To Be the Male Lead's Deceased First Wife in a Historical Chinese Exam-focused Novel - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: I’ve Become a Peeping Tom!

While Wen Ying was gone, Yan An started picking up firewood again. She figured she had to carry some back herself, or she would despise herself for being useless.

Perhaps worried that Yan An was alone in the mountains, Wen Ying was very quick. She didn’t take long to return and happened to see Yan An had picked up a lot of firewood and was tying it herself. But it was obvious that she lacked the strength and couldn’t tie it tightly no matter how hard she tried.

Wen Ying quickly went to help her. She rearranged the firewood, pressed down on it with her knee to make it more compact, and then quickly and firmly tied a knot.

Yan An: “…”

She turned to tie up the other pile of firewood she had collected.

Wen Ying saw her defiant expression and a slight smile appeared on her lips. She then turned and skillfully climbed the tree to cut down more firewood. She then combined them with the first two small bundles Yan An had picked up, making another two large bundles. At this time, Yan An had finally tied up her own firewood.

She looked at the bundle she had tied, her chin slightly raised, looking extremely proud.

She was so proud. She knew she couldn’t be that bad.

Wen Ying just watched silently. Seeing her as proud as if she had won a great battle, she didn’t rush her.

“Okay, let’s go back!” Yan An said.

This time, the two bundles were a little smaller and thinner than the previous ones. She first put the backpack full of dead leaves and dry grass on her back and then lifted the two bundles of firewood.

Although her shoulders still hurt, the pain was at least within a tolerable range.

“Mmm,” Wen Ying nodded in agreement. This time, she walked behind Yan An, keeping a constant eye on her as she walked ahead.

Fortunately, they made it home without any problems. By the time they arrived, the sun was already golden and hanging low in the sky, subtly reminding them of the time.

After putting down the firewood, Yan An stretched her body and unconsciously rubbed her shoulders, a pained expression on her face.

This body was too delicate. Just carrying that little bit of firewood hurt so much.

Thinking this, she looked at Wen Ying, who was already busy preparing dinner. Wen Ying was not only younger than her, but also younger than the original owner, yet her slender shoulders could carry two bundles of firewood that were taller and thicker than her without showing any change in her expression.

Thinking of Wen Ying carrying those two large bundles of firewood all the way to town just to earn a little money, Yan An looked around the house but couldn’t find a handcart.

The Yan elders really sold everything that was worth something!

Did these two not think about how they were going to live in the future?

A clever housewife cannot cook without rice!

No matter how capable Wen Ying was, she couldn’t conjure money out of thin air!

She didn’t know how much it would cost to have a handcart made by a carpenter. If it was too expensive, they could just buy the tools and make one themselves. She could even go into the mountains to cut wood, saving them that expense.

“Mmm…”

Yan An thought. “Maybe I can also invent some other things that would be new to this era, like a bicycle?”

“I wonder how hard a wooden wheel would be to ride on this uneven dirt road.”

“I’ll see about it later. I’ll figure it out when I have a prototype.”

Yan An comforted herself with this thought and walked into the kitchen to look at the vegetable soup in the pot. After eating this kind of food for a few days, Yan An felt a little weak. It really didn’t have any fat and was hard to feel full.

She thought of how she would have rice tomorrow, and she almost didn’t want to eat this stuff anymore. But her stomach was so empty she had to eat.

“It’s ready. Go outside and wait for a bit,” Wen Ying said, her movements a little faster when she saw Yan An looking at her longingly in the kitchen.

“Okay,” Yan An obediently turned and left. After a while, her feet felt even more uncomfortable than when she first got home.

It wasn’t just the foot she had twisted; both of her feet felt terrible!

Wen Ying brought the dinner to the courtyard. Yan An was already sitting on her chair. Wen Ying looked at her listless expression. It seemed that going into the mountains was more tiring for her than a whole day of farm work.

When dinner was on the table, Yan An didn’t care about the taste and quickly ate it to fill her stomach.

“I’m done eating.” Yan An stopped eating as soon as she wasn’t hungry anymore. Even the most delicious food becomes unappetizing after a few days of eating it.

What’s more, eating wild vegetables for a few days, which had no oil, felt like it was scraping away the fat from her stomach.

Wen Ying looked up at Yan An’s seemingly much thinner face, pursed her lips, and said softly, “Wait a moment. I’ll bring the water into the room for you later.”

“Mmm, okay,” Yan An nodded dejectedly.

Seeing that Yan An had finished eating, Wen Ying no longer suppressed her eating speed. After she was done, she put away the dishes. “Don’t move. I’ll wash the dishes later.”

Yan An heard her words and, after a half-second delay, replied, “Okay,” not arguing with her anymore.

She felt like her whole body was uncomfortable now, as if it was about to fall apart.

Wen Ying took out the tub, washed it, and brought it into the room. Then she carried one bucket after another of hot water inside. By the time she was ready with everything, Yan An was almost asleep on the bench in the courtyard.

Wen Ying walked over to her. Looking at Yan An’s dazed expression, her voice unconsciously became a lot softer.

“Yan An, go take a bath first. It’ll be much more comfortable to lie on the bed.”

Yan An came back to her senses, nodded blankly, and got up, walking into the room a little unsteadily.

With every step she took now, her feet hurt a lot.

Wen Ying saw her condition and quickly went to help her. A look of regret appeared on her face.

She shouldn’t have taken Yan An into the mountains.

The two of them were very close as they walked. This time, Yan An didn’t refuse, or she would look even more pathetic hobbling along.

After she had brought her into the room, Wen Ying still felt a little uneasy, seeing that Yan An could manage on her own. But she couldn’t stay inside, so she had to hold her breath and go out to wash the dishes from dinner and tidy up the kitchen.

Thinking that Yan An was very tired today and might take a long bath, Wen Ying went to loosen the rest of the soil that Yan An hadn’t finished in the afternoon. In her mind, she was planning what kind of vegetable seeds she should buy tomorrow that would yield a lot and be cold-resistant.

Not long after she finished loosening the soil, she heard Yan An’s voice calling her from inside.

Wen Ying looked at the blanket that was airing in the courtyard and took it back into the room. She saw that Yan An had already finished her bath and changed into her clothes, lying on the bed with her wet hair hanging over the edge.

Wen Ying: “…”

At least there was still some light in the room. It wasn’t too scary.

She covered Yan An with the blanket. Wen Ying then took a dry towel to wipe her hair until it was no longer dripping and let it air dry naturally.

She went to change the water in the tub, thinking that she should also wash up quickly and go to bed to help Yan An relax her muscles.

Hearing the sound of water coming from the room, Yan An groggily opened her eyes. Her mind was still stuck on the thought that she had already finished her bath, so where was the sound of water coming from? She turned her head.

She saw the sight of Wen Ying bathing in the tub with her shoulders half-exposed.

Yan An instantly became sober and slowly pulled her gaze away, not daring to look anymore.

“Oh no,” she thought. “I’ve become a peeping tom!”