The howling wind, accompanied by the creaking of the bed frame, echoed throughout the room.
Liu Tiezhu was like a fierce warrior, unstoppable on the battlefield.
An hour later, Yang Yulan couldn't take it anymore, limp as mud, she surrendered.
Liu Tiezhu didn't keep up his frenzy; he held Yang Yulan and fell asleep.
The next day, Yang Yulan got up early, cut off that patch of bright red from the bedsheet, and saved it.
In one night, she had transformed from a maiden into a married woman, gaining a newfound allure.
The kitchen light was already on; her sister-in-law was busy preparing breakfast for the family.
Yang Yulan freshened up and went into the kitchen to help.
"Yulan, take a rest and chat with me. You can't touch cold water now."
Huang Xiumei, having been through it herself, could tell at a glance that Yang Yulan had lost her virginity.
Touching cold water at a time like this could easily lead to illness.
Yang Yulan naturally understood what her sister-in-law meant and blushed as she helped Huang Xiumei start the fire.
By the time Liu Tiezhu and the other men woke up, breakfast was already ready.
Today's breakfast was still quite lavish: turtle soup, spicy chicken, steamed mandarin fish, and bamboo shoots stir-fried with wild boar meat.
In the current situation, almost every household in the village was tightening their belts and going hungry. Being able to eat such a hearty breakfast made them practically wealthy.
After breakfast, Uncle asked Liu Tiezhu what his plans were for the day.
Liu Tiezhu thought for a moment and said, "Uncle, I plan to work on physical training with Gouzi again."
"Once Big Sweet Potato's injuries heal, we'll head into the mountains together."
They had enough food for now, so there was no need to worry.
They could take advantage of these few days of warming weather to boost their stamina.
Besides that, they also needed to improve their combat skills.
When the second snowstorm hit, there would be too many unknown threats.
Improving their own strength as much as possible was a way to survive the snowstorm.
"That sounds good. Shanzi and I will use these days to gather more firewood," Uncle said.
The four of them split into two groups. Liu Tiezhu took Er Gouzi to the peanut field.
Uncle and Liu Tieshan went behind the house to collect firewood.
Huang Xiumei and Yang Yulan, along with Yaoyao, took out the men's clothes to mend.
"Brother Tiezhu, you're amazing."
On the way to the peanut field, Er Gouzi grinned slyly.
Liu Tiezhu was taken aback. "What do you mean?"
"What do I mean? Last night, I heard it loud and clear—that creaking sound never stopped."
"Back when I used to hang out with that bastard Liu Gang, we often went to Widow Wang's place."
"She said men always brag about how great they are, but very few can last a full fifteen minutes."
"Last night, I timed it roughly. You went at least an hour straight. How do you do it?"
Er Gouzi looked at Liu Tiezhu with a serious expression.
"Damn it!"
Without a word, Liu Tiezhu grabbed Er Gouzi's arm and threw him to the ground in a wrestling move.
Before Er Gouzi could even cry out, Liu Tiezhu slammed him again.
"Brother Tiezhu, I was wrong..."
"I must have misheard last night..."
Er Gouzi was terrified out of his wits and quickly begged for mercy.
"Gouzi, if you don't start learning something decent, I'll beat you to death," Liu Tiezhu cursed as he pulled Er Gouzi to his feet.
"Brother Tiezhu, look ahead—those two idiots seem to be having a field romp."
Er Gouzi had just stood up when he pointed at something not far away.
About a dozen meters away, Liu Gang and Liu Ruyu were crouched in a haystack, acting sneaky.
Liu Ruyu was leaning on the haystack with both hands, a look of disgust on her face.
Liu Gang was pressed tightly against her, his expression twisted.
Liu Tiezhu squinted and then cursed, "Damn it, that pair of dogs really are having a field romp."
"Are those two idiots brain-damaged? They have a warm house but they come out here looking for excitement."
"In this freezing weather, aren't they afraid of freezing their junk off?"
Hearing this, Er Gouzi broke into a mischievous grin.
"Brother Tiezhu, Widow Wang told me that seeing stuff like this gives you styes and brings bad luck."
"Damn it, I'm not letting those two idiots off easy."
As he spoke, Er Gouzi pulled out some loose firecrackers from his pocket.
"Brother Tiezhu, how about we sneak over and give them a little thrill?"
Seeing Er Gouzi's sly, cheeky look, Liu Tiezhu couldn't help but laugh.
But honestly, seeing something like that really does bring bad luck.
"Let's go. Let's set off some firecrackers to ward off the bad luck."
The two agreed and, firecrackers in hand, crept around to the back of the pair.
Liu Gang, fully absorbed in the moment, was pulling Liu Ruyu's hair and spewing insults.
"You bitch, isn't it big? Isn't it powerful?"
Liu Ruyu rolled her eyes, silently cursing Liu Gang's ancestors eighteen generations back.
A useless waste who couldn't last two minutes, yet he kept shouting about being the toughest man alive.
When Liu Ruyu didn't respond for a while, Liu Gang flew into a rage and slapped her across the back.
"What the hell, you're not saying anything? Am I not tough enough?"
"Tough? You're tougher than Lu Zhishen from *Water Margin*," Liu Ruyu gritted her teeth, forcing a look of enjoyment.
"Fuck you, say it louder!"
Liu Gang snarled, yanking her hair and slapping her a few more times.
"You're tougher than Lu Zhishen. I love it," Liu Ruyu said, having no choice but to play along for the sake of Liu Gang's meat.
"Damn it, Liu Gang is a total pervert."
"That thing of his is like a straw stalk—how tough can it be?"
"And Liu Ruyu is just as cheap."
"Look at her face—she's clearly not feeling anything, but she's pretending to enjoy it. What a load of crap."
Er Gouzi grinned and couldn't help but laugh and curse.
Liu Tiezhu slapped Er Gouzi on the head and chuckled, "Gouzi, quit your yapping. Just light the firecracker and send those two idiots packing."
Er Gouzi quickly struck a match, lit the firecracker, and tossed it behind Liu Gang.
Liu Gang was just getting cocky, about to make Liu Ruyu praise him some more.
*Bang!* The excited Liu Gang's legs went weak, and he was scared limp on the spot.
Liu Ruyu was also startled. Without caring that Liu Gang was still pressed against her, she pulled up her skirt and ran.
Her running wouldn't have been a problem, but Liu Gang, still clinging to her, lost his support and fell flat on his face.
"Who the fuck set off that firecracker and scared me?" Liu Gang scrambled up, pulling up his pants as he cursed.
No sooner had he spoken than another firecracker flew over, forcing him to dive back into the mud.
"You idiots, if you're going to have a field romp, at least pick a decent spot."
Liu Tiezhu and Er Gouzi didn't bother hiding anymore and walked out openly.
Seeing it was Liu Tiezhu and Er Gouzi, Liu Gang flew into a rage.
"Fuck you, it's you two bastards."
"Fuck you, you idiot. Try saying that again?"
Liu Tiezhu glared coldly at Liu Gang, lifting his foot to show his shoe.
"You... you just wait, you bastard."
Liu Gang threatened them, then dragged Liu Ruyu, who was still pulling up her skirt, and hurried away.
Liu Tiezhu shot back, "Idiot, we'll be waiting."
"Next time you have a field romp, pick a better spot, or it won't just be firecrackers."
"Hahaha..."
Liu Gang flipped them off. "Damn it, you bastards just wait."