Lin Suhe was suddenly pinned beneath Jiang Wangchuan and was so startled that her eyes widened. She grabbed the edge of the blanket tightly with both hands.
In fact, Jiang Wangchuan was not really lying on top of her. He supported himself with his elbows and knees on the bed, gently surrounding her in his arms without putting his weight on her.
In the moonlight shining into the room, he could see the frightened look on her small face and her slightly open lips.
Lin Suhe’s lips trembled slightly. Jiang Wangchuan was so close that she could even smell the fresh scent of well water on him.
His body was broad and strong, like a solid wall. If he really pressed down on her, she thought she might not even be able to breathe.
Trying to calm her racing heart, Lin Suhe softly said,
“I… I’m cold. It’s warmer… when I’m close to you.”
Her gentle voice brushed against Jiang Wangchuan’s ears like a feather, making his whole body tingle.
No wonder this girl had hugged his arm while sleeping the night before. She was simply afraid of the cold.
Since childhood, Jiang Wangchuan had always had a warm body. He feared heat but not cold. While others wore thick padded coats in winter, he could even wash himself with cold water in the yard without a shirt.
He touched the hand Lin Suhe had left outside the blanket. It really was cold.
Jiang Wangchuan lay back down, lifted the blanket, climbed underneath, and pulled Lin Suhe into his arms.
“I’ll hold you while we sleep. Then you won’t be cold.”
Resting her head on his strong arm and leaning against his warm chest, Lin Suhe listened to his steady heartbeat. The warmth spread all the way to her ears.
She felt so embarrassed that she thought she might faint.
But Jiang Wangchuan’s embrace was truly warm, and she did not want to leave it.
Neither of them spoke.
Just as Lin Suhe thought Jiang Wangchuan had fallen asleep, she felt his chest vibrate slightly as his deep voice spoke beside her ear.
“Girl, let me ask you something.”
Lin Suhe answered softly.
“Brother Jiang, what is it? Go ahead.”
“Well… um… have you… have you had… that?”
He stumbled over every word.
Lin Suhe looked confused.
“Had what?”
Jiang Wangchuan was silent for a moment. Then, as if he had finally gathered his courage, he said in a low voice,
“Have you started… a woman’s monthly period?”
Lin Suhe blinked in the darkness before realizing what he meant.
“That” referred to a woman’s monthly period.
She immediately became nervous too.
“B-Brother Jiang… why are you asking that?”
Trying to sound calm, Jiang Wangchuan said roughly,
“Oh, I’m just asking. Just tell me whether you have or not.”
Lin Suhe’s face burned with embarrassment as she searched through the original owner’s memories.
The original owner was already sixteen years old. Normally, girls her age would have already started menstruating.
But after carefully searching her memories, she found nothing about it.
She was shocked.
Before she had transmigrated, she had started her period at thirteen, and most of her classmates had started around the age of twelve.
This body was already sixteen and still had not started. It had to be because of long-term malnutrition.
In a voice as soft as a kitten’s meow, Lin Suhe answered,
“N-No… not yet.”
Hearing her answer, Jiang Wangchuan quietly let out a sigh of relief. His tense body finally relaxed.
Resting his chin gently on top of her soft hair, he said quietly,
“It’s getting late. Go to sleep.”
Lin Suhe did not understand why he had asked such a question. She gave a small yawn, felt sleepy, and decided not to ask any more. Curled up comfortably in Jiang Wangchuan’s arms, she soon fell asleep.
In the darkness, Jiang Wangchuan let out a soft sigh.
This girl hasn’t even started her period yet. She’s still just a child. I can’t act like an animal. I have to take good care of her until she grows up. Then everything can happen naturally.
…
The next morning, when Lin Suhe woke up, her head was still resting on Jiang Wangchuan’s arm.
She slowly opened her sleepy eyes and found him lying on his side, looking at her with bright, alert eyes. It seemed he had been awake for quite some time.
When Jiang Wangchuan saw her wake up, he gave her a big smile.
“You’re awake? You were sleeping so peacefully that I didn’t dare move. I was afraid I’d wake you.”
Lin Suhe shyly lifted her head from his arm and said sweetly,
“Brother Jiang, I slept on your arm all night. It must be numb.”
Jiang Wangchuan sat up and casually shook his arm.
“Your little head isn’t heavy enough to make my arm numb. I’ll go start the fire and make breakfast. Take your time.”
After saying that, he turned and walked out of the room.
After a simple breakfast, the two of them began discussing how to make sugar.
Looking at the tools drying outside, Lin Suhe said,
“We already have all the tools. Now we just need the ingredients. The simplest malt sugar requires wheat and glutinous rice.”
“That’s easy. We can buy them from the villagers. Many families still have grain left from last autumn’s harvest.”
Jiang Wangchuan was a man of action. He immediately took Lin Suhe to the village to buy wheat and glutinous rice.
He did not go far, only visiting a few homes at the foot of the mountain.
Since it was not harvest season, grain was expensive. But Lin Suhe confidently promised that her method would definitely produce sugar.
Without hesitation, Jiang Wangchuan bought one jin of wheat and ten jin of glutinous rice, spending nearly fifty copper coins.
After returning home, the tools they had bought in town the day before had finished drying.
The first step in making malt sugar was sprouting the wheat.
Jiang Wangchuan washed the wheat, poured it into a large wooden basin, and soaked it in cold water.
The wheat only needed to soak for two or three hours, but growing the sprouts would take three to five days.
They could not simply sit at home waiting during that time.
Lin Suhe asked Jiang Wangchuan to take her into the mountains to see if there was anything there they could use to make a living.
Since they had no farmland, they could only rely on the mountains for food and income.
Jiang Wangchuan prepared a bamboo basket containing a bow, arrows, a chopping knife, and other useful tools.
After everything was ready, he looked at Lin Suhe, then went back inside and found four clean cloth strips.
He walked over to her, crouched down, and tightly wrapped the cloth around the legs of her pants.
“There may be insects and other bugs in the mountains. If we tie up your sleeves and pant legs, they’ll have a harder time crawling inside and biting you.”
Tilting her head, Lin Suhe asked curiously,
“Brother Jiang, why aren’t you tying up your own sleeves and pant legs?”
He smiled.
“My skin is thick and tough. Those little things can’t do much to me. But your skin is so soft and delicate. Going into the mountains like this is like sending a lamb into danger.”
Lin Suhe pouted and muttered,
“Even if there really is a tiger, I’m not afraid. Brother Jiang will protect me.”
Jiang Wangchuan reached out and gently poked her soft cheek with a smile.
“Of course. Your husband can knock a tiger down with one punch!”