Chapter 14

Qi Zhilan thought to herself, These two love to eat. If I use food to lure them, it’ll definitely work.

When Sun Lili heard that, she instantly grinned. “Wild pheasant?”

“That’s right. And wild rabbit, too. Once we catch some game, we can roast it right there in the mountains, eat our fill, and come back without having to share with anyone.”

Qi Zhilan spoke in a deliberately mysterious tone.

“Up in the mountains? Won’t it be dangerous? I heard from the locals there are bears, wolves, and wild boars up there. What if…”

Xia Ye hesitated for a moment before voicing her concern.

“There is no ‘what if.’ Those big beasts only come out at night. We’ll be back before dark, so what danger could there be?”

Qi Zhilan thought, If we really do run into a wild animal, I’ll just shove the two of you toward it and make my escape.

“Well… alright then. When are we going?”

Sun Lili thought it over and decided to go for it. After all, they hadn’t had a single drop of oil in days, and she was desperate for some meat.

Especially roast pheasant—it would smell so good it could kill.

“Tomorrow after work. But there’s one thing—no one else can know about this. If they do, we’re done for.”

Qi Zhilan’s tone carried a hint of threat.

“Don’t worry. I’m not stupid enough to share wild pheasant and rabbit with anyone.”

“That’s good. I have something to do and need to head out. You two have dinner without me.”

Qi Zhilan stood, walked over to the pile of things she’d bought earlier, and began picking through them.

She was going to visit relatives at the Shen household—her cousin Qi Zhiyun in particular—and also take a look at her future mother-in-law, Madam Shen.

It wouldn’t be proper to bring too little.

The more she thought about it, the better her mood became, and the corners of her lips curled up.

Today, Gu Keqing had also gone into town, but came back empty-handed.

And here she was, bringing a mountain of good things—Madam Shen would be overjoyed.

If she wanted to secure Shen Yan, step one was to win over his mother.

With the woman who gave birth to him singing her praises every day, success was practically guaranteed.

“Comrade Qi, what are you grinning about? You look like a lovestruck maiden.”

Xia Ye popped a piece of candy into her mouth, then grabbed a peach crisp and stuffed it in after it.

Qi Zhilan shot her an irritated glance and quickly gathered up the rest of the peach crisps.

“Save them. Once we start making money, we can buy as much as we want.”

With that, she carried two big bags out the door.

Xia Ye pouted unhappily. “What’s she acting so smug for?”

“I think ever since she saw that Shen Yan this afternoon, she’s been acting weird. I wonder if she’s set her sights on him,” Sun Lili said, cracking sunflower seeds.

“Even if she has, so what? Just look at her. Compared to Gu Keqing, she’s leagues behind. I’m a woman and I can barely bring myself to look at her, let alone a man. And Shen Yan’s a hardworking farmer—at night, wouldn’t she cling to him to death?”

“Exactly. Here, have some seeds.”

The two of them munched on the snacks Qi Zhilan had bought, gossiping about her behind her back, perfectly content.

——

The hens Gu Keqing took out from her space had already been plucked and cleaned.

A quick rinse, a few chops, and they’d be ready to cook—very convenient.

She also took out some fruits common in this era, had Qi Zhiyun wash and slice them, and placed them on the table in the main room.

She was waiting for Shen Yan to come back from chopping wood so he could have some.

Last night, when they’d been intimate, she’d noticed he had cold sores on his lips—clearly from excessive internal heat.

In this time period, vegetables were scarce, fruit even scarcer, and people mostly ate coarse grain cakes. No wonder he was overheated.

Leaning her head on Madam Shen’s shoulder, Gu Keqing said playfully,

“Mom, I go into town to sell goods every two days, and I trouble you and Sister-in-law to cook for everyone at home.”

“What trouble? It’s you who’s working hard, buying so many things for the family and spending all your earnings on us,” Qi Zhiyun quickly replied before Madam Shen could speak.

“It’s nothing. We’re family—we should love and support each other, right, Mom?”

Gu Keqing knew that managing a household was no easy task, so she wanted to make her intentions clear.

Since fate had made them a family, everyone should do their part to get through hard times together.

Besides, with Shen Yan’s abilities and the way things were going, the Shen family’s future would only get better.

“Cousin~ Cousin~”

The three women in the kitchen froze when they heard someone entering the yard.

Gu Keqing sneered inwardly. That was fast. Couldn’t even wait a full day.

“Who’s there?”

Madam Shen set down her work, lifted the curtain, and stepped outside. “And you are…?”

“Auntie, I’m Qi Zhiyun’s cousin, Qi Zhilan. I’m a newly assigned educated youth.”

Qi Zhilan’s face bloomed with a smile as she walked toward Madam Shen and placed her things on the wooden table in the main room.

“Sister-in-law, come with me.”

Gu Keqing glanced at the items Qi Zhilan had brought, then pulled Qi Zhiyun aside. “Do you and your cousin get along?”

Qi Zhiyun shook her head. “We’re not from the same city. We only met a few times as kids. After I got married, we had no contact. And after the Shen family fell on hard times, our relatives avoided us like the plague. I have no idea why she suddenly showed up today.”

“Did you notice what she brought?”

Gu Keqing lifted her chin toward the table.

“I saw. Bringing all that… could she be trying to get me to do something bad?”

Although Qi Zhiyun was an honest woman, she wasn’t stupid.

She knew about the Shen family’s current situation—no one wanted to be associated with them, much less bring gifts, especially a distant cousin.

“Do you want to know why she’s here?”

Gu Keqing smiled and hooked her arm through Qi Zhiyun’s.

“You know?” Qi Zhiyun asked, surprised.

Raising an eyebrow, Gu Keqing said,

“She wants to marry into our family.”

“She wants to marry Shen Ming? But Third Brother’s only fifteen—he’s too young to be engaged.”

Qi Zhiyun’s mouth twitched in disbelief.

“No—she wants to marry Shen Yan,” Gu Keqing said with a smile.

“Oh my god! Sister-in-law, you knew beforehand? Thank goodness you told me, or else if she kept coming over and I stayed in the dark, I might have done something unforgivable.”

Qi Zhiyun’s eyes widened in shock, and she clapped a hand over her mouth.

“It’s alright, Sister-in-law. Now that you know her motive, you can guard against her. Don’t be afraid.”

“No way. She’s using visiting me as an excuse to get in here. I can’t let this troublemaker stay.”

Qi Zhiyun let out a huff from her chest, straightened her face, and walked into the main room.

“What are you doing here?”

“Cousin, it’s me—Zhilan!”

Qi Zhilan had been happily chatting with Madam Shen when she saw Qi Zhiyun approaching, her face dark with anger.

“This is the Shen household. You’re not welcome. Leave!”

“Cousin, I’m your younger cousin—Zhilan! Have you forgotten me?”

Qi Zhilan had counted on everything except for her soft, gentle, and supposedly naive cousin reacting like this.

“I haven’t forgotten. I just don’t want to have anything to do with you.”