Chapter 252

Chapter 252

The Way to Make It Up to Me

Lu Heng was completely at a loss for words.

He never expected this to be the reason his wife wanted to see him scolded!

Moreover, he was unfairly blamed—after all, he wasn’t the one who started the trouble, nor was he the one who ruined the clothes, yet he ended up bearing all the consequences.

“I suddenly understand why Lu Ming looks so resentful every time he gets scolded. Wife, it seems like you were the one who started this…” he said pointedly.

Lin Nannan blinked guiltily and argued, “But I didn’t mean for you to get scolded! If Mom insists on yelling at you, what can I do?”

She just wanted to watch the drama!

Lu Heng knew exactly what his wife was thinking, but there was really nothing he could do about it.

If it were Lu Ming, a beating would be the least of it.

If it were his sister, a scolding would be unavoidable.

But when it came to his wife, not only was he unwilling to scold her himself, but he also suspected his mother might start banging on the door if he did…

Since there was no way to deal with her, Lu Heng said with pointed emphasis, “No, you can do something about it!”

“What?” Lin Nannan asked, puzzled.

“Make it up to me!” After dropping that hint, he urged her, “Hurry up and wash up, change your clothes. If we’re late for dinner, you won’t have time to cry about it!”

Lin Nannan’s mind immediately went to food, completely missing the underlying meaning in his words. She eagerly went to wash up, then waited for the village’s pork banquet.

In front of outsiders, Lin Nannan had absolutely no patience. If she was unhappy, she’d practically want to throttle the other person, giving off a slightly wild vibe—completely lacking in basic manners.

But in the Lu family’s eyes, Lin Nannan was simply wonderful—lively, cheerful, and always standing up for her own.

In Lu Heng’s heart, his wife was not only incredibly capable but also infuriatingly mischievous, with no sense of danger whatsoever, so he had to watch her like a hawk.

By the time Lin Nannan and Lu Heng finished washing up, the rest of the Lu family had already gone to help.

When they arrived, they saw the entire village gathered at the threshing ground. Children laughed and played, the men shouted about who-knows-what, and the women were busy—some tending fires, some washing ingredients, others cooking—everyone was in full swing.

At this point, there was nothing left for her and Lu Heng to do, since the butchering was already done.

“This is even livelier than New Year’s!” Lu Heng remarked at the sight.

“New Year’s?” Lin Nannan thought of the vastly different memories of the holiday in her mind versus the original host’s recollections, and a hint of curiosity crept into her voice.

Lu Heng knew the Lin family in the village had treated her poorly and could easily imagine them denying her good food and drink during the holidays. So he patted her head and said, “When New Year’s comes, we’ll go to the market, buy all kinds of delicious things, and have Grandma and the others cook us a huge table full of dishes. Whatever you want to eat, we’ll make it for you. How’s that?”

“Can we light firecrackers?” she asked hopefully.

“Of course! We’ll buy some and let you light them, okay?” he chuckled.

The Lin Nannan with hopeful, curious eyes was full of vibrancy. He didn’t want his wife to become withdrawn and joyless because of her past.

“Okay!” Unable to resist, Lin Nannan nodded immediately. “You can’t lie to me!”

“I’d never lie to you, don’t worry!” Lu Heng felt this was a promise he was sure he could keep—but he never expected unexpected trouble would later prevent him from fulfilling it…

Wild boar doesn’t taste as good as farm-raised pork, but for villagers who rarely get to eat meat, any meat is a blessing—who’s gonna complain?

Not only did each family bring their own bowls and chopsticks, but they also scrounged up tables and chairs. Some brought dried vegetables, others brought beans, and some even brought potatoes—if it could be stewed, it went in. As long as the seasoning was right, it would all be edible.

"Two wild boars are enough for everyone, so why add all that extra stuff?" Lin Nannan frowned at the haphazard additions, thinking it was a shame.

If it didn’t taste good, she definitely wouldn’t eat it.

She used to be fine with whatever food she got. But after experiencing Grandma Lu and Chef Ma’s cooking, she’d learned that culinary skills varied—some people cooked well, others didn’t. Now that she knew better, she’d gotten picky.

"One wild boar is already hard enough for them to give up. If they ate both, they’d be heartbroken," Lu Heng explained with a chuckle. "After eating one, the other will either be sold by the village to split the money, or the meat will be divided among the villagers or sold to them at a discount. The cash would go into the village pot and be used when needed..."

Lin Nannan didn’t understand these things, but hearing Lu Heng talk about it was really interesting...

"If you’re worried others won’t cook well, head over to Grandma’s spot. You’ll definitely like what she makes," Lu Heng reminded her.

With so many people, several were handling the cooking, and Grandma Lu was one of them.

"Oh right! I’ll head there first..." Lin Nannan suddenly realized, then nudged him. "Come on, let’s go stake our spot!"

Lu Heng didn’t mind as long as he was by her side.

Their arrival naturally drew some attention, especially since Lin Nannan’s outfit and demeanor were completely different from before. She was like a different person, especially when standing beside Lu Heng, laughing brightly and occasionally teasing him. Her lively expression was something the villagers had never seen before, and some of the guys just gaped at her.

They were all kicking themselves for not seeing how pretty Lin Nannan was.

Even if she hadn’t recovered, just her looks and her strength would’ve made marrying her worthwhile—not to mention she wasn’t actually stupid, so it wouldn’t get passed down to their kids...

It wasn’t just the young men, either. The married and unmarried girls in the village also watched them with complicated expressions, especially Lin Qingqing.

After her grandmother was arrested, she’d quickly gotten engaged.

Her fiancé’s family was poor, and her father had even paid extra to secure the match. She hadn’t wanted to, but her father had warned her—because of what happened with Lin Nannan, their family’s reputation was already in ruins. If she kept being picky now, she might never marry at all.

An unmarried woman would be gossiped about for the rest of her life. If she could endure that, fine—but if not, she had no other choice.

What could Lin Qingqing do? She had to agree.

Because of her tarnished reputation, her in-laws-to-be already disrespected her before the wedding. They were only tolerating her because they were too poor to marry anyone else. It made her think of how, back when Lu Heng was crippled, the "simple" Lin Nannan had married him and got treated like a queen...

She wondered—if she had been the one to marry Lu Heng, even if he hadn’t recovered, would she have been pampered like that too?

Watching Lu Heng gaze at Lin Nannan with adoration, the corners of his lips lifting slightly, Lin Qingqing was sick with regret. But she didn’t dare provoke Lin Nannan again—she was afraid that if she did, Lin Nannan would wreak havoc on her family.