Stella glanced at Aaron, then turned her head to look at the blue sky. Her brows were slightly furrowed, and her face was still very pale, like paper. Her body had suffered a serious injury. If it had been any other person with powers, they might have died by now.
Luckily, her wood-type power helped her heal well.
She glanced at the crystal cores in her space. These crystal cores came from mutated zombies, plants, and animals after they evolved. They stored energy.
This time, she had accepted that she might die. So most of the crystal cores in her space were left for the base.
The ones she kept were precious, all leader-level or above.
Relying on the wood energy in the air, her body could heal a bit. Without the crystal cores, she did not know how long it would take to recover.
Even though the wood energy now was purer than during the apocalypse, there was still less of it.
The wood energy floating in the air was very thin.
This was while she was near the mountains. In the city, the wood energy would be even less.
Her mental strength was also badly damaged. She could only sense about two or three hundred meters around her.
Healing mental strength was even harder.
This was the worst injury she had ever had since the apocalypse.
But having a household registration was really a problem.
For her, getting a registration was easy.
But getting a clean and unquestionable registration, one that no one could investigate, was difficult.
Stella knew some things about this time period. Without a clean registration, trouble would keep coming.
She could not just kill people over small things. She was not that kind of person.
She thought maybe heaven sent her to this time so she could live a peaceful and quiet life.
After decades of the apocalypse, that was what she wanted most.
She wanted to give up her powers and live like a normal woman, quietly enjoying a simple life.
Thinking of this, Stella nodded silently and made a decision.
But she was still confused. Coming to this era, she did not know what to do yet.
She did not know where she wanted to stay.
Since the man had made a request, she decided to go along with it for now and think more later.
"Tell me your conditions."
Hearing this, Aaron was happy inside. A small smile showed on his cold face.
But he needed to think carefully before speaking.
Sometimes, you cannot be too impatient.
Right now, he did not know the enemy's true situation.
If he acted rashly, he would fail.
Only by knowing the enemy well could he defeat them in one move.
So, to learn more, he needed to keep the enemy close without making them suspicious.
The household registration could be useful here.
Since she mentioned it, this could be the trade.
"How about this? When you were unconscious, I told my family that you are my comrade's sister. After he died, he asked me to take care of you. Bringing you back caused some misunderstandings with my parents and the village."
"During these days, I stayed in my room with you, which made the misunderstandings worse. Your condition at that time made it hard for others to see you."
Aaron's words also meant that the real cause of the misunderstandings was not him, but her.
After all, she had a big hole in her chest. Even a strong person like him would be shocked by that.
Anyone would be scared by what she looked like then.
So it was her responsibility for the family and village's misunderstandings.
"Since you know how society works now, I will not say more. I hope you can do me a favor."
"Tell me."
"Act as my wife for now to stop my parents from forcing me to marry. I will help you fix your household registration. There will be no problems. What do you think?"
Seeing Stella frown, Aaron spoke quietly, "This favor should not be hard. My mother already misunderstood us, and you do not have a clear plan yet. You are still hurt. After you decide, whether to leave or stay, I will not force you. Maybe before you leave, I will find my true partner."
Stella raised an eyebrow, looking into his clear eyes. She realized she had overthought it. "How long?"
"Six months?"
"Too long. At most three months," Stella said lightly.
She was still confused after just arriving in this era. She did not know what to do or where to stay.
Once she decided, she would leave.
"Deal." Aaron reached out his hand.
Stella glanced at it but leaned back in her chair, continuing to look at the rolling mountains.
Until four or five in the afternoon, the Zhou family slowly returned.
Stella had been unconscious these days.
To avoid disturbing her, Madam Chen told the children to play outside and not return before mealtime.
It was 1960. The whole country was in famine.
In the countryside, people usually ate two meals a day. Families eating three meals were rare.
Breakfast was around ten in the morning, and dinner time varied. Sometimes early, sometimes late.
But everyone would eat before dark.
People in the countryside rested early, going to bed as soon as it got dark.
Because of the times, there was no entertainment.
Whether in the countryside or the city, it was the same.
The only entertainment for couples was in bed.
Also, if they did not sleep at night and lit oil lamps, they would have to use more oil.
People now tried to save every bit.
The family was quite large. Aaron was the oldest son. He had an older sister who had married long ago.
There were three younger brothers and one younger sister, all married.
The fourth and fifth children were twins, a brother and sister.
Aaron looked nothing like his brothers. He probably resembled his uncle, which was common in families.
The second brother, Zhou Yong, seemed weak and tired. Even his voice was soft.
Probably because there were only five daughters in the family, the men's backs were not strong.
In those days, having no sons in a rural family was shameful. People would call them lonely old with no descendants.
For couples in that era, not having a son felt like the sky was falling.
Christine, the wife of Max, was a thin and weak woman who didn't even dare to look people in the eye when she spoke. She had a bitter face and wore clothes washed so many times they were almost white. The first impression she gave was that she seemed to have suffered great injustice in this family.
From the first time Stella saw Christine, she didn't have a good feeling about her.
Bernard, the third son, always had a smile on his face. He looked like a friendly person, someone who knew how to get along with others.
But people like him often look good on the surface but are the most sinister and good at hiding their true intentions.
His wife, Layla, was also a woman with a full smile. She called Stella "big sister-in-law" very warmly.
Her warm words were all based on the money Aaron had in his pocket.
If Aaron had no money, these people wouldn't even bother with you and would at most greet you politely.
Max had three sons and one daughter. He spoke with great confidence.
But Stella didn't respond to him from start to finish, although Max kept talking happily.
Alfred, the fourth son, who was Shana's husband, was a lively and straightforward young man.
If there was anyone in this family who gave Stella a good impression, it was probably Alfred. But he married a lazy, gossiping cousin as his wife.
Life would probably not be easy for them. They had two children, a boy and a girl.
Father Zhou was an honest farmer, not yet sixty years old, but his face showed the hardships of time.
He didn't talk much. When he saw Stella had come back to her senses, he just nodded slightly, then sat by the door, took out a smoking pipe from his waist, lit it, and took long drags.
As the head of the family, even though his children were grown and had families of their own, he still carried heavy burdens in times of this rare famine.
Even though the family had money, in these times, money couldn't buy grain.
Money was like white paper in such a situation.
This big family consumed a lot of grain every day.
Hearing that some people in nearby villages had already starved to death made it hard for him to sleep, worried that something might happen to his family.
Being a parent was like this: no matter how old your children were, until the day they died, you would worry about them.
This was why the saying "Raising children makes one understand the kindness of parents" had been passed down.
During dinner, Madam Chen did not let Stella eat at the table. Instead, she took the clay pot into Aaron's room.
After all, there was only one old hen for twenty people in the family.
One old hen, especially the original hen, could only make enough soup for one person to have a small sip.
Taking it into the room was also to ease awkwardness.
Even if the adults might secretly want the food, they would not say anything. But the children were still young.
If they made a fuss, it would be embarrassing.
At dinner, Shana's son Dab started to throw a tantrum.
Aaron gave him a chicken wing, and only then did he stop crying.
This angered Madam Chen a lot. Dab was only four years old, and he was still asleep when the chicken was killed.
He only smelled the aroma when he woke up; how could he know what it was?
Besides Shana, no one told him. So he shouted and demanded chicken.
Whether in the countryside or the city, some customs were still the same.
When a new bride arrives, the first meal should be special.
Now, during a famine everywhere, even if you want to, you might not have the strength.
The girl was just coming to the family for the first time and was not well. Killing a chicken to help her regain strength was a normal thing.
Any reasonable person would warn their children at a time like this.
This was basic politeness.
The girl hadn't even come into your home yet.
Seeing the family's situation, who would be willing to marry in?
Especially when the oldest son had money and was capable.
While his parents were alive, the oldest son would take care of his brothers out of respect for them, and even the oldest son's wife wouldn't say much.
But what happened after the parents passed away?
No matter how good the oldest son was or how much he cared about his brothers, that couldn't compare to the long time spent sharing a bed.
Not to mention the kind of people she raised — didn't she understand?
He introduced many matches for her but none were satisfactory.
But this one? He wanted to stay by her bedside 24 hours a day.
Sometimes thinking about it, Madam Chen felt suffocated.
When Shana woke up earlier and said those things, she almost made Madam Chen furious.
She had dragged Shana into her room to scold her, but now Stella had started acting up again.
How could she not understand? She clearly knew Shana's personality.
Why did she listen to her sister and marry this stubborn girl into the family? It really ruined her youngest son.
Stella ate only one chicken leg and drank a bowl of chicken soup. She really had no appetite.
Aaron brought a bucket of cold water, with a gourd dipper floating on top.
Stella grabbed a big wooden basin, stood at the door, scooped a dipper of water, and rinsed the basin.
Then she poured the cold water into the basin.
At this moment, Aaron brought a bucket of hot water and walked over.
He put down the wooden basin, then turned coolly and walked out, closing the door behind him.
Stella reached out and latched the door, holding a bottle of shower gel.
Looking at the small basin and the little water, she raised her eyebrows. How could she wash with so little water?
She barely managed to wash herself, not even daring to use much shower gel.
If she used more, she wouldn't be able to rinse all the foam off her body.
The door opened.
Aaron stood at the door and spoke softly, "I'll pour the water for you. Your wounds aren't healed yet, so act like it. You agree, right?"
Seeing Stella move aside a little, he sidestepped into the room and picked up the wooden basin.
He went into the courtyard and poured the water onto the ground.
Since spring began, it had only rained twice, and not a single drop of rain had fallen since.
The air felt especially dry.
Aaron carried the big basin back inside and put the wooden basin behind the door.
Looking at Stella sitting on the bed, he said, "It's late. Go to sleep early."
Stella nodded slightly, lay down, pulled down the mosquito net, and closed her eyes.
Aaron raised his eyebrows, picked up the washbasin from the stool under the dressing table, and walked out.