Once most of the wedding guests had finally gone home, the family spent a long while washing the borrowed tables, benches, bowls, and platters before returning everything to their rightful owners. By the time they finished sweeping the chaotic courtyard spotless, dusk had already settled over the village. Every single person was so exhausted they could barely straighten their aching backs.
After a simple evening meal, Li Xiyue carefully packed the leftover meat dishes and distributed them among the neighbors who had stayed behind to help. In times like these, no one would ever turn their nose up at wedding leftovers.
At last, after seeing Zhu Chenggang’s family off and thanking them for working tirelessly until the very end, Li Xiyue washed up and collapsed onto the bed, too drained to even lift a finger.
Good heavens, getting married in this era is practically a test of physical endurance…
Inside the peaceful bridal chamber, a pair of dragon-and-phoenix candles flickered softly, their warm glow dancing across the room. When Zhu Qingshan finally returned after taking a bath, he found Li Xiyue completely wrapped up beneath the blankets, stubbornly refusing to say a word.
A helpless smile tugged at his lips. Naturally, he assumed his newlywed wife was simply shy after the long, eventful day.
He leaned down and gently pulled the quilt aside, lifting her upright. Li Xiyue let out a startled gasp, instinctively grabbing onto his broad shoulders for balance. His damp hair carried the fresh scent of wild soapberries.
Almost instantly, heat rushed through her body.
The room suddenly felt unbearably warm, so warm that all she wanted was to escape.
“Hurry and let go of me, it’s too hot…” she muttered.
As she struggled slightly, her hands accidentally brushed across his firm abdomen.
Hm?
Her thoughts changed immediately.
Those are abs? Properly defined abs? And they feel surprisingly nice…
Without the slightest shame, she patted them a few more times for good measure.
Zhu Qingshan’s body went rigid beneath her touch.
Unable to endure any longer, he swept her into his arms and pinned her gently against the mattress.
The spring night passed far too quickly, leaving neither of them any sleep.
When Li Xiyue finally woke the next morning, the spot beside her was already cold and empty.
A man who had only just experienced married life for the first time was truly terrifyingly energetic. Zhu Qingshan had thoroughly exhausted her well into the middle of the night. Fortunately, the experience had been… rather satisfying. Otherwise, she absolutely would have kicked him straight off the bed.
The bedding beneath her felt clean and neatly arranged, clearly showing that Zhu Qingshan had quietly taken care of everything while she slept.
After getting dressed and stepping into the courtyard, she found no sign of her husband. Zhu Qinghe, however, was already crouched beside the stove preparing breakfast.
“You’re awake!” Zhu Qinghe greeted cheerfully. “Breakfast will be ready soon. Go wash up first.”
She poured a basin of steaming water for her new sister-in-law and added, “Older Brother said something urgent came up at the escort agency, so he left early this morning. He told us not to wait for him before eating.”
Li Xiyue picked up a fresh willow twig, dipped it into bitter green salt, and used it to brush her teeth. The harsh taste immediately made her wrinkle her nose.
Sigh… how am I supposed to explain producing a toothbrush and toothpaste from thin air without scaring everyone to death?
After breakfast, Zhu Qinghe worried Li Xiyue might become bored during her first official day as a married woman, so she enthusiastically suggested going into the mountains to gather wild mushrooms.
The two women wrapped themselves carefully from head to toe before setting out. The forests around the mountains were filled with venomous snakes, insects, and wild creatures, so carelessness was never an option.
As for Li Xiyue, her knowledge of mushrooms was limited to delicious Yunnan mushroom hotpot and a famous internet saying from her previous life:
“Red umbrellas, white stalks, eat them and you’ll end up lying flat on a wooden board.”
“Sister Li, hurry over here! Look at this huge patch of Termite Mushrooms!” Zhu Qinghe called excitedly.
Termite Mushrooms?
Li Xiyue’s eyes widened immediately.
These are the same expensive mushrooms that sold for outrageous prices back in the modern world!
Now that she had a perfectly reasonable excuse to gather them, she naturally wouldn’t hold back.
She hurried over and saw clusters of ash-gray mushrooms sprouting from the damp soil, their tiny caps spreading like little umbrellas. Zhu Qinghe skillfully loosened the roots with her sickle, carefully avoiding damage to the stalks. Li Xiyue quickly knelt beside her to help, and together they harvested the entire patch in no time.
Once finished, Zhu Qinghe carefully covered the exposed soil and leaf litter again so the underground roots could continue growing for next season.
While working, Li Xiyue absentmindedly hummed a tune from her previous life.
“A little girl goes picking mushrooms, carrying a basket on her back, stepping barefoot through the woods at dawn…”
After forgetting the rest of the lyrics, she seamlessly switched to the internet meme song instead.
“Red umbrellas, white stalks, eat them and we’ll lie flat on a wooden board. Lie on a board, sleep in a coffin, buried together deep in the mountains…”
Zhu Qinghe tilted her head curiously.
“Sister, what strange songs are those? I’ve never heard anything like them before.”
Li Xiyue casually waved it off. “I heard someone singing them a long time ago. I thought the lyrics were funny, so I remembered them.”
Before long, Zhu Qinghe found herself humming along under her breath as well.
“Red umbrellas, white stalks…”
The deeper they ventured into the forest, the more mushrooms they discovered. Every time Li Xiyue encountered a variety she didn’t recognize, she immediately consulted Zhu Qinghe first. She had absolutely no interest in personally testing the “lying on a wooden board” part of the song.
After over an hour of gathering mushrooms nonstop, her back ached terribly.
“Enough, enough,” she finally called out. “Let’s head back, Qinghe. We can always come again another day.”
Their baskets were already overflowing anyway.
Reluctantly, Zhu Qinghe led the way back down the mountain. By the time they returned home, it was nearly noon. The two changed into clean clothes before washing the mushrooms thoroughly, rubbing away dirt with rough pumpkin leaves and rinsing everything carefully with well water.
As the mushrooms dried, Li Xiyue began planning how to make a rich wild mushroom meat sauce.
There was still plenty of leftover pork from yesterday’s wedding banquet, and she knew the sauce would taste incredible whether paired with noodles or stuffed into steamed buns.
Lunch was simple hand-pulled noodles.
Li Xiyue briefly considered taking a nap afterward, but quickly abandoned the idea. Sleeping now would only leave her wide awake tonight, and this era didn’t exactly offer entertainment.
Seeing Zhu Qinghe fully absorbed in embroidery, Li Xiyue quietly sat nearby without disturbing her.
At moments like this, she missed her smartphone terribly.
Just then, little Doudou came running circles around her feet.
Li Xiyue bent down and scooped him into her arms.
“Our Doudou found his way home all by himself? What a smart little puppy you are.”
Yesterday’s wedding banquet had been far too crowded, so everyone had temporarily left the puppy at Eldest Uncle’s house to avoid him being stepped on. Apparently, the little fellow had run all the way back himself.
His tiny tail wagged so furiously it looked ready to spin him into the sky.
The more Li Xiyue watched him, the more adorable she found him.
Suddenly, Doudou jumped from her arms and sprinted toward the gate, barking fiercely.
“Is Qinghe home?” a woman’s voice called from outside.
The voice was unfamiliar.
“Who is it?”
Li Xiyue opened the gate and found a pleasant-looking young woman standing outside. Her hair was styled in the bun of a married woman.
“You’re looking for Qinghe?” Li Xiyue asked politely. “She’s embroidering inside and probably didn’t hear you. Please come in, I’ll call her.”
The woman studied her carefully, realization dawning across her face.
“So… you’re Brother Qingshan’s new wife?”
Li Xiyue paused slightly.
The tone sounded oddly unfriendly.
Sure enough, the woman continued, “You’re not particularly extraordinary-looking…”
Then she quickly added, “Though I suppose you’re still a little better than Wang Zhen’er.”
Li Xiyue was speechless.
Using Wang Zhen’er as a beauty standard is honestly insulting to both of us.
The jealousy radiating from this woman was practically tangible. Clearly, there was some history involving Zhu Qingshan.
Heh.
Li Xiyue silently smirked.
Looks like someone’s getting questioned tonight.
Far away in the county seat, Zhu Qingshan suddenly sneezed several times in a row.
The convoy leader, Xie Chao, immediately laughed. “What’s this? Did your new wife refuse to share the blankets? Caught a chill already, Brother?”
Zhu Qingshan could only cough awkwardly in response.
Back at the house, Zhu Qinghe heard voices from the courtyard and came outside.
“Oh! Sister Qingmei, when did you come back?” she exclaimed happily. “Why didn’t you attend my older brother’s wedding banquet yesterday?”
Zhu Qingmei’s attitude immediately softened when speaking to her.
“I only arrived back at my parents’ home yesterday afternoon. You should’ve sent someone to the county seat to inform me about such a major event.”
“We’ve all been too busy these past few weeks,” Zhu Qinghe explained gently.
Then she proudly introduced Li Xiyue.
“Sister-in-Law, this is Uncle Chenggong’s youngest daughter, Qingmei. She married into the county seat a few years ago, and her life there is quite comfortable.”
Zhu Qingmei lightly smacked Zhu Qinghe’s shoulder. “Listen to you exaggerating.”
“Please come inside and chat. I’ll bring some sweet water for you both,” Li Xiyue offered gracefully before excusing herself.
A few moments later, she returned carrying chilled sugar water before quietly leaving the two women alone.
The mushrooms had fully dried by now, so she carried them into the kitchen. She tore them into strips, diced the leftover pork, minced garlic and ginger, and chopped onions.
Although onions technically didn’t exist in this era, she wasn’t worried. Once everything simmered into a thick sauce, no one would recognize the ingredients anyway.
Because there were so many mushrooms, she poured a generous amount of oil into the wok. Once heated, she added half the garlic and ginger alongside several spoonfuls of spicy bean paste from her dimensional space.
The fragrant aroma exploded instantly.
She stir-fried the pork until coated in rich red oil, then added the mushrooms and onions. Soy sauce, dark soy sauce, salt, Sichuan peppercorn powder, sugar, and oyster sauce followed one after another.
As the moisture slowly cooked away, she added the remaining garlic and ginger.
Remembering how much the Zhu siblings loved spicy food, she shamelessly tossed in a large handful of chopped millet chilies.
“Sister-in-Law, is the mushroom sauce ready yet? It smells incredible!” Zhu Qinghe and Zhu Qingmei practically floated into the kitchen, lured entirely by the aroma.
“Almost,” Li Xiyue replied with a laugh.
After simmering it a little longer, she finally scooped the rich sauce into two large bowls to cool.
Unable to resist, Zhu Qinghe immediately stole a bite with her chopsticks.
Her eyes widened with delight.
Fresh, savory, spicy, numbing, and packed with tender chunks of meat.
It was unbelievably delicious.
Zhu Qingmei watched helplessly from the side, clearly tempted. However, because Li Xiyue had cooked it, she felt too awkward to ask for some after her earlier rude remarks.
Seeing her friend’s miserable expression, Zhu Qinghe burst out laughing and fed her a bite directly.
Within seconds, Zhu Qingmei wore the exact same blissful expression.
“Alright, enough sneaking bites,” Li Xiyue scolded fondly. “If you keep eating it plain, you’ll end up terribly thirsty.”
She filled three porcelain bowls with the mushroom sauce.
“Qingmei, take one home with you later. It’s delicious with noodles or steamed buns.”
Since Zhu Chenggong had helped her so much during her conflict with Wang Dani’s family, Li Xiyue felt it was only right to send some to his household as thanks. The remaining bowls were intended for Eldest Aunt’s family and Second Aunt Li’s home.
Zhu Qingmei suddenly felt deeply embarrassed remembering her earlier attitude. Yet her stomach was completely conquered by the sauce’s irresistible flavor.
After years of marriage without conceiving, she had finally become pregnant, only to suffer severe nausea that made eating nearly impossible. Worried for the baby, her husband’s family had sent her back to the countryside to recover.
“Just accept it already,” Zhu Qinghe urged, pushing the bowl into her hands. “It’s rare for you to find something you can actually eat comfortably these days.”
After a brief hesitation, Zhu Qingmei finally accepted the gift, completely abandoning her earlier jealousy as she thanked Li Xiyue sincerely.
As the afternoon sun slowly dipped westward, Zhu Qinghe packed the mushroom sauce into a wooden basket and headed out to deliver the portions to the other households while escorting Zhu Qingmei back to her family home.