Tu Laoda was speechless as he watched the wolfdog cower with its tail tucked between its legs, retreating into the house.
This wolfdog was brought back by him last year after he returned to the village. Since he occasionally kept pigs for a while after herding them back, he raised a wolfdog to guard the house.
It didn’t disappoint him either, guarding the house well. Sometimes, it would even venture into the mountains on its own to catch a rabbit or bring back a wild chicken for a meal, making it very mighty and impressive.
But now, seeing its utterly useless behavior, Tu Laoda couldn’t help but laugh.
He teased, “Truly useless! You’re a wolfdog!”
However, thinking about how those pigs couldn’t even stand on their legs in front of Yu Li, this wolfdog, at least managing to cower and hide far away with trembling legs, could still be considered impressive.
Carrying a bucket of cooked pig feed, Tu Laoda walked toward the pigsty and asked, “Why is Li Niang here?”
The pigsty was in the backyard, fenced off under a shed.
As Yu Li approached, the pigs, who had been eating heartily, suddenly collapsed onto the ground with weak legs.
Seeing this, Tu Laoda found it even more amusing. For a wolfdog that could still cower and hide, it truly lived up to its wolf bloodline.
He asked Yu Li to step back a bit so the pigs wouldn’t be too affected to eat. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be good if they starved and lost weight.
If the pigs got skinny, they would weigh less, and the money earned from selling them would be less too…
Yu Li obediently stepped back, watching the pigs slowly stand up and resume eating. At the same time, she said, “I have something to do tomorrow, so I won’t go to the county. Please let Brother Zhang know for me.”
“What’s going on?” Tu Laoda asked. “Need my help?”
“No need. The Yu family is splitting up tomorrow, so I’m going back to take a look.”
Tu Laoda froze for a moment, then turned to look at her and asked in confusion, “The Yu family is splitting up? I remember Old Master Yu and the others are in pretty good health, aren’t they?”
Parents being alive usually meant no splitting of the family. Both the old master and old lady of the Yu family were still well and good. Why split up now?
Yu Li nodded in agreement, “They’re indeed in great health.” Even after enduring so much stimulation, they hadn’t fainted once.
Tu Laoda wasn’t really interested in the reason for the Yu family’s division. After casually asking, he added, “Anything you need help with? I have some connections with the village head. My father once saved the village head in the mountains.”
Although he was a hunter in the village, the village head looked out for him a lot, and he could speak on matters with the village head.
Considering the Yu family’s favoritism toward the eldest branch, this division might not be fair.
Yu Li was the daughter of the Yu family’s second branch. Even though she was already married, she must still care about how her maternal family was splitting up.
He could go talk to the village head, asking him to keep an eye on things and make the division as fair as possible.
Yu Li said, “Thanks, but there’s no need to trouble you.”
She believed Old Master Yu wouldn’t have the guts to be unfair in the division.
After finishing the conversation, Yu Li headed into the mountains to chop firewood.
Before long, she had cut several loads of firewood, tied them up, and carried them down the mountain.
On her way down, she ran into some villagers also gathering firewood. Seeing her carrying a massive bundle of firewood while walking with ease, they couldn’t help but envy her.
“Li Niang is really strong.”
“Isn’t she? Before she got married, every time it was the busy farming season, having her help made things much easier for the Yu family.”
At this moment, someone by the roadside called out to Yu Li, “Li Niang.”
Yu Li turned her head and saw it was a few older women, one of whom was Aunt Guihua.
She stopped and politely greeted them.
Aunt Guihua waved her over, and as Yu Li approached, her face lit up with excitement as she asked, “Li Niang, I heard something happened at the Yu family this afternoon after lunch. There was yelling and commotion. What’s going on? You know, don’t you?”
The others also looked at her curiously.
The village had a lot of land, so houses were built far apart, with quite a distance between them.
Neighbors near the Yu family vaguely heard some noise coming from there but didn’t know what it was about. By the time they thought of sneaking over to eavesdrop, the commotion had already ended.
They all regretted not rushing over earlier to peek over the wall.
That afternoon, when villagers went to work in the fields, they casually mentioned the noise from the Yu family after lunch. Everyone began speculating about what had happened at the Yu household.
Now, seeing Yu Li, they couldn’t resist asking for details.
Aunt Guihua, who didn’t get along with Old Madam Yu, was especially eager to see some drama from the Yu family and couldn’t hide her excitement.
Yu Li replied, “I know.”
“What is it?” Aunt Guihua’s eyes sparkled with excitement, and the others perked up their ears to listen.
Yu Li: “You’ll know tomorrow.”
The Yu family’s division of property couldn’t be kept a secret. By tomorrow, after the separation, the entire village would know, so there was no need for her to elaborate.
Yu Li wasn’t one to chat idly, so after speaking, she politely said goodbye and carried her firewood back to the Fu family.
Aunt Guihua and the others were naturally disappointed.
“From what Li Niang said, it seems like something big is happening at the Yu family tomorrow,” Aunt Guihua speculated. She immediately decided that she would climb the Yu family’s wall early tomorrow morning.
She absolutely had to witness the drama at the Yu family.
—
Yu Li made two trips into the mountains, carrying back several loads of firewood in one go and stacking them neatly in the woodshed.
Then, she began splitting the firewood in the yard, chopping it into neat, uniform pieces.
Seeing the neatly stacked firewood was oddly satisfying.
Zhou Shi felt distressed watching Yu Li run two trips in a row and bring back enough firewood to last more than half a month.
She handed Yu Li some water and wiped her sweat, saying, “Child, you don’t need to push yourself so hard. You should rest properly. If there’s no firewood, just buy some. It’s not expensive, just ten to twenty coins per load…”
Yu Li replied, “Ten to twenty coins can buy quite a few meat buns.”
Meat buns in the county cost three coins each. Ten coins could buy four, and twenty coins could buy eight.
Zhou Shi was at a loss for words and finally said, “I’ll steam some meat buns for you tomorrow.”
“Alright, thank you, Mother!”
Yu Li happily said that she trusted Zhou Shi’s cooking skills, finding that everything she made was delicious and perfectly suited to her taste.
In fact, it was only after Yu Li came to this world that she began eating normal food. Before, she had only consumed strange-tasting nutrient solutions and compressed dry rations.
One could say that Zhou Shi’s cooking awakened her taste buds. It was because of this flavor imprint that she found Zhou Shi’s cooking so well-suited to her palate.
Every time Zhou Shi saw Yu Li’s bright, expectant eyes, she couldn’t help but want to feed her more.
She thought there was no girl easier to care for than Yu Li.
No matter what she made, even pickled vegetable chunks, Yu Li could eat with relish. Whenever they ate together, Zhou Shi always ended up eating two extra bowls of rice, nearly overeating herself.
At dinner, Zhou Shi prepared several dishes.
There was salted pork stir-fried with eggs, salted pork stir-fried with cucumber, a bowl of braised pork offal, egg and tofu soup, and a big bowl of greens.
The meal was abundant and hearty, but there was no need to worry about leftovers. After Zhou Shi and the two children had eaten their fill, Yu Li would finish all the remaining food.
Since Yu Li started working at the butcher shop, the Fu family never lacked for meat.
Not only did she bring home a set of pork offal every day, but when she bought meat at the shop, she only had to pay half price as an employee discount. Moreover, Zhang Fu would often give her an extra generous cut of meat with a casual wave of his hand.
Indeed, butchers never lacked for meat, and Yu Li was very satisfied with this job.
After dinner, Zhou Shi handed two completed sets of clothing to Yu Li.
These two outfits had taken her several days to make and were crafted with great care. The embroidery alone was particularly exquisite and elegant, giving them an air of sophistication.
When Yu Li came out wearing the new clothes, Zhou Shi suddenly froze.
Seeing her staring, Yu Li looked at her in confusion and asked, “Mom, what’s wrong?”
Zhou Shi said, “Li Niang, you’ve finally gained some weight. Looking closely, you’re really quite beautiful—a striking young lady.”
Living under the same roof and seeing her every day, Zhou Shi hadn’t noticed much difference.
But now, with Yu Li wearing the carefully tailored outfit, which was made to normal measurements, it no longer hung as loosely as before. While it still looked a bit roomy, it wasn’t as overly baggy as it had been.
It was as if her bony frame was finally covered by a thin layer of flesh, enough to give the clothing some shape.
When a person gains a bit of weight, their cheeks naturally fill out as well. Especially for a seventeen-year-old girl like Yu Li, youth itself was an asset. As long as she wasn’t skeleton-thin, she couldn’t look unattractive.
The added flesh on her cheeks also brought out the best features of her facial features.
Among the four daughters of the Yu family’s second branch—Yu Jin, Yu Yin, Yu Zhu, and Yu Li—Yu Jin, Yu Yin, and Yu Zhu inherited their looks from Liu Shi. Only Yu Li was different; her appearance was a blend of Liu Shi’s and Yu Lao’er’s, combining their best traits.
Her eyebrows, inherited from Yu Lao’er, were thick and dark, exuding a heroic and elegant vibe with a naturally perfect shape that needed no grooming.
Her eyes and nose resembled Liu Shi’s, with almond-shaped eyes and a delicate, straight nose, giving her a refined and graceful appearance.
Zhou Shi thought to herself that if Yu Li gained a bit more weight and regained the figure of a young girl, she would undoubtedly be an exceptionally striking and heroic beauty.
Ah, Xiao Ge’er really hit the jackpot.
Zhou Shi felt very happy and liked Yu Li more the longer she looked at her.
“Mother, the clothes are so beautiful!” Yu Li praised generously. “Thank you, I really like them.”
A smile spread across Zhou Shi’s face, and her mood instantly brightened.
No one dislikes being praised. Whether it’s the food she makes or the clothes she sews, receiving gratitude and compliments from others brings great joy and satisfaction.
Li Niang is such a sweet girl, so good at giving compliments, and she does it so sincerely.
—
Yu Li carried her new clothes back to her room and carefully placed them in the cabinet.
The cabinet against the wall had now become her designated space, where she kept her belongings.
Although the cabinet didn’t contain much—just a few sets of clothes—seeing her possessions gradually accumulate gave Yu Li an unprecedented sense of security.
It felt as if, since coming to this world, she had slowly left her mark here, growing from nothing to something, declaring her presence to the world. She was here, and she would settle down and live her life here.
Under the light of the oil lamp, Fu Wenxiao silently watched her, his gaze flickering slightly before a soft smile appeared on his face.