When Fu Wenxiao heard the name “Xuan Huaiqing,” he was momentarily stunned.
Yu Li was entirely focused on the bowl of fish soup in front of her, not noticing the change in his expression. She was already thinking about climbing the mountain again tomorrow to catch more fish, planning to send some to her three younger sisters so they could taste it too.
While deep in thought, she heard Fu Wenxiao ask, “Are you going up the mountain again tomorrow?”
“Of course!” Yu Li replied without hesitation. “There’s so much delicious food in the mountains. Today, I even saw a patch of wild grapes, and many of them had ripened to a deep purple. They’re so sweet! There were also raspberries, wild figs, wild sand pears…”
She counted them off on her fingers one by one, unable to resist swallowing her saliva.
Even though she had just finished eating, she was already craving more.
This world was truly wonderful, full of so many delicious things—all pure, natural, unpolluted, and unmutated.
Her expression was unguarded, making her thoughts plain to see.
Although they had only spent a few days together, Fu Wenxiao had a rough understanding of her personality. She was incredibly straightforward and easy to read—or perhaps it was because she had never intended to hide her uniqueness.
Though Fu Wenxiao didn’t know what she relied on for confidence, the terrifying sense of danger that woke him every night told him she had her own foundation to stand on.
That night, as they were preparing to rest, Fu Wenxiao suddenly said, “Be careful when you go up the mountain in the future.”
Yu Li first replied with an “oh,” then asked, “Careful about what? The beasts in the mountains? I didn’t see any today.”
As she spoke, she seemed a little regretful.
Her purpose in going up the mountain today had been to scout for fierce beasts, to see if she could handle them. To her disappointment, she hadn’t encountered a single one.
Fu Wenxiao was silent for a moment before patiently responding, “Be careful of strangers.” After a brief pause, he continued, “I’ve heard that beyond the mountain is a settlement of outsiders. Occasionally, some of them cross the mountain and come over. They don’t dare to recklessly enter the village, so they hide in the mountains…”
“If you encounter anyone with suspicious behavior in the future, don’t interact with them easily.”
Yu Li was about to blow out the lamp when she heard this and couldn’t help but turn her head to look at him.
After finishing his words, Fu Wenxiao closed his eyes to rest. Feeling her unguarded gaze on him, he couldn’t help but feel a bit helpless.
This young woman’s personality was too straightforward and bold. She didn’t seem to understand how to interact with others in a subtle or tactful manner…
Of course, perhaps it was her clear and bright gaze that made it hard to dislike her.
“I understand,” Yu Li said.
Finally, she blew out the lamp and lay down on the outer side of the bed.
After a long day of exhaustion and with her body still not fully recovered, she soon fell asleep, accompanied by the faint sound of another person’s breathing.
—
As the sky lightened slightly, Yu Li woke up.
In these times, there wasn’t much entertainment. The lives of rural families were simple—working from sunrise to sunset. Yu Li’s biological clock had adapted to this routine.
After a good night’s sleep, the discomfort in her body seemed to have lessened a bit.
Yu Li felt this wasn’t just her imagination; it seemed that eating enough was truly the key to her recovery.
This strengthened her resolve to go up the mountain today. It would be best to eat her fill while there—it didn’t matter what, as long as it satisfied her hunger. If she kept eating from the Fu family and the Yu family, neither of them would be able to support her for long.
Fu Wenxiao hadn’t woken up yet, so Yu Li quietly dressed and left the room.
After breakfast, Yu Li asked Zhou Shi if there was any work she could help with around the house.
She planned to finish any tasks quickly and then head to the mountains to forage for food.
These past few days at the Fu family’s house, she had been idle, which made her feel very uneasy.
Whether it was in her previous life or as the current “Yu Li,” there had always been an endless list of tasks to do and work to finish. She had never experienced such leisure before, as if all she needed to do was wait for meals.
Even taking care of a sick person was no big deal—the patient just lay in bed quietly, requiring hardly any care. It wasn’t much of a burden at all.
“All of our land is rented out to others to farm, and the vegetables in the garden are just enough for the family to eat. They don’t require much tending. Since there are few people in the house, there’s not much work to do,” Zhou Shi said softly. “Li Niang, you don’t need to worry about chores. Just rest well with Xiao Ge’er and focus on recovering.”
Looking at how thin she was, Zhou Shi felt distressed. She worried that before her son’s health could improve, her daughter-in-law might waste away first.
If a person was too thin, they would be more prone to illness.
The second branch of the Yu family, especially the sisters, were all unhealthily thin. They needed proper nourishment.
Although this marriage was originally arranged for Chong Xi, Yu Li was officially married into the family as a legitimate daughter-in-law. Zhou Shi treated her as such and never intended to let her work herself to exhaustion like she did in the Yu family. That kind of life, working like an ox or horse with no rest, was nothing short of torment.
For now, Zhou Shi only wanted to take good care of Yu Li and help her regain some healthy weight.
Though Yu Li didn’t know Zhou Shi’s thoughts, she could sense there was no malice in her. Zhou Shi seemed like a kind person who even cooked meals for her.
Hearing Zhou Shi’s words, Yu Li felt relieved.
“Mother, I’m going up the mountain later,” she said. “Many of the fruits in the mountains are ripe now. I’ll pick some and bring them back for you to try.”
“You’re going up the mountain? Won’t it be too tiring?” Zhou Shi asked worriedly. “I’ve heard there are venomous snakes and fierce beasts in the mountains. Be sure not to wander too far.”
She didn’t know much about the work Yu Li had done in the Yu family, nor was she aware of her abilities. Just seeing her thin and frail appearance made Zhou Shi anxious.
“It’s fine, I can handle it,” Yu Li replied confidently. “I spent the whole day in the mountains yesterday.”
Zhou Shi knew Yu Li had grown up in Qingshi Village, where the local girls often went into the mountains to gather firewood. She was probably familiar with the area, so it should be fine.
So, Zhou Shi didn’t say much else. She found a bamboo basket for Yu Li and placed a hatchet inside for safety.
She also wanted to prepare some food for Yu Li in case she couldn’t return for lunch like yesterday and ended up going hungry.
But Yu Li declined.
“No need to go to such trouble. If I get hungry, I’ll just eat something in the mountains.”
—
Just like yesterday, Yu Li stopped by the Yu family first.
Today, the gate to the Yu family’s courtyard wasn’t locked. Perhaps they had realized that even if they locked it, it wouldn’t stop her, so they simply left it open.
The collapsed courtyard wall, however, had been patched with fresh mud, still not completely dry. It was obvious that it had been freshly plastered.
“This was done yesterday afternoon. Grandpa, Father, and Third Uncle carried mud back from the fields to patch it,” Yu Jin explained.
The wall had caved in on one side. If left unattended, who could say whether some thief might climb over at night to steal chickens? In these parts, idle loafers and petty thieves were not uncommon.
Perhaps because of the words she left behind yesterday, the Yu family saved her a portion of breakfast today.
As Yu Li ate her breakfast, which was meant for her, her three younger sisters sat nearby, looking extremely happy.
It seemed that with the good food and proper rest over the past few days, their complexions had noticeably improved. Their faces now had a hint of color, and Yu Li nodded in approval.
“We can eat our fill now!” Yu Zhu said joyfully. “Grandma doesn’t just give us rice soup anymore. Whatever Third Uncle and Third Aunt eat, Father, Mother, and we also get to eat. Mother doesn’t have to wake up at night starving and secretly drink water anymore…”
Yu Yin pursed her lips into a smile. “But Grandma and the others don’t look too happy.”
Yu Jin snorted. “So what if their faces don’t look good? With Big Sister here, they can only endure.”
The three sisters chatted as they glanced at Yu Li, who was eating breakfast.
As her sisters, how could they not notice the changes in Yu Li? The four of them had relied on each other since childhood, and they knew each other too well.
Even so, they really liked this new, transformed Big Sister.
Though she still wasn’t particularly talkative, she had become stronger, more reliable, and willing to protect them. She would even confront the elders for their sake, letting them experience, for the first time, what it felt like to be protected.
Still, at night, Yu Jin often found herself hiding under the covers, crying quietly.
She didn’t even know why she was crying—there was just a sudden, inexplicable sadness.
—
After breakfast, Yu Li left the Yu family.
Upon learning that she was heading up the mountain today, Yu Jin packed a bag of boiled peanuts and placed it in her basket. “These are peanuts we dug up yesterday. I boiled some this morning. Take them up the mountain, Big Sister, and eat them if you’re hungry.”
Yu Li nodded and said to her three sisters, “There’s a pond in the mountains with a lot of fish. I’ll catch some for you to eat.”
“Great!” Yu Zhu exclaimed happily. “Big Sister, I want to eat fish with pickled vegetables!”
Yu Jin and Yu Yin, remembering the taste of pickled fish, couldn’t help but swallow discreetly. The thought of their homemade pickled vegetables stewed with fish—sour, fragrant, and appetite-whetting—was tempting. Adding a touch of peppercorn for spice would make it even more delicious.
Seeing how much they wanted it, Yu Li thought for a moment and said, “Then I’ll bring a bucket. I’ll bring back live fish so we can make pickled fish.”
Fresh fish would be best for pickled fish.
In the end, Yu Li added a wooden bucket to her basket and set off for the mountains.
Once she entered the mountains, Yu Li moved as naturally as a fish in water or a bird in the forest, treating the wilderness as her own backyard. She happily roamed around, searching for food.
While foraging, she ate as she went and gathered plenty of ripe wild fruits, wrapping them in leaves and placing them in her basket.
Unfortunately, even after she’d eaten her fill, she didn’t encounter any small animals.
It wasn’t until she met Elder Tu yesterday that she remembered hunting was a possibility in this world. She had hoped to stumble upon some wild chickens to catch and bring home for a meal. However, not only did she not see a single chicken, but she didn’t even spot a feather.
She couldn’t tell if it was just her bad luck or if the animals weren’t active in this area.
As the sky grew dim, Yu Li made her way to the pond from the previous day and caught seven or eight fish in one go.
If the bucket had been bigger, she would have caught even more. She had considered taking extra fish back home to keep alive, so she could cook them whenever she wanted—how convenient that would be.
Looking at the fish swimming in the water, Yu Li reluctantly gave up and decided she would come back whenever she craved fish.
This pond was in a secluded location, far from the outskirts of the mountain. People rarely came here, so she wasn’t worried about anyone discovering it and fishing it dry.
Yu Li had already mentally claimed this pond’s fish as her personal food reserve.
Even if she couldn’t hunt other game, having a pond full of fish wasn’t a bad alternative.
By the time she returned to the village, it was already dark, with only a faint glow left on the horizon.
Her first stop was the Yu family’s house.
She had foraged a lot today, and with her three younger sisters in mind, she naturally wanted to bring them some food.
Since it was late, the gate to the Yu family’s courtyard was already shut. Without hesitation, Yu Li pushed it open with force.
The loud noise caught the attention of the Yu family members.
“Who is it? It’s already dark, what do you want?” Grandma Yu’s loud voice echoed, and when she came out of the house to see Yu Li entering, her rambling stopped abruptly, as if someone had grabbed her by the throat.
“Li… Li Niang, why are you here?” Grandma Yu asked in a panic. Her expression quickly shifted as a thought struck her. “You’re not here for dinner, are you?”
She was so anxious that sweat began to form on her brow.
Given how much this wretched girl could eat, even if grain fell from the sky, it wouldn’t be enough to feed her. Was she planning to eat her maternal family into poverty?