Chapter 41.2: Raising a Bride (2)

The dwellings in the valley by the creek consisted of a few simple houses made of stone and wood, surrounded by fences covered with thorns. And though it looked simple, the construction was actually extremely strong and sturdy.

Bamboos and flowers were planted in their fenced courtyard, swaying and rustling to the gentle breeze while the sun shone down warmly.

Gu MingYue walked into the courtyard, inhaling the fragrance of the flowers while Xie MingLang went to pick up his hunting equipment before going into the mountains to hunt for prey.

To the right side of the main hall was Gu MingYue’s room, while the left side of the main hall used to be her fiance, Xie Zhang’s room. The kitchen was connected to the back of the main hall, with a small entrance that leads to the vegetable garden in the backyard and another small room for storing firewood. Though slightly small, the kitchen was well equipped, and there was also a backflow ditch that leads from the creek that brings in water, so in the past, it was extremely convenient for them to boil water for medicine and cooking.

Gu MingYue looked around the room and noticed that the furniture and utensils were all crafted out of wood and bamboo. In fact, there were traces of handicraft on them, and from the look of it, the materials were all naturally wild, so she suspected that all of these had been handcrafted by Xie MingLang himself.

Xie MingLang lived in a separate wing close to the entrance of the courtyard, and unlike theirs, his room was not connected to the main hall. The room was neither huge nor small, but it was neat and tidy. There were also some polished weapons that gleamed coldly by the door, so that if a wild beast ever broke through their fences and into their courtyard, he would be able to react swiftly.

Ingenious, caring, and taciturn middle-aged man with lacking facial expressions… He would’ve been extremely popular with the women in her previous mission world… Gu MingYue nodded to herself.

After visiting all the rooms in the courtyard, she spent her remaining day sewing.

She noticed that Xie Yi would sometimes embroider some handkerchiefs and process the fur from Xie MingLang’s prey so that he could sell them off in the market. Her efforts earned the family quite a small income, which could be exchanged for daily necessities and rice.

Gu MingYue held Xie Yi’s embroidery and inspected her skills thoroughly, before deciding that she had to hide her actual skill level for the time being…

In fact, there was a significant difference in their embroidery work, and it was not possible for Xie Yi, who had an ordinary skill level, to suddenly be capable of crafting something so fancy and exquisite. She would definitely be suspected to be a fake or a ghost that was possessing Xie Yi’s body (though that was really the case…)

And people in this era were extremely superstitious, and they would surely be afraid.

With his body coated with sweat and a faint scent of blood, Xie MingLang returned in the evening with prey that had already been cleaned and processed. After placing the few pheasants and hares carefully on the dining table, he went outside to wash by the stream.

Gu MingYue took the game to the kitchen for a brief preservative treatment so that they could be stored for a longer time, before putting them in a ventilated area to dry.

This was one clear advantage of having a hunter in the family, because, except for the cold winter, there was usually no shortage of meat. Furthermore, as they live by the creek, they would sometimes fish up some fish and shrimp for a snack.

Gu MingYue was satisfied when she learned of this, and after picking some fresh vegetables and fruits from the garden, she quickly fried two plates of delicious-looking home-cooked dishes and brought them to the dining table together with a pot of porridge.

In fact, the reason why Gu MignYue had cooked porridge was that, after living in the modern world for years, she was not used to using a manual stove and accidentally ruined the white rice that she had initially wanted to prepare…

When Xie MingLang ate today’s dishes, which were extremely tasty and aromatic, he somewhat felt as if today’s food were a little different from the past, in terms of appearance and taste. He did not know how to describe the feeling, but as he had always been used to eating bland and astringent food, to suddenly have his food changed into such delicious dishes took him a while to get used to.

He glanced tenderly at Gu MingYue, who was chewing onto her food gracefully, and suddenly felt a sense of relief that his daughter had grown up into a fine young lady. It seemed that she had suddenly matured ever since Xie Zhang’s death, and had become much more sensible and responsible in just mere days.

After doing the dishes, Gu MingYue went ahead and took a shower with the pipe outside the kitchen, before she returned to her room and waited patiently for midnight to come. It was extremely cold in the mountains at night, and Gu MingYue intentionally removed her quilt so that her body will freeze in the midnight air. As the moon hung brightly in the dark sky, she put on a nightdress and made her way toward Xie MingLang’s room, letting down the bamboo door lock and pushing open his door slightly.

Xie MingLang had always been a light sleeper, and he had woken up as soon as Gu MingYue arrived at his doorsteps. Thinking that it was a small intruding animal, he sat up instantly and reached for the knife resting against his door.

However, as soon as the moonlight shone through the door, he noticed that the figure was that of a girl. The girl was in a mauve nightdress while her long knee-length black hair hung loosely behind her back. Her round eyes were huge and her cherry-tinted lips were slightly apart, as if she had been frightened by the intimidating person within the room.

The moonlight was bright and tender, like sparkling flowing water in the stream, while the wind brought in the quiet fragrance from the courtyard, which was mixed with the unique body fragrance of the girl, making it seem as if she was a fairy who had accidentally fallen into the human world that others can’t help but feel fascinated by.

This was the exact effect that Gu MingYue had been going for.

“Daddy, I… I had a nightmare… C…Can I sleep with daddy tonight?” The girl’s voice was sweet with a hint of milkiness within, while she looked at him with bright shining eyes, as if full of hope.

It took a while for Xie MingLang to return to his senses, and unknowingly to himself, he nodded his chin slowly.

I actually have a thing for uncles in snusnu titles ? 11/10 uncle-con team ?