Chapter 63

Chapter 63

Lu Yuan and the two children returned from the Chen household, and the moment they stepped into the courtyard, the rich aroma of chicken soup enveloped them.

She was instantly hungry.

Rushing to the kitchen, she found Qi Cheng busy cooking and asked, "When will dinner be ready?"

Qi Cheng, his back to her as he chopped vegetables, replied, "If you're hungry, have a piece of pastry first. Dinner will be ready soon."

Lu Yuan responded, "Then hurry up, and remember to braise some fatty meat with dried bamboo shoots."

"Understood," he affirmed.

Qi Cheng had grown up solely dependent on his grandmother, understanding her hardships. As he matured, he began learning to cook. Though his culinary skills weren't exceptional, he was certainly competent.

These days, ever since Lu Yuan injured her hand and Qi Cheng's eyesight had improved somewhat, he had been doing all the cooking, with her guiding him from the side. His cooking had indeed seen some progress.

Old Lady He watched the couple with keen interest, musing that a month of living independently in the city had truly made a difference. They were now getting along more harmoniously, resembling an ordinary couple far more than they had a month prior.

She just wondered...

If they had truly become like other married couples.

Lu Yuan took two pieces of pastry, broke them into four portions, and shared half a piece each with the old lady and the two children.

Afterward, she took another piece into the kitchen and held it to Qi Cheng's mouth.

"You should have some too."

Qi Cheng glanced at her, a faint smile in his eyes, and took a bite.

Old Lady He inwardly tutted. These two must have been quite uninhibited in the city; otherwise, how could they act so openly now?

After feeding Qi Cheng the pastry, Lu Yuan turned to leave the kitchen and met Old Lady He's knowing gaze. She immediately realized the old lady had gotten the wrong idea.

Perhaps the old lady now believed she and her grandson were already a proper, married couple.

What the old lady thought didn't really concern Lu Yuan, and there was no need for unnecessary explanations.

After waiting for nearly half an hour, Qi Cheng finished preparing dinner.

The wobbly table was moved from the old lady's room to the couple's room.

Their room was larger and could accommodate more people.

Lu Yuan and Qi Cheng had bought some meat on their way back from town today. Thus, this meal was the most lavish Lu Yuan had enjoyed in the three months since she arrived in this era.

Following Lu Yuan's request, Qi Cheng prepared braised meat with dried bamboo shoots, scrambled eggs with chives, and finally, chicken soup.

Under normal circumstances, Old Lady He would have grumbled about their extravagance.

But she hadn't seen her grandson for a month, and his eyesight had improved, filling her with genuine joy. Not a single discouraging word passed her lips.

She even gave a chicken drumstick each to her grandson and granddaughter-in-law.

Lu Yuan looked at the two children and said, "Your Uncle Qi and I worked hard. We'll eat the drumsticks, and you can have the chicken meat, alright?"

The two children nodded.

Qi Cheng, who had initially intended to give the drumsticks to the children, held back but still placed one in Lu Yuan's bowl.

Lu Yuan looked at him. "Why are you giving it to me?"

Qi Cheng replied, "You've worked the hardest. You should have it."

Lu Yuan glanced at Old Lady He, her expression seeming to convey—*Your grandson gave it to me; I didn't take it.*

Old Lady He shot her a look. "Eat it, eat it. Do you think I'd scold you?"

Lu Yuan smiled, picked up one, and offered it to her. "I can't eat this much. I want to try other things too."

Old Lady He looked down at the drumstick in her bowl, feeling an inexplicable mix of tenderness and melancholy.

It had been so long since the house had felt this lively.

After dinner, they relaxed for a while before Lu Yuan and Qi Cheng took turns bathing, while the children and the old lady simply washed their feet.

Mountain temperatures were inherently low, and Weishan Village, true to its name, was surrounded by mountains. Once the sun set, the temperature plummeted.

Those with weaker constitutions might catch a cold the next day if they bathed in the evening.

After bathing, Lu Yuan stayed in the old lady's room, playing with the two children.

Qi Cheng sat in his room with no books to read, simply waiting idly and listening to the laughter and chatter from next door.

The noise gradually faded into silence, and after an indeterminate amount of time, Qi Cheng waited a while longer but still didn't see his wife return.

He frowned slightly.

Why hadn't she come back to the room so late?

Surely she hadn't fallen asleep in Grandma's room?

The bed in Grandma's room was small, and there were no extra quilts. How could she sleep there?

After some thought, Qi Cheng couldn't sit still any longer. He grabbed an extra outer garment and left the room.

Outside, it was pitch black, but Qi Cheng easily found his way to his grandmother's door.

He knocked softly and said in a low voice, "Li Niang, it's time to come back to our room."

Lu Yuan, squeezed into the bed with the two children and Old Lady He, was dozing off when she suddenly heard the sound and jolted awake.

Old Lady He, a light sleeper, also woke up.

Seeing Lu Yuan still in bed, she said, "Hurry back to your room to sleep, and turn off the oil lamp on your way out."

Lu Yuan threw back the covers and got out of bed, shivering from the cold. She tucked the children in, then extinguished the candle. Wrapping her arms around herself, she felt her way to the door in the dark.

When she opened it, she could only make out a tall, dark figure blocking some of the cold wind.

Qi Cheng draped the outer garment he was holding over her shoulders and said softly, "Let's go back to our room."

Lu Yuan turned to close the door quietly, then pulled the coat tighter around herself. She reached out and tugged on the hem of Qi Cheng's clothes. "Lead the way."

Qi Cheng smiled, took her hand, and guided her back to their room through the dark night.

Lu Yuan returned to the room, shivering, hurried to the bed, took off her outer clothes, and curled up under the covers. She murmured, "This village is so much colder than the city."

Qi Cheng said, "The mountains are indeed colder."

Lu Yuan replied, "It's only early November now, and the even colder December hasn't arrived yet. How will the old lady and kids manage?"

Qi Cheng smiled, grabbed the kettle warming on the stove, poured a cup of hot water, and brought it over and handed it to her. "Drink some hot water; it'll help you sleep better."

Lu Yuan glanced at it and said, "No, I'll need to use the bathroom at night, and I don't want to get up."

Qi Cheng: ...

When she refused, he drank it himself.

He continued the earlier topic, "In the mountain village, we don't have much, but there's no shortage of firewood. Before winter, everyone cuts and stores a lot of firewood. When it gets too cold, they just huddle inside around the fire."

Lu Yuan said, "Now that you mention it, that doesn't sound too bad. At least the firewood doesn't cost money, unlike in the city where it's very expensive." A big bundle of firewood goes for ten coppers.

Qi Cheng said, "Houses in the city are packed close together, and it's not as cold as in the mountains."

Lu Yuan replied, "Whether in the mountains or the city, I still feel cold."

Qi Cheng asked, "Should I light a brazier?"

Lu Yuan shook her head, reached out, and patted the outer side of the bed. "Come lie down here."

Men are naturally warm, like a furnace.

Qi Cheng understood her meaning and put down the bamboo cup and climbed into bed.

As soon as Qi Cheng got on the bed, Lu Yuan scooted closer.

She said matter-of-factly, "Isn't this more convenient than a brazier?"

Qi Cheng: ...

So she was treating him like a hot water bottle.

Da Wu knew they had returned and stopped by the next day to ask about making soymilk and douhua later.

Lu Yuan said, "I'll be going back to the city later, but I'll teach you how to make douhua and soymilk."

Da Wu was taken aback. "Then, what should I do?"

Lu Yuan shook her head. "You don't need to do anything. Just, if you can have enough to eat and wear warm clothes in the future, try to help others when you can." Making douhua and soymilk isn't some secret recipe, and it doesn’t bring in much money. Since she wouldn't be in Weishan Village anymore, it was better to let those in need take over the business.

The Wu family children were all skinny and pale. The oldest was only fourteen or fifteen years old, and the youngest was four or five. There were no adults to help them; they relied on help from the village and Da Wu selling firewood in town to barely scrape by.

She felt no one needed this work more than them.

"But if I teach you, do you want to run your own stand or continue partnering with the young guy who's been helping me sell soymilk and douhua?"

This was a small business to begin with; splitting it two ways would mean earning much less.

Her question seemed to throw him. Da Wu looked troubled, unsure how to choose.

"Sister-in-law, what if folks don’t come to me anymore if I change?"

Lu Yuan nodded. "That's possible, so you need to think it through. The young guy helping in town could also make and sell soymilk himself. As long as the taste doesn't change much, people might still stick with him."

"The town only has so many people. Even if you split the customers, the money you earn might be about the same."

Da Wu still couldn't decide.

Lu Yuan said, "I won't go to town until the day after tomorrow. Think it over carefully, and then you can talk it over with him plainly."

Da Wu nodded and left, weighed down with worries.

After he left, Old Lady He said, "Since there's douhua, couldn't he just work on his own?"

Lu Yuan shook her head. "Da Wu isn’t much of a talker, and when talking to people, he can’t look people in the eye. If he were the only one selling douhua, he might make some money, but if another shop selling douhua and soymilk opens with a similar taste, his not being good with people would make it hard to keep customers."

In the food business, some are friendly and outgoing, while others are quiet and just do their job. If the taste is similar, people naturally prefer the former.

Old Lady He frowned slightly. "Why didn't you explain the pros and cons to him just now?"

Lu Yuan shrugged. "It’s tough being the good guy. Teaching him how to make douhua and soymilk is already doing plenty. I can't teach him everything. If he ends up feeling like he got a raw deal later, he might even regret listening to me."

Old Lady He thought about her words and found some sense in them. "If he decides to work on his own, what will you say to the young guy in town?"

Lu Yuan replied, "I only hired him for a month. I'll just be straight with him."

Chun Hua listened to their conversation nearby.

She was five or six, and in an era where kids from poor families grow up fast, she was already sensible. She understood what they were discussing.

When Lu Yuan looked at Chun Hua, she saw the girl staring intently at her.

She smiled and asked, "What's wrong?"

Chun Hua hesitated before asking, "Mom, are you still going to the city?"

Lu Yuan nodded, not dismissing her question because they were children.

She said, "I will go. Your Uncle Qi and I will first find a place to live in the city, then come get you, Qiu Hua, and Great-Grandmother."

Qiu Hua heard this and looked at her mother too.

Chun Hua's sadness was plain to see on her face.

"Will it take long?"

Lu Yuan shook her head. "Not long. It'll be much faster than last time."

She had originally planned to play with them for a couple of days to make them happy before telling them, but since they asked, she couldn't hide it.

Chun Hua looked at her anxiously and asked, "Then, when are you leaving?"

"In four days."

The oxcart they took back would be going to Guang Kang City in four days.

Chun Hua was very sad, and Qiu Hua dropped her head, upset.

Lu Yuan crouched down to speak with them: "On the next market day, I'll take you both to town to have some fun, how does that sound?"

The sisters were pretty down.

Chun Hua responded listlessly a bit with an "Okay."

Lu Yuan ruffled both their heads and smiled gently.

Whether it was lingering emotions from the body or feelings developed over time spent together, her heart softened whenever she faced these two children. Even when they weren't around, she missed them.

At night, Lu Yuan and Qi Cheng were under the same blanket, discussing the day's events.

"After you went to see the village chief today, Da Wu so happened to come by and asked about the arrangements."

Qi Cheng said, "Didn't we agree to teach them how to make tofu pudding and soy milk?"

Lu Yuan nodded, "I'm going to teach them, but I asked him whether he wanted to go it alone or continue partnering with Ah Qi, and he was hemming and hawing."

"Of course, it's his choice. Either way, the success of the business afterward isn't on me."

"Then what's got you so troubled?" he asked, puzzled.

Lu Yuan said, "The kids figured out we're going to the city in a few days. They haven't smiled all afternoon."

Qi Cheng thought to himself, that explains it.

When he returned today, he noticed Chun Hua wasn't as cheerful as when he had left, when she had been bubbly.

"There's nothing we can do about it."

Lu Yuan said, "Yesterday, the old lady gave me the few hundred coins she earned. I figure we can get everyone into the city in another half month."

Qi Cheng said, "When we get back to the city this time, let's keep an eye out for somewhere on the quieter side near the night market to rent a house."

Houses near the night market cost over two hundred coppers for a one-room place. In other areas, the price would definitely double.

Lu Yuan said, "It's fine if the place is small. We'll manage for now and move to a bigger place once we earn more money."

Qi Cheng said, "Even the worst place there beats where we live now."

Lu Yuan agreed with this.

Their current home was a thatched hut with a straw roof—cool in summer and cold in winter. Even now, you could feel drafts, making it much colder than the house in the city.

In the city, even if the conditions were poor, at least it was a rammed earth house that didn't let in drafts.

Even if they could only rent a small one-room place and not live together, they would still be in the same city, able to see each other every day. They wouldn't be worrying constantly about the elderly and children living in the village.

...

On the day before the market, Da Wu came by and made up his mind.

"I think it's better to let Ah Qi continue manning the stall and doing business," he said.

Lu Yuan asked him, "What made you decide this?"

Da Wu shyly rubbed the back of his head and replied, "I'm not good with words and worry I won't be able to keep customers. Besides, I want to work the land and grow crops. Making soy milk and tofu pudding already makes me tight on time. If I have to spend half a day in the city, I won't be able to farm."

"This business might not always be profitable, but with land and crops, I’ll have peace of mind."

Lu Yuan hadn't expected that Da Wu's reason for not wanting to go it alone was his desire to farm.

However, being from farm stock, he valued land above all else. It wasn't surprising that Da Wu would think this way.

"Make sure you're certain. I need to go to town tomorrow to call it with Ah Qi, and once it's settled, it can't be changed."

Da Wu replied firmly, "I won't change my mind."

Lu Yuan said, "Alright, come early tomorrow morning, and I'll show you how to make tofu pudding and soy milk."