Qin Mu: Luckily, only he could hear his wife’s inner thoughts. If anyone else could hear them, they’d probably be scared to death.
How do people give birth to monkeys?!
People can only give birth to children!
…
After finishing her meal, Jiang Yao hurried to the backyard to help the old lady plant vegetables.
“Yaoyao, why did you come over?”
Jiang Yao pretended to be annoyed. “Grandma! How can you work all by yourself? Doing it alone is so boring—let me keep you company.”
Song Yulan scolded her affectionately, “Working all by yourself? You sure have a way with words. Come on, I’ll scatter the seeds, and you cover them with soil. That works, right?”
Jiang Yao trotted after her, kicking up a small bit of dirt to cover the seeds.
“Grandma, Ah Mu told me that someone’s coming this afternoon to build a bathing room and a toilet. He said we should make more food tonight.”
Song Yulan asked, “What do you want to cook?”
Jiang Yao grinned. “Grandma, I’ll listen to you.”
Song Yulan saw right through her. “We’ll chop some filling and make meat buns, steam some mantou, and cook a few dishes.”
Jiang Yao sweetly linked her arm with the old lady’s. “Grandma is the best.”
The first time Jiang Yao made money after transmigrating here, she went to buy meat and flour. She and the old lady worked late into the night, secretly making a few buns, then ran to the foot of the mountain and devoured them, mouths full of grease.
It was a bit messy, but it was the first full meal she’d had since arriving here.
Although she occasionally treated herself to something good afterward, nothing ever tasted as good as that time.
After planting the vegetables, Jiang Yao took the initiative to wash vegetables and chop meat, while Song Yulan kneaded the dough and seasoned the filling.
“I’ll make you all-meat buns for lunch, and in the afternoon we’ll add more vegetables for the others.”
One rolled the dough, the other wrapped the buns—they worked quickly. Before eleven, the first batch of buns was already steaming.
“Grandma, I poured you some sweet water. Go rest for a bit—I’ll watch things here.”
Seeing the old lady busy all morning made Jiang Yao feel a little sorry for her. She decided to learn how to cook properly—at least enough to stir-fry a few dishes. It didn’t feel right to always let the old lady do the cooking.
She had never stepped into a kitchen before. At fourteen, she started tomb raiding, wielding a Luoyang shovel like it was nothing—but give her a cooking spatula, and she’d send the food flying.
【Xiao Hei, can you help me get a cookbook? I want to secretly learn. I feel a bit guilty watching Grandma cook for me all the time.】
Xiao Hei: 【…Let me check with other systems. If they have one, I’ll exchange it for you with money.】
Before meeting Qin Mu, she had gone into four tombs. Although she didn’t get anything particularly valuable, after trading things around, she had made nearly two thousand yuan.
It didn’t look like much, but in this era, one yuan was equivalent to about 150 yuan in modern times.
It was still enough to get by.
【Hey, if you’re asking other systems, help me exchange for more stuff too—like a bulletproof vest or something. I’ll secretly give it to Qin Mu.】
Xiao Hei: 【You already care about him that much?】
【Of course I do.】
Qin Mu was now the apple of the old lady’s eye, and Jiang Yao didn’t want her to be heartbroken.
As for the old lady, on one hand, she wanted to fulfill the original owner’s wish and take good care of Song Yulan. On the other hand, she genuinely liked her. In her previous life, she was an orphan, later adopted by a tomb-raiding family, and had never experienced a normal family life.
When Qin Mu returned from training that morning, he heard this and nearly twisted his ankle again.
A bulletproof vest for him? She cared about him?
He couldn’t quite figure out what was going on in Jiang Yao’s mind.
Seeing the time was about right, Jiang Yao lifted the pot lid to take out the buns.
But as soon as she lifted it, hot water splashed onto the back of her hand. She quickly pulled back, hissing, and instinctively touched her ear.
“Hiss—”
At that moment, a figure suddenly appeared, grabbed her hand, and pressed it into a basin of cool water.
“Wear gloves next time.”
Looking at their hands reflected in the water, Jiang Yao thought it would be a beautiful scene.
But… it was better not to look.
The original owner had worked in the fields for years—her fingers were slightly deformed, with cuts and scars around her nails. Qin Mu’s hand was larger, but it too bore several scars, and there were obvious calluses on his index and middle fingers from handling guns.
Tsk. Neither of them had it easy.
After a while, Qin Mu asked, “Does it still hurt?”
“No, it doesn’t,” Jiang Yao shook her head honestly.
“There’s some badger oil at home. Sit here, I’ll get it for you.”
“Okay.” Jiang Yao obediently sat on a stool. The next second, she suddenly called out, “The buns! If they’re overcooked, they won’t taste good. Don’t look for it yet—take the buns out first!”
Qin Mu moved quickly and had a good memory. He immediately found the badger oil. “Apply it yourself. I’ll take the buns out.”
“Okay.”
Watching Qin Mu skillfully remove the buns and lay down a new cloth to continue steaming the next batch, she curiously asked if he had done this kind of work before.
“I’ve done it at home.”
“Oh, I thought you worked in the kitchen unit before.”
There was a hint of disappointment in her voice.
Qin Mu didn’t understand what was wrong. He picked up a bun that wasn’t too hot and pushed it toward her. “Eat first. I’ll go call Grandma.”
“I’ll wait for Grandma.”
Song Yulan had already woken up when Qin Mu returned. She had been watching from the window for quite a while. Hearing that he was about to call her, she quickly pretended to have just woken up and rushed out first.
“Xiao Mu, you’re back? Perfect timing—let’s eat. We made meat buns today.”
As soon as she entered the kitchen, she noticed Jiang Yao’s unnatural hand.
“Yaoyao, what happened to your hand?”
Jiang Yao awkwardly pulled it back. The original owner had always been quick and capable at work, so getting burned right after she arrived felt a bit strange.
Qin Mu explained, “She accidentally burned it just now. She’s already applied badger oil.”
“Oh.” Song Yulan smiled in satisfaction at Qin Mu speaking up for Jiang Yao.
It didn’t matter that the young couple wasn’t familiar before—living together, their relationship would naturally improve.
“Yaoyao, since you’re burned, don’t touch water for a while. Let Xiao Mu wash your clothes for you.”
Jiang Yao: ???
Qin Mu: “Got it, Grandma.”
Xiao Hei: 【Sister Yao, a classic novel scene—a rough military officer cold-facedly washing underwear!】
【Get lost. It’s already good enough if he washes the outer clothes. Washing underwear would be way too awkward—I’ll secretly wash those myself.】
Xiao Hei: 【Sister Yao, you’re not into that?】
【Not at all!】
Qin Mu frowned slightly, determined not to give her the chance to secretly wash clothes.
Song Yulan picked another big meat bun for Jiang Yao. “Eat more. We made plenty today. It’s not too hot these days—keep them over water tonight, and they’ll still be good tomorrow.”
As Jiang Yao bit into the bun, she wondered when they could buy a refrigerator.
【Sister Yao, refrigerators are rare items these days. After buying all that stuff before, aren’t you running out of money?】
Jiang Yao suddenly remembered that there were only three thousand yuan left in Qin Mu’s savings account. Buying large items and daily necessities had already cost nearly a thousand.
Her mood dropped, and even her pace of eating slowed.
【Yeah… we spent so much. At Qin Mu’s earning speed, it would take him more than half a year to save that thousand back.】
Xiao Hei: 【Exactly. You need to go out more. You made nearly two thousand from just four trips—that’s fast.】
Qin Mu chewed his bun thoughtfully, pondering their conversation.
Nearly two thousand yuan… how did she earn it?
Those were all old items—could it be that someone was actually buying them?