Li Xiyue slept especially well that night inside the now peaceful and empty old residence. Her heart was overflowing with satisfaction after finally driving Wang Dani and her family out of the house.
The residence already had nearly everything needed for daily life, while Wang Dani’s family owned little more than a few bags of grain and some spare clothes. By afternoon, they had already packed up and left completely.
Although the process had taken a fair amount of scheming and effort, the result was more than worth it.
Earlier that morning, before Zhu Qinghe came to fetch her, Li Xiyue had forced herself to endure the disgust of soaking her silver inside a sock stained with fresh tomato juice before burying it beneath the pomelo tree beside the backyard well.
If Zhu Qingsong had not been blinded by greed, he never would have walked so perfectly into her trap.
That same night, inside a crumbling shack on the eastern edge of the village, Wang Dani and Zhu Tiezhu spent the evening cursing each other endlessly.
One moment she was screaming that her husband was useless, the next moment Zhu Tiezhu was shouting back that she was a vicious shrew. Their constant arguing mixed together with the endless buzzing of hungry mosquitoes.
Meanwhile, Zhu Qingsong lay silently on a damp, moldy bed, staring blankly at the dark ceiling beams above him. No one could tell what he was thinking.
As for Li Xiyue, she could not have cared less.
For the first time since transmigrating into this world, she was finally able to enjoy a proper meal without sneaking around or hiding her food from others.
With a peaceful heart, she drifted into a deep and comfortable sleep.
Several more peaceful days passed.
Soon, less than half a month remained before her wedding.
Li Xiyue spent her time thoroughly cleaning the old residence from top to bottom. Afterward, she carefully placed the spirit tablets of Zhu Shou and the late Zhu family matriarch inside the main hall. She prepared fresh fruit offerings, incense, candles, and ceremonial items before kneeling respectfully before the altar.
Inwardly, she promised that from now on, every festival and death anniversary, she would continue burning incense and paper offerings for the original Li Xiyue.
“Miss Li, are you home?”
Li Xiyue opened the courtyard gate and saw that the apprentice from the carpenter’s shop had arrived with her furniture.
She quickly opened the gates wider and guided the workers as they carried the furniture inside one piece at a time.
A washbasin stand, wooden tables and benches, a large bathing tub, cupboards, a vanity table, and several clothing chests were all moved neatly into the house.
“Miss Li, I swear I’ll never come to this place again no matter how much money I’m offered,” the exhausted apprentice complained while wiping sweat from his forehead. “Even our ox looks miserable after walking this mountain road.”
The ox lowered its head to chew on roadside grass before snorting heavily, as though agreeing completely.
Li Xiyue laughed softly and poured each worker a large bowl of chilled sugar water. Afterward, she slipped fifty copper coins into each of their hands.
“Thank you all for your hard work. The roads to our village really are difficult. Please take these coins and buy yourselves some wine on the way back, consider it my thanks.”
The apprentices instantly brightened.
As trainees, their wages were pitifully low, and fifty copper coins was equivalent to nearly two full days of labor.
Their previous complaints vanished immediately as they thanked her enthusiastically before driving the ox-cart back toward the county.
“The furniture arrived already? Do you need help moving things around?”
The deep voice behind her instantly told Li Xiyue who had returned.
She turned around smiling brightly.
“You’re back. Was the trip smooth?”
Standing beside Zhu Qingshan was a tall, broad-shouldered young man with thick brows and sharp eyes.
Judging from the disciplined aura around him, Li Xiyue quickly guessed his identity.
“You must be Sister Qinghe’s fiancé, right?”
The young man blinked in surprise.
“How did you know, Sister-in-Law? Have we met before?”
“Sister Qinghe talks about you often,” Li Xiyue replied with a smile. “And judging by your upright appearance, I naturally guessed.”
“Haha… Sister-in-Law flatters me too much,” Shen Zhengming laughed awkwardly while scratching the back of his head.
Li Xiyue silently took back her earlier impression.
At first glance, he looked stern and reliable, but after speaking, he immediately revealed himself to be a lovable fool.
Without waiting for instructions, Zhu Qingshan rolled up his sleeves and began moving the heavy furniture into place.
Under his efficient hands, the rooms quickly became far more spacious and orderly.
Li Xiyue was in an exceptionally good mood today. Seeing Zhu Qingshan working so diligently made her decide to prepare an especially lavish meal.
After sending Shen Zhengming to fetch Zhu Qinghe, she turned toward Zhu Qingshan.
“Is there anything specific you want to eat today? I’ll cook personally.”
“Anything you make is fine.”
As he spoke, Zhu Qingshan reached into his robes and carefully took out a pair of delicate gold peach blossom earrings.
“I bought these for you,” he said quietly. “I wasn’t sure what style you’d like, so I asked the shopkeeper’s wife to help choose them.”
Li Xiyue accepted the earrings.
Compared to the exquisite modern jewelry inside her dimensional space, the craftsmanship was fairly rough. Still, her heart warmed at the thoughtful gesture.
“Did you buy a pair for Qinghe too?” she asked teasingly.
Zhu Qingshan shook his head.
That responsibility belonged to Shen Zhengming.
After admiring the earrings for a moment, Li Xiyue suddenly looked up at him seriously.
“Zhu Qingshan, tell me honestly. Aren’t you afraid that I might be some wandering ghost or borrowed soul?”
Zhu Qingshan paused briefly before smiling gently.
“You already figured it out, didn’t you? I’m also someone who once died before.”
For a moment, the room grew strangely quiet.
The two of them stood there honestly revealing the deepest secrets hidden in their hearts.
An indescribable warmth quietly spread between them.
Flustered, Li Xiyue hurriedly tucked away the earrings and fled toward the kitchen, her heartbeat completely out of control.
Watching her hurried escape, Zhu Qingshan felt a sweetness bloom in his chest unlike anything he had ever experienced before.
Not with Wang Zhen’er.
Not even with Li Xiyue from his previous life.
Although Li Xiyue had never dated anyone in her past life, she knew clearly that she did not dislike Zhu Qingshan.
Perhaps it was the lingering emotions left behind by the original owner of the body.
Or perhaps it was simply fate.
Either way, now that destiny had brought them together, accepting his feelings did not seem difficult at all.
She quickly began planning the menu.
Braised pork belly.
Cold pig heart salad.
Garlic stir-fried eggplant.
And egg drop soup with tender pea shoots.
The pea shoots were something she had experimented with herself. After soaking dried peas in water for an entire day, she spread soil over them and secretly added several drops of spiritual spring water from her dimensional space.
To her surprise, the sprouts had grown nearly three inches overnight.
This proved that the spiritual water greatly accelerated plant growth.
Unfortunately, the precious medicinal herbs inside her dimensional space had long since withered after centuries without care.
Once the ingredients were prepared, she called Zhu Qingshan into the kitchen to tend the firewood.
In Li Xiyue’s opinion, there was no such thing as a naturally lazy man.
Only women who failed to make proper use of them.
She began slowly simmering the pork belly while blanching the pig heart with ginger, scallions, and cooking wine.
Once cooked, she sliced the meat thinly and mixed it with garlic, salt, chili oil, soy sauce, vinegar, Sichuan pepper powder, and chicken bouillon.
Soon, the rich aroma of braised pork filled the kitchen.
Zhu Qingshan silently swallowed several times while wondering why the meat still was not ready yet.
Next came the eggplant.
Li Xiyue lightly coated the slices with starch before frying them until golden and crisp.
In another pan, she sautéed minced garlic in hot oil before adding the eggplant along with a sweet, sour, savory sauce. After stir-frying everything together, she sprinkled fresh chili peppers and chopped green onions over the top.
By then, Zhu Qinghe and Shen Zhengming had already smelled the fragrance from far away.
“Sister-in-Law, what are you cooking? It smells incredible!” Shen Zhengming blurted out the moment he entered the courtyard.
Zhu Qinghe immediately glared at him.
She herself had not even started calling Li Xiyue “Sister-in-Law” yet, so what gave him the right?
Unfortunately, Shen Zhengming was completely captivated by the food and entirely immune to her glare.
“You two should wash your hands first,” Li Xiyue called out from the kitchen. “The soup will be done soon, then we can eat.”
Once the dishes were placed on the table, everyone immediately dug in enthusiastically.
Thankfully, Li Xiyue had prepared generous portions.
The moment she tasted the soft, flavorful braised pork, she narrowed her eyes happily.
It had been far too long since she enjoyed a truly satisfying home-cooked meal.
This was real happiness.
“Sister-in-Law, your cooking is unbelievable!” Shen Zhengming praised while already scooping himself a second bowl of rice. “You could absolutely open a restaurant in the county!”
Beside him, Zhu Qinghe was too busy stuffing eggplant into her mouth to speak. She could only nod repeatedly in agreement.
She had completely fallen in love with the dish’s sweet, sour, and spicy flavor.
As for Zhu Qingshan, although he remained silent, his chopsticks moved no slower than anyone else’s.
Seeing everyone enjoy the food so much filled Li Xiyue with a warm sense of accomplishment.
In her previous life, she had lived alone in a tiny rental apartment. Eating out was too expensive, so she had gradually learned to cook by watching endless videos online.
After the meal, Zhu Qinghe proactively dragged Shen Zhengming away to wash the dishes.
If she wanted future opportunities to eat Li Xiyue’s cooking, she naturally had to stay diligent.
Once they were alone, Zhu Qingshan’s expression turned serious.
“Qinghe already told me what happened with Zhu Qingsong. Even though his family moved out, you still need to be careful. He’s extremely petty and vindictive. He definitely won’t let this matter go easily.”
His eyes were filled with genuine concern.
“If anything happens, come find me immediately. I’ll be staying in the village for quite a while this time.”
Li Xiyue obediently nodded.
In reality, however, she was not remotely afraid of Zhu Qingsong.
After all, hidden inside her dimensional space were a repeating crossbow and a fully functional hunting rifle.