The sun was shining brightly, and the temperature was hot and dry.

Wen Jiaojiao took out her pajamas from the bed and said to Xu Cuifen, who was washing clothes:

"Mom, could you alter this shirt to be sleeveless and shorten the pants a bit? I almost died of heat last night while sleeping."

Xu Cuifen washed the soap off her hands, stepped forward and took the blue floral pajamas. She felt a pang of heartache at the alterations, but then she thought:

Jiaojiao and Zhaoye were in the same room. The young men were full of vigor, and their daughter was very beautiful.

If you made a tank top and shorts like the ones she wore before, maybe Zhaoye would see it one night and get aroused, and things would turn out fine.

Wen Jiaojiao frowned as she looked at her mother's wide smile, which stretched all the way to her ears. "Mom, do you know how to change it? Do you want me to show you where to change it?"

Xu Cuifen's eyes flashed with a shrewd light, and her entire face exuded an indescribable air of calculation and conspiracy as she said:

"No need, go and rest. Mom will fix it for you right away. I guarantee that Zhao Ye won't be able to stand it tonight."

Wen Jiaojiao frowned slightly, not understanding the meaning behind her words:

"What kind of weird talk is that? You think he'd attack me just because I altered some clothes?"

That doesn't count as taking action.

That's called getting moving, my silly girl.

Xu Cuifen gave her a doting look, ignored her, and happily walked to her room, sitting in front of the Phoenix brand sewing machine, staring at the pajamas:

If this were simply changed into a bra and underwear, Akino would probably be even more aroused.

But TV shows say that the most effective way to seduce a man is through subtle, almost imperceptible seduction.

What's the difference between wearing a bra and panties and not wearing anything at all? Forget it, I'll just make it into a suspender style.

Inside the kitchen.

Wen Zhaoye sat behind a stove with beads of sweat on his forehead. The stove was simmering with braised pork hock and braised pork knuckle, and the aroma wafted out and filled the entire village.

A voice came from outside the wooden fence: "Sister-in-law, the food is so different now that Jiaojiao is back. I can smell the aroma from far away."

The courtyard wasn't large, and the voice drifted into the house. Xu Cuifen, her face expressionless, continued working on her halter top, saying:

"What are you saying, Auntie? I only bought some for my husband because he broke his leg and Zhaoye came back. My daughter and I don't like to eat meat."

These days, everyone craves meat, but we only get to eat it a few times a year. Anyone who says they don't like meat is lying.

Zhang Qin married into Wen Xiaomin's family in the same village. She was Xu Cuifen's sister-in-law and also Wen Zhaoye's proper aunt.

Holding the child in her hand, she saw through his words but didn't say anything, saying, "Zhaoye, your aunt needs to talk to you about something."

Wen Zhaoye walked out of the kitchen and opened the wooden fence. Knowing her character well, but unable to bring himself to do it, he could only politely say:

"Come in, we'll stay for lunch."

Upon hearing this, Xu Cuifen gritted her teeth in secret resentment, fearing that she would agree, and quickly spoke up:

"Auntie, I just ran out of meat coupons today. Could you exchange some with me?"

"We don't know how long it will be before the next batch of meat ration coupons is issued. With so little meat, it's not even enough for our whole family to eat two meals together, don't you think?"

Zhang Qin was always looking to take advantage of others. Her son, Wen Zhaoping, smelled the aroma of meat and said it was coming from his uncle's house. He insisted on eating it, so she had no choice but to find an excuse to go over.

She tugged at the child in her arms, forcing a smile as if she hadn't heard, and said, "Zhaoping, call me brother."

Wen Zhaoping was only five years old and didn't understand the intricacies of things. Overwhelmed with desire, he swallowed hard and said:

"Brother, I want to eat your meat."

Zhang Qin glanced at Wen Zhaoye's expression and teased him with a smile:

"You silly child, didn't you say when you first arrived that you hadn't seen your brother Zhaoye in a long time and wanted to see him and play here? How come you're already craving meat now that you smell it? Mom will take you to buy some next time."

"No, no, I want to eat, I want to eat now!" Wen Zhaoping struggled, shaking off her hand. Seeing Wen Jiaojiao standing at the door, she stuck out her tongue and called out:

"shameless."

"How dare you talk to Sister Jiaojiao like that?"

Zhang Qin hadn't expected that the child could understand the gossip she usually shared with other villagers. She quickly finished scolding him, then looked up at Wen Jiaojiao with an embarrassed smile and said:

"The kid doesn't know any better and is just talking nonsense. Don't take it to heart. He's so young. You can't hold a grudge against a child, can you?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Cuifen stormed out and said:

"You little brat..."

"Mom, don't say anything."

Wen Jiao's chest heaved, interrupting Xu Cuifen's words. She knew perfectly well who taught the child to behave this way. She pursed her lips and smiled beautifully.

"No way, I don't mind at all. You still want some meat, right? Well, wait here, I'll get you some right away."

Wen Zhaoye frowned, pondering how to ask the mother and son to leave, when he saw Wen Jiaojiao holding a small porcelain bowl containing two pieces of pork knuckle skin.

She crouched down, and as Wen Zhaoping stared blankly and kept swallowing, she picked up the pork knuckle skin, held it under her nose, and took a deep sniff, exaggeratingly saying:

"Oh my gosh~ It smells so good!"

The glistening, thin skin of the pork knuckle swayed before Wen Zhaoping's eyes, and he eagerly opened his mouth:

"Let me have a bite."

A wicked smile appeared on Wen Jiaojiao's face. Under Wen Zhaoye's amused gaze, she quickly stuffed the meat into her mouth.

The delicate, smooth texture exploded in her mouth with an intense saltiness, causing her expression to change several times before she managed to force a compliment:

"Oh my gosh~ So soft!"

Wen Zhaoping saw there was still one piece left in the bowl and anxiously reached for it. Wen Jiaojiao quickly picked up another piece, ignoring the bitter taste on her tongue, and forced it into her mouth, mumbling indistinctly:

"Oh my gosh~ It's so delicious!"

Wen Zhaoping stared in disbelief, his voice still childish as he said:

"Weren't you going to give me something to eat?"

"You're still young, your intestines are fragile. Eating meat will give you diarrhea. So I made you wait so you could watch me eat, not so you could eat. But I can let you lick my chopsticks and taste the meat."

Wen Jiaojiao held out her chopsticks to him, suppressing her urge to find water, and still smiled.

Zhang Qin realized her son had been tricked, and grabbed Wen Zhaoping's thin wrist.

Ignoring his crying and fussing, she dragged him towards the wooden fence. Even though she was furious, she couldn't vent her anger for Wen Zhaoye's sake, and could only mutter curses at the child:

"You glutton, will you die if you don't get to eat today? Don't cry, or I'll smash your mouth open, you shameful thing."