By evening, Yu Li finally woke up.
When she opened her eyes and saw the setting sun outside the window, she was startled. Quickly throwing off the quilt, she jumped out of bed.
Fu Wenxiao, who was sitting by the window reading a book, noticed her flustered movements. Watching as she hastily grabbed her clothes and dashed behind the screen, he asked, “Li Niang, what’s wrong?”
“I overslept,” Yu Li peeked her head out to look at him, her face full of regret. “I didn’t go to the county town to work today…”
Hearing this, Fu Wenxiao realized she was still groggy from sleep and reassured her, “It’s okay. Skipping one day won’t matter.”
At most, it just meant missing a day’s wages.
Fortunately, the meat shop paid wages daily—work a day, get paid for a day. If you didn’t work, you didn’t get paid. For Yu Li, this arrangement was ideal. If something came up and she didn’t go, she didn’t have to worry about losing her monthly wages.
The Zhang family’s butcher shop would probably understand if she didn’t show up. At most, they’d slaughter a few less pigs.
After getting dressed, Yu Li came out and looked at the setting sun outside the window again, unwilling to give up. She confirmed the time and realized it was indeed evening.
Had she really slept for an entire day and night?
It was already the evening of the second day of the Mid-Autumn Festival. There was no point even thinking about slaughtering pigs anymore. Yu Li, a little dejected, frowned and said, “How could I sleep until this hour?”
Fu Wenxiao looked at her in surprise. “Li Niang, did you forget?”
“Forget what?” Yu Li was puzzled.
“Last night, during the Mid-Autumn Festival, you got drunk,” Fu Wenxiao said as he poured her a cup of water, asking with concern, “Do you have a headache? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
Yu Li drank more than half the cup of water and shook her head. “No headache, and I’m not feeling unwell anywhere.”
She was just a little dazed from sleep, unsure of the day or time when she first woke up.
Fu Wenxiao, feeling slightly relieved, continued, “After you got drunk last night, you climbed over the wall and didn’t come back until dawn.”
Yu Li froze.
Seeing her odd expression, Fu Wenxiao seemed to think of something and cautiously asked, “Did you forget?”
Drunken people react differently. Some remember what they did while drunk; others don’t recall anything at all.
Could she be the latter?
Yu Li tried her best to recall but admitted honestly, “I don’t have much of an impression.”
Her memory was stuck on last night when she ate too many mooncakes, got thirsty, and used that jar of osmanthus wine as water to drink. She found the osmanthus wine’s flavor smooth and slightly sweet, like an excellent beverage. Unable to resist, she drank cup after cup.
By the time she finished drinking, her memory stopped there.
Fu Wenxiao finally confirmed that she didn’t remember anything that happened after she got drunk. He felt both amused and relieved. Fortunately, even though she had been drunk, her physical strength was considerable, so there was no need to worry about her being bullied. She had managed to return home obediently without randomly finding a place to sleep outside.
The real fear was that if she had slept somewhere unsafe and encountered a bad person while unconscious…
Yu Li turned to him and asked, “Did I do anything after I got drunk last night?”
This was the first time in her two lives that she had ever consumed alcohol.
By the way, this body had also never consumed alcohol before. After all, in the Yu family, only the men were allowed to drink; girls were prohibited from touching alcohol. In the minds of most people, there was also a notion that “women shouldn’t drink,” believing that women shouldn’t drink with men because drinking was considered a man’s affair.
It was probably because it was her first time drinking that she hadn’t expected to get drunk so easily.
Although she had no memory of what happened, Yu Li felt her body carefully and found that there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. She probably hadn’t done anything outrageous after getting drunk, right?
Still, thinking of what Fu Wenxiao had said—that she had climbed over the wall after drinking and only returned at dawn—made her a little uncertain.
Seeing her serious expression as she sought confirmation from him, Fu Wenxiao couldn’t bear to tease her and said, “When you came back this morning, you told me you had gone to suppress bandits.”
Yu Li: “…”
She sat there dumbfounded for a while, then slowly uttered an “Oh.”
Yu Li thought this indeed sounded like something she would do.
To her, those bandits who endangered the lives of common folk were no different from the mutants in her previous life, threatening the survival of humans in the base. They had to be dealt with.
At this moment, Fu Wenxiao asked, “Li Niang, why did you go to suppress bandits? Where did you go?”
Yu Li looked at him with an innocent expression. “I don’t remember where I went last night.” As for why she wanted to suppress bandits, she explained, “Yesterday, Skinny Wu mentioned that there were many bandits roaming near Shanping County. I thought about how my younger sister has to go to the county town to do business every day. What if she and the others encountered those roaming bandits on the road…?”
Such safety hazards should be resolved whenever possible.
Fu Wenxiao was slightly startled but quickly understood.
A faint smile appeared on his face as he gently said, “Li Niang, you did the right thing.” Then, changing his tone, he added, “But if you’re going to do something like that again, don’t go while drunk. It’s too dangerous.”
Yu Li tilted her head and looked at him. Dangerous? But she didn’t feel any discomfort in her body.
Fu Wenxiao, reading her expression, couldn’t help but laugh.
He wasn’t sure how she had gone about suppressing bandits last night or whether she had actually wiped them out. However, as long as she had returned safely, he could relax.
As for the rest… they would wait and see if there were any announcements in the county town.
If the bandits on a nearby mountain had been dealt with, the county office would surely send someone to confirm it and post a notice to inform the public.
This was a significant matter; the authorities wouldn’t keep it under wraps.
After exchanging a few words with him, Yu Li, feeling famished, headed to the kitchen to find something to eat.
In the main hall, Zhou Shi was sitting by the embroidery table, while the two children practiced their handwriting in sand spread inside a box.
Lately, Yu Yin usually came over in the mornings to learn embroidery but didn’t stay in the afternoons, instead working on making clothes at home.
When Zhou Shi saw Yu Li awake, she quickly asked, “Li Niang, you’re awake! Are you hungry? There’s food left for you in the pot.”
Saying this, she put down what she was holding and headed to the kitchen to fetch the meal for her.
Yu Li had only returned that morning. Based on Zhou Shi’s estimation, she would likely sleep until the afternoon. So, after preparing lunch, she had left it in the pot, waiting for Yu Li to wake up and eat.
The two children joyfully rushed over to snuggle against their little aunt.
Yu Li, too hungry to bear, snuggled them briefly before following Zhou Shi into the kitchen like a little tail.
On the stove was a bowl covered with a small sieve. Zhou Shi removed the sieve, revealing a bowl of sobering soup.
She handed the sobering soup to Yu Li.
Zhou Shi said, “I made this sobering soup at noon. Drink a bowl, so you won’t get a headache.”
Yu Li had never tried sobering soup before. Out of curiosity, she took a sip, but the taste that shot straight to her head made her scrunch up her face into a frown, and she immediately put the bowl down.
“Mom, I don’t have a headache, so I don’t need to drink this.”
Seeing her refusal, Zhou Shi just smiled and didn’t insist. She carried the food from the pot to the main hall.
After eating her fill, Yu Li’s energy was restored, and she looked to be in great condition.
Since there was nothing else to do, she went back to her room to find Fu Wenxiao and transferred some of her abilities to him to help his body recover faster.
Fu Wenxiao placed one hand on the table, obediently letting her hold it. His deep black eyes, as warm as black jade, softly gazed at her.
When she withdrew her hand, he pushed a plate of mooncakes in front of her.
These mooncakes had been baked by Zhou Shi the day before. Per Yu Li’s suggestion, they were placed in his room for him to eat, to prevent her from finishing them all herself. But judging by the situation, they were still going to end up in her stomach.
After using her abilities, she felt hungry again. Without hesitation, Yu Li grabbed the mooncakes and ate them heartily.
Fu Wenxiao said, “Li Niang, when you go to the county town tomorrow, you can ask those yamen officers if there’s been any news about bandits being eliminated today.”
Ever since he found out she had subdued a few yamen officers, he thought they were quite useful.
As for whether those officers might hold a grudge or plan to take revenge on her—Fu Wenxiao chuckled softly. When someone has been thoroughly intimidated, they won’t have the courage for revenge in the short term.
However, over time, it was hard to say.
That didn’t matter, though. When Xuan Huaiqing came to see her one day, handling them would be easy.
She had saved Xuan Huaiqing, and given the Xuan family’s principles, they were bound to repay her. The reason Xuan Huaiqing hadn’t appeared yet was probably because he was dealing with the matter of spies in Nanzhao.
With Xuan Huaiqing’s status, those yamen officers weren’t even worth mentioning. Once they found out she had connections with the Xuan family, their thoughts of revenge would naturally dissipate, and they would follow her lead.
By then, they would become her subordinates and informants.
Yu Li responded casually, not giving the matter much thought.
She had no memory of what happened last night, having completely blacked out from drinking. However, she believed that even drunk, her fundamental way of handling things wouldn’t change.
After some thought, Yu Li said, “I think I probably found someone to accompany me to eliminate the bandits last night and had them lead the way for me.”
Fu Wenxiao smiled and asked, “Who do you think you would’ve asked?”
“Let me think…” She pondered. “I’d probably ask Skinny Wu. He’s very quick-witted and useful. I’d also ask Officer Ge. He’s clever and knows how to read the situation. After dealing with the bandits, I could have him go back to inform the county office and send people to handle the aftermath.”
In general, she was only responsible for the fight, not the cleanup.
Just like in her previous life, she and her fellow genetic warriors were only responsible for eradication; the cleanup was left to the personnel sent by higher authorities.
After hearing her explanation, Fu Wenxiao said, “You’re giving them credit.”
While eating her mooncake, Yu Li’s expression remained indifferent.
She didn’t care about credit. In her past life, she had achieved countless merits, and the rewards from above were numerous. Unfortunately, she hadn’t had the chance to enjoy them before her body succumbed to contamination and collapsed.
Of course, in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, there wasn’t much to enjoy anyway. Even the food had a strange medicinal taste, making it difficult to swallow.
As for now…
Although she could claim credit for this achievement, if other bandits in the area learned of her identity, they might retaliate due to a sense of shared fate or to avenge their fallen comrades. They could target her family.
Yu Li wasn’t afraid of them, but her younger sister and mother-in-law were ordinary people. She didn’t want to put them in danger.
Fu Wenxiao quickly understood her reasoning, and his heart softened even more.
No words could adequately describe her goodness when faced with her.
He felt incredibly fortunate to have met her at the end of his life and even more fortunate that their encounter had truly happened.
—
Even though she’d eaten earlier, it didn’t stop Yu Li from joining them for dinner.
The Fu family accepted this without any issue.
After dinner, Yu Li practiced her martial techniques in the courtyard.
In the midst of her training, there was a knock at the door.
Today’s knocking sounded normal, not like the rude banging from the three yamen officers the other night, which was loud and impolite.
Fu Wenxiao, sitting by the window, had a thoughtful look. He suspected that tonight’s visitor might have something to do with Yu Li’s bandit-eliminating efforts.
He put down the book in his hands, slowly got up, and walked outside.