"For me?" Mu Fengqie looked at the soup bowl Jing Xunce was holding out. "I made it for you!"
"You're pregnant. You should eat more to replenish your body," Jing Xunce said stubbornly, shoving the bowl in front of Mu Fengqie.
It was well past midnight. Mu Fengqie yawned. "Let's split it." She took the bowl, gulped down two mouthfuls, then stuffed it back into Jing Xunce's hand. "Your turn."
Jing Xunce winked at her and curved his lips slightly. Then he took the bowl she had just drunk from and finished the remaining soup.
Mu Fengqie didn't realize what had happened at first. Then she saw his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed the soup. Only then did she suddenly come to her senses—they had shared the same bowl!
Jing Xunce washed the bowl and put it away. Mu Fengqie was still sitting in the yard, looking up at the sky. "I'm sorry about that day. I..."
"Are you ill?" Mu Fengqie asked.
Jing Xunce nodded slowly. "That day..."
"Forget it!" Mu Fengqie sighed. From the fragmented memories, she could guess that something was wrong with this man at that time. It was his fault that he had taken advantage of the previous owner of this body, but she couldn't blame him entirely. Under the influence of that kind of drug, he had lost control of himself. "It's late. Go to sleep."
"Okay." Jing Xunce turned around and walked towards the haystack.
Seeing this, Mu Fengqie felt sorry for him. This was his home. How could she drive the owner out? "Come inside and sleep."
She was no longer young. She had seen it all. She might as well think of it as sleeping with a grandnephew.
Jing Xunce's eyes lit up. "Okay!" He picked up the quilt and walked into the house.
"Wait!" Mu Fengqie looked at the straw stuck in his hair. Her expression was rather stern. "Wash up before getting into bed!"
"Okay!" He threw the quilt onto the bed at the door, then turned around to fetch water.
Mu Fengqie didn't even notice that she had curved her lips slightly. Lying in bed, she sighed softly. She had really time-traveled. This was an ancient society.
I don't know how much time had passed. She was about to fall asleep when the person beside her tugged at the corner of the quilt and gently lay down beside her.
She opened her eyes and took a look. "Oh, this grandson is really good-looking. I've made a profit!" Then she dozed off again.
In a daze, she seemed to be pulled into someone's arms. She heard the person whisper, "You're not unimportant."
Unimportant? What was unimportant?
That night, she seemed to be asleep, but she didn't sleep soundly.
When she opened her eyes in the morning, Jing Xunce was no longer there. She reached out and touched the spot beside her. It was slightly cold. He must have been up for a while.
"Madam, you're awake. Wash up and have breakfast."
This kid. Why was he calling her "madam"? He should be calling her "grandma"!
"Coming." She got out of bed. Her head was still groggy. What breakfast? The rice jar was so empty it might as well be crying. There was no food left in the house!
A strange fragrance wafted over. Mu Fengqie couldn't help but swallow her saliva. "What did you make?"
"Meat," Jing Xunce replied.
Mu Fengqie looked towards the well. Sure enough, the cat was gone. Instead, there was an extra hide on the fence, and a bowl of meat on the table that Jing Xunce had brought over.
"Ugh!" The meat smelled so delicious that she wanted to bite off her tongue, but as soon as it entered her mouth, her body seemed to be against her. She started to feel nauseous.
"Madam?" Jing Xunce was so nervous that he dropped his chopsticks. He jumped to Mu Fengqie's side.
"It's morning sickness. It's normal. You eat," she said, turning around with her back to the table to relieve the nausea.
Seeing Mu Fengqie's eyes turning red, even though she assured him that it was normal morning sickness, Jing Xunce still felt so heartbroken that he didn't know what to do.
"It seems I'm not blessed to enjoy this good food. You eat quickly," Mu Fengqie got up and wanted to escape. "You eat first. I'll go outside and see if there are any wild vegetables."
Jing Xunce wanted to go with her, but she ordered him to dispose of the cat meat on the table.
There wasn't much meat on a small animal. He ate a few pieces and then refused to eat anymore. He hid the bowl and went to find Mu Fengqie.
From afar, he saw Mu Fengqie waving at him. He quickened his pace and ran over. "There are herbs. I remember Doctor Liu buys herbs. Let's take the herbs and exchange them for some rice. I don't want to eat that bitter wild vegetable soup again tonight."
"Okay." Jing Xunce took the herbs Mu Fengqie had dug up and went to Doctor Liu's house. He came back with half a bag of rice.
The two of them had a good meal. However, Mu Fengqie still couldn't bear the animal meat Jing Xunce had hidden. To prevent Mu Fengqie from feeling uncomfortable, Jing Xunce quickly finished it. "I'll go hunting in the mountains later. You can go to the market and sell the hides. Is that okay?"
Mu Fengqie raised her eyebrows. Was this man not afraid that she would take his money and run away? She felt that such a question couldn't be asked, so she nodded. "Okay. Be careful."
"Buy whatever you want to eat then. Don't be afraid to spend money." He wasn't someone who couldn't make money. It was just that he had had some health problems recently and had spent a lot. Things would get better in the future.
"Okay." Mu Fengqie nodded. On market days in the village, there were oxcarts going to the town. It cost one copper coin per person, or a handful of rice or a piece of cloth would do.
Mu Fengqie took a handful of rice and got on the oxcart with seven or eight hides on her back.
She walked around the market for a long time. Many merchants were envious when they saw the good-quality hides on her back. Many people came up to talk to her, but she didn't sell. Instead, she walked towards a small stall.
"Boss, do you buy hides?"
Lu Liu thought he was the most inconspicuous among all the stalls. This girl had rejected so many people but actually chose him. "Girl, I'm so poor. I can't afford to buy your hides."
"But I think you're the most fair hide dealer on this street," Mu Fengqie said.
From the moment she appeared on this street with the hides on her back, everyone's eyes had been greedily fixed on the hides behind her. Even those who weren't interested would take a few more glances.
Only this man had taken one look and then didn't look anymore.
He was clearly a fur dealer. Why was he like this?
It was because he didn't care. Whether he bought the hides or not didn't matter to him. Not lacking these meant not lacking money. If she could persuade him well, she might be able to sell the hides for a higher price.
This man was plain-looking, but his bearing was extraordinary. He didn't have the profit-seeking nature of a merchant. Instead, he had a different kind of indifference. It was very strange, and that was why Mu Fengqie wanted to give it a try.
Of course, the most important thing was that he smelled of ambergris, which was not something an ordinary person could afford.
"Do I look like someone who can buy your goods?"
"Boss, haven't you heard that you can't judge a book by its cover? I trust my own judgment. I've never been wrong about people in my life."
Lu Liu laughed strangely. "You're so young. How can you talk so big?"
"What I said is the truth! Any discerning person can see that you're a man of great talent. You can definitely handle my goods, not to mention even more."