The Prime Minister’s Little Wife

Chapter 35: Like It, Keep It

The Xu family had worked hard all day. After cleaning up, they went to bed.

Xu Zhizhi returned to her room, bolted the door, and entered her portable space. She began processing the tiger, starting with skinning it.

Her technique wasn’t perfect, so the skin came out uneven in thickness. The tiger pelt could only be used by herself; if sold, it wouldn’t fetch a good price due to the poor quality. Still, tiger pelts were valuable, and Xu Zhizhi liked it, so she decided to keep it.

She wasn’t sure which part of the tiger bones the divine physician needed, so she set aside all of them for later use. The tiger meat weighed several hundred pounds, and it took her a great deal of effort to chop it into large pieces, which she stored in the space to be taken out when needed.

After finishing everything, she was exhausted. She bathed in the spiritual spring water, washing away her fatigue. She buried the leftover scraps in the soil as fertilizer. The seeds she had bought in town earlier had already grown into vegetables that were ready to eat.

Her portable space only had a small plot of land and a clear spring. In modern times, it hadn’t been of much use since food was readily available everywhere, and she had only treated it as a mobile refrigerator, so she hadn’t bothered to manage it much. She had only planted some medicinal herbs she couldn’t afford and a small patch of sweet potatoes because she suddenly craved dried sweet potato slices.

If she had known she would inexplicably end up in this ancient era, she would have stocked up on more things in the space…

It was only after arriving in this ancient time that Xu Zhizhi began to make full use of the space. In these days of scarcity, it proved to be incredibly useful, not only preventing her from starving but also becoming a true treasure.

She had transplanted a bamboo plant into the space earlier, and it had taken root. Soon, it would grow into a large bamboo grove. Moreover, the space seemed to be expanding as she used it more frequently.

After what felt like a full day of work in the space, she came out to check the moon. Only two hours had passed—it was around 11 PM. Time in the space seemed to flow much faster than in the outside world. With no pressing concerns on her mind and having been both exhausted and frightened that day, Xu Zhizhi slept soundly until dawn.

When she woke up, Xu Chunhua and her younger sisters had already prepared breakfast.

[Because Xu Zhizhi had a habit of eating breakfast.]

Breakfast was just for the family. The workers probably didn’t eat breakfast.

She thought she would prepare enough food for lunch later.

Xu Daniu and Da Hu had already delivered the bean sprouts to town.

In town, under pressure from his master, Sun Hao hurried to Drunken Fragrance Pavilion to ask about Xu Zhizhi. Upon learning that she had already returned to the village, he didn’t know what to say. He mentioned that Xu Zhizhi had told him he could go directly to the kitchen to order dishes every day. The waiter, unaware of the situation, said he would ask the manager.

This led to Sun Hao becoming acquainted with Manager Li after just two visits.

Don’t underestimate Sun Hao, this young man. He was eloquent and the direct disciple of Old Physician Shangguan from Kangning Hall.

Through sheer luck, he managed to learn everything about Xu Zhizhi, especially since he happened to encounter Nangong Yunhao investigating her. Had he inquired a few days earlier, even Manager Li might not have known much.

Carrying the boiled beef back, Sun Hao gleefully shared what he had learned with his master and Xiao Jingheng.

With a dramatic tone, he said, “This village girl is truly a devoted soul! For the sake of her fiancé and his mother, she would go to the mountains at dawn every day to dig up medicinal herbs, selling them to earn money. She didn’t spend a single copper coin on her own family, instead giving everything to her fiancé’s family. Even the money Father Xu earned was given to her fiancé’s family and her maternal grandparents. She did all the chores at her fiancé’s house—washing clothes, cooking, taking care of his blind mother, and even working in the fields. On top of that, she had to work in her own family’s fields, busy as a spinning top. She went hungry herself, saving every bit of food for her fiancé. At 17, she was as thin and small as a 13-year-old, and her two younger brothers were just as skinny. The whole family looked malnourished. It’s said that her fiancé, whom she had raised to be tall and strong, immediately broke off the engagement after passing the imperial examination. How pitiful!”

For some reason, as Xiao Jingheng listened to Sun Hao’s vivid description, he found himself deeply affected. He learned a lot about Xu Zhizhi, and his emotions fluctuated with the story. An uncomfortable feeling suddenly arose in his heart, and he even felt the urge to beat that scholar to death.

But now, lying in bed with only his upper body able to move, he felt even more hatred toward those who had harmed him. The hatred was stronger now than when he had been begging on the streets.

Xiao Jingheng looked at Sun Hao, who was gloating, and moved his lips but ultimately said nothing.

Old Man Shangguan remained silent, focusing on his meal.

Xiao Jingheng had already felt that the boiled beef bought later wasn’t as good as the one Xu Zhizhi had personally made that day. Now, it tasted even more like chewing wax.

Sun Hao continued to twist the knife in his heart.

“I said why the village girl was so nice to you. Turns out she really wants to marry you. Even though you’re an ugly, poor beggar, she’s now an older girl who’s been rejected. She’s probably worried she won’t be able to marry anyone.”

Xiao Jingheng, surprisingly, didn’t dislike the idea. He said, “Didn’t you say she has a god protecting her?”

“But the god only gives her food, not a husband!” Sun Hao replied, nodding. “No wonder she could produce a thousand-year ginseng. It must have been given to her by the god.”

“But to be honest, this ugly village girl is quite a passionate person. When she was engaged to her fiancé, she devoted herself wholeheartedly to him. Now that the engagement is broken, even though she has money, she doesn’t give it to him anymore.”

Hearing this, Xiao Jingheng unconsciously smiled in his heart, though his face remained expressionless.

Old Man Shangguan agreed, “That’s the right way to do it. You have to cut off ungrateful people cleanly and completely, without humiliating yourself.”

Xiao Jingheng found it incredible. Xu Zhizhi was a stranger to him, yet he was deeply concerned about her. Hearing that she was doing well made him happy! Perhaps it was because she had saved him.

A stranger who had saved him wasn’t just any stranger, after all.

In the past, he had been very annoyed whenever he heard that some young lady wanted to marry him. But now, hearing that this girl might want to marry him, he felt a hint of anticipation.

Seeing that his master finally agreed with him, Sun Hao happily said, “Haha! These past two days, I haven’t had to queue anymore. I just go in through the back door and order whatever I want. The line out front is getting longer and longer.”

“I have to say, this ugly village girl isn’t entirely without merit.”

Xiao Jingheng silently nodded in agreement.

He then said, “From now on, stop calling her an ugly village girl.”

Sun Hao exclaimed, “Oh ho! You’re really protective of her, huh, ugly beggar? Are you claiming her as yours now? We don’t even know if she really wants to marry you!”

Old Man Shangguan chuckled, “She must have taken a liking to this kid. I bet Zhizhi will send over some medicinal herbs in a few days.”

Hearing this, Xiao Jingheng secretly felt pleased but also worried. “Tiger bones require hunting a tiger. How could a girl like her possibly kill a tiger?”

Sun Hao said dismissively, “The village girl has a god helping her. Of course she can hunt a tiger.”

If Xu Zhizhi knew that the tiger she had nearly died killing was being dismissed so casually by Sun Hao, she would probably vomit blood in frustration.

But she didn’t know any of this now!

She was happily preparing lunch for everyone.

To make sure everyone ate their fill, she prepared plenty of meat. That couldn’t go wrong.

(End of Chapter)