Shen Xiaoming nodded seriously, "I know. I will definitely listen to my brother-in-law and recover quickly. Brother-in-law said that once I'm better, he'll teach me how to hunt."
Shen Xiaoyan was a little surprised by Shen Xiaoming's words. Did Zheng Wei actually say that?
"Good. Then you rest. Sister is going to eat. I'll bring you your medicine later." After speaking, Shen Xiaoyan stood up and walked to the main room, closing the door behind her.
As soon as she turned, Shen Xiaoyan froze.
Zheng Wei was sitting on a wooden stool, staring at her, but the food on the table remained untouched.
"Eat. It's not cold yet," Zheng Wei said.
Shen Xiaoyan suddenly didn't know what to say. She nodded and sat down.
Zheng Wei scooped two bowls of congee, placed one in front of Shen Xiaoyan, and then started eating his own.
They ate in silence, neither speaking.
After the meal, Shen Xiaoyan brewed Shen Xiaoming's medicine and cleaned up the kitchen.
While boiling the medicine, Shen Xiaoyan noticed that the medicine bottle was brand new, likely bought by Zheng Wei in town.
Looking at the medicine bottle, Shen Xiaoyan felt a warmth in her heart.
Although Zheng Wei was taciturn, he was thoughtful and meticulous.
After pouring the medicine into a bowl and letting it cool slightly, Shen Xiaoyan carried the bowl into the room.
After watching Shen Xiaoming finish his medicine and talking with him for a while, she quietly slipped out when he fell asleep.
The sky was completely dark outside. Shen Xiaoyan stood by Zheng Wei's door, feeling a bit lost.
Since she had returned, she hadn't rested. She had been trying her best to ignore the matter of sleeping at night.
But no matter how much she ignored it, what was to come would come.
Shen Xiaoyan took a deep breath and pushed open the door.
Zheng Wei's room was like hers, with a bed and a small cabinet, nothing else.
At this moment, Zheng Wei was leaning on the bed, arms crossed, his eyes fixed on the doorway.
No, he was looking at her now.
Shen Xiaoyan twitched her lips, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"
Zheng Wei looked at the smile on Shen Xiaoyan's face and found it amusing. Did she not know that her smile looked worse than her crying?
"Waiting for you," Zheng Wei's lips moved slightly, uttering two words.
Shen Xiaoyan felt even more nervous upon hearing this.
Heaven be my witness, in all three of her lives, this was the first time she had ever married.
It was only at this moment that she realized she was already married, a wife to another.
Although she and Zheng Wei had no wedding, no ceremony, no blessings, their household registration had already been updated.
She had become Zheng Shen.
However, realizing this fact did not mean she could immediately accept this identity.
She slowly walked to Zheng Wei, Shen Xiaoyan curved her lips, "Let's go to bed early."
A hint of amusement flickered in Zheng Wei's eyes. He didn't believe that this little person before him would willingly become a true couple with him.
Just as Zheng Wei had predicted, Shen Xiaoyan only took off her outer layer of clothing and quickly crawled to the innermost part of the bed.
Shen Xiaoyan silently thanked her luck that the bed was large enough, otherwise...
Zheng Wei got up, blew out the bean oil lamp on the small cabinet, took off his clothes, and lay down on the bed.
Shen Xiaoyan clutched the quilt in front of her chest. After a long while, only Zheng Wei's steady breathing echoed in her ears. She breathed a sigh of relief and closed her eyes, falling into a deep sleep.
After hearing Shen Xiaoyan's breathing become steady, Zheng Wei, who Shen Xiaoyan thought was already asleep, opened his eyes again.
He gently turned his head. Zheng Wei could only see a blurry silhouette lying not far from him. A smile curved his lips, and he closed his eyes again.
Before dawn, Shen Xiaoyan heard the sound of the door opening. After a moment of grogginess, she immediately opened her eyes.
She looked at her side; no one was there. She then looked towards the doorway, and Zheng Wei was looking at her.
"I'm going to fetch water. You can sleep a little longer," Zheng Wei said, then closed the door and walked out.
Shen Xiaoyan touched her face, feeling a little self-deprecating. She had actually felt like she was seeing off her husband just now.
Shaking her head, she thought, "No, no. It must have been Zheng Wei's voice that was too soft and low, making me hallucinate."
Discarding the chaotic thoughts from her mind, Shen Xiaoyan got out of bed, put on her outer clothes, and walked outside.
Standing by Shen Xiaoming's door, she listened closely. The room was very quiet; he should not be awake yet.
Shen Xiaoyan turned and walked out of the main house. The sky outside was just beginning to lighten.
Qingming Festival was not yet here; it was still the season of early spring chills. Getting up early in the morning, one could still feel a piercingly cold wind.
Rubbing her arms, Shen Xiaoyan walked towards the kitchen.
She had just lit the fire and was starting to cook the porridge when Zheng Wei returned with two buckets of water.
Seeing Shen Xiaoyan making breakfast, Zheng Wei said nothing. He poured the water into the water vat and then said he was going to get some firewood.
As Zheng Wei's figure disappeared, a slight smile appeared on Shen Xiaoyan's lips.
The breakfast was simple: just rice porridge, and the scallion pancakes from last night, heated up.
Looking at the simple breakfast, Shen Xiaoyan felt that she needed to find a way to raise some chicks, otherwise, even eating a boiled egg would be difficult.
The original owner's memory told her that after Qingming, it would be time to hatch chicks.
That was when the weather warmed up, and the chicks would be less likely to freeze to death.
There were only half a month left until Qingming. By then, she would definitely buy some chicks.
However, the primary task was still to earn money; this household lacked too many things.
Spring plowing was also about to begin, but it seemed to have nothing to do with them. After all, they only had these two mu of barren land.
"Sister, why aren't you eating? What are you thinking about?" Shen Xiaoming was adamant about not eating in bed this morning. Shen Xiaoyan saw that his fever had subsided, leaving only a slight cough, so she agreed to let him walk around.
Shen Xiaoyan looked up at Shen Xiaoming, but her gaze drifted somewhere else. After a while, it focused on Shen Xiaoming's face.
"Nothing. Chewing slowly aids digestion."
Shen Xiaoming felt a bit embarrassed. Was it really okay to fool a child like this?
Zheng Wei put down his chopsticks and said to Shen Xiaoyan, "I'll go into the mountains to have a look later."
Shen Xiaoyan exclaimed in surprise, "Hunting again? I'll go with you."
"No need. You stay home and take care of Xiaoming." Zheng Wei refused. After speaking, he stood up and went back into the house, put the bow and arrow hanging on the wall on his back, nodded to Shen Xiaoyan and Shen Xiaoming, and left.
Shen Xiaoyan withdrew her gaze from Zheng Wei and said to Shen Xiaoming, "Eat quickly."
Shen Xiaoming said, "Sister, you're the only one left who hasn't eaten."
Shen Xiaoyan glanced at Shen Xiaoming's bowl and saw only an empty bowl. She then looked at her own bowl, which still had more than half of the porridge.
"Ahem, then you go rest," Shen Xiaoyan said and lowered her head to eat.
Making a fool of herself in front of a child, especially her own younger brother, Shen Xiaoyan felt incredibly mortified, but she kept a composed expression.
After Shen Xiaoyan finished her meal, washed up, and came out of the kitchen, she saw Shen Xiaoming sitting on a bench, with his eyes closed, basking in the sun in the courtyard.
The sunlight shone on his face, as if coloring his pale complexion and making him look much healthier.
"Xiaoming, how are you feeling?" Shen Xiaoyan moved a stool and sat down next to Shen Xiaoming, asking in a low voice.