Lin Suhe’s fair fingers gently touched the cold water in the ladle, as carefully as a kitten testing water with its paw.
Jiang Wangchuan couldn’t bear to watch anymore.
“Girl, come here.”
Holding the ladle, Lin Suhe walked over to the stove and looked at him with her large, watery eyes, confused.
Jiang Wangchuan lifted the lid from the pot, scooped up a ladle of freshly boiled water, and poured it into the ladle she was holding.
The added weight nearly made her lose her grip.
Luckily, Jiang Wangchuan reacted quickly and steadied the ladle with his large hand.
Lin Suhe looked up at him gratefully.
“Thank you.”
Jiang Wangchuan turned his head away and waved his hand.
“Go wash your face.”
He simply couldn’t stand how delicate she was.
It was like a kitten scratching gently at his heart.
It made him feel restless.
…
Jiang Wangchuan couldn’t afford tooth powder, so there was no way to brush his teeth.
Lin Suhe simply washed her face and rinsed her mouth.
By the time she finished, Jiang Wangchuan had already prepared breakfast.
He carried two clay bowls into the next room.
Without waiting to be invited, Lin Suhe quietly followed him inside.
The room seemed to be used for storage.
Farming tools and hunting equipment were stacked in one corner.
A wooden table stood in the middle.
It looked as though it had just been wiped clean, and drops of water still remained on the surface.
Jiang Wangchuan set the bowls on the table and sat on a small stool with his long legs spread comfortably.
“Sit down and eat.”
Lin Suhe was already starving.
She nodded and sat on the other stool, picking up her bowl.
Inside was thin rice soup.
There were very few grains of rice, and some still had bits of husk on them.
But after going hungry for a whole day and night, it tasted delicious to her.
“Drink slowly. It’s very hot.”
Jiang Wangchuan broke the flatbread on the table into small pieces and dropped them into her bowl.
It looked like the same hard bread her second uncle had given her yesterday.
But after soaking in the rice soup, it became soft and much easier to eat.
Jiang Wangchuan watched as she stuffed her mouth full.
Her soft cheeks puffed out like two little buns.
She looked surprisingly cute.
Although they lived in the same village, he rarely saw Lin Da’s daughter.
He had only heard that Lin Da treasured his only child.
As Lin Suhe grew older and prettier, many people came to ask for her hand in marriage.
But Lin Da couldn’t bear to let her marry, so he had kept her at home until she turned sixteen.
Jiang Wangchuan quickly finished his own breakfast.
He brushed the crumbs from his hands and looked at Lin Suhe.
“When you’ve finished eating, I’ll take you home.”
After a pause, he added,
“If we meet anyone from the village on the way, just tell them you came this morning to return the money you borrowed.”
…
The moment Lin Suhe heard those words, she stopped eating.
She stopped chewing.
Her eyes quickly turned red, and tears began to fall.
The clear drops landed in the bowl with tiny splashes.
Each one also landed heavily in Jiang Wangchuan’s heart.
He gritted his teeth and forced himself to say,
“Crying won’t help.”
“You have to go home.”
“I’ll speak to your second uncle.”
“I’ll tell him not to sell you to a slave trader.”
“Instead, he’ll find you a good family in the village to marry into.”
After swallowing the mouthful of bread with difficulty, Lin Suhe burst into tears.
Her thin shoulders shook as she sobbed.
“Waa…”
“Brother Jiang…”
“Why don’t you want me?”
“Is it because I eat too much?”
As she spoke, she pushed her bowl toward him.
“I won’t eat anymore.”
“You can have it all.”
Jiang Wangchuan couldn’t help smiling.
He pushed the bowl back toward her.
“It’s not because you eat too much.”
“If you stay with me, all you’ll have is a hard life.”
“You’re so delicate.”
“How could you possibly endure that?”
Lin Suhe cried so hard that she began to hiccup.
She grabbed his hand and pleaded through her tears.
“Brother Jiang…”
“I can endure hardship.”
“As long as you let me stay with you…”
“I can bear anything.”
She didn’t want to leave.
From the original owner’s memories, no one was more dependable than Jiang Wangchuan.
They had slept in the same bed all night.
Yet he hadn’t even touched her.
If it had been another man…
She was afraid things might have turned out very differently.
…
Jiang Wangchuan looked at her soft little hand wrapped around his fingers.
He turned toward her and spoke seriously.
“Lin Suhe.”
“You can’t keep holding a man’s hand so casually.”
“If someone sees you, they’ll say you’re improper.”
She quickly shook her head.
“I won’t.”
“I’ll only hold your hand.”
“Other than my father, I’ve never even touched another man’s hand.”
“Brother Jiang…”
“Please don’t send me away.”
She begged him earnestly.
“I… I know how to do many things.”
Jiang Wangchuan looked at her with interest.
“Oh?”
“Then tell me.”
“What can you do?”
Lin Suhe blinked her large eyes.
“I… I know medicinal herbs.”
“I can gather herbs.”
Jiang Wangchuan nodded.
Most villagers knew some common herbs.
That wasn’t unusual.
“What else?”
“I know how to grow crops.”
Everyone in the village knew how to farm.
“What else?”
Seeing that these answers hadn’t convinced him, she bit her lip.
“I know how to make malt sugar.”
“I know how to make many kinds of cakes and snacks.”
“I also know how to make paper…”
“…brew wine…”
“…make salt…”
“…fire bricks and roof tiles…”
“…and even make gunpowder…”
The more she listed, the deeper Jiang Wangchuan frowned.
“Enough, enough!”
“Everything you just mentioned…”
“Forget our village.”
“There probably aren’t even many people in town who know how to do those things.”
Lin Suhe looked at him stubbornly.
“I really do know!”
“Fine.”
“Then forget everything else.”
“Tell me how to make sugar.”
Lin Suhe’s bright eyes turned thoughtfully.
“You soak the wheat in water for one day.”
“Then pour away the water.”
“Wait until the sprouts grow about one finger long.”
“Grind the sprouts into a paste.”
“Steam the glutinous rice, then mix it together with the malt…”
She explained every step clearly.
This was her little secret.
Ever since she transmigrated, something like an encyclopedia had appeared in her mind.
Whenever she wanted to know something, she could somehow find the answer.
Jiang Wangchuan stared at her in surprise.
“You really know?”
“Did your father teach you?”
Lin Suhe lifted her chin proudly.
“It doesn’t matter who taught me.”
“I just know it!”
Looking at her proud little face, Jiang Wangchuan couldn’t help reaching out and gently rubbing her fluffy hair.
“I didn’t expect that.”
“You’re actually pretty impressive.”
Lin Suhe’s nose was still red from crying.
Hope shone in her eyes.
“Brother Jiang…”
“Will you accept me now?”
Jiang Wangchuan felt his heart skip a beat.
Just as he was about to answer—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Someone pounded loudly on the front gate.
A sharp female voice came from outside.
“Suhe! Are you in there, Suhe?”
“You shameless girl with no mother to teach you!”
“How could you spend the night in another man’s house?”
“How am I supposed to answer to your poor dead father?”