His handsome face instantly tensed, the blush at the base of his ears that he’d barely suppressed earlier flaring up like wildfire once more.
Ice shards seemed to crackle and fall from his cold pool-like eyes as he shot Zhang Xun a glare sharp enough to kill: “Shut up!”
Zhang Xun shrank back, but the mischievous, gossip-hungry grin on his face was impossible to contain.
Xie Yunjing took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the strange, hot-and-cold tangle of emotions in his chest. He struggled to maintain his usual aloof demeanor, though his voice was two shades deeper and huskier than normal. His gaze avoided Shen Taotao entirely, fixing instead on the ground three feet from her feet. “That was dangerous just now, risking yourself to save others. Speak—what reward do you want?”
Here it comes!
Zhang Xun instantly pricked up his ears, as did the surrounding onlookers.
Xie Yunjing clenched his fingers hidden beneath his wide sleeves. Gold and silver? She didn’t seem like someone who coveted such vulgar things. A pardon? Her entire family was exiled here… Unless, like other women… she wanted… wanted…
Unbidden, Xie Yunjing’s mind flashed back to the woman’s slender waist twisting in the confined space earlier, the softness crashing into his embrace. A more intense heat surged through him!
The pounding in his chest was wilder than when the building had collapsed.
If she brought it up… it wasn’t as if he was entirely…
Shen Taotao remained oblivious to the tempest raging in Xie Yunjing’s heart.
Having just escaped death, the word “reward” didn’t trigger any ulterior thoughts in her mind.
Planting her hands on her hips, she shouted with full vigor her most fervent desire: “Sir, I’d like some food. And if possible… could we get a couple of shovels too?”
She even felt her request was exceptionally practical and nodded emphatically to underscore it.
Food?! And… shovels?
Xie Yunjing: “…”
The scorching, infinitely suggestive fantasy that had just ignited in him was doused as if by a bucket of freezing water from the deepest ice abyss!
His handsome face visibly shifted from red to pale, then to dark!
The rare, complex emotions in his eyes instantly froze solid, hardening into something colder and more unyielding than the permafrost of Ningguta.
Beside him, Zhang Xun’s eyes nearly popped out of his head, his mouth agape enough to fit a goose egg.
Taking in his master’s face, dark as a pot bottom and screaming “strangers keep away or face death,” then glancing at Miss Shen drooling over the food sacks and the half-collapsed relay station… a brilliant idea instantly formed!
Zhang Xun slapped his thigh with a resounding smack that pierced the sky. “Yes! We have food and shovels. But this relay station might have other spots infested with rats. Miss Shen, with your great skills, could you help us check which other areas are unstable? Our master’s safety depends on you! Right, master?” He frantically winked at Xie Yunjing.
Xie Yunjing’s freshly frozen heart was abruptly chiseled open by Zhang Xun’s words “great skills.” A faint but determined warmth seeped through the crack with a whoosh!
He looked at Shen Taotao, a glimmer of light instantly piercing his icy gaze—so her earlier request for food was a feint? Her true intention was to showcase her abilities, seize more opportunities to shine, and incidentally spend more time with him?
It must be!
This cunning little girl… she’s quite… quite clever.
The stifling frustration was instantly replaced by a subtle, pleased satisfaction.
Though his icy expression remained frozen, the frost deep in his eyes seemed to thaw slightly at the edges, like the first crack in spring ice.
“Mhm,” Xie Yunjing let out an almost imperceptible sound from his nose, acknowledging Zhang Xun’s suggestion.
His gaze fell upon Shen Taotao’s face, covered in dust yet shining brilliantly, and the line of his lips seemed to curve upward ever so slightly.
The moment Shen Taotao heard there was work to do—no need to shovel cow dung, and possibly even a chance to score more food—it felt like manna from heaven!
“Leave it to me!” She waved her small hand with heroic exuberance, grinning to reveal a row of delicate white teeth.
Shen Taotao shoved the bag of grain and the shovel into Shen Dashan’s hands, then happily trotted toward her windbreak cave, muttering under her breath, “Tonight we’ll have a full meal. Since I don’t have to shovel dung, I can work on Kangling, lay the foundation, and make a drainage channel.”
Xie Yunjing stood in place, watching the small figure bustling along while chattering about “Kangling,” “foundation,” and “waterproofing.” Sunlight pierced through the snow piled on the eaves, dancing precisely upon her shoulders.
He subconsciously raised his hand, touching the spot on his chest where she had bumped into him earlier—so subtly it was barely noticeable.
Beneath his clothes… it seemed a trace of her warmth still lingered.
Zhang Xun sidled over, lowering his voice with a sly expression: “Master, look how happily Miss Shen is smiling… She must be quite taken with you…”
Xie Yunjing shot him a sharp, icy glare, effectively silencing Zhang Xun.
Yet, on that frozen, handsome face, the corners of his lips curved upward.
Mhm. The weather… didn’t seem quite so biting anymore.
Shen Taotao ushered her family into the windbreak cave before opening the grain bag Zhang Xun had given her.
Even with some mental preparation, the fine, snow-white flour that spilled out still made her pupils contract sharply.
White flour.
A full half-bag, fine as freshly fallen snow.
And over a dozen plump eggs nestled within the flour.
Shen Taotao poked one of the eggs with her fingertip, narrowing her eyes.
Zhang Xun—this guy’s righteous! Worth keeping around!
“Taotao.” He Shi’s voice trembled with emotion, on the verge of tears. Her withered hand reached toward the flour bag but jerked back as if shocked. “It’s refined flour… refined flour.”
She leaned in and took a deep breath, the scent of wheat mingling with her tears as they fell into the snow. “I thought I’d never taste this again in my lifetime.”
Seeing He Shi’s stooped frame, Shen Taotao felt a pang of sorrow. She thrust the grain bag into He Shi’s arms: “Mother, you keep all of this.”
He Shi wanted to refuse but feared breaking the eggs, so she cradled the bag carefully against her chest. “Can I… can I really manage it?”
“Of course you can. I don’t want to eat that Divine Grain anymore—I want the egg pancakes you make…” While coaxing He Shi, Shen Taotao shot a meaningful glance at her eldest brother.
Shen Dashan understood immediately and added, “Mother, you managed our household before. Of course, you should be in charge of this food now. If anyone dares to steal or snatch it—” His gaze swept over the exiled convicts peering from the hovels, his voice hardened into icy shards. “I’ll chop off their hands.”
He Shi wiped her tears away, moved. “Alright, alright. I’ll listen to you. I’ll make you egg pancakes right now.”
Shen Xiaochuan, unable to wait any longer, had already scrubbed the shovel clean with a block of snow.
“Sizzle!”
White steam rose from the red-hot shovel blade, carrying a charred, fragrant aroma.
The eyes of all six members of the Shen family were glued to the shovel. He Shi’s fingers flew nimbly as she spread snowmelt evenly over the surface. The batter sizzled into a golden, oily circle, and the rich scent of eggs exploded in the air.
Fragrant!
A domineering aroma that warmed them to the core.
The moment the first pancake was lifted from the pan, a chorus of gulping sounds echoed through the windbreak cave.
Five pairs of eyes, glazed with hunger, burned into He Shi’s back. Clutching the scalding pancake, she turned around and met the family’s unwavering, wolf-cub-like stares.
“…” A vein throbbed at He Shi’s temple. “Taotao eats first!”
The others nodded in agreement without any objection.
Shen Taotao rolled her eyes, feeling the immense pressure of being the family’s favorite. “Father and Mother should eat first!”
Shen Fu hastily waved his hands. “No, no, no, Taotao, you first.”
But Shen Taotao simply tore the pancake in half and stuffed a piece into each of her parents’ mouths.
The golden, crispy pancake tumbled in He Shi’s mouth, her tongue sinking into its soft, fluffy center. Scalding oil seeped into her chapped lips.
Shen Fu took a fierce bite, hissing at the heat but refusing to spit it out. His cheeks bulged as he chewed, tears welling in his eyes.
He Shi fried five more pancakes. As the second one sizzled and bubbled with oil on the shovel, Shen Xiaochuan suddenly cursed, “Damn, it’s so fragrant! My guts are twisting from the smell!”
Shen Fu rapped him on the head, scolding him for his lack of decorum.
Shen Xiaochuan pointed at the oil stain by Shen Fu’s mouth and whistled triumphantly.
The family burst into laughter at Shen Fu’s flushed face. He shook his head and joined in the laughter.
When the last bite of pancake was swallowed, only contented smiles remained in the windbreak cave.
He Shi leaned against the haystack, her greasy hand gripping Shen Taotao’s wrist. “My Taotao is a lucky star! Without this pancake of yours—”
Before she could finish, the entire family nodded their heads like sorghum stalks in a fierce wind.
Second Sister-in-law Shen rushed over and hugged Shen Taotao, leaving a shiny grease stain on her tattered padded jacket with her oily mouth. “Little sister! In my next life, I’ll still be your sister-in-law!”
Shen Xiaochuan: …