Wen Niang was Officer Zhu’s lover. She was a widow with a seductive and graceful figure. She had also been educated, carrying an air of refined elegance that captivated men.
Men are naturally fickle, simultaneously attracted to a woman’s inner flirtatiousness and wanting her to maintain a composed demeanor outside the bedroom—preferably literate as well.
Wen Niang embodied all of this. Her refined charm and sultry allure made men utterly infatuated with her.
After being widowed, she maintained a close relationship with Officer Zhu, as he had once saved her life.
Many men who had met Wen Niang tried to court her, but she always remained ambiguous—neither agreeing nor outright refusing. She would only agree to accompany someone if Officer Zhu gave his permission.
Given their good relationship with Officer Zhu, both Officer Ge and Officer Peng were familiar with Wen Niang. Like most men, they were deeply drawn to her and had long coveted her company.
Unfortunately, Wen Niang treated them no differently than other men. Winning her favor was no easy task.
At this moment, Officer Zhu’s promise that Wen Niang would serve them for a night if the matter was settled was undeniably tempting.
With such an offer, a trip to Qingshi Village suddenly seemed worthwhile.
In the end, the two agreed and asked when they would go.
“Let’s go the day before Mid-Autumn Festival,” Officer Zhu said. “Once we’re done at the yamen, we’ll head out, and we can come back that night. Afterward, we’ll go to Wen Niang’s place, have her prepare a few dishes, and share a drink together.”
Officer Ge and Officer Peng readily agreed.
—
Yu Jin’s multigrain rice ball business had started to gain traction. She and her mother mainly sold at the morning market, and they usually sold out before it ended. Afterward, they would pack up their things and return home together with Yu Li, who had just finished her deliveries.
Having Yu Li accompany them made the walk back to the village safer.
Yu Jin felt reassured with her elder sister around, thinking that even if they encountered bandits, there would be no need to worry.
Sometimes, if the rice balls didn’t sell out by the end of the morning market, they would bring them home for lunch rather than continue selling.
Most days, however, they managed to sell everything—especially when Yu Li was present.
Every time Yu Li came, Yu Jin would make her a hearty, substantial rice ball and have her sit and eat it.
Yu Li ate with such relish that passersby couldn’t resist buying one to try for themselves, which made the rice balls sell out quickly.
What delighted Yu Jin even more was that when she went to the dock manager to collect her permit each day, he now only charged her five wen.
Later, she found out that, according to the usual rules, vendors selling at the morning market near the dock only needed to pay a five-wen management fee. Previously, the manager had overcharged her, taking advantage of her unfamiliarity with the area.
Yu Jin was a bit angry about this.
However, her anger quickly dissipated.
Not only did the manager begin charging her the standard fee, but he also reimbursed her for the excess charges from before and even paid for the rice balls he had eaten.
Previously, the manager had scoffed at the multigrain rice balls and barely eaten any. He had only tried one with extra braised meat, complaining afterward that the texture was coarse.
At the time, Yu Jin had been upset but chose to swallow her anger, thinking it was better to maintain harmony and avoid offending him.
Now, seeing that he had not only reimbursed her but also paid for the rice balls, she was quite surprised.
When she saw Yu Li, she shared the story with her and glanced at her elder sister. “Elder Sister, this… is it because of you…?”
She couldn’t help but feel suspicious.
She was just a countryside woman with no power or influence in the county. Why would the dock manager suddenly start treating her fairly, even reimbursing her for the excess charges and the rice balls?
Something must have happened to make him afraid to overcharge her again.
Yu Li nodded and told her about her encounter with the two yamen officers, Ge and Peng.
Yu Jin froze for a moment, then asked nervously, “Elder Sister, they…”
“Don’t worry. Just act like you don’t know them from now on,” Yu Li said calmly. “Even if you run into them on the road, there’s no need to engage with them.”
Yu Jin trusted her sister completely and nodded in agreement. She then changed the subject.
“Elder Sister, the day after tomorrow is Mid-Autumn Festival. Let’s go buy some mooncakes and festive treats together tomorrow.”
In the past, Yu Jin hadn’t been in the mood to celebrate festivals like this. However, life was different now. The Yu family had split up, and they were no longer burdened by the oppressive presence of Old Master Yu, his wife, and the eldest branch of the family. Recently, Yu Jin had been running her business in the county, earning money every day. With some extra cash in hand, she wanted to treat herself and her family better.
With Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, she thought of buying some good food to celebrate a prosperous festival with her family.
Hearing Yu Jin suddenly bring up the festival, Yu Li was momentarily taken aback before nodding in agreement.
As Mid-Autumn Festival drew closer, Yu Li frequently heard people around her talking about it. While working, they would occasionally chat about the holiday, and the festive atmosphere seemed to have spread through every street and alley.
It all felt very novel to her.
After the apocalypse, humanity had nearly gone extinct, living day to day in uncertainty. Traditional festivals were long forgotten. Even when humans eventually established safe zones, the concept of festivals didn’t exist for genetic warriors like her. Most of her time had been spent in training and learning.
When she grew older and started venturing outside the cities to eliminate mutants and pollutants, the idea of celebrating anything became even more irrelevant.
But in this world, things were peaceful and harmonious. People led stable lives, following in the footsteps of their ancestors, generation after generation.
Yu Li greatly enjoyed this ordinary life.
Everyone had their own life trajectory, from birth to death, living out an unremarkable existence.
Occasionally, there would be surprises in this mundane life.
Like special festivals—joyful and lively—making people genuinely happy and eager to celebrate, usually by eating and drinking well.
Yu Li found herself looking forward to Mid-Autumn Festival.
This would be the first festival she experienced in this world, and it filled her with anticipation.
—
That evening, Yu Li took out her silver box and retrieved some small pieces of silver. She placed them into a pouch and turned to ask, “Xiao Ge’er, the day after tomorrow is Mid-Autumn Festival. Tomorrow, Second Sister and I will go to the county to buy some things for the holiday. Is there anything you’d like to eat?”
Fu Wenxiao was sitting on the bed with his hair loose, waiting for her to join him. Hearing this, he replied, “I’m fine with anything. Whatever you buy, I’ll eat.”
It was the truth. His body was weak, and food had long lost its flavor. He had no preferences anymore.
Over the past three years, his once-picky eating habits had been thoroughly cured.
Yu Li said, “Alright, then I’ll decide what to buy.”
There were many things she wanted to buy, and not buying them would make her feel uncomfortable. Especially the wide variety of foods in the county—she never got tired of them.
He smiled and agreed, letting her take charge.
After putting away the remaining silver, Yu Li climbed into bed to sleep beside him.
She took his hand and transferred some of her abilities to him.
Recently, she had been using her abilities during the day to heal herself. By nighttime, once her abilities had recovered, she would use them to treat him.
There was no other way. Her abilities were far too limited, and Fu Wenxiao’s condition was one of severe chronic illness, with his body dangerously frail. The healing process would inevitably be long.
He had once mentioned wanting to take the imperial exams. For the county examination next spring, he hoped to give it a try.
This meant she had to ensure he could leave the house by then. Otherwise, even if he managed to enter the examination hall, with his current physical condition, he might end up being carried out halfway through.
The two were very close, so close that she could smell the faint bitterness of the medicinal scent on him.
Yu Li figured that she must carry the same scent. After all, she was also drinking the same medicine. Both of them had to drink a bowl after meals, and after consuming so much, it felt like the smell had seeped into their very bones.
The scent wasn’t exactly unpleasant.
Once her ability was exhausted, Yu Li yawned.
Feeling drowsy, she murmured, “Tomorrow, I’ll transfer to you twice as much. The day after tomorrow, you’ll be able to sit in the courtyard with us, enjoying the moon and eating mooncakes…”
Mid-Autumn Festival was a time for family reunions. It was customary for families to gather in the courtyard to admire the moon. She couldn’t leave him out of this tradition.
To make sure he could join them for the celebration, she decided to prioritize him for the next couple of days.
Fu Wenxiao didn’t respond. He quietly savored the soothing warmth spreading through his body.
It was the same warmth as the temperature of her body, a sensation that made one reluctant to let go.
So this was what she meant by “transferring” her ability to heal him? He wondered what exactly she was transferring…
Noticing that she had fallen asleep, Fu Wenxiao pulled a blanket over her.
As Mid-Autumn approached, the nights in Qingshi Village were becoming chilly. Sleeping without a blanket was no longer an option.
After tucking her in, Fu Wenxiao lay down beside her and drifted off to sleep, their bodies close.
—
In the middle of the night, Fu Wenxiao suddenly woke up, startled.
He felt a hand gripping his neck. Before it could retract, he reached out an arm and pulled the person half-pressing down on him into his embrace.
Yu Li: “…”
“Li Niang, why aren’t you sleeping?” he asked, his voice heavy with sleep.
“Let go,” Yu Li said.
Mindful of his frail body, she didn’t push him off too harshly, afraid of accidentally injuring him.
In the darkness, Fu Wenxiao’s lips curved into a faint smile. He slowly loosened his grip.
Seeing her wrap herself tightly in the blanket and shuffle toward the edge of the bed, creating a clear distance between them, he couldn’t help feeling a tinge of regret.
Yu Li, worried about being too close to him and unconsciously gripping his neck again in her sleep, now lay precariously close to the edge of the bed.
As she drifted back to sleep, she drowsily thought to herself: He’s becoming harder to understand. Waking up like that and daring to hold me… he’s getting bolder.