After the spiritual energy was restored: Goddess girlfriends came knocking.

That afternoon.

Cang Yao moved a stool and sat on the veranda. She wanted to help Lin Chuzhe with the dishes he wanted for dinner, but her hands moved slower and slower, and her eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

Xiao Xiao was weaving a net next to her when she looked up and saw Cang Yao holding a bunch of chives in her hand, her head drooping little by little.

He leaned forward slightly, then suddenly leaned back, opened his eyes a crack, blinked twice, and then slowly closed them again.

Just as Xiao Xiao was about to speak, Cang Yao woke up on her own.

She shook her head vigorously, blinked hard, stood up, and walked towards the well.

Xiao Xiao chased after her to the well and saw her bending over, splashing cold water on her face one ladle after another.

After he finished splashing water, he leaned on the edge of the well, panting heavily, water droplets dripping down his chin.

"sister--"

"It's nothing." Cang Yao straightened up, wiped the water off her face with the back of her hand, turned around and smiled at Xiao Xiao, "I'm just a little sleepy. It's winter, it's normal."

Xiao Xiao looked at her nose, which was red from being soaked in cold water, and swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

Over the next few days, Cang Yao found herself unable to get enough sleep.

She fusses and refuses to get up in the morning, but can doze off while sitting in the sun on the veranda after lunch. Even though she goes to bed early at night, she's still so sleepy the next day that she can't keep her eyes open.

She herself was also very distressed.

Last winter it wasn't like this. In previous winters, I would just sleep a little longer than usual, go to work, go to the market, and chat with the aunties.

Unlike now, it's like my bones have been removed.

She secretly tried many methods.

Washing your face with cold water is an old method; it has a direct effect but doesn't last long.

Later, she found herself sitting there picking vegetables, and as she picked, her eyelids started to droop, and she couldn't pick out a single leek from her hand for a long time.

So she rummaged through the corner of the kitchen and found a few pieces of ginger.

She hesitated for a moment—she hated eating ginger the most—then stuffed the ginger into her mouth and chewed it a couple of times.

A burning sensation exploded on her tongue, so spicy that tears welled up in her eyes. She gasped for breath, but she was definitely no longer sleepy.

"Sister, what's wrong?" Xiao Xiao came in from outside and was startled to see her with tears in her eyes.

"It's nothing, it's nothing." Cang Yao fanned her mouth with her hand. "I ate some ginger."

Xiao Xiao glanced at her suspiciously, then looked at the few dried chilies on the stove. Something seemed off, but she didn't ask any further questions.

From then on, Cang Yao carried a small cloth bag in her sleeve, containing several pieces of ginger.

When I'm sleepy, I take a small bite; it's so spicy I keep slurping.

After dinner, she sat on a stone bench, leaning slightly to the side, then suddenly straightening up halfway.

After repeating this several times, Lin Chu suddenly stood up and took the bowl in front of her from her hands.

"you--"

"I'll wash it."

"No need, I—"

Go to sleep.

Cang Yao opened her mouth as if to say something, but Lin Chu had already taken the bowls and plates into the kitchen.

She sat there, listening to the sound of water coming from the kitchen, wanting to snatch the bowl back, but she was too sleepy to stand up.

Lin Chu didn't think much of it at first, just assuming it was because winter had arrived.

From that day on, Lin Chu started taking the initiative to do things.

When Cang Yao got up in the morning to cook porridge, she found that Lin Chu had already cooked it.

She wanted to do the laundry, but Lin Chu had already hung it out to dry.

She wanted to go to the well to fetch water, but Lin Chu had already filled the water tank.

Lin Chu wouldn't even let her do small things like sweeping the yard.

Cang Yao stood in the courtyard, watching Lin Chu busy herself with various tasks, unable to get a hand in anything.

She stepped forward and tugged at his sleeve.

"Lin Chu, let me do something."

"Then you can sit here and talk to me." Lin Chu said without looking up.

Having no other choice, Cang Yao moved a stool and sat down on the veranda.

After sitting for a while, Lin Chu didn't hear her speak. When she turned around, she saw that she had fallen asleep leaning against the pillar.

His brow furrowed.

He knew that Cang Yao's true form was a carp, and winter was indeed not a comfortable season for her.

However, Xiao Xiao is also an aquatic creature, and her cultivation level is not as high as Cang Yao's. Xiao Xiao is not this trapped.

The little one is always lively and energetic, picking vegetables in the garden, drawing water from the well, and when he has free time, he squats in the yard and draws with twigs.

He became increasingly uneasy, so he leaned the broom against the wall, walked to the corridor, and stood next to Cang Yao for a while.

Her head was tilted against the pillar, her eyelashes fluttering gently with her breath, and the ring on her right ring finger gleamed warmly in the afternoon light.

Lin Chu reached out and touched her forehead—it wasn't hot, nor was there any cold sweat; it was just a normal temperature.

But this only made him more uneasy; it was wrong for things to be normal.

Xiao Xiao came out of the kitchen and saw Lin Chu standing under the eaves staring at Cang Yao, so she walked over as well.

The two exchanged a glance.

"My sister has been acting strange lately—" Xiao Xiao lowered her voice, "She never used to be like this in winter."

"I know."

Lin Chu was silent for a moment, then asked, "Has this happened to her before?"

Xiao shook her head slightly: "Never. Although I do get lazy in winter, this has never happened before."

Lin Chu didn't speak.

He recalled Ao Tianxin's words: "The tides of heaven and earth are coming."

Lin Chu returned to the locust tree, picked up the broom and continued sweeping, but her heart remained uneasy.

……

The end of the year is getting closer.

That morning, the village chief personally came to the door.

The old man, wearing a newly made cotton-padded coat, stood smiling at the gate of the courtyard, holding a slaughtered hen in his hand.

"Is Mr. Lin home?"

Lin Chu came out of the house, saw the chicken in the village chief's hand, and smiled helplessly: "Village chief, you've come again."

"What do you mean 'again'? This is important business." The village chief shoved the hen into Lin Chu's hands, cleared his throat, and said, "This year, the village wants to ask you to write Spring Festival couplets. You topped the imperial examination and will be a student of the emperor next year. Your calligraphy and writing, when pasted on the door, will be a good omen of passing the imperial examination."

Lin Chu wanted to say it was no trouble at all, but the village chief waved his hand, not letting him refuse.

"If you refuse, I'll have Aunt Wang come and talk to you right now."

Lin Chu chuckled at the thought of Aunt Wang's sharp tongue and nodded in agreement.

Subsequently, villagers came to the door one after another—some carrying chickens, some carrying ducks, some carrying a bowl of pickled vegetables, and some bringing a small bag of freshly made glutinous rice cakes.

Lin Chu declined several times, but Aunt Wang simply put a basket of eggs on his table, put her hands on her hips and said, "If you refuse again, I'll yell at you," so he dared not refuse anymore.

That afternoon, Lin Chu spread out red paper in the courtyard and began writing Spring Festival couplets.

Cang Yao helped grind the ink, and the ink stick spun around in the inkstone, making a soft rustling sound.

Lin Chu picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and began to write.

"May Heaven add years to your life and may spring fill the universe and may blessings fill your home."

After writing a piece, I set it aside to dry the ink.

Cang Yao pushed the red paper forward and began grinding the ink again.

Her movements were slow; the ink stick would spin a few times in the inkstone, pause, and then spin a few more times.

Lin Chu wrote another poem: "Spring colors abound across the five lakes and four seas, and the morning sun shines over ten thousand rivers and mountains."

This painting is for Aunt Wang.

Cang Yao looked at the couplet, a smile curving her lips, and said that Aunt Wang would definitely like it.

His voice became muffled as he spoke the rest of the sentence, and he nodded slightly, almost dropping the ink stick from his hand.

She suddenly woke up, hurriedly grabbed the ink stick, and continued grinding the ink, grinding it with much more force than before, as if she were competing with someone.

Lin Chu didn't look up, but her fingers tightened around the pen.

He continued writing, and Cang Yao continued grinding ink. As she ground the ink, her head began to droop again. Just as her chin was about to touch her chest, she suddenly lifted it up, blinked hard, and continued grinding.

After repeating this several times, Lin Chu put down her pen.

"Cangyao".

"Hmm?" She raised her face and tried to open her eyes wide.

Go take a nap.

"I'm not sleepy." She shook her head, shaking it like a rattle-drum. "There are so many Spring Festival couplets that haven't been written yet. You can't manage them all by yourself."

Seeing her trying so hard to stay upright, Lin Chu put down his pen on the inkstone and reached out to move the inkstone in front of her to his side.

Cang Yao panicked and grabbed the inkstone.

She had a faint bluish tint under her eyes, but her gaze was stubborn, and her lips were tightly pursed.