"Hmm." Xiao Changyi had no objections.
From two baskets of bamboo shoots, An Jing set aside two bowls to stir-fry while they were fresh, and sliced the rest and laid them out with black fungus in the yard to dry.
Passers-by from the village were astonished to see black ’flowers’ laid out to dry in Xiao Changyi’s yard.
That was supposed to be poisonous!
However, noticing that there wasn’t a large amount, people didn’t pry into the matter any further. After all, if anyone were to be poisoned to death, it wouldn’t be them. They thought it would be best if the poison killed the couple, saving the villagers from being bothered by their presence.
That very noon, An Jing stir-fried a plate of bamboo shoots.
"Is it much tastier than wild greens?" An Jing asked with sparkling eyes, looking across at Xiao Changyi who was eating.
Xiao Changyi nodded, "Hmm."
"Then you should eat more." An Jing said smilingly, adding more bamboo shoots to Xiao Changyi’s bowl.
A gentle light softened Xiao Changyi’s usually cool gaze as he too added a fair amount of bamboo shoots to An Jing’s bowl before continuing with his own meal.
"The black fungus is also tasty, once it’s dried and no longer poisonous, I’ll prepare some for you to eat," An Jing said while eating.
"Dried goods can be kept for a long time. If we dry more black fungus and bamboo shoots now, we won’t have to worry about having no vegetables to eat when winter comes." It was still possible to forage for wild vegetables in the mountains now, but that wouldn’t be an option during winter. Winter was especially hard for poor families; much harder than the other seasons, with some even dying of hunger or cold.
"Hmm." After a pause, "After we eat, I’ll go collect some more black fungus." He had handled the black fungus for about two hours now, with no issues, so it should really be fine.
An Jing immediately teased, "You’re not afraid of being poisoned to death?"
Without a word, Xiao Changyi simply added some more bamboo shoots to An Jing’s bowl.
An Jing: "..." Was this his way of begging for mercy?
Suppressing a laugh, An Jing indeed gave her husband a break and didn’t tease him further. Instead, she said, "I’ll go with you later. We’ll collect as much as we can."
"Actually, there’s no rush. We can collect it later too," An Jing continued with a smile. "This stuff always pops up in corners here and there. As long as others are afraid to pick it, it’ll be ours~"
Watching An Jing’s prideful little expression, Changyi felt a stirring in his heart and couldn’t resist. He raised his hand and gently touched An Jing’s head.
An Jing immediately raised an eyebrow, "That’s enough for you?"
Changyi looked at her puzzledly.
Without a word, An Jing leaned in quickly and kissed Xiao Changyi on the lips. She had to be cautious outside, but in their own home, she could be uninhibited.
Changyi was briefly stunned before his lips curled into a slight smile, both for An Jing’s initiative to kiss him and for the blush that quickly spread across her face afterward.
An Jing could feel the heat on her face; it was burning up, prompting her to touch it with her hand. As soon as she felt the high temperature on her cheek, she complained with a downcast face, "Husband, I think I’ve caught a certain disease."
Changyi immediately tensed up with worry.
An Jing went on, "I blush whether you kiss me or I kiss you. Surely I must have caught this blushing disease!" Despite their frequent kisses and even more intimate activities every night, she still blushed. She was certain it was a disease!
"..." Xiao Changyi was quiet for a moment before leaning over and kissing An Jing gently on the lips.
Instantly, An Jing’s face turned even redder, and her cheeks grew warmer. This man was definitely doing it on purpose!
In the following days, An Jing and Xiao Changyi either cleared land or foraged for bamboo shoots and black fungus in the mountains.
The villagers of Jiuping Village hadn’t paid much heed to Xiao Changyi and An Jing collecting bamboo shoots, but when they saw more and more black fungus drying in the couple’s yard—spread out in large swathes—the villagers were eventually...terrified!