Husband, Let Me Touch Your Abs - Chapter 2

hii guys, its nini here hope you're liking this novel - if you do please rate this novel on NU too

There are 3 genders in this novel male female and ge'er(males who can give birth)

Gonna unlock a chapter every day from now on

Shangjing is the capital

Lu Yao stood helplessly by the stove, not expecting the clay pot to be so fragile; it leaked after just a short while of cooking…

On his first day after getting married, he broke the pot—something that would make the villagers laugh for a month.

Without a pot, he couldn’t cook, and he couldn’t stay hungry all the time. Desperate, Lu Yao decided to seek help.

Across from the Zhao family’s home lived an elderly woman named Grandma Zhao. To the right lived Sister Tian’s family. Both families had good relations with the Zhao family, so Lu Yao thought for a moment and went directly to Grandma Zhao’s house.

Grandma Zhao was also cooking over a fire. Seeing Lu Yao, she quickly got up to invite him in.

“Young master, what brings you here?” “Young master” is a term used for young married men.

Lu Yao scratched his head, feeling a bit awkward, “I’d like to borrow your pot for a while.”

Grandma Zhao didn’t ask much and said, “Wait until the rice in my pot is cooked, then you can use it.”

“Okay, okay.” Lu Yao was worried he might break someone else’s pot as well, so he squatted beside Grandma Zhao and carefully observed how she managed the fire.

The clay pot wasn’t hard to use; after watching for a while, he learned that the fire couldn’t be too strong, the firewood couldn’t be added too much, and the pot had to be slowly heated to cook the food properly.

While tending the fire, Grandma Zhao chatted with him, “Da Chuan was raised by me. This child has had a hard life. His mother died in childbirth with his third sibling, and the following year his father broke his leg while chopping wood on the mountain, and he also passed away a few months later.”

Lu Yao focused and listened to Grandma Zhao’s introduction of his new husband’s family situation.

“At that time, he was only in his teens, with a three-year-old younger sister and a baby brother who hadn’t been weaned. He had to support the family on his own. To be blunt, even an adult might not be able to hold up this family.”

Lu Yao nodded, reflecting on how he, at that age in his previous life, worried about hiding his snacking from his parents.

Grandma Zhao continued, “I advised him to give his younger brother away. During the famine years, there were many childless widows who might have been able to take him in, and he might have survived.”

“But Da Chuan refused. He said he was the eldest brother and wouldn’t abandon his younger brother even if he starved to death.” Grandma Zhao wiped the corners of her eyes. “Now, he’s finally come through. Both children are grown up, and Da Chuan has even married.”

Lu Yao thought to himself that if he hadn’t transmigrated, marriage would have been a pipe dream. This person’s life was truly difficult.

Grandma Zhao soon finished cooking. With only herself at home, there wasn’t much food—just a bowl of corn porridge with a few vegetable leaves floating in it.

“Don’t worry about the fire; you can use the pot.”

“Thank you, Grandma.” Lu Yao quickly went home, scooped half a bowl of corn, and remembered to add more for the two children outside.

In the courtyard, Zhao Xiaodou saw him carrying the bowl and asked Zhao Xiaonian, “Sister, what is he doing?”

Zhao Xiaonian shook her head, “I don’t know. Let’s go see!”

The two children tiptoed and quietly followed Lu Yao, peeking through the door when he entered and listening from the corner.

“I’ve cleaned the pot. You can use it directly.”

“Thank you, Grandma.” Lu Yao poured the clean corn into the pot, added half a pot of water, and slowly added firewood, imitating Grandma Zhao’s method.

“Da Chuan left in a hurry yesterday and didn’t have time to say much to you. Also—” Grandma Zhao paused, “Da Chuan is a very good child. You’ll understand once you’ve been together for a while. Just make sure not to do anything foolish again.”

Lu Yao understood her meaning, clearing his throat, “Grandma is right. It’s better to live than to die.”

Grandma Zhao patted his arm, “That’s the spirit! Live well, and maybe next year you’ll have a child. Things will get better.”

The idea of having children didn’t cross Lu Yao’s mind because, in his heart, he still saw himself as a man. How could a man possibly bear children? It was too absurd…

“Grandma, is it just you at home?”

“My old man is also doing corvée labor. He left with Da Chuan. There’s a maid who married off a long time ago and only comes back during festivals. We had two sons before. The eldest died on the way while fleeing the famine, and the youngest passed away a few years ago from illness.”

When speaking of her deceased sons, Grandma Zhao didn’t show much sadness, perhaps because she had cried all the tears she had.

At forty-five, she was still young by modern standards, but in this feudal, backward society, she already had gray hair, deep wrinkles, and a face etched with suffering.

“Where did you come from?”

Perhaps due to the long time without conversation, Grandma Zhao became very talkative. “Both Da Chuan’s parents and I are from Qingzhou. It wasn’t peaceful in those years. Prince Jing caused chaos, killing many people. The north, Pingzhou, and Shanyang were all devastated, and Qingzhou had a disaster as well. The common people moved out to other places.”

“We came out with over three hundred people from Zhao Family Village. Halfway, we encountered a mountain flood that scattered everyone. My eldest son died at that time.”

“Later, we ended up here. Although this place is colder and more barren than the south, it’s still survivable, and we settled down.”

Lu Yao felt a pang of empathy. In this era where people were like grass, it was quite hard for common folk to live safely.

The clay pot steamed, and the corn porridge was ready.

“If you’re hungry, go home and get some bowls.” Lu Yao said to the children outside.

Zhao Xiaonian and Zhao Xiaodou were surprised, “Sister, is he talking to us?”

“Seems so.”

The two children’s stomachs, in perfect unison, growled. They quickly ran home and returned with large bowls.

Lu Yao filled their bowls generously, leaving the remaining porridge for himself. The three of them huddled around the stove, enjoying their porridge.

Zhao Xiaonian and Zhao Xiaodou watched Lu Yao eat like a normal person, relieved. It seemed the new sister-in-law wasn’t a ghost after all.

Lu Yao secretly felt pleased. These children were indeed very transparent, but he soon stopped smiling. The pot at home was still leaking; how would he cook tomorrow? He couldn’t keep borrowing pots from others.

“Grandma, where can I buy a clay pot?”

“There are some in town. The large ones are five coins, and the small ones are three coins. Do you need a new pot?”

“To be honest, I accidentally burned through my pot at home.”

“Burned through the pot?!” Zhao Xiaonian and Zhao Xiaodou exclaimed in shock.

Lu Yao’s face turned red.

Grandma Zhao was also at a loss. A clay pot wasn’t cheap. Common folk had no other means of making a living, relying on meager earnings from the land, which left them with only a few hundred coins a year. For a new son-in-law to break a pot on the first day was not a good sign of domestic skill.

After finishing the meal, Lu Yao cleaned Grandma Zhao’s pot and returned home with the bowl.

Zhao Xiaonian and Zhao Xiaodou had returned first. They were gathered around the stove, and indeed, there was a fist-sized hole in the pot.

Zhao Xiaodou, with his eyebrows furrowed, said, “Sister, what should we do? How will we cook in the future?”

“I don’t know either. Let’s wait until elder brother comes back.”

Lu Yao entered and saw the two children looking worried. Embarrassed, he said, “I’ll buy a new pot tomorrow.”

“Do you have money?” Zhao Xiaonian asked.

Lu Yao shook his head. He didn’t, but his family did. Maybe he could borrow some tomorrow?

The meal changed the children’s attitude slightly, though they still felt some fear.

That night, Zhao Xiaonian took her brother to sleep at Grandma Zhao’s house, afraid of encountering another hanging scene. Lu Yao didn’t insist, as he wasn’t used to sleeping with strangers.

Lying on the hard clay bed covered with equally hard blankets, Lu Yao thought he wouldn’t be able to sleep, but he fell asleep quickly once his head touched the pillow.

He dreamed of his previous life, seeing himself lying on the road, his clothes stained red-brown with blood.

Surrounding him were people calling for help, others watching the commotion, and some taking videos with their phones, sharing them with family and friends.

Soon, an ambulance arrived, and he was lifted into the vehicle by several doctors.

Lu Yao followed the ambulance to the hospital, where he saw several sisters arriving in a hurry.

The eldest sister’s eyes were red and swollen, clearly having cried on the way. The second and third sisters were holding hands, their faces full of worry as they waited outside the operating room.

A few hours later, the doctor came out of the operating room, tiredly shaking his head at them.

Lu Yao had already anticipated this outcome, but it was still unbearably painful. His short life had come to an end…

The eldest sister fainted and fell to the ground when she heard the news. The others rushed to support her, crying out. Lu Yao reached out to help the eldest sister, but his hand passed through her.

Since he could remember, the eldest sister had always been the closest person to him.

His parents had Lu Yao in their forties, and by then, the eldest sister was already of marriageable age. The sudden arrival of her younger brother disrupted her life, and she had to take on the responsibilities of helping their parents take care of him.

Compared to their elderly parents, the eldest sister felt more like a mother to him. She cared for him, disciplined him, and only married and had children in her thirties.

His death would cause the eldest sister immense pain, and Lu Yao cried uncontrollably.

As he cried, his vision blurred, and the scene changed abruptly to another.

A man in a stone-gray long gown was reciting an ancient text, his voice rising and falling, and the archaic language made him quite irritable.

After what seemed like an eternity, the man finally finished reading and slowly turned around. The man had a round face and prominent buck teeth, and his large mouth occupied a significant portion of his face. He smiled and said, “Ah Yao, once I pass the imperial examination and become a jinshi, I will come to marry you.” After speaking, he puckered his thick lips to kiss him.

Startled, Lu Yao screamed and woke up from the dream. The morning light filtered through the cracks in the window, and he looked at the drab room, finally realizing that he had transmigrated.

“Jinshi” (进士) was the highest degree in the imperial examination system of ancient China, essentially meaning a successful candidate who passed the highest level of the civil service exams. It was a prestigious title that signified scholarly achievement and was a stepping stone to becoming a government official.