“Ah Lan, come out quickly, I bought something good.” Ye Lan heard the voice from inside the house and quickly greeted Xu Qi, who was carrying a bag of rice on her shoulder and holding a hairpin in her hand.

“Wife.”

Ye Lan approached and put his hand on the bag of refined rice on Xu Qi’s shoulder, but Xu Qi dodged away.

“This thing is heavy, don’t touch it.”

Ye Lan retracted his hand and followed Xu Qi to store the rice.

Afterward, he looked at the hairpin in Xu Qi’s hand and asked, “Wife, why did you buy this?”

Xu Qi proudly inserted the hairpin into Ye Lan’s hair and then stepped back to observe, happily saying, “It looks good!”

Ye Lan cautiously touched the polished and smooth warm jade on his hair, looking at Xu Qi with some joy, “Is this for me?”

 

“Of course it’s for you, who else would it be for?”

Xu Qi touched Ye Lan’s unbound long hair and said.

The soft and smooth texture of his long hair reminded Xu Qi of something. She seemed to be entangled in something, avoiding Ye Lan’s gaze, and finally just hugged Ye Lan into her arms.

Ye Lan felt a little awkward but obediently stayed in Xu Qi’s embrace, motionless, letting her hands stroke his back.

“Um, let me tell you something, don’t get upset.”

Xu Qi first reassured Ye Lan, fearing that he might feel uncomfortable but keep it to himself.

Ye Lan nodded in confusion, “Hmm, I won’t get upset.”

 

Xu Qi took a deep breath, “Pengcheng has been captured!”

Speaking quickly, Ye Lan didn’t even hear it clearly.

He raised his head in Xu Qi’s arms again, looking puzzled, “What did wife say? I didn’t hear it clearly.”

 

“I said, Pengcheng has been captured.”

Xu Qi slowed down her tone.

Ye Lan was stunned for a moment, then replied, “Oh.”

“Do you, do you feel unhappy?”

She was afraid that Ye Lan might be upset about something and keep it to himself.

This husband was emotionally reserved, and she had to coax him.

“I, I’m not unhappy.”

Ye Lan’s expression became even more confused, as if he didn’t understand why Xu Qi would ask such a question.

Xu Qi froze, “But isn’t Pengcheng where you live?”

 

Ye Lan smiled and pulled Xu Qi’s hand, leading her into the house, “I grew in Pengcheng, but that was just where my parents sold me. I don’t remember where I was born.”

Moreover, for him, that place didn’t hold any fond memories.

“I see.”

Now Xu Qi was relieved. Forgetting about it was better. She was afraid that the men here would be sentimental about the places they had lived before.

“Wife came back a bit late today. I guess you must be hungry. Shall I cook some noodles for wife?”

 

“Yes, please! Put some pig liver in it.”

Since Xu Qi remembered that pig liver was good for blood, she would always save a small piece from the liver she was about to sell, whether mixed with noodles or stir-fried, it could be eaten.

Ye Lan glanced at Xu Qi with a hint of complaint, took out a piece of pig liver from the crossbar.

He busied himself in front of the stove, while Xu Qi watched him from behind, his slender waist. It was hard to imagine how he could be so enthusiastic for so long last night…

No wonder he said his waist hurt after it was done. No wonder it hurt.

The flour was kneaded by Ye Lan in the morning and left there, so making noodles was quick. In no time, two steaming bowls of noodles were ready.

Since being bought by Xu Qi, Ye Lan’s appetite had grown significantly. Now he could finish a small bowl of noodles, and when he could eat, his complexion naturally improved.

But Xu Qi thought it wasn’t enough. How could such a thin body bear more?

She picked out pieces of pig liver from her bowl and put them into Ye Lan’s bowl one by one, saying, “Doctor Chen told you to eat more to replenish your body. If you don’t eat much, how can you replenish it?”

Ye Lan obediently ate his food, but he was a bit unconvinced by Xu Qi’s words, “Replenishing the body doesn’t depend on eating more!”

 

“Then what does it depend on?”

 

Pretending not to understand, Xu Qi asked him.

“Of course, it depends on what you eat. Even if you eat less, it’s effective if you eat the right things.”

He had to eat his fill every day, so he felt aggrieved.

“Oh~ Is it more effective to eat less or more?”

Ye Lan choked, clutching his chopsticks and sitting on the bench looking even more aggrieved. His rosy lips pouted slightly, and he muttered in a muffled voice, “It’s more effective to eat more.”

Xu Qi’s inner little devil was laughing wildly, so cute!

This aggrieved look!

However, she intentionally didn’t show a happy expression on her face but rather looked a bit fierce, “Then eat faster.”

Ye Lan hurriedly bowed his head to eat his noodles.

After finishing the noodles, Xu Qi let Ye Lan go to the neighboring house to do embroidery with Uncle Man’s brother-in-law, while she squatted in the yard to take care of the green vegetables.

After taking care of the vegetables, she picked up an axe and went up the mountain.

It was the busy autumn season, and everyone was busy harvesting crops in the fields. Only Xu Qi seemed relatively relaxed, holding a small axe and going up the mountain.

There were people in the village who envied Xu Qi’s carefree life, but they also knew it was unattainable for themselves.

When Xu Qi was young, she exchanged all her family’s assets for a few pigs.

In their eyes, this was absolutely unthinkable.

Although pigs were easy to raise, they might not necessarily survive. If they died, wouldn’t the money be wasted?

No one dared to take such a risk.

The Xu family also watched Xu Qi go up the mountain. Xu’s father complained to Xu Zhi, “Why didn’t Xu Qi come to help us in the fields today?”

Xu Zhi was annoyed, “Does Xu Qi have time? She also has a husband to support in her own family. If she comes to help us, you won’t pay her.”

Xu’s father was somewhat resentful, “What if we don’t pay her? Aren’t you good friends? Can’t she come over and help?”

Xu Zhi didn’t bother to argue with his father.

He turned around and went to work, leaving Xu’s father still muttering, “Which woman doesn’t covet beauty? Qiu’er is so beautiful, if Xu Qi comes a few more times, how could she refuse Qiu’er?”

Xu’s father didn’t know how much Xu Qi liked her current husband, but Xu Zhi knew. Xu Qi always smiled when she mentioned her husband at home. Who couldn’t see that?

But her father still had such thoughts! Couldn’t he find a husband for her brother if she didn’t like him?

If Xu Qi didn’t like him, would her brother have a good life?

Xu Qi had stored up grain and firewood, and gradually there was no empty space in the small courtyard, just dry firewood everywhere she went.

She no longer let Ye Lan wash clothes in the creek behind the house, but told him to wash in hot water at home. Although Ye Lan felt it was a waste of firewood, he couldn’t resist this person.

The weather was getting colder, and large numbers of refugees poured into the small town from outside, all of them poorly dressed and dirty, and ordinary people didn’t want to touch them.

Some refugees couldn’t make it, so they went to the countryside to find something to eat. Xu Qi encountered them several times, and they lingered at her door, begging Ye Lan for something to eat.

As a man alone at home, Ye Lan already had a sense of insecurity, and encountering such things made him scared to go out alone, only daring to lean against the wooden door and ask them to leave.

Fortunately, Xu Qi came back in time and gave each of those refugees a bowl of porridge, which finally sent them away.

Uncle Man’s son-in-law also came out of the house a little frightened and complained when he saw Xu Qi.

“With the current tense situation of the war, it’s us ordinary people who suffer. Fortunately, you came back in time, otherwise, I really don’t know what to do.”

Ye Lan also sat in Xu Qi’s arms a little scared, looking even more worried.

“It’s a good thing I caught up.”

Xu Qi also felt a bit frightened. If she hadn’t caught up, who knew what those hungry people would have done?

If something really happened, she would regret it for the rest of her life.

Uncle Man’s son-in-law just muttered a bit and went back. Finally, only Xu Qi and Ye Lan were left in the house.

Ye Lan threw himself into Xu Qi’s arms in fear, hugged her, and said with a weak voice, “I was really scared when you weren’t here.”

 

Xu Qi felt sorry for him and stood up, supporting Ye Lan’s butt and carrying him into the house, “Don’t be afraid, from now on, I won’t leave you alone, I’ll take you wherever I go. Be good, don’t be afraid.”

Ye Lan snuggled up to Xu Qi, but then was laid down on the bed.

“It’s cold, warm up.”

Xu Qi said softly, lying on top of the person in her arms twice. After Ye Lan fell weakly onto the bed, Xu Qi touched his hand and hugged his waist, asking him, “Are you still afraid?”

 

“Not anymore.”

Ye Lan fell into Xu Qi’s arms, incredibly soft and unimaginable. He was relying on this woman with all his heart and soul.

The next day when Xu Qi got up again, she dressed her husband warmly, put on a blue cloak with a thick layer of fur inside, and took out the hand warmer she had bought for him before, putting it in his hand. Then the two of them went to town together.

It was still chilly in the morning, and not many people had come out yet, so Xu Qi could spend some time with Ye Lan.

“The porridge is being distributed, come quickly! Porridge is being distributed!”

Someone shouted loudly over there.

Xu Qi saw many people squatting by the roadside running to the other side.

“The county magistrate is distributing porridge there every day,” Xu Qi explained to Ye Lan.

“The county magistrate is indeed a good person.”

Ye Lan said warmly, letting himself fall into Xu Qi’s arms.

“Yes, the county magistrate is a good person.”

Xu Qi agreed with Ye Lan, her hand on his waist, embracing him gently.

“Wife, there are still people around.”

She was always like this, not caring about the people around her and wanting to be intimate with her.

With a hint of complaint in his tone, Xu Qi rubbed Ye Lan’s temples, “What if there are people? Can’t I be close to my husband?”

Ye Lan felt even more embarrassed, but he couldn’t refuse his mistress, so he buried his head deeper, like an ostrich, thinking that if he couldn’t see others, others couldn’t see him either.

But someone beside him wanted to catch his attention.

“Snap!”

It was the sound of a porcelain bowl falling and breaking on the ground.

“Hey, you, if you don’t want to eat, say so, we’re all still hungry! You wastrel!”

The voice was very familiar, and Ye Lan turned his head abruptly.