Cheng Ying drifted quickly into sweet dreams after a long day. Her eyes closed, and she slept soundly.

Chi Wu tossed and turned for half the night beside her.

He felt that Cheng Ying had stoked the kang far too hot.

The next morning, Chi Wu rose with dark circles under his eyes.

Cheng Ying looked at Chi Wu’s expression when she woke up. “Did you go move stones all night?”

Chi Wu drank his soup—the leftovers from last night—glared at her, and then left carrying his basket.

He was going to gather firewood, and he didn’t even call for Cheng Ying, because someone needed to stay home to feed the chickens and the dog. As for what Cheng Ying had said, he simply let it pass like wind.

Cheng Ying watched Chi Wu’s retreating back, thinking, The child is growing up and has worries now, why won’t he tell me? Raising a pampered son is truly tiring.

Cheng Ying thought that raising a child with meticulous care was a truly worrying and laborious task.

Cheng Ying closed the door, fed the chickens, then fed the dog, and finally entered the Space.

She finally had time to tinker around in there.

Cheng Ying had worked in the mountains for half a year, and now felt her energy drained for the Space. Now that the outside world was freezing over and work in the mountains was done, Cheng Ying felt her youthful vigor and spirit should be poured into the Space. It was the perfect time for large-scale internal construction!

She could no longer let the Space look so utterly chaotic; it needed to be organized into something presentable. Even if everything inside were flowers, they still needed to be arranged by tier.

Cheng Ying started with the radishes and cabbages; it was essentially a massive clean-up operation. While Chi Wu was out, she even chopped up some radishes and cabbages to feed the chickens. If her grandmother hadn't objected to wasting food, and they raised a pig at home with such care, they wouldn't need to forage for pigweed outside at all.

Cheng Ying looked at the various vegetable greens being tossed into the pond to feed the fish and felt heartbroken. They were for the fish, but the fish were inedible. That was forbidden!

As for the corn, Cheng Ying planted it quite moderately; as long as she had enough roasted cobs to eat anytime, that was sufficient. The rest was pulled up and tossed to the fish. Whether the fish ate it or not, Cheng Ying didn't care; whatever was on the pond surface wouldn't float for long anyway.

Next were the saplings. Cheng Ying frowned. Back when she first introduced them, it was all for wealth and beauty, planting them indiscriminately regardless of species. Now, asking Cheng Ying to dig them up herself was something she was unwilling to do; she couldn't handle the heavy labor. Fortunately, when she planted the trees initially, she had planned them near the fish pond, so it wouldn't take too much effort. The grapevines and honeysuckle vines didn't need moving; she just needed to harvest them later. What troubled her most were the ginseng seedlings.

Cheng Ying looked at the large patch before her—ginseng shoots with several leaves—and was truly worried. These were useless in the Space; even one with a single leaf was better. She could plant them in the outside mountain area. Therefore, what she needed to do now was clear out these ginseng seedlings. It was a massive undertaking, all because Cheng Ying had initially focused only on getting rich, allowing these ginseng seedlings to proliferate uncontrollably.

Cheng Ying worked methodically in the ginseng patch. She kept only a few shoots that looked promising and capable of producing offspring—those with one or two leaves—and pulled up the rest. Cheng Ying looked at these pulled plants; throwing them away felt wasteful, but keeping them was useless and annoying. These were ginseng! And yet, she was feeding them to the fish. Cheng Ying wasn't afraid of effort, even though the ginseng were small. She carefully snipped them off with scissors and dropped them directly into the pond where the honeysuckle was steeping. Cheng Ying thought gleefully, From now on, the water I drink will be infused with ginseng. That’s awesome. As for their purpose, it remained unknown, as long as it wasn't deemed forbidden.

Cheng Ying straightened up. The Space finally looked somewhat organized; it was no longer a chaotic mess. She kicked a nearby pear tree, and pear blossoms rained down in a cascade of pink petals. Cheng Ying felt a sense of satisfaction, though her back ached too much to stand straight.

Chi Wu, the troublesome child, knocked on the door outside. Cheng Ying emerged from the Space, her hands still covered in dirt. She opened the door for Chi Wu first. Chi Wu frowned when he saw her. “You’ve been home for half the day. What chores could you possibly have done to tire yourself out like this?”

Cheng Ying was speechless. Wasn't that the truth? She hadn’t even finished pulling up the radishes and cabbages from that small yard, yet she was exhausted! “Mind your own business. Seeing me resting makes you happy, right?”

Chi Wu fell silent. He put down the firewood, entered the house, and seeing Cheng Ying so worn out, with the stove cold and no food ready, Chi Wu’s expression became incredibly conflicted as he looked at her.

Cheng Ying felt embarrassed; she had forgotten to cook. “Uh, I’ll start cooking now.”

Chi Wu retorted, “No need. What can you cook? Nothing but gada soup, gada soup.” With that, he rolled up his sleeves and started cooking. Cheng Ying felt genuinely ashamed. She offered to help, but Chi Wu stopped her. “Go wash your hands and rest. I’ll handle it.”

Cheng Ying thought that even the son she raised might not be this considerate. What a good temper he had! Normally, when a man worked outside and came home, he expected a ready meal. If a woman failed at such a basic task, she was surely disciplined by her husband. Looking at Chi Wu’s attitude, his future wife would be blessed. It was all due to her excellent upbringing; his future sister-in-law would owe her eternal gratitude.

Cheng Ying turned, satisfied, to wash her hands, then went to the chicken coop to collect the eggs. She brought them to Chi Wu. “Let’s make scrambled eggs.”

Chi Wu replied, “Wait until Mom and the others are back to eat together.”

Cheng Ying looked at Chi Wu; what a good child, not eating alone, knowing how to honor his elders. Cheng Ying enjoyed a lunch and dinner prepared by Chi Wu as if she were a landlord’s wife today. Cheng Ying was terribly hungry. Chi Wu had a good temper, and the smell suggested his cooking wouldn’t be terrible, but his efficiency was lacking—it took him half the day to make one meal. Cheng Ying thought she might faint from hunger before it was done; she should have just made her quick gada soup instead.

When Chi Wu finally brought the food out, Cheng Ying could only say that Chi Wu possessed the talent of a master chef; slow work yields fine results. Although it was just one dish—cabbage stewed with fish—with corn cakes stuck to the side of the pot, it smelled heavenly. Cheng Ying chewed slowly, declaring to Chi Wu, “After waiting until this hour, eating a meal like this makes it all worthwhile.”

Chi Wu pursed his lips, his face showing clear pride. “My dad has never eaten food cooked by me. You are the first. Not bad, right?”

Cheng Ying replied, “It’s talent! This level on the first try, this is pure talent!” Then she buried her face in the food. As for Chi Wu using her as his first test subject, Cheng Ying wasn't offended at all; she wouldn't mind being a test subject every day.

After eating, the two of them strolled in the yard to aid digestion. Chi Wu also pulled out the radishes from the yard. Chi Wu said, “Shall we go pick up Grandma tomorrow?”

Cheng Ying replied, “Old Auntie surely won’t want Grandma to come back.”

Chi Wu countered, “But Grandma definitely won’t be comfortable staying at someone else’s house.”

Cheng Ying looked at Chi Wu; the boy was quite thoughtful. It was good that he could consider the elderly woman’s feelings. “Tomorrow, you go catch fish by the river. I suspect Grandma won’t be able to stay put; Old Auntie’s husband will likely bring her back. It’s the first time Old Auntie’s husband has visited our home; we must entertain him well, otherwise, we won't be repaying him for that plate of pig’s head meat.”

Chi Wu asked, “You like pig’s head meat?”

Cheng Ying felt the conversation had strayed a bit. “Mom and the others should be back tomorrow too. Didn't they say the results would be out in three days?”

Chi Wu answered, “Still one more day. Grandfather definitely won’t let them leave early.”

Cheng Ying mused, “If Eldest Uncle insists on entertaining Old Auntie’s husband, we can send the fish over.”

Chi Wu didn't understand these nuances much; he listened to whatever Cheng Ying said. When the old woman wasn't home, Cheng Ying was in charge. In truth, Chi Wu had never considered any other scenario; whether the old lady was home or not, Cheng Ying was always in charge.

Before it got completely dark, Chi Wu and Cheng Ying moved the pulled radishes from the yard into the cellar and buried them in sand, then went inside to sleep. Chi Wu resumed his restless torment, which he couldn't quite understand himself, perhaps just too nervous with no adults at home.

Chi Wu stared at the ceiling, occasionally glancing toward Cheng Ying’s face. In the faint moonlight filtering in, Chi Wu could see the fine down on her cheek. His heart felt soft and yielding, and then he fell asleep, clutching Cheng Ying’s hand tightly, never letting go all night.

When Chi Wu and Cheng Ying woke up the next morning, lying side-by-side on the kang, Chi Wu was gripping Cheng Ying’s hand with considerable force. Feeling the object in his grasp, Chi Wu’s face turned pale.

Cheng Ying looked at Chi Wu’s face, then at their joined hands, and teased him, “Coward. And you call yourself a man? You were scared in the night, weren't you?”

Chi Wu looked at Cheng Ying, then turned away, released her hand, got off the bed, put on his shoes, and started preparing breakfast. By the time he was done, his mood had mostly settled.

Cheng Ying shook her head, watching Chi Wu. The child was too embarrassed. He was nearly twelve, yet still afraid of sleeping in the dark. Cheng Ying wondered if the boy was growing up or staying put. She worried a little.

This was the first time Chi Wu hadn't offered a single rebuttal and simply conceded. Chi Wu knew privately that he wasn't afraid of the dark; that’s why he held Cheng Ying’s hand. But if he had to explain why holding Cheng Ying’s hand made him sleep so soundly, Chi Wu certainly couldn't articulate it. These youthful sentiments were things he hadn't dared to contemplate deeply himself. However, Cheng Ying noticed Chi Wu seemed awkward for the rest of the morning, realizing he was just thin-skinned and uncomfortable from being teased.

Cheng Ying decided to give the child some space. She let Chi Wu go catch fish by the river while she returned to the wide riverbank to continue collecting stones. Perhaps because her spiritual age was greater, Cheng Ying found herself increasingly able to immerse herself in these activities that others might call boring. Occasionally, when she spotted a particularly beautiful stone, she would show off to Chi Wu, though she felt rather lonely, lacking someone who shared her appreciation.

At noon, Cheng Ying deliberately came home early and cooked a large basin of steamed white rice. Cheng Ying calculated that her grandmother surely wouldn't stay long at her aunt’s house and should be returning today. She also stewed the largest fish she could find.

Chi Wu frowned when he saw the white rice. “That’s forbidden food. If Grandma doesn't return today, the two of us won't be able to finish it.”

Cheng Ying reasoned, “With the weather like this, even if we can’t finish it, it won't spoil. Didn't you see the river edge is already frozen today?” Cheng Ying added, “Mom and the others should be back too. I wonder what your exam results are like. Don't embarrass yourself.”

Chi Wu’s face turned bright red. “Worry about yourself! You boasted so much; let’s see how you cover that up.”

As the two children were bickering, the main gate creaked open. If it wasn't their own grandmother, who could it be? Cheng Ying eagerly rushed over to welcome her grandmother inside, while Chi Wu enthusiastically greeted Old Auntie’s husband.