The two walked out of the cowshed, holding hands as they made their way back. Lu Xiaotang turned to the side, looking at her.

Xu Ning noticed him constantly staring at her and playfully asked, “Why are you always staring at me?”

Lu Xiaotang smiled and said, “My wife is really beautiful.”

Xu Ning rolled her eyes at him, pulled her hand away, and quickened her pace, leaving him behind.

After finishing his washing up, Xu Yang was about to close the door when Xu An asked, “Brother, why are you closing the door now? Big Brother Lu hasn’t come back yet.”

Xu Yang slapped him lightly on the head and said, “Are you so absorbed in your books that you’ve forgotten?”

Xu An suddenly remembered and, feeling embarrassed, said, “Oh, I just didn’t think of it right away.”

By the time they returned, Xu Yang and Xu An were already asleep. There was hot water prepared in the pot.

Lu Xiaotang mixed the water to the right temperature and let Xu Ning wash up first. Only now did Xu Ning start to feel a bit shy. She dawdled her way through washing up and hurried back to the room.

Not long after, Lu Xiaotang came into the room. Seeing that it was completely dark inside with no lights on, he knew that the girl was feeling shy. He chuckled softly and made his way to the bed.

The next morning, when Xu Ning woke up, it was already broad daylight. She looked at her watch and saw that it was past 9 a.m. She quickly got up and dressed.

When she opened the door, she saw Lu Xiaotang tidying up the woodshed, but Xu Yang and Xu An were nowhere to be seen.

Lu Xiaotang noticed she was awake and said gently, “Why didn’t you sleep a little longer? You must be hungry. Go wash up first, I’ll get you some food.”

As he spoke, he squeezed toothpaste onto her brush and brought over a basin of water for her to wash her face.

Xu Ning still felt a bit embarrassed when she looked at him now, and awkwardly said, “I can do it myself.”

Lu Xiaotang handed her the water and toothbrush, then went to the pot to bring out the food that had been kept warm and placed it on the table.

Xu Ning kept her head down while eating and asked, “Where are my brothers?”

Lu Xiaotang, seeing her still looking down, smiled and said, “The two of them went up the mountain to chop wood. After you finish eating, don’t go out. Get some more rest.”

He continued, “Xu Yang will be returning to the army the day after tomorrow. I’ll head up the mountain later to see if I can find any game, so I can make some jerky for him to take.”

Xu Ning glanced at him, then quickly looked away and said, “Be careful.”

Lu Xiaotang smiled, gently ruffled her hair, and picked up the gear he had prepared earlier before heading up the mountain.

Xu Ning only let out a sigh of relief once he had left. That was so awkward!

Suddenly, she remembered that Lu Xiaotang seemed to have an injury on his arm. Thinking of this, she immediately ran after him.

She saw him already near the cowshed and hurriedly shouted, “Brother Lu, come back! You’re not allowed to go!”

Hearing her voice, Lu Xiaotang quickly walked over and asked, “What’s wrong, Xiao Ning?”

Xu Ning had a serious expression and didn’t say a word as she grabbed his hand and said, “Go home.”

Lu Xiaotang let her pull him back to the house, unsure of what was going on. He thought he might have upset her and cautiously asked, “Xiao Ning, what’s wrong?”

As soon as Xu Ning closed the door, she started taking off his clothes. Lu Xiaotang cleared his throat and said, “Xiao Ning, Xu Yang and Xu An will be back soon.”

“So what if they come back?” She replied but then quickly realized something was off, and her face flushed red.

She pinched him, embarrassed and annoyed, “What are you thinking? I just wanted to check the injury on your arm.”

Lu Xiaotang gently held her hands that were undoing his buttons and said, “It’s fine. It’s already healed.”

Xu Ning pushed his hands away and insisted, “Let me take a look.”

Seeing no way out, Lu Xiaotang had no choice but to take off his shirt and show her the injury.

It was a gunshot wound, and although the injury had nearly healed, the scab had not yet fallen off. The surrounding area was slightly swollen and red, but it wasn’t anything serious.

Xu Ning planned to visit Doctor Han to get some medicine. She wanted to switch it with the anti-inflammatory medicine she had in her space and have Lu Xiaotang take it for a few days.

However, it was clear that he couldn’t go hunting or chop wood anymore.

Lu Xiaotang, under Xu Ning’s watchful eye, had no choice but to stay indoors. The most he could do was organize the wood that Xu Yang and Xu An had chopped and store it in the woodshed.

Xu Ning rode her bike to Doctor Han’s place, picked up the medicine, and handed it to Lu Xiaotang when she returned, instructing him to take it immediately.

Lu Xiaotang, helpless but amused, took the medicine, put it in his mouth, and drank some water. He smiled and said, “I’ve taken the medicine, and I’ve had the water. Now can I go up the mountain?”

“Go up the mountain for what? There’s still plenty of firewood left from what you chopped last year. Let my brother and Xiao An chop some more, and it’ll be enough.”

During dinner, Xu Ning told Xu Yang and Xu An about Lu Xiaotang’s injury.

Both of them agreed that he should rest at home and not worry about chopping wood.

Xu Yang, seeing that Xu Ning had stepped out, leaned in and whispered to Lu Xiaotang, “Xiao An and I will come back a bit later this afternoon. We’ll go deeper into the woods to see if there’s any game.”

Lu Xiaotang warned him, “Be careful. Don’t go after anything too big.”

When Xu Ning came back in, she noticed the group huddled together, whispering. She asked, “What are you all talking about, being so secretive?”

Xu Yang smiled and said, “Nothing much, I was just asking about Xiaotang’s injury.”

She glanced at them but didn’t press further, knowing they wouldn’t tell her anyway.

As the evening came and dinner was ready, it had already grown dark. The villagers who had gone up the mountain to chop wood had returned, but Xu Yang and Xu An were still not back. Xu Ning was getting anxious and had gone out to check the road several times.

Lu Xiaotang, noticing her worry, said to her, “You stay at home and wait. I’ll go up and check on them.”

Xu Ning went back inside to grab a flashlight and said, “Let’s go together. I’m strong, so if anything happens, I can help.”

Lu Xiaotang knew there was no convincing her otherwise, so he grabbed a machete from the kitchen, and the two of them headed up the mountain.

Just as they reached the base of the mountain, they saw two figures dragging something down the slope.

Xu Ning quickly shone the flashlight in that direction and saw Xu Yang and Xu An hauling a wild boar.

Xu Yang’s basket was also heavy with something.

Without saying much, they all worked together to carry the wild boar back home, walking quickly.

Once home, Xu Ning locked the door behind them. Lu Xiaotang had already taken out his knife and was preparing to bleed and skin the boar.

The wild boar looked to weigh over 100 pounds, and in Xu Yang’s basket, there was also a roe deer and two rabbits.

Xu Yang, seeing Lu Xiaotang skinning the wild boar, took out the roe deer and began to clean it.

Xu Ning suggested, “Let’s finish eating first, then clean up.”

Lu Xiaotang responded, “Xu Yang, Xiao An, you two go eat first. I need to bleed the wild boar now, or it’ll be too late.”

Xu Ning quickly dished out the food from the pot, letting them eat while she stayed to help Lu Xiaotang.

With so many hands, the work was finished quickly. In just two hours, everything was cleaned up and organized.

Xu Ning then sliced some strips of meat and marinated them, planning to make jerky for Xu Yang tomorrow.

Xu Yang and Xu An were exhausted from the day’s work, and after cleaning up, they went to bed early.

Xu Ning washed her feet, and Lu Xiaotang took the basin of water outside to dump it. When he came back, she was already lying on the kang, fast asleep.

He climbed onto the bed and was just about to pull her into his arms when Xu Ning whispered, “Go to sleep early. Tomorrow we still need to prepare things for my brother to take on the road.”

Lu Xiaotang chuckled and, with a gentle tug, pulled her into his arms. He stifled a laugh, saying, “What are you thinking? I just want to hold you while we sleep, nothing more. Now go to sleep!”

Xu Ning…