Jiang Mingyi's reaction was so exaggerated that Gu An'an suspected that he might have some grudge against Lin the blacksmith.

But after thinking about it carefully, she still couldn't figure it out.

Jiang Mingzhu carefully tugged at her brother's sleeve. "The villagers joked before that they should let you learn to be a blacksmith with Uncle Lin. But you know, brother prefers to study."

Gu An'an suddenly realized, "Oh, I see. Studying is good. Yi'er is smart. Studying hard, passing the imperial examinations, becoming a high-ranking official, and benefiting the people is much better than being a blacksmith. If anyone criticizes you again, tell your mother, and your mother will scold them for you."

Jiang Mingyi sat down again, watching Gu An'an who was busy working there, the firelight flickering in his eyes.

"Big brother, don't argue with Mom. Bao'er will take care of you."

The little girl's innocence softened Jiang Mingyi's expression. "Bao'er, don't be afraid. Your brother didn't quarrel with your mother. Are you cold? I'll go get you some clothes."

Jiang Mingzhu quickly followed, "Mom put the clothes away earlier, I'll go with you to look for them."

There are only two trunks at home, and not many clothes or bedding. How could I not find it?

The brother and sister clearly had something to say, but Gu An'an ignored them and focused on designing the grill.

The iron pot and pancake griddle that Lin the blacksmith forged before were very good.

Gu An'an happens to have a piece of musk on hand. She can go to the city tomorrow and sell it at a pharmacy for a good price. It'll be enough to buy ten barbecue grills, let alone one.

That piece of musk is truly a treasure.

Gu An'an turned around and glanced at the little tiger that was lazily lying there watching her. This little tiger was a great contributor.

She waved.

The beast obediently stood up, whimpering as it rubbed against Gu An'an, its head practically resting on her lap. "You can eat later."

She took the opportunity to give it a squeeze; it felt really nice.

The little tiger licked Gu An'an's hand very obediently.

A tiger's tongue is covered with barbs; if it were to use its tongue as a weapon, a single lick could leave a bloody mess.

When they were on the mountain, Gu An'an didn't think much of it at the time. She figured the little guy was really close to her and had been restraining himself, even letting her touch the tiger bell.

What a shameless little tiger who's all about food!

...

One-third of the deer meat and five roasted pheasants were eaten by the little tiger.

The wild beasts of the mountains, who should have been eating raw meat and drinking blood, waited like children for Gu An'an to tear off chicken legs and wings, eating them bit by bit, spitting out even the smallest bones.

"How come you even learned this?"

These are clearly several children from the school!

The little guy was quite annoyed by what she said, so he licked Gu An'an's hand and urged her to quickly put some shredded chicken on his plate.

Gu An'an was both amused and exasperated; this was practically a tiger come to life.

I've heard of fox spirits, who specialize in absorbing the yang energy of scholars.

What can a tiger spirit do?

Gu An'an didn't understand for a moment, but when she came to her senses, she saw Bao'er hand her a chicken leg, "Little Axe, have a chicken leg."

This child always likes to use reduplicated words, which has completely baffled even the most majestic beasts in the mountains.

But what does a name really matter?

It's fine to call it a pheasant, as long as you can give it a good chicken leg.

The chicken leg was bitten into, and within seconds, the whole chicken leg bone was spat out.

The little tiger licked Bao'er's palm affectionately, making the little girl giggle.

The courtyard after the first snowfall of winter was filled with a unique kind of joy.

After the five people and one tiger finished eating, Gu An'an watched as the little tiger headed straight for the woodshed to the west, and she couldn't help but laugh and cry.

"Alright, stay if you want. Being a guard dog isn't bad. It's getting late, Yi'er, you should go to sleep early too. You can study during the day, but what if you ruin your eyes by studying too hard at night?"

Jiang Mingyi nodded, watching the people leading Zhu'er and the others towards the main room, but his mind was still on the argument he had with Zhu'er earlier.

It wasn't really an argument, but Zhu'er, being a girl, was a bit more sensitive. "Mother has no idea that Uncle Lin has feelings for her. Your reaction will only make her realize something. Brother, what are you really thinking?"

The young man grabbed a handful of snow from the window, and the pure white snow quickly melted in his palm.

It was quite cool.

But my mind was in complete chaos.

He didn't know what he was thinking. His current life was hard-won, and naturally he didn't want Gu An'an to leave.

Gu An'an is not even twenty years old this year, not much older than him.

Am I really destined to remain a widow for the rest of my life?

Isn't this a bit too cruel for her?

He turned his gaze and stared at the figure in the window, momentarily lost in thought.

...

Gu An'an was woken up by being called.

"Mother, mother."

"Is your face itchy, Pearl?"

Jiang Mingzhu shook her head. "No, Mother, there's a noise outside. It sounds like someone is crying."

She was half asleep when she heard a muffled sound, somewhat like someone falling down.

Jiang Mingzhu was a little unsure, so she quickly called for Gu An'an to wake up.

Is someone crying?

Gu An'an woke up abruptly, quickly took out a match to light the kerosene lamp, put on her clothes and went outside, saying, "I'll go check on things, Zhu'er, you go to sleep first."

Jiang Mingzhu was somewhat worried and was about to go out when she heard her brother's voice, "There's some noise outside."

My brother has also woken up.

This put the girl at ease. Looking at Jiang Mingxu and Bao'er, whose little faces were flushed as they slept, she helped to pull the blanket up a bit.

In the courtyard.

Gu An'an heard the painful groans.

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