Reborn in the 1980s: I became a stepmother in the 1980s

Part 13 Aunt Liu's plan

Smelling the aroma of food, the yellow Tibetan Mastiff finally opened its eyes, stood up, and fixed its gaze on Sinian. Sinian placed the dog bowl on the ground and pushed it in front of the dog. The Tibetan Mastiff immediately buried its head and started eating heartily. Sinian breathed a sigh of relief. Just as she was about to go back inside, she heard a voice at the door, "Wow, it smells so good, Grandma! Yoyo's family is having meat today. I want to go play with Yoyo."

Sinian tilted her head to see a middle-aged woman leading a sniffly little child over. The middle-aged woman also looked over curiously. Auntie Liu wasn't usually this diligent, cooking so early in the morning. Upon closer inspection, she was taken aback. There was a woman standing at the Zhou family's door who looked like a celestial being.

"Who are you?" Zhang Cuilan exclaimed in surprise.

Sinian politely greeted, "Hello, Auntie. I'm from the Lin family, the daughter of Mr. Lin. We were recently engaged to Mr. Zhou, and I just came over yesterday."

"The Lin family's daughter? Lin Sisi? It's you..." The other party paused for a moment, looking somewhat incredulous.

Wasn't it said before that the Lin family's daughter was unwilling to marry over here?

"I'm not Lin Sisi, I'm called Sinian. Lin Sisi is the adopted daughter; we were switched when we were young."

"Oh, right. I think I heard about that. Something about not being the biological daughter, and she's from a wealthy family in the city, isn't she?"

Sinian nodded. "That's correct. Our identities were reversed, so naturally, I'm the one marrying."

People around also gathered around, and upon hearing this, they all looked her up and down. "I knew it. You don't look like a country girl at all."

"Yeah, you look like a big star from TV."

Mrs. Zhang, seeing her polite and sensible demeanor, had a much better impression of her. She said, "You've been wronged. Lin Sisi was supposed to have agreed, but as soon as she found out she wasn't the biological daughter, she turned on a dime and immediately changed her mind."

Her family lived nearby, so she was quite clear about this matter.

I thought this marriage arrangement had fallen through, but I never expected the biological daughter to come and marry over here. And she's stunning, like a fairy.

"Don't feel wronged, Auntie. I think the Zhou family is quite nice."

"Sister Fairy, your home smells so good!" A little boy beside them said with a sweet smile.

Although he looked dirty, the chubby little guy, about five years old, was adorable.

Sinian immediately pulled out a few candies from her pocket and handed them to him. "You're so thoughtful. Come over to Sister's house for a meal."

"How can this be? It's too wasteful to give him such good candy." Mrs. Zhang quickly refused. Those candies were White Rabbit milk candies, costing over ten yuan per kilogram.

Sinian looked at the eagerly waiting chubby boy and smiled helplessly. "No matter how expensive, they're still for kids. As a newcomer, I still need Auntie's care. A few candies are just a token of appreciation." She stuffed the candies into the chubby boy's pocket.

The chubby boy quickly unwrapped the candy and stuffed it into his mouth. Mrs. Zhang angrily slapped him on the back of his head. "You naughty boy, why don't you thank your auntie?"

"Thank you, Auntie."

"Good boy." Sinian rubbed the boy's head. The people around exchanged glances, whispering quietly.

"City girls are indeed different. They only eat the most expensive candies."

"Yeah, can such a rich young lady really live in our village?"

"Who knows."

Everyone knew about the Zhou family's situation, and seeing Sinian's generous demeanor now, they couldn't help but sigh.

"Hasn't anyone from the Liu family come to cook for the children yet?" Mrs. Zhang scolded her grandson before asking, "I smelled the aroma of meat coming from your house from afar just now, and I thought she had arrived."

Sinian shook her head. "Not yet."

Mrs. Zhang couldn't help but grumble, "Hmph, that lazybones. She took Mr. Zhou's money but can't be bothered to come and take care of the children. They're all skin and bones. I reckon she saw you coming today and decided not to bother. That woman has no good intentions. She probably wants to marry her lazy daughter into the Zhou family."

Sinian paused. She naturally sensed that Mrs. Liu had ill intentions. Hearing Mrs. Zhang mention the woman's daughter, she understood immediately. She nodded and said, "I understand. Don't worry, Mrs. Zhang. I'll help take care of the children in the future, at least they won't go hungry."

Mrs. Zhang was even more satisfied with her. This girl, despite being from the city, didn't seem arrogant at all and was easy to get along with. And judging by the aroma of the meat, she could cook. What did they need Mrs. Liu Dongmei for?

Mrs. Zhang immediately said, "That's good to hear, but you might have to work a little harder. You'll have to cook for the children every day, and at noon, you'll have to help deliver lunch to Mr. Zhou."

Upon hearing this, Sinian paused. "Deliver lunch?"

Mrs. Zhang nodded. "Didn't Mrs. Liu tell you? Because Mr. Zhou and the others are busy every day and don't have time for lunch, it needs to be delivered. Several families in the village, whose wives work with him, also deliver lunch every day. But because Mr. Zhou hasn't married yet, Mrs. Liu used to help deliver."

It was precisely because lunch was only delivered around noon that Mrs. Liu took advantage of the situation, coming over just before noon every day to cook for the children. Sinian could hear Yoyo crying from hunger every day. Today, however, it was surprisingly quiet.

Sinian thought for a moment. It made sense, but Mrs. Liu hadn't informed her, and she didn't show up today. She was probably deliberately setting a trap for her.

In rural areas, it was normal for wives to deliver lunch to their working husbands. If she didn't do it today, Zhou Yuanshen would have to work on an empty stomach. How would he feel then? Sinian squinted. That old woman was quite scheming.

"I understand, Mrs. Zhang. Thank you for telling me about this. Don't worry, I'll bring lunch to Mr. Zhou later. But could you please watch my daughter Yoyo for a while when I'm gone?"

Mrs. Zhang smiled. "You're welcome. Normally, my son Stone loves to play with Yoyo."

Sinian thanked her.

Mrs. Zhang also had to go home to make lunch. Her grandson waved her hand away and went into the house, saying he would help his sister play with Yoyo. Mrs. Zhang scolded him a bit and then looked apologetically at Sinian. "This little rascal is very mischievous, but he really likes Yoyo. Please don't mind."

Sinian smiled. "No problem. With Stone helping me take care of my sister, I can save a lot of trouble."

After Mrs. Zhang went home, Sinian walked into the house and saw Stone stuffing the candies he gave him into Yoyo's mouth.

"Yoyo, big brother is feeding you candies."

Yoyo was also very happy to see Stone and opened her mouth to accept the candies, chewing with her little teeth.

Sinian chuckled. "Stone, can you watch over Yoyo for me while I cook?"

"Sure, Auntie. Leave it to me!" Stone grinned and replied.

Sinian found it amusing, thinking it would be nice if the two little ones from the Zhou family were as easy to handle. She then turned and went into the kitchen.

The braised pork from last night hadn't been finished yet, but there wasn't much left. It definitely wouldn't be enough for a big man like Zhou Yuanshen.