Chapter 22 Someone came during the day

Regardless of his motives for marrying her—whether for her dowry or to satisfy his physical needs—he had ultimately treated her quite well.

In just one day together, from feeding her breakfast to giving her water, he had been far better to her than the two aunts in the Gu family.

It had been a long time since anyone had been so kind to her, and Gu Youyou was deeply moved.
“Okay, thank you!” Gu Youyou’s gratitude was heartfelt.
At the Gu family home, she couldn’t light a stove just because it was too cold, and it was truly rare for Jin Zijin, who was so poor, to be willing to light one for her.

Jin Zijin was efficient; soon he brought over a stove made of mud and bamboo, with a few pieces of wood burning inside and an iron kettle on top.

“Have you decided what to eat?” After finishing everything, Jin Zijin didn’t forget to ask.
Gu Youyou then remembered that she had forgotten to choose between rabbit and pheasant.
She thought about it; rabbit meat was delicious, but it wasn’t as nourishing as pheasant, and given her current weakness, eating pheasant was clearly more sensible.

“Eat wild pheasant, stew it all together, preferably with mushrooms, and if you can add some more… oh well, you can stew it however you like!”
Gu Youyou blurted out, almost suggesting he stew some tonics. She thought about how poor Jin Zijin was; where would he afford medicine? He was lucky to even have wild pheasant.
Jin Zijin hummed in agreement, saying, “I picked some mushrooms when I went into the mountains before, and they’ve already dried and hung outside. I’ll take some to stew some wild pheasant…” Jin Zijin walked to the door, then turned back and asked, “Would you like to get up and sit for a while?”
The sun has already set, and it’s not quite dark yet, but it’s much colder than during the day,” Gu Youyou thought for a moment, then nodded.
This body was in terrible shape; most of her ailments were caused by sleeping too much. Even without sun exposure, sitting up was better than lying down.

Jin Zijin brought her a bamboo recliner and placed it next to the stove so she wouldn’t be too cold.

Gu Youyou noticed the large recliner was new, probably bought because of her.

Jin Zijin was always busy; he didn’t have time to sit in such a chair.
Soon, Jin Zijin returned from the riverbank, carrying a cleaned pheasant and two rabbits.
He suddenly asked, “Did anyone come by during the day?”

Gu Youyou nodded and said, “Wang Shun came by, saying he was bringing you firewood. Also… my second aunt came by; she said the fabric in the house was a bit damp, so she took it out to air it.” Jin Zijing

glanced at the few pieces of cloth hanging on the pole outside with an unreadable expression. His eyes flickered, but he said nothing. After putting down what he was holding, he retrieved the cloth, folded it neatly, and put it in the box.
Gu Youyou sat by the stove watching Jin Zijing busy at the stove. First, he prepared the pheasant, then lit the fire, and put the soaked mushrooms and pheasant into the pot to stew.

The firewood burning in the stove was delivered by Wang Shun in the afternoon. Jin Zijing picked out a few thick pieces and put them in the stove. The thick firewood would burn longer, so he wouldn’t have to watch the stove all the time.
After finishing the pot, he rubbed some salt on the two rabbits and put them away. Since the weather wasn’t hot, salting them would allow them to keep for a few more days.

The stove was designed with one large and one small stove. The large one was stewing the chicken, and the small one was perfect for cooking rice. He first cooked the rice until it was half-cooked, then opened the partition between the two stoves so that the rice could be cooked in the smaller one.
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