Qiao Wan stared blankly at the basket of vegetables and cucumbers still glistening with morning dew.
She instinctively turned to look at Huo Yan behind her.
Huo Yan’s gaze sharpened, lingering on the basket for a moment before scanning the courtyard walls, finding no suspicious figures.
He stepped forward, shielding Qiao Wan slightly, and bent down to carefully examine the basket.
The vegetables were fresh, as if just picked from the field. The basket was the most common type made of willow twigs, completely unmarked and utterly ordinary.
“Who could have left this?” Qiao Wan whispered, several guesses flashing through her mind:
Was it a neighbor who took pity on them after seeing their vegetable plot had been stripped bare? Or… was it Zheng Shi trying to curry favor by sending some vegetables, afraid they might actually come for a meal? But… Zheng Shi would never be so kind.
A neighbor? Given her and Huo Yan’s reputation, the villagers would avoid them whenever possible—they’d never send vegetables to their home.
Huo Yan straightened up, his expression still cold:
“No need to guess. Since no name was left, they don’t want us to know who it was.”
He picked up the basket and headed toward the kitchen. Qiao Wan followed him inside, watching as he unpacked the vegetables one by one.
At the bottom of the basket lay a small piece of coarse cloth wrapped around several round, yellow-green wild fruits.
“Wild apricots,” Huo Yan said, picking one up for closer inspection. “They’re just ripe this season.”
He wiped a wild apricot on his clothes and handed it to Qiao Wan. “Eat. Probably given by some passing villager.”
Like her original self, Qiao Wan feared sourness the most—just the sight of green fruit could make her teeth ache.
She stared at the yellow fruit with its tinge of green, swallowing hard, but didn’t take it.
Thinking she was worried about poison, Huo Yan took a bite first.
He finished the entire fruit without changing expression, then specifically picked out the reddest and softest one from the cloth bundle and offered it to her again:
“Eat.”
“Not sour?” Qiao Wan hesitantly took it, carefully studying Huo Yan’s face—not even his eyebrows had twitched.
Finally reassured, she took a bite—instantly, tart juice exploded in her mouth!
She shuddered and spat out the pulp, tears welling in her eyes as she accused: “Huo… Huo Yan, you bastard!” The sourness made her stammer, her whole face scrunching up. “You lied to me! It’s so sour!”
Watching her grimace, Huo Yan’s eyes flickered with a barely perceptible trace of amusement. He picked up another wild apricot, took a bite without changing expression, and chewed slowly.
“I find it… acceptable.”
Qiao Wan was both angered and amused by his blatant lie. Clutching her sore cheek, she glared at him irritably: “Huo Yan! How can you be like this!” She’d finally seen through him—outwardly cold and stern, but secretly mischievous at heart!
Huo Yan didn’t respond. Instead, he used his foot to sweep the spat-out pit to the corner of the wall, then properly stored the vegetables and cucumbers in a shady spot.
Afterward, he turned and entered the east wing, taking a cleaver and changing into his mountain shoes:
“I’m going to cut some willow twigs to make a chicken coop.”
Without waiting for Qiao Wan’s response, he left with the cleaver.
“Cut plenty—we still have rabbits at home too.”
Qiao Wan called after his retreating figure. The rabbits Huo Yan had caught earlier were still stuffed in bags. As the weather grew hotter, their smell became increasingly pungent—every time she entered the east wing, the odor nearly knocked her over.
That afternoon, Qiao Wan kept busy too. Changing into old clothes, she went behind the house to tidy up the vegetable garden.
After their haphazard harvesting last night, coupled with the trampling by Zheng Shi and her companions, the entire garden lay in complete disarray—vegetables flattened and seedlings askew, with only a few patches near the fence still barely standing.
She worked along the shaded areas, clearing both weeds and vegetable sprouts together. Since the soil would need turning sooner or later anyway, and these weeds had to be removed eventually, getting it done early meant enjoying the results sooner.
After what felt like hours of labor, Qiao Wan straightened her aching back and couldn’t help but marvel: the physical foundation of people in ancient times was truly remarkable. Despite working for so long, she only felt some soreness in her waist, while her mind remained clear and energetic.
She retrieved some spiritual spring water from her Dimension, took a large gulp, and exhaled deeply: “…Refreshing.”
“Hmm?”
As she raised her hand just now, a faint, cool scent seemed to drift past her nose.
Qiao Wan brought her fingertips to her nose and sniffed carefully—it was actually mint?!
This discovery invigorated her. Suppressing her excitement, she quickly crouched down and carefully sifted through the pile of freshly pulled weeds.
Although she didn’t recognize what mint looked like in this era, she was familiar with its scent—back when she was striving to change her fate by getting into university, she had studied day and night, unable to afford coffee or energy drinks, relying on chewing mint leaves to stay alert.
That aroma was all too familiar to her.
Qiao Wan picked up handfuls of weeds, sniffing each one carefully.
The sun-warmed grass emitted a earthy fragrance, and she had to pick out that familiar coolness from the rich green scent.
Finally, as she reached the middle of the pile, she caught the crisp, refreshing scent of mint again.
Gently parting the tangled weeds, she uncovered a small mint seedling.
After repeatedly sniffing to confirm, Qiao Wan was certain—this was indeed mint.
Overjoyed, she set aside the other vegetable sprouts and focused entirely on searching the garden for more mint seedlings.
Mint grows in clusters; finding one plant meant there had to be more nearby.
Qiao Wan widened her eyes, scrutinizing every corner she had previously passed.
But spotting the low-lying, grass-like young seedlings amid a vast expanse of flattened vegetable sprouts tested both eyesight and patience.
Just as Qiao Wan felt her eyes were about to give out, she finally discovered a small patch of mint seedlings in the southeastern corner of the fence—the very spot she had passed earlier.
“Finally found you,” she sighed in relief, carefully scooping two bowls of water from her Dimension and gently watering the seedlings. “Grow quickly now. When the hot weather comes, I’ll be counting on you to make money!”
She already had a preliminary plan in mind for earning income.
As the sun set in the west, estimating that Huo Yan should be returning soon, Qiao Wan found two large baskets, carefully covering the mint seedlings to shade them.
Returning to the front yard, she washed her hands and decided to prepare something delicious for Huo Yan that evening. The pheasant from yesterday had already been chopped into small pieces, salted, and stored in a cool place—fortunately, it hadn’t spoiled. She also retrieved a few potatoes from her Dimension, washing and cutting them into chunks.
Scooping freshly rendered lard into the wok, she heated it until sizzling, then added the chicken pieces, stir-frying until fragrant. Next, she tossed in the potato chunks, stir-frying everything together before adding water to boil, then reducing the heat to let it simmer slowly.
As Huo Yan descended the mountain carrying a large bundle of thorny branches, he was greeted by the rich aroma of a home-cooked meal the moment he approached the house.
After a long day of work, the meager lunch he’d had at the Qiao family had long been burned off. At this moment, that enticing smell was more compelling than anything.
Following the scent, he hurried into the yard, dropped the thorny branches, and headed straight for the kitchen.
Qiao Wan, focused on smashing cucumbers, didn’t notice the movement behind her. Turning around, she bumped squarely into Huo Yan’s chest. His torso felt as hard as a stone wrapped in cotton, the scent of sweat mingling with the wild fragrance of the mountains washing over her.
Qiao Wan wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Couldn’t you wash up first after coming back?”
“I’m starving!” Huo Yan’s eyes were fixed on the steaming pot lid, his stomach already roaring in protest.