Chapter 19

“Remember to call me after you finish bathing, I’ll help you pour the water out.”

“Alright.”

Jiang Tian still went into her space to take a bath as usual. She washed quickly this time, and after finishing, she went outside the villa to take a look. There was still plenty in the warehouse, and the poultry on each farm were living very well.

The space had a self-cleaning ability, so Jiang Tian never had to worry about dealing with the animals’ waste.

She went into the kitchen, rinsed a cup of high-calcium milk powder with spring water, and prepared a plate of sliced fruit.

When Xie Chen came back after pouring out the water, they went into the east room. Jiang Tian immediately brought out the things she had prepared.

“Here.”

Xie Chen entered the room and obediently ate what Jiang Tian handed him.

After casually putting the things back into her space, Jiang Tian yawned and climbed onto the heated brick bed.

Just as she was about to drift off to sleep, she suddenly felt a warm touch on her forehead.

“Mm?”

“It’s nothing, go to sleep.”

Xie Chen pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly.

Looking at her peacefully sleeping face, he thought to himself that he must have done many good deeds in his past life, otherwise how could he have married such a wonderful wife in this one?

The next morning, Jiang Tian sleepily opened her eyes and found herself staring right into Xie Chen’s.

She frowned. “You didn’t sleep?”

With his hoarse, just-woken voice, Xie Chen answered, “I did. Slept very well, just woke up a little early.”

“Oh, then I’ll get up first. We still have to go up the mountain later.”

As Jiang Tian shifted, she suddenly felt something poking against her knee.

She reached out to push it aside.

“Mm—”

…

Embarrassed, Jiang Tian quickly pulled her hand back, flipped the quilt aside, and rolled right out of bed, her face red. “Shameless.”

Xie Chen blinked at her with pitiful eyes. “Wife, this is just a natural reaction.”

Jiang Tian was briefly at a loss for words. After hurriedly putting on her clothes, she stammered, “Then next time don’t hold me when you sleep. You’re still not fully recovered—at least… at least a year before you can do heavy work.”

Xie Chen: “…”

His condition would take at most half a year. If he really had to wait a whole year before he could roll around the bed with his wife, he’d suffocate to death.

Ignoring his resentful gaze, Jiang Tian urged him to get up and start the fire for breakfast.

“Mm, you go wake them up.”

Last night, Lu Shili had stayed in Jiang Er’s room and slept quite well. The house had large heated brick beds in both rooms, more than enough for the two of them.

On top of that, the quilt was warm and the curtains blocked the cold. The quality of sleep was excellent.

“Cousin, Little Ears is awake.”

Jiang Er blinked open his eyes groggily, gave a response, then pushed Lu Shili beside him.

“Cousin, wake up, we’re going up the mountain.”

“Mm.”

Lu Shili sat up, stretched lazily, then got out of bed and pulled the curtains halfway open so there’d be some light.

“Little Ears, this heated bed really is comfortable.”

“Mm.” Jiang Er glanced at the frost on the window, then turned and said, “Cousin, wear more layers, it’s colder outside.”

When Lu Shili knew he was coming here, his family had prepared quite a bit of thick clothing for him, even a military coat.

But he hadn’t worn it yet—still too hot. Now he just grabbed a thick jacket to put on.

He was also planning to head into town today to send a telegram home. If the old man learned he had a granddaughter, he would surely be overjoyed. While he was at it, he would ask the family to send more supplies, especially military coats.

He himself could do without, but there was only one coat, and it wasn’t enough for the siblings to share.

Xie Chen quickly got the stove hot. Jiang Tian filled three kettles with hot water so they could carry them in their arms for warmth when climbing the mountain later.

As for food, she simply pulled four scallion pancakes from the fridge in her space. They only needed a light pan-fry with a bit of oil. On top of each pancake, she cracked an egg. Since there wasn’t any lettuce, she rinsed some cabbage leaves instead, then added a little kimchi on top. And just like that, four simple stuffed pancakes were ready.

She handed one bowl to Xie Chen. “You eat first, I’ll wait for them.”

The last time they went up the mountain, she and Little Ears had already eaten, but she had forgotten that Xie Chen had been up early without eating at all, waiting for them to return.

“I’ll wait for you all.”

Seeing how persistent he was, Jiang Tian didn’t insist. She planned to use five catties of flour later to make steamed buns and twisted rolls. That way, in the mornings, they could just reheat them on the steamer basket. Even paired with a bit of pickles, they’d be delicious.

But before she could start kneading the dough, the two inside came out.

“Wash your faces with hot water. One pancake each, then we’ll head to the mountain.”

There were only three small stools in the house, so in the end, Lu Shili had to eat standing. After finishing and taking a sip of water, he said, “Little sister, today I plan to go into town and send a telegram to the family.”

Jiang Tian looked up. “Cousin, it won’t cause any trouble at home, right?”

Lu Shili shook his head. “No problem.”

“Alright then.”

After eating, the three of them set out.

Xie Chen glanced at the three little stools and sighed.

He added more wood into the stove, then went to the shed out back. After tinkering for a while, he came back with a few wooden sticks, boards, nails, and a hammer.

Not long after, he finished making a small stool. Just as he completed it, a light sweat broke out on his body. He quickly scooped some hot water and took a sip, feeling a bit better.

Looking at the stool he had just built, he felt a spark of joy. He could already handle some simple physical work. Soon, he would be able to do heavier tasks.

And the days of rolling around in bed with his wife weren’t far away!

An hour later, Jiang Tian and the other two returned. Their baskets were full, and they carried even more in their hands.

As soon as they entered, Xie Chen hurriedly poured three bowls of hot water for them.

They piled the things on the ground, and together with Xie Chen—who had finished serving water—they began sorting.

They had really gathered a lot this time. Normally, Jiang Tian alone would bring back quite a haul, but today, Lu Shili had shown his skills as well. Flying in the air, running on the ground—he had caught quite a few things, along with some wild fruits.

They even found a small stream deep in the mountains and brought back plenty of frogs and fish.

As soon as Jiang Tian saw the frogs, her mouth watered. Back in modern times, she had known a fellow villager who had leased a frog pond. She had tasted frog stewed with potatoes before—it was absolutely delicious.

The frogs were tied in a net bag, and she noticed there were quite a few female ones. Looked like a feast was coming.

Although Xie Chen was surprised at how much they had managed to bring back, he didn’t show it.

“Put the frogs in a bucket first. Keep one pheasant for tonight’s dinner, and freeze the rest in the jar outside. Gut and clean both the big and small fish—I’ll find a time to fry them up for you.

When skinning the hare, keep the fur, I’ll make gloves and a hat with it. As for the fruits, Little Ears can sort those.”

Everyone had no objections to Jiang Tian’s words—after all, she was the best cook.

So they divided up the tasks: some plucked feathers, others skinned animals, while Jiang Tian went to knead dough at the stove.

This time she made plenty—over twenty steamed buns and more than twenty twisted rolls.

With half a piece of dough left, she made hand-pulled noodles.

Quietly, she pulled out a braised beef noodle seasoning packet from her space. After cooking the noodles, she sliced some cured meat thin and added it.

She placed everything into a big basin, then ladled it out bowl by bowl.

Opening the lid of the steamer, she left the buns and twisted rolls to cool a bit, then called out to the others, who were finishing up their work.

“Hurry up, come in and eat.”

“Alright!”