The sound of their conversation gradually drifted farther away.
Liu Zhixia never expected that, in the end, she would become the topic of discussion.
So even soldiers loved gossip this much.
To suppress the burning curiosity rising inside her, Liu Zhixia quietly let her consciousness enter her space.
Recently, most of the family’s food had been taken from there.
Ever since gaining the farming dimension, she felt the fruits and vegetables grown inside tasted far better than anything from the supermarket section.
As a result, she barely touched the fresh produce from the store anymore.
Her newly merged planting space truly was extraordinary.
A full crop could mature in only one week.
No wonder the original female lead had been able to help the male lead rise so quickly in her previous life.
With a cheat-like treasure such as this—
Even a pig sitting in the path of the wind could soar into the sky.
What Liu Zhixia did not know was that the space had functioned far differently in Zheng Chunli’s hands.
Weekly harvest cycles had never existed there.
At most, crops merely matured slightly faster than normal.
And as for the mystical mist inside the space—
Zheng Chunli had never once seen it.
The next morning—
Liu Zhixia woke especially early.
From the space, she peeled two potatoes.
Then she took four eggs, a handful of millet, and several spoonfuls of flour from the house supplies.
In no time at all, she made eight egg pancakes and stir-fried a huge plate of shredded potatoes.
At the same time, she cooked four large bowls of millet porridge.
When Zhou Yunting woke up, he saw the young girl using her pale fingers to carefully roll the pancakes one by one.
The egg pancakes looked golden, soft, and fragrant.
The potato shreds had been sliced impossibly thin, each strand perfectly separated like an artistic display.
The entire scene felt warm and peaceful.
For the first time in a long while, Zhou Yunting experienced the sensation of quiet years and gentle living.
Old Master Zhou and Commander Zhou, meanwhile, were literally awakened by the aroma of food.
Before Old Master Zhou even opened his eyes, he sniffed the air instinctively.
And after sniffing a few times, the old man abruptly sat upright.
“It must be our Zhixia making something delicious again!
“This old man really is blessed with good fortune…”
There was no need to describe breakfast afterward.
Once again, it ended in a whirlwind of eating.
After breakfast, Zhou Yunting and Commander Zhou continued staying home pretending to recover from their injuries.
Meanwhile, Old Master Zhou and Liu Zhixia headed to the newly constructed road section for work.
The construction site was bustling with noise and activity.
And with such a group of handsome young soldiers suddenly arriving—
Many village aunties and even some female educated youths immediately began making plans.
After all, military salaries and benefits were considered quite good during this era.
Among them, Battalion Commander Song Zhihua quickly became the most sought-after bachelor.
One auntie would come over to chat with him.
Then another uncle would offer him a cigarette.
Eventually, once he realized what was happening, Song Zhihua began hiding whenever possible.
He truly could not handle the villagers’ overwhelming enthusiasm.
By the time Liu Zhixia and Old Master Zhou arrived, Song Zhihua had already hidden himself away as much as possible.
Reducing his presence to the bare minimum.
But the moment he noticed the girl walking beside Old Master Zhou—
Wasn’t that the sister-in-law they had heard about?
“Like peach blossoms in full bloom.”
The girl resembled a plum blossom blooming proudly in winter.
Cold.
Pure.
Beautiful enough to steal every gaze around her.
Most captivating of all was her extraordinary aura—it felt entirely natural.
No wonder their boss had ignored all the admired women in the military.
And yet had completely fallen for this one.
What moved Song Zhihua even more was Liu Zhixia’s loyalty and devotion.
Such a delicate and beautiful girl—
Yet she willingly remained beside their boss, struggling together with him in the mud.
Still, her overwhelming beauty also made Song Zhihua uneasy.
In the past, nobody would dare target a member of the Zhou family.
But now…
In times like these, was such beauty truly a blessing?
Or a curse?
Nearby villagers also stared blankly.
They all felt Liu Zhixia had somehow become even prettier.
She had already been beautiful before.
But now—
It was as though she had transformed entirely.
Sun Haomin glanced toward Zheng Chunli.
The two exchanged looks, silently understanding one another.
After pushing only two carts of sand, Old Master Zhou became too exhausted to continue.
Age had finally caught up to him.
Several soldiers nearby had wanted to step forward and help, but they forcibly restrained themselves.
Suddenly, Liu Zhixia noticed the old man struggling and immediately handed him a water flask.
“Grandpa Zhou, how many times have I told you already? I can handle this myself.
“Everyone’s workload is fixed anyway. I’ll finish your portion very quickly.”
The young girl’s clear voice carried obvious disapproval.
Without another word, she grabbed Old Master Zhou’s handcart and began transporting sand back and forth at astonishing speed.
Labor that exhausted even ordinary villagers—and many soldiers—
Was nothing to someone like Liu Zhixia, who possessed martial arts skills.
To her, it barely counted as exercise.
By the end of the morning, Liu Zhixia had not only completed her own workload and Old Master Zhou’s—
She had also helped several elderly villagers finish theirs.
Everyone stared at the delicate-looking girl in disbelief.
How could someone so slender work this quickly?
It was as if her strength could never run out.
All the villagers suddenly felt ashamed.
Compared to her, they were the ones dragging everyone down.
As for Zhou Yunting’s soldiers—
They had already become numb from shock.
They wanted to scream.
Wanted to rush over and ask her:
How can you possibly be this strong?
Where does all your energy come from?
Song Zhihua looked at the leisurely Old Master Zhou sitting comfortably nearby drinking water and sighed emotionally.
Their boss had truly found an incredible wife.
Just look at the old commander’s face—
It practically had the word “proud” written across his forehead.
As expected of their boss.
Not only was he extraordinary himself—
Even the wife he found was equally exceptional.
At noon—
When Liu Zhixia and Old Master Zhou returned, Zhou Yunting happened to be limping slowly back toward the house.
He carried a small bundle of mushrooms in his hand, likely gathered from the mountains.
Liu Zhixia guessed he had actually gone out investigating yesterday’s incident.
Even though he was no longer in the military—
His heart still remained there.
Smiling softly, she nodded toward him.
“You’re back.”
The man responded gently.
Old Master Zhou could only shake his head repeatedly.
His foolish grandson…
Zhixia was such a wonderful girl.
He was genuinely afraid the boy would somehow lose her.
So cold and reserved—
What girl would enjoy that?
Naturally, Liu Zhixia had no idea what Old Master Zhou was thinking.
Entering the house, she found the bamboo basket containing ingredients in the corner.
From it, she took out a rack of ribs, two cucumbers, and a handful of chives.
To avoid the smell spreading outside and causing unnecessary trouble—
She actually used her internal energy to redirect the aroma into her space.
First, she blanched the ribs.
Then she cleaned them, fried them lightly in oil, and placed them into a pot to slowly braise.
The chives were chopped into tiny pieces and mixed into beaten eggs.
The cucumbers were smashed and seasoned.
Rice steamed quietly nearby.
Just then, Song Zhihua arrived carrying steamed buns he intended to deliver for lunch.
But the moment he saw the three dishes on the table—
And the steaming white rice—
His throat involuntarily bobbed.
Embarrassed, he tightened his grip on the buns in his hands.
Suddenly, what he brought seemed impossible to present.
On the table sat golden chive omelets, fresh smashed cucumber salad, and richly colored braised pork ribs…
If he had not looked carefully at the surroundings—
At the unmistakable thatched hut—
Song Zhihua might have thought he walked into the wrong house.
Did they really need to eat this well?
No wonder their boss and Old Master Zhou looked nowhere near as haggard as expected.
With meals like this—
It would be difficult to look miserable at all.