To Be the Male Lead's Deceased First Wife in a Historical Chinese Exam-focused Novel - Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Will It Burn Me?

Yan An struggled to chew and swallow the coarse rice in her mouth. She looked down at the bowl of yellow, coarse rice in her hands and felt like crying even more.

In the past, Yan An was quite picky about rice. If the texture wasn’t good, she would rather starve than eat it. Whenever she ate bad rice, her mood for that entire meal would be affected.

But she never thought that after coming to this world, the texture of this coarse rice would be as terrible as those rice that had poor quality but were cooked with too much water!

One was a coarse, raw-tasting rice, while the other was wet and soupy, making you want to throw up with every bite. They were truly the most loathsome existences in the rice world!

But she didn’t dare to say anything. This was rice that Wen Ying had worked so hard to earn. Who was she, a person who didn’t contribute much and only opened her mouth to eat, to be picky?

Wen Ying saw her eating in silence with teary eyes and felt a pang in her heart. It felt stuffy.

Perhaps she really wasn’t used to coarse rice.

“Eat more of the vegetables. You can eat less of the rice,” Wen Ying said, her voice a little hoarse.

“Mmm,” Yan An replied. She picked up some vegetables and put them in her bowl. There was oil and salt. The flavor was already much better than before. It would be a little ungrateful of her to still be picky.

But the coarse rice was really scratching her throat!

Yan An felt dejected. Just the thought of having to eat this kind of rice in the future made her feel like the road ahead was dark.

She had been looking forward to eating so much.

In the end, Yan An could only eat half a bowl of coarse rice. She would rather have porridge. At least it wouldn’t make her feel like it was half-cooked.

Yan An stared blankly as Wen Ying took the remaining half a bowl of rice and poured it into her own bowl.

“I… I ate from it…” Yan An said haltingly, her eyes a little shifty.

In her eyes, eating someone’s leftovers seemed a little hard to accept and also a little ambiguous.

They weren’t starving to death. This kind of behavior was too uncomfortable.

“Mmm, I’m not full yet,” Wen Ying said softly. The family’s situation was not very good right now, and Wen Ying couldn’t afford to waste food.

“Oh, oh…”

There was indeed no more rice in the pot. Wen Ying had cooked exactly two bowls. She hadn’t been full after eating a bowl of coarse rice. Before, she had only eaten a little wild vegetables. How hungry must she have been…

Yan An looked at Wen Ying, who was quietly eating with her head down. A pang of pity suddenly rose in her eyes. “So, during all this time, Wen Ying has never been full?”

She couldn’t bear to think about it further. She got up and said, “I’m going to check the fire in the kitchen.”

The water they were going to use for bathing was still being heated inside.

“Mmm,” Wen Ying hummed softly, her eyes unfocused.

She was thinking about how she could earn more money in the future to buy some white rice for Yan An to eat. She couldn’t let her only eat half a bowl and not be able to finish it. Or… how she could make the coarse rice taste better.

Wen Ying had a lot on her mind, and she seemed a little preoccupied. After eating, she threw the old leaves she had picked off the vegetables earlier into the chicken coop to feed the chickens. She also found some dry grass to make a nest for them, so they wouldn’t catch a cold when the temperature dropped at night.

Yan An washed the bowls. She saw that Wen Ying was still busy in the chicken coop and called out, “The water is ready. Don’t be busy anymore. Go take a bath.”

This person had walked so far carrying firewood and then walked back. How could she still have so much energy?

“Mmm, wait a moment. I’m almost done.” While it was still bright enough to see, Wen Ying’s movements didn’t stop. Not only did she lay out the dry grass, but she also found some wooden boards to build a simple shelter. It wasn’t very sturdy right now, but it would work for a while. She would make it more stable tomorrow when she had time.

When she came out of the chicken coop, she saw Yan An standing there with her arms crossed, looking at her speechlessly.

She gave Yan An a puzzled look.

“Aren’t you tired?!” Yan An was speechless. This person was seriously treating herself like a robot.

“I…” Wen Ying was at a loss for words. Looking at Yan An’s expression, she didn’t know whether to say she was tired or not.

“Don’t ‘I’ me. Go take a bath. And soak your feet well. You’ve been working all day. Even I’m tired just watching you.” Yan An went forward and pushed Wen Ying’s back toward the room. She had already brought the tub in and added the water. If Wen Ying procrastinated any longer, the water would get cold.

“Oh.”

Wen Ying was pushed by Yan An. Her hands were on her back. Wen Ying walked along with her force. Her expression unconsciously softened, and her lips curled into a subtle smile. Especially when she saw the steaming tub in the room, her eyes softened as well.

“Don’t do this anymore in the future. I can do it myself,” Wen Ying said softly.

“Why? Did I not do a good job?” Yan An was a little defiant. She had kindly helped her so she could take a bath earlier. Was she ungrateful?

“No, you did a very good job,” Wen Ying said, her lips pursed, her voice a little low. “Don’t do this kind of physical labor anymore. I’m strong enough. I’ll do it.”

Thinking of the physical labor that had made Yan An’s body sore and caused her hands and feet to grow blisters, Wen Ying felt a pang in her heart.

Yan An had never had to do this kind of work before, and she hoped that Yan An wouldn’t have to do it in the future either. She would try to do more and earn more money so that Yan An could live a more comfortable life.

If the previous Yan An’s huge debt had made Wen Ying feel suffocated and like her life was meaningless, a numb existence just to stay alive, the current Wen Ying was completely different.

She was now beginning to want a better life for her and Yan An, and she started to have the idea of earning more money.

“Your strength is yours, not mine.” Yan An flatly refused. She hummed, “I’m going to do it anyway.”

She subtly squeezed her own arm. The thought of Wen Ying’s muscles made her feel sour. In the future, it wouldn’t be like she wouldn’t have muscles too. If she let Wen Ying do all the physical labor now, wouldn’t it be harder for her to train her own muscles?

Wen Ying listened to her and didn’t understand why she was so persistent about doing labor. Why would anyone not enjoy a comfortable life and insist on doing such tiring and laborious things?

“Okay, go take a bath. The water is quite hot. Soak in it for a while and relax your muscles,” Yan An urged before leaving.

“Mmm,” Wen Ying watched her leave. She watched as Yan An closed the door. Only then did she take off her clothes and step into the tub.

Feeling the slightly hot water enveloping her, every pore in her body seemed to open up in a blissful shiver. Wen Ying’s expression relaxed, and she comfortably soaked in the hot water.

She was human. How could she not be tired?

…

After Yan An came out of the room, she went back to the kitchen to watch the fire. Looking at the flames dancing in the hearth, Yan An thought about what she could do in the future. She couldn’t really just do odd jobs with Wen Ying like this forever without a stable income.

“Mmm… I still have to find a chance to go to town and look around. No matter when, there are always more opportunities in town than in the village.”

Yan An sighed softly. At the end of the day, it was all because of money. Without money, no matter how many ideas you had, they would be useless.

Yan An tilted her head to look at the large earthenware pot in the kitchen. Wen Ying had put the rice and flour in it to keep them from being dragged away by mice.

She couldn’t help but smile slightly.

“At least things are slowly getting better, right?”

When Wen Ying came out of her bath, she took the tub out, washed it, and put it back. She came into the kitchen to help Yan An bring the water in for her to take a bath.

“There’s still some fire left. Don’t be afraid to use it to dry your hair later. You don’t want to catch a cold,” Yan An urged, looking at Wen Ying’s damp, long hair hanging over her shoulders before she went in to take her bath.

Wen Ying nodded obediently and didn’t leave the kitchen. She sat in front of the hearth, drying her hair with the fire.

Thinking of Yan An’s changes during this time, Wen Ying held out her hand toward the hearth. She looked at the flames dancing between her fingers and felt the heat in her palm.

“If I were to grab it, would it burn me?”