During famine years, I had a divination slip in hand, and my whole family ate chicken, duck, fish, a

In the dead of winter, apart from frozen pears and frozen persimmons, there wasn't a single fresh fruit to be seen in the entire border region.

Sweet and delicious fruit is Ye Qingqing's favorite. She doesn't think much of it when it's not mentioned, but just thinking about it makes her crave it!

She rolled her eyes and thought hard. She and Ye Dazhuang had searched the entire cave, but they couldn't find any fruit trees anywhere.

Without fruit trees, where would the fruit come from?

Who cares, let's go first and figure it out later!

At this moment, I'm itching to go to the hot spring cave.

Feeling refreshed, Ye Qingqing got up, washed up, and went out to find a fishing net.

"Second Girl, what are you doing with that fishing net?"

Seeing this, Li Chunyan immediately came over and asked with a puzzled look, "Are you going to catch fish in the Erlang River again? The Erlang River is frozen solid now, where are you going to catch fish?"

Ye Qingqing raised an eyebrow smugly, "I have my own place to catch them, sister-in-law, just wait and see!"

As if hearing her voice, Ye Dazhuang silently came out of the house and glanced at her indifferently.

"Brother Dazhuang, bring one more thing today."

Ye Qingqing stuffed the fishing net into her basket and gestured to Ye Dazhuang with her chin, "Take this and let's go catch some fish."

Ye Dazhuang's gaze lingered on the fishing net for a moment, then looked at Ye Qingqing and gave a faint "hmm".

He turned and went to the side room, picked up a thick-backed machete and tucked it behind his waist. The snow in the mountains was thick, and wild animals had a hard time finding food. In case he encountered some starving beast, he needed something to defend himself.

As Ye Qingqing watched his retreating figure, she suddenly felt inexplicably at ease.

Ye Qingqing wasn't oblivious; she could sense a subtle, unusual affection Ye Dazhuang held for him.

But right now, all she can think about is how to survive in ancient times and how to lead the Ye family to prosperity. She has no time to think about romance.

Besides, this man doesn't even know who he is; he might already have a harem of wives and concubines!

So she pretended to be stupid and acted as if she didn't see anything.

Ye Qingqing shook her head to clear her mind of all the random thoughts and went inside to eat breakfast.

Before long, the two of them walked out of the yard one after the other, stepping through the thick snow.

The entire village of Kaoshan was shrouded in white, and every household was hiding inside their houses. The deserted streets were empty except for the two of them.

Ye Qingqing took a deep breath, the cool air filling her lungs, and she felt completely refreshed.

……

The mountain road was covered in snow, which was knee-deep in some places.

Ye Dazhuang walked ahead, making sure each step was firm before moving forward. When they encountered particularly deep snowdrifts, he would stop, turn around, and reach out to help her.

His hands were large and his palms were rough. Every time Ye Qingqing was grabbed by the wrist, she could feel the frighteningly hot temperature of his palms.

Even though it was winter, his hands felt like they were holding a small stove.

Why are your hands so hot?

Perhaps out of boredom, Ye Qingqing asked casually.

Ye Dazhuang paused for a moment, then lowered his eyes and said, "Hmm."

Ok?

Just one "hmm"?

Ye Qingqing didn't expect him to say much, so she rolled her eyes and continued on her way.

After walking for about an hour, the two finally arrived at the entrance of the cave.

The cave is hidden behind a pile of rocks halfway up the mountain, and the entrance is mostly covered by withered vines and snow.

"We've arrived." Ye Dazhuang stopped and pushed aside the withered vines blocking the entrance to the cave.

A warm, humid air wafted over, a stark contrast to the biting cold of the icy landscape outside.

Ye Qingqing shuddered, her eyes instantly lighting up.

"Hot spring! I missed you so much!"

She rushed into the cave, threw the shovel on the ground, quickly took off her cotton-padded coat, and ran inside.

"Qingqing".

Ye Dazhuang called her from behind, his voice tinged with helplessness.

Ye Qingqing waved her hand without turning her head.

"Brother Dazhuang, I want to take a shower first. Could you please keep watch outside while I shower quickly?"

She jogged along the long passageway and arrived at the hot spring pool deep inside the cave.

This hot spring is not large, about two zhang square, with clear water and wisps of steam rising from the surface.

The pool is surrounded by naturally formed rocks, which have been smoothed and rounded by the hot spring water over the years, resembling pieces of natural jade.

Ye Qingqing stripped down to just a small garment and tentatively dipped her feet into the water.

"hiss--"

hot!

But that kind of heat is a comfortable heat, like someone applying a hot towel to your feet, with warmth rising up from the soles of your feet.

She slid into the pool and let out a long, comfortable sigh.

"My God... this is a million times more comfortable than a bathtub in a modern five-star hotel!"

She leaned against the rocks by the pool, looking up at the stalactites above her.

There are several natural cracks in the cave ceiling, through which sunlight shines, casting dappled light and shadow on the pool water like scattered gold.

Soaking in hot water, Ye Qingqing felt all the pores on her body open up.

I was so tired from making soap these past few days that my back ached, but the hot spring water has really soothed it all.

She took out the soap she had made herself from her basket. It was a "trial pack" that she had specially kept. It was light yellow and smelled of mugwort.

"Come on, try my cooking."

She lathered the soap on her body; the foam was fine and rich, and it felt smooth and not rough on her skin.

After rinsing it clean, my skin felt so refreshed, like I had a new layer of skin.

"This is so awesome..."

Ye Qingqing closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment, her mind already calculating the profits after the soap was launched.

This stuff is cheap and has strong cleaning power. In winter, I used a soap stick and soap pods to wash clothes, but my hands were cracked from the cold and I still couldn't get them clean.

If she were to put the soaps out in town, wouldn't the ladies of the wealthy families go crazy fighting over them?

One tael of silver for one piece, small profits but quick turnover, selling a hundred or eighty pieces a day...

She was happily calculating her accounts when she suddenly heard footsteps coming from the cave entrance.

It wasn't the sound of wild animals' footsteps, but the steady, powerful sound of boots stepping on wet, slippery rocks.

Ye Qingqing opened her eyes and saw Ye Dazhuang walking in carrying a basket on his back.

"What's wrong, Big Zhuang? What happened...?"

She instinctively shrank back into the water.

Although there was some distance between them, and the steam in the pool acted as a natural screen, she was only wearing a small garment, and it would be embarrassing for a man to see her like that.

Ye Dazhuang stopped in his tracks, his gaze fixed on the ground, not looking in her direction.

"fish."

He smiled faintly and raised the object in his other hand.

Ye Qingqing took a closer look and exclaimed, "Holy crap, it really is a fish as wide as a palm!"

She didn't recognize the fish, but its silvery-white scales shimmered in the steam of the hot spring, and its tail bounced wildly in her hand, looking incredibly fresh!

It looks delicious!

"Where did you fish that out?"

Ye Qingqing sprang upright from the water with a splash, exclaiming in surprise, "Quick, quick, let me see!"

She only told Ye Dazhuang that she wanted to catch fish, but she hasn't found out where the underground river is yet!

Where did this guy find that fish?!

Ye Dazhuang suddenly raised his eyes.

His Adam's apple bobbed noticeably when his gaze fell upon her wet hair, rosy cheeks, and her figure submerged in the water.