Damn, he's totally the neighbor's Wang!
If it were Xie Sui in his previous life, he would have beaten anyone who dared to covet his wife to death.
But reborn, Xie Sui had become much more mature and calm, no longer the impulsive and reckless young man he once was.
Wang Tie Zhu was only seventeen this year, while Lin Wan Wan was already twenty-four. The young man's sense of justice was overflowing. He couldn't stand seeing his neighbor sister suffer and, with a chuunibyo mindset, fantasized about saving her.
It wasn't exactly love, just an indescribable feeling.
Adolescent admiration, who hasn't been through that phase?
"Tie Zhu, come here, Brother Xie has something to tell you."
"No, my mom is calling me for dinner."
"It's a good opportunity to make money!"
Lin Wan Wan slapped him on the head: "Don't corrupt honest children if you don't go astray yourself. Tie Zhu, hurry home, your sister is fine."
Wang Tie Zhu glanced worriedly at Xie Sui. If he dared to hit Sister Lin, he... he would have his parents come out together to mediate. No matter what, he couldn't let Sister Lin get hit.
Lin Wan Wan was also startled and took two steps back. She had acted impulsively just now, treating him like Dou Dou and Ding Ding, hitting them when they misbehaved, forgetting Xie Sui's previous bad behavior.
Xie Sui just chuckled, not annoyed at all. Instead, he enjoyed it. Having his wife manage him was also a form of happiness!
Lin Wan Wan breathed a sigh of relief, then found it amusing. This man was truly sick, happy even when being hit!
She couldn't help but laugh, not knowing why, but feeling quite happy.
Wang Tie Zhu felt a bit disappointed. Seeing them flirt, he realized they were truly a couple. He inexplicably felt a little sweet and a little sour.
"I'm going out for a bit. You and the kids can take a nap."
"Mhm, don't cause trouble."
"Got it."
Xie Sui waved his hand. It was worth the hard work of the past two days that his wife cared about him.
This time, he went to the village chief's house again. While everyone was napping, he didn't just visit the village chief's house, but also other villagers' homes. All the peach trees were "ravaged" by him, and ripe peaches were picked to fill his basket.
Peaches had a very short shelf life. He would eat them himself; they wouldn't sell if transported. It wasn't that Xie Sui didn't want to spend money to buy them, but he simply had no money!
Anyway, he had grown up "ravaging" these fruit trees his whole life, so one more time wouldn't hurt.
Back home, Dou Dou and Ding Ding weren't asleep. After coaxing Lin Wan Wan to sleep, they ran out to play.
Most children didn't like to nap. While Lin Wan Wan was coaxing them, she fell asleep first. The twins, pretending to be asleep, got up to continue playing, as they often did.
Dou Dou, with a serious little face, saw him carrying so many peaches and said angrily, "Dad, you went to steal peaches again!"
"You little brat, lecturing your old man? Am I a monkey? Stealing peaches? This is taking, not stealing."
"Hmph, Mom said, taking without asking is stealing."
"Alright, you're right. Then let's sell the peaches and give the money back to them. Will that not be considered stealing?"
Dou Dou's little head spun. It seemed right.
"Come help Dad wash the peaches. We'll make something delicious for you to eat."
The two little guys helped, and a basket of peaches was quickly washed. They followed him to the kitchen like little tails, helping to build the fire.
Peeling and pitting the peaches, cutting them into large pieces, blanching them in hot water, then transferring them into canning jars, adding sugar, and steaming them. Simple yellow peach preserves were made.
Canned goods were a rarity at this time; only wealthy families could afford to eat them.
However, the canning jars he bought didn't have lids, and sealed iron lids were hard to find. He had to seal them with oil paper, resulting in a short shelf life. In his previous life, handmade preserves would sell for even more.
"Taste one."
After cooling, he gave one to his sons first. Each jar could hold about half a kilogram, and he used about 100 grams of sugar. Less sugar wouldn't make it sweet.
He made ten jars. He ran out of sugar and had to wait until tomorrow to sell the preserves and buy more.
Ultimately, it still came down to lack of capital.
In those days, with scarce resources, it was a luxury for children to even eat a little sugar. Dou Dou watched him add spoonfuls of sugar, his little face puckering with distress.
Ding Ding was carefree. With a happy "ao wu," he ate a piece of peach, his big eyes instantly narrowing: "So good, so good! Brother, try it quickly."
"Leave some for Mom."
"Eat up. Dad will leave some for Mom."
This child was so sensible it was heartbreaking. Xie Sui scolded himself again. Watching his child eat the preserves so sweetly, he felt more satisfied than when he had closed multi-million dollar deals in his previous life.
It was still early. Xie Sui decided to go to town again. If he sold the preserves, he could return before dark.
The little ones had never been to town before and insisted on going with him. Xie Sui had no choice but to write a note for Lin Wan Wan and place it by the bed. He borrowed a mule cart from the village and took the children to town.
"Preserves! Yellow peach preserves! Pure handmade yellow peach preserves! Come and buy!
First come, first served, limited quantity, sold out no more!"
At this time, the town residents were all out enjoying the cool evening breeze, and it was the liveliest time for children to play. With the two twins standing beside him, he immediately attracted a crowd of children and women.
"Yellow peach preserves! Why are there no lids?"
"Purely handmade. Try before you buy. No charge if it's not good."
Xie Sui used a clean chopstick to pick up a piece, stabbed it with a bamboo skewer, and handed it to her to taste. The child jumped: "I want to try too!"
"Okay, everyone gets one."
Dou Dou grabbed his hand and said, "Dad, I'll distribute the peaches."
Dad had gotten better, but he was too generous. How many people could a large chunk of canned peach serve?
He only gave a very small piece, with a serious little face, "You can only taste this much. It's very expensive, don't take advantage of us."
Xie Sui was torn between laughter and tears. The women were all amused: "Your children are so cute. Are they twins?"
"Yes. Their mother is not in good health, so I'm earning some money to help her recover."
Xie Sui was handsome, and when he spoke of his wife, he unconsciously showed a gentleness that women desired. A man who doted on his wife was a good man.
"How much are they?"
"The supply and marketing cooperative sells them for two yuan fifty a jar. Mine are two yuan, but I can sell them separately, three pieces for fifty cents."
Fifty cents wasn't much, enough to buy a treat for the children. Three pieces would be about the size of a peach, and they were very sweet, definitely with a lot of sugar added. It was quite a good deal.
"Give me fifty cents' worth."
"Please bring your own bowl, sister. I haven't prepared anything."
This was not like his previous life, where disposable bowls and plates were readily available. Plastic bags were rare, and people still carried baskets to buy groceries.
This was simple too. The children ran home to get bowls. They ran so fast to eat preserves, like they were wearing wind and fire wheels.
Meanwhile, Lin Wan Wan woke up from her nap in the late afternoon. She had been on edge for the past few days, unable to sleep at night, so she slept a little longer during her nap.
"Dou Dou, Ding Ding, where did you run off to play?"
She didn't notice the note on the bedside table. Seeing the children weren't around, she immediately went out to look for them.
"Sister Lin, looking for the kids? I saw their dad take them to town!"
A kind aunt told her. Lin Wan Wan's face suddenly turned pale, and cold sweat broke out on her back despite the hot weather!