Chu Wei was busy in the courtyard. She put away all the things that were put out to dry yesterday and then chased all the chickens and ducks back to their nests. After finishing her work, Chu Wei stood in front of the door and took in a deep breath of fresh air. The moist air that was filled with the fragrance of soil made her feel happy and lifted her spirits.
Back in the house, Chu Wei helped her daughters change into new clothes. She also changed into a pink shirt that she usually couldn't bear to wear and even applied some snowflake cream on her face.
After being separated for six years, her two daughters were almost at primary school. Even though Chen Ji was infamous as a complete jerk, Chu Wei wanted to dress up and welcome the return of the man in her heart.
Since waking up in the morning, she had been busy until dusk. Chu Wei prepared a table of sumptuous dishes, tapping into her best cooking skills. She was afraid that her daughters would not be able to resist eating secretly, so she roasted a sweet potato for each of them in advance.
Chu Wei could not stay idle and tidied up the bedding and pillows. Chen Yan followed by her feet and nibbled on her sweet potato. Chen Ying was greedy and stole a handful of brown sugar from the kitchen cupboard to eat with her sweet potato. To prevent her from disappearing again, Chu Wei simply tied Chen Ying to the cupboard with a rope.
The house was lively. Amidst the chaos, it was filled with laughter. Footsteps came from outside the courtyard. Chu Wei and her two daughters looked out through the window. It was Chen Hu and his sons.
One would think that Chen Hu is not a person to be trifled with based on his name, which meant "tiger". Actually, he had a very mild personality. He never drank nor fought. He would always lose when he quarreled with his wife. He was considered by the people of Peach Blossom Town to be a good man who doted on his wife.
Just as they entered, Chen Hu handed over a bag of tea leaves and said, "Sister-in-law, this is the best Monkey King Tea in town. When Chen Ji comes back, let him try it."
Chu Wei declined. "Brother, keep this tea for yourself. We appreciate your good intention.At the beginning of the year, I went to the county city to sell things and bought a jar of Tie Guanyin that has yet to be opened."
Chen Hu placed the tea leaves on the table. "Don't stand on ceremony with me. We're family. Although this tea isn't as high-end as Tie Guanyin, the taste is quite good."
"Brother, do take it back. We can't drink so much tea." Chu Wei declined again.
It was not that she wanted to make him look bad but she really could not drink so much tea. Chen Ji was the only one that drank tea and that jar of Tie Guanyin was enough to last him a while.
"Eh, what's that smell?" Something smelled strange to Chu Wei. She subconsciously looked around and realized that the blanket in the kitchen was in smoke. As it was drizzling, the washed blanket could only be left in the kitchen to dry. It had been hung out to dry for the whole day.
"Hehe, Big Brother Chen Liang, my mother said that children who play with fire will wet their beds. You will definitely wet your bed tonight." Chen Ying looked at Chen Liang with a mischievous smile.
Everyone turned to look at Chen Liang and realized that he was running towards the courtyard with a guilty look on his face. Chen Ying was born to be a ruthless character. When she saw that he wanted to run, she picked up the unfinished sweet potato and threw it out. It hit the back of Chen Liang's head.
Chen Liang, the eldest son of Chen Hu, had a sharp chin and monkey-like appearance since he was young. He was lazy and mischievous, and he wasn't easy to deal with.
"Bad brother, you wanted to run away after setting the fire at my house. If Mom hadn't tied me up, I would have bitten you to death." Chen Ying bared her teeth and shouted.
Chen Liang shouted as he ran, "Whoever sets the fire will be a dog!"
Chen Ying shouted, "Bullsh*t! You clearly have a lighter in your hand. Do you think I didn't see it?"
There was no time to chase after him. Chen Hu took out a ladle of water from the water tank and poured it over. Following the smell of burning smoke, the bed was completely ruined.
At the same time, her sister-in-law, Zhao Jinli, pulled Chen Liang's ear and walked back. She said worriedly, "Chu Wei, what should we do? Chen Ji will be back soon. With his temper, won't he beat you up first?"
After checking the bedding, Chu Wei asked, "Sister-in-law, what do you think we should do?"
Zhao Jinli pulled off the blanket and stuffed it into Chen Liang's arms. "What else can we do? I'm going to the county city tomorrow to make a new set of bedding and return it to you. This rascal came here to set a fire. When we get back, we'll give him a good beating."
Chu Wei was stunned. She looked at Zhao Jinli and was puzzled. Since when was sister-in-law so easy to talk to?
There must be something wrong if something was out of the ordinary. She understood such simple logic. She thought of the bag of monkey king tea on the table and then looked at the burnt blanket. Chu Wei seemed to have a general idea of the situation.
Chen Hu was a stingy person. Why did he come to deliver tea today?
No one knew Chen Ji's personality better than her. If Chen Ji were to enter and see that the blanket was burnt, he would raise a ruckus.
In the name of giving tea leaves, Chen Liang was sent over to burn things. They wanted to anger Chen Ji so that he would beat up the family. Then, they would fan the flames. It was just like how Father Chen used to beat Mother Chen after drinking. He kicked her until she suffered a concussion and was bedridden for half a year.
They were trying to kill her!