The last wisp of smoke from the kitchen chimney melted into the twilight.
Ling Huanwu stepped wearily through the courtyard gate.
The cooperative is now in the rush to complete the work.
She barely has the strength to lift her eyelids anymore; all she wants is to boil some hot water to soak her feet so she can go to sleep as soon as possible.
But as soon as her feet touched the threshold, a steaming aroma of meat and eggs wafted out of the main room, making her stomach rumble.
Ling Huanwu was stunned for a moment, then lifted the curtain and went inside.
The table was piled high with delicious dishes.
A plate of golden, glistening scrambled eggs, a bowl of braised pork belly stewed until tender, stir-fried bok choy, and two large flatbreads.
In the very center was a rough porcelain bowl with two tender yellow daffodils in it. The water droplets on the petals were still sparkling, making the simple mud-brick house seem a bit brighter.
Zhou Jiuzhen entered the room carrying a black earthenware wine pot. Seeing that she was standing still, he placed the pot on the table like a treasure: "Huanwu, quickly wash your hands, I've stewed some meat, and also..."
"Zhou Jiuzhen!" Ling Huanwu raised her voice before he could finish speaking, and quickly walked over to grab the wine pot.
She touched the familiar dark patterns on the pot with her fingertips, and her anger flared up. She had been hoarding those supplies for when the storm surge came.
"Did you take this wine from your spatial storage? You're actually taking things from my spatial storage without my permission now?"
Zhou Jiuzhen pouted, but before he could even defend himself, Ling Huanwu started nagging and blaming him again.
"You should at least tell me before entering the space, right? But instead, you not only took wine, but also meat! Where did this meat come from? Was it also from the space?"
Seeing her like this, Zhou Jiuzhen couldn't help but get angry. He took off his apron and threw it on the table. "Does this pork have your special space mark on it? Why don't I have your mark on me? I'm still your husband. Why don't you put a stamp on my butt too?"
Ling Huanwu stared at the man opposite her, his thin lips flattened like a duck's, and felt a moment of disorientation.
Did she see Zhou Jiuzhen again when he was eighteen?
Her arrogant and tantrum-like behavior is both infuriating and hilarious.
She then realized that she might have misunderstood Zhou Jiuzhen.
"Then...where did you get this wine? Isn't it from my space?"
Zhou Jiuzhen turned his head away, guiltily touching his nose. "This meat is rabbit I hunted at the mountain camp this afternoon. As for the wine, well... last time when I went in with you, I saw you drank this wine before, so I... I wanted to make some fermented pork for you..."
His face turned bright red, and he stammered out an excuse, pouring himself a glass of water to cool down.
Ling Huanwu saw through his thoughts at a glance, opened the wine pot lid, smelled it, and grinned mischievously, "Are you sure this medicinal wine can be used to make braised pork? You probably want to pickle me into sweet rice balls to go with your rice!"
Zhou Jiuzhen was so shocked that he spat out the mouthful of water he had just drunk, his face filled with horror. "What is sweet fermented rice balls? How could I possibly have done that to you!"
Ling Huanwu was amused by his appearance and laughed so hard she almost fell over, leaning on the table.
She then realized that sweet fermented rice balls didn't exist in those days.
While laughing, she explained to him, "Sweet rice balls in fermented rice wine are just glutinous rice balls. They taste delicious when you add them to fermented rice wine and cook them."
Zhou Jiuzhen straightened up, coughed lightly to appear calm, but his eyes were fixed on Ling Huanwu.
To be honest, he really thought his wife, Ling, looked like a glutinous rice ball.
And then imagine pairing it with fermented glutinous rice—it truly has a flavor that's intoxicating.
Zhou Jiuzhen waved his hand, "I don't like desserts. Let's eat quickly, or the food will get cold."
As he spoke, he laid his thieving intentions bare, poured a small bowl of wine, and pushed it towards her.
A small half-cup of amber-colored wine wafted from the bowl, its aroma mingling with the sweet scent of daffodils.
Ling Huanwu looked at the bloodshot eyes in his eyes and knew that he hadn't been idle these past few days.
During the day, he had to work with Political Commissar Hao to persuade the villagers, and at night he had to come back to do housework.
I don't know if it's because of the stress of moving to the island, but he tossed and turned for the past few nights and didn't get a good night's sleep.
Ling Huanwu felt a little sorry for him and poked his arm. "We can't be so ostentatious about supplementing our diet. What if the neighbors smell the meat and ask us about it? And these daffodils, who has the time to grow flowers these days?"
"I've thought it all out!" Zhou Jiuzhen immediately straightened his back and said in a serious tone, "I'll say the rabbit meat was accidentally killed during shooting practice, and the daffodils were just something we dug up to eat as wild vegetables because they looked pretty. Who would have known they were daffodils?"
As he spoke, he placed the largest piece of braised rabbit meat into her bowl, saying, "Try it first. I stewed it for two hours, so it's definitely not tough."
Ling Huanwu stared at the meat in the bowl, momentarily lost in thought.
She never thought she'd get to eat wild rabbit meat in her lifetime.
Pick up a piece of meat and put it in your mouth; the tender skin is wrapped in delicious broth and melts in your mouth.
She had never tasted such a delicacy in either her previous life or this one.
Her eyes suddenly felt a little hot, and she glared at Zhou Jiuzhen: "If you dare to take anything from my space again, I'll pour out your whole jar of herbal tonic wine!"
Seeing that she was willing to eat, Zhou Jiuzhen immediately beamed and served her another bowl of rabbit soup. "I won't do it again. Next time, I'll let you know before I bring anything. Have some soup to warm up. I've also boiled some water, so I'll let you soak your feet later."
Ling Huanwu sipped her hot soup, gazing at the daffodils on the table. The water droplets on the petals reflected the light of the kerosene lamp, like tiny stars scattered on the ground.
She glanced at Zhou Jiuzhen furtively and saw him staring at her bowl as if he was worried she wouldn't have enough to eat. She couldn't help but laugh and said, "Silly girl, you should eat too. I can't finish all this food by myself."
Zhou Jiuzhen immediately responded, but first handed her a flatbread and made it into a rabbit meat sandwich: "Eat more, so you'll have the energy to work later."
"Huh? What kind of work?"
Ling Huanwu, munching on a fragrant flatbread sandwich, belatedly realized what the man was up to. She smacked her lips in dissatisfaction, "You want me to work? With your physique, are you trying to work me to death?"
Zhou Jiuzhen's mouth dropped open. Realizing he'd let something slip, he quickly tried to cover it up, "I meant you need to eat well so you'll have the energy to work tomorrow, haha... haha, don't misunderstand!"
But Ling Huanwu was not about to let him off the hook.
She poured him a full bowl of herbal tonic wine, her smile wide and her eyes crinkling at the corners of her mouth. "Come on, Battalion Commander Zhou, you need to eat your fill so you'll have the energy to work tomorrow morning..."
"well……"
Zhou Jiuzhen was sweating profusely and had no choice but to drink a whole bowl of tonic wine.
That daughter-in-law is wicked.
If she tightens her belt tonight, he'll probably be completely ruined.
But his wife kept pushing his limits. She took a sweet potato and cut it in half with a knife, which startled him so much that he almost fainted.
"You're right, I have to mark your butt too, so it won't get stolen. I heard that Su Haiting has also come to your unit, I have to mark her properly, so that all the men won't be stolen!"
When Zhou Jiuzhen saw Ling Huanwu carving the words "Exclusive for Big Girls" on the sliced sweet potato, he covered his buttocks and turned to run away.
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