Husband, Let Me Touch Your Abs - Chapter 39

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Shangjing is the capital

“Stop!”

Zhao Beichuan pulled on the reins and stopped the mule cart by the roadside. “What’s wrong?”

Lu Yao looked over in that direction. “I just saw Song Widow and Song Changshun heading toward the bookstore. They might be looking to cause trouble for Xu Dengke.”

Zhao Beichuan asked, “Do you want to interfere?”

Lu Yao wasn’t interested in their petty issues; he just worried that something would happen and drag him into it.

“How about you wait here for a while? I’ll sneak over and check. If they’re planning to harm me, I’ll be prepared.”

Zhao Beichuan wasn’t reassured. “You stay here. I’ll go and check.”

“Alright, but be careful… don’t hurt them.”

Zhao Beichuan hurried toward the bookstore, and from a distance, he saw the Song couple standing at the entrance, seemingly waiting for someone.

They had come yesterday, but since Xu Dengke hadn’t shown up, they were back again today, waiting.

Not long after, a man in a stone-colored long robe walked out from the bookstore. Song Changshun stepped forward and grabbed him.

Xu Dengke was startled. “Let go! What are you doing?”

“You took my money last time and didn’t help me, and now you still have the nerve to ask what I’m doing? Hurry up and return my money!”

“What are you talking about? I don’t understand. Let go of me, or I’ll report you to the authorities!”

Song Widow grabbed his arm. “You still dare deny it? You took five hundred wen from me and didn’t help, are you planning to keep the money without doing anything?”

“Who took your five hundred wen?” Xu Dengke was enraged. These shameless people were trying to extort him?

When Song Changshun realized the situation might be exposed, he quickly tried to calm Song Widow down. “Stop pulling at him, someone might see and make fun of us.”

Make fun of us? He was already a joke, didn’t care if others laughed at him. Song Widow kept pulling at Xu Dengke’s clothes. “Give me the money. If I don’t get it today, I won’t let you off!”

By now, a few people had gathered around, watching the scene. Xu Dengke’s face turned red. He quickly pulled out a handful of coins from his pocket and threw them at them.

“You asked me to do something for you and only gave me three hundred wen, now everything’s settled. Don’t come looking for me again!” He said angrily, turning and leaving.

Song Widow picked up the coins and looked up at Song Changshun. “Why is it only three hundred wen?”

“I don’t know. You got the money back, that’s enough. Don’t be greedy, let’s go home.”

“Why is it only three hundred wen?” He repeated again.

Song Changshun, feeling uncomfortable under his fixed gaze, shuddered. He had a feeling the man was losing his mind. He muttered, “I spent the rest, what’s it to you?”

Song Widow quickly put the money away and turned back into his usual obedient self. “It’s nothing. Let’s go home.”

Song Changshun felt a chill down his spine and shook off Song Widow’s hand, walking ahead alone. Song Widow stood there for a moment before heading toward the nearby pharmacy.

From behind a large tree, Zhao Beichuan observed their figures thoughtfully. He turned around and ran back to the mule cart to find Lu Yao.

“How was it? Did they start fighting?” Lu Yao asked eagerly when he saw him return.

“No, they just took the money from Xu Dengke and left.”

Lu Yao sighed. “Those two are like ghosts. Every time I see them, my eyelids start twitching. I just know something bad is going to happen.”

“Don’t worry, if they dare harm you again, I won’t spare them!”

“Just avoid them next time. People like them are reckless and, since their lives aren’t good, they won’t let you live peacefully either.”

Lu Yao didn’t expect his words to turn out to be prophetic.

Days passed slowly. Besides making and selling tofu, there wasn’t much else going on. Zhao Beichuan, taking advantage of the merchants not leaving yet, went up the mountain a few times. He didn’t catch any prey but did collect a sack of walnuts.

The walnuts he picked were different from the ones Lu Yao bought in his previous life. The shells were black and extremely hard, requiring a hammer to crack them open. The kernels inside were smaller, but they still tasted just as fragrant and sweet.

After delivering tofu to the town one morning, Zhao Beichuan went back up the mountain. Lu Yao, with some free time, took out the walnuts, cracked them open, and mashed the kernels with a little sugar to make a filling for sugar cakes.

Xiao Dou and Xiao Nian came to help. Lu Yao was afraid they might hurt themselves with the hammer, so he didn’t let them handle it, but allowed them to pick the kernels out with needles.

The three of them cracked walnuts and ate as they worked. By noon, they had filled a large bowl. Lu Yao poured the contents into a cloth bag, then used a rolling pin to crush it further, adding the same crushed brown sugar. The mixture smelled sweet, and he pinched a bit to give to Xiao Nian. “Is it good?”

“It’s delicious! So fragrant!”

“I want some too, sister-in-law, I want some too!”

Lu Yao gave Xiao Dou a little as well, and both children ate eagerly, asking for more.

“You can’t have more. Wait until I make the cakes, then you can eat. This afternoon, we’re going to visit relatives.”

“Okay!” The two children cheered, jumping around with joy.

The sugar cakes, half fried and half baked, were ready quickly. Lu Yao handed two to the children and ate one himself. The taste was great, just like the sugar cakes sold in later years. The filling was generous, and when bitten into, the sugar oozed out.

The three of them finished eating and completed the cakes. A whole big bowl of sugar cakes was left. They kept half at home, and the rest were wrapped in cloth and placed in a basket. Lu Yao planned to visit his family and check how their tofu was doing.

He locked the door, told Lin Daman, and the three of them walked toward Lujia Village.

The weather had grown colder, and the grass and trees along the road were withered and yellow. The two children ran ahead, picking leaves and little twigs, playing and laughing joyfully.

When they climbed over a small hill, Lujia Village came into view. The yellow straw-roofed houses greeted them. Lu Yao’s family lived in the third house on the eastern side of the village. He could even see people busy in the yard.

Unknowingly, Lu Yao quickened his pace, and in less than ten minutes, they arrived at his doorstep.

“Knock, knock, knock.” He knocked a few times on the big door.

“Coming.” Lu Lin’s voice came from inside the yard. He opened the door, and upon seeing Lu Yao, his face broke into a smile. “I was planning to visit you this afternoon, but didn’t expect you to come first.”

Lu Yao led the two children inside. “Have you made the tofu?”

“We made it according to your method, but it’s not quite the same. It’s very hard when you eat it.”

They all entered the house, where Lu’s mother and Lu Miao were sorting beans. Upon seeing Lu Yao and the children, they quickly tidied up.

“Fifth, take Xiao Nian and Xiao Dou to the west room to play and let them have some steamed buns.”

“Okay.” Lu Miao stepped forward to lead the children away.

Lu Yao handed the basket of cakes over. “Try these, I made sugar cakes with walnut filling.”

Lu’s mother took them and set them aside. “You keep them for yourselves, make something and bring it back for me.”

“Let me have a taste of your son’s cooking. It’s delicious, try it.”

Lu’s mother couldn’t refuse. She picked up one of the cakes, broke off a piece, and handed the rest to Lu Yao.

“I had two at home already. You give this to your second brother.”

Lu’s mother took a bite. “Hmm, spoiled child, how much sugar did you put in this?”

“Not much, just a little. Just tell me if it tastes good.”

“It’s good! With this much sugar, even cow dung could taste like sugar cakes.”

“Then cow dung surely isn’t as good as the sugar cake.”

Mother Lu angrily reached out to punch him, but Lu Yao dodged with a giggle.

Soon, Lu Lin and Hu Chunrong brought over the tofu they had made and asked Lu Yao to check what went wrong.

Since it was their first time making tofu, they didn’t dare make too much—only soaking two pounds of soybeans, grinding them into paste, cooking the paste, filtering it, and using the recipe Lu Yao provided to add gypsum to make tofu.

But when the tofu was done, it turned out very hard. Biting it, it was mushy and tasted terrible, unlike the soft and tender tofu that Lu Yao made.

Lu Yao took a look and immediately understood what happened. “When you added the coagulant, you put in too much gypsum. You need to follow my proportions. For every pound of soybeans, you only need the size of your thumb in gypsum to make water. If you add too much, the tofu will be hard.”

Hu Chunrong nodded repeatedly. “Yes, yes, I told you to add less gypsum, but your second brother insisted on adding it all. See? It’s no good!”

Lu Lin scratched his head. “I thought this ingredient didn’t matter much.”

“Well, you’re mistaken. Without the gypsum, the tofu won’t coagulate. Do we still have any soaked soybeans?”

Hu Chunrong replied, “Yes, we soaked two more pounds this morning. We’ll grind them in the village soon.”

“I’ll go with you. After we grind it, I’ll show you how to do it properly. Watch carefully, and you can follow my method from now on.”

“Alright.” Both of them smiled, not expecting Lu Yao to be so considerate.

Lu Yao gave them sugar cakes, and Hu Chunrong brought over the child, as this was the first time Lu Yao played with his little nephew.

His name was Lu Shitou, and he was two and a half years old, a lively, adorable little boy. In the past, when Lu Yao and Hu Chunrong were at odds, they hadn’t spoken to each other. When the child turned one, Lu Yao hadn’t even given him a gift.

Now that the two had reconciled, Lu Yao naturally had to make up for the gift. He took out a string of coins from his pocket and placed them in little Shitou’s hand.

“What’s this? Give it back!” Hu Chunrong quickly took the money from the child’s hand and returned it to Lu Yao.

“This money is for the child. I didn’t do things right in the past. If you don’t let Shitou take it, I’ll consider that you haven’t forgiven me yet.”

Hu Chunrong sighed. “Sister-in-law was wrong too. Don’t hold it against me.”

Mother Lu smiled happily beside them. “Alright, no need for all that. We’re family, no need to say too much. Just get along well!”

In the afternoon, the soybeans were soaked, and the three of them went to the village to grind the soybeans. Like in Wan Gou Village, Lu Family Village also had a public stone mill. Hu Chunrong went to fetch water from the nearby river, cleaned the mill, and then began grinding the soybeans.

Lu Lin wasn’t very mobile, but he still had enough strength to push the mill, which wasn’t too difficult. Lu Yao stood by, directing them on how to add water.

“When grinding the soybeans, you can’t add too little water. If there’s too little, the paste will become thick, and when you cook it, it will burn.”

Hu Chunrong used a gourd ladle to scoop water into the mill, following the 1:6 ratio—one pound of soybeans to six pounds of water to make the soy milk.

The two pounds of soybeans were quickly ground, and when they returned home, Mother Lu had already started the fire. They poured the soy milk into the pot and began stirring.

“When cooking the soy milk, you need to stir it often, or it will burn at the bottom. Let it boil for six or seven minutes, and then it’s ready to drink after filtering.”

Lu Yao scooped a bowl and handed it to Hu Chunrong. “Try the soy milk, how does it taste?”

Hu Chunrong took a sip. “It’s really fragrant!” The filtered soy milk had no residue, and it was smooth with a rich bean flavor.

Lu Yao laughed. “Adding some sugar will make it even better.”

Next, they added the coagulant. Lu Yao poured the prepared gypsum into a ladle and slowly added it to the soy milk.

“This is the most important step. Whether the tofu tastes good depends on how you add the coagulant. You can’t rush it. When the bean curd looks like cotton, it’s about right.” Lu Yao put the ladle down. “After you make tofu more often, you’ll get experience. If it doesn’t set, you didn’t add enough coagulant. If it’s hard, you added too much.”

Lu Lin and Hu Chunrong watched carefully, silently memorizing the steps.

Finally, they scooped the tofu curds into molds, pressed them for several hours, and they were ready.

By the time they finished, the sun was already in the west. Lu Yao called Little Nian and Little Dou, preparing to go home. Before leaving, Mother Lu gave him ten eggs to take back.

This time, Hu Chunrong said nothing. She didn’t mind giving the eggs to Lu Yao and even thought he should have taken more.

On the way home, the two children happily bounced around, sharing their experiences at the Lu family.

“Fifth Brother brought us sugar cakes and played with us, kicking the sandbags and playing shuttlecock!”

Lu Yao said, “When we get home, I’ll sew some sandbags for you. Next year, when the chickens grow up, we’ll save some nice feathers and make a shuttlecock.”

“Yay!” The two children cheered, hugging Lu Yao’s waist.

As they neared the house, they saw Old Zhao coming out of her house. Lu Yao thought she was looking for him and quickly called out, “Granny Zhao, do you need something?”

“Ah, you’re finally back! Go inside and take a look. Da Chuan is injured!”

Lu Yao’s heart skipped a beat as he hurried home.

Inside the house, Zhao Guang and another unfamiliar man stood inside. Zhao Beichuan was sitting on the kang, his face and hands all bruised, looking quite miserable.

“Beichuan!” “Big Brother!” The three of them shouted as they entered the house.

When they saw the family had returned, the two men greeted them and left.

Zhao Beichuan lifted his head at the sound. “You’re back.”

“What happened to you?” Lu Yao rushed over, startled by his condition, his heart racing.

Zhao Beichuan casually replied, “I encountered a fox in the mountains, so I chased after it. But it led me to a cliff, and I almost fell off. Thankfully, there was an old tree nearby that saved me, and I managed to climb back up.”

“Where are you hurt? Let me take a look!”

“It’s nothing, just sprained my calf a little. It’s fine.”

Lu Yao pulled up his pants and saw that his calf was swollen like a radish. He anxiously said, “I’ll go get Da Man to bring the cart. Let’s go to the town’s clinic.”

Zhao Beichuan reached out and wiped his tears. “It’s fine, it’s not that serious. A couple of days of rest will be enough.”

“No, what if you injured the bone?”

Zhao Beichuan couldn’t resist him, so he sat up on the kang with his support. When he moved his leg, the pain was excruciating.

To be honest, this injury was his own fault. Since he had heard merchants say that a good fur fox could sell for at least ten taels, he’d been thinking about hunting another one.

And today, he really ran into one!

This fox was even more beautiful than the one he encountered last year. Its fur was fiery red and glossy, and its tail was over a foot long!

When he first spotted it, it was digging for food under a tree. Zhao Beichuan got so excited that he almost shouted out, but he quickly suppressed it and sneaked closer, holding his spear.

But just as he was about to approach, he stepped on a twig, and with a crack, the fox turned its head.

The man and the fox locked eyes for a moment, and Zhao Beichuan immediately thrust his spear towards its neck. The fox, however, reacted quickly and darted away!

Zhao Beichuan immediately gave chase, his mind completely fixated on one thought—he had to catch the fox today!

He chased the fox for three or four miles. Whenever he was almost close, the fox would slow down and wait for him. Finally, he caught up under a big tree.

Zhao Beichuan tightened his grip on the spear and lunged, only to find that behind the fox was a steep cliff. His heart skipped a beat, and cold sweat poured out! It was too late to stop, so in a panic, he grabbed the branches at the edge of the cliff.

Luckily, a large tree cushioned his fall. He grabbed a branch, preventing himself from falling. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have made it back today.

–

Lin Daman from the backyard had already heard the news, but due to his status, he didn’t feel comfortable coming over to ask. When he saw Lu Yao return, he quickly came over to help.

The two of them harnessed the mule cart, and Lu Yao went to tell Grandma Zhao across the street to help watch the children. He then took some silver and helped Zhao Beichuan onto the cart.

The sun had already set, and the sky was gray. Zhao Beichuan sat in the cart, unsure of what to say. He was embarrassed, having failed to catch the fox and almost injured himself.

Lu Yao held his hand, trembling. “Don’t you think about me and the kids? What if something really happened to you, what would we do?”

“Sigh… I didn’t think that much at the time.”

“Pah! You’re just showing off. Our family is poor and barely getting by, and we can’t even afford clothes. Why do you have to push yourself like this?”

Zhao Beichuan, feeling guilty, could only squeeze his hand to comfort him.