Madam Wei knocked at Liu Sanniang's forehead. "What nonsense are you talking about? Open your eyes and take a good look. Me, your mother, is still healthy and good. Don't spout nonsense at such a young age. Bodhisattva, my daughter was just talking rubbish, please don't take it seriously."
Liu Sanniang looked at her mother who was praying, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"Mother, how's Third Sister?"
A head popped in from outside. Liu Sanniang looked at him. The person was wearing a white coat with a worried look on his face. He walked in and reached out to touch Liu Sanniang's forehead. "Is the fever gone?"
Liu Erlang thought to himself. 'Get well soon, or Mother will definitely beat me to death.'
When Liu Sanniang saw him, she suddenly burst into tears. This was her Second Brother, her dear Second Brother when he was young. He passed away two years ago.
Now, he was alive and kicking in front of her, still in his youth!
Liu Sanniang was both shocked and happy, thinking to herself. 'So this is what happens after death.'
"Sister, don't cry. It's all my fault. Let mother punish me, but don't cry…"
Liu Erlang panicked and looked at Liu Sanniang worriedly.
Madam Wei frowned. "Erlang, stay here and look after your sister. I have to go out for a while. Your sister has been saying stupid things since she woke up. She might have lost her mind."
Madam Wei quickly got up and left.
Liu Sanniang couldn't stop crying. She held Liu Erlang and said, "Second Brother, you are quite good-looking right now. But when you got old, you looked ugly. For some reason, you and First Brother liked to grow beards. Actually, beards don't look good on you."
Liu Erlang was really frightened. "Third Sister, stop it. Second Brother is scared. Have you really lost your mind?"
Liu Erlang had heard many strange anecdotes about dead people being possessed.
Being grabbed by her, Liu Erlang trembled in fear and thought to himself. "What kind of demon are you? Don't mess with my sister. Come at me!"
Liu Sanniang burst out laughing. She wiped her tears and laughed, thinking to herself that her second brother was really interesting.
Liu Erlang looked at Liu Sanniang fearfully with an expression that said, "Don't eat me."
Suddenly, Liu Sanniang stopped smiling when she felt her second brother's body temperature. Didn't they say that souls had no temperature?
Moreover, her second brother's eyes were bright and sparkling.
"Second Brother, is Sanniang alright?"
Another head popped in. Looking at the familiar figure, Liu Sanniang fainted.
The person who came was none other than her eldest brother, Liu Dalang.
Liu Sanniang felt as if she had been struck by lightning. She still remembered that a while ago Liu Dalang was crying and wailing in the mourning hall. However, now, he walked towards Liu Sanniang with a young face and body.
The temperature, the heartbeat, and the warm flesh seemed to mean something.
Liu Sanniang was shocked and fainted.
In a daze, Liu Sanniang felt her body burning.
She was helped up by a strong arm to take the medicine.
A village Taoist in a yellow tai chi robe was jumping around her bed. He was burning incense and paper, the smell of which made Liu Sanniang feel suffocated.
Later, he even gave her some scented ash to drink.
Liu Sanniang was extremely disgusted and did not want to drink it, but was forced to drink it by Madam Wei, who loved her daughter dearly.
She could feel what Madam Wei was thinking.
Madam Wei thought to herself. 'Who cares if it's useful or not? I'll try everything I can. Maybe this will cure my daughter. My daughter has spoken so much nonsense. When she recovers, I'll definitely go to the temple to pray and pay my respects!'
Liu Sanniang wanted to vomit but immediately sensed what Madam Wei was thinking next.
Madam Wei thought to herself. 'Don't vomit. If you vomit, you'll have to drink it again.'
Liu Sanniang forcibly resisted the urge to vomit.
She was extremely tired and her body was very heavy. Madam Wei fed her daughter some medicine and porridge and wiped her body clean.
After repeating this for ten days, Liu Sanniang eventually woke up, full of energy. She looked at the familiar house and her blurry memories gradually became clear. Her parents were still young, and her two brothers were only sixteen or seventeen years old.
She did not expect to return to her teenage years after her death.
Liu Sanniang did not understand how this happened either, but after a couple of days, she accepted this reality.
Thinking of her previous life, Liu Sanniang clenched her fists. In her previous life, she had been a spinster for her entire life.
This time, she had a bold idea.
She wanted to get married!
Liu Sanniang put on her shoes and walked out of the house. It was spring in March, as well as the farming season. Her family had more than twenty acres of farmland, so the entire family was busy.
The weather this morning was sunny and the sun was warm. Liu Sanniang moved a stool to the courtyard and sat under the sunlight. She was born on the 6th of February, and her 14th birthday was just one month ago. After the spring harvest, people came over to propose one after another.
At the thought of her previous life, she was a little anxious about how she could protect her reputation.
In her previous life, there were many people who wanted to marry her, but not many were suitable. After Liu Shun and Zhang Shuan, whom Liu Sanniang rejected, she had gotten a reputation for being 'unnecessarily picky'.
For the rest of her life, this wturned out to be fatal.
This time, she had to change it.
She was beautiful and had fair skin. It was impossible that she couldn't get married.
Her mother was a cook, so her culinary skills were also excellent. Besides, her embroidery skills were not bad either. Any man who could marry her would be considered lucky.
Seeing that it was almost noon, Liu Sanniang walked towards the kitchen. Her mother was working as a cook at the Yellow Crane Tower Restaurant in town and was not home all day. Her father and two brothers were farming and would come back for lunch at noon. It was the right time for her to cook.
The Liu family was quite well-off.
Liu Sanniang first started a fire to cook the coarse grain. Then, she poured some corn flour and some wheat flour. She kneaded them into dough, and steamed them.
In spring, there was meat in the house every day. After stir-frying it with spices, it would become a meat dish. Father and her brothers were farming, so they needed to refuel their energy.
Liu Sanniang had a smile on her face. Other than not getting married for the rest of her life, she was really very happy.
Suddenly, Liu Sanniang was startled by a clang.
She turned around and saw that the light in the kitchen was blocked by a tall figure.
It took her a while to adjust her vision and see the tall figure clearly. She was frightened and stuttered. "Who are you… You, who are you looking for?"
This person was a little familiar. He didn't look old and was probably about the same age as her eldest brother. Because the memories of her younger years were still blurry, she couldn't recognize this person immediately.
"Chu Yan! I brought the sickle here."
Without changing his expression, Chu Yan replied curtly.
Chu Yan!
Liu Sanniang was struck dumb. This was the powerful General of Dingbei from her previous life. She had heard that this person was so fierce that on the battlefield, enemies would run away when they heard his name.
Chu Yan placed the two brand new sickles on the stove and looked straight at the pot that was starting to steam.
As soon as he entered, he had seen Liu Sanniang cutting the meat. Her skin was fair, and when the sun shone on her face, it was so fair that it seemed to be glowing.
He saw her fair forehead, nose, and chin. She was smiling slightly. At that moment, it was not an exaggeration to say that she was a fairy.
At first, Liu Sanniang did not notice him. After she saw him, she became frightened…
Chu Yan felt that even her frightened face looked good.
He looked away at the steaming pot and recalled that Liu Sanniang's mother, Madam Wei, was a chef. Liu Sanniang must have inherited her skills and the food she cooked would definitely be delicious.
Liu Sanniang was a little afraid of him. "The cornbread is ready. Do you want some?"
Her brothers were both tall, about 1.85 meters, but this Chu Yan was even taller than them. She estimated that he was about 1.9 meters tall!
There was no expression on his face, and his thick eyebrows were fierce. He was already like this at the age of 17 or 18. No wonder he could become famous all around the country when he grew up. It was said that later on, when he was angry, no one dared to look him in the eyes. At that time, Liu Sanniang felt that these were just false rumors.
Now, she believed it!
She didn't want to spend another moment with him. She just wanted to send him away as soon as possible.
Chu Yan nodded and said, "Yes."
Liu Sanniang opened the pot lid. The fragrance of corn wafted into her nose. She picked up two large cornbread with her chopsticks and placed them in a porcelain bowl before handing it to Chu Yan. "It's a little hot. Take the bowl."
Chu Yan did not speak. He took the cornbread and turned to leave.
He said coldly, "Thank you."
He was not afraid of heat. This temperature was nothing to him. He took a bite and it was indeed as delicious as he had imagined.
When the tall figure walked out, Liu Sanniang heaved a sigh of relief.
There was no need for him to thank her. All Liu Sanniang wanted was for him to leave as soon as possible.
"Chu Yan, what… are you eating?"
Liu Erlang ran back in a hurry. He was picking seeds when Chu Yan had brought the sickle to him. Hence, he had casually said, "Send the sickles to my house."
When he was in the field, he told First Brother about this. First Brother had immediately scolded him. "Sanniang is the only one at home. I don't know if Mother is back yet. You idiot, hurry back and see if Chu Yan is doing anything rash and stupid."
Liu Erlang ran back quickly. His sister was already fourteen years old. What if Chu Yan fell in love with her?
When he ran back to the courtyard, his heart was pounding and he was panting. When he saw Chu Yan eating two large cornbreads, his mind went blank.
Chu Yan looked at Liu Erlang and replied. "Cornbread."
Liu Erlang was panting. He knew that it was cornbread. He could see it with his eyes! What he wanted to ask was why Chu Yan took cornbread from his family!
After saying that, Chu Yan walked out.
Vaguely, he heard Liu Sanniang's voice.
When Liu Sanniang heard the commotion, she came out of the house and smiled at Liu Erlang. "Second Brother, he came to deliver sickles to us, so I gave him two pieces."
Liu Erlang Liu heaved a sigh of relief. "I see."
It was good that nothing happened.
Liu Erlang was relieved that his sister was fine. He swallowed his saliva and said, "Is it done? I want to eat some too. Hehe."
Liu Sanniang smiled. "Go ahead. Be careful! It's hot."
Chu Yan only stopped in his tracks for a moment before leaving. He did not have the habit of eavesdropping.
However, Liu Sanniang's voice was just like her, soft and pleasant to the ear.
Just as Liu Sanniang finished instructing him, she heard her second brother screaming after touching the hot bread.
When Liu Erlang saw that Chu Yan was holding the cornbread and didn't seem to get burnt at all, he thought it would be fine. When he picked it up, the hot cornbread made him shout. Even after he dropped the cornbread, the heat was still burning his hand.
Liu Sanniang quickly entered the house and scooped a cup of cold water before putting her brother's hand in it.
Instantly, she heard Liu Erlang's voice in her mind.
Liu Erlang thought to himself. 'Damn it, is Chu Yan's skin as thick as a city wall? Why isn't he afraid of being scalded? It's so hot. How embarrassing that Third Sister saw it!'
Liu Sanniang looked at Liu Erlang. His mouth had not moved.
Why did she hear these voices?
Liu Erlang was frustrated. 'Oh, I forgot. Chu Yan is a blacksmith, so naturally he isn't afraid of heat. Blacksmiths are all thick-skinned!'
Liu Sanniang let go of his hand and looked at Liu Erlang. The voices were suddenly gone.
After soaking his hand in the cold water, Liu Erlang felt much better. It was no longer burning. He took out his hand and said, "Sanniang, thank you."
Liu Erlang did not notice Liu Sanniang's confused expression. He took the gourd dipper from Liu Sanniang and went out to splash water.
The moment his hand touched her, Liu Sanniang heard Liu Erlang's thoughts again.
Liu Erlang was in a good mood and thought to himself. 'It's good to have such a sweet sister.'
Liu Sanniang's heart beat faster. Next, Liu Erlang helped her start the fire.
Whenever Liu Sanniang touched him, she could hear his thoughts.
'Sanniang's culinary skills are even better than Mother's. When she turns around to get the onions later, I'll steal a piece of the bread. He-he.'
'It's all my fault that Sanniang gets sick this time. When spring harvest finishes, I'll save some copper coins to buy her a hair ornament. It'll definitely make her happy.'
Liu Sanniang was stunned.
When she first woke up, she had sensed this incredible ability several times. However, at that time, she was in a daze and did not think too much about it.
By the time Liu Dalang and Mr. Liu returned that day, she had already accepted this fact and treated it as a gift from the heavens.
Madam Wei returned at night for dinner.
Mr. Liu looked at Liu Sanniang lovingly. "Sanniang, you just recovered. You don't have to cook. I'll get your second brother to come back early to cook."
Mr. Liu doted on her a lot, and Liu Sanniang felt very warm in her heart. She smiled. "Father, I'm already fine. Don't worry. All of you have been so busy recently, so I'll help clean up the house."
Mr. Liu nodded and looked at his daughter with satisfaction. "Alright, but you have to rest well. Just cook something simple."
Liu Dalang swallowed the cornbread and meat in his mouth and smiled at Liu Sanniang. "It's alright. I'll get Second Brother to come back early to help Third Sister. Third Sister, feel free to instruct him."
Liu Erlang took a big gulp of coarse grain porridge and said, "Yes, yes, just give me the order."
Liu Sanniang felt choked up with emotions. She bit her cornbread and nodded.
Not long after dinner, his father and two brothers went to bed.
Liu Sanniang cleaned up the dishes and took out a small round rack. She had learned embroidery a long time ago and was now embroidering something to earn some money.
"Liu Sanniang, are you at home?"
A voice came from outside. Liu Sanniang was stunned. The voice of the young girl was a little familiar. She had to think about who it was.
"Sanniang, are you alright now? We're here to see you. Can you open the door for us?"
After Liu Sanniang matched the voices with the memories in her mind, she opened the door and said, "Ju, Zhi, Xiaohui, come in."