

If this situation were in the future and it happened to someone else, she would have thought the person was obsessed with their partner. She used to disdain people who were overly infatuated.

But now, the person infatuated is herself.

Zhou Yue Shen, despite being reserved and not good at expressing himself, had done everything he could to make her feel special.

On one hand, it's smart to go out of his way to do this, even if it meant not sleeping all night. On the other hand, he's capable and successful in his own right.

Si Nian admitted she hadn't fully reciprocated or approached their relationship with the same level of emotion. But seeing the effort Zhou Yue Shen put into this, it was hard for her not to be moved.

Perhaps love always feels like it's lacking in some way, and at this moment, she was overwhelmed with a sense of guilt.

She felt that she shouldn't let the man be the only one making sacrifices. Zhou Yue Shen had been running around with her for days, and he was already exhausted. He hadn't slept at all last night. No matter how good his health was, he was in his thirties now. Eventually, it would take a toll on him. She decided she needed to make him something delicious to make up for it. Fortunately, she still had some goji berries and yam she bought earlier, and since she couldn't sleep, she went to the kitchen to pull out the dried goods she had stored. If she started simmering it on low heat in the morning, it would be ready by noon. Si Nian washed some soybeans and also cleaned an old pig's foot that had been smoked and stored. Although the old pig's foot wasn't as tender as a fresh one, the meat was very flavorful, and the cured meat had a stronger aroma, which men particularly liked. People in rural areas also loved cured meat, whether it was stir-fried or stewed—it was always delicious. Si Nian was preparing to stew the soybeans with the pig's foot.

Of course, cleaning it was relatively troublesome. Since it had been cured with salt, it needed to be washed repeatedly. Otherwise, the broth would turn out extremely salty. First, she charred the outer skin over the flame, then placed it in hot water to clean it. After scraping off the blackened bits, Si Nian struggled to cut the pig's foot in half. It wasn't that she didn't want to cut it smaller, but her strength was limited. Being able to cut it into two pieces was already quite an achievement, given the limited chopping tools at home.

Once cleaned, she removed the odor with scallions, ginger, and garlic, then started the simmering process. Since the pork had been cured, it already had a salty flavor, so there was no need for additional seasoning. The slow cooking process alone would make the meat very fragrant. Si Nian covered the pot and went upstairs.

She entered the children's room. Recently, Yao Yao had been sleeping with her older brother. She gently pushed the door open and, as expected, the little girl was already awake. Her older and younger brothers were still fast asleep, with the younger one snoring loudly despite his young age.

As soon as she walked in, she heard it. Si Nian found it amusing and glanced at Zhou Zedong on the other bed. The older boy slept very quietly, and Yao Yao was nestled beside him. The little girl, probably hungry, was sucking eagerly on her empty bottle. Her soft hair was tousled and stuck to her face. The little one tended to sweat a lot while sleeping, so her hair was damp every morning. Without a blanket, she was prone to catching a cold.

Despite waking up, she didn't disturb her brothers and quietly sat to the side. When she saw Si Nian, she immediately sat up straight, holding her empty bottle with both hands, looking up at her with big, hopeful eyes: "Mama~ empty."

Si Nian immediately went over, patted her head, and said, "Okay, Mama will get you something to eat right away." She picked up the little girl carefully, making minimal noise, not wanting to disturb the rare lazy morning of her two sleeping children. Since the kids were at home, Si Nian had already prepared porridge and eggs in advance.

Si Nian prepared a small bottle of formula for Yao Yao. Just as they were having breakfast, someone knocked on the front door. Si Nian got up to answer it and saw Shi Tou standing eagerly at the door.

Shi Tou, who had probably just woken up, had messy hair and some sleep in the corners of his eyes. He was wearing ill-fitting clothes and straw sandals, exposing half of his feet. When he saw Si Nian, his eyes brightened up: "Auntie, Auntie, you're back home!"

He had smelled the delicious aroma as soon as he got up to brush his teeth and immediately knew that it must be Auntie Si Nian who had come back. Without a second thought, he hurried down to visit.

Si Nian smiled and opened the door to let him in. "Shi Tou, come in and play with Yao Yao. Have you had breakfast?"

Shi Tou earnestly replied, "Auntie, I've eaten." Then he added, "But Auntie, I'm still hungry."

Si Nian was amused and laughed as she patted Shi Tou's head. "Alright, come in and Auntie will make you something tasty."

She led Shi Tou into the house. Seeing Yao Yao sitting on a small stool drinking porridge, Shi Tou immediately ran over to her.

"Yao Yao, look at what I brought you!"

He said this with a touch of mystery as he pulled a few wild fruits from his pants pocket and handed them to her.

Zhou Zedong and Zhou Zehan were also awakened by the enticing smell of meat. They had gone to bed early the night before, so even on weekends, they rarely slept in. As they came downstairs, they saw Shi Tou squatting in front of his little sister, offering her the dirty wild fruits.

Normally, they wouldn't say much, but they thought Shi Tou was quite nice. He always saved the good things for his little sister. He was one of the few people they genuinely respected.

But after yesterday's events, Zhou Zehan immediately ran downstairs and said, "No, Yao Yao can't eat that. It will give her worms in her stomach."

Shi Tou was startled by the comment. "Worms? Why would it give worms?"

He quickly explained, "These are wild fruits, and you've eaten them before, they don't give you worms."

The elder brother looked at him and said in a knowledgeable tone, "Mom said you shouldn't eat wild fruits without washing them. If you're not clean, you can get worms, like the kind you had before, Shi Tou."

"You're not clean, so you definitely have worms in your stomach," Zhou Zehan said with certainty. Shi Tou was always dirty and didn't like to wash his hands, and his nose was often running.

He himself used to have a runny nose but had outgrown it.

Hearing Zhou Zehan's words, Shi Tou was frightened. He remembered that he had once had long worms in his stomach, which was disgusting and painful, and he couldn't eat. He had to take medicine to get better.

Hearing Zhou Zehan say that he definitely had worms in his stomach, Shi Tou was immediately frightened and started to cry, "Ah, I have worms? Do I have worms in my stomach again? Does that mean I'm going to die? Wuwuwu..."

Si Nian heard the commotion and hurried out of the kitchen. Seeing Shi Tou looking distressed and wiping his tears, she asked, "What's wrong? Why is Shi Tou crying?"

Zhou Zehan rushed to Si Nian and explained, "Mom, I'm not bullying Shi Tou. I just told him that since he's not clean, he must have worms in his stomach. I told him, and he got scared and cried."

Then, feeling a bit unsure, he asked Si Nian, "Mom, my stomach won't have worms, right? I don't want to die. I haven't grown up yet, and I still need to earn money for you and Yao Yao."

Si Nian, both amused and exasperated, replied, "Silly child, not everyone gets worms. But you must practice good hygiene and stay clean to avoid them in the future."

"Shi Tou, stop crying. Your second brother was just scaring you."

Shi Tou looked up at her with teary eyes and asked, "Auntie, is it true that I really don't have worms in my stomach?"

Si Nian looked at Shi Tou's dirty little face, momentarily unsure how to respond. Rural children often have such problems, especially at Shi Tou's age. Xiao Dong and Xiao Han generally maintained better hygiene, so they likely didn't face these issues.

But Shi Tou...

She coughed awkwardly and explained, "Even if there are worms, it's not a big deal. There are medicines to treat it, and it will be fine. Just remember to stay clean and practice good hygiene in the future, and you won't have this problem again."

Shi Tou trusted her words and promised earnestly that he would definitely be more hygienic.

By the time the pig's feet stew was done, it was already noon. The children had gone out to play, and since it was a rare holiday, Si Nian had let the two brothers take Yao Yao out for some fun.

Shi Tou, afraid of having worms, came home insisting on taking a bath. This surprised his grandmother.

"Is my grandson really this cleanliness-conscious?" she wondered. "He usually looks like a little mud monkey, and now he suddenly wants to bathe."

Si Nian cut the pig's feet into chunks and prepared a simple dipping sauce with a bit of chili. She loved spicy food and although she couldn't handle it too well, she always made sure to prepare some for herself to taste.

She hadn't had lunch herself and packed extra food, planning to join Zhou Yue Shen for a meal. She felt it would be rather lonely for him to eat alone.

She also picked out some bones for Da Huang, took the keys, and grabbed the food container before heading out.

The pig farm was less than ten minutes away, and Si Nian arrived quickly.

As she walked in, everyone was seated on the ground, having their lunch break. She didn't immediately see Zhou Yue Shen.

Seeing her, the workers greeted her spontaneously, "Sister-in-law, you're here to bring lunch for the boss?"

"Wow, so much food today! The boss must be very pleased."

Si Nian, now familiar with the workers, smiled and asked, "Where is he?"

"The boss is in the office resting. Oh, and a few of the kids came to find him just now. You might still catch them there."

Hearing this, Si Nian raised an eyebrow and made her way to Zhou Yue Shen's office.

Before she reached the office, she could already hear Little Second speaking animatedly to Zhou Yue Shen about Stone's supposed stomach worms.

"Mom said that kids who aren't clean will have worms in their stomachs."

"Daddy, it's so scary."

"Mom said medicine can fix it. Stone needs to take medicine."

"After taking the medicine, the worms come out, and they're really long. Stone had them before, and I heard the stomach hurts. Daddy, I'll wash my hands before eating from now on. You should wash your hands too and be clean, or we'll get worms, and our stomachs will hurt."

Yao Yao, sitting on a small bed nearby, didn't understand what her older brother was talking about. However, she noticed his serious demeanor and nodded along, mimicking a serious expression.

Zhou Yue Shen sat at his desk, attentively listening to his two sons' exchange.

It was clear to Zhou Yue Shen that the children's discussion was about something relatively common in rural areas, where kids often deal with such issues. Though it was a normal concern, it wasn't something that needed excessive attention; a simple dose of medicine usually resolved the problem.

He knew that despite this common issue, it wasn't a major worry, especially for his own children who were generally cleaner and more accustomed to good hygiene practices due to Si Nian's influence.

He nodded slightly and spoke in a gentle tone, "I understand."

Just as he finished speaking, the door was knocked. Si Nian walked in with the lunch box, looking a bit amused and exasperated.

"Mommy, you're here!" Little Second's attention was immediately drawn to her.

Earlier, when Mommy asked them to play outside, the two little ones didn't have many friends in the village and couldn't find much to do. With nothing fun to do and not wanting to return home to avoid Mommy's questions, they decided to visit the pig farm and play with the piglets. They had spent the whole morning with their father and only returned to the office to rest. That's when Little Second couldn't help but talk about Stone's supposed worms.

Zhou Yue Shen saw her and stood up, stepping forward to take the heavy lunch box from Si Nian's hands. The box was filled with a substantial amount of food.

Looking at her with his dark eyes, he asked, "You've arrived?"

Si Nian, under his gaze, felt a bit shy, her thoughts wandering back to the incident with the dress earlier in the morning. However, with the kids around, she felt it was not the right moment to bring it up.

She nodded and said softly, "Yes, I made some braised pig's feet and two side dishes. You must be hungry."

Zhou Yue Shen nodded slightly, "Thank you."

Si Nian noticed he seemed to be in good spirits despite everything, which made her feel a mix of emotions.

Si Nian used to turn pale and look drained if she stayed up past two o'clock while working. Yet, despite Zhou Yue Shen's busy schedule and lack of sleep, he didn't even have dark circles under his eyes. It was truly infuriating how some people seemed to defy the laws of nature.

She used to doubt the portrayal of sleepless, yet impeccably handsome, CEOs in novels. But now, Si Nian found it believable.

"Mommy, I want some too," little Zhou Zedong tugged at her sleeve, his eyes filled with anticipation.

Si Nian snapped out of her thoughts and realized that she had packed quite a bit of food, originally intending to share it with Zhou Yue Shen. However, with the kids around, she was now faced with the challenge of dividing it among them as well.