Mu Simiao tucked the Field Deed into her robe. For now, removing weeds was more important. She grabbed the shovel leaning against the stove, rolled up her sleeves, and thrust it forcefully into the ground.
With a snap, the wooden handle suddenly broke. She stared blankly at the metal blade lying on the ground.
Qi Yuze, who was holding a child in the distance, saw this and feared she might give up. He quickly tied the child to his back, ran to Mu Simiao’s side, and snatched the shovel from her hands. “Mu Niang, let me handle this.”
“What can you do?” Mu Simiao avoided his hand, glancing at his slender frame. “You’d better focus on holding the child.”
She pushed Qi Yuze aside and bent down to inspect the shovel. Judging by the condition of the wood, it had likely rotted from age.
She stood still for a long moment, her eyes scanning the yard. The perimeter was enclosed by a Fence-wall made of wooden branches, and it seemed she could select one to use temporarily.
Mu Simiao walked around the yard and finally chose a thick, somewhat crooked branch. She pulled it out with effort, borrowed a kitchen knife to trim off the excess twigs, sharpened one end into a point, and fitted it into the metal loop of the shovel.
The branch felt reasonably handy, but the yard was overgrown with weeds—too many to clear in a single day. By the time Mu Simiao had cleared one section, the sun was already high in the sky.
She wiped the thin sweat from her temples with her sleeve, placed her hands on her hips, and surveyed the weeded area. The neat, square patch, bathed in sunlight, seemed suitable for growing vegetables.
However, it was midsummer, and there weren’t many vegetable varieties that could be planted. It looked like she would need to visit the market in the afternoon to buy some seasonal seeds.
While weeding, Mu Simiao spotted Wild Fernbrake among the grass. She asked Qi Yuze to bring a woven bamboo basket and began picking out the fernbrake as she cleared the weeds.
Setting the shovel aside, she carried the Wild Fernbrake to the kitchen.
Qi Yuze’s cooking skills were average. Though Mu Simiao wasn’t picky about food, she still wanted something tasty. The best solution was to cook according to her own preferences.
Wild Fernbrake could be prepared in various ways—it could be served cold or stir-fried. But with limited resources, the stove only had coarse salt; there wasn’t even any oil for stir-frying.
She washed the Wild Fernbrake with well water, cut it into short sections, placed it in a ceramic bowl, added a small amount of coarse salt and some well water, and gently rubbed it with her fingers.
Impurities dissolved by the coarse salt settled at the bottom of the bowl. Mu Simiao rinsed the fernbrake twice more with water until no impurities remained.
She boiled well water in a pot, added the Wild Fernbrake, and cooked it until done. Meanwhile, she took the opportunity to retrieve a few Cornel berries hanging by the door, washed them, crushed them, and set them aside.
Mu Simiao removed the cooked Wild Fernbrake, rinsed it in cold water, shredded it with a knife tip, and placed it in a bowl.
After the water in the pot evaporated, she added the Cornel. As the pot heated up, the Cornel released a spicy aroma. Mu Simiao scooped it out with a spoon, poured it over the shredded fernbrake, sprinkled coarse salt, and mixed everything evenly.
The Cold Fernbrake Salad was ready. However, the young child couldn’t handle overly spicy food, so Mu Simiao boiled the reserved Wild Fernbrake into a paste, mashed it, and set it aside.
She took out the last two Dry Cakes from the rice jar, sliced them in half, and placed them on a steamer to heat.
Qi Yuze sat in the yard, watching Mu Simiao busily working. After staring blankly for a long time, he suddenly pinched his thigh. It hurt—this wasn’t a dream.
Mu Simiao, who was known for being gluttonous, lazy, wasteful, and irritable, was actually cooking now. Although he had tasted her cooking yesterday, he had assumed it was just another one of her hypocritical tricks—something that had happened before. He never expected her to persist into the next day.
Gazing at the newly cultivated patch in the yard, he couldn’t help but feel his eyes redden. Since their wedding day, he had never been so moved.
Unaware of his thoughts, Mu Simiao tasted the seasoned wild fernbrake. The spicy aroma instantly filled her mouth, and she sighed contentedly. Only then did she remember she had forgotten to ask Qi Yuze if he could handle spicy food.
Carrying a porcelain bowl, she walked over to Qi Yuze and picked up a strand of fernbrake with her chopsticks. “Can you eat spicy food? Try a bite.”
Qi Yuze wasn’t surprised that she didn’t know his preferences. However, these chopsticks seemed to be exclusively hers. After their marriage, Mu Simiao had drawn a clear line between them—not only forbidding him from touching her while resting but also separating their daily necessities, including meals.
Qi Yuze nodded and replied, “I can eat it.”
Relieved, Mu Simiao extended her hand further, gesturing for him to eat the strand.
Qi Yuze’s gaze shifted from Mu Simiao to her rosy lips, wondering if she had used the same chopsticks to eat earlier.
Noticing his hesitation, Mu Simiao suddenly paused, realizing she might have used these chopsticks already. Just as she withdrew her hand to fetch him a new pair, she saw him lean forward, his tongue darting out to curl around the wild fernbrake strand on the chopsticks.
His fair cheeks instantly flushed bright red, and he couldn’t suppress a cough. Mu Simiao’s frozen fingers suddenly sprang to life. She hurried to the kitchen and brought him a cup of well-water-cooled warm water.
Qi Yuze took a few sips, barely managing to soothe the burning sensation in his mouth.
Mu Simiao sighed softly. “If you can’t handle spice, don’t force it. Wait.”
Since he couldn’t eat spicy food, Mu Simiao decided to stir-fry the dish without chili. Though it lacked the flavor of cornel and was only salty, it was still far better than his pasty, unidentifiable creations.
She lifted the lid of the pot, took out the flatbreads, and broke one into two halves. One half she soaked in fernbrake paste, while the other three and a half pieces she placed in a separate bowl.
Three dishes were set on the table. Seeing Qi Yuze’s stunned expression, Mu Simiao knew her original self would never have done this. But there was no other way—if she wanted to eat well, she couldn’t hide her cooking skills.
“This portion isn’t spicy, and this bowl is for the child.” Mu Simiao divided the three and a half flatbreads, giving two to Qi Yuze. Men had larger appetites, so he naturally needed more.
After hesitating for a moment, Qi Yuze took the child to wash their hands. Upon returning, his first instinct was to feed the child, but Mu Simiao stopped him. “You eat first. It’s hot weather—the food won’t get cold.”
The husband must defer to his wife. Qi Yuze obeyed Mu Simiao’s words, though he only took one flatbread from the bowl. Carefully, he picked up a few strands of wild fernbrake with his chopsticks. As he chewed, he narrowed his eyes in satisfaction.
Before he knew it, he had finished one dry cake. Noticing his stealthy glances, Mu Simiao couldn’t hold back a light chuckle. “That piece is for you. Go ahead and eat.”
With her permission, Qi Yuze timidly picked up the dry cake and began eating the vegetables in small bites.
Mu Simiao finished first. Setting down her bowl and chopsticks, she watched Qi Yuze’s elegant eating manners, raising an eyebrow as she quietly observed. Indeed, her taste hadn’t changed from modern times to now—there was nothing quite like a refined beauty.
But she was currently in another’s body—merely an “outsider”—and must not seize what belonged to others.
“Let me take the child, I’ll feed her.” Mu Simiao stood up, interrupting Qi Yuze’s meal. While he was still stunned, she took the child into her arms. “You eat yours, don’t mind me.”
Feeding a child was truly not her forte, especially with such a wooden spoon. It took her a long while to get just half the bowl’s contents into the child’s mouth. Qi Yuze hurriedly sped up his own eating, and after finishing, he quickly took the child back. “Mu Niang, let me feed her.”
Mu Simiao smiled at him, and seeing his expression, she couldn’t resist teasing him a little. “What? Don’t want to wash the dishes?”
Qi Yuze’s hands, holding the child, froze. His lips trembled, his face pale, as if he didn’t know how to explain. In the end, he only managed to stammer, “I’ll go after I finish feeding her!”
Seeing his ashen face, Mu Simiao realized her joke might have gone too far. She patted Qi Yuze’s shoulder and cleared the bowls and plates from the table. “I was just joking. Look how scared you are.”
After Mu Simiao left, Qi Yuze slowly let out a sigh of relief, puzzled by her earlier behavior. Had she just been teasing him?
Washing dishes wasn’t particularly strenuous work. Mu Simiao finished tidying up in no time and walked into the yard, where she spotted the half-hanging door. She slapped her forehead—she had nearly forgotten about it.
“Do we have any nails at home?” Mu Simiao asked. Seeing Qi Yuze about to stand up, she quickly motioned for him to stay seated and continue feeding the child. “Just tell me where they are, I’ll find them myself.”
“In the drawer under the bed,” Qi Yuze said softly. Mu Simiao went into the room to search.
By the time she found the nails and came out, Qi Yuze had finished feeding the child the fernbrake pancake paste and was pacing back and forth in the yard, patting the child’s back—apparently trying to lull her to sleep.
Mu Simiao held the nails and walked over to his side, reminding him that she was going to fix the door and suggesting he take the child inside.
The door panel had fallen off due to aging hinges, and nails wouldn’t be of much use. Since there were no new hinges at home, she could only make a temporary fix. Afterward, she went inside.
Qi Yuze was just settling the child onto the bed when Mu Simiao stood behind him, waiting. She watched as he patted the little girl’s back, then turned and saw her—his body stiffened instantly, his face filled with fear.
Mu Simiao pretended not to notice. She walked up to Qi Yuze, peered at the sleeping child, and whispered to him, “I’m going to the market. Come out with me to identify some vegetables. If you have free time, you can pick some for our evening meal.”
Qi Yuze nodded at her and followed her out of the house.
“This is wild fernbrake, what we just ate. This is purslane…” There weren’t many wild vegetables, and by the time Mu Simiao returned, he should be able to finish gathering them.
After bidding Qi Yuze farewell, Mu Simiao recalled the route she had taken with the woman to Qing Shu Pavilion the day before. Upon reaching the market, she first asked passersby for the location of the pawnshop.
Without any means of transportation, it was truly inconvenient, especially in the sweltering heat of midsummer. By the time Mu Simiao entered the pawnshop with the field deed, her clothes were mostly soaked with sweat.
“Shopkeeper, I’d like to pawn something.”
Mu Simiao leaned her elbows on the pawnshop counter, peering inside.
“Ah, coming!” A clear male voice came from the inner room. When the man saw Mu Simiao, his eyes lit up, and his voice unconsciously softened. “What business brings you here, Nügongzi?”
“Pawning a field deed.” Mu Simiao handed over the deed, offering the man a faint smile.
The man’s cheeks instantly flushed red as he extended his pale, slender fingers to take the Field Deed from his hand. Upon seeing the clearly written male name on it, his expression immediately darkened.
“Five hundred coins for one portion of land. Your Field Deed only covers three portions, which comes to…” The sound of abacus beads clacking filled the air as Mu Simiao listened to the man’s cold declaration, “One tael and five hundred coins.”