Li Feng made no comment.
Lu Yang was not his husband, so he had nothing to say.
Lu Yang smiled without speaking.
Living under the same roof, as long as people have mouths and discuss things, there is nothing that can be kept secret.
Later, he often heard Old Mr. Chen discussing with Lu Sanfeng how to teach him, always saying he needed to be more sensible. He thought they were teaching him how to work, but later realized they were training a dog.
As he had always said, if Old Mr. Chen was willing to be honest and diligent, he would lend a hand. But if he demanded too much, there was nothing he could do. The answer was simply that he had no money.
After Old Mr. Chen finished his long speech, he didn’t hear a single word of encouragement. He was quite skilled at keeping his expression unchanged, still smiling with a hint of bitterness, his eyes filled with nostalgia.
He said to Lu Yang, “If you can control your temper and live harmoniously with Dafeng, making your life smooth, your father will be satisfied. Since you two are going elsewhere, I won’t keep you here. We’ve made some fresh tofu at home; take some with you. Take some bean curd residue too; it can feed the livestock or be made into bean curd residue cakes. You know how to do it, so I won’t say more.”
Li Feng raised his eyebrows, waiting for Lu Yang to respond.
Lu Yang didn’t hesitate: “Thank you, Father! I’ve been thinking about the tofu you made these past few days. You don’t know how much I’ve been craving it. I even dream about that flavor. Can I take some more?”
Old Chen snorted. The little brat wouldn’t let go until he got what he wanted.
“Sure, there’s half a block left, about thirty pieces. Take it all.”
Lu Yang: ?
That wasn’t like Old Chen at all.
He rolled his eyes and went over it in his head.
Chatting about old times, building rapport, then offering benefits—the net was cast. It remained to be seen how big a fish Lu Yang would let him catch.
Li Feng left decisively.
Old Chen sighed: “Two taels of silver.”
This was after he had lowered the price. His eldest son’s marriage would have to wait until next year, and the scattered items in the workshop would have to be added to slowly. Everything usable in the house had been moved over, but even so, he was still short three taels of silver.
Three taels of silver was what he had mentioned earlier. Since Lu Yang hadn’t returned home yet, he had recounted the family’s assets and cut expenses wherever possible. He had reduced bean purchases by 200 catties, but that only saved one tael of silver. There was still a two-tael shortfall.
Lu Yang was someone he had taught himself, and he was also someone who knew how to calculate. Chen Lao Ye didn’t hide anything and kept talking about the truth.
Old Mr. Chen said yes.
There were still ten days until the New Year. The Chen family would continue making tofu, and by being frugal at home, they could save up one tael of silver.
One tael of silver was manageable. He discussed it with Xie Yan.
Lu Yang didn’t give a definite answer, but smiled and said, “Then I’ll come to pay my respects in the first month of the lunar year. I’ll congratulate you in advance, Father, on renting the shop and accumulating wealth!”
Old Mr. Chen also laughed and didn’t insist on him giving it. He waved his hand and told him to hurry up and find Li Feng.
“It’s getting dark early, and the road is difficult to travel. You should get things done early and come back early.”
Lu Yang left and went out to the courtyard. Lu Sanfeng pulled him and asked, “Don’t you ever have time to come back and visit?”
Lu Yang smiled and said, “Mother, Father told me to live well with Li Feng.”
This couple had indeed discussed it. Lu Sanfeng played the role of the strict mother, while Chen Lao Ye played the role of the kind father. To put it bluntly, she was also acting, and she sighed, “Are you still resentful toward your mother?”
Lu Yang didn’t resent her; he didn’t have the time.
Take care of your own affairs.
There was another relative in Chenjiawan they needed to visit, so the two of them hurried off in their mule cart to Chen Dàoyù’s house.
Chen Dàoyù was Chen Guizhi’s older brother. Their parents had passed away in recent years, and the other siblings were struggling financially, so they had little contact with them. Only Chen Dàoyù’s family remained close.
Chen Dàjiù was genuinely kind to his younger sister Chen Guīzhī. When her husband passed away, her younger brother wanted to marry her, but she refused. It was Chen Dàjiù who gathered a group of relatives to support her. Over the years, as her older brother, he always gave her generous gifts for festivals and New Year’s, mindful of how difficult it was for her as a widow raising three children.
In the first two years, Li Feng’s gifts were very generous, but last year, he started giving gifts of normal size, including two pounds of meat and two pairs of knee pads made by his mother.
Li Feng had discussed this with Lu Yang in advance: “These are very close relatives, so you can’t be too generous.”
Lu Yang understood, “I won’t put my brother in a difficult position.”
The eldest uncle and aunt welcomed them into the house to sit down: “We’ve heard you’ve returned. Others said you brought a cartload of gifts, which startled us. What’s the occasion?”
Li Feng mentioned the plan to open a small shop, and they were also surprised: “How many people are there in the village? Won’t opening a shop be a loss?”
This business grows over time, bit by bit. Others don’t think much of it.
Chen’s uncle knew he had his own plans and had married a husband who had returned from the county and knew how to do business, so he didn’t mention that. Like Chen’s father, he asked them how their lives were going.
Whether they were doing well or not, one could tell by their generous spending. The conversation naturally turned to their own younger brother.
“Jiu Ge hasn’t come back to give gifts yet. He’s getting worse as he grows older. Have you seen him recently? Did Wang Meng go into the mountains? There’s been no word from him.”
Li Feng knew where Wang Meng had gone: The Wang family has produced this one skilled hunter, and relatives have come to learn his skills. He took people into the mountains last month. This month, there were two snowfalls, but he was still in the mountains, teaching the younger generation to sleep in the mountains and build shelters. He returns every three or five days. He’s fine, just busy.”
Chen Daio felt reassured, but still asked, “Can Jiu Ge come back on his own? We’ve been worrying about him every day.”
Chen Jiu not coming back might be because he was sulking at Wang Meng. Because Wang Meng didn’t collect money or gifts, he just went to visit relatives like that.
Li Feng said, “Don’t worry. It’s Wang Meng’s fault. He’s in the mountains and doesn’t know the date. I’m going up the mountain in the next couple of days. I’ll call him out and have him come back with Jiu Ge. A married couple should come back to visit their in-laws. What kind of situation is it if only Jiu Ge comes back alone?”
These words sounded pleasant and soothed the ears.
Lu Yang smiled and agreed: “I’ve met him a few times, and he’s a nice guy. Every time we meet, he compliments me. I really enjoy talking to him. He even said we get along so well because we’re relatives!”
Chen’s older brother-in-law glanced at his wife, and both of them were puzzled: “What? Jiu Ge compliments you?”
Do their children ever compliment others?
Lu Yang nodded, “Yes, he often says I’m from the county and married into the mountains with him, so we’re the same. He says I’m capable, eating meat buns every day. I offered him some, but he politely declined. Speaking of which, he also defends me when we’re out. If someone says something bad about me, he always protects me, saying I have connections in my hometown.”
