“The times are difficult now, so we have to conserve our rice. It isn’t easy for Gu Zhou to support the family all by himself. You need to think about him and care about how hard he works.”
Grandma Gu kept nagging, and the more she spoke, the heavier the resentment in her heart became.
He married a foolish wife. How are they supposed to live from now on?
Keeping another person fed for nothing… Why does my grandson have such a hard life?
The more she thought about it, the more she couldn’t hold back her tears.
Ji Yun paid no attention to what she was thinking and had already gone to the stove to start the fire.
This time, she did it perfectly.
She had survived in the apocalypse for many years and had roasted things over fires in the wilderness countless times. Starting a fire was nothing difficult for her.
First, she grabbed a handful of pine needles and blew on the fire starter until it caught flame. Then she placed the burning pine needles inside the stove.
She added a few thin pieces of firewood on top, and the fire quickly came alive.
Grandma Gu watched her practiced movements, and her chilled heart warmed a little.
At least she knew how to start a fire.
Not bad.
After starting the fire, Ji Yun washed her hands, rinsed the rice, and put it into the pot before covering it with the lid.
“Mm, do it like this from now on. We have to keep track of the rice.”
Ji Yun nodded.
Grandma Gu carried the water used to rinse the rice to the vegetable garden.
Water couldn’t be wasted. It was best used to water the vegetables.
Gu Zhou wanted to take the wooden basin from her.
“Grandma, let me do it. Your legs aren’t in good shape. You should rest more.”
“All right, go keep an eye on her. Don’t let her burn down our kitchen.”
“Grandma, it won’t come to that.”
“Why wouldn’t it? She’s a fool. What does she know?”
The conversation between the grandmother and grandson clearly reached Ji Yun’s ears.
However, she showed no reaction and simply focused on what she was doing.
She had learned long ago in the apocalypse that arguing was useless.
Status and respect had to be earned through strength.
And right now, she had no real strength.
By the time Gu Zhou arrived in the kitchen, Ji Yun had already started washing the vegetables.
“There are bugs on the vegetables. Wash them carefully.”
Ji Yun glanced at him as if acknowledging him, then lowered her head and continued washing.
Once they were clean, she chopped the vegetables finely.
When the porridge was almost ready, she sprinkled the vegetables into the pot and stirred them together. Then she added a few grains of salt before taking the pot off the stove.
Grandma Gu looked at the vegetable porridge on the table, a satisfied expression appearing in her eyes.
“This food looks pretty good.”
“Grandma, let her handle the kitchen work from now on. Your eyesight isn’t good, so you should rest more.”
Grandma Gu curled her lips.
“What use is knowing how to cook?”
She had still been hoping to hold a little grandson in her arms.
But looking at Ji Yun like this, she didn’t dare hope for it.
What if she gave birth to a whole litter of foolish children?
Would her grandson still be able to live?
“Grandma, let’s talk about the other things later.”
Gu Zhou lowered his head and drank his porridge.
He had spent half the day running around the mountains and was genuinely hungry.
Grandma Gu took a bite.
It actually tasted pretty good.
This fool wasn’t completely useless after all.
“Oh, right. Aren’t you supposed to take her back to her family’s home?”
“We have to go. It wouldn’t be right not to explain anything to them.”
He still hadn’t met her family. That wouldn’t be proper.
“Then ask around later and find out which family she belongs to.”
“Okay.”
Ji Yun ate very politely, but she wasn’t slow.
At the very least, she ate no slower than Gu Zhou.
Gu Zhou cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks afterward.
He seemed quite skilled at household chores.
But it made sense.
Grandma Gu’s eyesight wasn’t good, and there was no one else in the household. It was understandable that he had learned to handle both household and outside affairs.
After the meal, it still wasn’t completely dark, and faint light could still be seen in the forest.
Ji Yun sat outside the wooden house enjoying the cool air, but her mind was already thinking about tomorrow.
She had to find an excuse to go into the forest.
She needed static electricity!
Grandma Gu had been watching her the entire time, making it inconvenient for her to do anything.
“Why are you sitting there spacing out? It’s time to sleep.”
Grandma Gu’s low voice brought Ji Yun back to her senses.
She stood up and slowly walked inside.
The Gu family had only three rooms.
Aside from the main room, Grandma and Gu Zhou each had their own bedroom.
Ji Yun had already learned this that afternoon.
“Go back to your room and sleep. Tomorrow, come with me to the mountain to gather wild vegetables.”
Grandma Gu directly pushed her into the room.
This old woman really didn’t treat her politely at all.
Unfortunately, Ji Yun couldn’t speak.
Gu Zhou wasn’t in the room.
From the backyard came the sound of running water, and Ji Yun knew he was taking a bath.
A gecko quietly clung to the wall, blending into the darkness.
Ji Yun carefully walked over to the wall and extended a finger, trying to attract it.
The little gecko was just about to crawl over when the man pushed the door open.
“What are you squatting in the corner for?”
The gecko was startled and scurried away.
“Are you eating strange things again?”
Ji Yun rolled her eyes at him.
What kind of strange logic does this man have?
Couldn’t she simply have found the little thing cute and wanted to play with it?
“Ji Yun, you can’t eat this. You’ll die. You know what dying means, right?”
He grabbed Ji Yun by the shoulders and stared at her with his sharp, intimidating eyes.
Gu Zhou was bare-chested.
Having just taken a bath, his skin was cool, giving off a distinctly masculine aura.
The man had thick eyebrows, large eyes, a high nose bridge, and a sharp jawline.
Drops of water that hadn’t been completely wiped away rolled down his well-defined muscles before disappearing into the waistband of his trousers.
He had a pretty good body.
When he noticed that she kept staring at him, Gu Zhou calmly pulled his clothes over himself.
Then he thought about it.
She was his wife.
Why was he covering himself?
He tossed the clothes aside again and stood up.
“Remember what I said. Don’t eat random things. If I catch you doing it again, I definitely won’t let you off.”
Ji Yun…
Did he think she had some kind of strange eating habit?
She pointed toward the gecko and waved her hands.
Gu Zhou understood.
“You’re saying you weren’t trying to eat it?”
Ji Yun nodded.
“You really are a fool. What’s so fun about a gecko?”
Ji Yun…
Forget it.
We simply don’t speak the same language.
I’ll endure it.
Gu Zhou released her and sat down on the bed in a relaxed, imposing manner.
The wooden boards immediately creaked and shook beneath his weight.
“Tomorrow, wash my clothes.”
“Really, what kind of wife did I marry?”
“Not only is she a fool, she’s also mute. She’s as skinny as a chick. In some places, she’s even smaller than me.”
Gu Zhou muttered to himself before lying down on the bed.
Ji Yun…
Do you think I wanted this?
In her previous life, she had also been slim-waisted and long-legged, the kind of woman who could be called a beauty.
She never expected to transmigrate directly into the body of someone as skinny as a bean sprout.
“Go to sleep. Grandma will definitely take you to gather wild vegetables tomorrow. You need to be observant and don’t let Grandma get tired.”
Ji Yun went to bed fully clothed and slept with her back against the wall.
“Did you hear me? At least give me some kind of response, otherwise I’ll think…”
Ji Yun suddenly held up two fingers and pinched his arm.
“Ow! This is human flesh, not pork! Can you go a little easier?”
Ji Yun glared at him.
Her eyes clearly seemed to say, You’re the one who wanted a response.
“You look so thin. How can you have so much strength? Don’t tell me you’re some legendary strongwoman?”
A dull ache came from his arm again.
Ji Yun shook her head at him.
“No? Then why did you pinch me again?”
Gu Zhou rubbed his arm and muttered.
In the room next door, Grandma Gu pricked up her ears and listened carefully.
They sound like they’re talking.
So, did it happen or not?
If it had, she would worry.
If it hadn’t, she would worry too.
Inside Gu Zhou’s room, he could smell the scent of the woman beside him.
His Adam’s apple bobbed twice.
He was a normal man, after all, and he had his own needs.
But whenever he met her clear, bright eyes, he found himself unable to make a move.
Almost as if possessed, he quietly moved the body he had just shifted closer away from her again.
Forget it. Take it slowly.
Don’t frighten her, and don’t give Grandma anything else to worry about.
While he was lost in his thoughts, Ji Yun had already begun breathing evenly.
In reality, she was simply recalling the battle from her previous life.
It had clearly been an ordinary tiger.
Yet, somehow, it possessed a supernatural ability.
And it was a lightning-type ability, just like hers.