Wu Sicheng was thinking about how to use these few days to cultivate a relationship with An Moxue and make her develop feelings for him.

An Moxue thought she should make something nutritious to help Wu Sicheng recover quickly and get rid of him. She knew that he would have to pay for accommodation, medical expenses, and meals, and she wouldn't accept a penny less. She didn't mind giving him more.

An Moxue acted on a whim, taking the money and heading out.

When he got home, he was carrying a large rooster in his left hand and a basket of eggs in his right hand as he went into the kitchen.

She went into the kitchen, put the eggs down, and started boiling water in a pot to pluck the rooster's feathers. This was the first time An Moxue had ever plucked a rooster, and she wasn't very skilled. Although she had asked her aunt how to prepare the rooster when she bought it, she was still clumsy in practice. She burned the skin off, and in some places, the feathers wouldn't come off. In the end, she plucked all the skin off the entire chicken. Then she cut open the chicken's belly, removed the internal organs and the tail, keeping only the liver and throwing away everything else. She didn't know which parts were edible and which weren't; she only kept what she thought she could eat. An Moxue thought killing a chicken was much harder than killing a pig. Wild boars have thick skin, so skinning them is much easier. Killing a chicken, on the other hand, required boiling water. She decided that next time she wanted to eat chicken, she would hire someone to kill it.

An Moxue took a while to prepare dinner, more than two hours. The main reason was that killing the chicken took more than an hour, which delayed her rest. Dinner consisted of chicken stew with mushrooms, shredded potatoes with vinegar, steamed egg custard, and rice.

When An Moxue served dinner to Wu Sicheng one by one, he was deeply moved. He thought that An Moxue had made such a sumptuous dinner for him, and he felt that An Moxue was so sincere and a good girl.

Looking at him, An Moxue assumed he hadn't had such a delicious meal in a long time and was just excited about it. She thought her meal was worth it, but she couldn't forget to collect the money; the chicken cost three yuan!

An Moxue noticed that Wu Sicheng was just looking at the food without touching it, and assumed he was embarrassed.

She hurriedly said, "Eat up! That's all, eat more, get better soon." Actually, An Moxue's subconscious message was: "Eat more, get better soon, and get lost!"

However, Wu Sicheng interpreted An Moxue's words as concern for him, hoping he would eat more good food so he could get better sooner—what a kind girl! Their completely opposite thoughts unexpectedly aligned.

Seeing that Wu Sicheng still wasn't eating, An Moxue thought he was embarrassed, so she quickly picked up her chopsticks and put a piece of chicken in his bowl, telling him, "Eat up, don't be shy. It's just the two of us, let's finish all this food tonight. I'll make something new tomorrow morning. Eat more and get better soon, so you don't miss your important business."

Wu Sicheng was so moved that he could only say, "Comrade An Moxue, thank you. Don't worry, I'll send you money when I get back. I'm really sorry I didn't have any money on me during the mission. I definitely won't eat and drink for free."

An Moxue was exhausted and hungry, and didn't want to say much. She said to Wu Sicheng, "Okay."

So she stopped paying attention to him and focused on eating. She was too tired after a long day of work!

Harvesting rice is stinging!

Even though I was wearing a hat, a scarf, and gloves, the rice awns still made my skin incredibly itchy.

They have to keep bending over, cutting a handful and bending over again, cutting a handful and bending over again. Their backs ache so much, it's almost unbearable. Farmers work so hard.

The two of them finished off the sumptuous dinner in no time. Looking at the empty bowls and plates on the table, Wu Sicheng belatedly felt a little embarrassed: "I'm sorry, I haven't had a hot meal for several days, and it was so delicious that I accidentally ate a little too much."

"It's alright, you'll recover quickly if you can eat. Is your injury alright? You were unconscious last night, and I didn't know what was going on. I was afraid it would affect your mission, so I didn't dare take you to the hospital. Now that you're awake, do you know any doctors you trust? I'll find one for you."

"No need. I wasn't seriously injured. It was just that the tracking took a long time and I was exhausted. I also lost a lot of blood and passed out. I'm awake now, so it's not a big problem. I'll just need to rest for a few days. Don't worry."

After An Moxue finished cleaning up the dishes, she boiled a kettle of water and went into the bathroom to take a shower. Only after she came out did she realize that Wu Sicheng might also need to take a shower.

"Um, Wu Sicheng, there's still some hot water left in the kettle. Do you need it washed? Can you wash it now?"

"Yes, wiping it off is no problem."

"Okay, I have some of my dad's clothes. If you don't mind, I can find some for you to change into, is that alright?"

"I don't mind."

"Okay, then wait a moment."

So An Moxue opened the box and took out his father's belongings. She found a set of clothes and a towel and handed them to Wu Sicheng, saying, "Is this alright?"

He said, "Okay, thank you, that's fine."

Wu Sicheng took a towel, clothes, and a kettle and went out to take a shower.

An Moxue found a piece of cloth, took out a few nails and hammered them into the ceiling. After a few nails, she hung the cloth up, and her enclosed space appeared. This was the space she planned to sleep in for the next few days, while the other side was for Wu Sicheng to sleep in.

When Wu Sicheng returned to his room after showering, he saw a closed space enclosed by a curtain. He was genuinely surprised; he had thought he would have to sleep in the kitchen that night. He hadn't expected An Moxue to do this.

"Um, Comrade An Moxue, I'm sorry, but how about I go sleep in the kitchen? I can't cause you too much trouble because of me."

"It's alright, it'll only be a few days. You're still injured! Just bear with it. It'll be fine once you leave. I have to get up early for work tomorrow morning, I'm tired. Let's go to sleep early."

So An Moxue got out of bed, locked the door, went back inside, crawled under the curtain, and fell asleep in no time.

But Wu Sicheng just couldn't fall asleep. A girl he liked was sleeping next to him—how could a young, vigorous man like him possibly sleep? Even though they were separated by a curtain, one at one end of the kang (heated brick bed), the other at the other.

The more he couldn't sleep, the more his mind wandered; the more he wandered, the less he could sleep, and the clearer he could hear An Moxue's breathing. Wu Sicheng finally drifted off to sleep in the latter half of the night.

When Wu Sicheng woke up the next day, An Moxue had already gone to work.

She had also pulled down the curtain, and a table was placed on the kang (a heated brick bed). On the table was a note that said she wouldn't be back for lunch, the food was still warm in the pot, and he should eat by himself. He could eat whatever was available in the house. There was some anti-inflammatory medicine for him on the table, and she told him not to forget to take it. The wound medicine, gauze, and scissors were in the cupboard, and he should remember to change them himself. Then she told him to be careful, as her two small dogs in the kitchen were afraid of strangers and he shouldn't get bitten. She also told him not to go out unless necessary, as it wouldn't be good if outsiders saw him.