If you don't consummate the marriage for three years and then marry a successful educated youth

"Mom, why don't you praise me? Aren't I amazing?"

Zhang Shuhua looked at her mischievous little daughter and smiled indulgently: "Hmm, impressive. But it's rare to see such a big turtle. Did you get bitten when you caught it?"

Jiang Baozhu waved her hand: "No, my sister-in-law came up with a way to make the turtle put small pebbles in its mouth so it can't bite me."

"When my older brother comes back, we'll make turtle stew with chicken and eat it together. I heard it's good for your health."

"Okay, let it purge the mud for two days first. Once it's clean, we'll kill it to nourish your bodies. If we kill it now, the mud and sand inside will make it hard to chew."

Wen Yao stayed at her in-laws' house for a while before going back to cook.

After getting ready, I waited at the foot of the mountain. Before dark, I saw a familiar figure, my eyes lit up slightly, and I jogged towards the person.

"Ah Lie, you've come down the mountain."

Jiang Lie followed the figure, a slight smile playing on his lips, and strode over: "Hmm, so much dead wood, enough for you to process medicinal herbs for a while. Nothing much has happened at home these past few days, right?"

"It's nothing. My second brother's wife came back for a meal, and Baozhu and I went to collect some duck eggs and caught a pretty big turtle. We'll stew it in a couple of days to make it good for our health."

"Oh, you even caught a turtle! Honey, can you catch one?"

"No, although I'm quite brave, I'm not very strong. I can't lift a three- or four-pound turtle. Baozhu caught it. She's really strong, which is something to be envied."

Wen Yao's fair face seemed to be coated with a warm glow in the setting sun, making her exceptionally attractive.

Jiang Lie stared at her intently and said, "Hmm, that's good. But that girl can be playful and mischievous sometimes, so you can't let her run wild. Make sure she doesn't go to dangerous places, okay?"

"When she was little, she was very difficult. She insisted on going to steal bird eggs, fell from a tree, broke her leg, and screamed in pain."

"Haha, really? You're so cheeky."

"Yes, he is very mischievous, completely different from his second brother. His second brother was born prematurely and was not in good health. He was quiet and introverted from a young age and didn't have much energy to be mischievous. He would often go and watch ants moving house."

"My little sister was born full-term. She was the naughtiest when she was a few years old. She was either getting a beating or on her way to getting a beating every day."

Wen Yao was amused: "It's very cute, it sounds so lively. But my brother-in-law's health seems much better now, judging from his pulse. You must have used a lot of medicinal herbs to nourish him when he was little."

Jiang Lie nodded, his voice low: "Yes, the family was also struggling at that time, and my grandparents were biased. They were afraid that my second brother would be a burden to others, so they kept arguing that they wouldn't let him get treatment."

"My father divided the family property to save my second brother. He didn't get much in return. He often went into the mountains to hunt and risk his life. He would use the money from selling the game to buy medicine for my second brother."

"So you couldn't go to school and went into the mountains to hunt at a young age to help ease the family's burdens."

"Well, it was hard to find a master to teach me back then. Everyone was struggling financially, and experienced hunters would look down on us because we were poor. So I went into the mountains on my own to learn how to hunt..."

Wen Yao touched his arm and asked with concern, "How old were you back then?"

"I was about five or six years old, but I grew fast and was about the same height as other kids who were ten or so. I was also strong, so I wasn't afraid of going into the mountains. If I didn't take a chance, I would just starve to death."

"I have a good memory and never get lost. I hunted more than my father. Later, my father became the brigade leader, and our family's life gradually improved. Only then were my second brother and younger sister sent to school."

Jiang Lie's lips curled slightly: "The second son is small and skinny, and looks even younger than his peers. He gets bullied by other kids at school, so he comes back and asks me to stand up for him."

Wen Yao rubbed her nose: "It's so good to have older brothers. I have two brothers who both love me very much. My eldest brother is calm and steady, while my second brother is a bit more impulsive, but he will chase away anyone who bullies me."

"It's easy for him to hurt people and then get his parents called in. My older brother will smile and reason with people, but then he'll put bugs in the backpack of the kid who bullied me to scare them."

"Hehe, anyway, after a few times, no one dared to bully me anymore."

The two arrived home while talking. Jiang Lie placed the dead wood in the corner of the wall and began sawing it into sections, which he would then chop into firewood when he had time.

*

Around 2 a.m. is when people are most tired.

A dark figure approached the courtyard, took a few steps back, and leaped onto the wall. Standing on the wall, the figure warily watched the house, which remained dark and silent.

He then climbed down from the wall and headed towards the pharmacy next to the master bedroom, where the owner had said there might be prescriptions.

Pushing the door open, something was accidentally triggered, and a jingling bell rang out, its sound particularly jarring in the quiet night. The shadowy figure's heart leaped into his throat, and he stared wide-eyed at the direction of the bell.

He muttered a curse under his breath: "Damn it, who the hell hung a bell on the door?"

Jiang Lie opened his eyes abruptly, got off the bed barefoot, picked up a wooden stick from the doorway, and whispered, "Wife, lock the doors and windows. Someone's home."

Wen Yao instantly snapped out of her daze, her face paling. Forgetting everything else, she rushed to lock the doors and windows: "Ah Lie, be careful."

"It's okay, don't come out."

He wanted to see who was so bold as to climb over his wall at night, and if he caught them, he'd skin them alive.

The shadowy figure turned and ran towards the courtyard wall the moment the bell rang. No way, who knew if the male head of the household was home? He wasn't about to die and confront that beast-like man head-on.

Run, run quickly!

Jiang Lie strained his ears to listen for any sounds. The pharmacy door had been pushed open, but it was empty. There was no one in the courtyard either, and he had searched the kitchen as well, but found nothing there.

He found footprints in the corner of the wall, squinted slightly, opened the courtyard gate and looked into the night. He didn't hear any noise. His wife was still at home. He didn't know if they were alone or in groups.

He certainly wouldn't leave his wife alone at home while he chased after some thief. He slammed the courtyard gate shut, a fierce glint in his eyes. Very well, she had better not fall into his hands.

He knocked on the door: "It's me, wife. Open the door."

Wen Yao opened the door and threw herself into his arms, reaching out to feel around: "How are you? Are you hurt?"

Jiang Lie shook his head: "I'm fine, don't worry. It's just that we couldn't catch them, and we don't know where they ran off to. I was worried that it wasn't safe for you at home, so I didn't go out to chase after them."

"Well, it's good that you're not injured. Did you find any clues?"

"There are footprints on the wall that belong to a man. We don't have any other clues yet, but this thief is a bit strange. Normally, if someone is stealing, they would come to the master bedroom to look for valuables."

"Why did he push open the door to the side room, which wasn't even a guest room, and go straight to the pharmacy, where he touched the bell?"

Wen Yao pondered for a moment and guessed, "Could someone be eyeing my medicine? There's only medicine in that medicine-making room. If they're not after the medicine, what else could they be after?"

"Hmm, it is a bit strange. That person didn't succeed, so I'm afraid he won't let it go. I need to set some traps at home, not to kill anyone, but just to injure someone."

"Alright, I'll set up some poison traps too."