Chapter 24
Breakfast
Early in the morning, before the sky had fully brightened, Lianyi got up to wash. When she pushed open the door, she saw Dahu already awake, his bedding neatly folded, leaning over the basin on the table to wash his face.
“Good morning,” Lianyi greeted him cheerfully, then went into the kitchen—but immediately ran into a dilemma. After all, her home didn’t even have a single grain of rice; how was she supposed to solve today’s breakfast problem?
Dahu silently finished washing his face and dried it with a towel beside him.
Lianyi looked at him with concern. With nothing in the house but dried kelp, she couldn’t let Dahu go hungry to the fields.
Then she glanced up at the clothes she had washed last night, got a sudden idea, pulled them down, rolled them up, and tucked them into her arms. “Wait for me, Dahu, I’ll be right back,” she said, running out of the yard.
As Su Lianyi ran off, Dahu finally turned to watch her retreating figure, his thick brows tightly knit.
He thought she had no ulterior motives in getting close to him; otherwise, she would have watched him quietly instead of meddling so openly. He had spent the entire night thinking and came to this conclusion.
Where had Su Lianyi gone? She went to the Su Zheng family.
At this hour, Madam Zhao had finished cooking and was about to eat with Su Zheng before heading to the fields. Seeing Lianyi running over, panting, she hurriedly stood and went to meet her outside the yard.
“Lianyi, you’re in such a rush so early. Did something happen at home?”
“Auntie,” Lianyi stopped, her body slightly worn from running without breakfast, “um… there’s… something I need to discuss with you.” She panted.
“Quickly come inside and have some water. No matter how big the problem is, Auntie is here. Don’t rush, Lianyi girl.” She took Lianyi by the hand and led her into the yard.
After a few sips of water, Lianyi caught her breath. “Auntie, here’s the thing: my family has run out of food, so I… took the liberty of bringing this piece of clothing to exchange for a few buns.” She then stuffed the clothes into Madam Zhao’s hands.
Su Lianyi’s clothes were all fine-quality. Though her original self was quite fat, she loved beauty, buying plenty of nice clothes and cosmetics. Most village women wore coarse cloth, but Lianyi’s clothes were mostly fine cloth mixed with some silk—luxurious to the touch and very smooth.
Every woman likes to look nice, and even the older Madam Zhao was no exception. Though her family lived reasonably well, she still had a younger son to support. They had to scrimp to help him pass the exams and eventually marry, so they naturally had no extra money for high-quality clothing.
Madam Zhao felt a sudden pang of desire, but still returned the clothes. “Girl, you’ll make Auntie upset. A few buns aren’t worth much, would I really be stingy over them? This clothing… it must be quite expensive, right?”
The clothes were indeed expensive. The original Lianyi had spent a lot of time and money asking her father and brothers for them.
Su Lianyi, knowing the value, replied, “Auntie, it’s my fault; I should be punished. I don’t mean that you’re stingy with a few buns, but you’ve always helped me, and I feel deeply obliged. As a token of filial respect, these clothes are meant as a gift.”
Seeing Lianyi speak so sincerely, Madam Zhao’s heart warmed. “Why should this old woman wear such fine clothes? You’re still young, Lianyi, you should dress up more.”
Lianyi gave a bitter smile. She was already round as a ball—what more could dressing up do? “To be honest, I have too many clothes and can’t wear them all. If you find this one too worn, I can bring you a new one later.”
Almost all of Su Lianyi’s clothes were new. The reason was simple—her original self was too lazy to wash them. When they got dirty, she would toss them aside and buy new ones. So all these clothes had only been washed once.
Seeing Lianyi insist on giving the clothes, Madam Zhao no longer refused and accepted them. “Alright, Auntie thanks you, Lianyi. Take plenty of food back with you.”
Madam Zhao gave Lianyi a lot: twenty freshly steamed buns, along with vegetables and cornmeal. Lianyi grabbed her future rations and ran back home like a gust of wind.
When Lianyi returned, Dahu had just finished a set of martial arts moves. Seeing her panting, carrying food but missing clothes, a strange feeling rose in his chest.
“Rest for a bit. I’ll stir-fry a little dish, and then we can eat.” He went into the kitchen, picking and washing vegetables. Soon, a dish of stir-fried greens came off the stove, filling the kitchen with aroma.
Using the oil from the pan, Lianyi added some water, chopped scallions and ginger, and cracked two eggs in.
Within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the previously empty table was now laid with a rich breakfast.
“Wash your hands and eat. Auntie said that after she finishes in the fields, she’ll come teach you how to farm. Vegetable plots are different from grain fields; they need more care. Thank you for your hard work.” She set the bowls and chopsticks while speaking.
Dahu frowned, suppressing the strange feeling in his chest. Without speaking, he washed his hands, sat on the small stool, bit into a bun, grabbed a chopstick of greens, and put it into his mouth.
The flavor was immediately delightful. The subtle fragrance of vegetables mixed with the light oiliness was irresistible. The dish was even more satisfying than the meat dishes at the Su Zheng household yesterday.
Lianyi used a basic modern cooking method: first frying some chili oil, then stir-frying greens with ginger, scallion, and garlic, and finishing with chili oil. Simple, effortless, visually appealing, with a slight spiciness that stimulated the appetite.
Dahu drank some soup, quietly praising the food.
Unlike Dahu, who ate ravenously, Lianyi sipped her soup and fell into thought.
Exchanging silver notes for small coins was good, but would it arouse suspicion from her relatives like Su Feng? The original Lianyi wasn’t the type to save money, so suddenly having so much—where would it come from?
Dahu was enjoying his meal when Lianyi suddenly slammed the table. Startled, Dahu nearly choked on his bun, jumped from his stool, and warily faced her.
Lianyi laughed. “Sorry, Dahu. I didn’t mean to scare you. I just solved a problem.” She had figured out how to discreetly get money—by selling clothes.
Indeed, the original Lianyi didn’t have much at home except clothes, cosmetics, and blush—especially clothes. There were so many that it took Lianyi two nights to wash all the dirty ones. Even Su Feng wouldn’t know how many pieces there were—forty? fifty?
Losing a few clothes would go unnoticed by outsiders.
Yes, this was the plan: go to the county town to exchange the clothes for money. If anyone asked, just say the clothes were pawned.
Poor Dahu, his face red with frustration. Lianyi quickly brought the soup to him. “Sorry, sorry, Brother Hu, please drink the soup.” Problem solved, her mood instantly lifted.
“…” A baffling woman!
Dahu wanted to be angry, but seeing her smiling face, he couldn’t. He took the soup, gulped it down, and swallowed the stuck bun.
Lianyi sat back, eating half a bun slowly, sipping a little soup, without touching the vegetables. She was on a diet!
She didn’t care about appearance, but as a doctor, she knew that obesity affected more than looks—it harmed health: diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, heart disease—all often caused by being overweight.
In this ancient era with limited medicine, health was paramount. If illnesses couldn’t be cured, they had to be prevented.
Old Matou came driving a donkey cart. Seeing Dahu tidying farm tools, he asked, “Dahu, has Lianyi gotten up yet?” Previously, the original Lianyi would take her sweet time.
“Uncle Ma, I’m ready. Let’s head out.” The door opened, and Su Lianyi came out, full of energy.
Not just Old Matou—Dahu also felt his eyes light up.
Today, Su Lianyi wore a light blue dress. She had carefully simplified the intricate patterns, making it clean and elegant. With no makeup, her skin looked tender. After a few days of cleansing and a vegetarian diet, her few pimples had vanished.
Her fair, round face with a small pointed chin looked like a character from a New Year painting—cute and cheerful. Her large black eyes curved into a crescent smile, making her irresistibly approachable.
Holding a small cloth bundle, she leapt onto the donkey cart over Dahu, her steps light and unforced.
“By the way, Dahu.” Sitting on the cart, she called back to him.
“Hm.” Dahu surprisingly responded.
“I won’t go to the fields today. You’ve already worked hard.” Her tone was genuinely sincere.
Dahu felt awkward, unsure why, “Oh,” he said, heading back to change.
The donkey cart started moving. Old Matou looked at Dahu’s tall, broad figure and then at the composed, kind Su Lianyi beside him, sighing that they truly were a perfect match. But…
Unfortunately, Lianyi didn’t know whether she was being foolish or if she still fancied the Second Young Master Li.
“Uncle Ma, you’ve worked hard too,” Lianyi said, confused by his sigh. She pulled a steaming bun from her bundle. “Here, have a bun as a snack.”
