Chapter 21

It started to drizzle when Wei Luan and Lin Yi were about to reach home. Wei Luan immediately took off his clothes and covered Lin Yi’s head.

When they reached home, Lin Yi’s body was still wet from the drizzle. Wei Luan immediately went to boil some hot water and made some ginger soup. “Take a shower first. Don’t catch a cold.”

Liuliu had been squatting at the door and followed them in. Wei Luan felt that Liuliu was in the way and sent him to eat almond pastries.

Lin Yi was wearing Wei Luan’s clothes. She felt warm in her heart as she watched the man helping her.

Thinking about how she had always been fierce to him, she felt a little embarrassed.

“What about you?” Lin Yi asked.

“I’m going to the back mountain later,” Wei Luan replied.

“But it’s raining, it’ll be hard to go up the mountain. Why don’t you go tomorrow instead? You’ve been working hard all day, so you must be tired,” suggested Lin Yi.

“I’m not tired.” Wei Luan did not expect Lin Yi to be so concerned about him. It had been a long time since he felt this way. This must be how it felt to have a family.

Someone would care about you and be with you.

Seeing Lin Yi was a little worried, Wei Luan continued, “I even go up the mountain when it snows in winter. I’m very familiar with the mountain roads, so nothing will happen. Don’t worry.”

Lin Yi remained silent.

When Wei Luan set off, he saw Liuliu following behind him, so he brought Liuliu along.

Not long after Lin Yi took a shower, Wei Luan and Liuliu returned.

Wei Luan held a fat wild rabbit in his hand while Liuliu had some vegetables. The vegetables in the mountains were exceptionally lush and green, and the fragrance was very strong.

“Then let’s eat stewed rabbit tonight and dumplings stuffed with vegetables tomorrow! Liuliu, did you dig up so many vegetables? You’re amazing.” Lin Yi patted Liuliu’s head and turned to look at Wei Luan. “Wei Luan is amazing too. The rabbit you caught is so fat.”

Wei Luan had never been praised by anyone in his life. Lin Yi’s words of praise made him blush.

Lin Yi did not notice the change in Wei Luan’s expression. After Wei Luan was done with the rabbit, she prepared to make a pot of rabbit stew.

After scalding the rabbit meat in boiling water, she scooped it out and rinsed it with cold water. She added various spices into the oil and stir-fried it to produce a fragrance and added the rabbit meat. She stir-fried the meat until it tightened up and added salt to season it. Finally, she added clear water. After boiling it, she turned the fire to low heat and stewed it for 50 minutes. Then, she placed the sliced potatoes and stewed them for 10 more minutes.

While Lin Yi was cooking, the entire house was filled with the aroma of rabbit meat. Liuliu was leaning against the kitchen door frame, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets. He could not stop swallowing his saliva.

Soon, Lin Yi placed the rabbit meat on the table and served everyone a bowl of lentil soup.

Wei Luan looked at the alluring rabbit meat and felt even more surprised.

Wasn’t Lin Yi a pampered young lady from the city? Why was she so good at cooking? Every dish she cooked was delicious.

Wei Luan put a piece of rabbit meat into his mouth and chewed slowly.

The rabbit meat consisted of fat and lean meat. The meat was especially soft and tender. The sauce wrapped around it was delicious and slightly spicy. The texture was very rich.

It was not that Wei Luan had never eaten rabbit meat before, but he never thought that rabbit meat could be so delicious.

Wei Luan’s family used to be rich, but after an incident, they became poor. It was already good enough that children from poor families could eat their fill. They did not care if the food was delicious.

Wei Luan and his three sisters had very unexceptional culinary skills. They did not know how to prepare the ingredients at all. At most, they would add some salt and chili.

After eating Lin Yi’s rabbit meat, Wei Luan finally understood what delicious food tasted like.

Liuliu ate two pieces of rabbit meat. He was so happy that tears welled up in his eyes. He wanted to eat more, but he was afraid that Wei Luan and Lin Yi would dislike him if he ate too much especially since he was a beggar, so he carefully put down his chopsticks.

“Eat up. How much can a child like you eat? After you’re done eating, learn how to catch rabbits from Brother Wei next time. If you catch more, I’ll make you a royal braised hare, okay?”

Liuliu nodded intently. He was so touched that tears were about to fall from his eyes.

After dinner, Lin Yi took out an old blanket from her luggage and laid a layer of dry straw on the woodshed. She then placed a mattress on the ground and made a simple bed for Liuliu.

The woodshed was clean and did not leak. It was warmer than the bedroom. Liuliu was pleasantly surprised to see his new bed.

Lin Yi and Wei Luan returned to the bedroom and were about to sleep when she suddenly remembered something. She took out a set of clothes from the wardrobe and handed it to Wei Luan. “Try it on and see if it suits you.”

Ever since Wei Luan’s three sisters got married, Wei Luan had not seen new clothes for many years. He could not believe it for a moment. “For me?”