After breakfast, Li Xuejian chopped the pork bone into pieces and cleaned them, already preparing it for dinner. He had planned to make pork bone broth. It was quite time consuming because pork leg bones needed to be stewed for long hours.

He Anran was sitting silently in the kitchen as he watched Li Xuejian cook. He felt that the man cooking at the stove, whether it was his aura or actions, didn't match with the scar and purplish bruise on his face that had yet to disappear, and made his appearance look scary. Right now, there was only a gentle feeling surrounding the other person, and the firm expression he always wore on his face softened a lot. 

He Anran who had his eyes were filled with expectation and shyness, suddenly wrinkled his brows remembering that a man shouldn’t do any housework. 

All he could do was rack his brain and think about the lessons that a wise woman¹a very old woman that was believed to have special gifts, that was greatly respected by villagers, thought about what a wife should do.

Many people in the village, especially other women and gers consulted her for advice and help regarding marriage. He had once overheard that to be a good wife, one should take the utmost care of their husband so that the husband would feel the most comfortable at home, so he wouldn't look for women outside the house or go to the brothels. This meant there would be fewer concubines as well.

So, how should he treat his husband well? He was never allowed to cook in the He family home because they thought that eating the food made by him would poison them with misfortune. 

After thinking about it for what felt like half a day, He Anran gloomily sighed. This was no good, it showed that he was not virtuous and proved that he was incompetent as a wife.

On the other hand, when Li Xuejian was done with preparing diner, he discovered that the ger appeared to be quite upset as if there was a dark cloud hanging over his head. 

Li Xuejian, who was perplexed by his sudden change in mood, asked: “Is everything all right?” 

He Anran bite his lip before replying: “Husband, is there any-anything for me to do right now?” He spoke with his voice quavering.

The cause of He Anran’s stuttering was probably living under a great deal of emotional distress as he couldn't rely on anyone. Usually, he would be quiet in front of other people because he didn't know what to say, and he was also afraid that he would say something wrong and cause trouble.

Li Xuejian scratched his head as he didn't know how to respond, he didn't know if the boy was bored or anything and just said: “Nothing in particular... but you can always try making clothes for us and Uncle Chen.” There was no sewing machine and making clothes by hand was such a hassle, he would really gladly step aside.

He took out a black and blue-colored cotton fabric from the wooden box and showed it to He Anran. Even though this fabric was not first-rate as silk, it was more convenient to wear by the rural people living in the countryside.

He Anran was utterly surprised as he gazed at cotton cloth: “Husband, how ma-many chi²about 1/3 of a meter, a traditional Chinese unit of length that was originally derived from the distance measured by a human hand from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the forefinger is this? Why do you have so much of it?” The colored fabric was more expensive than those of white colour and it was not hemp but cotton of good quality. 

“At first glance, it is only enough to make three or four sets of clothes.” Li Xuejian replied.

In He Anran’s opinion, currently, Li Xuejian had not been earning money since he has no land. Now, it was one person more to be fed at home and they should tighten their belt and live more modestly.

He Anran pulled on Li Xuejian’s sleeve hurriedly: “I do-don’t need new clo-clothes. I can still use the one I’m we-wearing right now. It’s be-better to exchange it for food.” 

Li Xuejian froze. He never expected that He Anran would say something like that. To think that the ger would actually worry about money and wasn’t willing to make clothes for himself, even though he needed them the most.

He might just be a hunter living in a shabby house, but as a man, it was his job to support his wife and moreover, he wasn’t at the stage where he had to worry about the livelihood and enough food to eat anymore: “There are more than a hundred taels at home. You don’t need to worry about money so much that you’re unwilling to make some clothes for yourself.” 

We are not as poor as you think we are, alright?

He Anran blanked with his mouth open. He was speechless and finally came back to his senses after a while. He clearly understood what the average spending was, and he was also clear how much one hundred taels were. An average family in the village would save less than one taels in a year. To save a hundred silvers… It might not be possible to save even in the entire lifetime. 

He Anran looked unbelievably at Li Xuejian and stuttered: “Husband, yo-you said that yo-you have one hundred silvers?”

Li Xuejian nodded and repeated the amount of the money. He patiently explained that the source of this income was for hunting wild animals in the mountain. 

He Anran blinked and finally understood. Li Xuejian looked so capable and experienced, he was too good for a jinx like him. He earned money in such a dangerous way and could even cook delicious dishes. 

In an instant, admiration filled He Anran’s eyes.

Li Xuejian felt uncomfortable from the ger’s gaze, so he cleared his throat and found the excuse to leave: “I’m going to find some soil in the mountain to fix the walls in the house and the fence of the courtyard. I won’t go far so just shout out loud if you need something for me.” Not used to dealing with this kind of situation and not knowing what else to say, Li Xuejian just went out. 

He Anran released his breath and patted his warm cheeks when the front door was closed. For some reason, he always couldn’t control his heartbeat and felt even more ashamed whenever Li Xuejian was in front of him.

He Anran calmed down and studied methods to sew a consistent seam for a while. Since his husband wanted him to make clothes, he would sew a tunic and pants for him first.

It was the best thing that he could give Li Xuejian at the moment.