Don't farm, cultivate immortality!

"Is Zhuang'er trying to comfort me?"

"Woo-wah, woo-wah."

You guessed right! Here's a kiss for you.

Zhuang Xing gave his mother a kiss on the left cheek.

The mother paused for a moment, then suddenly reached out and tickled Zhuang Xing's armpits: "Wah wah, wah wah!"

Zhuang Xing was tickled and couldn't help but laugh out loud, and she giggled too.

Although her mother laughed loudly, Zhuang Xing felt that she was not happy, as she rarely did this before.

When someone suddenly changes their personality, it's either because they've suffered a huge blow or they're releasing stress.

With her husband away, she and her son nearly died. Even if she could comfort herself with sayings like "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" or "it's good that you're alright," the home she had lived in for so long was now truly in ruins.

I could tell she was quite sad when I passed by her house not long ago.

But what good is being sad? Will your troubles just disappear if you wear your sadness on your face?

The adult world is never easy. All she could do was sigh in her heart as she thought about her ruined home in someone else's house.

After laughing, Mother tugged at Zhuang Xing's cheek.

Perhaps she was thinking that being a baby is great, you don't have to have any worries, you just have to give adults a headache.

Zhuang Xing held his mother's hand and stayed by her side; this was one of the few things he could do.

His mother returned to her usual self, no longer arguing with him. She simply patted his head, picked him up, and hummed a lullaby to lull him to sleep.

Even though she was exhausted, she still made sure to put her son to sleep first.

Zhuang Xing wanted her to rest quickly, so he grabbed her clothes with his small hand and closed his eyes.

Although the heroine's embrace felt good, the most comforting place was still her mother's.

Sleepiness quickly overwhelmed him, and his breathing gradually became steady.

His mother placed him beside her pillow, turned to her side and stroked his little face. He felt the calming atmosphere and fell into a deep sleep.

...

When I woke up, it was already evening.

The light in the room became very dim. His mother was not by his side; she seemed to have woken up before him.

The soundproofing in these thatched huts was very poor; through the walls, Zhuang Xing could hear the village chief speaking.

"Lord Yan, this is the agreed-upon payment, a total of fifty strings of cash."

Zhuang Xing heard the clanging of metal, a clear and pleasant sound.

I remember when winter was just beginning, my mother asked someone to add a stove and a rocking chair to the house, and she also asked a woodcutter to bring a lot of firewood. We still had about half of that firewood left as of yesterday.

The money my mother paid the woodcutter was a string of copper coins. If it was a string of coins, we could estimate the purchasing power of a string of coins.

The value of a stone stove is roughly equivalent to that of an air conditioner, and a rocking chair is roughly equivalent to a sofa. It's enough firewood for a winter, and in terms of value, it's probably about the same as the electricity cost of running an air conditioner for three months. No... electricity and firewood are different. Chopping wood is physical labor, so the value should be adjusted upwards.

Zhuang Xing silently calculated in his mind that if the air conditioner and sofa were the lowest grade, they would cost about five thousand yuan, and the "electricity" would cost about three thousand yuan, so the total cost would be about seven to eight thousand yuan.

Fifty strings of cash had a purchasing power of approximately 350,000 to 400,000 yuan.

Of course, this is just an estimated value; in reality, fifty strings of cash should be worth more.

In this small village, fifty strings of cash is certainly not a small amount.

The villagers didn't have many ways to make money. Farming, hunting, and weaving were not enough to earn them much. If they also had to pay taxes to the local government and gentry, they would have even less money. This fifty strings of cash was probably hard-earned money that the village chief and the villagers had scraped together little by little.

"Sir...have you made up your mind yet..." the village chief asked, "would you like to stay in the village a little longer?"

There was no reply from Yan Huai'an.

"Then I won't bother you any longer, sir. Please let me know if you need anything."

The village chief left the room with a knock.

Seeing this, the female warrior was still hesitating about whether or not to stay.

After a while, the village chief and his mother came into the house together.

The village chief earnestly instructed his mother, carefully controlling his voice: "Zhu He, you are the most familiar with the demon-slaying official in the village, so this task is entrusted to you."

“If the master doesn’t leave, you can stay and serve him. When spring comes next year, you’ll get a share of the money from selling the tiger demon’s skin and bones. But if the master leaves, you know how hard it is for our village to raise fifty strings of cash. Every family has its difficulties. If you want to stay, you’ll have to go out and chop wood and keep watch at night. Your son will probably be left without anyone to take care of him. You should put in more effort for your son’s sake.”

“I understand, village chief,” Mother said.

"Okay, I'll go check on the old headhunter. If there's anything here that you can't handle by yourself, go find Granny Wang."

"Take care, village chief."

The village chief nodded and strode out the door.

The mother ran next door, and Zhuang Xing heard her asking Yan Huai'an about her well-being, asking if the quilt was comfortable and if she was hungry.

It was clear that her mother was eager to keep Yan Huai'an with her. The village chief had made grand promises to her, and she was definitely trying her best to get some benefits out of them.

But... Mother, forced love is never sweet; this is counterproductive.

For someone with social anxiety, excessive concern is harassment. The woman was still hesitant, but if this continues, she might be scared away tonight.

No, we need to think of something.

Upon hearing the village chief's words, Zhuang Xing suddenly realized that since the female knight-errant staying behind would be of great benefit to him and his mother, it was time for him to make his appearance.

He found that he was still somewhat useful, even though he was only a three-month-old baby, babies also have advantages that can be utilized.

"Waaaaah!" Zhuang Xing burst into tears.

If we can hear the voices from next door, then they must be able to hear his crying very clearly.

His crying quickly attracted his mother.

The female warrior also ran to the doorway, where she stood and peered into the house.

His mother held him in her arms, thinking he was hungry or needed to use the restroom, but Zhuang Xing's real purpose was to see Yan Huai'an standing at the door.

As soon as he saw Yan Huai'an, he stopped crying and waved happily.

This trick is the long-lost art of acting cute!

Human infants have an innate advantage in their cute appearance and the instinct to protect them and allow them to reproduce. This is something ingrained in human genes, and any normal person would have the instinct to care for their offspring.

After all that, he ran into Yan Huai'an's arms again.

The mother apologized awkwardly, but Zhuang Xing, who was being hugged, could feel that Yan Huai'an was actually a little happy. She quietly rubbed her chin against Zhuang Xing's face.

Miss Huai'an is actually quite simple-minded and not that hard to understand.

You little brat, just wait till I get my hands on you!

Chapter 13 Miss Huai'an

Zhuang Xing and Miss Huai'an played happily, and Miss Huai'an was having a great time with just a simple finger-touching game.

Suddenly I felt a little sorry for her...

This child, has he never played with friends growing up...?

He played with Miss Huai'an until sunset, and when he got sleepy, his mother took him away.

In the following days, whenever he found an opportunity, he would cling to Miss Huai'an. His mother often tried to stop him, but Miss Huai'an would always look at him with a "there's really no way to stop her" expression and take him away.

And so, Zhuang Xing's life gained an extra activity in addition to eating, drinking, and relieving himself, which also helped him alleviate his boredom.

Miss Huai'an's reaction is quite amusing. When her mother is around, she puts on a serious face, giving off an air of "I don't really want to talk to this child, but I have to play with him."

As soon as her mother left, she revealed her true nature, showering him with kisses and hugs. Every night when Zhuang Xing was taken away by his mother, she was reluctant to let go, probably because she really wanted to keep Zhuang Xing to sleep with her. However, she had to maintain her "aloof" persona and could only return Zhuang Xing with a "hmm" before regretting it alone in bed.

It was evening again, and Zhuang Xing, feeling a bit tired from playing, yawned.

He noticed that Miss Huai'an had several bamboo strips on her table, along with a small knife.

What are they doing? Are they making new bamboo skewers?

It wasn't until the next day that Zhuang Xing realized what she was up to.

Early in the morning, just as dawn was breaking, Zhuang Xing was awakened by noises from next door.

"Really! That's wonderful, Lord Yan, we warmly welcome you!" The village chief's voice rose several octaves.

What else could make the village chief so happy? Of course, it was that Lord Yan, whom he had been longing for, had agreed to his invitation and was willing to stay.

It seems my cuteness over the past few days has been a huge success. Village Chief, you should thank me.

“I have two requests.” Yan Huai’an spoke with the village chief, a rare occurrence for him.

"Please speak! We will do our best to meet your needs!"

"First, I don't live here, I live at her house."

Her house? Whose house?

But why move out? Is it because you feel uncomfortable with too many people in the village chief's house?

"But, Miss Yan, you know, my family has already been attacked by that tiger demon..." It was her mother's voice.

She wants to come to my house to sleep?

Come on in, my house is quite big. When I get tired of playing, I just go to sleep.

"I'll pay for the house repairs."

"Hmm!" Zhuang Xing immediately perked up.

After a moment of silence, the village chief said, "This... I understand. What is the adult's other request?"

"Secondly, I like quiet. Don't contact me unless it's important."

"Of course."

The village chief and Yan Huai'an reached a verbal agreement. He didn't talk about it anymore. After all, winter was still long and there would be plenty of opportunities to talk later. If the village chief couldn't speak, he could ask his mother to do so. As long as they could keep people here, everything would be fine.

However, I've said so much today, it must have been difficult for Miss Huai'an.

I wonder how many times she practiced in private. No wonder she got some new bamboo slips. It seems that while everyone else was asleep at night, she was still practicing her scenes by lamplight.