Julie didn't answer directly and avoided the topic.
She said calmly, "You all be good and don't overthink things. Life will keep getting better. Just take what I give you, eat well, drink well—don't save it. I like spending money on my man." Then she continued walking to the kitchen.
Haven didn't get the answer he wanted, but this was still good—at least she didn't say she would leave, right?
Hearing her last sentence made his face blush. That line was just too bold and confident.
He smiled and followed her.
In the kitchen, Bailee was busy preparing dinner.
Lorrie was helping out quietly on the side.
Bailee was planning to make stewed pork tails with soybeans for dinner. It's good for the skin, helps with bone development, and was perfect for his wife and younger brother.
He was also making stir-fried spinach and braised eggplant.
He had asked his younger brother to buy them from the village in the afternoon. The vegetables they had at home either weren't ready yet or had been used too often.
He was worried that his wife would get bored with the same food.
He also had some money that she gave him.
He noticed she hadn't been eating much lately and wanted to try something new to get her interested in food again.
He hoped she would never get tired of his cooking.
He had just finished cleaning the pork tails, chopped them up, put them into the pot with soybeans and soybean paste, and covered it with a lid to simmer.
Julie walked into the kitchen, followed by Haven.
When Bailee saw her, his eyes lit up with surprise. "Wife, why are you in the kitchen? Are you hungry? It's almost ready."
Julie nodded and placed something on the table. She told him the steps Mr. Leng had explained to her about how to cook bird's nest soup.
Use two taels per bowl, soak it for about an hour, then tear it apart and clean it well to remove moldy or dirty parts. Add one tael of sugarcane sugar, stew it together for about 30 minutes, and it's ready to eat.
Bailee had never eaten something so luxurious.
But he had heard about it.
At first, he felt deeply moved, but soon a sense of guilt followed.
Julie treated them so well—every time she went out, she brought back something for them. She never said anything about buying things for herself.
And he still hadn't given her a child. Not even a daughter or son. He felt useless.
Even if Julie didn't seem to mind, he was anxious about it.
Julie took six taels of white bird's nest from the box and put it into a porcelain bowl. She asked Lorrie to get some clean water to soak it.
When she saw Bailee zoning out, she gently nudged him.
Seeing the redness in his eyes, like he was about to cry, and his bitter expression, she felt puzzled.
Why was he always like this lately?
Could it be that his time of the month was coming?
Moody?
Julie remembered going through it in her previous life too. Though her symptoms weren't too intense, she could still understand the discomfort.
She patted his shoulder to comfort him. "It's alright. This stuff is good for you. Let's try it today. When it's ready, you three can split it. If you like it, I'll buy more next time I go to town. Don't worry about money. Alright, keep at it. I'll leave you to it."
Bailee didn't realize what Julie was imagining.
"Thank you, wife," Bailee said, touched by her concern. There was a hint of joy in his heart as he lowered his head to thank her.
Julie waved her hand and walked out.
She still wasn't used to how people in this era kept bowing and apologizing for everything.
No wonder people started hunching over so early.
Thirty minutes later
Julie sat at the table, looking at the food. It all felt fresh, especially the spinach—it was organic, tender, and naturally sweet.
The pork tails were chopped into small pieces, stewed soft with the soybeans.
Julie suddenly remembered that eating this stuff often could help with growing taller. Hoping to boost her height, she ate several pieces, creating a little pile of bones beside her bowl.
She found pork tails to be something that felt average at first but quickly became addictive.
She glanced at the plate—only a few were left. Looking at Lorrie, who was gnawing on a piece, their eyes met…
Alright, she'd already eaten plenty—no need to compete with him.
She'd just buy more from the butcher next time. Being left hanging in the middle of a meal wasn't a great feeling.
Acting casual, Julie set down her chopsticks and returned to her room.
Lorrie secretly let out a sigh of relief after Julie left the table.
He looked at his two older brothers and smiled sweetly, "Big Brother, Second Brother, do you still want some pig tail?"
Haven and Bailee exchanged a glance and both gave a helpless smile.
"You eat it, little glutton. You were even trying to fight our wife for food. Aren't you ashamed?" Haven gently poked Lorrie's forehead with his long finger.
"Thank you, brothers." Lorrie lowered his head and quietly stuck out his tongue. Then he grabbed the pig tail and focused on eating.
Now he could finally eat in peace.
He couldn't help thinking to himself that their wife had eaten quite a bit today.
But in the end, she still gave it to him, and that made his heart feel sweet. He could feel how much she spoiled him.
After the evening meal
Lorrie carried a bowl of bird's nest soup to the door of Julie's room.
Knock knock
Julie opened her eyes and got out of bed to open the door.
"What is it?" She had already said she didn't want any.
When she opened the door, she naturally saw the bowl in Lorrie's hands and what was inside.
Even though she had never tasted it, she could guess what it was.
"Wife, we all had some earlier. It's really good. This bowl is saved for you—will you try some?" He had also heard that this stuff was really expensive.
Enough to buy a lot of meat.
He felt a little heartache—it didn't seem worth it.
But thinking about how Julie bought it to help them stay healthy made his heart feel warm.
He remembered how he used to talk back to her, call her a bad woman, even throw rocks at her. He felt really guilty now.
Julie was going to refuse.
But looking at Lorrie's hopeful eyes, she said, "Alright. I'll drink it and return the bowl to the kitchen myself. You go get some rest."
Lorrie actually wanted to stay and chat with her a bit longer.
But hearing that, he had no choice. "Okay, wife. I'll head back now." He turned and walked away.
He had hoped to say a few more words before leaving.
But…
Once Julie saw him turn around, she shut the door right away.
Lorrie sighed and went back to his room.
It was Julie's first time drinking bird's nest soup.
There was some sugar in it, along with chopped dates and beets. She scooped a spoonful and tasted it—it wasn't too sweet.
The texture was soft and smooth.
To Julie, it didn't taste anything like money. She didn't understand what made it so expensive. To her, it just tasted a lot like well-cooked white fungus.
Still, she didn't plan to waste it—after all, this one bowl cost over ten taels of silver.
She finished it all and washed the bowl herself in the kitchen.
Julie knew how to wash dishes. It only took her two minutes.
That night, she slept in her own room.
…
The next day, after lunch
She said a few words to them, put on a thick coat, and took an empty sack with her up the back hill.
It had been a while since she last went.
The temperature changed a lot from morning to night, but the afternoon wasn't too cold yet.
In another month or two, when the winter solstice arrived, it would be too cold to go into the mountains.
Julie was mainly craving chicken soup.
She had thought about using one of the chickens at home, but Lorrie always woke up early, excited to gather eggs.
He seemed really attached to the chickens. Anyone would think they were his good friends.
The chicks hadn't grown much yet. There wouldn't be much meat.
So she had to set her sights on wild chickens.
She still had that ten-year-old wild ginseng she dug up earlier.
Ginseng chicken soup should taste amazing, right?
Julie had a clear goal and headed deep into the back mountain.
After about half a cup of tea's time, she finally caught a wild chicken. Since it was going into the pot, she didn't care if it was male or female—she snapped its neck and tossed it into the sack.
Since there was still time, she kept walking.
Soon, she saw a familiar chestnut tree.
She remembered how Lorrie liked boiling chestnuts as a snack.
There weren't many left in her storage space—less than ten jin.
Since she was already here, she decided to stock up. She'd keep some in her space and take the rest home.
Julie climbed to the top of the chestnut tree and began shaking it. The chestnuts that weren't fully ripe before were ready now.
Once she was done with one tree, she climbed down and moved to the next.
When she finished, she jumped down from the tree.
She had about thirty jin of chestnuts.
She stored ten jin in her space and put the rest in the sack using her awareness.
The silly deer she caught earlier was still in her space, already dead but not yet taken out.
She decided to carry it back on her shoulders.
She wasn't planning to go farther into the mountain.
On her way back, she picked up some broken branches to use as firewood.
When Julie got home, she stacked the branches in a dry spot in the backyard.
The three brothers and Mr. Leng saw her return and came over right away.
Bailee was worried she might be cold and naturally reached out to touch her hand. Feeling the warmth in her hand, he finally relaxed.
Julie noticed his teasing eyes, and his ears turned red as he quickly pulled his hand away.
Haven's eyes darkened for a second, then he smiled, "Wife, is this a silly deer?" He pointed to the deer on her back.
Julie nodded and put it down.
She had planned to take care of it herself.
But since the three brothers and Mr. Leng weren't doing anything, she let them handle it instead.
She gave a few instructions: the chicken soup would be made that night using the ten-year-old ginseng.
The rest she didn't bother explaining and went to the well to wash her hands, then returned to her room.
Once she left, the four men got to work.
One boiled water, one skinned the deer, one plucked feathers, and one organized the supplies. They were busy and happy.
The three brothers were all smiling as they looked at the silly deer.
It looked like it had a lot of meat.
After removing the skin and organs, they were left with over forty jin of meat.
Even if they couldn't finish it right away, it didn't matter.
The weather was cold. They could cut it into strips, rub it with salt, and hang it in the backyard to dry.
Although pork tasted good, it cost money.
This was something their wife had hunted herself—completely different.
Meat that didn't cost money always tasted better.