She continued,

“I know your ambitions are not just within our home. You want to do more. You don’t just want to provide a stable life for our family—you want to bring peace and stability to all the people of this land, don’t you?”

“In the past, you didn’t dare to dream because the old house never gave you the conditions to dream.”

“But now, I, Jian Xiu, am telling you—you can dream, and you can chase those dreams. You just need to remember that no matter what happens, our family will always be behind you.”

Jian Xiu had wanted to say these words for a long time.

Zhang Zixuan didn’t respond immediately, but Jian Xiu knew that he had always wanted to join the army.

His ambition was beyond the village—he wanted to protect the people of the Dashun Dynasty.

Back then, he had lost both his legs, so he never dared to think about it.

But things were different now.

His legs had healed, and not only that, but he also had the opportunity to train in martial arts.

“Xiu’er, thank you. Truly!” Zhang Zixuan said sincerely.

This time, his words were filled with deep emotion.

The woman standing before him—he was certain—was the one he had chosen for a lifetime.

“You don’t need to thank me. Since I have come to this world, this place is now my home. Whether it’s our family or the greater world, I have the duty to protect it.”

“So go, without worries! I, too, hope that my husband and my child’s father will become the invincible general of the battlefield!”

From the first moment Jian Xiu saw Zhang Zixuan, she knew he was extraordinary.

Whether it was his aura or the mysterious presence he carried—everything about him told her that he was not someone meant to be tied down to a small village like Zhangjia Village.

He needed a broader sky…

He needed greater ambitions…

Zhangjia Village, or even the entire Yong County, was too small for him.

That day, Jian Xiu didn’t go to town to sell herbs right away.

Instead, she stayed home to process the wild boars she had brought back, while waiting for her family to arrive.

She had caught four wild boars this time, all of them large and fat.

One would be sold to Yuexiang Restaurant, as she had previously promised Shopkeeper Wu.

One would be reserved for the house construction, another would be eaten during the housewarming celebration, and the last one would stay in her storage space.

Thinking about it, she figured she would have to use her hunting pit again soon.

By the hour of Chen (7-9 AM), her father, mother, elder brother, and sister-in-law had arrived.

“You child, such a big thing as building a house—how could you not tell me about it earlier?”

As soon as she saw Jian Xiu, her mother, Zhao Juanniang, scolded her with a smile.

Though her words carried blame, her eyes were full of joy.

Ever since they had dealt with Scarface, the Jian family’s life had been going much more smoothly.

Plus, Jian Xiu’s plantain herbs and bamboo shoots had earned them some silver, along with the compensation from Scarface.

They had even begun discussing building a house of their own.

Currently, their family of six all squeezed into one bedroom at night, which was becoming inconvenient now that the children were growing up.

“Mother, didn’t I call you all over now?” Jian Xiu grinned.

Along with her family, Zhang Xuemei and her husband also arrived.

“Third Sister-in-law, since we have wild boar meat, we won’t need to buy meat later. We can just eat this.”

“Of course, of course,” Wang Xiuying replied with a laugh.

Even if Jian Xiu hadn’t said it, she wouldn’t have bought any.

She had always been frugal, and spending silver on meat seemed unnecessary.

Besides, how many working families could afford to eat meat every day?

Many villagers barely had meat a few times a year, usually only during New Year celebrations.

Most people were so thrifty that they wouldn’t even add extra oil to their cooking.

That morning, Wang Xiuying had been shocked to see the wild boars in the courtyard.

She only later learned that Jian Xiu had them carried back the night before.

There was no denying it—Jian Xiu had remarkable luck. Every time she ventured into the deep mountains, she returned with valuable finds.

She envied her but was also genuinely happy for her.

By the time Huang Chunzhi and Lin Xia arrived, Jian Xiu was ready to take everyone out.

Now that Zhang Zixuan could walk, she felt at ease leaving him in charge of overseeing the house construction.

She had already given him the blueprints, after all.

Meanwhile, Zhang Zifu and Jian Ming were busy with another matter—Wu Mingtang had been urging them about the wheelchair project.

At the construction site, Zhang Zhiyong had gathered more than twenty workers.

If nothing went wrong, the house should be completed within a month.

Meanwhile, Jian Xiu led the group to the place where she had discovered the smilax glabra (Tu Fu Ling) the previous day.

“Jian Xiu, are you sure that’s really smilax glabra?”

On the way, Huang Chunzhi couldn’t help but confirm again.

“Yes, absolutely sure!” Jian Xiu said with a bright smile.

If not for Keke, she might not have been so certain.

But since Keke had already scanned it and confirmed it was smilax glabra, she had no doubts.

“Honestly, ever since you left the old Zhang family, your luck has completely turned around. First, you found plantain herbs, and now you’ve stumbled upon smilax glabra!”

Lin Xia chimed in, agreeing.

“Exactly! I even asked my husband—he said smilax glabra is very valuable,” Huang Chunzhi said with a grin.

Hearing this, even Jian Xiu’s mother and sister-in-law smiled knowingly.

“It must be heaven showing pity on me,” Jian Xiu said directly.

Truthfully, she enjoyed life here.

At least here, she had friends and the freedom to choose her own way of living.

In the apocalypse, she had no choices.

She had to complete every mission assigned to her.

Even after completing missions, she had to constantly watch her back, fearing betrayal.

Those days of suffocating tension, with no outlet for release, had nearly broken her.

“There it is!” Jian Xiu pointed to the familiar patch of land.

Immediately, everyone hurried forward, setting down their baskets and getting to work.

“Jian Xiu, is this the right one?”

“Yes, yes! That whole patch should have plenty!” she confirmed.

Then, she turned to Keke and asked, “Can you scan the area again for me?”

“I already did,” Keke replied. “Besides this patch, there’s another one on the other side, where your sister-in-law is standing.”

“You mean across the little ditch?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“Wait… that area is huge. Are you saying the entire patch is smilax glabra?”