Chapter 12

“Sure.”

Jiang Tian didn’t stand on ceremony. If she had to do all that work alone, it would take forever.

As the saying goes: men and women working together don’t get tired.

She kneaded three jin of dough and prepared two big bowls of filling.

One person rolled the wrappers, the other wrapped the dumplings. The two of them bustled around until it was completely dark.

“Finally done.”

She flopped onto the kang, muttering to herself that life here was really busy—hunting in the morning, going to the market before noon, then after a short nap in the afternoon, she had to get up to make dumplings.

Busy all day long, yet not much really got done.

Xie Chen brought over a damp towel and wiped her palms.

“I’ll take care of the rest. How many dumplings should I cook tonight?”

Jiang Tian pointed at the biggest tray. “That big one. I’ll put the rest in the vat in the backyard to freeze later.”

“Alright. You rest for a while, I’ll cook the dumplings.”

Jiang Tian lazily rolled over. “If it gets too busy, just call Little Ears to help you.”

“Got it.”

Unable to resist, Xie Chen leaned down and kissed her again. Jiang Tian covered her face, glaring at him.

“What’s with the sneak attack?”

Xie Chen chuckled softly, then carried a tray of dumplings out of the room.

When she heard the door close, Jiang Tian finally lowered her hands, revealing her bright red face.

It took her quite a while to calm down.

After resting, she went out to put the dumplings in the vat in the backyard and covered it with a large basin.

When she came back inside, the big one and the little one had already set the dumplings out, both of them waiting eagerly for her.

“Alright, let’s eat.”

“Mm.”

Jiang Er picked up a dumpling, stuffed it in his mouth, and squinted with pleasure. After swallowing, he grinned at her.

“Jie, your dumplings are so delicious.”

Jiang Tian also took a bite and thought the taste really was great.

After the meal, she washed up and sat on the kang, dazing off.

Well, full stomach, another day gone.

But since it was winter, there wasn’t much to do anyway. Before the New Year, all they really had to do was wait for the meat distribution.

Still, the New Year was coming, and she thought they should stock up on more food.

They couldn’t eat meat every meal, but in the short term, Little Ears and Xie Chen needed to be nourished properly.

“What are you thinking about?”

Suddenly, Xie Chen leaned close behind her and gently wrapped his arms around her.

“Nothing much. Just that winter’s coming, and we need to prepare more food.”

Hearing that, Xie Chen actually wanted to suggest going hunting in the mountains with the siblings.

“Can I go to the mountains with you two? From what I see, the thing you use doesn’t really need running or jumping.”

Jiang Tian didn’t answer right away. Instead, she turned and held his hand. “Your pulse feels much better now, but you still can’t go out. Just stay home and watch the house.”

She lowered her voice. “This illness takes time to recover from. I also need to find a chance to take you to the county hospital for a proper checkup.”

They needed a legitimate explanation. It couldn’t just be that he recovered after eating one ginseng root. Besides, Doctor Liu had said in front of everyone that ginseng could only prolong life a bit, not cure him completely.

Xie Chen realized he was being impatient. It was just that seeing the young girl busy with everything, looking tired all the time, made his heart ache.

“Alright, then let me handle all the house chores except cooking, okay?”

Jiang Tian smiled faintly. “Fine. Everything inside the yard is yours—but no heavy labor.”

“Okay.”

The next morning, as usual, Jiang Tian went up the mountain with Jiang Er.

They came back with another full harvest.

For breakfast, she made the same potato pancakes as before, served with pickles and rice porridge. The three of them ate happily.

But then, unexpected visitors arrived.

When Jiang Tian opened the door, she saw Jiang Ying and the village head standing there.

“Tiantian—”

Before she could say anything, Jiang Ying greeted her with false intimacy.

“Village head, Comrade Jiang, what brings you here?”

Lin Jingguo explained, “Jiang family girl, a few new educated youths arrived in the village. The educated youth spot doesn’t have enough housing, so we’re planning to arrange for some of them to stay in local homes temporarily. When spring comes, we’ll build a few more houses.”

Jiang Tian smiled faintly. “So, Comrade Jiang is planning to stay in my home?”

Jiang Ying said, “Tiantian, we’re pretty close, so I thought maybe I could stay at your place. We could help each other out.”

Jiang Tian subtly avoided Jiang Ying’s hand and turned to the village head. “Village head, even if it’s temporary housing, the host family has to agree, right?”

“Yes, both sides need to agree.”

“Then I don’t agree.”

Jiang Ying looked surprised. “Tiantian, what if I give you forty jin of coarse grain in return?”

Forty jin of coarse grain was no small amount.

She’d better not be ungrateful.

Actually, Lin Jingguo also thought it wasn’t right for Jiang Ying to move into Jiang’s house. Not to mention there weren’t enough rooms, but Jiang Tian and Xie Chen had just gotten married. If a young woman suddenly moved in, who knew what rumors would spread?

Jiang Tian sighed. “Comrade Jiang, you know my family’s situation. The west room is where Jiang Er lives, the east room is where my husband and I live. There really isn’t any spare room.

And besides, my husband and I just got married. If you were to move in, it wouldn’t be good for your reputation as an unmarried girl.”

Lin Jingguo: Well, that’s true.

Jiang Ying’s face stiffened. She hadn’t expected Jiang Tian to refuse.

But to get closer to Xie Chen, she was determined.

“Tiantian, why don’t you let Jiang Er sleep with you two? Give me the west room. And besides, we’re like sisters—who cares what others say? As long as we know we’re innocent, why mind idle gossip?”

Jiang Tian arched a brow. This was just asking to ruin reputations!

But before she could respond, the women’s director came rushing over.

“Comrade Jiang, people need dignity just like trees need bark. Don’t go causing trouble in a newlywed couple’s home.”

Jiang Ying feigned grievance. “Auntie, I’m not trying to cause trouble. Tiantian and I are close, so wouldn’t it be nice to stay with someone familiar?”

The women’s director had years of sharp eyes from her work. She had also heard about the sort of things Jiang Ying did at the educated youth spot.

“Comrade Jiang, the Jiang family really doesn’t have the energy. You know her husband is gravely ill. It already takes everything for the siblings to take care of him. Don’t make things harder for her.”

Jiang Ying brushed it off. “It’s fine. I can take care of myself—and maybe even help Tiantian look after Xie Chen.”

Inside, she was delighted. If she couldn’t fully care for him, she’d just “care” more. That way she could build feelings. Once she found the ginseng in Jiang’s home, she could use it to save Xie Chen.

A lifesaving debt—in ancient times, that meant marriage in return. She didn’t mind that he was already married. And given his current state, he and Jiang Tian surely hadn’t consummated anyway.

The moment those words came out, the women’s director’s face turned dark, and even the village head felt tired.

This educated youth clearly had no sense of proper conduct!