After pampering two villainous cubs, the rough hunter becomes addicted to flirting with her.

The room was completely silent, except for Shen Yu, who was standing in front of the earthen stove, stirring the black iron pot with an iron spatula—her braised fish with chives was just one step away from being ready.

The lard sizzled in the pan. She flicked her fingertips, and fine salt dripped into the hot oil. Then she slid the marinated fish pieces into the pan.

Once both sides of the fish were fried to an enticing golden brown, she lifted the earthenware pot and poured a bowl of boiling water into it, instantly creating a cloud of white steam.

Ginger shreds and soy sauce followed closely behind, creating fine ripples in the bubbling broth.

As the broth thickened, she brought over the prepared pea starch water and slowly poured it along the edge of the pot until the thick sauce coated every piece of fish. Then she grabbed a handful of bright green chives and threw them in.

In no time, the fragrant braised fish with chives was served on the rough wooden table.

The aroma of the fish soup was so enticing that it made one's nose tingle, but Li Erlang held his bamboo chopsticks and hesitated to pick them up.

Ya'er, however, couldn't contain herself any longer. She grabbed a steamed bun with her chubby little hand, looked up at Shen Yu, and called out in a clear voice, "Sister, come quick! We're having dinner!" Then she took a big bite.

"Wow! This is so delicious!"

The soft dough collapsed between her teeth, the thin, translucent skin encasing the overflowing filling, almost slipping through her fingers.

The rich aroma of meat, mixed with the refreshing scent of mustard greens and the pungent fragrance of chives, instantly filled the small house.

Li Erlang's Adam's apple bobbed, and he finally couldn't resist picking up a steamed bun and swallowing it in a few bites, not caring at all whether the bun looked good or not.

Mmm! It smells good!

It smells so good it's almost intoxicating!

What kind of divine flavor is this? The greasiness of the pork belly is perfectly balanced by the mustard greens, while the freshness of the chives seeps into the meat along the muscle fibers.

The piping hot filling wrapped in soft dough is so hot on the tongue that it makes you gasp for breath, yet you can't bear to let go and just want to swallow this delicious bite whole.

In less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, Li Erlang had already devoured three steamed buns. Only when his throat was dry did he pick up the porridge and take two sips, finally understanding the deeper meaning behind Shen Yu's preparation of the porridge.

"That's amazing!" he exclaimed, then reached for the fourth one.

Not only him, but Old Wu next to him also couldn't stop eating.

He not only devoured seven or eight steamed buns, but also tasted a bite of braised fish with chives.

The fish soup, which looked unremarkable, was so delicious that it made one's eyebrows fall off. The aroma of chives lingered on the tip of the tongue, making this old mountain man unable to stop eating.

"Young lady, your cooking is absolutely superb!" Old Wu patted his round belly and let out a satisfied burp. "I'll come back the day after tomorrow; I want to eat your braised pork again!"

Shen Yu smiled and agreed, "You're welcome anytime, as long as the mountain road isn't too far."

After seeing Old Man Wu off, Li Erlang looked at the fifteen buns left in the basket and frowned with heartache: "You're too generous, giving away five at once!" This was the first time in his life that he had been so attached to food, and he really couldn't bear to part with the remaining buns.

Shen Yu didn't seem to care at all: "Next time I'll make more and use some new fillings. Ya'er and I will each have two tomorrow morning, and you two brothers can share the rest."

Li Erlang's expression softened.

Suddenly, Li Xiaoyun, who had been silent, spoke up, his voice as cold as ice in a mountain stream: "Second Brother, with such gluttony, how are you any different from a glutton? Those who achieve great things must first restrain themselves."

Li Erlang's face flushed red instantly, and he lowered his head, saying, "Big brother, I know I was wrong."

Li Xiaoyun stood up: "Come with me."

Watching the two brothers walk into the night one after the other, Shen Yu whispered to Ya'er, "Is your eldest brother always this strict with your second brother?"

Ya'er nodded: "My eldest brother said that jade cannot become a useful object without being carved. My second brother is going to take the imperial examination and will do great things in the future."

The Imperial Examination Road? Shen Yu's heart skipped a beat.

She recalled the book's description that this Li Erlang would grow up to become a powerful and treacherous minister, with a sinister, bloodthirsty, and cruel nature. There were even rumors that he would torture and kill twenty women in one night just for his amusement.

But will this young man, who's eating so much he's practically leaning against the wall, really turn into that demon?

She shook her head, finding it all absurd.

In the following days, Li Erlang indeed restrained his gluttonous behavior, and even when he encountered his favorite food, he only ate a little bit.

Shen Yu became increasingly confused—Li Xiaoyun had clearly taught him to be self-disciplined and respectful, so why did he still become that kind of person in his previous life?

Before dawn, Shen Yu went out, her neck hunched against the cold.

Li Xiaoyun was already waiting in the courtyard. Seeing her shivering, he took off his fox fur cloak and threw it to her: "Put this on."

The warmth of the fur wrapped around my body instantly dispelled the chill.

Shen Yu looked up to thank him, but saw that Li Xiaoyun was just lowering his eyes and fiddling with the bow and arrow in his hand, while the tips of his ears were quietly turning red.

The mornings in Wushan are shrouded in thick fog, making it impossible to see a person more than five steps away.

Despite the weather, they had to go down the mountain to the town.

Shen Yu sighed and turned to the kitchen to heat up some buns.

Li Xiaoyun ate only five, then pushed the rest towards her: "Eat one more, and give the rest to Erlang and Ya'er."

Actually, two steamed buns were already enough to fill her up, but remembering how Li Xiaoyun had scolded Li Erlang last night, she obediently picked up the third steamed bun and started taking small bites.

As soon as the smoke from the cooking fires dissipated in the early morning, Li Xiaoyun tied up most of the wild game he had hunted the night before and hurried down the mountain.

There were so many prey today that he had to knock on Old Wu's door and borrow that old donkey to pull the cart.

Old Wu smiled so hard his eyes narrowed into slits, saying "Don't mention it" as he did so, but in his heart he was thinking: if Li Xiaoyun came to borrow the car a few more times, he could find more excuses to go up the mountain and mooch hot meals from Shen Yu.

After Li Xiaoyun's figure disappeared around the corner of the mountain path, Shen Yu carried a bundle of freshly dug wild chives back to the house.

She picked out enough fresh, tender chives to last two days and put them in a bamboo basket in the kitchen. The remaining old chives with roots were neatly moved to the newly turned plot of land next to the chicken coop—a small plot of land that Li Xiaoyun had specially cultivated for her yesterday.

Right now it's only the size of a winnowing basket, but Shen Yu has already sketched out the image of a small vegetable garden in her mind: plant green vegetables in the spring, and scatter radishes in the autumn and winter, so that she will no longer have to rely on wild vegetables and the village down the mountain for a living.

She knew Li Xiaoyun's temperament all too well; he was an expert in the mountains and forests, but knew nothing about tending crops.

On ordinary days, he could only dig up some wild vegetables with his younger siblings to fill their stomachs, or wait for Chenjia Village at the foot of the mountain to occasionally send some pickled vegetables up.

But as the north wind grew stronger day by day, and the heavy snow blocked the mountain, the people of Chenjia Village would no longer be able to come up, and the wild vegetables would be frozen in the ground.

She couldn't just sit around and do nothing; Shen Yu was determined to make a living on her own.

She squatted down and planted the wild chives one clump at a time into the soil. She also carefully planted the remaining two clumps of shepherd's purse, watered them with warm water, and hoped that they would take root before the frost and snow arrived.

Seeing that there were still two empty ridges along the edge of the field, she suddenly remembered the bag of vegetable seeds that she and Ya'er had bought at the grain and oil store when she went to town to sell mushrooms last time.