Chen Guizhi just nodded.
The two of them stayed up late eating dinner, and Lu Liu returned at about the usual time. He combed out two handfuls of Erhuang’s hair, pressed it into small cakes, rolled them up, and put them in a small pouch along with the comb. When he got home, he spun some thread and made a small net bag for Erhuang to wear and play with.
Dinner was prepared early that evening. He went to the kitchen to help, but Chen Guizhi didn’t want to deal with him and didn’t come over to assist. She said she didn’t need him to cook and only sent Shun Ge to tell Lu Liu, “Mother said not to cook for Second Brother and Second Sister-in-Law, so you should make less.”
Lu Liu took note of this.
He and Shun Ge had small appetites, but his mother had a good appetite and could usually eat a bowl, while Li Feng needed two bowls or more.
Comparing the quantities, Lu Liu took the rice, washed it, put it in the pot to cook, and then prepared the vegetables.
Li Feng took the bean curd and tofu from Old Chen, and divided them equally with Lu Yang, each getting half. They left five pieces in the new village.
Lu Liu made tofu dishes, as he liked to use tofu for side dishes.
Li Feng ate a lot, so if the dishes were too bland, he would eat them plain, using the vegetables to fill his stomach, and eat less rice, which would make him hungry again soon.
As usual, he first sliced the tofu, fried it in a pan, and then added soybean paste to stew it for a while.
Four people were eating, and eating only tofu dishes was too extravagant, so he added cabbage to stew with it.
He also made stir-fried bean curd residue.
Bean curd residue is cheaper than tofu, and poor families cannot afford tofu, but occasionally buying some bean curd residue is also a treat.
Soybean curd is very crumbly, so there are many ways to stir-fry it. He heard that you can stir-fry it with minced meat, eggs, and garlic sprouts.
He had never tried that before. Usually, when stir-frying soybean curd, he would use pickled vegetables, but the combination didn’t look very appealing. It would turn into a sticky mess, and the flavors would clash after being cooked.
Later, he stopped adding pickled vegetables and started using soy sauce instead, adding some minced garlic and scallion segments, which tasted pretty good.
Four people, a bowl of stewed vegetables for the main dish, and a bowl of stir-fried tofu渣 as a side dish.
Lu Liu was craving his mother’s pickled radish, so he looked around the kitchen and found some, taking out a small bowlful.
With three dishes on the table, dinner was ready.
Chen Guizhi had already sat down at the table. Seeing Lu Liu happily bring out the dishes, each plate a smile, working hard yet still happy, she couldn’t help but be speechless.
Er Tian heard his wife’s words and came out to ask for food, but Li Feng told him to make it himself.
“How old are you? Still asking your mother for food?”
As soon as he spoke, Er Tian dared not make a fuss, but muttered to himself, “Why is it that as soon as you come back, I have no food to eat?”
Good question.
Li Feng said, “I don’t want to give you any food.”
His response was too direct, and Er Tian fell silent.
He turned to Lu Liu and said, “Sister-in-law, it’s all because of the pillow talk, isn’t it?”
Lu Liu didn’t understand what he meant by pillow talk at first: “What wind?”
Er Tian accused him of pretending.
Lu Liu immediately thought of what her brother had said and told Er Tian, “Just listen to your wife.”
Isn’t “whispering in your ear” just listening to your wife?
Er Tian’s face turned red with anger. If Li Feng hadn’t been sitting there, he would have pointed at Lu Liu and yelled at her like last time.
After this little incident, the family of four sat down to eat.
Lu Liu didn’t mention the incident, and Wang Dongmei came out to cook shortly after. When she went to the kitchen, she also wanted to eat tofu. She searched everywhere but couldn’t find any, so she came out to ask and found out that Chen Guizhi had locked all the tofu in the house.
Li Feng put down his chopsticks and without a word, went to beat up Er Tian.
Wang Dongmei came over and heard this, her anger boiling over.
“So it’s not your husband getting beaten, is it? Listen to what you’re saying—does that even make sense?”
Lu Liu only replied, “Er Tian doesn’t listen to you anyway. Why should I care if what I say makes sense or not?”
Shun Ge held his bowl, laughing uncontrollably from behind, then ran back to the main hall to tell his mother what had happened.
If you say he’s tough, he doesn’t have a temper. If you say he’s not tough, he can drive you crazy with just a few words.
Lu Liu loved pickled radish and also served some to Li Feng to help him calm down.
Remembering that his mother was also upset, he also served her some pickled radish.
Chen Guizhi said, “I eat radish every day; I’m tired of it.”
Lu Liu made a couple of “oh” sounds and served her a bowl of tofu.
He was quick with his chopsticks, and his skill amazed everyone at the banquet. Chen Guizhi was just a moment too slow, and Lu Liu had already scooped most of the tofu into her bowl.
“Mother, eat the tofu. The tofu is delicious.”
Chen Guizhi had nothing to say, so she let them each take a few pieces of tofu and chatted with Lu Liu about everyday matters.
After dinner, Lu Liu didn’t have to clean up and went home with Li Feng early.
They ate dinner early, so they could still see the road when they went out. Shun Ge lit a lantern for them and reminded them, “Next time you come back, bring a lantern with you. We don’t have any extra lanterns at home.”
The couple went home and stopped by San Miao’s house on the way to pick up some goods.
While helping load the cart, Sanmiao handed the rouge to Li Feng.
He felt embarrassed and whispered to Li Feng, “Big Brother Feng, I’m really sorry. My little sister let it slip this afternoon, and now your surprise is out.”
Li Feng took the rouge and, thinking of Lu Liu’s temperament, smiled and said, “It’s okay.”
The two returned home quickly, not discussing the matter along the way. Upon arriving home, Li Feng handed the lantern to Lu Liu.
As usual, Lu Liu first went to the doghouse to check on the rabbits. Today, he only glanced at them before rushing out to boil water and heat the bed, not allowing Li Feng to help. He urged Li Feng to unload the goods and feed the donkey.
He was a bit slower, so he started two fires and passed the firewood. Li Feng took the opportunity to feed the rabbits and felt the mother rabbit’s belly. He calculated with Lu Liu that she might give birth around the second or third day of the first lunar month.
Lu Liu wanted to build a rabbit hutch to welcome the baby rabbits.
Li Feng agreed to help him.
The two washed up and soaked their feet. Li Feng told him about tidying up the house and arranging for his mother and younger brother to sleep there.
Lu Liu had no objections and was very enthusiastic. Since he had married into the family, he had only spent time with his mother and younger brother a few times, but each time had been pleasant. With the household getting busier, it would be better for everyone to live together.
After soaking their feet for a long time, the couple reviewed the new characters they had learned, then dried their feet on the bed.
There were nine picture books in total, with two at Miao Xiaohu’s place and one at Yao Fulang’s place, which they exchanged to read.
Lu Liu had only read two of the ones in his hands. He read slower than others and liked to stare at some of the pictures for a while.
He was too inexperienced to understand some of the poses.
If he asked questions, Li Feng would try to explain, making him both embarrassed and delighted.
Today, Miao Xiaohuo asked him which one he liked best, but he couldn’t say. He didn’t recognize the names of the books.
When the art books were placed in front of him and he was asked which painting he liked best, he still couldn’t say. He hadn’t even tried them all yet.
But he knew what Li Feng liked. Some of the paintings showed people eating chicken in various parts of the house, and some even showed people eating chicken outside.
It was cold, so the two of them stayed huddled in this small room without trying anything. But Li Feng loved looking at the paintings, and he looked at them many times.
The book had never been lent out, and the pages were curled. Lu Liu felt sorry for it, so she kept it under the blankets during the day and took it out at night, but it still had wrinkles.
Sigh.
When Li Feng returned, he saw him sighing.
He glanced at the book and asked if he had picked it out.
Lu Liu was distracted and didn’t understand.
Li Feng said, “What chicken are we having tonight?”
Lu Liu understood and put the books away in the cabinet.
He said, “Let’s watch Yan Zhi tonight!”
Before she got married, she went to the county seat to shop, and at that time she also wanted to buy a box of rouge, but it was so expensive—a box as small as a fingernail cost fifty coins, and she couldn’t bring herself to buy it.
Now Da Feng had bought it for her, and she was about to have her first box of rouge!
