Chapter 8

When Jiang Tian returned home, the house was unusually quiet.

“What’s wrong with you two?” she asked.

Jiang Er muttered under his breath, “Nothing.”

Of course, he wouldn’t admit that he’d felt jealous hearing his sister protect that man so fiercely earlier.

Jiang Tian ruffled his little head.
“Come on, let’s eat. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can go gather firewood.”

“Okay.”

Xie Chen cleared his throat, deliberately making his presence felt.

Jiang Tian lifted her head and met his eyes.
“You really don’t mind what I did today?”

Xie Chen nodded.
“No. Cutting ties is fine. From now on, our home is yours to manage—I’ll follow your lead.”

Jiang Tian finally relaxed and generously picked up a chopstick of egg for him.
“That’s right. As long as I have food, you two will never go hungry.”

Jiang Er suddenly raised his head suspiciously.
“Sis, did you really get better because of the ginseng?”

Jiang Tian glanced at Xie Chen and said, “Mm.”

“And you gave some to him too?”

Xie Chen nodded. “Yes, I had a little.”

Jiang Er pursed his lips. “Fine then.”

After the meal, Jiang Tian poured Xie Chen a large cup of spring water, gave him a few instructions, and then went off with Jiang Er to gather firewood.

The weather was already turning cold, though it hadn’t snowed yet. The mountain was bare now, and plenty of people were already down at the foot gathering firewood.

When the villagers saw the Jiang siblings coming, some went out of their way to greet them, hoping to dig up gossip.

“Jiang girl, are you really better now?”

It was the village chief’s wife. Earlier, when Jiang Tian delivered gifts, she hadn’t been home and had only heard from her daughter-in-law. She hadn’t believed it, so now she asked directly.

Jiang Tian smiled politely, basket on her back.
“Yes, Auntie. I’m better now.”

After a few pleasantries, she led Jiang Er up the mountain.

“Sis, why aren’t we picking firewood down below?”

Jiang Tian glanced around to make sure no one was near before saying,
“There are wild animals further up. We’ll scout around. If we can catch something, great. If not, we’ll just gather firewood.”

At the mention of hunting, Jiang Er brightened and obediently followed.

On a slope, his sharp eyes spotted a pheasant. He tugged at Jiang Tian’s hand and whispered,
“Sis, look, over there.”

Jiang Tian pulled out the bow and arrow she had prepared, checked the range, aimed, and released.

Whoosh—an arrow flew, and the pheasant dropped. Just as Jiang Er was about to fetch it, she stopped him.

“Wait. There’s a rabbit too.”

Another arrow shot, and the rabbit fell. Jiang Er happily ran off to retrieve both.

“Sis, you’re amazing!”

They covered the pheasant and rabbit with some dry grass, gathered a bundle of firewood, and then headed back down.

“Jiang Tian.”

She turned toward the voice. A delicate face came into view—seven parts innocent, three parts coquettish.

“And you are?”

“I’m Jiang Ying.”

“Oh, one of the educated youth. What is it?”

Jiang Ying wasn’t sure if Jiang Tian had been reborn too, so she tried to cozy up.

“Heading home already? You can’t handle all this alone. Want me to help?”

Jiang Tian smoothly avoided the hand reaching toward her and replied politely,
“No need. Life at the educated youth camp is hard enough. I can manage here.”

From a distance, Lin Shu, another educated youth, shouted:
“Jiang Ying, hurry and gather firewood! We’ve got enough work of our own—what are you helping others for?”

Lin Shu had long disliked Jiang Ying. Since arriving, she’d acted like a spoiled young lady, lazy and pampered, yet the male educated youths never minded—in fact, they eagerly helped her with chores.

Jiang Ying gave an awkward smile.
“There isn’t that much work anyway.”

Another educated youth, Chen Lulu, chimed in sarcastically,
“That’s right. Pretty girls have it easy. Just crook a finger and the men fall over themselves to help. A pampered young miss like her can’t be expected to do chores.”

Her words drew the attention of the villagers at the foot of the mountain.

“No wonder Jiang Ying’s so pale, not tanned at all. With so many men at the camp, she doesn’t need to work, just crawl into someone’s bed.”

“Vixen, always seducing men. We’d better watch our husbands from now on.”

“Still thinks she’s some city miss. Sister-in-law Lin, tell your old man this—educated youth ought to act like educated youth.”

The village chief’s wife frowned and added,
“Jiang Ying, get to work. None of that capitalist nonsense. You’ve come down to the countryside—act like it.”

Hearing the words “capitalist,” Jiang Ying quickly denied it.
“No, no. Labor is most honorable. I’ll gather firewood now.”

Jiang Tian said nothing, just tugged Jiang Er along.

On the way back, she shook her head inwardly. In this era, “capitalist airs” were strictly forbidden. How could Jiang Ying, even after living a second life, still not understand?

Back home, they found Xie Chen sitting by the stove, tending the fire. He looked up as they entered.
“You’re back?”

Jiang Tian nodded, set down her basket, and proudly displayed the pheasant and rabbit.

“You caught these?”

Chin lifted, she said,
“Impressive, right? From now on, Er and I will make a round on the mountain every day. Whatever we get, we’ll store in the back courtyard jar to freeze. That way, we’ll have meat all winter.”

At the mention of meat, Jiang Er swallowed hard.
“Sis, can we have chicken today? I’ll help pluck it.”

Xie Chen stood.
“I’ll do it. You keep the fire going.”

Jiang Er knew he meant to let him warm himself, and his heart softened slightly.
“Fine. I’ll do it with you. Sis, you go rest on the kang—we’ll call you when it’s ready.”

Jiang Tian noticed that Jiang Er was slowly beginning to accept Xie Chen. She nodded and went inside.

Left alone, neither of the two men spoke at first. Finally, Jiang Er couldn’t hold back.
“Don’t forget the oath you made.”

“Mm,” Xie Chen replied. “Jiang Tian is my wife. Naturally, I’ll treat her well.”

“Hmph. You’d better.”

When the feathers were done, Jiang Tian openly took out a ginseng root from her hidden space.
“Tonight, we’ll all have a proper tonic.”

She split the chicken in two—one half for ginseng chicken soup, the other for stir-fry. For starch, she mixed cornmeal with a bit of white flour and made several big flatbreads.

She measured everything just right. When they finished, the plates were wiped clean, not a drop of oil left.

Rubbing his belly, Jiang Er said,
“Sis, can you make me a set of hunting gear too? I want to learn how to hunt with you.”

“Do the dishes first. Once you’re done, we’ll make it.”

He quickly jumped up to clear the table. Xie Chen was about to help, but Jiang Tian stopped him.

“How do you feel?”

“Much better than before.”

She checked his pulse with practiced fingers. It had indeed improved, though he still needed careful nourishment.

“Drink more water from now on. The water jar at home is enough.”

Xie Chen pulled her into his arms, murmuring,
“Mm. I’ll work hard to get better—then we can work hard at having children together.”

Jiang Tian’s face flushed crimson. She pushed him away.
“Who wants to have children with you!”

“But didn’t you say you wanted two or three little ones with me?” he asked innocently.

“You were eavesdropping on us!” she shot back, glaring before running out of the east room.

Taking advantage of the daylight, she went to the backyard to prepare tools for making a bow and arrows. She planned to cut a round wooden board to use as a target, so Jiang Er could practice his aim whenever he had time.