Although the Lu family could eat meat once a day, the meals were rather bland.
Su Xiaowan planned to cook for them herself, secretly hoping: if only her space could provide more meat!
“Xiaowan…” Zhang Meiju was about to refuse, but Su Xiaowan quickly interrupted her.
“Mom, it’s settled then. Don’t worry, I’ll help you improve your health. I’ll go to the mountain now to take a look.”
She remembered there was a mountain behind the village, and it probably grew some medicinal herbs.
The book mentioned that Tang Wenxi had once discovered a batch of herbs in the mountains and sold them on the black market for a lot of money.
There had to be plenty of valuable things in that mountain.
Su Xiaowan returned to her room and quickly tidied herself up.
The original owner’s wardrobe actually had quite a few clothes, many of which were considered decent for this era.
In the end, she chose a light-colored top, paired it with gray pants, and threw on a thin jacket.
She slung a bamboo basket over her arm and went out.
Relying on the original owner’s memory, Su Xiaowan easily found the back mountain.
In spring, the entire mountain was dressed in green, with lush vegetation full of life.
She followed a narrow trail into the mountain.
Although she had never been here before, Su Xiaowan often went into the mountains to gather herbs and was familiar with such paths.
Every mountain felt to her like a treasure trove.
Many inconspicuous wild plants on the mountain were actually medicinal herbs.
Su Xiaowan collected a lot of mugwort leaves.
These could be used for Zhang Meiju and Lu Hanchuan to soak their feet, dispelling internal cold, and could also be made into green rice cakes.
Along the way, she also found dandelions and cockleburs, which she carefully picked and placed in her basket.
Under a pine tree, she discovered some poria mushrooms and astragalus as well.
She had to admit, there were so many valuable things on this mountain!
The bamboo basket gradually grew heavy; this trip into the mountain had been quite fruitful.
Just then, she heard voices nearby.
“Captain, is this the tree we’re supposed to chop?”
“Yes, that’s the one.”
“This tree is huge! Can the two of us handle it, Bai Fulin?”
Hearing the name “Bai Fulin” made Su Xiaowan’s heart skip a beat.
She never expected to encounter the male lead from the book here.
He was the man the original Su Xiaowan had painstakingly tried to pursue but never won over.
Now, the first trouble she encountered in this world was caused by him.
She didn’t like him and had no intention of getting involved with him again.
As their voices drew closer, Su Xiaowan knew she would have to avoid them.
But unexpectedly, when she turned, the two men were already in front of her.
Before her stood two men, one tall, one short.
The short one was lean like a monkey, while the tall one was upright, handsome, with fair skin and sharp, refined features. His eyes were dark and bright, giving him an elegant, refined look.
Even without knowing his background, one could guess he came from the city just by his demeanor.
Was this the innate charm of the male lead?
No wonder the original Su Xiaowan had been so infatuated with him.
At this moment, both of them were slightly stunned to see Su Xiaowan.
The skinny, monkey-like man shouted first: “Why is it this Su Xiaowan again? She can’t have followed us here on purpose just because we’re chopping trees, right?”
Su Xiaowan rolled her eyes at him, too lazy to respond.
Bai Fulin, on the other hand, smiled faintly and said, “Xiaowan, what a coincidence to run into you here.”
Su Xiaowan hadn’t expected Bai Fulin to smile at her.
He was already handsome, and the smile made him even more refined and gentle, like a living piece of art.
But…
Su Xiaowan looked closely into his eyes and realized they had little warmth—if she wasn’t good at reading people, she could have been fooled by that smile.
This man was interesting.
The book mentioned Bai Fulin was quite cunning—superficially elegant, but unfathomable at heart.
The original Su Xiaowan had been played around by him, blindly doing tasks for him, while he neither accepted nor rejected her feelings, keeping her dangling.
So even though yesterday had been unpleasant, he could now act as if nothing had happened.
Sure enough, Bai Fulin sighed lightly, “Working is so tiring… I wish I could be as carefree as Xiaowan.”
If this were the original Su Xiaowan, she would have rushed to help immediately.
But the current Su Xiaowan only smiled: “It’s simple. Then why don’t you go find a good family to marry into?”
Her words stunned the two men.
Even normally composed Bai Fulin’s expression froze for a moment.
Su Xiaowan turned to leave, not even glancing back.
She understood clearly that she was just a supporting character—she had to stay far away from the story’s main characters!
The skinny man, Wang Shijun, seeing her about to leave, quickly blocked her path: “Su Xiaowan, won’t you help us?”
“Who are you?” Su Xiaowan was annoyed at his presumptuous attitude. This man was Bai Fulin’s follower, who had come from the city with him.
She had met him a few times in the capital before—neither close nor unfamiliar—but now that she didn’t want anything to do with Bai Fulin, anyone associated with him had to stay away too!
Wang Shijun looked incredulous: “You don’t even care about your brother Fulin?”
Su Xiaowan turned her gaze to Bai Fulin—and her eyes suddenly brightened.
She saw something—a snake!
On a nearby branch behind Bai Fulin, a viper was coiled, flicking its tongue at them.
What a treasure! If brought back and soaked in wine, it could treat rheumatism and unblock meridians!
Su Xiaowan’s heart raced with excitement, but how could she catch it?
Her silver needles could work, but she worried about revealing her skills in front of Bai Fulin.
Then she remembered—they had axes to chop firewood.
Her gaze returned to Bai Fulin.
Her eyes sparkled, and she wore a sweet, innocent smile.
Bai Fulin was momentarily stunned. He felt that Su Xiaowan had changed.
She had never looked at him so openly before.
Usually, she avoided his gaze, often shyly lowering her head.
But she always sought him out, openly showing her feelings.
She was a woman both awkward and persistent.
Now, however, she smiled at him, her eyes bright and clear.
“Give me the axe,” she said sweetly, though there was a hint of sharpness in her tone.
Bai Fulin relaxed, thinking: she’s still willing to help me.
Although she had suffered a bit yesterday… it seemed that matter had passed?
He had expected that according to his plan, Lu Hanzhou would definitely react, and Su Xiaowan would end up divorced.
But it hadn’t happened.
For the first time, something had completely gone against his expectations.
Bai Fulin’s lips curved slightly as he handed her the axe: “Xiaowan, be careful, this tree is quite thick.”
Su Xiaowan looked at him in mild surprise. Did he really think she intended to help chop the tree?
Hmph, in his dreams!
As soon as she took the axe, she immediately swung it past Bai Fulin.
The axe whistled by his ear, sending a chill down his spine and freezing him in place.
What on earth was Su Xiaowan trying to do?!
Before anyone could react, the axe thudded firmly into the tree behind him.
Wang Shijun, standing nearby, gaped in astonishment: “My goodness, Su Xiaowan, I never realized you were this skilled!”
Su Xiaowan glanced at the snake impaled by the axe and finally exhaled in relief.
Luckily, her previous training with flying needles had given her good aim—but this was her first time throwing an axe.
If she had missed, the snake would have escaped, and all her effort would have been wasted.
She stepped forward, pulled the axe out, and picked up the snake.
She handed the axe back to Bai Fulin and said, “Thanks.”
Bai Fulin looked at the sweet-looking girl in front of him—one hand holding the bloodied axe, the other holding a snake.