When Di Yao first got out of bed, her legs were a bit weak, but after moving around for a while, she recovered. Pushing open the door, she saw at a glance the basket of wheat seedlings she had saved a few days ago. It was in exactly the same spot as when she had fainted.
She crouched in front of the bamboo basket and poured the seedlings onto the ground, along with some residual rainwater. The upper layer of seedlings was completely wilted, the mud at the roots hardened into clumps, while the lower layer was wet and sticky, faintly emitting a musty smell.
Di Yao's legs gave out, and she sat down on the ground. "Great, another wasted effort."
Just then, a shadow fell over the rotten seedlings. Di Yao looked up and saw Wei Xunzhou. "Husband, I'll clean this up right away."
As she stood up, her head spun and she staggered. Wei Xunzhou quickly stepped forward to support her. She was only wearing a thin garment, and with her small frame, his hand wrapped entirely around her arm, his thumb and middle finger touching. Through the thin fabric, they could both feel each other's temperature—one burning hot, the other ice cold.
Di Yao pulled herself free from his grasp and stepped back. After cleaning up the seedlings, she asked, "Husband, how many days have I been asleep?"
"Four days." Wei Xunzhou stirred the hot water in the bowl he was holding and handed it to her.
"That long? What happened to me?" Di Yao tried to recall the day of the rain but couldn't make sense of it. Had her body become so weak?
Holding the warm bowl, she was lost in thought. Even though she couldn't die again, if she kept fainting like this, it was still frightening.
Wei Xunzhou saw through her worries and found her overactive imagination amusing. "Stop thinking. You just fainted from hunger."
"From hunger?" Di Yao took a sip of water and took a while to accept this absurd conclusion. For some reason, the boiled water tasted sweet. She must really have been hungry.
"It's good!" She finished the water and showed him the empty bowl, smiling. Then her gaze fell on a basin behind him, reminding her of the seeds she had soaked on Grain Rain day. "Oh no, the seeds must have rotted." She thrust the bowl back into his hands, rolled up her sleeves, and ran over. To her surprise, the seeds had not only not rotted but had all sprouted tiny shoots, some even breaking the water's surface. The sprouts were thinner than usual, likely lacking nutrients.
"Husband, come see!" She waved without looking back. From his perspective, her entire head seemed buried in the basin. As his footsteps approached, she asked, "If I keep these seedlings in water, do you think they could survive? And if they do, could they grow and mature?" Since the soil was problematic, why not try soilless cultivation? It had been an accident, but it sparked a new idea in her, clearing her mind.
Wei Xunzhou knew seeds could sprout, but he had never thought of it this way. Her bold idea pleasantly surprised him. He watched her profile—her eyes were always clearer than spring water, and when she smiled, her eyes curved, infectious. He didn't understand why she was so easily happy, nor why his own mood had been so easily swayed by her lately.
On Grain Rain day, he returned home after dark. The main room was pitch black, and he thought Di Yao was delayed by the rain. But then he spotted her lying on the floor. His hand gripping the umbrella handle tightened involuntarily before loosening. He knew at a glance she was not seriously hurt, yet he still quickened his pace. Her clothes were soaked through, sticking to her frame. Her face was pale, her usual rosy lips white. It was the first time he had seen her so weak, like a begonia flower battered by wind and rain, impossible not to pity.
He lifted her, noticing her fingers still clutching the edge of the bamboo basket. A quick glance revealed it was full of seedlings. After a moment's silence, he pried her fingers open and carried her to bed, using magic to change her into clean clothes, dry her hair, and prepare a hot water bottle for her feet. Knowing she was hungry, he even fed her porridge. He had never done such servile work before, and several times the soup dripped down her neck; flustered, he wiped it with his sleeve.
Recalling the scene, he could only think of it as absurd. Fortunately, Di Yao knew nothing about it.
The girl suddenly looked up, meeting his absent gaze fixed on her. Uncomfortable, she shook the water off her fingers. "It's quite cold now. I'll go change." After changing, she returned to find Wei Xunzhou no longer in the courtyard. Bored, she took a hoe to the backyard to clear the mess.
She had prepared for the worst, but she never expected the best. After three days of heavy rain, the seedlings in the backyard had miraculously survived. Not only were the roots not blackened, but the seedlings looked even better than before and had grown taller. The backyard vegetable patch looked like a green carpet; Di Yao's mouth hung open in surprise. What delighted her even more was that the seedlings grew rapidly, with visible height differences between morning and evening. The longer they grew, the healthier they looked, with no sign of root rot.
Three days later, the wheat began to joint. Seven days later, it started heading and flowering. Ten days later, the ears turned yellow, and the grains gradually filled and ripened. Di Yao roughly calculated that from planting to harvest, the entire process had taken less than a month. She waved a finger in front of Wei Xunzhou, gesturing excitedly. "Slap!" She slapped the table and leaned forward. "Husband, I must be dreaming, right? This is all an illusion from when I fainted! It's incredible!"
Compared to the restless Di Yao, Wei Xunzhou was much calmer. He took a sip of warm water, his movements unhurried, his expression unreadable. "It's not a dream. You got what you wanted."
Di Yao let out a cheer, then clinked her bowl against his. In her excitement, she used too much force, and water from his bowl splashed down his face. She apologized profusely, put down her bowl, and reached out to wipe it. In doing so, she wet half his neck. When her fingertips touched his neck, both of them froze for a moment. Realizing her mistake, Di Yao lowered her head, her chin nearly touching her chest. She wasn't the type to run away out of guilt, but she silently quickened her movements.
Under her hand, his Adam's apple moved. She instinctively pulled back, her fingers hovering in the air. The atmosphere in the room became awkward. Wei Xunzhou cleared his throat, his tone uncharacteristically strained. "I'll do it myself."
Di Yao fidgeted with her fingers, her voice small. "Sorry."
After he left, she buried her head in the soft bedding, kneeling on the floor, and pounded the bed in frustration. She couldn't understand why she had thought to clink bowls with him, let alone spill water all over him. How stupid!
"Getting carried away, getting carried away, getting carried away..." she repeated, trying to discipline herself.
The wheat ears in the backyard were all heavy, plump, and full, looking even better than most wheat in the mortal world. Di Yao chose a sunny, auspicious day to harvest the ripe wheat. Even from just one-tenth of an acre, the yield rivaled a full acre above ground. While the wheat was drying, she turned over the soil several times and planted the next batch.
The seedlings that had been in water survived but grew much slower than those in the ground, so she transplanted them as well. She shared the good news with Meng Po, who was astonished but found something strange about it. For thousands of years, no one had ever grown grain in the Underworld. Could Di Yao be no ordinary girl? Meng Po went through all the female immortals and goddesses who had emerged over the millennia, but found no clue. It seemed she would need to keep investigating.
Di Yao, unaware that she had become a goddess in Meng Po's eyes, happily worked and farmed every day. The second batch of wheat also matured quickly. The immediate problem was how to grind the grains into flour.
Since Wei Xunzhou had successfully made a stove last time, Di Yao had been begging him to make a stone mill—not too large, about half the size of a table. For this, she waited on him hand and foot, washing his clothes, until he finally agreed. That day, he brought back two large stones and some wooden planks. Di Yao helped as his assistant, and two days later, a small stone mill was ready. After cleaning, it was put into use.
Small as it was, it was handy. The day they ground the first basin of flour, the whole household celebrated; even Xibian ran in circles chasing his tail in excitement. With flour, they could make food. Moreover, Di Yao and Wei Xunzhou had found some wild vegetables and mushrooms on Golden Rooster Mountain. From then on, smoke rose from the kitchen every day, gradually infusing the place with a homely atmosphere, and the small courtyard felt more and more like home.
Little did they know that amidst their endless laughter, a pair of eyes was always watching their every move.
Their good days did not last long before an uninvited guest arrived.