FDNL CH 18

Chapter 18

Arriving in Another World 018 — Sweet Sleep

Everyone thought that being a doctor was prestigious and elegant, but that wasn’t really the case. Except for the few elderly experts in their seventies or eighties who occasionally saw patients, young doctors had to work long shifts and overtime. Young people need sleep, so most young doctors developed a habit: as soon as they got home after work and finished the necessary chores, they would dive straight into bed—a practice commonly called “wrapping up.”

In addition, they seized every possible moment to sleep and rest, a surefire strategy for surviving night shifts.

Su Lianyi was no exception.

For the first time in many years, she slept a proper, deep sleep. It was sweet and refreshing; she didn’t even want to have a dream, just wanting to enjoy this hard-earned rest.

A commotion arose in the courtyard—someone was practicing martial arts. The punches and kicks were vigorous, each move accompanied by a rushing sound that was both awe-inspiring and oddly pleasant.

Su Lianyi bit her lip, pulled the blanket over her head, and tried to continue sleeping.

People who practiced martial arts liked early morning training. This was also Big Tiger’s habit. But ever since arriving at Su Family Village, to conceal his identity, he had only practiced carefully on deserted mountains and never revealed his skills at any other time or place. Now that he had come clean with Su Lianyi, he could finally train openly in his own courtyard.

There was another reason—intimidation. He wanted to make her wary of him.

Su Lianyi’s house was separate from the other villagers’ homes, standing independently. One reason was that no one wanted to live near this “female villain,” so they kept as much distance as possible. The other reason was that she herself didn’t get along with others and had a very high opinion of herself.

The house was newly built, as was the courtyard wall. The walls were tall and imposing; once the gate was closed, no outsider could see what was happening inside, and naturally, no one bothered to approach Su Lianyi’s place without reason.

Big Tiger practiced a set of punches, deliberately speeding up the movements and enlarging the motions. Though tiring, the noise was considerable, and combined with his shouts, it was enough to disturb anyone inside.

Lianyi turned over and plugged her ears through the blanket. “This guy has issues. It’s early morning; why isn’t he sleeping? And why is he shouting?”

Seeing no reaction from Su Lianyi, Big Tiger picked up a staff and performed a sophisticated spear technique. This set of spear techniques was unmatched in mounted or ground combat. Somehow, what had started as an attempt to intimidate Su Lianyi turned into genuine practice—he became more absorbed, more serious, and eventually lost himself completely in the depth of martial arts.

Suddenly, a window opened, and something flew out. Its trajectory was cunning, heading straight for Big Tiger’s face.

Startled, Big Tiger had intended to intimidate Su Lianyi with his skills, but unexpectedly, she was openly provoking him!

A thin smile curved on his lips. It had been a long time since he had an opponent, and now someone was finally challenging him—good!

With a sudden swing, the staff lifted lightly and struck the incoming projectile with a crash. The massive hidden weapon shattered, raising a faint dust cloud and a peculiar smell.

It all happened in an instant. Big Tiger’s reaction was instinctive, but only now did he realize that the object was… a chamber pot! A cold sweat ran down his back. Luckily, it was empty; otherwise, he would have been covered in filth.

“Are you done yet? Early in the morning, instead of sleeping, you’re acting up? You waste time trying to test me when you should be thinking about your own weaknesses. Look at the entire Su Family Village—besides you, is there anyone else who doesn’t go work in the fields after sunrise?”

With that, she yelled a string of insults, slammed the window shut, and without caring what he thought, rolled back into bed and continued sleeping.

She had previously been unable to sleep properly due to work. Now, having moved to the past and carrying the burden of her reputation, she still couldn’t get proper rest? Preposterous!

Outside, Big Tiger froze. He had thought his subtle, calm display of power would impress her, but instead, she found it ridiculous and full of flaws.

Su Lianyi’s words reminded him that every time he went to the fields, everyone else had already started working, casting strange looks at him. Each time, he had broken out in a cold sweat, fearing his identity had been exposed. Now he realized—they had been mocking his laziness all along.

Red-faced and embarrassed, he had no experience farming. He grew up in a military camp, had only been in Su Family Village for a little over a month, and had learned farming solely through observation and experimentation while helping Su Feng with manual labor.

“Still standing there? Go work!” Su Lianyi called impatiently from inside.

Big Tiger hated being ordered around by an unknown, foolish woman, but didn’t know how to argue. He gritted his teeth, slung the farming tools over his shoulder, and stormed off to the fields.

Once he left, Lianyi thought she could enjoy a proper nap, but she couldn’t fall back asleep. That frustrating state—sleepy yet unable to sleep—made her irritable.

She took a deep breath, sat up, and smoothed her long hair. This body’s hair was beautiful—thick, black, and luxuriant like underwater plants—but far too long to manage easily.

Modern Su Lianyi had short hair, never long, due to schoolwork and later work. Adjusting to long hair now was impractical. She didn’t braid it like ancient women either. For the past two days, she had tied it atop her head with a cloth, without combing it out.

The style wasn’t attractive, but it was simple and practical—like a modernized Shaanbei peasant look. Being a married woman in the past, it wasn’t inappropriate.

After dressing, she wrapped her hair in a cloth and, after washing up, planned to check on a patient at the Sun household. Her stomach growled—she hadn’t eaten breakfast.

She wandered the empty kitchen, faced with the problem of “no ingredients, no cooking.” She had silver notes in her pouch but couldn’t spend them locally—the notes were large denominations, and news traveled fast in a small village. If she spent them, Su Feng would know, exposing Big Tiger. She needed to exchange them for smaller coins in town.

There were leftover meats from yesterday. Each had eaten little, leaving some scraps. Lianyi had an idea: she lit a fire, boiled water, and put the meat in a pot. She also added some semi-dry vegetable leaves. She wouldn’t eat the meat, just drink the broth.

In no time, a delicious aroma filled the kitchen. Before serving, she chopped some coriander, added salt, and tasted a spoonful. It was unique.

She was about to eat when she noticed neatly rolled mats and folded quilts nearby—Big Tiger hadn’t eaten.

Though he had disturbed her sleep, she had thrown the chamber pot in retaliation, balancing the score. She didn’t have to work at home, but he labored in the fields daily—effort counted, even without results.

She decided to bring him some food. He was likely hungry.

As Su Lianyi carried the food box through the fearful villagers to her own fields, she almost wanted to throw the box at Big Tiger’s face to make his already ruined face even worse.

“Big Tiger, this is the field you planted?!” Lianyi slammed the box on the ground, hands on her waist, pointing at the green expanse. Even the calmest person would be infuriated.

Big Tiger frowned, coldly gazing at her. “What’s wrong with it? I’m confident in my work. Look how well the crops grew.”

Lianyi felt dizzy, holding her head. “The ridges? Where are the ridges?” A city girl knew farming started with furrows.

Big Tiger’s eyes lost some of their coldness, replaced with confusion. “Ridges?”

Lianyi pointed tremblingly to the fields. The soil was divided into strips, with crops planted neatly on raised mounds—these were the ridges.

Big Tiger finally understood. Looking at her disdainfully, he said, “That’s a waste of land.”

Lianyi opened her mouth to argue but couldn’t. Though she knew different crops required different ridges, she truly didn’t know the purpose of this one.

She let it go. Squatting, she pointed at the long grass: “By the way, your field is full of weeds. Why haven’t you removed them?”

“Weeds?” Big Tiger was stunned.

“Yes, weeds! If left, they steal nutrients, and the crops won’t grow well!” Lianyi explained patiently.

“You mean…” Big Tiger pointed to the green plants. “These aren’t crops—they’re weeds?”

“Exactly. What did you think?” Lianyi was too exasperated to yell.

Big Tiger stroked his sharp jaw. “So they’re weeds… I always thought my crops were better than others’.”