I started out with seven husbands, and I worked hard to support my family while crying.

Fang Xiaoxiao stopped in her tracks, looked up at the wooden door in front of her, and knocked lightly as a sign of respect.

"Dong dong!"

"Who is it?"

She lightly tapped the wooden door twice, and then the voices of women in the courtyard inquired.

Then, the sound of footsteps approaching slowly could be heard.

"Squeak!"

The wooden door was opened from the inside.

The person who opened the door was a woman dressed in a coarse gray linen long gown. She was very ordinary-looking, with a high forehead and a wide chin. The only thing that could be considered distinctive was her pair of narrow eyes.

The woman looked up at the beautiful woman in front of her.

Her first thought was, "Whose daughter has come to my house?"

Seeing the other person looking at her with a puzzled expression, Fang Xiaoxiao smiled helplessly.

"Hello, sister. I was introduced by the fat cook. I'd like to ask your family for help in repairing my house. This is a letter written by the fat cook."

As she spoke, she took out a letter of introduction that the fat chef at the restaurant had written beforehand from her sleeve.

The woman said "Oh," and reached out to take the letter from the other party.

This is supposed to be a letter, but it's really just crumpled, yellowed straw paper with a few words written on it. The handwriting is ugly and crooked. In the teacher's words, even the path of an ant is neater than this.

The woman immediately recognized that it was her brother-in-law's work, and then smiled and said.

"Oh, it's my brother-in-law's friend. Come in quickly. Have you eaten? Why don't you stay here with us? But I wonder if a simple meal would be alright?"

The woman casually made the invitation, but in her heart she was thinking, "Please, don't accept."

Never thought about it.

Fang Xiao grinned, showing off her snow-white teeth, and nodded.

"I'm so sorry, I really like simple food. Please accept my hospitality, sister. I won't stand on ceremony."

"!"

The woman instinctively froze, mechanically glancing at the rather attractive woman beside her.

She never imagined that such a beautiful woman would have a skin as thick as the mud wall in her house.

But now that we're already in a difficult situation, it's impossible to change our minds and say something like "no."

So the woman could only swallow her anger and walk into the courtyard with a stiff face.

Fang Xiaoxiao followed closely behind the other person, thinking that it was not bad to get a meal at someone else's house, rather than having to eat Murong Changqing's noodles again after returning home.

Just thinking about it makes my stomach churn unbearably.

Noodles for breakfast, noodles for dinner, and if I'm at home all day, it's almost always noodles.

The crucial point is that she wanted to cook herself, but the other party wouldn't let her do so.

They say men should stay at home and women should work outside, but as her husband, how could he let his wife do such despicable things?

Hmm! That sounds somewhat reasonable, but you've improved a bit; at least make some egg drop soup with noodles, instead of just vegetables hanging on the side of the bowl...

Despite her complaints, Fang Xiaoxiao could only endure them; after all, she had paid money to buy her husband.

As soon as the woman reached the stone table in the center of the courtyard, she began to howl at the top of her lungs.

"Dinner's ready! I'm starving, hurry up and get out here!"

Her shout was like that of an old lady at the market who had spotted a familiar face from afar and called out to her. Her voice echoed throughout the courtyard.

At this moment, Fang Xiaoxiao noticed a makeshift shed on her right, which looked just like her own home, with an open-air stove.

A Chinese character suddenly stood up in front of the stove.

The man was at least eight feet tall, with broad shoulders, a thick waist, and dark skin, looking as if he had just come out of a coal mine.

Fortunately, the man's eyes were as white as snow, and he grinned, revealing a set of teeth so white they were blinding.

truth!

Fang Xiaoxiao couldn't help but marvel. She discovered that in this era, many people had teeth as white as snow, unlike in modern times, where many people have yellow teeth and bad breath, and many others have gotten abnormally white ceramic teeth for the sake of appearance.

That thing has major flaws. Basically, apart from looking good, it can't replace the function of real teeth at all. It can't handle eating food that's too cold or too spicy. In short, it can't handle this or that, and it needs regular maintenance every year.

"Fortunately, I don't care much about those things. At most, I just buy the best toothpaste and use an electric toothbrush. I also rinse my mouth and brush my teeth regularly."

She thought to herself silently.

The woman beside him then turned around and said.

"I still don't know your name, madam?"

"Fang Xiaoxiao, may I ask how to address you, elder sister?"

“No problem. My name is Li Ba. If you don’t mind, you can call me by my nickname, Little Baba.”

"..."

Fang Xiao glanced at the woman, then at the man carrying hot dishes from the stove.

"Li Ba! I feel like she's taking advantage of me, but I don't have any evidence. After all, what she said doesn't seem wrong. Her surname is Li, her given name is Ba, and her nickname is Xiao Baba."

Sometimes naming is a profound art... Fang Xiaoxiao thought to herself, feeling both ashamed and envious.

The key is that when you take advantage of someone, they can't say anything and can only swallow their anger.

Seeing her standing there dumbfounded, Li Ba said something.

"Little sister, what's wrong? Do you find the food at my house too bland, making you lose your appetite?"

Upon hearing this, Fang Xiaoxiao subconsciously looked down at the food on the stone table.

"!"

Steamed lamb, steamed bear paw, steamed deer antler, steamed roast chicken, steamed roast duck... These were her first thoughts. Of course, the dishes in front of her weren't quite that extravagant, but they weren't far off either.

It has everything you need, from chicken and duck to fish, basically comparable to the standards of a high-end restaurant.

Is this what you call simple food? Sorry, I'm just ignorant... Fang Xiaoxiao stared at the five-star standard meal on the table, feeling very puzzled.

She looked up and glanced at Li Ba beside her.

Don't let this woman's appearance fool you; she has a figure that would put her in the ranks of models, with curves in all the right places and a waist as slender as a willow.

Seeing that all the dishes had been served, Li Ba gestured with his hand.

"Little sister Xiao, please sit down quickly. Although we just met, your big brother feels like we've known each other forever. Come on, let's have a drink first!"

As she spoke, she asked the man standing to the side to pour her some wine.

The man smiled憨厚ly as he poured wine for his wife, a task he was most happy to do. As long as his wife was happy, he could have a piece of duck neck.

To be honest, Fang Xiaoxiao was quite envious of the other party's actions.

If I could train my husbands to be so obedient and well-behaved, wouldn't that be wonderful? Just think of my seven husbands, well, aside from Pei Yan and He Jinnian, there are five more, which isn't bad either.

Thinking of this, she turned to look at Li Ba again.

Li Ba was holding a wine glass at that moment, and they were looking right into each other's eyes.

"Hey girl, what are you daydreaming about? Hurry up and take a sip. My good-for-nothing son of mine will be back for dinner soon, and it might be noisy."

"A money-loser?"

"Yes, my son is a money-loser. If I had a daughter, at least the government would have given her a husband. But a son can only be chosen by anyone. If no one chooses him, he'll be forced to do corvée labor."