Chapter 11 Braised Rabbit

All of this, even without hearing any news, was within Leng You and Xiang Wentian’s expectations. However, the shocking event of setting up a memorial tablet for her was something Leng You never could have imagined.

To avoid Wen Jiuyue, the two returned to Xiang Huaixin’s place first.

“These… are these all from the valley?” Bai Changpu’s eyes widened, especially when she saw the six plump rabbits, she couldn’t help but swallow.

“Youyou also went into the valley with you?” Xiang Huaixin frowned.

“I insisted on my brother taking me,” Leng You quickly explained.

For her, this kind of rare and sincere kindness always made her feel a little at a loss.

“Xiaotian has always been a sensible child; he won’t be reckless,” Bai Changpu had immense trust in Xiang Wentian.

“Tomorrow, I’ll go with you,” Xiang Huaixin’s change of subject was unexpected.

“No!” Xiang Wentian didn’t even raise his eyes, his refusal was merciless.

“You stinky boy, are you rejecting me again? I…”

“Let’s go!” Ignoring his father’s roar, Xiang Wentian picked up Leng You, shouldered the large string of rabbits and mushrooms, and left.

“Hey… where are you going? You’re taking all the rabbits?” Bai Changpu swallowed again, shouting anxiously from behind.

“Let Grandma Wen handle it,” Leng You waved her hand generously.

In just two days, her tacit understanding with Xiang Wentian had reached an incredibly magical level.

…

When this large pile of fresh ingredients appeared before Wen Jiuyue, she was stunned for a full thirty seconds.

“The sweet potatoes are at my dad’s place. I’ll dig some more for you in two days,” before Wen Jiuyue could look at Leng You, Xiang Wentian had already diverted the topic.

“Are these all from the valley? My goodness!” Wen Jiuyue was then plunged into boundless shock.

“Grandma Wen, let’s braise some rabbit later!”

Leng You wasn’t someone with a strong appetite, even since her rebirth, she had only eaten sweet potatoes.

It was mainly because she felt sorry for the people around her. In these special times and circumstances, everyone was pale and thin.

Only Xiang Wentian was relatively better off. Living in Pingdu, he at least received a maximum supply of materials, although the variety was relatively scarce, at least he didn’t go hungry.

“Okay, okay, I’ll start preparing now,” Wen Jiuyue was a very efficient worker and immediately started to prepare.

Leng You and Xiang Wentian tacitly poured out the mushrooms and began sorting them by type. At this time of year, they didn’t have to worry about them spoiling; the outdoors was a natural refrigerator. Both the mushrooms and rabbits could be thawed and cooked, preserving their freshness.

At Leng You’s persuasion, Wen Jiuyue finally steeled her heart and braised two large rabbits.

There were so many rabbits in the valley that they were practically overflowing. Leng You wasn’t worried about food and daily expenses in the future. Occasionally selling some rabbit meat would be enough for them to live comfortably.

The savory aroma of meat quickly filled the low, dim adobe house, the scent growing stronger and stronger. A “gurgling” sound came from Leng You’s stomach, she pressed down on her belly, avoiding looking at Xiang Wentian opposite her.

It wasn’t her first time being embarrassed; she was just an “eight-year-old child” after all.

Hearing the sound, Xiang Wentian didn’t look up, seemingly unconcerned as he continued sorting the mushrooms, but the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned.

“Gurgling!” Another sound, Leng You also tried to maintain her unchanging posture, pretending she hadn’t heard anything, but her slightly trembling shoulders betrayed her suppressed hunger.

Xiang Wentian: “…”

His hand sorting the mushrooms paused, the upturned corners of his mouth stiffened, his ears felt hot, even though the person opposite him was only an eight-year-old child. But this child, except for her appearance, really had none of the characteristics of an eight-year-old.

“Come, come… you two, try it and see if it’s cooked,” Wen Jiuyue, with a face full of love and affection, brought over a bowl, first placing a piece of rabbit meat in Leng You’s mouth, then picking up another piece and handing it to Xiang Wentian.

“It’s done.” As soon as the meat was in his mouth, Xiang Wentian immediately nodded.

The awkwardness thus disappeared.

“Fragrant!” Leng You gave her answer after swallowing the meat.

Xiang Wentian didn’t stay to eat with Leng You and Wen Jiuyue, but instead took a large earthenware basin of rabbit meat back to Xiang Huaixin, knowing that the two were probably already drooling.

The next day was the fourth day of the blizzard and the third day since Leng You’s rebirth.

Xiang Wentian came early in the morning, without even entering the house, he immediately began clearing the snow from the roof.

Wen Jiuyue’s two adobe houses had been built for several decades. The original rafters were thin, and the roofing was also thin. Especially since her husband’s death, a woman would naturally neglect the maintenance of the house due to physical limitations.

In addition, after years of wind and rain, the house had already shown signs of decay and couldn’t withstand the heavy snow.

Xiang Wentian and Leng You had cleaned it once after returning from the valley yesterday, but after a night of raging snow, the snow had piled up to half a foot thick again.

Hearing the noise, Leng You ran out of the house, and a sudden gust of wind almost knocked her breath away.

“Youyou, don’t go out, it’s cold outside!” Wen Jiuyue, who was boiling sweet potato porridge, quickly put down the fire stick and chased after her.

“It’s not cold.” The snow was falling heavily, so the temperature wasn’t actually that low.

Leng You looked up and saw Xiang Wentian carefully stepping on the rafters, vigorously wielding his broom, knowing he was afraid of collapsing the fragile roof.

Her brows furrowed slightly. It seemed that the urgent problem wasn’t just filling their stomachs, but also housing.

Leng You clearly remembered that in her previous life, she was driven out by her stepmother on a rainy day. In despair, she was found by Wen Jiuyue, who was returning from the fields, and taken home.

Upon entering the house, she found that it was raining outside, and raining inside—the house was leaking everywhere.

Despite being in such a dire situation, Wen Jiuyue still went to great lengths to make Leng You a bowl of steaming corn gruel, the best food she could offer.

Therefore, Wen Jiuyue’s kindness to her went far beyond a drop of water.

Leng You was eventually pulled back into the house by Wen Jiuyue.

“These past two days, we really owe it to Xiaotian, otherwise, this house might not have been able to withstand so much snow. Sigh!” Wen Jiuyue brushed the snow off Xiang Wentian with a broom, sighing softly.

A widowed woman living alone, one can imagine how difficult it must have been.

“It’s nothing.” Except for Leng You, Xiang Wentian’s words seemed to be extremely concise.

The three of them ate breakfast, and Xiang Wentian looked at Leng You.

“Brother, let’s go!” Leng You was about to jump off the kang, but Xiang Wentian caught her.

Then he began to wrap her in a scarf, and after wrapping her up, he put her on his back and fastened it.

“Are you going to find Doctor Bai? Go ahead!” Wen Jiuyue didn’t think much of it.

After carrying Leng You out of the house, Xiang Wentian took out a bag from a hidden corner in the yard, containing all the necessary tools.

Braving the wind and snow, the two descended to the valley floor again.

Although there wasn’t much conversation, both of their hearts were turbulent.

They didn’t bother to hunt rabbits or identify herbs, heading straight for the marked spot.