Yu Li rested at home for a few days.
In truth, she felt she didn’t need to rest, but she couldn’t resist Zhou Shi and Fu Wenxiao, both of whom believed she should take a good rest. They even wanted her to rest for ten days or half a month.
Zhou Shi even said, “Li Niang, if it’s really too tiring, why not stop working in the county?”
Although slaughtering pigs was a fast way to make money—with daily wages paid on the same day and quite substantial, up to three or four hundred wen per day—over a month, it could earn her ten taels. This was comparable to the monthly salary of a senior manager at a prestigious restaurant or gold shop in the prefectural city, which showed how impressive the income was.
But this work was indeed too exhausting; she had to get up in the middle of the night, with not enough time to sleep.
If a person couldn’t rest well, how could their body stay healthy?
Of course, Yu Li refused. Slaughtering pigs was such a great job: it was quick money, lots of money, and she could eat meat every day.
People who didn’t do this kind of work didn’t know how lucrative it was. Although the meat shop required some bribes to be paid upwards, Zhang Fu handled all that, so she didn’t have to worry. All she had to do was collect her wages and bring home some meat every day.
Such a profitable job—she really couldn’t bear to give it up.
Most importantly, she truly didn’t feel tired.
The pigs were so obedient, staying completely still and letting her slaughter them without much effort.
If not for the limited number of pigs the meat shop required to be slaughtered, she felt she could kill hundreds of pigs a day without feeling exhausted.
Besides, Zhang Fu and the others had decent personalities. They were easy to get along with, and the people at the meat shop took good care of her, occasionally giving her extra meat. The payment was also prompt and generous.
This kind of job, whether in terms of pay or the working environment, was practically the dream job for people from the lower classes.
Yu Li had no grand ambitions; for now, she just wanted to eat and drink well and have meat every day.
She genuinely felt this job was excellent.
Seeing her refusal, Zhou Shi shifted her suggestion, “Then, how about changing to another line of work?”
Any job that didn’t require her to get up in the middle of the night would be fine, as long as it wasn’t so exhausting and allowed her to get enough sleep.
Yu Li said, “Other jobs aren’t as good as this one.”
Back when she was in the county, she had searched for a long time without finding a job she liked—if it wasn’t poorly paid, it involved exploitation.
In comparison, slaughtering pigs was truly great.
Zhou Shi, realizing she couldn’t persuade her, could only sigh.
She then turned to Fu Wenxiao, hoping he could try to talk her out of it, so she wouldn’t wear herself out.
Yu Li was still young, with a long life ahead. Zhou Shi wanted her to take good care of herself and not push her body too hard just because she was young.
Fu Wenxiao chuckled and said, “Mother, Li Niang is not a child. She knows what she’s doing.”
Just like when others saw her eating so much, they always worried she’d overeat and hurt her stomach. But she knew her own appetite and how much she could eat. She didn’t need others to persuade her.
Moreover, she wasn’t the type to ignore her own physical condition. If she wanted to do something, it meant she believed she could handle it.
Hearing this, Zhou Shi understood there was no need to keep persuading her.
She sighed and said, “Forget it. I’ll just make more nourishing soups for her on a regular basis. The medicine can’t be stopped either—let her first get her body in good condition.”
Fu Wenxiao, hearing this, felt that Yu Li might not be too pleased, as she really didn’t like taking medicinal supplements.
Sure enough, when Yu Li saw the medicinal soup Zhou Shi brought over, her expression turned peculiar.
“Mother, what is this? The smell is a bit strange.”
It clearly looked like soup, and there was even meat inside, but the smell was odd—it didn’t have the same enticing aroma as other dishes.
Zhou Shi gently explained, “This is a medicinal soup, meant to nourish the body. Just now, Tu Laoda sent over some medicinal herbs, which are great for making this kind of soup. It’s very nourishing. Both you and Xiao Ge’er should have some.”
It had been a long time since she last made medicinal soups, primarily because, when Yu Li first joined the family, their finances were tight.
But now, Zhou Shi’s screen carvings had sold for six taels of silver, and Yu Li frequently brought home money. Plus, the herbs were already on hand, so Zhou Shi decided to start making medicinal soups again to help the two people in the family who needed to improve their health.
Yu Li gave her a half-understanding look, feeling that the addition of the word “medicinal” to this “dish” made it a bit frightening.
She cautiously took a sip, her face scrunching up immediately.
How to describe it? It wasn’t as strange-tasting as straight medicinal herbs, but it wasn’t as delicious as she had hoped. There was even a faintly gamey taste, probably due to some of the ingredients used.
In the past, Yu Li wasn’t picky. In the post-apocalyptic world, nutritional supplements and compressed rations had flavors just as strange as the medicine in this world—equally bizarre and off-putting.
However, after coming to this world and eating so many delicious foods, she could no longer tolerate flavors akin to those of nutritional supplements.
Her palate had been spoiled by Zhou Shi’s cooking, making her a bit averse to the taste of medicinal soup.
But with Zhou Shi watching her closely, Yu Li couldn’t refuse and had no choice but to finish the bowl of soup.
Afterward, she quickly retreated to her room, only to find Fu Wenxiao also eating medicinal soup, his expression subtly nuanced.
Seeing his calm demeanor, as if he were merely sipping tea, Yu Li couldn’t help but ask, “Xiao Ge’er, how does it taste?”
“It’s fine,” Fu Wenxiao replied.
Yu Li asked, “Don’t you think it tastes a bit strange?”
Fu Wenxiao chuckled. “Medicinal soups rarely taste good. What Mother made is already quite decent. She actually learned how to make medicinal soups specifically in the past.”
Thinking of something, he added, “I remember there was once a chef… He made medicinal soups that were excellent—some even tasted delicious, without any medicinal aftertaste.”
Such medicinal soups naturally became highly sought after.
Unfortunately, that person was a capricious individual, prone to ignoring others. He cooked when he felt like it, and when he didn’t, he simply disappeared.
Yu Li’s eyes lit up with curiosity. “Who is that? Which chef is so amazing?”
She had never underestimated the people of this world and thought the chefs here were incredible, able to turn simple ingredients into delicious meals.
Just like the chefs at some of the large restaurants in the county. For example, Chef Bao at the Fulai Restaurant made braised dishes that were absolutely delicious—they had become the inn’s signature items. She had even gone to buy some a few times herself.
Chef Bao’s braised pig head meat was also exceptionally tasty.
Fu Wenxiao’s smile turned faint. “I heard he’s from the capital.”
Hearing this, Yu Li felt a little disappointed.
A chef from the capital—that was far too distant. She wouldn’t get to taste his cooking anytime soon.
Yu Li wasn’t an ambitious person, but the one thing she was deeply passionate about was her love for good food.
After enduring more than twenty years of deprivation in the post-apocalyptic world, and now needing a massive intake of food to replenish the energy required during her awakening period, Yu Li was constantly in a state of hunger. Over time, she became deeply attached to the quality of the food she ate.
When Fu Wenxiao noticed the disappointment on her face, he hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping himself.
He smiled self-deprecatingly. As someone close to death, unable to make promises to anyone, what was the point of saying more and raising her hopes for nothing?
Yu Li, who had been feeling disappointed, suddenly noticed the change in his expression and looked at him with curiosity.
He seemed to be in pain.
She asked, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?” As she spoke, she reached out, grabbed his wrist, and transferred a bit of her ability into him.
Fu Wenxiao was startled by her sudden action. He felt as though the skin she touched was burning, and he instinctively tried to pull away.
But his strength was no match for hers. Not only did he fail to pull back, but she held on even tighter.
“Don’t move,” Yu Li said.
Fu Wenxiao stopped moving, his ears turning red, looking somewhat flustered.
He quickly glanced at her, seeing the serious and straightforward expression on her face. It was as if she wasn’t holding his hand but rather something else entirely…
A moment later, Yu Li let go of him, feeling hungry and a little tired.
Every time she used her ability, it left her fatigued and starving. It was best to eat something afterward, or the hunger would become unbearable.
She reached out for the candied fruits on the table, but after eating a few, she still felt ravenous. She immediately went out to find Zhou Shi for food.
“Mother, I’m hungry.”
“What does Li Niang want to eat? I’ll make it right away.”
“Make me a bowl of chicken noodle soup first…”
Outside, Yu Li’s and Zhou Shi’s voices faintly carried into the room. Fu Wenxiao sat where he was, gently touching the wrist she had grabbed earlier.
It wasn’t his imagination. When she let go, his body felt much less uncomfortable.
The constant, subtle pain that always gnawed at him, and the cold that seemed to seep into his very bones, had both diminished significantly. For once, his body felt light and at ease.
He sat there in a daze, forgetting to move.
He thought back to the morning Yu Li woke up after fainting. That day, he had woken up early—earlier than her, for once—and his body had felt just like this.
His heart thudded uncontrollably.
—
That evening, after washing up, Yu Li prepared to go to bed. She saw Fu Wenxiao sitting by the window.
The window was open, and the autumn wind of the night blew into the room, stirring his hair.
“Xiao Ge’er, aren’t you going to sleep?” Yu Li asked. “Also, don’t sit there and let the wind blow on you—you’ll catch a cold.”
Fu Wenxiao slowly got up and went to bed with her.
During this time, he couldn’t stop glancing at her.
Yu Li asked, “What are you looking at me for? Are you feeling unwell again?”
He shook his head. He had grown accustomed to the constant discomfort in his body. After three years, anyone would learn to live with it, to adapt to it.
“Li Niang…”
Fu Wenxiao called her softly. When she looked at him in confusion, he closed his mouth again.
In the end, he didn’t ask anything.
Why bother asking?
She had never hidden her peculiarities in front of him. It wasn’t because she trusted him, but because she was certain that if he ever did anything against her interests, she could easily decide his life and death.