Zhou Chenyu returned carrying her spoils, and the rain suddenly stopped. She smiled and said, "Tonight's dinner is taken care of. You're injured, so this is a good opportunity to help you recover."
Yang Xi struggled to his feet and couldn't help but exclaim with delight, "I never knew you were so skilled! Your archery is almost on par with the constables in our government office!"
Zhou Chenyu snorted arrogantly, "Tch, hunting is nothing. If you men can do it, so can we women! Don't underestimate us."
“I had no such intention,” Yang Xi explained earnestly. “In this world, there are countless women who are stronger than men.”
Zhou Chenyu looked at him in surprise. After a while, she tucked the chicken into her waistband, casually slung the bow over her shoulder, and said, "Before I knew it, the afternoon had passed, and it's about to get dark."
She started to joke, "Squad Leader Yang, if you don't mind, why don't you come back to my little shabby house with me for the night?"
Yang Xi bowed his head, showing little gratitude. "I'm overjoyed that you've taken me in; how could I possibly look down on you?"
Zhou Chenyu smiled and walked to his side, snuggled into his arms, took his right hand, and teased him while looking up: "I'm just worried that it's not good for you and me to be alone in a room. Of course, I know you're definitely not that kind of person."
Yang Xi looked into Zhou Chenyu's eyes, smiled, and leaned towards her.
"Huang Dou, let's go home." Zhou Chenyu called out to Huang Dou, supporting Yang Xi's waist with one hand and grabbing his arm with the other. The two looked after each other and returned to the wooden house together.
Zhou Chenyu was only wearing an outer garment, her inner clothes were still bare, and they were chafing her uncomfortablely. When she returned to the wooden house, she immediately went to change her clothes. By the time she finished changing and came outside, Yang Xi had already lit the fire on the iron frame.
Afraid that he might bump into something, Zhou Chenyu snatched the tinder from his hand and pressed him back into the chair. "Didn't I tell you not to move? I'll do it."
Yang Xi watched Zhou Chenyu busy at work, while he, being a man, sat idly by.
Feeling lost, he picked up a few pieces of firewood and added them to the iron rack, saying, "The constables of the yamen are out in the field all year round to arrest criminals. They have to travel through mountains and rivers. When they come into the mountains and there is no food, we can hunt a few pheasants and rabbits and roast them to eat, just like we are now."
“You men are rough and prefer to bake things to save time, but I don’t do that.”
Zhou Chenyu waited for the water in the pot to boil, then poured it over the pheasant's feathers to scald it. After a few quick movements, he removed the pheasant's feathers and then its internal organs.
After removing the internal organs and washing away the blood with plenty of cold water from the eaves, Zhou Chenyu carried the things out the door.
In the past, she would have avoided even the live poultry markets, let alone doing anything as bloody as killing chickens or fish. But here, the living conditions are harsh, and if she wants a decent meal, she has to cook for herself.
Fortunately, seeing how busy Li Xiuju was, she gradually got the hang of it. She quickly slaughtered the chicken, carried it back to the wooden house, and saw Yang Xi busy at work in the distance.
He did not heed her advice and sit down to recover from his injury. Even when he was working with a wooden stick, it did not dispel his thoughts.
When Zhou Chenyu approached, she saw that the wild scallions and ginger on the plate had already been washed, saving her a lot of trouble.
She stood behind him, staring at him, and exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, judging from your practiced movements, do you cook often?"
Yang Xi turned his head to look at her, "When I was a child, my mother was busy in the kitchen and often asked my father and me to help her."
“It’s rare to see men in the kitchen here.” Zhou Chenyu smiled, changed the water in the pot, added a bunch of wild scallions and a few slices of ginger and brought it to a boil. She didn’t bring many seasonings with her this time, so the best choice to make a delicious meal with simple ingredients was undoubtedly her specialty, poached chicken.
The pheasant was older than she had estimated, and its meat was a bit tough, so it took almost half an hour to boil it.
After the food was cooked, the light around the cabin gradually dimmed, and an oil lamp lit up the table. Zhou Chenyu brought the rice and soup to the table and helped Yang Xi sit down.
Zhou Chenyu handed him the chopsticks, "My grandmother usually cooks at home, and I rarely go into the kitchen. Try it first and see if it suits your taste."
Yang Xi glanced at the dishes, picked up his chopsticks, and took a small bite.
Zhou Chenyu waited for his reaction, "Is the taste alright?"
Yang Xi opened his eyes and looked at her, without the slightest pretense, and nodded affirmatively, "Yes, it tastes very good."
"Really? Then eat more." Zhou Chenyu propped her chin up and looked Yang Xi up and down. He was dressed in cheap clothes and looked pale and pitiful. But even in such a predicament, Yang Xi's behavior while eating still showed the strict upbringing of a noble family scion and was not at all vulgar.
She used to call him a brute?
He's probably blind.
After they finished dinner, they collected hot water and took a shower.
Yang Xi's shoulder injury medication should be changed three times a day, but it was delayed at noon. Zhou Chenyu pounded another batch of herbs and brought them to Yang Xi. "These are the only herbs we could find here. Use them for now. Shall I change your dressing, or do you do it yourself?"
Yang Xi glanced at his injuries and smiled weakly, "Thank you, but let me do it myself."
Zhou Chenyu looked at his injury, but she wasn't a careful person and was afraid of accidentally hurting him.
“Okay.” She put down the herbs and moved the oil lamp closer to him. “After you’ve applied the medicine, I’ll bandage you up.”
Yang Xi sat upright on the bed, unbuttoned the clothes on one shoulder, revealing the wound. The scar, soaked by the rain, had indeed split open again, with blood and water covering the mangled wound, and some scabs and softened dead skin clinging to it.
Zhou Chenyu felt pain just looking at it; the pain would be unimaginable once the herbs were applied.
She brought in a dry cloth, wiped away the blood, and turned her head away, not daring to look at the few seconds it took to apply the medicine.
Yang Xi held the herbs in his right hand, remained silent for a long time, his face tense, and pressed them against the wound without blinking. The medicinal juice seeped into his limbs and bones from the wound, and the excruciating pain made him clench his teeth instantly, his body trembling uncontrollably.
Zhou Chenyu heard his painful, restrained murmur and couldn't help but glance at him out of the corner of her eye.
Yang Xi kept his eyes tightly closed, his forehead covered in fine sweat. He was trying his best to endure the pain, but he couldn't bear the tearing pain of the knife wound. He gritted his teeth and loosened them several times, only to tense them up again the next second. In the end, even the veins on his neck bulged and almost burst.
Zhou Chenyu sat to the side, seemingly infected by his pain, and asked him with discomfort, "Does it hurt a lot?"
Yang Xi steadied his breathing, opened his eyes, and forced a smile as he comforted her, "For a catcher, this kind of injury is nothing out of the ordinary. I'm used to it."
After Yang Xi had recovered for a while and his complexion had improved, Zhou Chenyu took the cloth strip and pressed it onto the wound, binding it tightly.
Having dealt with these matters, Zhou Chenyu turned and walked outside, frowning in confusion:
"Being a constable is just a job, after all. Why work so hard?"
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