Chestnut Braised Chicken and Envious Glances

Du Yuerao opened the water bottle for the two children to drink and reminded them to be careful.

This time up the mountain, she had another purpose: she wanted to find a way to rationalize the origin of the items in her Space.

Du Yuerao planned to try visiting the legendary black market in the near future, and while she was at it, see if she could sell a few wild ginseng roots from her Space to earn some money.

As such, the most logical reason for having wild ginseng was: she had dug it up on the mountain.

When they returned home at noon, the basket on Du Yuerao's back was full.

She had also secretly taken a chicken out of her Space, broke its leg, and intended to say she had accidentally caught it while on the mountain.

To avoid Gu Si noticing anything unusual, Du Yuerao intentionally chose a small-looking chicken, slaughtered it in her Space, and then stuffed it into the basket.

The two children were very sensible, reaching out to help her carry the basket.

Du Yuerao smiled and tucked three or four spiky chestnuts into each of their baskets.

***

The seasonal work was gradually coming to an end. At noon, Gu Si had time to come home for lunch and rest.

When Du Yuerao and the two kids arrived home, they happened to meet Gu Si in the alley.

"Dad!" The two kids excitedly ran over, each hugging one of Gu Si's legs tightly.

Du Yuerao looked at the two identical "leg accessories" and couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Gu Si pulled the "leg accessories" along, reaching her in just a few steps. He reached out to take the basket from Du Yuerao's back.

Du Yuerao saw the sweat on his forehead, so she took a handkerchief from her pocket and gently wiped it for him.

"I took Xiao Ming and Xiao Han to pick quite a few chestnuts, and we even found a wild chicken with an injured leg. I'll make chestnut braised chicken for everyone for lunch."

Du Yuerao's voice was gentle, and her cool hand held the handkerchief as she tenderly wiped his sweat.

The corners of Gu Si's mouth curved slightly, a barely perceptible smile appearing. The feeling of heat in his body vanished instantly.

"Let me do it. You've been tired all morning; go inside and rest."

Gu Si naturally took the silk handkerchief embroidered with orchid grass.

Just then, it was time for the lunch break. The group of people coming home from work was a few steps behind Gu Si. As they passed the end of the alley, they caught sight of Du Yuerao tilting her head to wipe his sweat.

In this era, thoughts were still conservative; even married couples rarely showed affection in public.

In an instant, the men and women in the group were stunned.

The men were envious that Gu Si had such a beautiful and thoughtful wife.

The women were admiring that Du Yuerao had such a tall and strong husband. In this era of food scarcity, the average height of village men was only about one meter seventy.

Only Gu Si had been hunting to support his siblings since he was young, so he was over one meter eighty tall.

Among the crowd was Li Feifei. She had been chatting happily earlier, but when she saw that scene, her smile froze instantly.

Her gaze followed Gu Si's tall figure as he entered the house, and she didn't snap out of it until he was out of sight.

"Has Du Yuerao really turned over a new leaf?"

"Gu Si can be considered to have seen the light at the end of the tunnel."

"Being so intimate in the middle of the street, how shameless."

Hearing the jealous whispers around her, Li Feifei bit her lower lip hard.

She and Du Yuerao were classmates. From childhood to adulthood, Du Yuerao had always been a step above her in every aspect.

With great difficulty, she had heard news that Du Yuerao was married off to a poor rural area to a crude, boorish man.

She had intentionally chosen Qingyuan Village to come down to the countryside, wanting to see Du Yuerao's downfall with her own eyes.

And the result? The husband was handsome and capable!

In contrast, she herself was twenty-four and still unmarried, and had been called out by the village gossips more than once for having "issues."

How could she possibly get married in this desolate wilderness to some crude man?

As Li Feifei thought this, she couldn't help but recall Gu Si's figure just now.

He was so tall with such broad shoulders; lying on them would surely feel very secure...

Du Yuerao rested in the house for a while, then rolled up her sleeves to prepare the chestnut braised chicken.

To her surprise, she saw that the man hadn't even changed his clothes yet and had already peeled all the chestnuts and chopped the chicken into pieces.