He racked his brain, trying to recall all the things his mother had been ranting about the past few days. Then he told Lu Liu, “Your dad just wants you to squeeze more benefits out of me. You tell him, if I’m not even giving you face, then he’s getting nothing. Tell him to show a little sincerity first.”
Lu Liu lit up. That’s exactly what he had been thinking when he decided to go back and get some tofu from the old man—he wanted Chen Laoye to show some sincerity too.
Ah, so he wasn’t dumb! He was actually smart—his plan matched what Li Feng just said. That boosted his confidence like crazy. He straightened up and said firmly, “I’ll definitely bring back lots and lots of tofu!”
Li Feng smirked at that and told him, “I’ll pack two cotton coats for you. Pick whichever one you like.”
Lu Liu’s eyes sparkled.
Cotton coats!
His savior!
This winter was going to be a whole lot warmer!
Lu Liu, thinking in terms of household hierarchy, said, “I want my dad’s coat—his is thick and warm!”
Li Feng chuckled.
Perfect.
Let’s go ahead and strip the old man’s coat.
On the day Lu Liu returned to his maiden home, half of Chenjiawan came out to see the show. Everyone wanted a peek at the return gift.
His wedding had been extravagant, with a generous bride price and the Chen family showing off. They’d raised the bar—there was no way this return gift could be skimpy.
Li Feng was driving the mule cart, with Lu Liu riding in back. A large basket was tied to the cart, making everyone curious.
Someone called out, “Brought a lot of meat for your family, huh?”
Lu Liu replied, “Five jin.”
Of rice cakes.
A chorus of playful gasps and teasing followed. They asked if he brought sugar.
Lu Liu nodded, “Also five jin.”
Still rice cakes.
Five jin of meat. Five jin of sugar. That sounded like a really generous return gift.
People couldn’t think of anything else he could’ve brought, so they asked again what else was in the basket.
Lu Liu said, “Five jin of rice cakes.”
That time, it was actually true.
Li Feng stood nearby listening, barely able to hold a straight face. He had to work hard to keep a grin off his lips, but there was still a twinkle in his eye.
His little husband was something else—lying through his teeth with a straight face, and everyone bought it.
Li Feng was tall and broad-shouldered, with thick brows and tanned skin. He looked rugged and a little intimidating, so not many people struck up casual conversation with him. Those who did were polite.
Seeing the amused look in his eyes, they guessed the couple must be getting along well. Someone asked, “With you being so generous, your father-in-law must be over the moon, huh?”
Li Feng simply replied, “He deserves it.”
That answer felt… off. People had questions in their hearts but didn’t say anything out loud.
They watched the mule cart pull into the Chen family courtyard, and a few of them followed, wanting to see the return gift being unloaded.
It seemed so extravagant—no other family had ever brought back such a lavish gift for a return visit.
Lu Liu got nervous with so many eyes on them, but seeing Li Feng calm and unbothered, steady as a rock, he clung to his arm for comfort, making the onlookers laugh.
But it was all in good fun, no malice behind the laughter. It sounded just like the teasing on his wedding day.
Blushing, Lu Liu looked up and saw Father Chen and Lu Sanfeng coming out to greet them. But his eyes immediately locked onto Father Chen’s cotton coat—he nearly forgot to greet them properly.
Father Chen was no fool. He knew the Li family wasn’t the type to take a loss quietly. So when he saw the return gift, no way was he letting them unload it in the open courtyard.
Li Feng didn’t care about his act. He took Lu Liu inside to sit down.
Father Chen had no choice but to call his two sons to help carry the basket.
The eldest came out obediently right away.
The youngest dragged his feet, making a fuss.
By the time he finally showed up, Father Chen was already helping the eldest carry the basket.
It was just five jin of rice cakes—why’d they need two people to lift it?
But thanks to all the gossip flying around—five jin of meat, five jin of sugar, five jin of rice cakes—everyone assumed the basket was packed to the brim.
So the Chen father and son lifted with all their strength—and nearly threw their backs out.
No one else noticed. Some even stepped forward offering to help, but Father Chen swallowed his frustration and just said, “I’m getting old—takes effort to carry anything these days.”
He kept up the act, trying to show how much he valued Lu Yang in front of the neighbors.
Since Lu Yang was coming home today, he wasn’t inviting any other guests—just wanted to catch up with his son.
People in the courtyard slowly drifted away, turning back every few steps for one last look. A few stuck around by the gate, chatting.
Old Man Chen was clearly unimpressed and made up his mind right then—he needed to get back to the county town as soon as possible.
Inside the main room, Lu Sanfeng had already opened the lid on the basket.
Her face, previously glowing with excitement, froze instantly. A storm of emotions surged inside her, but she managed to force a tight-lipped smile and said through gritted teeth, “This return gift is obviously our Yang-ge’er’s idea. Really… good and affordable.”
Her tone made it clear—“affordable” was meant as a jab. But in Lu Liu’s mind, finding something good and cheap meant you were good at managing a household.
Thinking of his brother, he nodded sincerely.
“Knows how to run a household.”
Lu Sanfeng: ?
You think that was a compliment?!
Old Man Chen shot her a look, signaling her to drop it. Then he turned to Li Feng.
“Come sit inside. The kang’s been heated—it’s warm.”
Their family was used to living well in the county town and couldn’t stand the cold back in the village. They’d lit the kang early to stay warm.
Lu Sanfeng shifted gears and pulled Lu Liu aside, saying she had some private things to talk to him about.
Lu Liu had zero interest in private conversations with her. He was worried she’d scold him, and he didn’t want to be separated from Li Feng. He even kept glancing in Li Feng’s direction with visible reluctance.
Sanfeng couldn’t stand it. She just dragged him off.
The village homes weren’t that big. Trying to find a private place to talk and get Lu Liu to cook, she dragged him to the kitchen shed.
The ingredients were already prepped—homegrown greens and radishes, nothing different from what they had in Lizhai. There was also fresh tofu, some tofu dregs cakes, and two jin of meat.
Sanfeng told Lu Liu to figure out the menu. She listed a few dishes and brought out some flour.
“Steam some buns. Your dad’s been craving them.”
Lu Liu didn’t want to cook—he was anxious to leave.
“Da Feng still has to go home and make rice cakes. We were planning to head out soon.”
Sanfeng scolded him, full of contempt.
“Barely been married a few days and already turning your back on your parents. Ask you to do one chore, and you want to run off. Shameless.”
After the scolding, she added,
“Go get Li Feng. Tell him to chop firewood.”
No one gets off easy—she had it all planned out.
Lu Liu couldn’t help touching his face. If only he had skin that thick—how could anyone just say stuff like that out loud?
He mumbled, “We just got here…”
Sanfeng gave him a push and handed him a head of cabbage.
“Alright, cut the act. You can lie to that Li boy, but you think you can fool me? I can see you’ve got him wrapped around your finger. Get him to chop some firewood—show a little effort in front of your father-in-law. That shows you value him. Go.”
Lu Liu couldn’t outtalk her, but his thoughts were blunt and honest.
“What’s up with them? They don’t want to shovel manure, fine, but now they don’t even want to chop wood?”
He was talking about the Chen brothers. To be fair, the older one could be pushed into working. But since the younger was so lazy, the two just ended up slacking off together—neither one doing a thing.
That was the situation, but Sanfeng wouldn’t allow him to criticize her sons.
She glared at him.
“You’re a man—what do you know about a man’s business? Just do what I said.”
Lu Liu didn’t move.
Sanfeng softened her tone a bit.
“Look at your two brothers. Do they look like the type who does manual labor?”
That only made Lu Liu dig in his heels more.
So what, his Da Feng looks like the type to do manual labor?
Lu Liu, at heart, was still gentle. He figured this setup at the Chen household wasn’t sustainable. They were back in the village now—they should live like village folks. If they weren’t going to chop their own wood, then they’d have to buy it.
So he said to Sanfeng, “Then just buy firewood. Winter’s far from over.”
That pushed her over the edge. She jabbed him in the forehead several times.
“You’ve got some nerve, huh? Trying to teach me how to run a household?!”
Lu Liu covered his head. He didn’t want to talk to her anymore.
Back then, when people bullied him, he’d always run away fast. But here in the Chen house, there was nowhere to run. All he wanted now was to go back to Lizhai.
He asked flat out, “How much tofu is left at home?”
Sanfeng, caught off guard, answered reflexively, “We made two slabs this morning. Sold a bit already—there’s one and a bit left.”
