While Fang Chi was happily giggling after receiving his gifts, Yu Dong started to hand out the gifts she brought for others. She knew that her husbands would never throw a tantrum or create trouble because she was marrying another man. Yu Dong didn't want them to feel left out. She first handed Shen Li his gift before handing out Chen Mi and Ye Liu's gifts.
Shen Li and the other two knew that Yu Dong went to get the bride price for Fang Chi, but they didn't expect to receive gifts from her as well. However, they still felt good knowing that Yu Dong still had them in her heart despite having another marriage.
"You don't have to worry about us," said Shen Li as he brushed the brown packaging with his fingertips. "There was no need for you to run around while carrying so many things. It's not like we wouldn't have understood."
'Who was the one who ordered me around to cook this and that?' if Yu Dong didn't see for herself how ruthless these three could be when they were upset or jealous, she would have totally believed them. Though she complained inwardly about their moods that changed faster than a young woman, she still didn't dare to say it out loud. She smiled and ruffled Shen Li's hair. "It's nothing to sweat about. It's not like I can't take a little pain for you three? And I don't want to make you all feel left out either. I can still do this much for you."
Most importantly, she wanted to sleep in her own bed after tiring herself out like this instead of running around the forest catching boars.
Shen Li didn't think much, and neither did Chen Mi and Ye Liu. They didn't know that they traumatized Yu Dong by sending her to hunt because of their extreme jealousy. It wasn't that Yu Dong had to go through a lot of struggle to catch a boar. Still, she was tired out by Chen Mi and Little bun that day. After that, she was chased off to bring fresh meat - anyone would be terrorized after that, so Yu Dong decided to come prepared this time for her own safety and comfort.
Just as she anticipated, none of her husbands put on an upset face after receiving their gifts. In fact, they seemed pretty happy as they opened the presents with childlike excitement.
The first one to open his gift was Shen Li. Yu Dong knew that Shen Li was rather enthusiastic about the mer arts, which was quite similar to the feminine arts of her world before the apocalypse, so she bought him a sewing bag. The sewing bag comprised needles of all sizes with vibrant thread colors because Shen Li was more willing to learn embroidery than Ye Liu and Chen Mi. They soon lost interest in these mer arts, so she knew that Shen Li would like this more.
As for Ye Liu, she bought him a set of bow and arrows, unlike Chen Mi and Shen Li, Ye Liu was more of the outdoor type. He liked to run off to the river and catch fish whenever he got the chance. He also enjoyed playing with Yu Mai's kiddie bow and arrow, hitting this and that. Because Ye Liu liked hunting more than she did, Yu Dong thought about teaching him how to use a bow and arrows. Even if he couldn't pursue a tiger or boar, he could at least hunt geese and ducks. For him, this much excitement was enough.
And for Chen Mi, it was a basket of different desserts from every sweet shop in the town. It even included the imperial pastry coated with a thin layer of gold, the most expensive dessert in the village. Yu Dong didn't know why the town's people were so enthusiastic about this pastry. Still, since she was out to get the very best for her husbands, she stood in line for a very long period and finally got her hands on two pieces of imperial pastries.
None of these gifts made any sense to her, and she didn't know whether or not her husbands would like it. After all, it was something that she randomly brought.
But to Shen Li, Ye Liu, and Chen Mi, these gifts meant a lot. They didn't know that Yu Dong paid such close attention to them, she was hardly at home, and even when she was at home, she kept working, either in the kitchen or in the backyard. She was busy enough to split herself into three, yet she still knew how to make them happy. She understood their likes and dislikes without telling her, yet they still doubted her.
Guilty. The three of them felt so guilty that they didn't know what to do when suddenly -
Chen Mi stood up and raised his hand in the air like a child who finally got the correct answer. "Wife! I will bring hot water for you, you can go ahead and take a long relaxing bath. Running around in the town for the entire day, you must be tired."
With that, Chen Mi rushed off to the kitchen, leaving a dumbfounded Shen Li and Ye Liu behind. Sneaky brat! He was faster than them!
Yu Dong realized that something was up, but she didn't bother with the three of them. It's OK to have moderate jealousy once in a while. At least as long as they are jealous and entangled with each other, they will be too busy to form an alliance against her.
Though she knew it was selfish if she had to choose between either being fought over or them forming an alliance against her. She would happily choose the former. The three could be really dangerous when they get together.
Shen Li, Ye Liu, and Chen Mi didn't know that Yu Dong supported their small fights driven by jealousy. Even if they got to know what was going on in her head, what could they do about it? It wasn't that they could stop getting jealous, right?