Chapter 38
Li Tian couldn’t possibly pay back this debt. He had once followed Li Feng into the mountains, but after three months of hunting, he couldn’t take it anymore.
There were so many snakes and insects in the mountains, no matter how much protection he used, it was never enough. He also couldn’t tell the difference between snakes and grass. Once, a snake fell onto his neck, and as he screamed, its head swiftly tried to crawl into his mouth. He was so scared that he fainted on the spot.
Since then, he swore he would never go into the mountains again. He was content to just grow crops and take care of his family.
Those who had moved to the new village were assigned land according to the number of people in their household.
Li Zhai had an old village, so the land assigned was scarce—two acres for men and only one acre for women and their husbands.
This amount of land was barely enough for subsistence, and it couldn’t support a decent life. That year, Li Feng took the money he had planned to use for his wedding and bought some good farmland.
Li Tian started farming, and Li Feng didn’t idle either.
There were only two men in their family of four. Shun Ge’er was still young, his bones hadn’t fully grown, and his mother was too old. Moreover, who would let their elderly mother do heavy farm work? So, when Li Feng wasn’t in the mountains, he helped with the farming as well.
Year after year, they managed to scrape by, and then his brother came to settle the score.
Li Feng was heartbroken.
His mother was right—Second Brother had gone mad.
“Your wife says that Mother is no good, do you think the same?” Li Feng asked.
Li Tian shrunk his head and said nothing.
Chen Gui Zhi’s partiality was evident—her heart was firmly with Li Feng, and everyone in Li Zhai could see it and understood. What family doesn’t show favoritism? Moreover, their father had passed away early, and Li Feng had started going into the mountains at a young age, risking his life to earn money. His marriage had been delayed year after year, and naturally, his mother’s heart ached for him.
Chen Gui Zhi hadn’t been unfair to the younger two. Li Tian, without a father, had his own house and land and had even married a wife. What else could he say? Shun Ge’er didn’t need to be mentioned—he was raised well, and now people in the village were eyeing him.
Li Tian remained silent, and Li Feng’s heart grew even colder.
He didn’t even want to look at Li Tian. He turned and left.
He opened the door and found himself face to face with Wang Dongmei. Her shouting stopped abruptly. All the words about Li Feng beating her had already been forgotten. She was nearly pressed against the wall, trembling under Li Feng’s cold gaze, and didn’t dare speak a word.
Li Feng bypassed Wang Dongmei and only saw his wife and brother. He told them to go back inside to keep warm, then went to find his mother.
Chen Gui Zhi was sitting in her room. The past few days, they had been making rice cakes, and the family had used a lot of firewood. The kang (heated bed) was kept warm, and as soon as Li Feng entered the room, he was hit with the warm air, which made him feel a bit overheated.
He tugged at his collar and said to Chen Gui Zhi, “Mother, why don’t you and San Shun pack up and move to the old village with me?”
Chen Gui Zhi refused. “Why should I leave?”
She was a mother, and she couldn’t just ignore her son and let her daughter-in-law bully him. As long as she was there, Wang Dongmei would hold back a little.
Li Feng said, “Living here is too much of a grievance.”
Chen Gui Zhi still refused to move. “I’ve beaten him, I’ve scolded him. You just beat him too. Look at this, what’s the use of all that? Now, we need to keep an eye on him and guard the house. Let’s talk about it after the New Year.”
She changed the subject. “I saw Yang Ge’er working hard today, and he’s been good to you. He’s got a good temperament. You’ve taken cotton clothes and tofu from the Chen family, and the marriage issue is settled now. Just live a good life from now on.”
Li Feng agreed, but his mind was still on the matter with his second brother. He felt agitated.
It had gotten late, and he and Lu Liu were heading back down the mountain with the rice cakes and rabbits. The sky was filled with stars and the moon.
Lu Liu sat next to Li Feng. The mule cart bounced along, and their shoulders kept bumping against each other.
He wracked his brain. He was unfamiliar with social relationships and had little contact with people, never interested in hearing others gossip. At that moment, he couldn’t think of any comforting words to say, so he could only awkwardly say, “He’s still young. He’ll be fine in the future.”
Families with children often worried about them, and these words could be heard anywhere. Lu Liu thought of it and said it.
Li Feng chuckled. “Still young? After the New Year, he’ll be twenty-one. At that age, most people are already fathers.”
Lu Liu thought of the sounds of Li Tian and his wife crying and remembered Li Feng and Chen Gui Zhi’s personalities. He said, “With you and Mother protecting him, he’s never had to take charge. He’s still a child.”
Only when you take charge do you realize how difficult life is.
Li Feng fell silent. Then, after a moment, he thought Lu Liu had a point.
Every family’s child needs to face challenges to grow. Second Brother hadn’t faced enough hardship.
Before, he had protected him, both at home and outside. He and Chen Gui Zhi managed most things, leaving some of the lighter tasks for Li Tian, and he also helped take care of San Shun.
When Li Tian grew up, he had only gone to the mountains a few times. A few hunters had taught him, but he was terrified. He always hid behind others, even when learning to recognize snakes, he couldn’t bring himself to open his eyes. He never learned, and in the end, he even refused to go to the mountains. If they had pushed him, maybe he would have succeeded by now.
After getting married, one would have their own family. If he could stand on his own, his mother wouldn’t have to help with everything, and she wouldn’t clash with Wang Dongmei.
But children don’t learn after just a few hits; they learn after being disciplined repeatedly.
Li Tian, however, was like a lump of rotten mud—after a few hits, he would just continue to remain useless.
The couple walked along the road, only a lantern to light their way. The light flickered and dimmed. Lu Liu saw that Li Feng’s brows were deeply furrowed and took the initiative to shoulder the burden. He said, “I’ll try. When we go to the new village, I’ll try to talk some sense into them.”
Li Feng agreed.
They had to get up early the next day, and when they got home, they boiled water to wash up. Er Huang was shouting in the backyard. While the water was boiling, Li Feng went to play with Er Huang for a while.
His energy was overflowing. After several days of making rice cakes and rushing to get up early, he didn’t sleep after washing up. He left the light on, allowing Lu Liu to see him and touch him.
Lu Liu, being honest, didn’t know how to act coquettishly or play tricks. His eyes didn’t even know where to look, but he was afraid Li Feng would catch a cold, so despite his embarrassment, he forced himself to look at his body.
The kang wasn’t warm yet, but he warmed the blankets with his bashfulness. Li Feng laughed when he got into bed: “You’re so shy?”
Lu Liu replied, “I’ve never seen it before.”
Li Feng was speechless.
If you had seen it before, that would have been a problem.
Li Feng chuckled, feeling a little better inside.
After a long day of work, Lu Liu had been busy under his mother’s watch, working hard and doing a good job, which had worn him out. Li Feng didn’t want to tire him further, so he let him touch the rooster and go to sleep.
The next morning, Li Feng got up by himself, telling Lu Liu to sleep in a bit longer.
He was rough by nature. On such a cold day, he scooped water from the water tank without bothering to heat it, rinsed his mouth and washed his face, skipped breakfast, and hurried to get the mule cart ready to leave.
But Lu Liu couldn’t help but worry. He got up and saw Li Feng’s state and immediately became anxious. He hurriedly cooked him a bowl of egg noodles to eat.
He fried two eggs, and once they were cooked, he added water to boil them. Lu Liu preferred making a fresher soup and was accustomed to chopping the fried eggs with a spatula so that the soup turned a milky white.
He washed the cabbage and threw it into the pot to cook. When the water boiled, he added noodles. Although it looked plain, it tasted delicious and fragrant.
With the fire going in the stove, the water in the stove was hot.
Lu Liu brought Li Feng some hot water, so he could soak his hands and wash his face.
After finishing the bowl of noodles, Li Feng felt warm all the way from his stomach to his heart. He had plenty of energy now.
When they reached the new village, he was a little late.
Chen Gui Zhi didn’t say anything, but the other men couldn’t help but tease him.
“Once you have a husband, things are different. Da Feng can’t even get out of bed now! Hahaha!”
Li Feng smiled as he moved rice cakes onto the cart. “I got up early. Before I left, he saw the cold stove and knew I hadn’t eaten, so he wouldn’t let me go. Once I ate, I got here late.”
As soon as he said that, everyone laughed: “Look at this! A bowl of noodles made Da Feng so happy.”
Chen Gui Zhi also laughed. Then, when she turned around and saw Li Tian’s miserable state, she rolled her eyes dramatically.
Today, it wasn’t just the men from Li Zhai who went to the county. There was also Lu Yang from Shangxi Village.
Lu Yang went to the county to sell steamed buns for the first time. He only made fifty buns to try it out.
He borrowed a donkey cart to carry four baskets of vegetables, but he didn’t bring Xie Yan with him. He went by himself.
He didn’t have a stall, and his shop wasn’t fully stocked yet. After delivering the vegetables and cart to the shop, he went around the streets to sell the buns.
