A fierce wife enters the house: She helps up a house full of spineless people.

Inside the kitchen, Wang Jinzhu expertly started a fire and boiled water. Chen Tianwei squatted in front of the stove, carefully adding firewood to help. Chen Tianrun stood on tiptoe, watching curiously as Wang Jinzhu processed the seemingly filthy pig offal.

"Sister-in-law, is this really edible?" Chen Tianrun pinched his nose and asked in a low voice. He remembered that his grandmother had made it once before, and the taste was indescribable.

"Of course you can eat it, and if it's cooked properly, it's even more fragrant than meat." Wang Jinzhu's hands didn't stop; she vigorously scrubbed the pig intestines with wood ash, her movements swift and efficient. "You guys stay away, don't get splashed. It's getting hot, keep the fire low, and cook it slowly."

She placed the preliminarily cleaned pig offal into boiling water to blanch it, removing the blood and impurities. Soon, an indescribable, pungent odor filled the air. Chen Tianrun couldn't help but cover his nose.

Wang Jinzhu remained calm and unhurried. She took the blanched pork offal out of the water and rinsed it clean with warm water. Then she started a new pot, added the scallions and ginger she could find at home, stir-fried them until fragrant, poured in water, added the pork offal, and seasoned with salt. After bringing it to a boil over high heat, she turned it down to a simmer and let it cook slowly.

As time passed, the original fishy smell in the kitchen was gradually replaced by a salty and fragrant aroma that became increasingly rich and enticing.

The Chen family members, who were originally in their respective rooms, either angry or plotting, couldn't help but sniff.

Chen Xiufen poked her head out of the house and sniffed hard: "What's that smell? It smells so good!"

Liu Yiyi also came out, her stomach growling loudly. She hadn't eaten well at the Wang family's house at noon, and was still angry when she got back, so she was starving. The aroma made her mouth water.

Even Old Man Chen in the main room put down his pipe, and his Adam's apple bobbed.

Inside the house, Old Mrs. Chen stroked the pork belly she had just carefully rubbed with salt. Smelling the increasingly overpowering aroma, she began to mutter to herself: "This brat, she's really got some skills? She can make this flavor from pig offal?"

Inside the kitchen, the two younger children were already gathered around the pot, watching eagerly. Chen Tian whispered, "Sister-in-law, it smells so good! It smells even better than Auntie's braised pork!"

"Shh, it's not ready yet, the flavor needs to be cooked in." Wang Jinzhu smiled and poked the pig intestine with her chopsticks; it was already tender and soft. She lifted the lid of the pot, and an even more intense aroma wafted out. The braised food in the pot was an enticing dark reddish-brown color, the broth rich and bubbling.

"Dinner's ready!" Wang Jinzhu called out.

This sound was like a command, and the crowd, who had long been tormented by the aroma, immediately emerged from all corners and surged toward the dining table in the main room.

A large pot of steaming, glistening braised pork was served. The pork intestines were soft and chewy, the pork liver was tender and flavorful, and even the most unassuming pork lungs were soaked in the broth, making it look incredibly appetizing.

Old Mrs. Chen still wanted to put on airs, and snorted, "How delicious can this stinky stuff be..." But before she could finish speaking, Chen Xiufen and Liu Yiyi had already reached into the bowl with their chopsticks. Chen Shuyan also disregarded the dignity of a scholar, picked up a piece of fatty intestine and stuffed it into his mouth, his eyes immediately lighting up.

This time, Chen Tianfang didn't wait for others to finish before picking up his chopsticks, as he usually did. He spotted a thick piece of pig liver, quickly picked it up, put it in Wang Jinzhu's bowl first, then quickly put a piece in each of his eager younger siblings, and finally picked up a piece for himself.

Wang Jinzhu glanced at him with some surprise. Chen Tianfang's face was expressionless, but the tips of his ears were a little red.

"Hey! Leave some for me!" Chen Xiufen panicked as she watched the meat in the bowl rapidly disappear, and used her chopsticks to snatch a piece of fatty intestine that Chen Tianfang had his eye on.

"Second Aunt, there's still some in the basin," Chen Tianfang said in a muffled voice. With a flick of his wrist, he dodged her chopsticks and steadily picked up the piece of fatty intestine and put it into his own bowl.

Although Old Man Chen didn't say anything, he ate with his chopsticks at a rapid pace. Seeing this, Old Woman Chen forgot about making sarcastic remarks and quickly joined in the fray.

For a moment, the only sounds at the dinner table were the clinking of chopsticks and chewing. The large bowl of pig offal dwindled at a visible rate. What was once considered "stinky stuff" was now a delicacy that everyone was scrambling to get their hands on. Even the broth was eventually wiped clean by Old Mrs. Chen using cornbread.

Wang Jinzhu didn't care how quickly they devoured the food. After eating and drinking her fill, she pushed away her bowl and chopsticks, stood up leisurely, and said, "I've been busy all day. It's not my turn to wash the dishes and pots now." Without looking at anyone's expressions, she went straight back to her room.

After his wife left, Chen Tianfang quickly finished the last bit of food in his bowl and silently began to clear the table.

He moved much more nimbly than usual, stacking up the empty plates and bowls, and then went to the kitchen to wash the used pots clean.

Chen Xiufen wanted to ask Liu Yiyi to do it, but seeing Chen Tianfang working so diligently, she swallowed her words and just pursed her lips.

After tidying up, Chen Tianfang went to the stove and boiled a large pot of hot water. He first carefully washed himself, changed into clean clothes, and then, after thinking for a moment, took a wooden basin, mixed bathwater of a suitable temperature, and brought it into the room.

"Wash yourself, it'll help you relax." Chen Tianfang placed the wooden basin on the ground, speaking succinctly before turning and leaving, closing the door behind him.

Wang Jinzhu looked at the basin of steaming water and a slight thought crossed her mind. This quiet guy could be thoughtful after all. She didn't stand on ceremony and took a comfortable hot bath, feeling much of the cooking smell and fatigue disappear.

After she had tidied up and lay down on the bed, Chen Tianfang also tiptoed in. The two lay side by side, still with a little distance between them. The room was quiet, with only the occasional chirping of insects coming from outside the window.

After a busy day, Wang Jinzhu felt sleepy as soon as she relaxed, and her eyelids gradually became heavy.

Just as she was drifting off to sleep, she suddenly felt Chen Tianfang move beside her. A hand with calluses and a slightly warm temperature cautiously and tentatively moved from his side, first touching her arm, and then seemingly trying to put it around her waist.

Wang Jinzhu's sleepiness vanished instantly. Without even opening her eyes, she raised her hand and lightly slapped the restless hand on the back of the hand.

"Go to sleep." Her voice was heavy with sleepiness, but her refusal was unmistakable.

The hand immediately retracted.

Wang Jinzhu adjusted her posture, preparing to continue her journey to sleep.

Just as she was about to fall asleep, she heard a man's low voice beside her, filled with obvious confusion and disappointment, which sounded particularly clear in the darkness:

"Jinzhu...do you not like me anymore?"

Wang Jinzhu was awakened by the noise, and a nameless anger rose within her. Without thinking, she blurted out, "Are you an animal? I'm only sixteen!"

After saying that, she pulled the blanket up, turned her back to him completely, and ignored him. She was exhausted; who had time to argue with him about this?

Chen Tianfang was stunned, his mind filled with the echo of "I'm only sixteen," and the uncontrollable thoughts that followed: What's wrong with being sixteen? Er Gouzi's wife in the village was under fifteen when she married him, and now she's seventeen and has already given birth to two children. Jinzhu said she was sixteen, which clearly meant... she disliked him and didn't want to be his wife.