“Mm.”
Li Feng said, “You can add two more if you want.”
He usually ate two eggs himself. Now that he was married, it only made sense to double that.
Lu Liu: ??
He could add two more.
Two!
That was *three wen!*
He had already used two eggs—just breakfast alone was costing *six wen!*
Lu Liu felt that he couldn’t be so wasteful.
But… he’d never eaten a pancake made with *four* eggs before.
With that many eggs, it wouldn’t even be called a pancake anymore. It would be an *egg* pancake.
Egg pancakes.
Just hearing the name made his mouth water.
He glanced at Li Feng, who was busy boiling a large bone and had even thrown some pork offal into the pot.
Lu Liu: “……”
I want to eat egg pancakes!
He reached into the bamboo basket and picked out two of the largest eggs.
Since he’d never made egg pancakes before, he was afraid of burning them. He kept the fire low and carefully cooked the batter in small batches, making thin, delicate pancakes—one after another, until he had nearly ten.
As soon as they hit the pan, the fragrance of eggs and scallions filled the kitchen. When they came out, glistening with oil, golden and crispy, he was overjoyed. His eyes squinted into thin lines, completely lost in his own little world of happiness, unable to see anything else—not even the man beside him.
Li Feng called him twice, but seeing how delighted he was, he just shook his head with a small smile. *All this fuss over a few eggs…*
They had woken up late, so there wasn’t enough time to cook porridge properly. Neither of them was picky, so they took some leftover coarse rice, added hot water, and made a simple rice gruel. It wasn’t flavorful, but it had a nice grainy aroma and was warm enough to count as a meal.
Li Feng reheated a plate of meat and vegetables and prepared a dish of pickled radish.
The radish was made by Chen Guizhi. Somehow, she had managed to keep it completely white even after pickling.
Lu Liu had never seen pickled radish like this before. He scooped some into a bowl and placed it on the table, admiring how fresh and appetizing it looked.
He rolled up an egg pancake and handed it to Li Feng, then picked up some food to put into his bowl.
Li Feng told him to eat his own food, but Lu Liu just grinned and said, “Aren’t I supposed to serve you?”
Happiness was contagious. Seeing Lu Liu’s pure and simple joy, Li Feng couldn’t help but smile as well—though his words were still rough.
“You only need to serve me in bed.”
Lu Liu felt embarrassed, but he still nodded and agreed, “Alright… tonight, then.”
His eyes were beautiful, round and moist like apricots, glistening as he gazed at Li Feng. His expression was so soft and sincere that it made people’s hearts melt without even realizing it.
Li Feng averted his gaze and pointed at the bowl of bone broth and pork offal. “Later, take this and feed Erhuang.”
Lu Liu readily agreed. Then he asked, “Should I be the one making its food from now on? Will it always eat like this?”
Li Feng shook his head. “We can’t afford that. This is just for recognizing its new father.”
He treated Erhuang like a son, and since the family had just held a wedding banquet, naturally, Erhuang needed to have a feast as well.
Now that Erhuang had to acknowledge a second father, they had to bribe him with good food.
As the saying went, *a child recognizes its mother through milk.* For a dog son, a big meaty bone was all it took to gain a new dad.
Lu Liu: “……”
Something felt strange about this, but if Li Feng said he was the dad, then he was the dad.
He took a bite of the egg pancake, and it was even better than he had imagined—soft, rich with egg flavor, with the scallions cutting through any greasiness. He was *so* satisfied.
Li Feng put a piece of meat in his bowl, but Lu Liu didn’t think it paired well with egg pancakes. He preferred the pickled radish.
The radish was still crunchy, bursting with sour and spicy flavors. The taste was fresh and invigorating.
“I want to learn how to make pickled radish from your mother,” Lu Liu said.
Li Feng thought this man had such a carefree heart.
“You shouldn’t see my mother for now,” he replied.
Lu Liu was confused. “Why not?”
Li Feng answered bluntly, “Because you two will fight.”
Lu Liu was stunned.
Lu Liu remembered his brother once saying that Li Feng’s mother had a fierce temper. Even Old Chen had mentioned that she was shrewd and not easy to fool.
So… was Li Feng protecting him?
Keeping him away for now so he wouldn’t be bullied?
Lu Liu obediently nodded, his gaze toward Li Feng growing even fonder.
“I’ll listen to you.”
After finishing one egg pancake, Lu Liu turned his eyes to Li Feng.
Li Feng didn’t know why, but the little husband who had fought him head-on before marriage had become so timid after they wed.
He wouldn’t use the outhouse too often, was afraid to eat too many eggs, and even hesitated to eat more pancakes.
Li Feng urged him to eat.
So Lu Liu started on his second pancake.
He didn’t find it greasy at all. In fact, he was so happy he could cry.
He asked, “Are we going to eat the family into poverty like this?”
Li Feng thought to himself, *If your father had asked for a lower betrothal price, we could eat eight-egg pancakes every day for years.*
But out loud, he simply said, “You just eat. Providing for the family is my job.”
Lu Liu *did* cry.
Laughing through his tears, wiping them away only for more to fall.
*So good.*
“You’re really good to me,” he said.
He searched his mind for the best words he could find, borrowing compliments he had heard others say.
“Capable, hardworking, makes good money, dotes on his husband—a true man.”
Li Feng was speechless.
How did eating an egg pancake turn into this?
But at least Lu Liu hadn’t brought up the issue of being tricked into marriage.
Li Feng took a deep breath and told him to stop crying.
“People will think I hit you.”
Lu Liu chuckled. “You wouldn’t dare.”
Li Feng: “……”
You really can’t spoil people too much. If you do, how can you ever be tough on them?
He had to go help with niangao-making today. They had already woken up late, so once breakfast was done, he had to leave.
The niangao business was something his mother had organized—several households worked together, each keeping some of what they made while selling the rest in the county.
Niangao had a seasonal market. It didn’t sell well at other times of the year, and their village was over twenty li from the county town. Since they didn’t go often, they had to work continuously while they were there.
Because his mother was in charge, the work was being done in the new village.
Li Feng wasn’t taking Lu Liu along today, but he would come back for lunch.
Leaving his husband alone right after marriage didn’t sit right with him. It wasn’t fair to make him stay home with a cold stove and an empty house.
Lu Liu just nodded and followed Li Feng like a little tail, looking for ways to help.
Since he had just cried, he looked especially pitiful. Li Feng deliberately avoided his gaze.
He changed into a lighter jacket, grabbed a few empty bamboo baskets, and that was all he needed.
At the courtyard gate, he glanced back.
Lu Liu was still standing at the doorway. Seeing him turn around, his face lit up with a smile, full of joy—no trace of the earlier tears at all.
But Li Feng’s heart still softened.
He waved and walked off.
A bit further down the road, some villagers teased him.
“Why didn’t you bring your husband out for a stroll?”
Li Feng returned to his usual self.
“He’s watching Erhuang today. I’ll take him out another time.”
Their old village survived on hunting, so all the family dogs needed to get familiar with the newlywed wives and husbands. If a person feared the dogs for too long, life would become difficult.
Since they all relied on the same mountain for food, competition between men was fierce, and their conversations could be sharp.
Li Qiang said, “Does your husband really need to bond with Erhuang? I thought he was supposed to be fierce and tough. Would he even be scared of a dog?”
Li Feng replied, “Erhuang is scared of *him*.”
That shut Li Qiang up. Then he grinned and told the others, “See? Li Feng really did marry a fierce husband. We’re in for some entertainment.”
Li Feng said, “Yeah. If I get bullied at home, I’ll come beat *you* up.”
Li Qiang had nothing more to say.
After Li Feng was out of earshot, Li Qiang muttered, “You all heard him, right? *He* said he gets bullied at home—I didn’t say it.”
The others laughed.
“You have the biggest mouth in the whole village. If you’re so curious, why don’t you go to his house and see for yourself?”
Li Qiang scoffed. No way.
Li Feng had left his husband at home alone. What would he look like, barging in like some nosy old aunt? If Li Feng found out, he’d get beaten to death up in the mountains.
But he was still curious.
So he sent his *own* husband to check.
His husband: “……”
*What a damned troublemaker.*
Meanwhile, Lu Liu was getting ready to feed the dog.
