It really had entered the hibernation period once it snowed. The hunters would no longer venture deep into the forest, and those who were working away from home had all returned, getting ready to celebrate the New Year at home; they would resume work only after the spring.
Now, only the women in the small courtyard were earning, which made everyone else quite envious.
One morning, Yang Ming brought up an issue, "We’re running low on firewood, aren’t we? I’ll find some people to go up the mountain and get some these next few days!"
"..." She had forgotten such an important matter.
Xiaoxiao really felt like she was the only one thinking about everything, truly stressing her brain. Take the firewood, for instance; it was supposed to last till spring, but she had burned through it before the heavy snow had even passed.
The place where they stored pickled vegetables couldn’t be too cold; otherwise, it would freeze the jars and crack them. The pickled vegetables themselves couldn’t be too frozen either, so they had to slightly heat the room.
Luckily, Yang Ming had reminded her; it seemed this makeshift husband of hers was somewhat useful after all.
Previously, it had always been Yang Dong reminding her, but now the roles had changed. However, given her scatterbrained nature, she indeed needed someone by her side.
"We really do need to store more, but with the snow so thick, can we still chop firewood?"
Xiaoxiao still had some doubts; if the snow delayed the firewood chopping, then she would be completely doomed.
"It is tough, but it’s not impossible to chop!"
"Then let’s hire some people, give them thirty wen a day; the weather really isn’t great for working."
Yang Ming, saying this, went out to find people, and before long, he had gathered a group of over ten young men! When everyone heard they could earn thirty wen for a day’s work chopping wood, they were thrilled and came cheerfully.
Just as Yang Ming was about to lead the group away, he saw his wife waving at him! He walked over to his wife.
Xiaoxiao: "Is the mountain dangerous, are there any fierce beasts?"
Yang Ming: "We’ll just chop on the outskirts, not going deep into the forest, so we won’t encounter any!"
Xiaoxiao: "Then there’s no need for you to go, you’re just a delicate scholar!"
Yang Ming: "Whether I’m delicate or not, haven’t you already seen! Didn’t I earn a score of nine?"
Yang Ming: "Are you worried about me?"
Yang Ming: "Wait for me to come back; maybe I’ll bring you a rabbit!"
Having said that, Yang Ming led the group into the mountain, leaving Xiaoxiao alone, dumbstruck. Ah! Ah! Ah! What had she just heard?
She had already seen it! Scored a nine? So he had heard everything, then was he awake that day?
Awake, yet he let her wipe his body with such difficulty; thinking about that day’s embarrassment made her face heat up again, how utterly humiliating.
That dead Yang Ming, stinking Yang Ming, a complete sly fox, not honest at all. She had to add a new rule to her life codes, and that was to stay away from Yang Ming!
"Who’s worried about you? And catching a rabbit for me? Do you think I’m a child?" Xiaoxiao muttered to herself as she went inside the house.
Walking up the mountain, Yang Ming pondered. Just now, he didn’t know why he had teased her like that, inadvertently revealing that day’s incident. He had no idea what she would think now; remembering the day his wife had undressed him made his face also start to heat up.
Anyway, his wife’s reaction just showed she was worried about him, which felt great! The more he thought about it, the better his mood—planning definitely to catch a rabbit to entertain her.
"Yang Ming, move it!"
"What are you thinking about? You’re about to fall behind!"
"Why is your face so red? You got this cold just from stepping out?"
Embarrassed by everyone’s comments, Yang Ming quickly caught up with the group, "Coming!"