“What do you mean? Isn’t it just that I didn’t fold the quilt? Is it necessary to kick me out over that? Everyone in the village already knows I’m your wife. If you don’t want me, who am I supposed to marry later? Sob sob, I’m going to be a spinster…”
Li Yingtang panicked and threw herself face-first onto the bed, crying loudly with her head buried.
After crying for a while, she secretly turned her face to observe his reaction. He was silently organizing the things she had thrown onto the end of the bed.
Was he really going to drive her away?
Unacceptable.
She simply crawled up and threw herself into his arms.
“Please don’t kick me out, okay? I’ll learn how to do housework.”
Qin Xian stiffened for a long moment. “Who said I’m kicking you out? No one is asking you to do housework either.”
Li Yingtang looked confused. “Then what do you mean? Why are you packing my things?”
“Don’t you think it’s too messy?” Qin Xian frowned at her. She had been crying for so long—yet not a single tear?
Her hands were also not behaving, constantly slipping into his clothes.
“Oh.” Li Yingtang relaxed immediately and squeezed his waist through his sweater.
So thin.
So solid.
“Where should we put it?” The box was already filled with his belongings.
“Put it in a cardboard box first. When we have time, we’ll ask the village carpenter to make a wooden one.” Qin Xian lifted the old quilt, folded it neatly in a few quick motions and placed it on top of the box, then spread out a new bedsheet and laid the cotton batting inside. “Do you know how to put on a quilt cover?”
Li Yingtang shook her head awkwardly.
Qin Xian: “What else can you do?”
Li Yingtang replied weakly, “Eat.”
Qin Xian: “…”
Li Yingtang helped Qin Xian finish putting the quilt together, then went to the kitchen to check on the hawthorn draining.
The top layer was already dry, but the bottom still had some moisture. She decided to start stringing the hawthorn first.
By the time she finished the last one, it was already dark.
She stood up and turned on the light, then returned to the stove to light a fire.
No matter how she tried, the fire wouldn’t catch.
Frustrated, she pulled the firewood out from the stove and threw it toward the door—just as Qin Xian lifted the curtain. The wood almost hit his foot.
Startled, she stood up.
“Who upset you this time?” he asked.
“I can’t light the fire!” she snapped.
Qin Xian glanced at it. “Who uses thick logs directly to start a fire? Don’t you often go camping with your friends? Didn’t you survive outdoors without knowing how to make fire?”
Li Yingtang was speechless.
She couldn’t exactly tell him that in her time people used gas stoves…
“I was just bragging,” she muttered.
Qin Xian: “First use straw to ignite it, then slowly add thin wood, then thick wood. How do you not even know this?”
Li Yingtang pouted. “You know how to do it, isn’t that enough?”
Qin Xian: “…”
So who exactly is the wife here?
After Qin Xian lit the fire, Li Yingtang mixed water and sugar in proper ratio and made syrup, then poured it over the stringed hawthorn balls.
After it cooled, she took a bite. “Sweet and sour—it’s really good.” She held one up to his mouth. “Try it.”
Qin Xian leaned his head back slightly and looked at the hawthorn she had bitten. For some reason, he suddenly wanted to lean forward and bite the exact spot she had bitten.
Realizing this thought, his face slowly turned red.
“I don’t like sweet food,” he said.
“Alright then, I’ll eat it myself.”
By the time she finished all the candied hawthorn, it was already 8 p.m.
Qin Xian cooked a pot of noodle soup with dough drops. Li Yingtang ate until she was sweating.
“So delicious. Your cooking is amazing.”
Just simple flour batter dropped into boiling water, added with greens and salt, yet it tasted like a delicacy.
The expensive chefs her parents hired back home couldn’t compare.
Qin Xian: “Don’t talk while eating.”
Reluctantly, she shut her mouth.
After dinner, she went to the clinic to find a cardboard box, lined it with oiled paper, and stored the candied hawthorn inside. The next morning before dawn, she pushed a wheelbarrow to the market.
Before leaving, Qin Xian reminded her, “Be careful on the road. Don’t trust strangers.”
Li Yingtang grinned. “Not放心? Then come with me.”
Qin Xian said nothing.
She raised a brow. Still shy?
“I’m going.”
At the market, she set up her stall at a busy intersection and started selling.
Market price was 0.2 yuan per stick. She sold hers as 0.3 yuan for two sticks, or 0.5 yuan for three sticks, and even allowed tasting first.
The stall quickly gathered a crowd.
“I’ll take two!”
“I’ll take three sets of the 0.3-yuan deal!”
“Alright, one by one!” she called loudly.
Three large boxes sold out in less than half an hour.
A nearby goat milk vendor sighed in admiration. “Girl, you really know how to do business. I’ve been here all morning and barely sold anything.”
“You’re too quiet—how would anyone know what you’re selling?” Li Yingtang said while collecting money. “You need to shout, the louder the better.”
“I’m too shy…”
“There’s nothing to be shy about. You’re not stealing or robbing anyone.”
She then shouted for him: “Fresh goat milk for sale! Boosts immunity, helps sleep, and makes your skin beautiful! Don’t miss it!”
After her promotion, his business improved noticeably.
Meanwhile, her own stall became quieter, so she decided to move.
“Uncle, your goat milk is 0.5 yuan per bowl. I’ll trade you seven candied hawthorns for two bowls, okay?”
“Sure! Without your help, I wouldn’t have sold so much. Where should I put the milk?”
She emptied her water bottle and used it to store the goat milk, then pushed her cart toward the residential area.
After a whole morning walking through streets and alleys, she finally sold everything.
Total profit: 12.6 yuan.
She went to the supply store and bought yarn, planning to knit Qin Xian a scarf to thank him for buying her a cotton coat.
Then she went to the police station to ask about household registration for someone without an ID.
After hearing she had no parents and no stable residence, the staff gave her two options:
1. Marry someone—then her household registration would be transferred to her husband’s family.
2. Get a letter of introduction from the local village committee and apply for registration.
Li Yingtang thought for a moment, thanked them, and left.
On the way back, strong winds blew. A three-hour journey took until dark.
A cold moon rose above the treetops, and a warm yellow light glowed from the small house.
“A Xian, A Xian.”
After a moment, the tall figure of the young man appeared. “Why so late?”
“Business was bad, wind was strong, I couldn’t open my eyes. And I walked the whole way. How could I come back early? I’m freezing to death. Is there food?”
“Stewed wild duck in an iron pot,” Qin Xian replied.
Li Yingtang rushed straight to the kitchen. Behind her, Qin Xian pushed the cart and glanced at the water bottle.
Full.
He hadn’t drunk water all day?
He opened it and smelled a faint fishy scent. “You bought milk?”
“It’s goat milk. I’ll make double-layer milk pudding for you tomorrow.”
“Double-layer milk pudding?”
“You’ll know when I make it.”
After washing her hands and sitting down, Li Yingtang took out nine yuan. “You’re my man and you can cook, so you’ll stay home and handle things inside. I’ll go out and earn money. You keep all the money.”
Qin Xian: “…”
So he’s the wife now?
After a pause, he took the money.
Satisfied, she nodded. Once he takes my money, he’s mine.
Qin Xian suddenly noticed something on the back of her coat. “What’s that on your clothes?”
She turned around. “Ah! It looks like bird droppings. My new cotton coat!”
As the stove burned warmly, she immediately took off her coat to check—just as a hidden stash of money slipped out and fell to the ground with a soft *plop*.