“I’ve been awake for a while. Just had some flatbread, not hungry yet,” Fu Shiwen said.
Jiang Zhu let out an “oh” and set the books and chess set she’d bought on the table, then hung up the cured meat Li Shan had given her.
She had just finished when she heard Fu Shiwen call her name: “Jiang Zhu.”
She looked over with a questioning “Hmm?”
Fu Shiwen looked at her face, a hint of embarrassment creeping onto his own. He cleared his throat twice and said, “You… come here for a moment.”
Jiang Zhu walked over with a puzzled expression and asked, “What’s… the matter?”
Fu Shiwen looked at her face and found it even harder to voice what he needed to say.
“Hmm?” Jiang Zhu made the questioning sound again.
Fu Shiwen took a deep breath, steeled his resolve, and thought that he’d have to say it sooner or later anyway—might as well get it over with. “I need to use the bathroom.”
Jiang Zhu had completely forgotten about that. Her face flushed slightly, and she froze, momentarily at a loss for words.
Fu Shiwen’s face reddened too, and he turned his head away.
If he could help it, he wouldn’t want to trouble her, but there were only the two of them here, and he couldn’t move around easily. There was no other choice.
Jiang Zhu quickly snapped back to her senses. She went into the bathroom and brought out a wooden bucket. Though it was called a bathroom, it was really just a small partitioned alcove. She placed the bucket by the bed.
“I’ll… help you… up.”
Fu Shiwen murmured an “mm” in acknowledgment and, with Jiang Zhu’s assistance, sat up. He then slowly turned his body, keeping his injured leg on the bed while lowering the other leg to the floor.
They were so close that Fu Shiwen could smell her scent—a pleasant fragrance of medicinal herbs that brought a sense of calm.
But soon enough, that pleasant scent disappeared.
Jiang Zhu stepped back two paces and said, “I’ll go… to the kitchen.”
Fu Shiwen acknowledged with an “mm” and watched her walk into the kitchen before he began to act.
The kitchen was also a small partitioned space. Once inside, she didn’t idle—her eyes found work to do. Wherever she saw mess, she tidied up, wiping here and cleaning there.
The water hadn’t been shut off yet, so she filled every container that could hold water.
Once the snow fell heavier and the pipes froze, she’d have to go outside to fetch water.
There was a stream not far from the cabin. The pipes had been connected to the house while her family was still around, so water access was relatively convenient.
She finished cleaning the kitchen just as Fu Shiwen outside had taken care of his business and called out to her.
When Jiang Zhu came out, the bucket had already been covered. She first carried the bucket back to the bathroom, then helped Fu Shiwen sit back down.
The first time was always awkward, but once there was a beginning, things became easier afterward.
Jiang Zhu said, “If you… need… the bathroom, tell… me.”
Fu Shiwen raised his hand to cover his eyes and murmured “mm,” too embarrassed to look at her.
Jiang Zhu was in a good enough mood to comfort him: “It’s… fine. Very… normal.”
Fu Shiwen murmured “mm” again and pulled the blanket up over his head.
Seeing this gesture, Jiang Zhu inexplicably felt like laughing. The corners of her mouth lifted slightly, but she didn’t let out a sound.
She got up, walked over to the stove, and sat down to warm herself by the fire. She also put the half piece of flatbread from that morning on to toast, waiting until it softened before continuing to eat.
As she ate, she looked around the room, considering where would be the best place to put the bed.
Ideally, it should be close to Fu Shiwen’s bed so she could take care of him at night.
After finishing the flatbread, she had a plan mapped out in her head. She clapped her hands together and got to work.
First, she had to clear out that area and move the few belongings elsewhere.
Her movements weren’t particularly loud—just moving things around—but they still caught Fu Shiwen’s attention.
He threw off the blanket, poked his head out, and watched Jiang Zhu to see what she was doing. Unable to make sense of it, he asked, “What are you doing?”
Jiang Zhu didn’t pause her steps as she replied, “Setting up a bed.”
Fu Shiwen let out an “Oh” and watched her work.
It took her about ten minutes to move everything out and tidy up the space. Then she grabbed a broom and swept the area clean before heading out the door.
Fu Shiwen felt like a complete invalid—unable to do anything, needing a young woman to take care of him.
But given his current condition, even if he wanted to help, he couldn’t. It would already be a blessing if he didn’t cause Jiang Zhu more trouble.
Forget it—he should just try to cause her as little trouble as possible.
Once his leg healed, he would help her and repay her kindness properly.
Bored out of his mind, he lay in bed staring at the ceiling and let out a sigh.
With nothing to do, time passed unbearably slowly. He still wanted to find something to occupy himself, even just to pass the time.
Outside the house, Jiang Zhu was picking through wooden planks. She first selected a large board to serve as the bed base and carried it to the doorway, then hauled over a few wooden frames and set them by the entrance as well.
These planks and frames had originally been part of the bed inside the house, but after her family passed away, Jiang Zhu had moved them out to open up more space.
She never expected they’d come in handy today.
She crouched by the front door, swept the area clean first, then tested the sturdiness of the materials. No problems—they could easily support someone her size.
She carried the planks and frames back inside, wiped them down with a cloth until they were spotless, and only then assembled the bed.
She was remarkably capable. Though she was small and looked like a gust of wind could knock her over, she had surprising strength, great endurance, and strong practical skills.
Living alone on a mountain, if she weren’t handy, she wouldn’t have survived to this day.
After setting up the bed, she still needed to lay down padding and a mattress—otherwise it would be too cold to bear.
The past two nights she’d slept in a chair, and it had been unbearably uncomfortable. Sometimes she’d wake up in the middle of the night with her arms numb.
After making the bed, Jiang Zhu felt warm but hadn’t broken a sweat.
She lay down on it and let out a breath of relief. A faint smile crept across her face as she thought to herself that tonight she’d finally get a good night’s sleep.
Seeing that she was finally done, Fu Shiwen struck up a conversation: “All finished?”
He hadn’t dared to talk to her earlier, afraid of interrupting her work and wasting her energy.
Jiang Zhu hummed in acknowledgment and sat up from the bed. She glanced at the time—it was four in the afternoon.
Fu Shiwen praised her, saying, “You’re really impressive.”
He’d watched the entire process of her setting up the bed just now—her movements were so swift and smooth, without a single hitch!
The girls he knew—forget setting up a bed, they probably couldn’t even lift one of those wooden frames.
Jiang Zhu was truly a special girl, different from any he’d met before.
But then again, considering she lived in this kind of environment, having such practical skills made sense.
Her family circumstances must have been difficult—perhaps she was the only one left in her family.
Thinking about it that way, Fu Shiwen felt she was quite pitiable, living alone on a mountain with no one to talk to.
This reminded him of his mother. Before she met his father, she had lived a hard life too.
Fortunately, everything had gotten better afterward. Their family was harmonious, and his mother never had to suffer again.
Fu Shiwen praised her once again, and Jiang Zhu’s face flushed red again. “No, no, not that impressive.”
Just a little impressive.
She gestured a little bit of impressiveness in her mind.