Husband, Let Me Touch Your Abs - Chapter 47
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Shangjing is the capitalThe main door opened, and Xu Dengke, with his messy, disheveled hair, came out. When he saw who it was, his eyes widened in shock. “Third Aunt… You… you all?!”
Lu Yao nearly burst out laughing, while Zhao Beichuan’s expression turned rather strange. They hadn’t expected to end up renting a property from Xu Dengke’s aunt.
“These two are planning to rent my shop. Write up a contract for me to avoid any trouble later,” the elderly woman instructed.
Xu Dengke nodded and clumsily retreated into the house, pretending he didn’t know Lu Yao and Zhao Beichuan. He wasn’t aware that Zhao Beichuan already knew about his history with Lu Yao and was doing his best to act indifferent.
“Come on in,” the elderly woman invited. Lu Yao and Zhao Beichuan followed her into the house.
The Xu family’s house consisted of three rooms and looked shabby and run-down. A fire had been lit inside, filling the space with a pungent stench of foot odor that made Lu Yao nearly gag.
The eastern room seemed to belong to Xu Dengke’s parents, while the western room was his. It was a chaotic mess, with old clothes and socks strewn everywhere. The socks appeared to be coated in a layer of grease and were unrecognizably filthy. One glance was enough to make Lu Yao feel queasy.
Despite his flushed face, Xu Dengke began hurriedly tidying up the dirty clothes. “Please, sit down. I’ll go get some ink and paper.”
The elderly woman sat down, while Lu Yao and Zhao Beichuan remained standing nearby.
Soon, Xu Dengke returned with the writing materials. “Third Aunt, what should I write?”
The elderly woman, experienced from years of renting out her property, glanced at Zhao Beichuan and began dictating: “This document certifies that Zhao Beichuan is renting a shop and an old house with three rooms from Xu Fengxia for one year, at a total rent of 20 taels of silver, with an additional deposit of 2 taels of silver. Should there be any damage to the property, the deposit will be used for repairs.”
The contract was drawn up in duplicate. After Lu Yao carefully reviewed it to ensure everything was correct, he signed and stamped his fingerprint on it. He then handed over the silver to the elderly woman.
The elderly woman handed the keys to Lu Yao. “If you need anything, just come find me. Take good care of the shop—don’t go wrecking it.”
“Understood.”
Xu Dengke escorted them to the door and quickly shut it as soon as they left, avoiding any conversation with Lu Yao the entire time, terrified that the man next to him might recognize him and beat him up.
On the mule cart, Lu Yao glanced at Zhao Beichuan, who was silently steering the cart. Unable to resist, he teased, “Jealous?”
“No.”
“Then why do you look so upset?”
Zhao Beichuan wasn’t exactly jealous, but he did feel uncomfortable. If Xu Dengke had been a capable and talented individual, it might have been easier to accept. But seeing someone so inept and feeble only made him feel indignant on Lu Yao’s behalf, knowing Lu Yao had once been willing to end his life for such a person.
“Let’s go clean up the house first and bring the kids over afterward.”
“Alright.”
When they returned to the rented house, the small courtyard seemed more and more appealing with each look. Though not as spacious as their home in Wangou Village, it was tidy and well-equipped.
The front yard was paved with stones, preventing it from becoming muddy during rainy days. At the back, there was a small vegetable garden and an outhouse. Once spring arrived, they could sow some seeds and grow fresh vegetables to eat.
Lu Yao unlocked the doors with the key. Earlier, they hadn’t gone inside. As soon as the doors opened, a cloud of dust fell from the walls, revealing that the place hadn’t been inhabited in years.
The house had a simple layout: bedrooms on either side and a kitchen in the middle with two stoves. The clay pots were missing, likely taken by the elderly woman.
The eastern bedroom had a kang piled with wooden shovels, sickles, and two rolls of old bedding chewed up by mice, which Zhao Beichuan promptly moved outside. There was also an empty chest that could later be used for storing odds and ends.
The western room was even emptier, with a collapsed kang due to a large hole in the roof, probably caused by rain. They decided to repair the kang once they moved in.
The doors and windows were naturally unusable, all damaged from years of neglect. Everything would need to be replaced, adding up to at least one string of cash.
Although the expenses were significant, they finally felt a sense of stability. At least they wouldn’t have to worry about spending a freezing winter night outside.
By late morning, they had tidied the house as much as they could. Lu Yao decided to head back to bring the children over. After all the chaos at home, the kids must have felt deeply insecure and shouldn’t be left alone for long.
They drove the mule cart back to the village. Just as they reached their burned-down house, they saw Xiaonian and Xiaodou running out of the yard.
“What are you two doing out here in such cold weather?” Lu Yao quickly jumped down from the cart and pulled the two children into his arms.
Xiaonian opened his mouth, but tears fell before he could speak. “We… we were guarding the house… so the food wouldn’t be stolen.”
Xiaodou hugged Lu Yao’s waist, sobbing loudly. They had been terrified when they couldn’t find their big brother and sister-in-law.
Lu Yao stroked their heads, feeling a pang of sorrow. “Don’t cry. Your brother and I went to town to rent a shop. We’re moving to town!”
“Really?!”
“Really. The house is all ready. We’ll move today!”
Xiaodou exclaimed, “That’s great! Does this mean we can eat meat buns every day in town?!”
Lu Yao burst out laughing and ruffled his hair. This little one always had food on his mind.
A lot of their belongings had been lost in the fire, but they gathered up what remained to take with them.
Zhao Beichuan loaded the grain onto the cart. Initially, they had stored twelve sacks of millet and five sacks of beans in the western room, but only managed to save seven sacks of millet and three sacks of beans from the fire.
Lu Yao carried out some bedding and clothing, though a lot had been left behind in the blaze. Fortunately, they had managed to save the kang mats. In the chaos, they hadn’t been able to prioritize what was valuable and what wasn’t.
The remaining chickens and four piglets from the backyard were caught and stuffed into sacks by Zhao Beichuan. Everything was loaded onto the cart and taken with them.
As they were moving things, Lin Daman happened to come over to gather his own belongings. Meeting each other at the burned site, they shared a mutual sense of sorrow.
“Boss, where are you all heading?”
Lu Yao replied, “I was just about to look for you. We’ve decided to move to town. What about you, Xiaochun, and Xiaodong?”
“The village head just came to see me. He said that since the Song family has no one left, by the village’s rules, their house and land must revert to the village. However, since Xiaochun and Xiaodong are members of the Song family, he asked if I’d be willing to return, in which case they would allocate half of the original land to us,” Lin Daman paused before continuing, “I agreed. I plan to move back to the old courtyard.”
The village head’s decision not to allocate all the land to him was out of consideration for his situation. With over twenty mu of farmland, Lin Daman alone couldn’t manage it. As a widower with two children, it would be hard for him to maintain such a large property. Giving him just enough land to make a living seemed more practical.
Lu Yao nodded, “That sounds good. With a house and some land, your life will improve. You’ve learned how to make tofu, so when you have spare time, you can make and sell it in the village.”
Lin Daman’s eyes welled up with tears. Suddenly, he stepped forward and knelt down. “Thank you, master… Without you, I wouldn’t even know what to do…”
“Get up quickly. You’ve worked hard, and you owe me nothing.”
Lin Daman was deeply grateful. No matter what, he would never forget how Lu Yao had helped him during his most difficult times.
Lu Yao lifted the two children onto the cart. Finally, with the iron pot placed upside down over the grain sacks, their home was emptied.
It was getting late, and they still needed to unload and organize their belongings in the town, so they couldn’t delay any longer.
Zhao Beichuan cracked the whip, and Dahua the mule pulled the fully loaded cart toward the town.
Lu Yao and the two children sat on the cart, looking back at their home. The sky was overcast, and the strong wind made the peachwood charms on the front gate flap noisily. The spring couplets pasted on the gate had curled at the edges, fluttering in the wind before slowly disappearing from sight…
The two children rubbed their eyes, as this day became an unforgettable memory for years to come.
—
Back in town, the first task was to find the landlord’s wife to ask about buying firewood.
All their firewood had been burned up, and there wasn’t enough time to chop more. They’d have to buy some to get by for now.
Lu Yao knocked on the landlord’s door, and soon the old lady came out.
“What is it?”
“Aunt Xu, do you know where we can buy dry firewood in town?”
“How much do you need?”
“Two bundles for now. If it’s not enough, I’ll buy more later.”
“I’ll give you two bundles to start with, twenty wen per bundle.” This price was fair, about the same as buying in the village.
“Thank you.”
The old lady called out, and soon a middle-aged man, likely her son, came out of the house. She gave him instructions, saying, “You can go back now. My eldest son will bring the wood to you shortly.”
“Ah, thank you for the trouble.”
When the mule cart reached the new house, Lu Yao took out the key to open the gate. The two children peeked curiously inside. “Sister-in-law, is this our new home?”
“Yes. Hurry and get off the cart to help carry things inside.”
“Okay!” The two children slid off the cart and carried in the bedding and clothes.
Lu Yao held a mat under one arm and a cloth bag with the remaining twenty or so taels of silver under the other. This was their entire fortune, and he kept it close at all times.
The west room was uninhabitable due to the roof leak, so they all stayed in the east room.
They laid out the mats and placed the bedding on top. Zhao Beichuan carried the grain sacks into the west room. After emptying the cart, he took down the iron pot and placed it on the stove.
The old clay stove was too large for the iron pot, so Zhao Beichuan used some stones to prop it up. It wasn’t perfect, but at least they could cook tonight.
Soon, the landlord’s son, Liu Dali, arrived carrying two bundles of firewood. Zhao Beichuan exchanged a few words with him in the yard.
Liu Dali was a straightforward man. “I heard from my mother that you rented the shop in the lower part of town. What kind of business are you running?”
“We sell tofu, made from beans,” Zhao Beichuan replied.
Liu Dali was surprised. “The tofu sold to the restaurants in town is yours?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I’ll have to buy some to try next time!” He had eaten tofu at a restaurant before and found it delicious, though a bit pricey. A plate of minced meat and tofu cost thirty-five wen—something he could only afford occasionally.
Seeing that they were busy organizing their new home, Liu Dali didn’t linger. He accepted forty wen for the firewood and left.
The stove was lit, warming the room slightly, but the drafty windows quickly let the heat escape. Lu Yao hung an old quilt over the windows to block the cold wind.
Night was falling, and the children were hungry. None of them had eaten all day.
Zhao Beichuan fetched water from a nearby well, as they didn’t even have a water tank yet. Once the shops reopened in town, they’d need to buy one.
The porridge in the pot was ready. With no ceramic bowls or chopsticks, the family took turns eating with a single iron spoon around the stove.
Lu Yao thought of the leftover ribs, chicken, and dumplings that had all been destroyed in the fire. The thought filled him with frustration, making him feel full without eating.
The children, however, didn’t seem to mind the hardship. Being together with their brother and sister-in-law made them happy, even with just porridge.
After the meal, Lu Yao boiled a pot of water to wash the children’s faces. The soot from the fire had left them looking like little soot-covered kittens.
Once they were cleaned up, he urged them to go to bed. With no oil lamps in the house, there wasn’t much else they could do, so everyone went to bed early.
The fire had shaken Lu Yao deeply. He woke up several times during the night in fright.
Zhao Beichuan held him close, kissing his forehead to comfort him, silently vowing never to let him go through such an ordeal again.
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Yenna02
I’m kind of sad with the child Song Ping being killed. I thought there would be character development and leave the toxic family, etc. But I guess it would just hard to live through all that trauma, his mother using his medicine money selfishly, his mother killing the whole family. And he’s already kind of rotten to the core because of his mother. I can only sigh.