After finishing the right glove, Jiang Xi tried it on herself. It was a bit big, but it should fit Yan Zheng perfectly and wouldn't affect his finger movements in daily life. She then quickly followed suit and knitted the left glove as well.

Finally, she tidied up the loose threads on the gloves before lifting her head out of the basket. Perhaps because she had been looking down for too long, her neck was a little stiff, so Jiang Xi rubbed it for a while.

She got up and stretched, having been so busy that she had no idea how much time had passed. She slightly opened the door to peek at the sky. Winter snowy nights aren't usually very dark, and there was already a red sunrise on the mountaintop.

The other two were still asleep when Yan Jing'an, lying on the bed, coughed twice, perhaps startled by a few wisps of cool air blowing in through the crack in the door. Jiang Xi quickly closed the door again.

The long-lost chirping of birds echoed in the courtyard. Jiang Xi thought to herself that it was already morning, so she decided not to sleep and avoid disrupting her biological clock, and instead go to bed early tonight.

So she took out her homemade toothbrush and charcoal powder and did a quick wash.

When Yan Zheng woke up, he turned over and felt something pressing on his ear. He picked it up and saw it was a pair of crocheted gloves. Jiang Xi was washing up with her back to him. Yan Zheng smiled knowingly, put them on and tried them on. They fit perfectly.

Hearing the noise, Jiang Xi saw that he was awake, wiped her face with a towel, walked over and squatted down by his bedside, resting her arms and head on his pillow.

A hand tapped the tip of his nose and said, "It may not look very good, but it should be quite warm."

Yan Zheng had just woken up, his voice still a little hoarse: "I really like it, thank you for your hard work."

As he spoke, he reached out and touched the soft flesh on Jiang Xi's cheek, then leaned in and gave her a light kiss.

Breakfast was simple. Half of yesterday's duck meat was left over. Jiang Xi heated it up and then stir-fried another pot of crispy braised mixed mushrooms. She had soaked various wild mushrooms before going to bed last night, blanched them briefly, stir-fried them with lard, and then braised them for a few minutes. They were crispy, tender, and full of flavor.

After the meal, Yan Zheng continued to tidy up the yard. Yesterday, he cleaned the yard of the yellow brick house in the middle, and today he had to clean up the yard of the blacksmith's shop and the yard in the northwest corner.

He was actually thinking of hunting some fresh game, but the snow was too thick, and he was afraid he wouldn't be able to go very far.

Let's tidy up these yards before the snow melts, so that the ground won't be wet everywhere we go.

Jiang Xi originally wanted to go with them, but during the meal, Yan Zheng noticed the faint dark circles under her eyes. Her skin was so smooth and fair that even the smallest blemish was very noticeable, and he absolutely refused to let her come along. He insisted that she stay home and rest.

Jiang Xi knew she couldn't win against him, so she obediently stayed in the room.

Yan Jing'an had a severe cough at night and couldn't sleep well. He took some medicine after dinner and went back to sleep.

Jiang Xi wasn't sleepy at all early in the morning, feeling that working in the house was affecting his rest.

She was about to go outside for some fresh air when she saw the bright sunshine. She thought she might as well harvest the dates from the date tree by the door. She would dry them inside and store them all so that next year, the date tree wouldn't be affected and the dried dates could be kept for later consumption.

So she took a basket.

The jujube tree is large enough that only half of its canopy is inside the courtyard wall, while the other half is outside.

All the previous snow was piled up under the jujube tree, and the compacted snow formed a triangular cone around the tree. The jujubes that fell from the tree would follow the arc of the snow pile.

At first glance, the area beneath the snowdrift is covered with red dates.

Just like last time, Jiang Xi found a long pole and knocked on the branches of the tree. The already shriveled red dates fell down like raindrops.

After knocking all the dates down, until only a few scattered ones remained on the tree, Jiang Xi began to squat down and pick them up.

Picking jujubes isn't an easy task. Some dead branches and leaves will also be knocked down. Jujube tree branches are covered in thorns, so you have to be extra careful when picking them to avoid getting pricked.

When I was little, the family behind my maternal grandmother's house also had a jujube tree. It had been there for many years, and the branches of the jujube tree had stretched all the way to the roof of my maternal grandmother's house.

Children are always curious about these things. Every time the dates ripen, Dazhuang and she would pull a few other children to knock the red dates off the tree and eat them. It wasn't that they were greedy for the dates; they just enjoyed the feeling of climbing up and down.

Therefore, Jiang Xi has a strange aversion to picking dates, because every time she gets pricked by the thorns, she forgets about it after a couple of days and continues to pick dates.

Having learned a lesson from my childhood, and knowing that wild jujubes are always popular with small animals, many jujubes are already half-eaten on the tree. These jujubes are not worth keeping. If you accidentally pick them up and store them in your basket, they will not only easily mold but also become infested with insects.

Therefore, Jiang Xi was extra careful, using tree branches to pick them up one by one. By noon, she had only managed to fill a basket.

Suddenly, two bright orange squirrels appeared out of nowhere. They had wavy red fur on their heads and thick, long tails. Upon seeing the ground covered with red dates, the two little ones squeaked happily.

Jiang Xi was worried that the jujubes they had climbed over might have germs, so she took a twig and chased them away, saying as she did so, "I know you are the natives, don't worry, I will definitely leave some for you."

After they all left, Jiang Xi turned her back to the basket, squatted down, and put it on her back. It was a little heavy, so she was a little careful when she stood up.

Yan Zheng, who had come back to get a drink of water, saw this and quickly came over to take the basket from him.

"I told you to rest inside. Why are you out here again? It's freezing cold."

Jiang Xi didn't know how men could be so strong. She struggled to carry the basket, but Yan Zheng could lift it with one hand.

Jiang Xi unloaded the basket onto him and said sullenly, "I'm afraid of disturbing Yan Jing'an's rest. Besides, it's not good to stay cooped up in the house all the time."

After saying that, she seemed to remember something and looked at Yan Zheng with a smile: "How are they? Are the gloves any good?"

She looked at him expectantly, her face practically screaming: "I'm amazing, right? Praise me!"

Yan Zheng lifted the basket onto his back with one hand. Seeing her adorable expression, he put his arm around her neck and leaned close to her, saying...

"They're great. My fiancée made these loving gloves, so they're naturally very useful. My hands have been so warm all day."

Jiang Xi was delighted to be praised, thinking to herself that she was really amazing, now she could even make gloves.

Then, Yan Zheng suddenly changed the subject and said, "Just don't stay up late to do it next time. The weather is so unpredictable these days, and people's resistance is already low. Staying up late will easily make you sick."

Although Jiang Xi heard his fierce tone, she knew he was doing it for her own good, so she nodded with a silly smile.