Lu Yang motioned for him to bring his head closer.
Xie Yan, understanding the implication, leaned in, and Lu Yang kissed him on the cheek.
After the kiss, Lu Yang’s mind wandered.
“Thin skin, thick filling—it’s a good bun.”
This saying was a double entendre. Xie Yan, too, was a good bun.
He laughed again, and the pain in his stomach flared up.
Xie Yan lacked the strength to lift his husband, so he hurriedly half-held, half-supported Lu Yang and got him to the room, letting him rest against the kang.
“Stop laughing, why are you still laughing when you’re out of breath? I won’t kiss you again after this.”
Lu Yang was happy.
This was the first time his stomach hurt from laughing.
He grinned and said, “Next time, I’ll let you kiss me.”
Xie Yan gave up.
His husband was truly a strong character.
For dinner, Zhao Peilan made a radish soup for Lu Yang since his stomach was still bothering him, and added two eggs into the soup.
She had a strong sense of sacrifice, just like on the day of their marriage when she split a chicken leg—she gave one egg to her son, one to Lu Yang, and kept none for herself.
Lu Yang picked up his chopsticks, cutting his half of the egg and offering it to her. Zhao Peilan declined but was touched inside.
Xie Yan, following Lu Yang’s lead, picked up half of the egg and put it in Lu Yang’s bowl. “You’re not feeling well today, eat more.”
Lu Yang: “…”
You two really are alike.
Lu Yang felt quite happy. The radish soup was sweet and warm, soothing his stomach and his heart.
He couldn’t stay idle; there were things to be done. After dinner, he quickly prepared the meat filling and started kneading the dough.
After washing up, he went back to make dumplings, then climbed into bed to have some chicken soup with Xie Yan.
After finishing the soup, he even got up and went to the kitchen to light the fire and steam the dumplings.
Xie Yan was stunned.
He wasn’t feeling well either, his chest tight and uncomfortable.
When Lu Yang came back to the room and saw Xie Yan frowning on the kang, he went over to comfort him. “What’s wrong? Did I disturb you? You didn’t sleep earlier, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”
Xie Yan reached out and hugged him tightly.
Lu Yang’s feet were still on the ground, so he had to bend at the waist to cooperate.
“Do you still have energy? Shall we continue?”
Xie Yan said, “No, I’m worried about you.”
Lu Yang was stunned.
He was shocked to hear this.
He almost started crying, but he wouldn’t let himself be fooled by what the man said on the bed.
And besides, he had read books, so he knew that scholars’ words were the least trustworthy.
Lu Yang said, “Oh, then you’d better study hard. A scholar’s husband is destined to be bullied. Whether I can change my fate depends on you.”
Xie Yan looked up at him in disbelief. In such a sentimental moment, Lu Yang actually said something so heartless.
It was strange, though—this time, he didn’t resist reading as much.
He only told Lu Yang, “Reading doesn’t really help. Even a successful candidate might not pass the exams.”
Lu Yang patted his head gently, coaxing him in a soft tone, “It’s fine, just study for now. If you don’t pass, we’ll figure something out.”
“Let’s go to sleep now.”
In Li Village
Lu Liu and Li Feng returned and stayed in the new village for lunch.
Li Feng went to make rice cakes, and Lu Liu helped with some chores.
Since they brought back a whole board of tofu and three cotton coats, Chen Gui Zhi’s mood improved considerably.
The marriage deception wasn’t made public, and there were more people making rice cakes at home. After their return, bringing so many things, everyone said the marriage was excellent, complimenting the Chen family for their generosity and speaking many auspicious words, just like the day of the wedding.
Lu Liu knew the truth, and although pleased by their kind words, he didn’t let it cloud his judgment. Under Chen Gui Zhi’s watchful eyes, he worked diligently.
The rice cakes were being made in the yard, with two large pots of glutinous rice steaming in the kitchen. Since it was Lu Liu’s first year married here, he observed how the rice cakes were made, and when the pots of rice were brought out, Chen Gui Zhi instructed him to go cook.
The little bit of meat and vegetables stored at home was all taken by Er Tian’s wife, Wang Dongmei, when she went back to her parents’ house. Not even a single egg was left behind.
The men were doing heavy labor, and they needed something with oil or meat, or else it wouldn’t feel right.
When only vegetarian dishes were served, it looked rather stingy.
Without any meat or eggs, Lu Liu felt powerless.
There were still two rabbits at home, the female one was pregnant, so she had to be kept for breeding. The male rabbit could be cooked.
Lu Liu wasn’t sure if he could kill it. His family was too poor, and there were few chances to entertain guests. He tried to recall, thinking that no one these days would be serving meat at every meal for guests.
There were many hunters in Li Village, but how many men went hunting on the mountains every day and always returned with a full catch?
He thought about it—just filling the stomach was already quite good.
He wandered around the kitchen and found the soybean paste, which gave him an idea.
The tofu had just been brought back today—64 pieces in total, and everyone saw it. So, the main dish would be tofu, and the other dishes would serve as side dishes.
Tofu absorbed the soybean paste well. Last time, when he made braised cabbage with tofu, and stewed it with the soybean paste, it was very tasty and went well with rice. Li Feng had praised him for it. So today, he would make braised cabbage with tofu again.
In addition, he would stir-fry some greens with tofu and make a radish and tofu soup.
All the dishes would include some greens, and a braised tofu dish would round it off nicely.
He rinsed the rice and started cooking it, while also preparing the dishes. Once the rice was ready, he began stir-frying the dishes one by one.
Cooking was all about preparing the ingredients in advance. These were all vegetarian dishes, and tofu cooked quickly. With the fire slightly high in the stove, he just had to stir-fry them for a few moments, add the seasonings, and let them simmer. Before long, the dishes were ready.
While cooking, his hands didn’t stop, and he also tidied up the stove.
Chen Gui Zhi came over a few times and was pleased with Lu Liu’s attitude.
But she said, “Not a single bit of meat? Won’t these dishes make people laugh?”
Lu Liu, with his good temper, wiped his hands and said, “I just brought back tofu today, and I saw everyone was happy, so I decided to make a few dishes for everyone to try.”
He didn’t mention that there was no meat to cook, but seeing that Chen Gui Zhi was still dissatisfied, Lu Liu added, “I was being too stingy. Mother, should I kill the rabbit?”
Chen Gui Zhi waved her hand, “Don’t kill it, we’ll talk about it in a few days.”
There were many things that could be criticized about the cooking, like the messy kitchen, the overuse of seasonings, being too wasteful with ingredients, and issues with flavor and portion size.
Lu Liu was very precise when adding seasonings—every pinch was just right. The dishes that were placed on the table were well-portioned. Dishes served in large bowls needed a lot of oil and salt to be properly stir-fried; otherwise, the effort would be wasted, and the dishes would taste terrible.
Chen Gui Zhi looked sternly at the seasoning jars. First, she checked the oil jar, then the salt jar, even inspecting the garlic and chili hanging on the wall. She had used less than usual—less than she would have in her own cooking.
Then, Chen Gui Zhi took out a small bowl and tasted a bite of each dish.
She thought the dishes would taste bland, but the flavors were actually quite good.
The dishes with the strongest flavor were the braised cabbage with tofu and the braised tofu. Even with such strong flavors, she could still taste the fresh bean flavor.
The tofu’s tenderness and the salty aroma of the soybean paste blended together, making it both fragrant and easy to eat with rice.
The cooking skills were impressive.
Chen Gui Zhi’s face softened, and she smiled. “No wonder Li Feng always wants to come home for meals, your cooking is really good.”
Lu Liu, with his passive nature, simply accepted the compliment without saying much.
Chen Gui Zhi noticed he just smiled and nodded, not finishing the conversation. She thought he was being a bit simple. Seeing that Lu Liu remained calm and patient, even through her picky inspection, she decided not to press further. “Go call Li Feng and the others to come eat.”
Lu Liu acknowledged her and went to get them.
The weather had been sunny these days, and the men were doing physical labor outside. The cotton coats were too warm.
Li Feng’s temper was especially high, and he wasn’t even wearing an undershirt, working with his bare upper body.
When Lu Liu went to call them for dinner, he felt embarrassed to look at Li Feng.
This led to some teasing and laughter, “Li Feng, it’s your fault! Your husband’s not used to seeing you like this, hahaha!”
Li Feng told them all to get lost.
By the time dinner came around, the men couldn’t stay outside any longer.
Li Feng put on his clothes, but was slower than the others.
Lu Liu waited for him, and as Li Feng tied his belt, Lu Liu turned his face away, blushing.
