At her side, Li Qiao had already planned out the vegetable plot and did not notice Li Mai’s expression. She continued,
“With the current climate, there aren’t many vegetables suitable for planting, only tomatoes and pumpkins. Especially pumpkins, one seed can produce more than ten jin in yield, and they taste sweet. As for tomatoes…”
“Sweet and tangy, juicy, perfect to pair with eggs.”
This was said by Li Mai. Tomato scrambled eggs, as a classic home-cooked dish, had appeared in more than one recipe she had seen.
Moreover, every recipe described its taste as pleasantly sweet and sour. Hearing it mentioned now, she could not help but speak up.
Li Qiao had not expected her eldest sister to respond. She nodded in surprise.
At that moment, Li Mai’s earlier mistaken thought completely vanished. Looking at the potatoes in her bowl, she regarded them as if they were treasures.
In her mind, a voice echoed, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three…
At that point, she would be able to eat as much as she wanted.
In an instant, Li Mai’s expression turned extremely serious as she said solemnly,
“Tomorrow, we plant!”
“Alright. I’ll sort out the tomato and pumpkin seeds later and plant them tomorrow,” Li Qiao immediately replied.
After turning the soil and burning the weeds, the land was already usable. Planting tomorrow would not be a problem.
Driven by the vision of future harvests, Li Mai quickly finished the food in the pot, ending with a bowl of wild vegetable mushroom soup.
After tidying up outside, the three of them entered the cave together.
Before they had even lit a fire, Li Shu sharply noticed the small figures carved into the stone wall.
His eyes widened in shock, his mouth opened wide enough to fit an egg, and he could only let out a long inhalation.
Li Qiao noticed her second brother’s strange reaction and walked over in confusion. Following his line of sight, she looked up as well.
She was equally stunned by the scene before her, but even in her surprise, she could not help but shout,
“Eldest Sister! Is this the martial arts manual you carved for us?”
As she spoke, Li Qiao quickly turned her head toward Li Mai. Her star-filled eyes shone with admiration, expressing the overwhelming respect in her heart.
Li Mai tried to keep her lips straight and replied in a calm, almost indifferent tone,
“It’s not some martial arts manual, just a few simple moves that can be practiced.”
“It looks amazing!”
It was as if Li Qiao had not heard Li Mai’s answer. She quickly turned back to the stone wall.
Not to mention the actual moves, just the lifelike figures alone were enough to inspire admiration.
No one knew how long the two of them stood there with their heads tilted upward. Only when their necks felt stiff and immobile did they finally look away.
“Hiss!”
Li Qiao cautiously moved her neck, and who knew what she had strained, she immediately let out a pained gasp.
Li Shu was not much better. He practically had to hold his head with both hands just to move.
The two of them slowly approached the fire. The moment they saw Li Mai, their eyes lit up.
Even Li Shu ignored the discomfort in his neck, instinctively stretching his head forward as he asked, both in pain and excitement,
“Ah! Eldest Sister, when will you teach us martial arts?”
“At least ten days are needed to build up your bodies before we can talk about anything further.”
Li Mai stated the beginning of the training plan she had already formed in her mind.
Even so, the two of them reacted as if they had heard the greatest news in the world, their faces breaking into excited smiles.
“What are we training in the first ten days?” Li Qiao asked curiously.
“Mainly to strengthen your leg muscles, and also to improve your core strength.”
“Horse stance?”
Before Li Shu could even hear the latter half, he impatiently asked.
He had once practiced with their father, and the very first thing he had learned was the horse stance. According to their father, it was the foundation of all martial arts. Could it be the same for what was on the stone wall?
Thus, under the allure of martial arts, a risky thought began to emerge in Li Shu’s mind.
He had already practiced the horse stance for a long time before, so could he skip ahead and start training the techniques directly?
But before he could even voice his thoughts, Li Mai’s words shattered his fantasy.
“Of course not.”
Although the horse stance could indeed strengthen the legs, there was far more to building leg strength than just that.
“Since you’re both so curious, I’ll tell you in advance. Tomorrow morning, after you get up, first run ten laps around the valley to warm up. After breakfast, you will…”
As Li Mai calmly laid out the training plan in detail, it was the first time the two of them realized that their eldest sister could actually speak this much.
If it had been before, they would have been very happy.
But now, they wished she would stop.
Because the training plan sounded far too extensive and complicated.
There were terms they had never heard before, and movements that sounded exhausting just from hearing about them. It felt as though after completing a single session, there would be no time left in the day for anything else.
Li Mai, however, did not disappoint their expectations.
Early the next morning, while the two of them were still immersed in sleep, Li Mai woke them up.
“Get up! Training starts today.”
The moment her voice rang out, both of them were startled awake. They instinctively looked toward the cave entrance, only to see the dim light of dawn.
They immediately realized that it was not even fully daylight yet, and they were already being made to train.
“Hurry up!”
Just as they were still processing, Li Mai’s urging voice sounded again.
Sensing the faint killing intent mixed in her tone, the two quickly sat up, got dressed, and headed outside.
The cold pre-dawn wind made Li Qiao shiver, and she could not help but mutter,
“So cold…”
She wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing them back and forth in an attempt to warm up.
“Once you start moving, you’ll warm up.”
Li Shu’s voice sounded in the cold wind, then disappeared almost instantly.
Li Qiao could only watch as her second brother ran ahead of her. She hurried to catch up.
Standing at the cave entrance, Li Mai clearly observed the scene without saying a word.
By her estimation, the valley currently offered about one thousand meters of runnable distance, though there were still many areas overgrown with weeds that had yet to be cleared.
However, for Li Shu and Li Qiao’s current training, it was more than sufficient.
“Huff, huff…”
Suddenly, the sound of heavy breathing interrupted Li Mai’s thoughts.
She looked toward the source and saw that Li Qiao was already gasping for breath halfway through the run, making her doubt whether Li Qiao could complete the first day’s task.
Looking more closely, she also noticed that both of them were using improper running postures.
Thus, as the two passed by the cave entrance one after the other, Li Mai decisively called out reminders.
“Chest up, tighten your core! Take smaller steps, don’t rush.”
“Slow your breathing, don’t let it go out of rhythm.”
“Lean slightly forward, don’t tilt backward!”
What had once been a lotus pond filled with the sounds of frogs and cicadas was now filled with Li Mai’s cold, commanding voice.