There wasn't even a broom at home, so Li Lingyun pulled a bunch of grass from the yard, tied it up, and bound it to a piece of firewood, handing it to Anning to sweep the house.
He, himself, went to pull weeds in the yard.
The Sun Family's vegetable garden was quite large, about three-tenths of an acre, and once this plot was cleared, it could grow a lot of vegetables, enough for the two of them to eat.
The weeds in the field were growing luxuriantly, and pulling them was time-consuming. Anning had already finished tidying up the house, but Li Lingyun had only pulled half.
Seeing Anning come over to help pull weeds, Li Lingyun did not stop her.
This would be their home from now on, and there was nothing wrong with two people working hard together.
Li Lingyun did not feel there was anything inappropriate about treating Anning as part of this family; women in this era were not like in modern times, where marriage and divorce were very convenient.
Once they married, they were part of their husband's family for life; although the government allowed for divorce by mutual consent, few men would agree to a woman's idea of a mutual divorce.
Most of the time, it was a letter of divorce that dismissed the other party, and no matter how difficult the woman's future life became, it was not within their consideration.
Li Lingyun had not thought about divorcing his wife or divorcing by mutual consent; these two methods seemed different, but they were both unfair to women.
At most, it was one more mouth to feed, and he could still afford it.
Besides, Anning also looked diligent; perhaps she did not need him to support her.
It wasn't that Li Lingyun hadn't thought about becoming a real couple with her; he was a vigorous man, how could he not wish to have a close wife by his side?
However, from the original body's memories, it could be seen that Anning was very resistant to this marriage, or rather, to him as a person.
Since she was unwilling, Li Lingyun could not bring himself to force someone.
He might as well treat her as a roommate.
Two people working together were much faster than one, and in a short while, the weeds in the field were all pulled.
Li Lingyun spread the weeds out to dry in the yard, then borrowed a bucket from Zhou Yue next door and went to the river to fetch water.
The Sun Family's kitchen had nothing but a stove, so Li Lingyun couldn't even get a bucket of water.
He thought that he had to go buy some household items tomorrow; he couldn't keep living like this.
The river was located about a hundred meters in front of Li Lingyun's house, so getting water was very convenient.
He washed his hands and face by the river, then fetched a bucket of water and returned.
By this time, the sun had already fallen below the mountains; it was clear that night was approaching.
He couldn't cook tonight, but he couldn't go to bed hungry either. Li Lingyun planned to take the water back, borrow some rice and a pot from a neighbor, and cook some porridge to drink.
Tomorrow, before accompanying Anning back to her maiden home, he would first go to Town to buy some daily necessities, at least rice, flour, oil, and a cooking pot.
He also needed to buy some vegetable seeds and a shovel, then come back to turn over the garden and plant some vegetables to eat.
Thinking about the tasks he needed to do, he arrived home without realizing it.
He had just stepped through the door when he saw Zhao Wenwu entering, holding a large bowl.
"Well, my mother said your family couldn't cook today, so she asked me to bring you some food."
Li Lingyun put down the bucket, took the bowl from his hand, and said with a smile, "Please thank Auntie for me, and thank you, Xiao Wu, for bringing us food."
He hadn't seen Auntie Zhao when he went to the Zhao family today, so she must have been out.
She must have heard the news of his separation and independent living, and fearing he would go hungry, she sent Zhao Wenwu to bring him food.
Li Lingyun kept the kindness of the Zhao family in his heart, and he would definitely repay them when he had the opportunity in the future.
Zhao Wenwu said nothing, only glanced at Anning before turning and leaving.
There were no extra bowls and chopsticks, so Li Lingyun could only sit beside Anning, and the two of them shared the porridge in the large bowl, taking turns spoonful by spoonful.
For two unfamiliar adults to share a bowl of food, it was somewhat awkward no matter how you looked at it.
Anning's ears were red, and each time she took the bowl, she made sure to take a bite from the part she had touched before, afraid of accidentally crossing the line.
Li Lingyun was not much better; his toes were so embarrassed they were almost digging out a whole flat.
It wasn't that he was pure, it was just that the atmosphere was really awkward.
Neither of them looked at the other, and they just finished a bowl of porridge like that.
Li Lingyun drank most of it; although Anning would always take the bowl Li Lingyun offered, she didn't drink much.
After eating, Anning took the bowl to wash, while Li Lingyun turned and went back to the room.
Only after pushing open the door and entering did he realize, damn, there was only one heated brick bed to sleep on.
The heated brick bed in the east room had already collapsed; it was impossible to sleep on before it was repaired!
It seemed that tonight, only two people could sleep on one heated brick bed.
Fortunately, the heated brick bed was large enough; sleeping three or four people was not a problem.
Anning had already made the heated brick bed, with the straw mat laid on the right side of the heated brick bed, covered by that old bedsheet.
A thin quilt was folded and placed at the foot of the heated brick bed.
A large section on the left side of the heated brick bed was empty, bare and exposed.
Li Lingyun pulled out the bedsheet and spread it on the side, then took out clothes from the box and put them on, took off his shoes, and got onto the heated brick bed.
Lying on the old bedsheet, the hard earthen heated brick bed made him very uncomfortable, but there was nothing he could do; he couldn't let Anning sleep on the old bedsheet, could he?
Li Lingyun still had some gentlemanly manners and couldn't do such a thing.
After lying for a while, Anning didn't come in, so Li Lingyun had to put on his straw sandals again and leave the room.
There was no one in the yard. Li Lingyun walked to the kitchen and saw Anning curled up by the stove, hugging her legs, her eyes vacant, not knowing what she was thinking.
Li Lingyun sighed and said, "Go to the room to sleep. I won't do anything to you."
Hearing the sound, Anning looked up, her eyes clearly showing some unease.
"Do you need me to carry you back? Alright then, I'll reluctantly carry you back to the room."
Saying that, Li Lingyun deliberately rolled up his sleeves and walked towards Anning.
Anning, like a startled rabbit, quickly got up and walked out.
Li Lingyun's lips curved into a smile, and he followed her.
Upon entering the room, Li Lingyun said, "The heated brick bed in the east room has collapsed. I'll fix it tomorrow. Let's make do for a few days. You sleep on the straw mat, I'll sleep on the bedsheet. Neither of us will bother the other. If you dare to burrow into my arms in the middle of the night, I'll kick you off the heated brick bed."
Hearing Li Lingyun say this, Anning visibly relaxed, took off her straw sandals, and climbed onto the heated brick bed.
After she lay down, Li Lingyun also lay down on the old bedsheet and closed his eyes.
It was quiet beside him.
After a long while, Li Lingyun heard a slight movement beside him, followed by a thin quilt being pushed over: "Spread the quilt, it's softer."
Li Lingyun didn't open his eyes: "I don't want it, you cover yourself."
Although it was already early June, the nights in Qingquan Village were still a bit cool. He, a grown man, could endure it, but if Anning, this frail woman, didn't cover herself with a quilt, she might catch a cold.
Now the family was in ruins, and if she got sick, he would have to spend silver to see a doctor, which would be a net loss.
Seeing that he didn't want it, Anning no longer insisted, opened the quilt, wrapped herself tightly, and lay back down.
The entire room fell into silence, with nothing but their light breathing.
The sound of insects chirping came from outside the window.
Li Lingyun's first day in this strange world passed like this.
