Chapter 9
Lu Liu was delighted as he watched Li Feng carry all those large and small bags.
When Old Chen called him over to help, he rubbed his face to suppress his laughter, then steadied Old Chen. Thinking about his brother’s personality, he tried his best to sound fierce and said, “Look at what you did! You practically trampled my father! If he’s not happy with you, he won’t want you anymore!”
Old Chen didn’t catch the playful tone in Lu Liu’s voice. He thought the boy was being serious and taking the chance to challenge Li Feng. Despite the pain, he forced a smile and repeatedly said he was fine, even going as far as to shower Li Feng with praise.
Li Feng: “……”
I step on you, and you’re still praising me?
Lu Liu helped Old Chen tidy up the mule cart and then, following Old Chen’s instructions, went over to ask Li Feng if he wanted to ride back with them.
He also returned the bamboo tube, which still had more than half of the dried meat left inside.
Lu Liu was thrilled. He hadn’t expected Li Feng to be so reliable—he kept his word and actually got stepped on by Old Chen until both of his feet were sore.
Using the bamboo tube as cover, Lu Liu held it up to partially hide his face, making his cheeks look smaller and his eyes bigger. He couldn’t contain his excitement.
“He even praised you!”
Li Feng clapped his hands and echoed his words, “Won’t want me anymore?”
Lu Liu’s face turned red instantly. He avoided looking at Li Feng, his gaze flitting around nervously as he stammered, “I do, I do.”
Li Feng studied him for a moment but didn’t press further.
He said, “My mother and my third brother went shopping. They took a cart and are waiting for me outside. I’ll just go find them.”
The road out of the market was long, and seeing that Li Feng was carrying so much stuff, Lu Liu invited him to ride with them and part ways when they reached the outskirts.
Li Feng thought about it and agreed.
Ever since they first met, he and Lu Liu hadn’t gotten along. But since they had a good conversation today, it was a chance to talk more so they could get along better after marriage.
Lu Liu tried to hand the bamboo tube back to him, but Li Feng refused, letting him keep it.
Aside from his two fathers, this was the first time Lu Liu had received so much meat from someone. He was deeply moved, hugging the worn-looking bamboo tube like a treasure.
Old Chen had been watching from a distance. When he saw Lu Liu smiling as he walked toward them with Li Feng, he finally felt relieved.
This marriage was settled.
But his foot still hurt.
………………………
Lu Liu and the others took the mule cart out of the market. When they reached the outskirts, they took a detour through two streets. He watched Li Feng head off to find his mother and younger brother, stealing a few extra glances out of curiosity about what kind of people his family were.
Old Chen noticed his behavior. At first, he wanted to remind him not to be so infatuated with a man that he forgot his own family. But then he remembered that Lu Yang had no close relatives to rely on and could only depend on them. If he suffered grievances in the future, he wouldn’t even have a family to turn to. So Old Chen simply smiled and said nothing.
His foot hurt too much, though. Despite smiling, he couldn’t help but grumble, “What’s the use of being so tall if his eyes don’t work? He stomped on my foot so hard it’s swollen!”
Feeling guilty, Lu Liu asked if he wanted to buy some medicinal ointment for bruises.
Old Chen refused. “Waste of money.”
Leaving the county, they took the official road back to the village since both families lived in the same direction.
Even though Old Chen said he wouldn’t buy ointment, when he greeted Li Feng’s mother, he told her he was going to buy medicine and let them go ahead without him.
After they left, he warned Lu Liu, “Li Feng’s mother is sharp. Don’t try to play tricks in front of her. Even I don’t dare talk too much, or she’ll find out everything about our family.”
Lu Liu obediently nodded.
Now that it was just him and Old Chen in the cart, the excitement he had suppressed earlier began to fade, replaced by unease. He shrank into himself, feeling uncomfortable, speaking less, and even his voice became weak when he did speak.
That didn’t sound normal.
Old Chen had no idea that the person in front of him had already changed inside. He just assumed Lu Yang wasn’t feeling well.
When he found out Lu Yang had a stomachache, he sighed in relief. Lu Yang had a history of stomach pain—probably just hunger.
Old Chen himself had only eaten wild vegetable flatbreads that morning and didn’t feel like spending money on food. He told Lu Yang to bear with it. “Just drink some hot water when we get home.”
Lu Liu nodded.
Sitting on the wooden cart, he stared blankly at Old Chen’s back as he drove, thinking about how his father and dad used to take care of him when he had a stomachache.
Even though his family had been poor, whenever he felt unwell, his dad would always make him an egg drop soup.
He would crack an egg into a big bowl, whisk it, then pour in freshly boiled water. During special occasions, they saved sugar, but whenever he was sick, his dad would add half a spoonful to the egg soup.
His dad liked to add lots of water, making the sweetness barely noticeable. But he loved drinking it. There was even a time when he pretended to be sick just to get more sugar water egg soup.
His father and dad must have known, but they never called him out on it.
But his brother could only drink hot water when he had a stomachache.
Lu Liu thought about it, then cautiously asked Old Chen, “Can I have some sugar water?”
Old Chen didn’t even turn his head. “Do you think just because we’ve been a little better off these past few days, we’re suddenly rich? It’s not like before. The tofu shop got ruined by that good-for-nothing youngest son. We only have a few taels of silver left, and most of it went toward your wedding. We got a twenty-tael betrothal gift, but do you think sending you off doesn’t cost anything? Do we not need to throw a wedding banquet? Do I not need to save up some money? We still need to reopen the workshop, and money is tight everywhere, yet you’re asking for sugar water? Do you know how expensive sugar is? You just open your mouth and expect it?”
Listening to the endless complaints, Lu Liu went from feeling nervous to shocked.
He was truly surprised.
All he did was mention that he wanted to drink sugar water.
But he was good at handling nagging like this. He just spaced out and acted like he didn’t hear anything.
Chenjiawan Village was close by. As they neared the village, Lu Liu sat up straight and memorized the way.
Like Lujiatun Village, there was a well-trodden path alongside the official road. After making a turn and walking a little over a mile, they would enter the village.
Old Chen had returned not long ago and was well-connected. Since it was the farming off-season, people often gathered at his house for a chat, cracking sunflower seeds and peanuts. He was polite and easygoing, so the villagers had a good impression of him.
From the moment they entered the village until they reached home, people greeted Old Chen, complaining that he had left too early that morning—they couldn’t catch a ride or buy tofu.
Old Chen simply replied with the usual polite excuse, “Next time, for sure.”
Lu Liu could tell it was just pleasantries. There wouldn’t be a next time for giving people rides, but they might start keeping some extra tofu to sell at home.
By the time they got home, it was noon. Seeing that Lu Liu still looked sluggish, Old Chen parked the mule cart himself and told him to go inside for some hot water.
Lu Liu nodded but didn’t rush inside. He stood in the courtyard and took a good look at the Chen family’s house.
The house had been unoccupied for over a decade, and every part of it looked old and worn.
The yard had been tidied up, with the walls either rebuilt or patched up with fresh mud.
A makeshift shed was built for the mule, lined thickly with straw. The wooden posts around it were tall enough to block the wind, and the front was covered with straw mats weighed down with stones to prevent them from blowing away.
A dead tree stood in the yard, its branches chopped off, leaving only a stump that was now used as a chopping board. Bloodstains on it suggested they had recently butchered fish or chicken.
A bamboo pole was set up, but there were no clothes drying on it.
The main hall faced the courtyard. To prevent the wind from blowing in, the door was left half-closed.
