A Toast

Back in the Jin courtyard, Weimin was pacing by the gate worriedly. Why hasn't the wife and second brother returned yet?

His other brothers were also there but they stood calmly waiting.

Mingyu was also worried. In the first place, he wasn't comfortable with their wife going up the mountains, considering how dangerous it was.

However, he knew his second brother's skills. Out of all of them, Haoran's martial arts skills and senses were the best. He still trusted that his second brother would keep Mei Li safe.

"What if they couldn't find the mushroom? Won't Mei-er be sad?" Jin Longwei softly asked.

He was truly worried about this. Ever since their wife defended him in front of the village matrons and wasn't scared off by him being the so-called disaster star, he had been feeling thankful but also guilty towards her.

He had been called an unlucky child since he was young and he couldn't help but believe this sometimes. Otherwise, why would his parents leave them so early?

Only a very few people in the village didn't believe the disaster star label attached to him. He was truly grateful when Mei Li refuted those troublesome aunts by the river.

And it was also because of this that he didn't want her to feel sad. If she didn't find the mushroom, would she change her mind then and consider him as the source of bad luck? Longwei was apprehensive.

"Don't worry about it. If they can't find it, then we'll think of another way." Shufen, who was standing beside Longwei, comforted his twin brother.

Before the brothers' thoughts could run wild, the silhouette of two people appeared in the distance.

The sun was in the midst of setting and bright orange and yellow hues flooded the horizon.

They couldn't see the two people's expressions but they knew that these were Mei Li and Haoran coming home, which made the rest of the brothers' worries disappear.

Mei Li could see the four guys standing at the gate, apparently waiting for her and Haoran. Her heart warmed at the sight. She might have gotten these husbands accidentally, but they were treating her kindly so far.

Since she was so happy at finding Lingzhi mushrooms today, she couldn't help but want to share her success.

So, she enthusiastically waved at them and ran the few remaining steps to the gate in order to tell them the good news quicker.

The four Jin brothers at the gate saw the petite woman smiling and waving at them brightly, with the golden rays of the setting sun seemingly casting a halo around her.

The brothers gave Mei Li a welcoming smile, sincerely appreciating the warmth she brought to their lives.

"We're home!" Mei Li loudly announced with a huge grin.

"Welcome back, wife!" Weimin greeted back. Shufen, meanwhile, patted her head.

"Alright, it's getting dark. Let's go in and help Aunt Li prepare dinner." Mingyu told everyone. He didn't want to ask about the mushrooms since he didn't want to dampen the mood in case they didn't find them.

"Eh, why are you not asking me if we found Lingzhi?" She asked them.

Mei Li was greeted with silence.

"It's okay, wife. Don't be sad. We will find it eventually." Weimin said in a consoling tone.

"Who says I'm sad?"

They looked at her quizzically and so she stopped holding back. "We found it. In fact, we found three of them! Hahaha!"

Bright smiles erupted all around. "Did you really find it, little girl?" Shufen wanted to confirm.

"Yes, yes! Big brother Haoran even caught a pheasant and found eggs on our way down. So, tonight, I'm going to cook something delicious to celebrate!"

The usual polite and reserved Mei Li was now bouncing with excitement, which directly improved everyone's mood. Infected by her happiness, everyone had light steps as they trudged into the kitchen.

Despite Mei Li's tired legs, she was buzzing at the thought of selling her mushrooms for a big pile of silver.

She immediately assigned chores to everyone to clean the pheasant and vegetables after greeting Aunt Li in the kitchen.

That night, Mei Li prepared a sumptuous casserole of wild pheasant soaked in wine. She used the half-filled bottle of rice wine she found on one of the shelves. It was the cheapest kind but it was better than nothing.

The brothers winced at the fact that their wife just emptied the bottle of wine they had been saving for almost a year now. But looking at her happy face, they quickly let the matter go.

The eggs were left for tomorrow. Mei Li planned to make egg tortillas for breakfast to accompany their millet porridge.

For tonight's dinner, the pheasant casserole was accompanied by stir-fried vegetables and millet pancakes.

Mei Li was developing a love-hate relationship with millet grains!

When everyone was seated and about to dig into the mouth-watering dinner in front of them, which was richer than what the Jin household has eaten in the past few months, Fu Mei Li cleared her throat for attention.

She then poured everyone a cup of tea. And then she stood up, held her cup up, and commenced her celebratory speech.

Mei Li was totally in her team leader mode right now. In her previous life, whenever her lab team or colleagues finished a big project or found a new discovery, they always celebrated with dinner and drinks. And she always offered a toast.

She wanted to emulate that, thinking this could help her build rapport with the Jin brothers. She still had many plans for the future and it would be wonderful if she had their assistance. She knew well enough that in these ancient times, having a solid backing was even more important.

"Dear husbands," she smiled at the men who were wondering what she was up to. "And also, Aunt Li."

"Before we eat, please allow me to offer this toast to thank you for your care in the past few days. Thank you for taking care of me when I was sick and for accepting me into your home."

She gazed into each of her husband's eyes, "I may not know fully yet what it means to be a wife, much more being a shared wife, and I may not understand yet how it is like living here in Shenghuo Village."

"But I do appreciate that you have been so kind to me so far. I promise you that I will do my best here. And we found Lingzhi mushrooms, which I believe is fate's way of telling us that things will get better and better for this family."

"I have many more ideas in my head and I hope you will support me."

"If you stay by me and treat me kindly, then I promise to never abandon you in this life!"

Mei Li then solemnly raised her cup in a toast, then downed her tea in one gulp.