Chapter 218: Chapter 218: The One Who Loves You Always Fears They Haven’t Given Enough

This is also the most troublesome step in space farming: you can plow, harvest, and water with one click, but you can’t plant with one click. After all, each crop has its own planting method. It’s not like grass seeds, which will grow as soon as you scatter them.

Of course, one-click planting isn’t completely impossible—some seeds will always survive—but the results are just so-so.

Xu Huaian patiently divided the land into different sections, thoughtfully leaving paths for walking so Gu Qinghuan could come and pick whenever she wanted.

He bought seeds for every kind of vegetable and fruit he could name from the vending machine and planted them, not caring whether they were in season or not—after all, everything could thrive in the space.

Gu Qinghuan seemed to especially love strawberries and cherries, so he bought strawberry seedlings from the vending machine and planted a whole acre of them.

The seller said these strawberry plants could bear fruit for over three years in a row, and in the space, their lifespan could be extended even further. For a long time to come, Gu Qinghuan would never run out of strawberries to eat.

Although Gu Qinghuan liked strawberries, she’d never thought of planting so many just for herself. Partly because it was troublesome, but mostly because she didn’t think it was worth all the fuss just to satisfy a craving.

But seeing him crouched in the field, painstakingly planting each strawberry seedling one by one, in that moment, her heart completely melted.

The one who loves you always fears they haven’t given you enough; the one who doesn’t love you always fears you want too much. There’s no such thing as someone who doesn’t understand romance—if they love you, they’ll find every way possible to show it.

It’s different from the love parents give. Love from a partner, it turns out, can make your heart flutter and feel so sweet.

This time, she no longer felt lost or hesitant. She was more certain than ever: this man was worth letting go of all her prejudices and loving with all her heart.

Cherry trees wouldn’t bear fruit so quickly, but Xu Huaian still bought and planted a whole grove, fencing off a special cherry orchard.

Anything Gu Qinghuan liked, he kept in mind.

He planted a huge amount of vegetables and fruit—not just enough for people to eat, but also for the animals, and he could even sell the surplus through the vending machine for money.

This was the last thing Xu Huaian could do for her.

Gu Qinghuan didn’t lack money. Now, with all sorts of plants and animals in the space, she didn’t have to worry about food or drink. With the vending machine, she could buy whatever she wanted, eat whatever she liked.

She did have to take care of two kids, but they were big enough not to need carrying around. It just meant cooking a few more meals, and sometimes they could even help her out.

She could do the laundry after the kids fell asleep, secretly using the washing machine and dryer, so it wasn’t tiring at all.

Next year, when they both went to school, life would be even more comfortable.

All in all, Gu Qinghuan didn’t feel like she was suffering at all.

But Xu Huaian treated her like a poor, suffering little cabbage, afraid that after he left she’d have a hard time at home, so he insisted on arranging everything down to the smallest detail.

He even took Gu Qinghuan to a nearby mountain and secretly moved ten big trees into the space.

He planned to chop all ten trees into firewood of the right size and stack them in the space.

After he left, if there was ever no firewood at home, Gu Qinghuan wouldn’t have to go to the mountain to gather it—she could just use these firewood bundles.

Gu Qinghuan couldn’t help with chopping firewood. At most, she could uproot the big trees and split them into a few pieces, but she couldn’t do the fine work of chopping them into small firewood bundles.

Whenever he had time, Xu Huaian would run into the space, busying himself with all these chores.

Gu Qinghuan couldn’t help him, so she put even more effort into making delicious food.

Other people saw the two of them coming and going mysteriously all day and thought the young couple was getting clingy before their separation.

While Xu Huaian was busy with chores, Gu Qinghuan wasn’t idle either.

She ordered two hundred jin (about 100 kg) of fresh beef from the vending machine to make beef jerky for Xu Huaian to take with him. There was mutton and wild boar at home, but neither tasted as good as beef.

Beef jerky keeps well and can last for months.

When Xu Huaian missed home, he could take some out and have a taste of home.

She also needed to make some for Gu Lanting and the others to take with them when they left, leave some for home, and give some to each of the two cattle sheds.

Two hundred jin of beef would yield at most about a hundred jin of beef jerky.

A hundred jin, split among a few families, actually wasn’t that much.

Time was tight, so she couldn’t air-dry it naturally and had to use the oven and other tools.

The oven at home was small, so she bought a commercial-sized oven just for this batch of beef jerky—one that could bake a lot at once.

Making beef jerky is actually very simple.

Cut the fresh beef into strips a bit thicker than your finger, adjusting the length as needed for your oven.

This step was a bit of a hassle—she had two hundred jin of meat, and it took her an entire afternoon to finish cutting.

Then came the marinating.

She added cooking wine, soy sauce, cumin powder, Sichuan pepper powder, crushed black pepper, chili powder, and salt.

After mixing everything well, she sealed it up to marinate overnight for better flavor.

The next morning, she started baking. She tossed the meat with corn oil, arranged it on trays, and put it in the oven.

Bake at 170°C for 20 minutes, then take it out and pour off the liquid, put the trays back in for another 10 minutes.

By then, the jerky was basically set. She took the strips off the tray, put them on a wire rack, and baked at 170°C for another 20 minutes, then they were done.

Fresh out of the oven, the beef jerky was still a bit hard, but it would soften a little as it cooled—chewy and fragrant.

The flavor was rich and meaty, with a complex texture and a lingering aftertaste.

As soon as the beef jerky was ready, Gu Qinghuan couldn’t wait to bring some for Xu Huaian to try.

He was working shirtless, swinging an axe with all his strength, showing off his attractive abs and muscles.

The temperature in the space was comfortable, but since he was working so hard, he had to take off his shirt.

Gu Qinghuan secretly swallowed—Xu Huaian’s body was just too good, like it was made for her.

He wasn’t too skinny, had all the right muscles, but wasn’t overly bulky.

The way he swung the axe was the most dangerous—he radiated a powerful, masculine beauty, and she felt completely safe.

Gu Qinghuan admitted she was tempted. This man’s stamina was amazing—he’d been working all morning and wasn’t even tired!

Xu Huaian noticed her coming over and immediately stopped what he was doing.

Gu Qinghuan handed him a towel. Xu Huaian was about to take it and wipe his sweat, but when he saw the stars in her eyes, he changed his mind.

He deliberately stretched out his hand and said, “My hands are dirty. Can you help me?” His tone was shameless.

Gu Qinghuan didn’t hesitate to get closer and wipe his sweat for him. After all, he was her man. Honestly, after being married for so long, they hadn’t really had many truly intimate moments.

Maybe… before he left, she should just push him down?

Gu Qinghuan thought boldly to herself."