Husband, Let Me Touch Your Abs - Chapter 9

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Shangjing is the capital

As the crowd dispersed, the three of them walked to a tree to rest.

“Which Lu Yao are you referring to?” Lu Family Village had over eighty households, all with the surname Lu, so it was common to have people with the same name.

“Don’t call me ‘benefactor.’ My name is Zhao Beichuan, I live in Wanggou Village. Our two villages aren’t far apart, just call me Da Chuan.”

Lu Xi said, “They really aren’t far. I even have relatives living in your village.”

Zhao Beichuan continued, “The Lu Yao I’m talking about lives on the west side of the village. His father is named Lu Guangsheng, and he has an older brother named Lu Lin, who has a problem with his leg.”

Lu Xi immediately understood. “Oh, you’re talking about *that* guy!”

“What kind of person is he?”

At the mention of Lu Yao, Lu Xi hesitated, as if it were a difficult topic to broach. “We’re neighbors, so we grew up together. How do I put it… if I’m being kind, I’d say he’s spoiled. If I’m being blunt, I’d say he’s lazy, loves to eat but doesn’t like to work, and has a bad temper. Aside from his good looks, there’s not much else going for him.”

Zhao Beichuan’s heart sank.

When he had asked the matchmaker to find a spouse, he’d specifically asked for someone with a gentle personality. He wasn’t looking for someone stunning, just someone who could manage the household well. How had things turned out completely the opposite?

Lu Xi continued, “When Lu Yao was young, he had a serious illness and almost died. His mother was so distressed that she spoiled him endlessly. He doesn’t do any chores at home and sleeps until noon every day. He even bullies his two younger brothers…”

The more Zhao Beichuan listened, the worse his expression became. His heart was now knotted with worry, and he wished he could immediately fly home to check on his younger siblings.

“And on top of that, he hasn’t gotten married yet, and I’ve heard rumors about him and a scholar from the town… It’s unclear exactly what kind of relationship they have, but it’s definitely not something good.”

Lu Xi’s father couldn’t hold back anymore and chimed in, “Young man, why are you asking about him? Don’t tell me you’re planning to marry him? Take some advice from this old man: when it comes to marriage, you should focus on a person’s character and personality, not just their looks. That kid may be pretty, but he’s definitely not a good match.”

Zhao Beichuan hesitated to respond. It was too late to say anything now—he had already married the man. Was there still time to regret it?

Meanwhile, on the other side, Lu Yao, unaware that he was being criticized, was happily humming a tune as he led two children toward Lu Family Village.

“Sister-in-law, where is your home?” one of the children asked.

Lu Yao pointed into the distance, “See that big willow tree over there? The wooden door next to it is my house.”

As soon as the children heard this, they took off running.

“Slow down, don’t trip,” Lu Yao called after them as he quickened his pace. Before long, they reached the front door.

He knocked on the door, and a short boy opened it. This was his fifth younger brother, Lu Miao, who was twelve years old.

Startled by the sight of Lu Yao, Lu Miao’s face turned pale, and he ran back inside without saying a word.

Zhao Xiaonian, one of the children, asked curiously, “Sister-in-law, why did he ignore us?”

Lu Yao awkwardly scratched his nose. The original Lu Yao hadn’t had a good relationship with his younger brothers. His original self had been domineering and often bullied the two boys, so now they were terrified of him.

A moment later, Lu Yao’s mother came out, hands on her hips, ready to scold. But when she saw the two children standing beside Lu Yao, the harsh words she was about to utter were swallowed back.

“You’re back.”

Zhao Xiaonian sweetly greeted her, “Hello, Auntie!”

Lu Yao’s mother’s expression softened a little. “Come inside.”

Lu Yao led the two children into the courtyard.

Since it was Zhao Xiaonian and Zhao Xiaodou’s first time visiting relatives, Lu Yao’s mother couldn’t be too harsh. She took down a willow basket from the rafters and pulled out a small piece of black sugar to make some sugar water for the two children.

This black sugar was likely coarse beet sugar, not as sweet as modern-day brown sugar, and full of impurities, but it was still expensive. Even a small piece cost three or four wen.

At the Zhao family’s home, they could only afford sugar during the New Year. The last time the two children had tasted sugar was during the New Year, when Zhao Beichuan had bought them a small piece of malt sugar, which they had made last five days.

Now, holding a large bowl of sugar water, the two children were reluctant to drink it.

“Sister-in-law, you should have a sip,” Zhao Xiaonian said, swallowing his saliva as he handed the bowl to Lu Yao.

“Sister-in-law doesn’t need any. You two go ahead and drink.”

Lu Yao’s mother was surprised. She couldn’t help but wonder to herself: *Why does this kid seem like a completely different person after getting married? Back when he was at home, if there was something good to eat, he would stuff it all into his own mouth, not leaving a bite for anyone else.*

After the two children had finished the sugar water, Lu Yao finally spoke up about the reason for his visit.

“Mother, I’d like to borrow some money.”

“Didn’t Lu Lin give you a cauldron last time? What do you need money for now?”

“I want to go to town to buy a few chicks. By next spring, when they start laying eggs, I can use them to supplement the kids’ nutrition.”

As soon as his mother heard he wanted to go to town, her expression immediately became tense. She feared he was using this as an excuse to meet up with that scholar again and couldn’t help but give him a punch.

“Ouch!” Lu Yao yelped, utterly baffled. “Mother, why did you hit me?”

Embarrassed to explain in front of the children, his mother could only grit her teeth and say, “You don’t know how to raise chickens. What do you need chicks for?”

“I can learn! Just lend me 100 wen. I’ll pay you back once I have some money.”

It wasn’t about the money. Lu Yao’s mother was afraid he would use this opportunity to reconnect with that scholar. In the past, he’d often go to town under the pretense of buying things, only to meet with the scholar. Although nothing inappropriate had happened between them, the rumors were bad enough. Now that Lu Yao was married, it was even more inappropriate for him to think about that man.

“No way. If you really want to raise chickens, take the two we have at home.”

Lu Yao refused, “That wouldn’t be right. What would Sister-in-law say?”

His mother was furious and could only point at his forehead in frustration. “You’re going to be the death of me someday!”

Lu Yao was confused and thought to himself, “I only borrowed a little money; why is there such a big fuss?”

“Lu Yun, Lu Miao!” Lu Mu shouted, and the two brothers who were hiding in the west room reluctantly came out.

“Take your little sister and brother outside to play; I need to talk to your third brother for a moment.”

Zhao Xiaonian and Zhao Xiaodou followed them outside, leaving only Lu Yao and his mother in the room.

“Tell me the truth, are you still thinking about that scholar?”

“No! I’m married now; how could I still think about him!”

“You’d better mean that! It was my fault for spoiling you back then, which led to your spoiled behavior today. If you don’t change, you’ll suffer one day in the future!”

Lu Yao remained silent, bearing the brunt of the scolding for the original body; after all, he was the one who took over someone else’s life.

After Lu Mu had scolded enough, she took out a string of copper coins from the box and counted out a hundred coins, threading them onto a string before tossing them to Lu Yao.

“Be careful with your spending, and don’t keep running back to your family.”

“Okay, thank you, Mother!”

Lu Mu moved her lips but didn’t say anything more unpleasant. In fact, among her several children, Lu Yao was her favorite, and it was precisely this favoritism that had fostered his careless nature. Deep down, Lu Mu regretted it immensely.

Unfortunately, once a character trait is formed, it’s not easy to change. She could only wait for him to hit a wall and realize it himself.

At noon, Lu Mu kept them for a meal, pulling out two eggs and using the chives Lu Yao brought to make a pot of dumplings.

The dumplings were similar to those in later times, but simpler in appearance; the dough was filled with stuffing and pinched shut by hand.

The flour used for the dumplings was also different from what came later; the wheat flour ground from stone was gray, also called gray flour. This was more expensive than millet; typically, one dou of gray flour could be exchanged for two dou of millet, so ordinary families could only enjoy a meal of this during festivals.

Once the dumplings were ready, Lu Father and Lu Lin returned from outside. Lu Father had just turned fifty this year, so he no longer had to do forced labor. Lu Lin had a disability in his leg and also did not have to do forced labor.

“Father, Second Brother.” Lu Yao quickly greeted them.

Lu Father glanced at him but said nothing. It was Lu Lin who noticed that Zhao’s two children had come, so he hurried back inside to find two pieces of dough snacks to give them.

“Thank you, Second Brother.” Zhao Xiaonian and Zhao Xiaodou wiped their hands and politely expressed their thanks as they received the food.

The Zhao family had fled from the southern region; there, they called their elder brothers “brother,” while in the northern region, the terms “brother” and “older brother” were mixed, so you could call them whatever.

Lu Yao brought the cooked dumplings to the table. “Where’s my sister-in-law? Why isn’t she coming to eat?”

“She took the kids back to her mother’s house.” Now was the idle season for farming, so there was nothing else to do at home, and it was a good time to stay for a while.

There were plenty of dumplings wrapped, and with the whole family eating heartily, there was still a plate left uneaten. Before they left, Lu Mu stuffed it into Lu Yao’s basket, telling him to take it back to heat up later to save time on cooking in the evening.

With the money he received, Lu Yao didn’t go directly to the town but instead returned to the village to inquire about the prices of chicks and where to buy them.

From Aunt Tian and Granny Zhao, he learned that the prices of chicks were not too high: hens cost seven wen each, while roosters were five to six wen each.

As for the price of larger chickens, it was more expensive; it was calculated by weight at ten wen per pound, with a chicken weighing about five or six pounds, which meant around fifty to sixty wen. With the money he had, he couldn’t even buy two whole chickens!

However, it was a bit late to buy chicks now; they sold more in early spring. The town had a big market every tenth day, so he planned to check it out the day after tomorrow to see if he could buy some chicks.

On June 20, Zhao Beichuan also had his day off.

Early in the morning, before it was even light, he packed his things to head home.

Yesterday, he had already spoken with the steward, and as long as he returned before the time of Shen today, it would be fine.

In the past few days, he had gathered quite a bit of information about Lu Yao from Lu Xi.

Lu Xi recounted a few incidents he had witnessed.

When Lu Yao was about fifteen or sixteen, he took his two younger brothers to the river to wash clothes.

At that time, Lu Yun was eight or nine, and Lu Miao was even younger. Lu Yao stuffed all the dirty clothes onto his two younger brothers and went to hide in the shade of a nearby tree.

Unexpectedly, the current was swift and accidentally washed away one of the clothes. Lu Yun and Lu Miao were frightened and called for his help to fish the clothes out.

Instead of helping, Lu Yao laughed and said, “It’s not my clothes anyway; if Mother asks, she’ll just blame the two of you.”

Coincidentally, Lu Xi was nearby herding cattle. Hearing the commotion, he came over to help fish the clothes out, but Lu Yao didn’t thank him and instead scolded him for being nosy.

Though this incident seemed small, it revealed his character.

Zhao Beichuan’s face turned dark, and he had already mentally prepared for the worst.

He had encountered such bullying before; the little girl who often played with Xiaonian was frequently bullied by her sister-in-law.

She worked more than the adults at such a young age and often went hungry, becoming thin and malnourished. The thought of his younger siblings possibly encountering such a situation made Zhao Beichuan wish he had wings to fly home.

He had made up his mind on the way; if Lu Yao dared to bully his siblings, he would definitely make sure to take care of him!