To Be the Male Lead's Deceased First Wife in a Historical Chinese Exam-focused Novel - Chapter 36

Chapter 36: Let Go and Hug to Sleep

Yan An was silent. Even though she considered herself smart from a young age, her intelligence seemed insufficient when compared to Wen Ying.

“As long as you don’t feel confused, that’s good,” Yan An muttered, a little sourly. She wished she had a brain like Wen Ying’s. It would make learning much faster, and she would be able to save a lot of time.

The two of them studied for a while, but the oil lamp was too dim. Yan An rubbed her eyes and said, “Let’s stop. We can study tomorrow during the day.”

The flickering oil lamp was not very bright. It cast shadows, which was really bad for their eyesight.

Wen Ying saw that Yan An was indeed tired and agreed. She held the oil lamp and went back to the room. After Yan An got into bed, Wen Ying blew out the lamp and found her way to bed in the dark.

When Yan An felt the area where she usually slept, she felt that something was not right. A fluffy, soft texture was in her palm. When she lay down, it was much softer than usual.

As soon as she felt the texture, Yan An immediately guessed what it was.

The skin of the goat that Wen Ying had hunted before.

The entire goatskin was not small, but it was not big enough to cover the entire bed. So it was basically all spread out on Yan An’s side. With this goatskin, Yan An’s body quickly warmed up after she lay down.

She reached out and felt Wen Ying’s side. Wen Ying was indeed sleeping outside the goatskin.

Yan An: “…”

Couldn’t this goatskin have been a little bigger and covered the entire bed? Now it was just making things difficult for her!

Yan An felt that this goatskin was treacherous. It was a test for her. “Could you give me a test from a civil servant? Or should a civil servant have transmigrated here instead?”

Yan An was so conflicted that she was almost grinding her teeth. The two of them were sleeping in the same bed, but only she was on the goatskin. It was not in her nature to be warm and comfortable while ignoring Wen Ying’s coldness. But then… if she were to sleep on the same goatskin, wouldn’t she have to be close to Wen Ying?

Just a bed was already too much. Now they had to sleep on the same skin, which was a complete lack of boundaries!

“Wen Ying, are you cold?” After a long struggle, Yan An said quietly.

Wen Ying, who was almost asleep, was stunned for a moment when she heard her words. Her still-blurry brain instinctively told her not to answer immediately. After she was a little more awake, and just when Yan An was getting impatient and thinking that she had fallen asleep, Wen Ying spoke.

“A little,” Wen Ying said in a low voice.

Yan An: “…”

Feeling the warmth under her body, Yan An gritted her teeth and moved to the other side. “Come here.”

Yan An thought to herself, “Whatever. We’re already sleeping in the same bed. Do people really think we’re just innocent bedmates? So what’s the difference between a bed and a skin?”

Hearing Yan An say this, especially in her unhappy tone, Wen Ying knew it was best not to refuse. Otherwise, Yan An might just say, “Suit yourself.”

Thinking this, Wen Ying’s heart, which had been calm from being almost asleep, began to beat faster. She sat up slightly and moved closer to Yan An. After her body touched the soft goatskin, her lips curled into a faint smile in the darkness.

Her movements then became much faster. She instantly closed the distance between herself and Yan An. By the time Yan An reacted, Wen Ying had already wrapped her in her arms.

Yan An: “???”

Yan An: “!!!”

Yan An: “What are you doing?”

Wen Ying was slightly stunned. “The goatskin is only this big. It’ll be warmer if we hug to sleep.”

She said this while also extending her foot to wrap around Yan An’s cold foot. She pulled the blanket up higher, not allowing any cold air to seep in.

Yan An: “…”

With her foot wrapped up, it was indeed very warm.

But!

“What kind of bedmates sleep like this?!” This was even more outrageous!

Yan An’s eyebrows stood on end. Just as she was about to say something, Wen Ying’s hand on her waist patted her gently. She said softly, “Yan An, good night.”

Yan An: “…”

She took a deep breath and held it in.

“Forget it. If we’re going to hug to sleep, then we’ll hug to sleep. It’s not like it hasn’t happened before. And since we’re already sleeping so close, we might unconsciously hug each other again in the future. It’s just a matter of time. There’s no point in caring about it anymore.”

One of Wen Ying’s arms was under Yan An’s neck, and the other was wrapped around her waist. Feeling that Yan An was not struggling and even seemed to have given up, the smile on her lips deepened.

She was clearly a little shorter than Yan An, but after she wrapped Yan An in her arms, Yan An felt a sense of boundless comfort and security. Even her previously angry heart slowed down in this comforting embrace and gradually became peaceful.

Their breathing became shallower and shallower. In this warm blanket, they fell asleep peacefully, no matter how the cold wind howled outside.

Perhaps even the chickens were lazy in winter. The chickens at Auntie Li’s house next door didn’t crow early today. They only crowed when it was just barely light outside.

The two of them, who had slept comfortably, huddled in the blanket. Yan An reached out to feel the temperature outside, then quickly pulled her hand back and burrowed under the blanket. She said in a muffled voice, “It’s so cold. I don’t want to get up.”

Wen Ying pulled the blanket up for her and chuckled. “Then don’t get up. I’ll make breakfast for you and bring it to you later.”

Yan An looked at her, a little speechless. She said in a depressed tone, “Don’t make it sound like I’m paralyzed in bed.”

She also didn’t want to get up, but she had a lot of things to do today. After coming here, she preferred noodles over coarse rice. Although there were some noodles at home, she still needed to buy more to stock up on. It would not be so easy to buy them later when it got colder and closer to the end of the year.

Wen Ying smiled. When she got up, she tried to be as quiet as possible so that no cold air would get into the blanket and freeze Yan An.

After putting on her clothes, she said to Yan An, “…It’s not completely light yet. You can stay in the blanket for a while longer.”

Before she left, she also prepared the clothes Yan An would wear today and placed them by the bed so that she could reach them easily.

Yan An’s upper face was exposed. She looked at Wen Ying’s series of actions and had to admit that Wen Ying was truly a considerate person. Her emotions were also extremely stable. Yan An couldn’t even imagine what kind of person she would become in the future.

Yan An stretched. She slowly dragged her clothes into the blanket. Enduring the coldness of the clothes, she put them on. Shaking, she got out of bed and put on her cotton coat. After tidying up the bed, she went out.

When she arrived at the kitchen, the fire had already been lit. Wen Ying was kneading the dough and said to Yan An, “The water is already boiling. You can use the hot water to wash up later.”

“Okay,” Yan An nodded. On such a cold day, of course she would prefer to use hot water over cold water.

She wrapped her clothes around her and squatted by the stove to warm herself up. Yan An guessed that the temperature outside had probably already dropped to single digits. If the cold continued like this, it would probably be below zero in a couple of days.

After warming her hands by the fire, Yan An went to the yard to feed the chickens and sweep the floor. She also went to the pigpen in the backyard to check on the pigs. They were all huddled together for warmth. Yan An grimaced for a moment.

She wanted to find some dry grass to lay down for them, but according to their habits, they would definitely make it very dirty later. It would be dirty and smelly…

“Ah! What sin did I commit to have transmigrated here?!”

“Couldn’t the dead author have chosen a less common name?!” “It’s the same as mine!”

Yan An turned around expressionlessly and went back to the front yard. She hugged some dry grass that she had brought back for the fire and laid it down in the pigpen for them.

What else could she do? Was she going to watch them freeze to death?

“Yan An, the water is ready. You can come and wash up,” Wen Ying called out as Yan An was carrying the last load of dry grass.

“Okay, I know. Just a moment.”

Yan An quickened her pace. She didn’t dare to lay the dry grass all over the pigpen, but only in one corner. This way, the pigs could all huddle together in that corner.

After she finished all of that, Yan An went to get hot water to wash up. Wen Ying had also kneaded the dough and let it rest for a while, and she also started washing up.

After soaking her hands in hot water, they finally didn’t feel so stiff. Yan An felt that she was capable again and started trying to tie up her hair.

Wen Ying watched her struggling with her hair while washing up. Her eyes were filled with a gentle, soft smile. From time to time, she would tell Yan An how to tie it up. But for some reason, the hair was so disobedient in Yan An’s hands. After a lot of effort, it was still loose.

Yan An touched the broken, untied strands on her head: “…”

“Can I just tie a ponytail?”

Wen Ying finished washing up and came over to help her untie it and tie it again. Seeing her looking unhappy, she said, “It’s okay. You’ll get better after tying it a few more times.”

Yan An: “…” “I hope so.”

After helping Yan An tie her hair, Wen Ying’s movements were much faster when she tied her own hair up. Yan An hadn’t even seen what she had done, and she had already tidied herself up.

“Hmm, Wen Ying can live well on her own.”

“But without Wen Ying, I can’t even get my clothes and hair straight?”

“If you’re going to town after you finish eating, you should go early. It gets dark early in the winter. Go early and come back early so you don’t get stuck in the dark. You don’t have to worry about the house. I’ll lead the ox out and take care of the pigs and chickens.”

Yan An pursed her lips. “This takes up too much of your time.”

When she said this, she felt a little regretful. If she had to go to town, then the chores at home would definitely fall on Wen Ying. But Wen Ying had started studying now. How could she spend so much time on these chores?

“I can manage it. You have to believe me,” Wen Ying said in a very gentle but firm voice.

Yan An nodded weakly, but there was nothing she could do. The family was still in this situation, and they couldn’t afford to hire anyone to help.

Not long after they finished eating the noodles, there was a noise at the door. Yan An quickly went to open it. She didn’t expect that Mr. Wu’s son would come so early to deliver the tables and chairs.

“Scholar Yan, my father told me to deliver the things early,” Mr. Wu’s son said with a simple smile. When he saw Wen Ying, he also greeted her.

“Thank you. Please bring them in here.”

Yan An opened the gate completely and told Mr. Wu’s son to move the things into the west room. It was empty and a good place to put the tables and chairs. It would also keep them out of the wind and rain and not take up the space where they usually hung out.

“Okay!”

Mr. Wu’s son looked simple, but he was very efficient. He quickly moved the things in according to what Yan An had said.

To speed things up, Yan An and Wen Ying also joined in the moving. Yan An carried the tables and chairs down from the ox cart, and the other two moved them into the west room. After they confirmed that there were 25 sets of tables and chairs, Yan An thought that Mr. Wu’s son was going to leave. But he started talking about business with Yan An.

The people who had booked banquets with Mr. Wu before he was injured and had not yet found another village cook were recommended to Yan An by Mr. Wu. Mr. Wu even compiled a list for her.

There were currently three families. He had already told her where they lived and what kind of banquet it was. She could use this information to have a better understanding when those people came to talk about the details in a couple of days.

Of course, the so-called list was all spoken by Mr. Wu’s son…

“Okay, I’ve done everything my father told me to do. I’m going back now,” Mr. Wu’s son waved to them, jumped onto the ox cart, and left.

Yan An turned to look at Wen Ying. “Did you remember everything he just said?”

Yan An didn’t dare to write down the weird characters in front of outsiders, so she could only rely on Wen Ying’s super brain.

Wen Ying nodded. She went into the house with Yan An and recorded what Mr. Wu’s son had just said.

“Then I’m leaving.” After the matter was settled, Yan An went out with her basket.

Soon, Wen Ying also went out with her basket and led the ox. They both started getting busy.

Yan An didn’t bring the winter bamboo shoots Wen Ying had dug before to sell this time. She planned to keep them for herself to eat. Although she could go to the bamboo forest and dig more if she wanted to, Yan An didn’t want to take up too much of Wen Ying’s study time, so it was better to keep the ones they had.

Yan An bought the things on her list. Perhaps because the end of the year was getting closer, there were more people on the street than usual. She came to the meat stall and was pleasantly surprised to find that the pig stomachs had not been bought yet.

“Boss, how much are these pig stomachs?”

The stall owner looked up at her and felt that she was a stranger. It was clearly her first time here.

“6 wen a jin. You look like a stranger. Haven’t you been to a place like this before?” The stall owner was a very outgoing person. They were used to people coming and going for a living, so they naturally had a good eye for people.

The person in front of her was wearing a coarse cloth coat on the outside, but she had a refined and elegant air about her. This was rare in such a messy environment.

Yan An smiled. “I’ve been here a few times, but I haven’t bought anything here before. I came here because you look friendly. Can you give me a better price? I also want to eat some meat.”

Even the price of these pig offals was almost the same as the price of rice. This showed how difficult life was for the people in this era.

They rarely ate meat all year round!

Her compliment made the stall owner smile. “You’re the one who looks friendly. How about this? 5 wen a jin. Since it’s your first time here, I’ll give you a discount. Come back to me more in the future.”

“Of course. Thank you, boss,” Yan An said with a very beautiful smile. “Then how much is this meat per jin?”

“This is pork belly. I sell it to others for 15 wen a jin, but I’ll sell it to you for 14 wen,” the stall owner said loudly. He picked up the butcher’s knife and sharpened it on another iron rod. He laughed. “How much do you want? I’ll cut it for you. I guarantee the scale will be full!”

Pork belly at 15 wen a jin was already a reasonable price. Now it was even cheaper by one wen. Yan An’s eyes almost narrowed into a line from smiling.

“I’ll take five jins, and I’ll take all the pig stomachs.”

When the stall owner heard this, his eyes lit up. “You’re a big customer!”

While saying that, she worked quickly.

Yan An laughed. “Yes. Maybe I’ll have more needs in the future. It would be great if you could give me a better price, boss.”

“Easy. As long as the quantity is large, what’s wrong with giving you a bigger discount? I just like your friendly face,” the stall owner said cheerfully.

“Five jins of pork belly is 70 wen. The pig stomachs are two jins and five liang, so I’ll charge you 12 wen. A total of 82 wen.”

“Okay. Thank you, boss,” Yan An continued to say sweetly. Yan An was very willing to be a little sweet-talker to save a few more wen now.

After paying, Yan An held the meat wrapped in lotus leaves by the stall owner. She didn’t dare to put it in her basket with other things, afraid of getting other things dirty.

After buying a fish and some other things, Yan An went to the city gate early to see if there was an ox cart passing by or going back to Nanya Village. Fortunately, it was a time when everyone was out shopping, so there were many carts going back.

On the way back, Yan An didn’t want to talk to anyone, so she pretended to close her eyes and rest. In her mind, she was recalling the characters that Wen Ying had taught her, trying to outline them in her mind.

Her life was so bitter. She had to learn characters all over again after transmigrating here, and she also had to shoulder the family’s livelihood. Her life was as bitter as a yellow lotus.

When she got home, Wen Ying was still at Yi Shu Hua’s house for class. The ox had already been led back by her, and there was so much pig feed that the pigs couldn’t even finish it.

Yan An looked at the pile of pig feed. She had planned to go cut more and feed them one more time, but now it seemed unnecessary.

Judging by how much Wen Ying was feeding them, Yan An felt that these pigs were going to get fat like crazy.

Since Wen Ying had already fed the chickens and pigs, Yan An put the things she had bought back in their respective places and then went into the kitchen to get busy.

When Wen Ying came back, she saw smoke coming out of their chimney and knew that Yan An was back. A faint smile appeared on her face, and her steps quickened.

She pushed the door open. Yan An was just bringing a pig stomach out. It looked like she was going to wash it.

“You’re back. That’s great. There’s some red date and sugarcane sweet soup in the kitchen that I just made. Drink some to warm your stomach,” Yan An said.

When she went to town this time, she had bought some sugarcane, red dates, and other things to help replenish Wen Ying’s bl00d and improve her complexion.

There was nothing she could do. Although eating meat, eggs, and dairy was the best way to replenish bl00d, they couldn’t afford to have meat for every meal right now. They could only rely on this method to make up for it.

Wen Ying was stunned for a moment when she heard her words. She then obediently went back to the study to put her things away. When she walked into the kitchen, she saw that the red date and sugarcane sweet soup was hot in the pot. She could already smell the fragrance.

She carefully scooped out a bowl and brought it to Yan An. Yan An was washing the pig stomach at the sink.

“Yan An, have you eaten?” Wen Ying squatted down beside her and asked.

“Not yet. You eat first.” Yan An didn’t dare to cook too much at once. It was a little more than two bowls. She thought that Wen Ying could eat one bowl when she came back and another after she took a bath. She could just go straight to sleep after she washed up.

When Wen Ying heard her say this, she held a spoon and scooped some up to Yan An’s mouth.

“What are you doing?” Yan An frowned and moved back.

“You eat first,” Wen Ying said stubbornly, pursing her lips.

Yan An: “…What’s the big deal with who eats first? I cooked my portion. I’ll eat it myself when I’m done.”

She felt that she had more energy than Wen Ying and didn’t need as much nourishment. She only cooked half a bowl of it. Anyway, she didn’t really like sweet things. She just wanted to taste it.

“It won’t be as hot later,” Wen Ying said, feeding the spoon to Yan An’s mouth again.

Yan An: “…” “What’s wrong with this person? Can’t she see what I’m doing right now?!”

She rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to eat the spoonful of sweet soup. The sweet, but not too sweet taste was perfect for her. Yan An felt that with this taste, she could open a sweet soup shop herself.

Seeing that she was willing to eat, the smile on Wen Ying’s lips grew wider. Yan An’s hands were busy washing the pig stomach, so Wen Ying had to feed it to her.

Yan An ate about half a bowl and then turned her head and said, “That’s enough. I’m not eating anymore. I’ll be full if I eat any more.”

Seeing that she was truly unwilling to eat anymore, Wen Ying put her hand down. She just ate the rest of the sweet soup right there beside Yan An.

“Yan An, it’s delicious,” Wen Ying said in a low voice.

However, Yan An was already silent.

This person… was eating with a spoon she had just used…

She decided not to say anything. It would just be awkward to bring it up.

“Go eat more. It’s good for replenishing your bl00d,” Yan An said. In a little while, it would be Wen Ying’s period. She wondered if supplementing her with these things in advance would make her feel better then.

“Okay,” Wen Ying was extremely obedient today. She went to get another bowl and still came back to eat it beside Yan An.

Yan An: “…”

“I’m washing a pig stomach. Is this place more fragrant than other places?”

Yan An quietly complained in her mind. She used plant ash to scrub the pig stomach over and over again, both inside and out. “Let’s invite Auntie Li’s family and Teacher Yi’s family over for lunch tomorrow.”

The reason she bought these pig stomachs and meat was to prepare for guests.

“Okay,” Wen Ying replied.

After finishing the red dates, Wen Ying watched Yan An processing the pig stomach. She pursed her lips and said softly, “Do you want to eat it too?”

When Yan An heard this, she looked at her in shock. “Of course I want to eat it!”

“Do I not get to eat the pig stomach that I worked so hard to process? It’s delicious when I cook it myself!”

Wen Ying pursed her lips and sighed softly in her heart, but her face showed a faint smile. “Then what are you planning to make?”

She no longer said anything about Yan An not eating pork. At this point, insisting on that would only anger Yan An and serve no purpose.

Moreover, even the pig offal, which many people were unwilling to eat, could be turned into a different kind of delicacy in Yan An’s hands.

“On such a cold day, of course, we’re going to have a steaming hot pig stomach and chicken hot pot,” Yan An said happily.

With pig stomach and chicken hot pot, they could eat the meat, drink the soup, and even cook other dishes in it. Just thinking about it made her drool.

She also wanted to make spicy hot pot with beef tallow, but unfortunately, cows were controlled at this time. They couldn’t be slaughtered for meat. Unless they happened to find a cow that died of old age or an accident, there was no way to get beef tallow.

“Sigh. What a pity. I won’t be able to open a spicy hot pot restaurant in the future.”