There were three mountains behind Kaoshan Village.
They were Chicken Crest Mountain, Wangqi Mountain, and Mushroom Mountain.
“Brother Tingfeng, let’s look around Chicken Crest Mountain today. If we get the chance later, I’ll take you to the other mountains too.”
Mu Mianmian bounced along as she walked. In Yan Tingfeng’s eyes, she was unbearably adorable, and his eyes were filled with affectionate smiles.
Not far ahead, a palm sized lingzhi mushroom was sitting conspicuously in the grass, practically begging to be noticed.
Mu Mianmian hurried over and dug it out. She turned around and waved at Yan Tingfeng with a smile.
“Brother Tingfeng, look! There’s a lingzhi mushroom!”
Yan Tingfeng was quite surprised as well. Normally, something so obvious would not still be there. If it were truly valuable, someone should have found it and taken it long ago. Yet somehow, the little girl had still managed to discover it.
He walked over, put the lingzhi into her carrying basket, then took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the dirt from Mu Mianmian’s hands.
Only after her little hands were clean again did he say, “If you find anything else later, let me dig it up. You are physically weak, so leave this kind of work to me.”
Mu Mianmian was speechless.
In her future husband’s eyes, was she really some kind of porcelain doll that had to be carefully protected?
Yan Tingfeng truly did what he said.
The next few medicinal herbs they found were all dug up by him, and Mu Mianmian did not need to lift a finger.
“Brother Tingfeng, you’re amazing!”
Mu Mianmian gave him a thumbs up.
Men were just like children. The more they were praised, the more obedient they became.
She grabbed Yan Tingfeng’s hand and gently shook it while looking up at him with a smile.
Yan Tingfeng’s attention was completely diverted.
His wife’s hand was so small and soft. Once he held it, he did not want to let go.
“Mianmian, my hands are dirty.”
After digging up several medicinal herbs, there was naturally some dirt on his hands.
Mu Mianmian held his hand even more tightly.
“I don’t mind. Brother Tingfeng, your hands are so big. Being held by your hand makes me feel so safe.”
Yan Tingfeng held both of her hands, lowered his head until their eyes were level, and although he was a tough man, his face was filled with tenderness and affection. Even his voice was deliberately softened.
“Then I will hold Mianmian’s hand for the rest of our lives and never let go.”
Mu Mianmian was delighted.
As expected, a woman’s own man had to be personally trained.
So what if he was a tough man with traditional views about women?
Sooner or later, she would train him into a good husband who knew how to say sweet things and coax his wife.
“Let’s go, Brother Tingfeng. I want Grandma to make spicy rabbit meat for us tonight too, so let’s catch one now.”
She pulled Yan Tingfeng forward.
Yan Tingfeng looked at the little girl’s back and shook his head with a smile.
Ordinary hunters could spend an entire year in the mountains without encountering more than a few pieces of game. How could they possibly run into one so easily?
The moment he finished thinking that, he heard Mu Mianmian’s soft and delighted voice.
“Rabbit!”
“Brother Tingfeng, look! That rabbit is so big and fat!”
Yan Tingfeng followed the direction of her finger and looked over. There really was a wild rabbit.
There were actually two of them.
Since when has wild game become so easy to find?
“Mianmian, don’t move yet.”
Yan Tingfeng bent down, picked up two stones, and casually threw them. Both stones struck the two wild rabbits perfectly.
“Wow! Brother Tingfeng, you’re incredible!”
No wonder he had become a regiment commander at such a young age.
He truly was the man she had chosen.
Mu Mianmian happily jumped up, wrapped her arms around Yan Tingfeng’s neck, and kissed him on the cheek.
Yan Tingfeng froze completely.
His eyes widened, while his heartbeat grew louder and faster.
His wife had kissed him!
Mu Mianmian smiled as she looked at him. She raised her little hand and pointed at him.
“Brother Tingfeng, your ears are so red.”
Yan Tingfeng instinctively reached up to touch his ears.
They were burning hot.
The smile on Mu Mianmian’s face grew even wider.
Her future husband was so innocent. He became shy so easily. She could tease him more often in the future.
She laughed and ran ahead, picked up the two fallen wild rabbits, and put them into the carrying basket.
“Let’s go home.”
Mu Mianmian bounced along in front, humming a little tune. Bathed in the sunlight, her entire figure seemed dazzling.
Yan Tingfeng picked up the carrying basket and raised his hand to touch the place on his cheek where she had kissed him.
That kiss had set his entire body ablaze.
He wanted to kiss her too. He wanted to kiss her for much longer, but his wife had run too quickly.
Forget it. His wife was probably shy too. He could not act too reckless.
What if he frightened her?
“Mianmian, slow down. Be careful not to fall.”
Yan Tingfeng quickened his pace and caught up with her. Only after taking the little girl’s hand did he feel at ease.
After coming down from the mountain and leaving its foot, they occasionally encountered villagers passing by.
Everyone greeted them warmly.
“Oh, Mianmian, you’re going up the mountain again? You must have found plenty of good things again, right?”
It was Auntie Qin from the Qin family. She was also an important member of the village’s information network.
Mu Mianmian smiled and took several pieces of fritillaria from the medicinal herbs in her carrying basket.
“Auntie Qin, I heard that your Huzi has been coughing badly lately. This is fritillaria. It is very effective for relieving coughs. Just steam it together with a pear and eat it.”
Almost every household in the village had fruit trees, and pears could be found everywhere.
Auntie Qin accepted them.
“Then thank you, Mianmian. If we’re talking about all the girls in the village, you’re definitely the kindest. The Chang family losing you is the greatest loss they will suffer in their entire lives.”
After saying that, she glanced at Yan Tingfeng beside her and quickly stopped talking about the subject.
“Mianmian, this is your regiment commander fiancé, right? He is really tall and impressive, with such a fine appearance too. He is several times better looking than Chang Jianjun. Yet they actually had the nerve to complain about your family’s betrothal gifts. With a man who has not even officially started working, what could he possibly afford to buy?”
Auntie Qin really did have an excellent information network. Nothing happening in the village could escape her.
Mu Mianmian and Yan Tingfeng continued walking home, and sure enough, they heard plenty of other people discussing the same matter.
“Did you hear? The Chang family is arguing again.”
“I heard. That new bride insisted that the Chang family give her an even more generous bride price than Mu Mianmian received. The Chang family can’t afford it, so they’re arguing about it now.”
“Chang Jianjun was boasting just now. He said that once he started working, he would make sure to get all the major household items for his wife, and they would even live in a big house.”
Mu Mianmian smiled and greeted the women.
“Hello, Aunties.”
She had a sweet and obedient appearance, and after being nourished by the spiritual spring water for the past two days, her skin had become even fairer and more delicate. Anyone who saw her instinctively liked her.
“Oh, it’s Mianmian. Did you go up the mountain again?”
“Let me see. Oh my, Mianmian really does have good luck. Look, she even caught wild rabbits again.”
“Our whole village has it good at the brigade leader’s house. They get to eat the wild game Mianmian brings home every day.”
“The Chang family used to eat well too, but they forgot how much Mianmian had done for them and betrayed her. I heard they only cooked two wild vegetables yesterday, and that new bride immediately threw down her chopsticks and refused to eat.”
Speak of the devil, and there he was.
Lu Xiangxiang happened to walk by with her arm linked through Chang Jianjun’s.
Chang Jianjun was carrying a pound of pork and some canned food and snacks that he had just bought in town.
“Who said our family can only eat wild vegetables? We simply didn’t have time to go shopping yesterday. Besides, isn’t it just meat? I’m a highly educated man who returned from studying abroad. Could I really be unable to afford meat?”
Chang Jianjun deliberately shook the things in his hand.
After a pause, Chang Jianjun looked at Yan Tingfeng and spoke with a serious expression, as though he were genuinely concerned for him.
“Regiment Commander Yan, with your status, how could you casually marry a village girl? The Mu family is relying on what happened by the river to force themselves onto you. If you are too embarrassed to say anything, I can help you resolve this matter. Mu Mianmian simply isn’t worthy of you.”