Chapter 35
The future was like dough, so they began by cooperating lightly, starting with raising pigs.
The Lu family wouldn’t lose much; with just their family, they couldn’t compete with the greedy relatives, who were like wolves. They needed to pull in a few more families.
How to pull them in? Once the piglets were born next year, other families would naturally come around.
This year, they would start by looking after Lu Erbao and his wife. After spring, when the piglets were born, they would talk about other matters.
Lu Yang made things clear, and Miao Qing exchanged a glance with Lu Dahe before agreeing.
Agreeing was just a nod; how much they were willing to help depended entirely on Lu Yang’s sincerity.
“Liug’er has changed. After getting married, she’s become more sensible,” Miao Qing sighed.
With the agreement in place, it was already noon. They didn’t stay for lunch and went home to eat instead.
Miao Qing led Lu Song to the gate and said to Lu Yang, “This is your older brother Song. On the day you got married, he carried you. If anything happens in your family, I’ll send Song to find you in Xixi village.”
Lu Yang understood.
From now on, if there were good opportunities or profitable deals, they would take care of Big Brother Song first.
The two families lived about two hundred meters apart, and Xie Yan was starry-eyed the entire way.
He really liked hearing that long string of words from Lu Yang.
“Your mouth is really sharp,” Xie Yan sincerely complimented.
Lu Yang teased him in return, “Haven’t you ever tried it?”
Xie Yan’s face turned red.
Lu Yang praised him again, “You cooperate really well. Tonight, I’ll reward you with some chicken soup.”
Xie Yan blushed even more and then began to worry about his stamina.
They ate dinner in silence.
After the meal, Lu Yang briefly explained that his uncle’s family would help with buying and selling land. In the spring, both families would raise pigs together, which would reassure their two fathers.
Not long after dinner, Lu Yang and Xie Yan were about to take their leave.
Wang Fengnian called Lu Yang into the house to talk about something that made Lu Yang both laugh and cry.
After Lu Yang got married, both of his fathers were still thinking about the child they had sent away—Lu Yang. They went to Chenjiaban, where they heard that the Chen family had returned to the village. Just as they were about to be happy, they heard that the Chen family had already married Lu Yang off.
They wanted to go to Li Zhai to see their child.
Wang Fengnian hadn’t told Lu Yang earlier, and he didn’t know if Lu Yang knew, but his older brother had met with him and even exchanged identities, doing something big.
After hearing this, Lu Yang feigned surprise and said, “If you want to see him, just go ahead. Tell them you’re relatives.”
The two fathers were going to Li Zhai to see their son, who had been raised for eighteen years. But the brothers had exchanged identities, so when they went to see him, they would meet Lu Yang’s brother, who had to act like a stranger and pretend to be surprised and happy.
Thinking about the situation, Lu Yang nearly burst into laughter.
He sighed lightly, knowing that if his two fathers could go and see his younger brother, he could also learn about the situation in Li Zhai. The Li family, a mother and son duo, were both very fierce, and he didn’t know how his brother was doing there.
……………………………….
When Lu Yang and Xie Yan returned home, it was still not yet time for dinner.
Zhao Peilan was in the yard sorting vegetables. There were four baskets of various vegetables piled up against the wall, and she was picking some out to make pickled vegetables.
When she saw the two children return, she put down her work, wiped her hands on her apron while walking over, and looked at her son. Suddenly, she remembered something and turned to Lu Yang, saying, “The village head came by today and said he wants you to go to his house to talk about something.”
Lu Yang asked, “What is it?”
Zhao Peilan replied, “It’s about reporting to the authorities.”
Lu Yang commented, “Small official, big attitude. I’m not going.”
Zhao Peilan added, “As soon as you left, a lot of people came by. They even returned the dishes. There were more than the usual amount at our house. I’ve already sorted them out. These vegetables were also brought by them.”
Lu Yang nodded, checking the vegetables and deciding what needed to be done that evening.
He was someone who kept busy; vegetables could wait, but the meat needed to be dealt with as soon as possible.
They had bought ten pounds of salt yesterday, and Lu Yang was going to cut up ten pounds of meat to pickle. The rest of it would be chopped into small pieces and minced to make filling.
These buns would be taken to the county for sale, not for their own consumption.
There were only three mouths to feed in their family, and four baskets of vegetables were still too much. He would keep some of each kind of vegetable and sell the rest in the county. He wouldn’t make too many pickled vegetables.
Pickled vegetables last a long time, so one jar could last for a while. With fewer people, they wouldn’t have to work too hard.
Zhao Peilan had lived a good life before but wasn’t very skilled at pickling vegetables, so they didn’t taste very good. Lu Yang, however, was good at it, though his skill wasn’t quite at the level to sell them at a high price. He asked his mother-in-law to help prepare the vegetables, and when it was time, he would pickle them.
While they were busy, Xie Yan appeared to have nothing to do.
Lu Yang was quick with his work, moving around the stove, first pickling the meat, then making the filling, and even managing to cook dinner in between. Xie Yan just stood there, in his way.
He went to his mother to ask for help, but she, as usual, wouldn’t let him do any work.
“Your hands are meant for writing, not for rough work. Haven’t you been reading lately? Go study,” she told him.
Xie Yan didn’t want to read.
He then went to the kitchen and could at least help with the fire.
Seeing that Xie Yan was just standing there awkwardly, Lu Yang decided to give him something to do and told him to go get flour and knead the dough.
Lu Yang would take care of the ratio of flour and water, and Xie Yan just needed to wash his hands and knead the dough with all his strength.
Xie Yan’s strength was pretty good, even better than his leg strength.
As he kneaded the dough, he grunted a little, and Lu Yang teased him: “Save some energy, you’re not a martial arts champion. Why are you working so hard? Are you still going to drink chicken soup tonight?”
Xie Yan wasn’t used to being teased and blushed when he heard it.
He often gave faint responses to many words and actions but answered directly with his behavior.
For example, his kneading became softer, and he didn’t use even eight-tenths of his strength.
Lu Yang elbowed him in the arm and said, “Hey, Scholar Xie, tell me, is the dough soft, or is my body soft?”
Xie Yan: “…”
He really regretted not going to study.
Lu Yang loved seeing his shy reaction. No wonder men liked to tease proper young men—he liked teasing good men too.
“It’s just the two of us here. Come on, tell me.”
Xie Yan, eager to survive the situation, said, “You’re soft.”
Lu Yang grinned. “My little frame, all skin and bones, can’t possibly be softer than dough.”
No matter how skinny, there was still a backside.
Xie Yan glanced at him sideways, his gaze dropping, and everything was unspoken.
Lu Yang wasn’t into subtlety. He didn’t like things that could only be guessed at.
He liked to say things outright, even if he had to cover it up with messy words, as long as Xie Yan liked to hear it.
“What are you looking at?” Lu Yang asked.
Xie Yan was poked by his elbow and couldn’t stand properly, so he had no choice but to admit, “Looking at your backside.”
Lu Yang laughed so hard his eyes turned into slits. “You really have thin skin.”
Xie Yan paused, as if suddenly realizing something. He leaned in, making Lu Yang a little dazed. “What are you doing?”
Xie Yan said, “Gonna give you a kiss.”
Lu Yang’s laughter grew even more intense, shaking his stomach. Suddenly, his stomach hurt, and his laughter stopped abruptly. He put down the knife and pressed his palm tightly to his abdomen.
The pain came too suddenly. He wasn’t prepared, and tears welled up in his eyes.
Xie Yan was startled. “What’s wrong? Is your stomach hurting?”
Lu Yang wasn’t one to show weakness. He said, “Maybe I just laughed too hard. I’ll be fine after a while.”
It didn’t seem like a case of laughing too much, but since Xie Yan didn’t have any stomach problems, he had no choice but to believe him.
Xie Yan wiped his hands and went to pour Lu Yang a cup of hot water.
Hot water could warm the stomach, but Lu Yang insisted, “I’ve got a stitch from laughing, you need to help me regulate my breathing.”
“Oh, okay,” Xie Yan said, rubbing his back to help him with the breathing.
Lu Yang teased him again, calling him a fool.
“Why do you believe everything I say?” Lu Yang muttered.
He wasn’t used to this. In the past, he always bore pain by himself.
He held the teacup, glancing at Xie Yan from time to time, feeling warm inside.
This marriage didn’t seem too bad.
The man might be a bit slow, but at least he was obedient.
There were many things he didn’t understand, but he was thoughtful and caring.
Lu Yang called him over, and Xie Yan squatted down in front of him.
The squat posture, unlike standing, made the distance between them feel even longer, with two pairs of knees jutting out.
