In less than an hour, Qin Ling had cleaned up Tian Cai's yard neatly. The water tank was full, the bamboo shed behind the house was neatly stacked with firewood more than one meter high against the wall, and the fallen petals under the crabapple tree were also cleaned up.

Qin Ling had not left when she was cooking. Thinking that he had done so much work for her, Tian Cai simply prepared his dinner as well, and put it on a plate for him to take away when he left.

Qin Ling really wanted it, but he refused in order to leave a good impression on the girl. Besides, he came here to work to pay off his debts, and what would happen to the food when he left? So he didn't mind owing more and more.

"Are you dissatisfied with my cooking?" Tian Cai didn't like to push the issue back and forth. Besides, if she couldn't finish the food in one meal, it would go bad.

After hearing what Tian Cai said, Qin Ling stretched out his hands and took the plate. There was chili sauce made by Tian Cai and a bowl of brown rice in it.

She doesn't have high requirements for food, and her cooking skills are just so-so. Her cooking skills are not very stable. Sometimes it tastes good, sometimes it tastes bad. Even the same dish tastes different every time.

After everyone left, Tian Cai used the daylight to mend her clothes. The clothes were torn by branches when she went up the mountain. Her craftsmanship was average, so she just sewed the clothes simply so that no flesh was exposed.

Mimi’s dinner is just a bowl of brown rice soaked in water. The little guy smelled it and ate it obediently.

Tian Cai saw its little mustache twitching and couldn't help but touch its head twice. Well, the little kitten is so nice to touch!

It would be fine if he just ate vegetables, but it was also a shame to let a carnivore follow him and eat vegetarian food, especially such a cute little creature. Tian Cai decided to go up the mountain to hunt some pheasants, rabbits and the like tomorrow to improve the food.

When he woke up the next morning, the sky was gloomy. Tian Cai looked into the distance and felt that it would not rain in the short term, so he took his straw hat and carried a bamboo basket and went up the mountain.

This time her goal was very clear. She went straight to the bamboo forest in the middle, where there were many pheasants.

Not long after Tian Cai left, Zhang Defa went to Qin's house humming a little tune.

When I pushed the door open and entered the yard, I saw Qin Ling carrying straw into the house.

"What are you doing? Why are you carrying them into the house?"

Qin Ling's heart tightened, as if his secret had been discovered. He pretended to be calm and said, "It's for repairing the roof."

The Qin family's roof was repaired at the beginning of spring, and Zhang Defa saw it at the time.

He looked at Qin Ling's expression and thought about what he heard from his wife last night, "Is it for Xiaotian's family?"

Qin Ling didn't say anything, but the tips of his ears turned red.

"Xiaotian is a capable and good girl. Aren't you treating her like that—" Zhang Defa looked at him suspiciously.

Qin Ling paused while moving the straw. "You're overthinking it. I just wanted to thank her for saving me. That's all."

Zhang Defa was half-believing and half-doubting, but he didn't say anything else.

Tian Cai cut a long branch that he liked and held it in his hand. He practiced a few whipping movements and found it quite handy, so he continued walking into the mountains.

Ever since she encountered a snake in the mountains last time, she would carry insect repellent powder with her every time she went up the mountain. Snakes and insects would stay away from her when they smelled it, so Tian Cai was not worried at all about being bitten by the snakes and insects that came out. She also brought detoxification pills with her when she went up the mountain.

In the past, she often saw the shadows of pheasants on the mountain, but today she came here specifically to shoot them, but she couldn't see a single one.

When Tian Cai reached the hilltop where the bamboo forest was, the movements in the bushes became noticeably more frequent. As she walked, she suddenly pulled hard at the bushes next to her. Wherever the branches fell, twigs and leaves were broken. A pheasant with brightly colored feathers flew up and was then pulled down to the ground. It flapped its wings a few times and then stopped moving.

Tian Cai walked closer and picked it up. She saw that the pheasant's neck was covered in blood and flesh. She whipped it a little too hard the first time. She would be a little gentler next time, otherwise blood would drip everywhere in the backpack.

Tian Cai followed the same method and hunted four pheasants in total. The sky was even darker than when she came in the morning, and she could even feel raindrops falling occasionally. She then threw away the branches in her hand, put on the pheasants, and ran down the mountain.

As soon as they climbed over two hills, heavy rain began to fall. Soon, Tian Cai's clothes were soaked. The straw hat on her head could cover some of the rain, but it could not protect her body and feet.

Tian Cai didn't dare to slow down at all. She didn't know whether the silly little cat at home would go into the house because of the rain. It was also her fault that she had to go up the mountain today. She only wanted to hunt one, but she greedily hunted four. It was raining so heavily, and if there were a few more thunders in a while, she would forget it.

Tian Cai ran all the way and finally arrived home safely before the lightning struck. When she opened the yard, she saw that the silly little cat who she thought would be soaked was not silly at all. It was lying in front of the kitchen stove to keep warm. And from Tian Cai's perspective, it looked drowsy and had definitely just woken up.

Well, it turns out I worried for nothing.

Tian Cai placed the bamboo basket containing the pheasant on the kitchen floor and first scooped a pot of water and boiled it. She was soaked and needed to take a bath first, and she would also need hot water to pluck the chicken feathers later.

Tian Cai locked the door from the inside, went back to the house to get some clean clothes and placed them next to the stove. Then he took off his clothes and took a bath in the kitchen.

"Huh." Tian Cai couldn't help but let out a long breath while soaking in the warm water. Although it was hot in June, she still felt chilly after soaking for a long time. She couldn't help but soak for a while longer.

Mimi was already circling the bamboo basket containing the pheasant. She tried to push it over several times but failed, and was crying "Ah, Ah" anxiously beside it.

Thinking that there were still pheasants to be cleaned, Tian Cai quickly washed his hair, used the bath water to wash the clothes he wore when going up the mountain, and then rinsed them a second time.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!