Chapter 6: Not Good at Living Life

In this dynasty, getting an education was a significant expense that ordinary families could not afford, especially after Fu Laoer was conscripted into the military. The household's struggles increased, and it was deemed unlikely that Fu Laosan would be able to continue his studies, but wasn't Fu Laosan fortunate?

Upon learning that Fu Laosan was preparing to drop out, Village Chief Qin Daliang of Houling Village became very anxious. When he heard that a wealthy family in Qingping City was looking to hire a Protector, he informed Fu Hanwen, encouraging him and several young men from the village to give it a try.

In the end, only Fu Hanwen was chosen by the wealthy family and subsequently became highly valued, receiving a raise. This allowed Fu Laosan to continue his education.

After four years as a Protector in Qingping City, Fu Hanwen had returned home, and it appeared he was not planning to go back. Qin Xiaoruo learned of this news through the sighs of regret from a few women who visited the Fu family.

The sky had darkened by the time she finished mending the clothes. Now alone at home, Qin Xiaoruo felt somewhat embarrassed. She really wanted to bring out some fish and fresh bamboo shoots from her space to prepare a delicious meal for the Fu family. But she feared they would investigate the source, and in the end, she could only boil a small pot of coarse grain porridge. Timing it well, she tossed in the chopped wild greens, resulting in a more flavorful wild green and coarse grain porridge than mere rough rice porridge.

"Have you made porridge?"

The moment Fu Jingwen entered the courtyard, she caught the scent of porridge and stared at Qin Xiaoruo in the kitchen with a ravenous look. To her surprise, Qin Xiaoruo acted as if nothing were amiss and, without turning back, entered the main room, replying, "Yes, hurry up and wash your hands for the meal."

A flush of pride crossed Qin Xiaoruo's small face as she looked at the five bowls of coarse grain wild green porridge arranged on the Eight Immortals table.

It's true that inspiration leads to discovery. She had always considered herself excellent, but today she uncovered yet another virtue. Until now, she hadn't realized just how domestically skilled she was.

"Qin Xiaoruo, what's going on with you, cooking dinner so late in the evening?!" Fu Jingwen followed her into the room to interrogate.

Fu Jingwen felt like she was about to be driven mad by this woman. Who said this woman was industrious and capable? How could such wastefulness be considered capable? It wasn't the busy farming season, and which other household in Houling Village would be cooking at this hour?

A smile froze on Qin Xiaoruo's lips. She blinked twice and then realized this point as well, "I just saw how hard you and Changer were working in the fields, and since you and Changer are still growing, I wanted to make porridge for you. Besides, these wild greens would become tough by tomorrow, so mixing them into the porridge was just perfect."

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. Just as Qin Xiaoruo finished speaking, a little bun scurried in.

"Aunt Xiao Ruo, were you talking about me?" Changer rushed over to hug Qin Xiaoruo's legs and looked up with a sweet, milky voice.

Since Qin Xiaoruo and Fu Hanwen were not yet officially married, Changer, following the other kids from the village like Huzi, called Qin Xiaoruo "aunt." Mother Fu and Changer's mother hadn't corrected this.

"Yes, auntie made wild green porridge, and it's delicious. Changer has to eat a lot," Qin Xiaoruo said with a smile as she bent down and pinched Changer's little face.

Compared to other children in the village, Changer wasn't too skinny; his little face had some flesh to it, and it felt good to pinch.

"Aunt Xiao Ruo is the best."

Changer's small mouth parted, revealing two little tiger teeth, and Qin Xiaoruo's heart melted.

Seeing that Qin Xiaoruo was ignoring her, Fu Jingwen turned to her mother, eldest brother, and sister-in-law, who had just arrived, and started complaining, "Mother, big brother, sister-in-law, look at her... she doesn't know how to manage a household at all!"

For the past few days, since Qin Xiaoruo had been recovering from a severe illness, they had been saving some porridge from lunch to serve as her dinner. Surely she didn't think that their Fu family had the habit of eating dinner, right?