Chapter 101

Lu Liu giggled again and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, still damp with tears.

The dough-drop soup was piping hot, so he took tiny bites, eating slowly. In between mouthfuls, he started chatting with Li Feng, bringing up the idea of going into town for a meal.

He was going to see his big brother—he could bring those gloves along and give them to him as a gift.

The hat wasn’t finished yet. Things had been busy lately. He’d give it to him next time. After they met once, it’d be easier to visit each other.

And once it was all out in the open, he could finally go home and see his two dads.

Life was good. He was so, so happy.

That night, he was the one who asked to “eat chicken.”

That reminded Li Feng of something. He brought over a book. “People in the county sure know a lot. Let’s learn from them.”

Lu Liu had never read a book in his life. He looked at it with the kind of reverence only the poor had toward anything expensive.

Books were costly—nothing a family like his could afford.

He asked curiously, “What are we learning?”

Without skipping a beat, Li Feng replied, “A hundred ways to eat chicken.”

Lu Liu, of course, had no experience with books. Everything he’d been taught before marriage was bits and pieces—half understood at best—and most of what he knew now was because Li Feng had taught him by hand.

He didn’t question the contents at all. He really thought it was a cookbook.

“A hundred ways? There are that many ways to eat chicken?”

He wanted to learn.

He wanted to make sure Li Feng ate well.

He leaned in for a peek—and the moment he caught sight of the “illustrations,” he froze.
Then his whole face turned red, faster than a boiled chicken.

Li Feng told him to pick a method he liked.

Lu Liu’s eyes were full of shyness, but he didn’t act coy. Blushing fiercely, he took the assignment seriously and chose a method that looked… a little rough.

Li Feng’s gaze darkened. He quietly set the book aside—and brought his husband along for some “wild flavor.”

While the two of them were busy “studying recipes,” there was a quiet commotion outside their home.

Yao’s husband had been worried that Lu Liu might really get beaten. When he saw Li Feng come home earlier, he dragged Li Qiang along and they came to stake out the place—ready to jump in if things got violent.

While squatting there, they ran into Chen’s husband.

Chen, not wanting to lose face, had pulled his buddy Miao along—also there to see if Li Feng had actually beaten Lu Liu half to death.

The four of them didn’t get too close, so they couldn’t hear what was said—but they could see clearly how gently Li Feng was treating Lu Liu. The way he coaxed him, practically chasing him around to comfort him… speaking soft and low… nothing like the domineering man they were used to seeing.

That sight made Yao’s husband both relieved and proud. He threw a passive-aggressive jab at Chen’s husband:
“See that? I told you Lu Liu was living a good life. Some people just need to stop being so bitter.”

Chen’s husband couldn’t let that go. He fired back, jabbing where it hurt—bringing up how Yao had failed to land that hunting trip he’d wanted so badly:
“Oh, sure. You’re not bitter—you’re just calculating. How’d that work out for you? All that sucking up for nothing. At the end of the day, you still gotta stand on your own two feet.”

That hit a nerve hard. Li Qiang didn’t even try to stop the fight. Husband and wife stood united, turning on Chen together—and right there in front of Li Feng and Lu Liu’s doorstep, the argument broke out.

—

The next day, Lu Liu went out and told Yao’s husband he was heading into town on the fifteenth. He asked if there was anything he wanted brought back.

Yao’s husband looked like he was in a bad mood. “No.”

Lu Liu didn’t get it. He assumed maybe there was some fight between him and Li Qiang, so he offered some comfort. That only made Yao’s face even darker.

Yao said, “You should stop locking yourself in the house all the time. Go out more. You don’t even know what people have been saying about you. You might be fine, but I’m out here getting pissed off!”

Lu Liu took that to heart. He gently patted Yao’s hand and asked, “Wanna eat some pancakes? I’ll buy you some, okay? Don’t stay mad. When I get back from town, I’ll come visit—you and me can hang out.”

With someone as soft as Lu Liu, it was hard to stay angry. Yao’s expression finally brightened. He smiled and said, “No need. Da Qiang’s also heading to town in a day or two. He said he’d buy some for me.”

Lu Liu was genuinely happy for him. He kept repeating how thoughtful Da Qiang was, saying it over and over. Yao’s heart felt all warm inside.

He thought—all that arguing I did for Lu Liu, all the stuff I said to defend him… it was worth it.

—

On the fifteenth, the day of the Lantern Festival, Lu Liu rode with the rice cake vendor’s cart into the county town.

His face was all smiles the whole way—he looked downright festive.

San Miao turned to him and asked, “Lu Liu, what’s got you grinning like that today?”

Lu Liu couldn’t exactly tell people he was going to see his brother, so he just beamed and said,
“I’m just happy to be with Da Feng!”

The way he said it made all seven or eight guys traveling with them start hooting and teasing him. Their looks alone were enough to make him blush, and then they turned their teasing toward Li Feng.

But Li Feng had a thick skin. He grinned and said things like,
“My little husband’s so clingy,” and “Not like I want to be like this…”
But his eyes and the corners of his mouth betrayed the truth—he was smiling so much it couldn’t be hidden.

If only he could show this kind of focus in the mountains, he might’ve made a decent hunter.

Once they got to town, they did things the usual way: some of them went off in small groups to sell, and whatever didn’t sell, they’d cart off to the rice shop.

Li Feng picked a route, loaded with rice cakes and his little husband in tow, and headed to Lu Yang’s bun shop.

Outside the shop, Lu Yang had cobbled together a sign out of torn red paper that read “Food for Sale.”

When Lu Liu got to the door and saw his older brother bustling around, he blurted out,
“Big Brother!”

Lu Yang looked up—and saw the same silly little brother, his face half-covered, just like the day they’d first met at the market.

Li Feng’s cart was still loaded with rice cakes. Lu Yang had Xie Yan lead him around to the back door so he could rest in the courtyard.

Lu Liu entered through the front. As soon as he stepped in and saw Lu Lin there too, he ducked behind Lu Yang like a startled rabbit, not even daring to glance around.

Lu Lin looked confused.
“Hey, who’s this little guy?”

He and Lu Liu had both grown up in Lu Family Village and were close in age, so among the Lu clan, Lu Liu actually knew him relatively well. That made him extra nervous—he was afraid Lu Lin might recognize him.

But Lu Lin, who had no idea about the whole twin situation, just felt the kid looked familiar. He didn’t think too much of it.

Lu Yang casually said,
“Distant cousin of Xie Yan’s.”

Efficient as always, Lu Yang told Lu Lin to keep an eye on the front of the shop while he took “his brother” to the back. When he saw Li Feng, he got straight to business:
“How much are you selling the rice cakes for per pound?”

Li Feng gave him two prices.
“Retail’s twenty copper per jin. If we sell to the rice shop, they only give sixteen. I’ll give it to you at sixteen.”

Lu Yang frowned. The rice shop was undercutting way too much.

But he didn’t comment on that right away. Instead, he turned to the big oaf Shazhu and said,
“Go tell Lin this stuff’s twenty per jin. Have him sell at the front. Move a basket over, then take a stroll through the neighborhood and holler a bit.”

Li Feng said,
“No need.”

But Shazhu only listened to Lu Yang. If he told him to move it, he’d move it.

Li Feng pressed his hand down on the basket—and Shazhu couldn’t budge it.

“No need to sell. Once we eat, I’ll walk around myself. Xiao Liu can stay here with you, and I’ll come back for him later,” said Li Feng.

Lu Yang rolled his eyes.
“I’m not charging you rent, am I? What’s your rush? Just let go already. You’re here, may as well make use of the time—plenty to get done today. Besides, no guarantee it’ll sell anyway.”

Lu Liu tried to support him, softly saying,
“Da Feng…”

Xie Yan, standing in the yard and trying to be helpful, turned to Shazhu and said,
“Just grab another basket.”

Li Feng: “…”

Forget it.

Shazhu hauled the basket inside, told Lu Lin the price, and dashed off to advertise.

Lu Yang led his little brother inside to sit. He was already preparing to move full-time to the county, so he’d cleared out the back room.

It hadn’t been divided yet—just one large open space with a huge kang bed running the length of it. There was no fire in the bed, so it was chilly inside. By the far wall, there were supplies—mostly rice and flour, some meat reserves, oil, salt, sauces, and a couple baskets of turnips and cabbages.

In the room was a square table, positioned away from the door—perfect for four to sit around and eat. That’s where they usually had their meals.

Beside the table was a small stove with a kettle of tea warming on it. Along the base of the wall were two short wooden stools for warming up by the fire.

The stools had been tucked under the table. Lu Yang gestured for them to sit, but nobody moved.

Naturally, Lu Liu had to cling to his big brother. Lu Yang held the teapot in his right hand, and Lu Liu promptly latched onto his left arm.

Xie Yan couldn’t be away from his husband either. With both of Lu Yang’s hands occupied, Xie Yan just kept watching like a hawk. The moment Lu Yang set the teapot down, Xie Yan darted in and took the other arm.

Lu Yang now had one man on each side, basically pinning him in place. It was awkward as hell. He wanted to laugh.

Then he caught sight of Li Feng out of the corner of his eye—standing there alone, watching his little husband with that warm, indulgent smile.

That made Lu Yang smile too.