Too many female prisoners, a special forces soldier transmigrates and marries wildly.

Lin Feng's voice broke the silence of the courtyard.

Shi Xiu tightened his grip on the axe, his gaze lingering on Lin Feng's face for a moment, as if trying to confirm something. Then he slightly stepped aside, clearing the way to the door, and whispered, "You...you're back." His tone was somewhat stiff, but compared to his previous wariness, there was a sense of relief in his voice.

Liu Yun hurriedly picked up the needle and thread from the ground, lowered her head, and whispered, "Husband...husband." Her voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible, but her ears turned red.

A-Yue continued sharpening her knife, not even lifting her head, as if everything before her had nothing to do with her.

Lin Feng nodded, not rushing into the house, but first carefully examining this "home." There were two mud-brick rooms; one slightly larger, presumably the main room, and the smaller one, serving as both kitchen and storage. The thatched roof was rotten and collapsed, the mud walls were riddled with cracks, the windows were haphazardly nailed on with broken planks, and the door was crooked and wouldn't close properly. The courtyard was empty except for the small amount of firewood Shi Xiu had chopped. The chilly autumn wind swept through the dilapidated courtyard without hindrance, bringing a biting cold.

"Just the three of you? Where's Shi Cao'er?" Lin Feng asked.

"Cao'er is inside, she's caught a bit of a chill, she's wrapped up on the kang (heated brick bed)," Shi Xiu replied, glancing at Lin Feng's leather armor and the iron bow at his waist before quickly looking away.

Lin Feng strode towards the main room. The door creaked open, and a mixture of musty, earthy, and faint herbal smells wafted out. The room was dimly lit. Against the wall was a kang (a heated brick bed) made of adobe bricks, covered with some dry straw and two thin, worn-out quilts. A little girl was curled up in the corner of the kang, covered with an old, patched cotton-padded jacket. Her face was slightly flushed. Hearing the noise, she timidly opened her eyes and looked over.

A few simple earthenware pots and willow baskets were piled in the corner, probably the small amount of resettlement supplies that Wang Gui and his group had brought. Apart from that, the house was bare.

This was all he had in this world: a dilapidated house, a small plot of land (still occupied), three women forced to follow him, and a sick little girl.

Anyone else might feel despair or despair. But Lin Feng felt unusually calm, even somewhat eager to try. In his previous life, he had experienced far harsher environments and completed seemingly impossible tasks. This current difficulty was merely another stronghold to conquer.

He walked to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and reached out to feel Shi Cao'er's forehead. It was a little hot, but not too hot.

"He caught a cold and has a slight fever," Lin Feng diagnosed, then looked at Shi Xiu, who had followed him in, and asked, "Did you manage to get any medicine?"

Shi Xiu shook her head: "The village head's wife gave me some ginger, which I boiled in water and drank, but it didn't help much. There's no doctor in the village, and going to the county town... is too far." There was a hint of anxiety and self-blame in her tone.

Lin Feng didn't speak, turned around and walked out of the house into the courtyard. He remembered that when he went to the prisoner-of-war camp before, the clerk had said that Shi Xiu was the daughter of a herdsman from the Black Stone tribe and knew some herbs. But judging from the situation, she probably only knew the common herbs on the grasslands and was not familiar with the cold and wind of this Central Plains.

His gaze swept across the desolate courtyard, finally settling on a few clumps of withered yellow weeds and a few half-dead plants in the corner. Relying on the original owner's hazy memories and his knowledge of wilderness survival from his previous life, he quickly walked over and carefully examined them.

"Shi Xiu," he called out, "come and see, do you recognize these?"

Shi Xiu walked over in confusion and looked in the direction Lin Feng was pointing: "This is... wild mint? This is plantain? This looks like... the withered stalk of perilla?" She was a little unsure because there were similar plants on the grassland, but they were slightly different in appearance.

"It's good that you know them." Lin Feng nodded. "Boil wild mint, plantain, and the ginger we had left over together in water and give it to Cao'er to drink to induce sweating and relieve her fever. Boil the perilla stalks and the remaining leaves in water and use the water to wipe her body to help lower her temperature. Give it a try."

Shi Xiu looked at Lin Feng in surprise: "You...you also know about herbs?"

"I learned a little bit from the veterans in the army," Lin Feng said casually, a plausible explanation. There were indeed elderly people in the border army who knew simple herbal remedies for injuries and illnesses.

A complex light flashed in Shi Xiu's eyes. Without asking any more questions, she immediately began to pick the few usable herbs. Her movements were swift, clearly indicating that she had done this often before.

Liu Yun followed timidly out, looking at Lin Feng and then at the busy Shi Xiu, and asked softly, "Husband... is there anything I can help with?"

"Go boil some hot water, make sure it's clean," Lin Feng said.

"Yes." Liu Yun hurriedly ran towards the kitchen. The kitchen was even more dilapidated; the earthen stove was half collapsed, but fortunately, it was still basically usable. Looking at the unfamiliar stove and firewood, she felt a little lost, but she still tried her best to remember and attempted to start a fire.

A-Yue stopped sharpening the knife, raised her eyes, and silently watched everything happening in the yard. She still didn't intend to participate, but her gaze lingered on Lin Feng for a few more seconds.

Soon, Shi Xiu had gathered the herbs, and Liu Yun clumsily lit the stove. Shi Xiu took over boiling water, deftly washed the herbs, and put them in the pot to boil. The aroma of the herbs filled the air, carrying a slightly bitter scent.

Lin Feng didn't rest. He put down his baggage, untied his sword and bow, and began to carefully examine the structure of the house. He pushed the walls hard, looked at the beams, and climbed up the half-collapsed roof to check.

"The roof needs to be repaired as soon as possible, otherwise it will all be ruined by the next rain or snow. The cracks in the walls need to be patched up, and the doors and windows need to be fixed." Lin Feng quickly made up a plan in his mind. Fortunately, although the original owner of this body was thin, the training and nutrition he had received in the military camp over the past few months (compared to before), coupled with the more efficient motor neuron control and power generation skills he brought after transmigrating, had greatly increased his strength and endurance, so doing these physical tasks was no problem.

"Make do for tonight, we'll start repairing the house tomorrow," Lin Feng said to Shi Xiu, who was brewing medicine.

Seeing Lin Feng's calm and collected demeanor as he personally inspected the houses, Shi Xiu's wariness lessened somewhat. This man seemed quite different from the rough, unruly border soldiers she had imagined, the ones who only knew how to take.

The medicine was ready, and Shi Xiu carefully fed it to Shi Cao'er. Following Lin Feng's instructions, Liu Yun soaked a cloth in perilla water and gently wiped Shi Cao'er's palms and soles.

As night fell, the chill of the late autumn night deepened in the mountainous region. The dilapidated house was dark, lit only by the faint glow of the stove and the dying rays of the setting sun.

Dinner was a thin porridge made from the brown rice and wild vegetables that Shi Xiu had brought, along with a little bit of pickled mustard greens. The portion was small, just enough to fill their stomachs. Shi Cao'er took her medicine, sweated a little, and felt a bit better, so she also drank a small bowl of porridge.

The atmosphere at the dinner table was silent and awkward. The three women all kept their heads down, sipping their porridge slowly, not daring to look at Lin Feng. Shi Cao'er nestled in her sister's arms, her big eyes secretly glancing at this unfamiliar "brother-in-law."

Lin Feng ate quickly and quietly. He knew that any unnecessary words or actions at this moment might exacerbate their tension and unease.

By the time we finished eating, it was completely dark. A cold wind was blowing in through the cracks in the walls and the broken doors and windows, making the room feel like an icebox.

Sleep became the biggest problem. There was only one earthen bed and two thin quilts, but there were four people (Shicao'er was still sick).

The three women visibly tensed up, especially Liu Yun, whose face was pale and whose fingers gripped the hem of her clothes tightly.

Lin Feng got up and took out a spare leather armor and a thick old military coat from his bag. He spread the leather armor on the cool ground under the kang (a heated brick bed), and folded the military coat to use as a pillow.

"Shi Xiu, Liu Yun, you two take Cao'er and sleep on the kang (heated brick bed), make sure you're covered with blankets." Lin Feng's voice rang out in the darkness, calm and undisturbed. "I'll sleep here."

The three women were stunned.

Shi Xiu looked up abruptly, staring incredulously at Lin Feng's blurry figure. In their minds, and even mentally prepared for, were the obligations they would have to fulfill as "wives," and the terrifying things that might happen in this long, cold night. But this man… had willingly chosen to sleep on the cold ground?

Liu Yun's lips trembled slightly, and a thin layer of tears welled up in her eyes, it was hard to tell whether it was shock, relief, or something else.

Even Ah Yue, who had been indifferent, turned her head slightly to look in Lin Feng's direction, her expression unreadable in the darkness.

"No! The floor is too cold! You..." Shi Xiu began instinctively, then stopped mid-sentence. She didn't know what to say. Letting her husband sleep on the floor while she slept on the kang (heated brick bed)? That wasn't proper. But...

"I'm used to it, it's fine." Lin Feng had already lay down. The leather armor provided insulation, but the chill from the ground still instantly seeped in. He adjusted his position, trying to conserve body heat in the way special forces soldiers rest in harsh environments. "Cao'er is still sick and needs to stay warm. You guys should get some rest too."

His tone was unquestionable, carrying a natural and irresistible authority.

Shi Xiu pursed her lips, struggling internally. In the end, she said nothing more, silently carrying her younger sister onto the kang (a heated brick bed), wrapping both of them tightly in the two thin quilts. Liu Yun hesitated for a moment, then carefully lay down along the edge of the kang, trying to curl up as much as possible.

A-Yue remained seated in the shadows in the corner, motionless.

In the darkness, only the howling of the cold wind and Shi Cao'er's occasional cough could be heard.

"Ah Yue," Lin Feng's voice rang out again, "it's colder in the corner, come here."

A-Yue's body stiffened slightly.

"Come here." Lin Feng repeated, his tone calm, yet carrying an invisible pressure.

After a few seconds of silence, A-Yue finally got up slowly and walked to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed). She didn't get on the kang, but sat down on the ground not far from Lin Feng, leaning against the wall, still holding her rusty wood-chopping knife.

Lin Feng didn't press the matter further. He knew that trust and acceptance took time, especially for a woman like A-Yue who had such a complicated past.

A hush fell over the room. Shi Xiu and Liu Yun, lying on the kang (heated brick bed), were clearly not asleep; their breathing was somewhat erratic. Lin Feng, on the floor, breathed steadily and deeply, as if he were truly asleep.

Time passed slowly, the night grew deeper and colder.

Liu Yun was the weakest. Even though she was wrapped in a quilt, she was still shivering from the cold, and her teeth were chattering slightly.

Lin Feng suddenly sat up.

The slightest movement startled everyone. Shi Xiu immediately sat up alertly, while Liu Yun huddled in a ball, terrified.

Lin Feng went to the kitchen, and using the embers that hadn't completely died down in the stove, he rekindled some firewood and boiled a pot of water. Then he went back to the main room, poured the hot water into an earthenware pot, and wrapped it in an old cloth.

He walked to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and handed the warm earthenware pot to Liu Yun: "Hold it to warm your hands."

Liu Yun blankly accepted the warm earthenware pot. A warm current instantly flowed from her palms to her entire body, easing her frozen state considerably. She looked up and, by the faint light of the snow outside the window, gazed at Lin Feng's still clear and upright silhouette in the darkness. Something hardened within her seemed to quietly crack open.

"Thank you... thank you, my husband..." Her voice was choked with emotion.

Lin Feng didn't speak. He glanced again at Shi Cao'er, who was curled up in Shi Xiu's arms and sleeping restlessly, then turned around and went back to his cold bed.

Shi Xiu held her younger sister, watching Lin Feng's retreating figure, her eyes filled with complex emotions. This man, who clearly possessed absolute power over them (with the marriage certificate in hand and being a border soldier), chose respect and...protection? Even though this method of protection was so silent and clumsy.

She recalled the rough men of her tribe, the lewd gazes of the Yan soldiers when she was captured, and then compared them to the silent man sleeping on the ground before her... A feeling she had never experienced before, a mixture of gratitude, confusion, and a strange emotion, quietly grew in her heart.

A-Yue remained leaning against the wall, but she watched quietly as Lin Feng got up to boil water and hand him the thermos. His eyes, still bright in the darkness, seemed to have lost some of their usual coldness and aloofness.

The night, amidst the contrast between cold and lukewarm temperatures, and the complex emotions of silence and undercurrents, slowly slipped away.

For Shi Xiu, Liu Yun, and A Yue, this was their first night as "Lin Feng's wives." There was no humiliation or fear as they had imagined; instead, there was only a cold cot, a can of warm water, and an indescribable treatment that overturned all their preconceived notions.

For Lin Feng, this was his first night in this world's "home." It was dilapidated, cold, and burdensome. But he felt no despair, only a clear plan and a calm resolve.

The first step is to gain their trust and get this "home" truly functioning.

The night is still long, but dawn will eventually come.