Chapter 8

A table, with four people seated on each side.

Li Yi's opposite was his devilish sister-in-law, Liu Ruyi, while on his sides were the maid Xiaohuan and his beautiful wife Liu Ruyi, whom he could only look at but not touch.

Beside the table, the three beauties of different ages shone brilliantly, each more stunning than the last, but Li Yi had no heart to appreciate them. He was staring blankly at a bowl of plain noodles in front of him.

It was said to be plain noodles... and it really was just plain noodles.

Apart from the white noodles in the bowl, there was no other color. Li Yi picked up his chopsticks and tasted a small bite, but there was no flavor at all, and his mouth was almost tasteless.

This was the lunch for the four of them.

Li Yi, who had a bit of a foodie tendency, had always had high standards for food. Even though he was very hungry, he couldn't muster much appetite for the bowl of "plain noodles" in front of him.

He turned to look at the three people beside him, who were actually enjoying their meal with relish. The little maid beside him had a face full of happiness, as if just being able to fill her stomach was a cause for joy.

Xiaohuan, besides being Liu Ruyi's personal maid, also served as a nanny, cook, and cleaner. In winter, she could even be used as a warm bed companion. Li Yi looked at the pitifully few noodles in her bowl and pushed half of his own bowl to her.

The little girl, around fifteen or sixteen years old, was in the prime of her growth. How could she eat so little?

Suddenly, her bowl was taken away by Li Yi, and she was stunned. "Son-in-law..." she started to say, but before she could finish, Li Yi had already pushed the noodles into her bowl.

"I'm not hungry, you eat more..." He reached out to pat the little maid's head, but as he spoke, his stomach suddenly made a strange noise.

The three of them looked up at him with strange expressions, and Li Yi's face turned red. He quickly picked up his bowl and finished the food in a few quick bites. "I'm full!"

Watching Li Yi's somewhat embarrassed departure, Liu Ruyi gazed for a long time, her beautiful eyes filled with something she had never seen before.

Liu Ruyi, standing beside her, pouted. Seeing the little maid, who was moved to tears, her usually indifferent face unintentionally softened.

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The maid named Xiaohuan, with her big eyes, watched her son-in-law, who had been in the kitchen since finishing his meal, with a bit of unease.

In her young mind, a son-in-law was a scholar, and scholars should stay away from the kitchen, a place suitable only for women. Of course, the little girl was more afraid that her son-in-law would waste food. The family didn't have much grain, and it couldn't afford any waste.

Fortunately, the little maid, peeking from the doorway, didn't see her son-in-law do anything else. When she felt a bit relieved, Li Yi had already come out of the kitchen.

Li Yi sat on a large stone in front of the door, propping his chin with one hand, and gazed at the sky in a daze.

He hadn't expected that such a large mountain stronghold would be so impoverished, even the chieftain's family. He imagined that the lives of others were probably similar, or even worse.

But thinking about it, it wasn't surprising. Giving up a good life as bandits to become honest citizens, they used to be able to rob when they needed something, but now they had to do everything themselves. In such an era, ordinary people who relied solely on farming to survive could only hope to struggle to stay alive without starving.

"Phew!"

Just as Li Yi was thinking about how to improve their current life, at least to a level where they wouldn't worry about food and clothing, a thick spit suddenly flew from the side. If he hadn't dodged quickly, that disgusting thing would have landed on him.

Turning his head sharply, he saw the middle-aged woman he had met once standing there, looking at him with disdain. Her nearly round face showed a slight disappointment because Li Yi had dodged.

"Hmph!"

The middle-aged woman, who was just passing by, snorted and walked into the neighboring house, her cylindrical waist swaying.

Li Yi watched the woman with the water barrel waist walk away, his face turning a bit unpleasant.

He had no good impression of this spherical woman who had designs on his wife. Now, seeing that she had tried to harm him even though he hadn't provoked her, any man would find such humiliation unbearable.

Bang!

Not far away, the woman came out of the house, grabbed a handful of wheat grains, and threw them in the yard, muttering curses.

"Last year's poor harvest, there's nothing extra for people to eat. If you don't start laying eggs soon, I'll slaughter each and every one of you!"

After the woman went back into the house, Li Yi looked at the chickens roaming in front of her house, and a smile gradually formed on his lips.

"Xiaohuan, do we have any thread for sewing clothes? Bring me some."

The little maid was stunned for a moment before she softly replied, "Yes... we do."

A quarter of an hour later...

Several domestic hens waddled clumsily, pecking at the ground for the scattered wheat grains. Perhaps some of them were cursing their stingy owner, demanding eggs without giving them food, as if eggs could just appear out of thin air.

Suddenly, a white ball of dough flew out from a corner, rolled a few times on the ground, and finally came to a stop.

The largest hen's small eyes suddenly lit up. She looked around and, seeing that her companions hadn't noticed the anomaly, felt a surge of joy. Pretending nothing was wrong, she waddled over nonchalantly...

When she reached the dough, she was about to peck at it, but the dough suddenly rolled forward a bit.

Caught off guard, she missed her peck. Taking a few steps forward, she was about to peck again when the dough moved forward once more.

Thus, one of the chickens from the neighbor's house, lured by a small ball of dough, finally walked down the path of no return...

At a stream behind the stronghold.

Skillfully slaughtering the chicken, plucking the feathers, and cleaning the innards, Li Yi, despite the thousands of years that had passed, was not at all inexperienced. The only thing that didn't go smoothly was the lack of hot water, which made the feather plucking take longer. Still, the overall process went smoothly...

After two meals without any oil, he could finally have some meat.

After this ordeal, he smelled a bit unpleasant, so Li Yi took a quick bath by the stream. When it got dark, he wrapped the cleaned chicken in a coarse cloth he had prepared earlier, carried it in his hand, and walked leisurely back to the stronghold.

"Son-in-law, where have you been?"

As soon as he entered the yard, Xiaohuan, who had been waiting for a long time, ran up, her face full of worry.

"Just went for a walk."

"What's that?"

The little maid pointed at the cloth in Li Yi's hand, curious.

"Uh... I found a pheasant while taking a walk..." Li Yi casually lied.

"A pheasant?" The little maid's face showed curiosity. The pheasants around the stronghold had long been hunted out, and her son-in-law hadn't left the stronghold. Where did he find it?

In the kitchen, when Li Yi opened the cloth, the little maid was stunned.

Was there a pheasant... this fat?

Moreover, not only were the feathers gone, but it had also been gutted. What kind of torture did this pheasant suffer after it died?