Chen Zhao rubbed his eyes and asked, “Was that Zhang Zhaodi? She used to go around picking fights with everyone in the village, but she’s never given anyone anything afterward.”
“Using me as a shield is very expensive,” Yu Zhile said with a smile.
Chen Zhao helped pick up the vegetables, his stomach rumbling twice more. His face immediately flushed, and he scratched the back of his head. “I didn’t eat lunch; I’m a bit hungry.”
“I’ll make some simple porridge for now, and we’ll wrap dumplings tonight.” Yu Zhile gave Yu Chi a kiss on the cheek and carried him over to Yu Yue.
Yu Yue gave her a faint smile, and Moore let out a similarly lazy bark.
“Xiao Yue was good, too.” Yu Zhile placed Yu Chi into his arms and leaned down to give him a hug. Yu Chi wrapped his arms around Yu Yue’s neck, nuzzled his face, and called out “Brother” in a small voice.
“Xiao Bao is wonderful.” Yu Yue’s eyes grew slightly red.
Yu Zhile watched them with a smile for a moment before heading into the kitchen. She planned to cook pumpkin and polished rice porridge, along with a side of water spinach with shrimp paste.
The plump, round grains of polished rice tumbled in the boiling water, and a rich, sweet aroma slowly spread with the steam. Yu Zhile poured the diced pumpkin into the earthenware pot and let it simmer over a low flame.
Zhou Yuesheng was sorting the water spinach. The vegetables in front of him were divided into three piles, their lengths so uniform they looked as if they had been measured with a ruler.
“I’m going up the mountain in a bit to gather some mugwort,” Yu Zhile said.
Zhou Yuesheng was reflecting on his fainting spell. He stared down at the cloud mark on her wrist and didn’t hear her words clearly. Yu Zhile repeated herself. He nodded in agreement, though his eyes never left her wrist. Her wrist was dazzlingly white; with a light turn, the mark was hidden in the shadows.
Zhou Yuesheng couldn’t quite describe the sensation of the moment he fainted. There had been no warning signs of discomfort; in a single second, all of his consciousness had been severed. Whether it was a weapon or a drug, he had no clue. Regardless of which it was, if it belonged to the enemy, it posed an immense threat.
“The porridge is almost ready. Are the vegetables washed?” Yu Zhile poked her head out from the kitchen.
Zhou Yuesheng submerged the water spinach in water, shook it quickly a few times, and placed it in a bamboo basket to drain. Yu Zhile stirred the porridge at the stove, the motion releasing waves of sweet fragrance.
“Ready.” Zhou Yuesheng placed the basket by the stove.
Yu Zhile turned her face to look at him, pointing toward the low wooden shelf by the hearth. The steam blurred her features, and Zhou Yuesheng’s knuckles turned white from gripping his hand. The person before him had a neck that was fair and slender, appearing so fragile it seemed as if it could be snapped with a single hand. The secrets she hid filled him with an urge to destroy.
Yu Zhile suddenly turned around, her movement so quick that Zhou Yuesheng instinctively stepped back.
“Why are you dodging me?” she asked with a playful smile, walking toward him.
Zhou Yuesheng remained where he was, making no further movement.
“How did you wake up?” Yu Zhile drew close, her fingers pinching the outer side of his wrist.
“I don’t know,” Zhou Yuesheng replied.
“You don’t know?” As Yu Zhile spoke, the index finger of her other hand came to rest upon his abdominal muscles, slowly tracing the groove of his torso downward.
Zhou Yuesheng allowed her to move as she pleased.
“Do robots develop self-awareness?” Yu Zhile’s movements did not stop. As the tip of her right finger slid over his defined abs, her left thumb pressed against his pulse. Her gaze remained fixed on his face.
“No, Master.” Zhou Yuesheng caught the hand that was about to cross the line, his voice deep.
“Oh,” Yu Zhile replied casually, brushing his hand away.
Then, with a neutral expression, she turned to pull the firewood from under the earthenware pot and shoved it into the large stove. The heat evaporated the residual droplets in the iron wok. Sesame oil went into the pan, bubbling and popping. She tossed in the prepared ginger, garlic, and chili, sautéing them until fragrant. The water spinach went in next, changing color in less than a minute. She added a spoonful of shrimp paste, tossed it evenly, and plated the dish.
The pumpkin and rice porridge was sweet and silky, while the water spinach was savory, fresh, and enticing. The clash of these two extreme aromas made the group’s hunger even more apparent; once the food was on the table, everyone ate with their heads down, focused entirely on the meal.
“Sister, your culinary skills are truly unparalleled. Even simple rice porridge and water spinach are this delicious. Being able to eat your cooking, I must have started accumulating merit in my past life.” The combination of salty and sweet allowed Chen Zhao to eat one more bowl than usual. After filling up on porridge, he immediately entered “praise mode.”
Yu Zhile smiled faintly. “No need to worry about your past life. Help me gather some mugwort on the mountain in a bit.”
“Okay! I’ll pick two big baskets!” Chen Zhao said excitedly, as if he had been given a monumental task.
As the seasons shifted from spring to summer, mosquitoes were becoming more numerous. People in Hai County were accustomed to burning mugwort to smoke out their homes before bed. Yu Zhile planned to keep half to dry and sell the other half fresh via her live stream.
The three didn’t rest for long before picking up their back-baskets and heading up the mountain. On the small slope, wild mugwort grew in thick patches, swaying with the wind. The tender leaves were used to make green rice balls, but for drying, the age of the leaves didn’t matter. Some people would cut the mugwort stalks and all to bring home for processing, while others preferred to just pick the leaves.
Yu Zhile and the others chose the latter. Closing their palms around the stems and stripping downward from the top, they could clean the leaves off an entire plant in one motion. The process was repetitive and dull, but Chen Zhao’s mouth never stopped. He chattered away, telling Yu Zhile about his school trips from elementary school through high school; his voice filled the entire hillside.
After more than half an hour, Yu Zhile and Chen Zhao’s baskets were beginning to overflow, while Zhou Yuesheng’s appeared less than full. As they headed back, Chen Zhao hovered around Zhou Yuesheng.
“Sister’s… Brother Zhou, why is your basket so heavy?” Chen Zhao’s brain finally moved faster than his mouth, swallowing half of the word “Brother-in-law.”
“Packing it tight lets you carry more,” Zhou Yuesheng said, casting a glance at him.
Chen Zhao didn’t seem to notice the coldness in his tone and continued to ask, “Brother Zhou, is your leave really this long? I haven’t seen you training. My childhood friend always trains when he comes home on leave—he doesn’t miss a single day.”
“Mm.” Zhou Yuesheng quickened his pace. On the short walk back, Chen Zhao proceeded to spill every embarrassing story he had about that childhood friend.
The mugwort leaves didn’t need washing. They were spread directly onto bamboo trays to air out; once the moisture was completely dried by tomorrow, they could be bagged and stored.
Yu Zhile went inside to rest and pulled up the Cloud Live Stream platform to check the rules for the Small Window. There were constraints on setting product prices; after a streamer submitted an item, the platform would provide a suggested price based on various factors. The final price set by the streamer could not deviate by more than ten percent.
“Xiao Yun, submit the product,” Yu Zhile commanded.
Xiao Yun pulled up the submission page. Then, the mugwort leaves in her palm levitated into the air, covered by a blue light.
“Host, analysis complete. The platform suggests you price the mugwort at 1 Cloud Coin,” Xiao Yun announced the final result.
Yu Zhile changed the price to 0.9 Cloud Coins and set the quantity and the link’s release time. At the moment of submission, a pop-up appeared in the center of the page with a message:
[The Small Window can use static images or dynamic videos for promotion. The Synesthesia feature for the Small Window can be activated for 100 Cloud Coins. Would you like to enable it?]
Yu Zhile chose “No.” Seeing the progress bar reach one hundred percent, she posted a broadcast announcement before closing her eyes to rest. Once her tensed nerves relaxed, exhaustion swiftly invaded her body, and she soon fell asleep.
Her sleep was restless, filled with several nightmares. She either dreamed of the bloody interrogation room or of being trapped in total darkness, surrounded by the three-dimensional sounds of screaming and sobbing. When she woke, the stray hairs at her temples were damp with sweat, and her head felt heavy and groggy.
It wasn’t quite time for the broadcast yet. Yu Zhile rolled over, pressing half her face into the pillow, and happened to see the letter paper scattered on the floor. She thought back to her attempt to test Zhou Yuesheng in the kitchen; his pulse had been so steady it really didn’t seem human.
However, the testing was far from over.