Chapter 10
Lu Liu: “……”
He didn’t even know where the soybean dregs were.
But he had heard from his older brother that this was a very, very, very important matter. The Chen family always maintained a good reputation outside, so when it came to turning people down, his brother was the one who handled it.
If people outside said bad things about his brother, it didn’t matter. The Chen family would just say he was still young and didn’t understand things. They didn’t care about his reputation.
Lu Liu wasn’t as smooth-tongued as his brother, so his rejection was blunt: “I can’t give you any soybean dregs because I already ate them all.”
The man’s expression froze for a moment, unable to react. “You ate them all?”
Old Man Chen had just finished parking the mule cart, setting down the soybeans, and feeding his old companion lunch when he heard this. Looking at Lu Liu’s innocent wide eyes, he just felt that this kid was too delicate.
It’s just a stomachache, right? Did it mess up his brain too? He couldn’t even talk properly anymore?
Old Man Chen stepped in to smooth things over. “He’s exhausted today and not feeling well. He didn’t eat the soybean dregs. I just fed them to the mule. We didn’t make much tofu today either. Next time, next time I’ll save some for you.”
He pointed towards the livestock shed.
Before returning to the village, they had sold all their chickens, so there was no chicken coop in the yard. The only one eating soybean dregs now was the mule.
The man took note of Old Man Chen’s words.
“Next time for sure! I’ll come as soon as I smell it!”
Soybean dregs could be turned into food—fermented on straw to make soybean cakes, which were great for stews or stir-fried with vegetables.
In the Chen family’s tofu shop, soybean dregs were sold for copper coins. Whatever wasn’t used for feeding livestock was turned into soybean cakes. How could they just give them away?
Once all the visitors had left, Old Man Chen called Lu Liu inside and scolded him a bit.
Lu Liu just listened without talking back, without the slightest hint of defiance.
Old Man Chen knew he had a stomachache, so he didn’t say too much. At that moment, Lu Sanfeng cut in and told Lu Liu to hurry up and make lunch.
“Afterward, clean up the main hall, wash your brother’s dirty clothes, and scrub all the shoes that won’t be worn today.”
Afraid of saying something wrong, Lu Liu just replied with “Mm-hmm, okay.”
Seeing him looking pitiful, Old Man Chen waved his hand, telling him to go rest and letting Lu Sanfeng make lunch instead.
Lu Sanfeng was in disbelief, pointing at herself. “Me? Cook?”
Old Man Chen raised an eyebrow. “Go on. In a few days, Yang will be married off, and you’ll have to take care of everything at home.”
Lu Sanfeng was hit hard by this, as if she had only just realized what Lu Yang’s marriage meant for her.
She didn’t head to the kitchen but hurriedly told Old Man Chen, “Then we have to hurry and find a wife for the eldest! There’s too much to do around here—I can’t handle it all!”
Old Man Chen’s foot was hurting, so he didn’t argue with her.
“Just endure for now. Once the tofu shop is running and we have silver in hand, we’ll arrange a match for the eldest. If we do it now, we have no money for the betrothal gifts—we’d just be a laughingstock.”
Lu Liu’s stomach had stopped hurting, but he didn’t dare to be idle in this unfamiliar house.
If he slowed down, time would drag on, and he’d get nervous and risk exposing himself.
The kitchen was easy to find. He let Old Man Chen know he was going, then glanced at Lu Sanfeng.
By family ties, Lu Sanfeng was his aunt.
It was his first time meeting her, and he couldn’t bring himself to call her “Mother.” After hesitating for a moment, he just nodded and left.
Watching his back, Lu Sanfeng grumbled to Old Man Chen, “Look at this ungrateful brat. Ever since his marriage was arranged, he’s become wild—he won’t listen, won’t obey, just wants to run away like we’re a burden!”
Old Man Chen took off his shoes and socks and saw that his foot was indeed swollen from Li Feng stepping on it. He couldn’t help but defend Lu Liu. “He’s not wrong, though. Is Li Feng really a good match? He’s huge and full of brute strength—just walking around the house could knock Yang over. A guy with that kind of fist strength, if he ever gets frustrated outside, he’ll come home and take it out on his spouse. Otherwise, why would he still be unmarried at twenty-three?”
Lu Sanfeng: “???”
“Old man, have you lost your mind?”
Old Man Chen didn’t want to argue.
In the kitchen, Lu Liu prepared the ingredients and cooked over a fire. He steamed rice and sweet potatoes, made a bowl of egg custard, and took a fish head from the bucket. He fried it lightly in a small amount of oil with two slices of ginger to remove the fishy smell, then simmered it in water with two radishes.
The preserved meat from breakfast was still uneaten, and there were fresh vegetables gifted by the villagers in a bamboo basket. He stir-fried them together into a big dish. He also found the pickled vegetable jar, scooped out some pickled greens, and washed them.
He fried a few slices of fatty pork first, using the rendered fat to cook the pickled vegetables. The smell was incredible.
The Chen family’s meals were far better than the Lu family’s, but at the dinner table, Lu Liu could only eat sweet potatoes as his main food. His rice bowl barely had a thin layer at the bottom, not even two bites’ worth.
The rice left a crispy crust at the bottom of the pot. Cooked with rice water, it became fragrant and warm for the stomach.
This he was allowed to have—Old Man Chen told him to drink more of it.
Lu Liu happily agreed. After drinking the rice soup, he broke into a sweat and felt a little dizzy.
In the afternoon, while tidying up the house, he didn’t even go into his sleeping room. He swept the floors, wiped the tables, cleaned the kitchen, and washed clothes and shoes.
It hadn’t snowed yet, but it was already cold enough for cotton-padded clothes. No one in the village would waste hot water on washing. After all the chores, his sweat had dried and chilled on him. And because he couldn’t let his guard down, always afraid of exposing himself, he stayed on high alert, repeating his brother’s name in his head. Anytime someone called “Lu Yang” or “Yang,” he immediately responded.
By evening, he had worked himself sick.
It had been a stressful day. He had walked over ten miles to the market in the morning, and Lu Yang’s cotton clothing was too thin to block the wind. When he finally lay down to rest, he developed a fever.
Lu Sanfeng had planned to wake him up to cook dinner. But when she entered and saw him sleeping soundly, she cursed him a couple of times. Then, seeing his flushed face, she reached out to touch him and was shocked.
“Old man! Old man! Yang’s burning up!”
The Chen house was thrown into chaos.
—
Meanwhile, on the other side, Lu Yang had returned to the Lu family home. Unlike Lu Liu, he was more relaxed, swapping identities without a hitch, strolling around the yard as if nothing was wrong, even asking questions as he walked.
Lu Erbao and Wang Fengnian didn’t think too much about it and answered whatever he asked.
The Lu house was quiet. The three of them weren’t talkative, so it often felt like an empty house.
Lu Yang, on the other hand, was full of curiosity. Hearing his questions made the house feel livelier, bringing smiles to their faces.
When Wang Fengnian checked their purchases and saw they had bought red dates, dried longan, and brown sugar, his smile grew, though his eyes betrayed a trace of sorrow.
They had sold all their chickens, and there wouldn’t be any new chicks until spring.
