The Comments Section Said She Was My Wife - Chapter 6

Chapter 6

◎ For no reason, she felt a little empty inside ◎

Chu Tang had been eating porridge for three days.

Even though Xia Shi rotated between vegetable, meat, and sweet porridge, Chu Tang was growing tired of it.

Of course, a lot had happened in those three days besides eating porridge. On the first day of cooking meat porridge, Xia Shi spent half the day clearing a small vegetable patch outside the courtyard, even making a special trip down the mountain to Shitian Village to buy a packet of seeds.

On the second day, when Xia Shi remembered that Chu Tang didn’t like the smoked meat from the first day, she took the time to hunt a wild pheasant, cooking a pot of chicken porridge for her.

By the third day, Chu Tang didn’t want her to go to such trouble, so she specifically requested sweet porridge, which only required adding a bit of sugar. Even so, Xia Shi didn’t stay idle—she finally realized that Chu Tang couldn’t stand being cooped up indoors and loved sitting in the courtyard sunning herself while watching her work. Xia Shi decided to build her a lounge chair to replace the small stool.

The shop assistant from Mingquan Tower arrived just as Xia Shi was hammering away at the wood.

He was clearly familiar with Xia Shi. Standing outside the fence, he called out, “Hunter Xia, Hunter Xia!”

Xia Shi looked up at the sound, and the assistant smiled upon seeing her face: “Hunter Xia, there’s more business. The guests were very satisfied with the deer from last time. The manager asked me to tell you that if you can deliver another one in the next two days, the price will be the same as before.”

The price for venison was already high, and custom orders were even pricier. Xia Shi would rarely refuse such good business, but this time, she didn’t agree immediately. Instead, she subconsciously looked back at Chu Tang. Hunting a deer meant going into the mountains, the deep mountains, and leaving aside the dangers, she would be gone for at least two or three days. She truly couldn’t rest easy leaving Chu Tang alone at home.

Chu Tang met her gaze, not yet understanding what was happening, while the assistant grew anxious seeing she wasn’t agreeing as readily as usual. He knew the restaurant had already taken reservations from several major clients and couldn’t afford to be short on the main dish.

Just then, Xia Shi finally spoke, and it was indeed a refusal: “I have matters at home recently and cannot leave. You’d better go find another hunter.”

The assistant became thoroughly flustered. If he could easily find another hunter, he wouldn’t bother climbing Yunwu Mountain, would he? He hurried to persuade her: “Hey, Hunter Xia, we’ve had a long relationship. You supply all the wild game for our restaurant. If you ask us to find someone else now, we won’t be able to do it on such short notice. I know personal matters are unavoidable, but please just do us a favor this time, don’t make things difficult for me.”

The assistant from Mingquan Tower dealt with all kinds of people and could guess the situation by looking at Chu Tang sitting in the courtyard. Although he didn’t know who she was, seeing how thin and frail she was, he knew exactly how to proceed.

Before Xia Shi could speak again, the assistant added: “How about this? I know you’re in a tough spot, so I’ll make it worth your while. The manager will pay the standard price, and I’ll personally add two taels of silver as a bonus.”

He glanced at Chu Tang and said suggestively: “It’s not easy being a hunter, and this is the best time to make money. It’s a pity to miss out, and you don’t want to be short on cash when you really need it, right?”

That really hit home for Xia Shi. Although she had been saving money for years, with nearly two hundred taels in coins stashed in a jar under her bed, Chu Tang’s medicine was truly expensive, and she didn’t want to neglect her health and leave her with permanent complications.

Xia Shi thought about it for a long time before leaning over to Chu Tang and whispering: “I’m going out for two or three days. Will you be okay left alone at home?”

Chu Tang hadn’t expected to be the one to make the decision, but she could see Xia Shi was tempted. She had survived the road to exile, how could she be afraid of staying home alone? Not wanting to drag Xia Shi down, she nodded without hesitation: “Go do what you need to do, I can take care of myself.”

As she stood up and walked a few steps, she turned back to look at Xia Shi: “See? My feet are already better.”

This was the first time Chu Tang had stood firmly in the courtyard. Her foot injuries weren’t actually that serious, just skin wounds that had scabbed over after three days of rest. But Xia Shi had been so careful that she kept carrying her everywhere, refusing to let her walk.

Xia Shi finally made up her mind and turned to the assistant: “Fine, I’ll hunt one and deliver it as soon as possible.”

The assistant agreed happily and left the two taels he had promised as a show of sincerity. He wouldn’t pay it out of his own pocket, of course; he’d just explain it to the manager, and the restaurant would cover the expense.

Xia Shi was a hunter, and a hunter who relied entirely on the land for a living. Going into the mountains was second nature to her, usually, she would just strap on her bow, grab her knife, and go. But this time, she carried a heavy load of worry.

Before she left, she gave Chu Tang numerous instructions.

She told her where the rice, flour, firewood, and oil were. She reminded her how to boil and take her medicine, and she ordered her to lock the doors and windows at night. She thought for a moment and added that she shouldn’t even step out of the courtyard during the day, as wild beasts might appear at any moment. Then, she moved from worrying about beasts to worrying about people, advising Chu Tang not to talk to any strangers who might show up.

The way she fussed, she looked exactly like she was lecturing a young, ignorant child.

It was the first time Chu Tang had ever been fussed over like this. She found it amusing yet helpless, and beneath the helplessness, she felt a warmth she hadn’t realized was taking root in her heart. She didn’t interrupt Xia Shi’s nagging but instead responded earnestly to every point.

Finally, unable to think of anything else to say, Xia Shi left the house, looking back after a few steps to say: “I’ll be hunting in these mountains. If I’m lucky, I’ll be back in one or two days. If not, I’ll be back in three days at most.” She paused, gazing at Chu Tang with longing: “You don’t need to worry.”

Chu Tang met her eyes and suddenly understood. She stood at the door and waved: “I understand. Be careful, I’ll wait for you to come back.”

Xia Shi beamed instantly. She waved back at Chu Tang, finally stopping her stalling, and with her bow on her back and knife at her side, she turned and ran toward the forest. Her silhouette was light and agile, like a small deer born to the woods.

Realizing she had thought of a deer, Chu Tang chuckled, why a small deer? This person was literally out to hunt one!

Chu Tang watched until Xia Shi disappeared into the forest, then closed the courtyard gate and turned back. She wasn’t worried about Xia Shi; since people specifically sought her out, she clearly had skill in hunting.

But as she turned back, she looked at the pile of half-finished lumber in the courtyard, and for no reason, she felt a little empty inside. With the master gone, the courtyard seemed to suddenly become cavernous.

Even Chu Tang, who usually preferred peace and quiet, felt a sudden sense of loneliness.

Xia Shi had given Chu Tang many instructions before she left, but she probably didn’t anticipate that someone who claimed they knew how to cook wouldn’t even know how to start a fire.

When the little hunter first left, Chu Tang felt a touch of melancholy, which soon turned into hunger. She looked at the sky; it was already noon. She walked into the kitchen and found that the morning’s sweet porridge was completely gone, leaving the pot spotless.

At this point, Chu Tang didn’t see a problem. She had watched Xia Shi boil porridge for the past few days, it was nothing more than throwing in some rice, adding water, and putting it on the fire. Even though Chu Tang had once been a pampered young lady who never lifted a finger, she didn’t think such a small task could stump her. It was simple enough; rice and water went into the pot effortlessly, though she did forget to rinse the rice.

Then the problem arose. Chu Tang held the flint she found on the stove and struck it for a good quarter of an hour, but she absolutely could not light the fire…It was true, a noble lady like her had never even had to light a lamp, let alone a kitchen stove. She had no idea starting a fire was such a tedious task.

After struggling through the entire afternoon, her hands were red and sore, but she still couldn’t catch a single spark.

She had missed lunch, and the noon dose of medicine went unconsumed. By evening, the result was the same, the rice in the pot had turned mushy from the water, but there wasn’t a single spark under the stove.

Chu Tang finally threw the flint down in resignation, staring at the cold stove with a long sigh—perhaps this was just her own doing. But Xia Shi was clearly meticulous and had given her so many instructions, why had she neglected to tell her how to start a fire?!

Thinking that Xia Shi might be gone for two or three days, Chu Tang suddenly grew worried, terrified that she might starve to death while surrounded by a kitchen full of food.