While the Fu family had once been merchants and could afford to support a sickly person, their fortunes had declined. They didn’t have endless resources to sustain a chronically ill individual.
In the future, they’d undoubtedly become a burden.
Things might look good now, but that didn’t guarantee a good future. One must always consider the long-term and not be blinded by present appearances.
The old woman’s words were met with agreement by everyone present. None of the families with daughters of marriageable age ever considered the Fu family a viable match.
No matter how wealthy they were, marrying into a family with a perpetually sick husband—who might die at any moment—would only lead to widowhood and an unhappy life for the woman.
After a few sighs, the conversation quickly moved on.
—
When Yu Li returned to the Fu family’s home, two children playing in the courtyard ran toward her excitedly.
“Little Aunt, you’re back!”
The children’s faces beamed as they each grabbed one of her hands and led her into the main room, eagerly pouring her tea.
Although young, they were capable of small tasks like serving tea. Whenever Aunt Zhou finished her work, dripping with sweat, the children would thoughtfully pour her tea as well. They were exceptionally well-behaved and considerate.
Yu Li set down her basket, took the tea they offered, and drank several cups in a row, finally quenching her thirst.
She then washed her face and hands, managing to dispel some of the heat clinging to her.
The journey back had been sweltering, leaving her clothes drenched with sweat, and most of her hair was damp. She pushed the sticky strands of hair from her cheeks, revealing a face that still looked sallow.
Aunt Zhou came over from the kitchen, carrying a bowl of mung bean soup to help her cool down.
“Li Niang, was everything smooth today?” she asked kindly.
Zhou Shi had been somewhat worried since Yu Li had been out for almost the entire day. She was concerned something might have happened to her on the trip to the county town. Zhou Shi’s personality was like this—always worrying about one thing or another.
When Yu Li saw the mung bean soup, her eyes lit up. She was very curious about the food in this world, wanting to try everything. Plus, during her awakening period, she needed a large amount of food to replenish her energy, so she couldn’t miss this.
The mung bean soup had been chilled in water, giving it a slightly cool taste. One sip made her feel refreshed and comfortable all over.
While sipping the soup, Yu Li said, “It went quite smoothly.”
As she spoke, she freed a hand to lift the basket from the ground. She removed the leaves covering it and began to take out its contents. First came the fabric, embroidery threads, sugar, and some steamed buns, followed by 30 jin of grain. Finally, at the very bottom, there was a chunk of meat wrapped in banana leaves.
To prevent the meat from spoiling in the heat, the inside of the basket had been lined with plenty of leaves.
Zhou Shi hadn’t expected her to bring back so many things. When she saw the chunk of meat, she exclaimed in surprise, “Li Niang, why did you buy so much meat?”
It wasn’t a holiday or festival, and buying so much meat all at once—especially in this hot weather when it wouldn’t keep well—was no small expense.
Yu Li replied, “It was a gift. I didn’t pay for it.”
“What?” Zhou Shi was stunned. Who would be so generous as to gift such a large piece of meat? It looked to be at least ten jin.
The two children, however, were thrilled, their eyes fixed on the meat, clearly wanting to eat it.
Yu Li pulled out a piece of sugar, broke it into two halves, and handed them to the children.
The children were delighted but didn’t immediately pop the candy into their mouths. Instead, they carefully tucked it into their pouches, then leaned their heads together, whispering about something.
Yu Li explained, “It was from Uncle Tu. He’s a hunter from the mountains and also butchers pigs part-time. He owns a meat shop in the county town… Oh, and he introduced me to a job. I’m starting tomorrow.”
Zhou Shi listened, completely taken aback.
At that moment, Yu Li added, “Mother, I want to eat meat. Let’s have meat for dinner tonight.”
The two children looked over with bright, eager eyes.
Zhou Shi, who loved the children dearly, couldn’t refuse. Besides, the meat was brought back by Yu Li, and with the hot weather, it wouldn’t keep long anyway—it was best to cook it sooner.
She asked, “How would you like it cooked?”
“Anything’s fine. You decide, Mother,” Yu Li said. “I trust your cooking.”
With porridge still simmering in the kitchen, Zhou Shi didn’t have much time to linger. She quickly took the meat to the kitchen, mindful not to let the porridge burn.
Meanwhile, Yu Li went to her room to grab some clean clothes and take a bath, wanting to wash off the sweat and dust from her body.
When she entered the room, she noticed Fu Wenxiao sitting by the window, seemingly lost in thought. Hearing the door, he looked up.
The glow of the setting sun streamed through the window, illuminating him. Dressed in green robes with ink-black hair, his refined demeanor set him apart from the ordinary world, as if he were a figure detached from reality.
Yu Li couldn’t help but glance at him again. Their eyes met.
She greeted him warmly, “Xiao Ge’er, you’re awake? If you’re tired, lie down on the bed and rest. Don’t overexert yourself.”
Fu Wenxiao’s lips curved slightly into a gentle smile, and he softly replied, “Alright.” Seeing her sweat-soaked clothes, he didn’t ask her anything immediately and instead let her go wash up.
When Yu Li finished bathing, changed into clean clothes, and returned to the room while drying her hair, she saw the two children there as well. They were huddled beside Fu Wenxiao, sharing their candy with him.
On the table nearby was a bowl of freshly brewed, pitch-black medicine, emitting a strong and unpleasant odor.
“Little Uncle, have some candy,” Fu Yansheng said in her sweet, childlike voice, holding out her candy. “Candy will make it not bitter anymore.”
Fu Yanhui was just as generous, offering his candy to his little uncle as well.
The children had vivid memories of being sick and having to drink bitter medicine, their faces scrunching up like wrinkled gourds every time. Seeing their little uncle drinking a bowl of that black medicine every day, they felt deep sympathy for him.
That’s why, even though they craved the candy Yu Li brought back, they restrained themselves and decided to use it to sweeten their little uncle’s day.
Fu Wenxiao smiled at them and said gently, “No need, you eat it yourselves.”
The two children looked at him, their big, bright eyes filled with confusion, as if unable to understand why their little uncle would refuse something as delicious as candy.
Fu Yansheng’s lips began to pout, her expression a bit aggrieved.
They genuinely wanted to share their candy with their little uncle, but since he didn’t want it, what could they do?
Fu Wenxiao, seeing their dejected faces, reached out and took the candy from Fu Yansheng’s hand, smiling. “Alright, I’ll take one. The rest is for you to eat.”
The two children exchanged a glance and decided that was acceptable.
Fu Yanhui broke his own piece of candy in half, and the siblings each ate a piece.
The sweet taste of the candy brought smiles to their faces. While savoring it, they looked up at Yu Li, who had just entered, and said, “Little Aunt, the candy is so sweet!”
“Really?” Yu Li replied. “I want some candy too.”
Hearing this, the siblings blinked, their faces showing a hint of dilemma.
They had already eaten their candy. What should they do now?
After thinking for a moment, they turned to look at the candy still in Fu Wenxiao’s hand. Noticing that he hadn’t eaten it yet, Fu Yanhui suggested, “Little Uncle, share your candy with Little Aunt.”
Fu Wenxiao: “…..” You two are quite generous.
Helplessly, Fu Wenxiao handed the candy to Yu Li.
Yu Li took the candy, broke it into two pieces, put one in her mouth, and handed the other back to him. “Tomorrow, when I go to the city, I’ll buy more candy for you to have after taking your medicine.”
Seeing him drink such dreadful medicine every day, she thought it would be a good idea to keep more sweets around the house.
Fu Wenxiao’s slender fingers lightly held the remaining piece of candy. Hearing her words, he asked, “You’re going to the city again tomorrow?” Then, realizing something, he asked, “Did you find work?”
Yu Li’s face lit up with a smile, her happiness evident.
Her eyes curved into crescents as she smiled brightly. “Yes, I found a job!”
Fu Wenxiao was a little surprised. He hadn’t expected her to actually find work in the city and couldn’t help but feel curious about what kind of job it was. “What kind of work did you find?” he asked.
“Slaughtering pigs,” Yu Li replied.
Fu Wenxiao: “..…”
He couldn’t help but look at her. She seemed utterly calm, as if getting a job slaughtering pigs was the most ordinary thing in the world.
After a moment of silence, he asked again, “…Have you done this before?”
Yu Li’s face was filled with confidence. “No, but I’ve seen it done before.”
Fu Wenxiao: “….”
Yu Li was genuinely confident. She had killed monsters before—why wouldn’t she be able to kill a pig?
Although she had never slaughtered a pig herself, the original owner of her body had seen pigs being slaughtered for the New Year. To Yu Li, it seemed straightforward and not difficult at all.
Fu Wenxiao took a moment to process this before finally accepting the fact that she had taken a job slaughtering pigs.
He smiled faintly and said, “That’s good. Do your best.” Then he asked her about the location, working hours, and pay for the job.
He asked in such detail because he was worried she might be deceived.
Fu Wenxiao thought to himself that if anyone dared to trick her and she found out, they probably wouldn’t end up well.
Judging from how she managed to leave the Yu family with 20 taels of dowry without much trouble, it was clear she might be straightforward but wasn’t foolish. She had her own set of principles for handling things.
That was good—it meant she wouldn’t easily be bullied.
Yu Li told him the address of the butcher shop, her working hours, and other details.
“You have to leave so early?” Fu Wenxiao frowned slightly.
The hours for slaughtering pigs were very early in the morning. Since she lived in the village, she would have to leave for the county town before dawn. The road would still be dark, and traveling at night without visibility could be quite inconvenient for her.
Yu Li didn’t mind. “I specifically walked the route today to familiarize myself with it,” she said. As long as there was a path, she could follow it—whether she could see or not wasn’t an issue.
Remembering something, she added, “Uncle Tu said he’s also heading to the county town tomorrow. I can walk with him.”
“Uncle Tu?” Fu Wenxiao’s excellent memory quickly brought up the image of Tu Laoda, the hunter from the mountains. Last time, when Yu Li rescued Xuan Huaiqing in the mountains, she had handed him over to Tu Laoda, who happened to know Xuan Huaiqing.
If Tu Laoda was acquainted with Xuan Huaiqing and trusted by him, then he must have been a soldier under General Xuan in the past. Or perhaps, even now, Tu Laoda was still one of General Xuan’s men but had returned to the village for some reason.
In an instant, Fu Wenxiao more or less understood how Yu Li had landed this pig-slaughtering job.
Feigning casualness, he asked, “Did you run into the hunter in the city today?”
“Yes.”
Yu Li then recounted how she had met Tu Laoda while buying meat in the city. Not only had Tu Laoda given her a piece of meat, but he had also introduced her to the job.
“…Uncle Tu is such a good person, introducing me to a job where I can earn money,” Yu Li said with genuine appreciation. She had a good impression of Tu Laoda and Zhang Fu, especially now that she would soon be earning her own money to buy whatever food she wanted. The thought made her very happy.
Fu Wenxiao remarked, “You saved his friend. It’s only right for him to thank you.”
Yu Li let out a soft “Oh,” but with a piece of candy in her mouth, she didn’t dwell on the matter.
At that moment, a rich aroma of meat wafted over from the kitchen.
Yu Li couldn’t sit still any longer. She quickly said, “I’ll go see how Mother’s cooking is coming along and give her a hand.”
The two children, also lured by the enticing smell of meat, followed her eagerly.
Fu Wenxiao remained seated by the window, watching as they all left together.
The sun had already set behind the mountains, leaving the sky painted with fiery red clouds, as if the entire mountain wilderness were about to be set ablaze.
The brilliant hues of the sunset painted the tranquil village, the colors burning vividly in his eyes.
After a long while, Fu Wenxiao picked up the now-cold medicine and drank it all in one gulp. He then placed the piece of candy into his mouth.
It was a coarse, rudimentary malt candy. In the past, he wouldn’t have spared it a glance, nor would anyone have dared to present such an unrefined and unsophisticated treat to him.
Yet now, sitting in this remote and rundown rural home, the sweetness of the candy spread across his tongue, filling his heart with an inexplicable sense of peace and calm.