Husband, Let Me Touch Your Abs - Chapter 49

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Shangjing is the capital

The next day, Zhao Beichuan woke up at dawn.

He quickly got up to boil water and tidy up the house. His father and the others would be arriving soon, and he didn’t want them to see the mess inside.

When the water in the pot boiled, Zhao Beichuan called out to Lu Yao, “Wake up.”

Lu Yao turned over, feeling discomfort from the soreness in a certain area, and let out a soft whimper. “What time is it?”

“Almost dawn.”

Lu Yao propped himself up on the kang, and the quilt slipped off his body, revealing his fair shoulders and back covered with red marks, as if bitten by mosquitoes.

Zhao Beichuan quickly grabbed a cotton jacket and draped it over him. “Get up and wash your face. They’ll be here soon.”

“Okay.” Lu Yao scratched his head, got dressed, and climbed off the kang.

Breakfast was still millet porridge—no vegetables, no meat. Lu Yao felt like he could almost taste blandness itself.

“I’ll take a walk around town later. Some shops should be open today. I’ll buy something for lunch and have Father and the others eat here.”

Zhao Beichuan nodded. “Alright, don’t forget to buy some bowls and chopsticks.”

After breakfast, Wang Youtian arrived with the mule cart. Besides Father Lu and Lu Lin, Hu Chunrong had also come along, bringing Xiao Nian and Xiao Dou.

Last night, the two children had stayed at the Lu family’s home. They had been excited before going to bed, but the moment they woke up, they were restless. Xiao Dou clung to his elder sister, crying to see his sister-in-law.

Mother Lu had tried coaxing them for a long time, but it didn’t work. She had to quickly feed them and send the children back.

On the cart were also a chicken, a sack of cabbages, a sack of radishes, a bucket, and four clay bowls.

Originally, Mother Lu had planned to come as well, but during breakfast, Lu Yun started dry heaving. Thinking he had eaten something bad, they looked at his pregnancy spot and realized Lu Yun was pregnant!

When a ger is pregnant, their pregnancy spot becomes redder and brighter, sometimes even enlarging due to hormones.

Lu Yao found this fascinating and instinctively touched the pregnancy spot on his collarbone. Last night, Zhao Beichuan might have… just a bit… He couldn’t be pregnant, could he? The thought of himself with a pregnant belly gave him goosebumps.

In the morning, everyone worked together to build the livestock shed. The already small courtyard became even more cramped, barely leaving room for a single cart.

The pigsty wasn’t built yet, as they didn’t have enough wood. For now, they let the pigs roam free in the vegetable garden in the back. The chicken coop was also set up there, to be properly relocated in the spring.

Just as they finished installing the gate, there was a knock. Lu Yao opened it to see a thin old man standing outside, hands behind his back, peering into the courtyard.

“May I help you?”

The old man walked straight in and pointed at the livestock shed leaning against the wall. “You need to tear that down. It can’t be next to my house!” It turned out the neighbor had come to complain.

Everyone was stunned. The courtyard was so small—where else could they build the shed?

Father Lu smiled politely. “Brother, our yard is too narrow, so we have no choice but to build the shed here. Otherwise, the cart can’t even get in.”

“I don’t care! The livestock will defecate and urinate, and it’ll stink in the summer. How am I supposed to open my windows?”

Lu Yao quickly interjected, “It won’t smell. We’ll clean up diligently.”

The old man waved his hand dismissively. “Still not allowed. Tear it down!”

“You’re being unreasonable! This is our yard. Why do we need your permission to build a shed?”

The old man, relying on his age, started throwing a tantrum. “I said no! Not next to my wall!”

Lu Yao was about to argue further, but Father Lu pulled him aside. His years of experience taught him not to make enemies of neighbors. If they truly offended this man, he might retaliate while the family was away—like poisoning their mule.

“Brother, don’t get upset. Let’s talk this out.” Father Lu approached the old man to build rapport. “Judging by your accent, you’re from Xishan Village, right?”

The old man snorted. “Yeah, from Xishan Village. What about it?”

“My aunt’s family is also from Xishan. Do you know Liu Mao?”

After a moment of thought, the old man replied, “Of course, he’s my cousin.”

“Ah, what a small world! Liu Mao is my uncle!”

The old man was taken aback and scrutinized Father Lu closely. “You’re Liu Hua’s son?”

“Exactly! Which means I should call you Uncle. Lu Yao, greet your grand-uncle!”

Lu Yao called out, “Grand-uncle.”

The old man reluctantly acknowledged him, his expression softening with a hint of embarrassment.

“These kids don’t know better. Please don’t take it personally. The courtyard is just too small, and there’s no other place to build. Otherwise, we wouldn’t trouble you like this.”

The old man nodded, no longer making a fuss. “The yards in this alley really are cramped—nothing like the big courtyards back in our village.”

“You’re absolutely right! If it weren’t for their house being burned down in the village, the kids wouldn’t have to rent here and endure this cramped space.”

“What? Their house was burned down?” The old man’s gossip instincts kicked in.

Father Lu signaled Lu Yao to bring over two stools, and the two men sat in the yard chatting.

Father Lu wove a tale, mixing truth with fiction, about how envious villagers had burned down Zhao Beichuan and Lu Yao’s house after they earned some money. The old man listened, completely engrossed.

By the end, he was wiping his eyes. “Such hardworking kids. If anyone dares trouble you here, just come find me!”

And just like that, the livestock shed issue was resolved. Lu Yao discreetly gave his father a thumbs up.

Father Lu winked back. Such a small matter was no problem for him!

—

By noon, Lu Yao carried a wicker basket and wandered around the town. He saw that the salt shop and grain store had opened and bought two dou of wheat flour, one jin of salt, and one jin of sugar.

Passing by the wine shop, he bought two jars of yellow wine—one for the family and the other for the neighboring Uncle Liu, considering the shed was built against his wall.

At home, they had a few eggs given by Aunt Tian, the chicken and vegetables brought by his mother. Lu Yao planned to stew chicken and cook a pot of braised noodles for lunch.

When he returned, the courtyard had been mostly tidied up. Lu Yao lit the fire to prepare the meal.

Hu Chunrong helped clean the chicken, while Lu Yao kneaded the dough. Once the pot was hot, chicken pieces were added to stir-fry, releasing their fat before broth was poured in.

With all the seasonings burned in the fire, he could only use salt for flavor. Lu Yao washed a radish, cut it into thumb-sized chunks, and added them along with the hand-pulled noodles once the chicken was almost done. After simmering on high heat for about 15 minutes, the meal was ready.

With no table at home, everyone ate directly around the pot. Short of chopsticks, they broke branches to use as substitutes. Crowded though it was, the meal was hearty and satisfying.

In the afternoon, Lu Yao told them to head back. His second brother’s family needed to make tofu, and Lu Yun was pregnant—they couldn’t stay to help forever.

Wang Youtian was eager to return to his husband and didn’t insist on staying. He hitched up the mule cart and quickly took the Lu family back.

After sending his family off, Lu Yao heard the sound of a peddler on the street. He hurriedly called out, “Peddler, come over! I want to buy some things!”

The young peddler carried two wooden boxes and ran over. “What would you like to buy, sir?”

Having lost all their household items in the fire, they needed everything.

“Give me two oil lamps with cotton wicks, a peach wood comb, a sewing basket with needles and various threads, a jar of sheep fat cream for the face, a broom for sweeping, and a pot brush.”

The peddler beamed and quickly rummaged through his goods to pull out what Lu Yao needed.

“How much for everything?”

The peddler replied, “The oil lamps are twenty wen a pair, the comb is five wen, needles and thread are ten wen, the basket is seven wen, the cream is fifteen wen, the broom is six wen, and the brush is three wen. Altogether, it’s sixty-six wen.”

Lu Yao noticed a pair of red silk flowers in the peddler’s box. “Add the silk flowers as well. It’ll be seventy-five wen in total.”

“Got it!” The peddler handed over the silk flowers, smiling.

Lu Yao counted the money and gave it to him, then carried the large pile of items home.

Xiao Nian and Xiao Dou were sweeping the courtyard. Seeing their sister-in-law return with so many things, they quickly came over to help. Xiao Nian immediately noticed the red silk flowers in his arms.

“Sister-in-law, did you buy flowers for me again?”

Lu Yao handed the silk flowers to her. “Just like the ones you had before.”

“Thank you, sister-in-law!” Xiao Nian clutched the flowers, tears streaming down her face. She hadn’t dared to bring it up, worried about upsetting her older brother and sister-in-law.

The fire had destroyed their house and belongings. Though it was just a pair of silk flowers, it still made her sad. She never expected her sister-in-law to remember.

Lu Yao patted her head. “Go and put them on. Xiao Dou, help me put the sewing basket away.”

“Alright!” The child happily carried out the task, as if it were an important mission. His small hands held the sewing basket as he ran inside to place it in the chest of drawers.

Zhao Beichuan had split half the firewood. Since it was getting late, he decided to finish the rest the next day.

With the house tidied up, they needed to start on the shop. Lu Yao planned to open for business on the sixth day of the new year. The shop was still empty, so he needed to prepare everything in the coming days.

That evening, Lu Yao found a clean wooden board and used the burnt end of a stick to sketch out plans.

Zhao Beichuan, freshly washed and still damp, leaned over. “What are you drawing?”

“I’m thinking of remodeling the shop. We’ll set up two counters inside, right in this spot, so passersby can see and stop to inquire.”

“Hmm.”

“We also need to make new tofu molds since the old ones were burned.”

Zhao Beichuan rested his chin on his shoulder, inhaling the scent of his neck. “Alright, whatever you decide.”

Lu Yao glanced at the two children, who were still awake, and quickly elbowed him. “Stop it.”

Zhao Beichuan said nothing, slipping his hand under the quilt to tease him. Lu Yao bit his lip, his face turning red, trembling so much he could barely hold the stick.

Why hadn’t he noticed how sly Zhao Beichuan was before?

Thinking back to their first meeting, when he was cold and curt, Lu Yao clicked his tongue. It was like he was a completely different person now.

Not to be outdone, Lu Yao slipped his hand under the quilt, pinching him through his pants.

“Hiss—” Zhao Beichuan’s eyes darkened. He blew out the oil lamp. “Stop drawing and go to sleep.”

Lu Yao chuckled, slipping under the covers, only to be pulled into his embrace.

Zhao Beichuan’s hands roamed under the quilt, undoing his waistband. The sudden pressure and discomfort made Lu Yao nearly cry out, forcing him to cover his mouth.

Breathing heavily, he held back his cries, not daring to wake the children nearby. Gripping Zhao Beichuan’s arm tightly, he bit down hard.

Only when their breathing steadied did Lu Yao push him away, drenched in sweat.