Now that her daughter-in-law had suddenly become so diligent, Zhang Meiju felt a little unaccustomed.
After Zhang Meiju left, Su Xiaowan mashed the boiled red beans into a paste and added quite a bit of sugar.
Fortunately, she had sent Zhang Meiju out first—if her mother-in-law had seen her being so generous with the sugar, she would have felt guilty.
Once the filling was ready, she could start making the green rice cakes.
It was only a little past three in the afternoon. She moved quickly, steaming the cakes while also taking out the bottle of water she had stored—about the size of a standard mineral water bottle—and heating it with red dates and goji berries.
But there wasn’t much water, barely enough for two people.
Worried it wouldn’t be enough, Su Xiaowan added some plain boiled water to stretch it.
That worked perfectly; otherwise, the small bottle wouldn’t have been enough for both of them.
When the green rice cakes were done, she carried a steaming plate along with the bowl of red date water over to her mother-in-law.
“Mom, try these while they’re hot. I just made them,” she said.
Zhang Meiju looked at the soft, green pastries with curiosity. “Xiaowan, when did you learn to make these?”
Some villagers also used mugwort in cooking, but somehow, this plate looked different—
The dough was smooth and shiny, and the filling looked rich!
She took a small bite, and the sweet red bean paste flowed out. Her eyes lit up. “Oh my, it smells amazing!”
The paste was finely ground, the sweetness just right—not cloying at all.
“Mom, have some of this red date water too,” Su Xiaowan said softly. “It’ll warm you up and is good for your health.”
“All right, all right,” Zhang Meiju said, nibbling the cakes and sipping the water.
Maybe it was psychological, but she found the water unusually sweet, and drinking it made her feel warm all over, deeply comfortable.
Su Xiaowan returned to the kitchen, taking an old aluminum lunchbox and a green thermos, separating the green cakes and the water.
When she finished packing, she turned to her mother-in-law. “Mom, I packed some to send to Hanzhou.”
It was just around the afternoon break.
Zhang Meiju watched Su Xiaowan walk away with the food, feeling a warm glow in her heart.
Her daughter-in-law had become so thoughtful and considerate—she still wasn’t quite used to it.
Su Xiaowan carried the lunchbox and thermos along the path to the fields, heading to deliver food to Lu Hanzhou.
Lu Hanzhou originally had a relatively easy job at the post office, just sitting there would have been fine.
But he worried about leaving his mother alone at home and thought it would be inconvenient to care for her from a distance, so he decided to return and work in the fields with everyone.
Su Xiaowan found him at the edge of the field.
He was bent over, planting rice seedlings, his pant legs rolled high, feet in the muddy water, one hand separating seedlings, the other planting them.
Several others were busy around him as well.
When Su Xiaowan appeared, a number of people looked up.
In this village, everyone knew Su Xiaowan—she was too eye-catching to go unnoticed, even if she didn’t seek attention.
But no one could deny she was beautiful.
Today, she wore just a gray cloth shirt and black pants. Her hair was neatly tied up in a simple bun at the back of her head, looking exceptionally clean and tidy.
Her delicate, bright face was fully visible, her neck long and slender.
Under the sun, her skin looked fair and radiant, her cheeks tinged with a faint pink.
Like a spring peach blossom—soft and tender.
Everyone in the field had been working all day under the sun, men and women alike, all sweating heavily and flushed from the sun.
No one looked as neat as Su Xiaowan, not a strand of hair out of place, her hair smooth and soft.
People looked at her with envy—and a touch of awkwardness.
Lu Hanzhou saw her too.
He was a little surprised—he hadn’t expected her to come to the fields.
“She can’t be here to see Bai Fulin again, can she?” he wondered.
But Bai Fulin seemed to be working on the other side today…
Just then, Su Xiaowan walked straight toward him with a smile. “Husband, take a break. Eat something—I made some food for you.”
As she spoke, she opened the lunchbox. The others couldn’t help but glance over, a little envious.
Lu Hanzhou looked down. Inside were two green “buns.”
“They’re green rice cakes I made. Try them,” she said, handing him a handkerchief to wipe his hands.
He bit into one—soft and chewy, the sweet bean paste filling rich but not cloying.
After eating, he felt a warm glow through his body, and the fatigue lifted considerably.
“You made these yourself?”
“Yes. You gave me living expenses, so I should make something tasty for you,” Su Xiaowan said, handing him the thermos. “Drink some water too; it’s quite good.”
He took a few sips. The water… seemed unusually sweet.
He glanced at the thermos but didn’t notice anything special.
When he finished, Su Xiaowan packed up the lunchbox quietly and said, “Come back early tonight—I’ll make braised pork for you.”
“All right,” he replied, watching her walk away while continuing to bend over and work.
But somewhere in his heart, something softened quietly.
Now she finally looked like a wife—managing the household while he worked outside.
This was exactly the life he had longed for before marriage.
Su Xiaowan walked home, feeling pleased thinking of Lu Hanzhou’s satisfied expression.
She wondered if, with her recent efforts, her mysterious space might now yield the medicinal herbs she needed.
She was currently most in need of all sorts of herbs.
As she walked, she looked up and saw Bai Fulin.
He was leaning against a tree, taking a break, holding a cigarette between his fingers, legs casually crossed, exhaling smoke lazily.
What bad luck!
Su Xiaowan paused, trying to pretend she hadn’t seen him and continued walking.
But Bai Fulin called out to her, smiling gently. “Xiaowan, come here for a moment.”
His smile was soft, and his deep eyes sparkled like stars in the night sky.
Few girls could resist such a smile.
No wonder he was always surrounded by girls wherever he went.
Back in the provincial city, Bai Fulin had been famously popular.
But fortunately, Su Xiaowan wasn’t one of those girls.
She had no choice but to walk a few steps closer and asked, “Do you need something?”
Her expression was calm, her tone steady, her eyes clear. She had really changed.
Bai Fulin clenched his cigarette tightly and turned his head to look at her.
He glanced at the lunchbox in her hand. “What are you out here for?”
“Obviously, to bring food to my dear husband,” Su Xiaowan emphasized the words “dear husband” deliberately.
She wanted to make sure he didn’t misinterpret her intentions—no chance of him thinking she had feelings for him.
“Husband?” She now called Lu Hanzhou that naturally?
Bai Fulin recalled just a few days ago, she had still been insisting on divorcing Lu Hanzhou and even clinging to him. Thinking back, it seemed ridiculous.
It was as if she had changed completely after that incident, like she had been possessed.
He stared at Su Xiaowan intently, his gaze sharp.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll leave first.”
Bai Fulin’s scrutinizing look made her uneasy.
She wanted to focus on restoring her image and had no intention of dealing with him further.
Another reason—Bai Fulin was probably the one person who knew the most about the “original Su Xiaowan.”
She feared getting too close to him in case her true situation was exposed.
Bai Fulin didn’t say anything; he took a drag of his cigarette and slowly exhaled, the smoke faintly veiling his sharply defined face.
Su Xiaowan hated people who smoked.
She continued walking forward, and just as they were about to pass each other, Bai Fulin suddenly spoke: “Are you really Su Xiaowan?”
The question froze her in place.
Had he noticed something?
They had only met three times, and he was already suspicious?
Su Xiaowan turned to Bai Fulin, her expression unreadable. “What do you mean by that?”
Her gaze was clear, meeting his eyes calmly, even with a hint of impatience.