Click-clack~
The fire tongs gently poked at the embers in the stove, and the flame, which had been on the verge of dying out, began to burn again.
Xia Xianxian saw Meng Wenzhou again when it was time to eat.
He greeted Xia Xianxian to come to the kitchen to eat, just as he always did.
Knock knock!
“Come quick, come quick! These dishes I made today turned out especially well. Don’t come begging me for hawthorn pills because you overate later.”
Hearing this, Xia Xianxian didn’t even think before retorting immediately.
“Stop blowing your own horn. The food you’ve been making for me these past two days has been nothing but noodles or porridge; you’ve got some nerve talking to me about hawthorn pills.”
After rolling her eyes at Meng Wenzhou, Xia Xianxian realized what she had just said. But this little back-and-forth had already broken the awkwardness of the morning.
There were several dishes on the table.
Tender, fresh green vegetables, blanched black fungus salad, and bamboo shoots soaked in water, stir-fried with green peppers, garlic sprouts, and preserved meat—it smelled absolutely incredible.
Xia Xianxian, who hadn’t been hungry, suddenly had an appetite upon seeing these dishes on the table.
“Yo, the meal is quite bountiful today!”
Xia Xianxian clicked her tongue twice and immediately reached out with her chopsticks to grab some food, not waiting for Meng Wenzhou to serve the rice at all, just eating a mouthful of the food straight.
“Mmm! Not bad! Why were you being so perfunctory with me the last two days?”
Her eyes lit up as she glanced sideways at Meng Wenzhou, who was currently scooping the rice.
“My ancestor, have a bit of a conscience, will you?”
Clatter!
A bowl was gently placed on the table.
“We basically haven’t been eating at home the last two days; we were just improvising with whatever we could manage for breakfast and dinner.”
“Listening to you, one would think I was mistreating you!”
Meng Wenzhou rolled his eyes at Xia Xianxian before placing the bowl of rice he was holding in front of her.
Xia Xianxian lowered her head, not daring to speak, and guiltily shoveled two mouthfuls of white rice into her mouth.
For a moment, the only sound at the small table was the clinking of chopsticks against the rims of the bowls.
Sunlight filtered in from outside the door, and dust motes drifted slowly through the air.
Although the two were not talking, the atmosphere was quite warm.
By the end of the meal, Xia Xianxian was holding her stomach.
Strange to say, compared to the braised pork from the state-run restaurant in the county seat, Xia Xianxian felt that these dishes Meng Wenzhou made had much more flavor.
But clearly, the food at the state-run restaurant should have been more delicious!
Xia Xianxian tilted her head and wondered.
“I’m going out for a bit later; I probably won’t be back until late. Make sure to lock the door while you’re home alone.”
Xia Xianxian sat by while Meng Wenzhou washed the pot.
She looked seriously at the basin of black water in front of her.
This was the alkaline water that had been filtered out.
When Meng Wenzhou returned from the courtyard, the water in the pot hadn’t boiled yet.
He squatted down, poked at the stove, stuffed a handful of hay inside, threw in two thin sticks of firewood, and then stood up, leaving it be.
He turned and tied a certain amount of wood ash tightly into a cloth, placing it into an iron basin that had been temporarily set aside.
After more firewood was added, the fire in the stove roared back to life, and the water soon reached a boil.
The boiling water was slowly poured into the basin, and the grayish-black liquid gradually seeped out from the soaked cloth.
Oh, this piece of cloth used to wrap the wood ash was that old pillowcase Xia Xianxian had brought back from the Xia family home—truly making the best use of everything.
There were no extra containers in the house, so Meng Wenzhou only experimented today using an amount of water equal to the amount of wood ash.
“Oh, you’re going out with that person from this morning, right?”
As she spoke, Xia Xianxian’s eyes didn’t shift away from the basin, her mind solely focused on the steps to make soap.
“Mm, yes, and Meng Yang is coming too.”
Xia Xianxian suddenly remembered.
“Hey, I remember that person who came this morning—on the day we transmigrated, he was the one who rode the bike with you to my family’s house.”
“Yes, his name is Meng Dazhu. We had a pretty good relationship back in the day.”
Xia Xianxian nodded in realization.
“Oh~”
“And the Meng Yang you mentioned is the other person who was standing next to you that day, right?”
This was Xiahe Village; the village was full of people who had known Meng Wenzhou for a dozen years. He was in much more danger here than she was.
“Then be careful when you go out.”
Meng Wenzhou curled the corners of his mouth and responded in a low voice.
“Mm.”
…
It was dark by the time Meng Wenzhou returned from outside.
After Xia Xianxian woke up, she looked around before getting out of bed.
There wasn’t a soul in the courtyard besides herself.
It was quiet.
The small courtyard was located not far from the foot of the mountain; standing in the courtyard, one could smell the scent of the wild mountains drifting in on the wind.
Looking into the distance, the mountain stood tall and majestic, tinged with the yellow-green color of the forest.
Xia Xianxian felt that she suddenly missed Meng Wenzhou a little.
At this time, it was still light out, and there was still a long time before Meng Wenzhou would return.
Tsk, she really had slept too long.
Xia Xianxian shook her head, deciding to shake off the sentimentality that came with just waking up.
The wood ash water needed to settle for a day and a night before the results could be seen.
Bored to death, Xia Xianxian began to pester the system.
“Tongtong~ Tongtong~ Tongtong!”
“Tongtong, are you there? Tongtong, what are you doing?”
【×&%￥#@……】
A chaotic buzzing sound of electricity rang out.
【Host, I am here!】
The emotionless electronic voice carried a hint of gritted-teeth frustration.
【May I ask, Host, do you need any assistance?】
You better have a reason!!!
“Oh, I’m a bit bored. Let’s chat.”
【Host, is there anything you need help with?】
The electric buzzing sound crackled.
“Are there any tasks I can do at home?”
Xia Xianxian rested her chin on her hands and said idly.
Ding!
【Single-player system mission has been scanned!】
【Current task: Make a pair of insoles (0/1)】
【Reward: 1 catty of beef.】
【Time limit: 24 hours.】
“What?”
“What did you say?”
Xia Xianxian felt as if the sky was falling!
“Isn’t it supposed to be trading goods? Why do I have to do it myself!”
【The system has been upgraded and can now exchange for basic crafting materials.】
Xia Xianxian looked at the glowing blue panel before her, her hands twisted into a knot, and she began to plead with the system.
“Tongtong, this, that, I really don’t know how to do this. How about… can this mission be canceled? Or, you could transfer it to Meng Wenzhou!”
【Once a mission is issued, it cannot be refunded or transferred!】
【Please, Host, strive to complete the mission!】
The system’s dry words thoroughly shattered Xia Xianxian’s last glimmer of hope.
“Heh, hehe! I’m such a fool, really… I only knew the system had upgraded and that there were new single-player missions, but I never imagined there would be handicraft tasks…”
Xia Xianxian’s eyes were vacant; she felt like the tortured and pitiful Xianglin Wife at this moment.
“I’m such a fool, really… I only knew there were single-player tasks, only knew you had upgraded… how could I have proactively asked you to assign me a task…”
【Keep it up!!!】
“I don’t even know how to hold a needle! How am I supposed to complete the task!”
Watching Xia Xianxian on the verge of a breakdown, the system kindly reminded her.
【There are cloth scraps in the room’s cabinet that you can use to make the insoles.】
Hiss!
Sitting in the room, having pricked her finger for the umpteenth time, Xia Xianxian looked at her red, swollen hand and then mechanically repeated the action in her hands.
Xia Xianxian’s expression was numb, and she said in a calm tone: “I hate you, System.”
…bzzz…