Chapter 40 Part 1

Li Cunxin was stunned. “Yeah, what about it?”

Zhou Huan narrowed her eyes. “You little girl, were you playing the pig to eat the tiger all along?”

“…You guys never asked me who the village chief was.”

“…” Wen Mi.

None of them had actually asked.

Wen Mi practiced boxing. She knew that between men and women of the same weight class, men have a natural advantage in strength. In a place with no laws, men could easily dominate. Even though Li Cunxin had said everyone discussed things together, Wen Mi still assumed there was a hidden male authority figure, the so-called “village chief.”

They all thought the village chief was a man. That was one of the reasons Wen Mi had hesitated beforehand.

The truth was unexpected. Wen Mi was overjoyed, her tone completely different. “Who would have thought you, a little girl, are the village chief.”

Yunxiu wiped away her tears, her reddened eyes glaring without real malice at Li Cunxin. She then turned warmly to Wen Mi and the other three. “Don’t just stand here. Come inside. Was the journey far?”

Di Wanling smiled politely. “It’s about a dozen kilometers from our place to here.”

Yunxiu ushered the four inside. “That must have taken half a day’s walk. You must be thirsty. I’ll pour you some tea. Feng Huai, Penglai, help them unload their luggage.”

Zhao Penglai and Feng Huai stepped forward to take the reins of the two donkeys.

“Don’t you worry about those things. Let the men handle them.” Yunxiu half-guided the four toward the main hall. Overwhelmed by her hospitality, they curiously looked around as Yunxiu led them into the main hall to sit.

Yunxiu brought four cups of hot tea. Holding their cups, the four noticed the cups were well-shaped, smooth-surfaced, and didn’t leak. They looked just like the small teacups from their original world. They must have been made by Yu Muyang, whose talent was Ceramics.

Ning Yikui saw small yellow flowers floating on the surface of the reddish-black liquid. She smelled a sweet fragrance and took a small sip. “Mm! It’s sweet!”

Ning Yikui looked up and saw Yunxiu’s smile. Embarrassed, her face flushed to her ears. It had been so long since she’d tasted anything sweet, so her surprise was natural.

Yunxiu didn’t mock or look down on her for it. She remembered that over a year ago, her own situation had been worse. She sat down at the table and explained, “We planted some sugarcane in the backyard. This is brown sugar boiled from sugarcane juice, with a little osmanthus added.”

Ning Yikui said, “Mm, she mentioned she planted sugarcane.”

“You mean the Village Chief?”

“Yes, this little girl hid it well. She didn’t reveal anything. We couldn’t tell at all.”

“How did you meet her?”

“When I was out hunting…”

Soon, Yunxiu was getting along with the four like old friends, and she thoroughly questioned them about everything that happened after Li Cunxin was brought back by the group.

Outside, the three men had led the donkeys to the front yard. They unloaded the luggage piece by piece, gave the donkeys water and forage, and then led them back to the shed to rest.

Feng Huai looked at the flock of chickens flapping their wings, feathers flying everywhere. He swallowed and asked Li Cunxin, “Village Chief, what do we do with these?”

“When Uncle Xu and the others get back, we’ll all work together to build a chicken coop.”

As soon as she said this, Yunxiu came out and said, “Penglai, Feng Huai, go find Yu Muyang and the others and bring them back.”

Before leaving, Zhao Penglai patted Li Cunxin on the shoulder. “Baiyu, Brother Xu, and the others were worried sick. When they get back, they’ll definitely give you an earful.”

“…” Li Cunxin.

Zhao Penglai and Feng Huai quickly disappeared from sight. Yunxiu had told them to find Yu Muyang instead of Yan Baiyu and the others because Yu Muyang, Jiang Beibei, and Taishi Huan, taking the Gamma with them, were searching nearby. Yan Baiyu and the others had gone too far and wouldn’t be back for a while.

Wen Mi and the others’ luggage was placed in the front yard. Li Cunxin sat in a chair, her dark, bright eyes wide open, her entire face pale.

A gray shadow rushed back into the yard. It circled Li Cunxin, sniffing her scent, then raised its head and let out a long howl to the sky.

Perhaps its companions were too far away to hear and didn’t respond. Or perhaps they did, but the distance was too great for the human ear to catch the replying wolf howl.

While Li Cunxin was petting the Gamma’s fur, Yu Muyang and the other two, who had been trailing behind the wolf, rushed back.

Yu Muyang was at the front. His last few steps were a stagger into the yard. He bent over, hands on his knees, panting heavily. He pointed a finger at Li Cunxin. “You… I’m really at my wit’s end with you.”

Before Jiang Beibei even got close, her eyes were anxiously fixed on Li Cunxin. “Village Chief, are you alright?”

Li Cunxin shook her head.

Having caught his breath, Yu Muyang heard a rooster crowing. A blank look on his face, he searched for the source of the sound.

When he saw the dozen or so chickens strolling around the yard as if it were their private garden— birds with elegant curves and plump bodies—Yu Muyang’s eyes widened, emitting a burning light. His expression instantly morphed from annoyance to sycophancy. “Village Chief, did you bring these back? Are we eating chicken tonight?”

Yunxiu and Wen Mi’s group of four came out. Yunxiu said, “All you think about day and night is food.”

But this time, Yu Muyang was right. It was the first day for Wen Mi and the others, and they hoped to slaughter a chicken and have Yunxiu cook it for a feast, as a welcoming gift.

Yunxiu saw the chicks huddled in a wooden basin, chirping, covered in yellow-brown down. “So cute,” she exclaimed. Before, she would have found them cute just for being fluffy. Now, she saw “meat” and “seeds.”

Zhou Huan reached out, pinching a hen’s wing and lifting it. The hen, unable to move its wings, could only stretch its neck and struggle. “Let’s kill this one.”

Yunxiu took it. “Alright, leave it to me.” Seeing Zhao Penglai returning, she called out, “Penglai, while it’s still light, get that chicken coop built.”

Wen Mi carried the basin of tools into the main hall. Di Wanling hung the air-dried fish on a horizontal rod inside the house. Zhou Huan and Ning Yikui moved the table to the edge of the yard and came back for the chairs. Zhou Huan called out teasingly, “Village Chief?”

Li Cunxin looked at her blankly. “What is it?”

Zhou Huan smiled. “What are you spacing out for?”

Li Cunxin saw them moving chairs, so she got up, carried her chair over to the table, and asked, “Do you need me to show you around?”

Zhou Huan laughed at her with Ning Yikui. “Look at her, she’s still sleepwalking.”

Ning Yikui couldn’t help but smile. “We need to go build the chicken coop now. Otherwise, these chickens won’t settle down tonight. Plus, these chicks are delicate and can’t handle the cold.”

“Oh.” Li Cunxin called over anyone free to start working.

The chosen location was still on the edge of the vegetable garden behind the house.

Wen Mi and her three companions followed the group, curiously looking left and right. The group went to the shed to get materials. The shed at the east corner of the house was for storing lumber. There were plenty of wooden pillars, planks, unprocessed timber, and bundles of bamboo. Ning Yikui’s eyes lit up.

Wen Mi and Di Wanling walked beside the new house. Its foundation had already been laid, and the walls had been built to a certain height. They touched the blue bricks and looked at the seamless walls, unable to hide their surprise.

Taishi Huan and Feng Huai transported the needed bamboo and wood to the backyard. Zhao Penglai and Jiang Beibei grabbed axes and saws. After Zhao Penglai asked Zhou Huan about the requirements for the chicken coop, he marked the perimeter with a wooden stick. Then they began clearing and leveling the ground, setting up the framework.

Yu Muyang grabbed a stone shovel and dug up some yellow clay. Li Cunxin fetched water for him to mix it, to use for plastering the walls.

Hearing animal sounds from nearby, Zhou Huan walked forward a few steps and found a neatly constructed bamboo hut. Looking inside, she saw a small spotted pig.

The piglet was rooting at the stone trough in the corner, eating, its nose moist. It sensed someone watching, lifted its head, and oinked at Zhou Huan.

Even though Zhou Huan had heard Li Cunxin mention they had pigs here, she still couldn’t help feeling a small surge of joy. The joy was even greater when she saw the fat goose in the goose cage next to the pigsty.

This little girl’s village conditions were much better than theirs.

If everyone got along, life would surely get better and better. Somehow, she felt as if something were filling her heart, a surge of indescribable strength flowing through her, filling her with energy.

The sky gradually darkened. The ten people working together quickly built most of the chicken coop.

“Cunxin.” Li Cunxin heard someone call her and looked up.

Xu Yin’s tall and sturdy frame stood on the bank of the vegetable garden, motionless, as solid and cold as a boundary stone.

Li Cunxin handed the axe to Zhou Huan and walked over. “Uncle Xu, you’re back.”

“Mm.” Xu Yin didn’t say much, but the vertical lines furrowed between his brows made him look serious and deep. His silent, sweeping gaze made her feel even more guilty. She wanted to say something— I’m sorry for making you worry, sorry for causing you trouble.

But before she could speak, Xu Yin said, “Baiyu is back too. Go see her. She was very worried about you.”

“I’ll go right now.”