I Was Sold to My Mortal Enemy (Double Transmigrations)

When November arrived, the temperature plummeted, and a heavy snowfall covered the land overnight. Shi Yi woke up shivering from the cold and sought warmth in Pei Xing’s arms.

The next morning, they dressed in animal skin clothes and goat skin hats. Upon opening the door, they were greeted by a vast expanse of white, as the snow had blanketed the yard.

They headed to the kitchen to warm up leftover mutton soup from the previous day. Shi Yi mixed a substantial amount of dough with the warm water in the pot, preparing to steam both buns and dumplings after fermentation.

Afterward, Pei Xing took Shi Yi to the beach to assess the situation. The winter wind was biting, and even the sea water had frozen. Shi Yi couldn’t help but feel an intense chill.

Pei Xing hugged Shi Yi, gazing at the frozen sea, deep in thought. He observed Shi Yi, whose lips had turned purple from the cold, and quickly took him back to the house before serving a bowl of hot mutton soup.

The warm soup eased the cold in Shi Yi’s body, and he sighed with relief. “The weather is too cold.”

Pei Xing touched Shi Yi’s cold face and offered him a golden marrow pill to drink, he had internal strength that made him impervious to the cold. However, Shi Yi wouldn’t be able to withstand the harsh weather outside.

Pei Xing removed Shi Yi’s animal skin, unfastened his own clothing, and pulled Shi Yi into his embrace, using the animal skin to keep them warm.

As soon as Shi Yi came into contact with Pei Xing’s warm body, he felt relief, and his body gradually warmed up.

Pei Xing rested his chin on Shi Yi’s head and suggested, “What do you say we move to the house in the south? It has a heated kang, and it won’t be as cold.”

“But there’s no pot in that room. It’s not convenient with all our belongings. Let’s stay here,” Shi Yi replied, rubbing his face against Pei Xing’s chest. “It’s not that cold, as long as you hold me tight.”

Pei Xing smiled and gently pushed him onto the soft bed.

Shi Yi rearranged the thin quilts he had collected, combined the cotton inside into several quilt covers, and replaced the covers. They added a layer of animal skins to the bed. After a short entangling, they both felt the warmth and forgot about the cold.

Pei Xing observed Shi Yi’s flushed face and expressed his appreciation, saying, “Maybe we could make this a post-dinner ritual, and you won’t feel cold anymore.”

Shi Yi scolded him, his face darkened, and eventually, he was so exhausted that he fell asleep.

Pei Xing had mentioned it playfully, but he didn’t actually follow through.

After watching Shi Yi drift off to sleep, he collected a bunch of gravel. The kitchen always had warm water, so he heated the gravel and wrapped it tightly in cloth. He then placed it under the quilt.

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The two of them prepared food suitable for the winter, gathered plenty of firewood, and stored it in the two adjacent rooms.

At noon, Pei Xing took a lamb leg, chopped it into pieces, cleaned it, and stewed it into soup with dried vegetables provided by Shi Yi. He also cooked two bowls of noodles in a small pot.

The noodles were the ones that Shi Yi had dried in the sun a few days ago. They were easy to store and prepare.

By the time Pei Xing finished cooking, Shi Yi had just woken up. He felt warmth in the bed and discovered a large cloth bag in his hand, which he held close. While getting dressed, he found another cloth bag inside, keeping his clothes warm as well. His body felt cozy and warm in the cold weather.

Pei Xing brought in the freshly cooked meal. After washing their faces and hands, they huddled under the warm cloth bags, savoring the hot mutton soup, and the cold was no longer a concern.

With all their winter provisions in place, they had plenty of time on their hands.

Pei Xing occasionally went into the mountains to catch wild rabbits and sometimes brought back a wild boar. They had an abundant supply of food, but their oil reserves had run low.

Shi Yi led Pei Xing to extract oil from the seeds they had collected, resulting in two jars of oil.

On the same day, they used the oil to fry meatballs, crispy meat, and meatloaf. They also prepared a pot of dried vegetable soup to accompany the meal.

Since the sea was frozen, they hadn’t been able to catch fish in recent days. After months of eating fish every day, they had grown a bit weary of it. With the newly acquired oil, they decided to make fried fish balls. They headed to the beach with a fishing net.

Pei Xing carried a large stone, creating openings in the ice, and casted the fishing net. Surprisingly, numerous fish swarmed towards the surface, and some even leaped out of the ice.

This time, they had a bountiful catch, around a hundred kilograms of fish, overwhelming the bucket they had brought.

Pei Xing transported the fishing net back home, where they spread it on the ground, and the fish continued to jump. Using wooden sticks, they rendered them unconscious one by one.

They fetched two large wooden basins to hold the fish. Inside the kitchen, they boiled a pot of hot water and mixed it with cold water to facilitate the cleaning process.

Pei Xing, with a knife in hand, minced the fish, meticulously removing the bones while setting the skin and heads aside.

Beside him, Shi Yi molded the minced fish into balls, forming a large container of them. A few pieces were taken out, chopped, and fried in a pan. Excess meat was bundled with straw ropes and hung in the yard.

They toiled tirelessly all day, frying fish balls and relishing them. They made rice soup in a small pot to alleviate their fatigue and complemented the meal with the canned wild fruits Shi Yi had prepared. Each of them filled a large bowl.

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As night fell, they headed to an adjacent room to heat up some gravel, wrapping eight bags in cloth and bringing them back to the house. Each of them placed a bag inside their clothing and under their pillows, leaving the remainder stacked on the bed.

When Shi Yi disrobed and nestled into bed, a sensation of warmth enveloped him. He found himself smiling as he curled into Pei Xing’s arms, and the cold did not disturb their sleep.

Unbeknownst to them, the outside world was in the grip of a rare century-long snowstorm, enveloping the entire Dayu Dynasty in a blanket of snow.