After Julie finished applying the medicine on Bailee, she left and went back to her room to continue her training.
When Bailee woke up, it was already late afternoon.
Thinking about last night, he shyly pulled the blanket over his face, his eyes full of sweetness.
He felt bad for sleeping in and missing breakfast with his wife.
As soon as he got out of bed, he felt that his body seemed cool and comfortable, like someone had applied some ointment to him.
The air still carried a faint smell of herbs.
Bailee was touched when he realized that his wife didn't mind him and had even personally helped him apply medicine. He also felt a little guilty.
His legs were still a bit sore, but it wasn't serious—it didn't affect his walking.
When Bailee came into the living room, the first one to see him was Lorrie.
Lorrie was surprised to see Bailee's strange way of walking.
"Are you okay, Big Brother?" he asked, reaching out instinctively to support him.
Haven also looked worried.
Bailee felt both awkward and moved. He waved his hand and said, "I'm fine. I just slept too long and my legs are a little numb. It'll get better soon. Where's the wife? Have you all eaten yet?"
Lorrie knew exactly what his big brother really wanted to ask.
He secretly rolled his eyes.
Big brother mainly wanted to know about their wife, and asking about them was just polite.
"We've eaten. Second Brother cooked. You must be hungry, right? Second Brother saved you some food. I'll go heat it up!" Lorrie said quickly before running into the kitchen.
Bailee smiled helplessly. His little brother never changed.
Meanwhile, Julie was in the backyard sparring with Mr. Leng.
Julie thought it was friendly practice.
Mr. Leng felt like he was being beaten up one-sidedly.
Even though Mr. Leng knew he wasn't strong enough to beat her, Julie still insisted on sparring with him.
Mr. Leng kept a straight face, bitter in his heart.
He had lost count of how many times he got knocked down, but he always got back up.
After about the time it takes to burn one incense stick, Julie stopped.
That was enough for today.
In her opinion, practicing alone was fine, but it was too slow.
It was better to have a training partner, especially one stronger than you.
This way, not only would you be motivated, but your body would also become tougher.
Before, she didn't focus much on training Mr. Leng.
But now that she was planning for children in the future, Mr. Leng's current skills were not enough.
"We'll stop here for today. Practice more. I'll check again in a few days," she said as she handed him a jar of healing ointment from her sleeve.
Julie was never stingy with her own people. This ointment worked very well—she had used it herself before, and it healed injuries in just one day.
Mr. Leng only relaxed after Julie left.
He looked at his wounds, some light, some heavy.
He twitched his mouth.
"Ouch," he muttered. He had even forgotten there was a cut at the corner of his mouth.
Accepting his fate, he went back to his room and applied the ointment Julie had given him.
While applying it, he wondered if Julie was warning him.
Maybe she thought he hadn't been training hard enough?
Or maybe she thought he was slacking off?
But hadn't he been busy sweeping the yard, planting vegetables, and chopping firewood?
Mr. Leng couldn't figure it out.
After applying the medicine, he started to practice the moves Julie had taught him.
After all, she said she would check again in a few days.
He didn't want to end up looking like a swollen pig's head again.
In his heart, he also grumbled: the wife really wasn't holding back.
How could she hit his face?
Even though he wasn't relying on his looks to survive, and he was getting older, what man didn't want to look good?
Julie, on the other hand, wasn't thinking about any of this.
To her, sparring wasn't playtime.
When practicing martial arts, fists and feet didn't have eyes—even if they held back, some bruises were unavoidable.
Julie walked back into the living room with her hands behind her back.
She saw Bailee eating. He was almost finished, and she thought, Finally awake.
"How's your body feeling?" she asked. Was the ointment effective?
When Bailee saw Julie, he immediately thought of last night.
His fair cheeks turned bright red, making him look even more handsome.
"Wife, I'm fine," he said, lowering his head shyly.
Julie nodded. It was good that he was fine.
---
For dinner, Bailee cooked tomato scrambled eggs, cabbage fried in pork fat, and pork rib soup with yam.
Julie ate two bowls of rice and drank a bowl of soup.
Bailee felt happy in his heart. As long as his wife liked it, he would be willing to cook for her for the rest of his life.
During dinner, Haven kept sneaking glances at Julie, then quickly lowered his head, almost burying his face in his bowl.
He felt shy and wondered if his wife would come to his room tonight.
Julie wasn't very talkative, but she wasn't slow-witted either.
Haven's actions were very obvious. There was no way Julie didn't understand.
She put down her chopsticks and said to Haven, "I'll rest in my own room tonight. Tomorrow night, I'll come to your room." After speaking, she left the table and went back to her room.
Haven felt a little disappointed at first, but when he heard the second part of her words, his heart filled with expectation again.
Bailee was happy for his brother. He didn't feel jealous.
Because their wife treated all of them very well, showing no favoritism.
She didn't spoil or favor only one person, which meant that the brothers wouldn't grow distant or resentful toward each other over time.
After all, even real brothers, when serving the same wife, especially someone they genuinely liked, could feel depressed if one brother was loved more while the other was left alone for a long time.
Lorrie, on the other hand, was counting on his fingers.
Tomorrow would be Second Brother's turn. Then would the wife take a rest for a day?
And then the day after tomorrow, would it be his turn?
Lorrie suddenly started to feel nervous.
Julie, at this moment, was completely focused on her training.
Since arriving here, even though her cultivation hadn't advanced a lot, it was steadily improving.
Her hearing had also become much sharper because of her practice.
---
The next morning.
At dawn, Julie went to the fields to pull weeds, water, and fertilize the crops.
After finishing all that, she came back for breakfast.
Bailee had already set breakfast on the table—luxurious noodle porridge with dough pieces.
Bailee was best at making these kinds of dishes, like soups and porridges.
Each person had a big bowl. He had even added two eggs, a handful of greens, some chopped scallions, and a few drops of soybean oil. It smelled amazing.
Julie really liked it. Because of Bailee's great cooking, she ended up eating two big bowls before stopping.
She thought to herself, I'm too full now.
Since she was the village head, but had never really walked around the village, she decided today would be a good day to take a stroll and digest her food.
She got up from the table and was about to leave when Lorrie called out to her, "Hey, where are you going?" He saw her heading outside and called instinctively.
"Just taking a walk around the village," she replied. What's the matter?
"Can I come with you?" he asked. Taking a walk? What's so great about that?
Even though Lorrie didn't really understand, he still wanted to follow her.
"Let's go," Julie said casually. If he wants to come, fine.
When Lorrie heard that, his eyes lit up.
He quickly put down his bowl and said to Bailee and Haven, "Big Brother, Second Brother, I'm going out for a bit with her. I'll be back soon!" Then he ran off excitedly.
He even turned back and shouted, "Hurry up! Weren't you going for a walk?" This woman is so slow!
Julie stayed silent, following behind him, not really understanding why he was so excited.
---
As soon as Julie walked into the village, the villagers they passed quickly greeted her, "Hello, Village Head! Out for a walk? The weather is really nice today!"
Everyone smiled warmly at her, their attitudes overly friendly.
"Mm. Just walking around. You all carry on," Julie replied.
She continued moving forward.
She noticed that the village was peaceful—no arguments, no fighting—and she felt very satisfied.
After walking a few more steps, she heard sounds of pleading, shouting, and the dull thudding of a stick hitting someone from a nearby house.
The noise was loud and chaotic.