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Su Zhi happily sorted out the gifts they received for the warm house, while Shen Zi’an helped on the side. Together, they began to categorize the items.
It took them about half an hour to organize everything, but finally, they finished. In total, there were about forty to fifty kilograms of meat, three to four hundred eggs, two jars of wine, nineteen pieces of cloth, twenty bowls, two basins, as well as some red dates and snacks. A few families even sent chickens, which were all placed in the backyard chicken coop.
Su Zhi looked at these items and cheerfully instructed Shen Zi’an to put the food and utensils in the kitchen. She planned to turn the meat into preserved meat, keep half of the eggs for eating, and pickle the other half. The two jars of wine would be saved for Shen Zi’an, while the snacks would either be shared between them or given to the children who came to visit. As for the cloth, she intended to make clothes or quilts with them.
After finishing with the gifts, Su Zhi went to tidy up the kitchen. She liked the kitchen to be clean and organized, and she preferred to know where everything was kept.
After everything was back in place, the sun had already set. During this season, the days were getting shorter, and by five o’clock in the afternoon, it would be completely dark.
Su Zhi prepared dinner. There were leftovers from lunch, but she had asked around and gave them away to whoever wanted them. Although there were days in her previous life when she couldn’t eat enough, let alone meat, due to her past experiences, she felt uncomfortable eating leftovers from others, especially from people she didn’t know well. So, she gave them away. She didn’t inquire about whether they were eaten or used for something else. The leftover bread was also evenly distributed among the few people who had stayed to help, as a token of appreciation.
Su Zhi decided to make noodles. She kneaded the dough very well, making the noodles long and slightly rounded, which made them chewy and satisfying to eat.
After cooking the noodles, Su Zhi made a braised sauce and prepared a dish of sliced chicken with eggs and spring onions. She also blanched some cabbage and bean sprouts and fried a plate of shredded potatoes with red chili peppers, which looked appetizing and smelled delicious.
“Dinner’s ready, Zi’an.”
Su Zhi brought the meal into the inner room and placed it on the heated kang table. At this time, the kang was warm from the recently burning fire, making it cozy to sit and eat.
Shen Zi’an was diligent. Su Zhi had mentioned how it would be nice if they had a mat on the floor, so it would look like there was a blanket laid out as soon as they entered, and they could also use it to change shoes. He was currently making that mat and had already completed more than half of it. When he saw Su Zhi bringing in the meal, he put down his work, changed into cotton socks, and sat opposite her on the kang. By then, the sky was just beginning to darken. Shen Zi’an fetched an oil lamp from the side and lit it, placing it next to the table.
As Su Zhi looked at Shen Zi’an across from her, she suddenly felt like they were having a candlelit dinner. Even though they were eating noodles instead of Western cuisine and sitting in a room with a kang, not an elegant restaurant, and even though the man sitting across from her was someone she wouldn’t have had anything to do with in her previous life, and although this ancient man was now her husband without ever giving her flowers or a ring, let alone proposing, even with all that, Su Zhi felt a deep sense of happiness.
Shen Zi’an also looked at Su Zhi. The light from the lamp reflected on her face, and he thought her face seemed to have improved even more than before. The marks had faded a lot, almost becoming invisible, revealing her original appearance.
Shen Zi’an was amazed to find that his wife was actually very beautiful. She had two slender eyebrows, clear eyes, a straight nose, rosy lips, a small oval face, and a slightly pointed chin. All these features combined to form a beautiful face. Originally, it was hard to see these features clearly, but now that her face was clean, all this beauty was once again revealed. He thought that if his wife’s face became fairer and smoother, she would definitely be more beautiful than any girl he had ever seen.
“What are you looking at, Zi’an? Is there something on my face?” Su Zhi felt warm and happy at first, but now she felt a bit shy being stared at by Shen Zi’an like this. This man was her husband, but they were not yet officially married! Being looked at like this in such an intimate environment made Su Zhi suddenly feel her heart beating faster and her face heating up.
“Wife, you’re really beautiful,” Shen Zi’an said sincerely.
Shen Zi’an noticed that Su Zhi became a bit shy after he blurted out his feelings, and he felt embarrassed too. Although he had said nice things to Su Zhi before, it never felt like this. The current atmosphere made him feel like his whole body was heating up. He quickly lowered his head and started eating the noodles vigorously, almost finishing half a bowl in no time.
Seeing Shen Zi’an being even shyer than herself, Su Zhi couldn’t help but smile. This man, although he was a farmer, was intelligent, determined, and capable. He was skilled in farming, hunting, and even basket weaving. He even knew a few words. Considering his background, he was like a phoenix in a grass nest. Yet, despite being such a man, he loved and cared for her, never abandoning her. And now, seeing him being shy like this, she still felt he was the perfect husband given to her by heaven.
“Husband, eat your food. It won’t taste good if it gets cold,” Su Zhi gently reminded.
“Okay.”
Shen Zi’an obediently picked up some vegetables with his chopsticks. As he was about to put them in his mouth, he suddenly realized that Su Zhi had just called him “husband.” Normally, she called him by his name, “Zi’an.” Although calling each other by their names was intimate, hearing her call him “husband” now made his heart flutter. The food seemed to taste even better as he brought it to his mouth.
Su Zhi also started eating noodles, enjoying the delicious meal. Sitting in the warm new house, facing a good man she liked and who liked her, Su Zhi felt that life was truly comfortable. It seemed like there were even brighter days ahead.
“Husband, shall we go to the bridal chamber?”
While eating noodles, Su Zhi looked at Shen Zi’an sitting across from her. In the lamplight, he seemed even more handsome—a face with clear features, long eyebrows, and phoenix eyes. His lips, usually pursed like a line, now stained with broth, glistened and exuded a healthy flush. Combined with his earlier shyness, there was an undeniable allure about him. Su Zhi felt her heart skip a beat. With the current ambiguous atmosphere, her words slipped out.
Shen Zi’an was just picking up a forkful of shredded potatoes when he heard her, causing him to tremble and drop half of it.
Oddly, Su Zhi felt less embarrassed now that she had voiced her thoughts. Though her words had been impulsive, she believed it was a matter that needed addressing. Since she had accepted Shen Zi’an as her husband, they were a married couple, and it was only natural for a husband and wife to fulfill their marital duties. Continuously having the name but not the reality wasn’t proper! Of course, she quietly admitted to herself that Shen Zi’an’s previous demeanor was truly captivating, and she had indeed developed feelings for him.
Shen Zi’an looked at Su Zhi, seeing her clear eyes fixed on him. His already warm face grew even warmer, but fortunately, his wheat-colored complexion didn’t reveal much.
“Wife, I want to give you a good bridal night.”
Shen Zi’an said, recalling the time when they first got married. Immediately after the ceremony, Su Zhi had been taken to their bridal chamber, only for screams to erupt from his room shortly after. When people rushed in, they found Su Zhi, who was still recovering from illness at the time. That bridal night was something Shen Zi’an didn’t want to remember—a complete mess. The better items in their new room were all taken away, deemed unfit for someone suffering from such a terrible illness, lest they contaminate others. This included new quilts, mattresses, and even teapots and cups. In an instant, what was supposed to be a bright red bridal room turned into a dark nightmare.
Afterward, the Shen family went to the Zhao family, demanding to cancel the marriage. However, the Zhao family refused, they used the risk of tarnishing Shen Ziju’s promising future as leverage. The Shen family dared not divorce Su Zhi, and only after Shen Zi’an declared that he wouldn’t divorce her did the matter subside.
Those days were now remembered as tumultuous. Shen Zi’an looked at his wife, her eyes sparkling and her face flushed, and felt that the past was like a nightmare. Now awake, this gentle and capable wife before him was the one he would support for the rest of his life.
Upon hearing Shen Zi’an’s words, Su Zhi felt deeply moved. Shen Zi’an had promised her a perfect bridal night before, and he still remembered.
Su Zhi didn’t know what the bridal night between Zhao Xiaomei and Shen Zi’an had been like, but she could imagine it wasn’t a pleasant memory. She didn’t particularly want to know because, even though she now inhabited Zhao Xiaomei’s body, her soul was Su Zhi’s. She had a strange thought: she felt that the person who had originally married Shen Zi’an wasn’t her, but Zhao Xiaomei. She felt a slight regret for missing out on the scene of marrying Shen Zi’an. Now that Shen Zi’an proposed to give her a perfect bridal night, she felt quite pleased.
“Zi’an, do you like the former me or the current me?”
Su Zhi asked, feeling a bit sentimental. Even though she was now Zhao Xiaomei, this man was her husband. She didn’t want him to like her because he liked Zhao Xiaomei.
Shen Zi’an looked at Su Zhi and said, “I like the current you. You might have forgotten, but I once said that I would agree to divorce you once you recovered from your illness. But later on, I changed my mind because it was only then that I truly fell in love with you.”
Upon hearing these words, Su Zhi felt sweet inside, realizing that Shen Zi’an’s heart had always belonged to her.
After such an intimate conversation, the couple’s relationship deepened even further. However, when they lay together, both had a thought in mind: one was thinking about what kind of bridal night Shen Zi’an would give her, while the other was thinking about what kind of bridal night to give his wife. As a result, that night, both of them dreamed of endless spring scenes…