CH 7

To celebrate my freedom from isolation, I will be updating five chapters today. Enjoy! 1/5

Including the five hundred wen deposit given by Aunt Zhao, they earned a total of 530 wen. Qiao Yuan waved his hand and said, “Mom, since we couldn’t get the pork, let’s buy a chicken! This time, I’ll treat everyone! ”  

Lin Cuifen was also happy. She never expected that Yuan Ge’er would make half a tael of silver in such a short time, and there would be another half tael sooner or later. This was more impressive than some men who had greater abilities. “Okay! I’ll go along with you!”  

Lin Cuifen went out and bought a big rooster from a household in the village, weighing five jin1斤 (jīn) – a unit of weight is equal to 500 grams. 5 jin is equivalent to about 2.5 kilograms or 5.5 pounds. and costing forty wen. In the end, she only made Qiao Yuan pay half of the money.  

The rooster was tied up tightly and struggled to escape, flapping its wings and making a lot of noise. Qiao Yuan didn’t dare to get too close to it.  

This showed his childishness, and Lin Cuifen laughed and sent him to the kitchen to boil water. She then skillfully cut the throat, plucked the feathers, and cleaned it, showing her skill in slaughtering and plucking the rooster.  

The twin brothers were very excited and even made fun of him and Liu Ge’er for being timid.  

Qiao Yuan ignored the two little brats, while Liu Ge’er stubbornly argued with them. Outnumbered, he could only say, “Wait until Third Brother comes back to beat you guys up!” 

The brothers quieted down, and Qiao Yuan felt happy. 

Even children like Xiao Liu knew that he had Yu Dameng backing him up, and Qiao Yuan felt sweet in his heart.  

The dinner would be stir-fried chicken and vinegar-braised cabbage with smashed cucumbers as a side dish. Since the dishes could be prepared quickly, Qiao Yuan and Lin Cuifen decided to wait for Yu Dameng and his father to come back before cooking. 

During this break, the family worked together to make pickled vegetables, using the old brine water that Zhao Laifu had just delivered. Yu Shanwen and Yu Shanwu were responsible for scrubbing the ceramic jars, Lin Cuifen made the brine in the kitchen, and Qiao Yuan and Liu Ge’er processed the vegetables in the barrel. 

Cucumbers, cabbage, carrots, green beans, and small chili peppers – all of their favorite vegetables were put in. Since it was a hot day, they couldn’t make too much, so they only made one jar. This is considered a quick pickled vegetable dish, and it can be eaten after being left overnight. Of course, the taste would be even better after two or three days. 

Upon hearing this, Liu Ge’er couldn’t help but crave it and kept hoping for tomorrow to come quickly.

Qiao Yuan suggested to Lin Cuifen, “Mom, let’s also pickle some duck eggs another day. They go well with white rice porridge.”  

When the duck eggs were pickled to the point that they were dripping with oil, they were especially delicious, and Qiao Yuan was already drooling at the thought. 

Lin Cuifen responded from the kitchen, “Great, I’ll buy some eggs tomorrow.” 

As they were talking, Yu Dameng and his father came back.  

Qiao Yuan put down what he was doing and ran over to help Yu Dameng unload his basket, but Yu Dameng stopped him. “It’s heavy, I can handle it myself.”  

Qiao Yuan didn’t insist and said, “We’re having stir-fried chicken for dinner. You can rest for a bit. I’ll just wash my hands and start cooking. It won’t take long.” 

“Um.” Yu Dameng nodded, feeling very happy to be cared for by his little husband’s gentle words and concern. 

Lin Cuifen noticed her son’s embarrassment and advised him, “That was the money Yuan Ge’er earned from selling steamed cakes today. I told him that you love meat the most, and he thought of you. You should be nice to him.”  

Did Yuan Ge’er finally have a change of heart and decide to stay with him? 

Yu Dameng’s face turned red and he felt uneasy. He didn’t know what to do or say. He walked around the kitchen a few times, wanting to speak to Qiao Yuan, but didn’t know what to say when he got there. 

Qiao Yuan saw Yu Dameng’s hesitation and knew what he was thinking. When Yu Dameng walked into the kitchen for the third time and still didn’t say anything, Qiao Yuan gave him a stern look and said, “Aren’t you tired of walking around?” 

Yu Dameng’s eyes lit up when Qiao Yuan took the initiative to talk to him and said happily, “I’m not tired.” 

Silly!  

Qiao Yuan pursed his lips and smiled, then quickly composed himself and pretended to be aloof as he said, “Alright, come over and make a fire for me.”  

Yu Dameng: “……” Naturally, I will obediently listen to my husband!  

His large build made him look awkward as he squatted beside the stove. Qiao Yuan couldn’t help but remember how uneasy he had looked when he first arrived. The more he thought about it, the funnier it seemed. 

Big silly bear!  

With the chicken already prepared, it didn’t take long to cook. The vegetables were even quicker. In about fifteen minutes, Qiao Yuan had arranged dinner for the day.  

It was still early in the day, so they ate dinner at the shed. Lin Cuifen talked about how Qiao Yuan made a lot of money today, making Qiao Yuan seem like a great hero. The atmosphere at the dinner table became even livelier.  

After dinner, Old Man Yu took the twin brothers to the mountain to gather firewood, while Lin Cuifen took Liu Ge’er to visit neighbors. Qiao Yuan wanted to tidy up the kitchen, but Yu Dameng called him back to the room.  

It was the first time Yu Dameng had ever given Qiao Yuan something. He felt a little embarrassed as he said, “I bought you some clothes. Do you like them?” 

Qiao Yuan was stunned for a moment. He didn’t expect Yu Dameng to actually buy him clothes. Since his grandparents died, no one had ever thought so much for him, and treated him so well. First it was the scar removal ointment, and now it was the clothes. Qiao Yuan’s heart was suddenly stirred up and a little confused. He was too overwhelmed to respond, so he just looked at the clothes inside the bag. 

Wow, each item is more beautiful than the last!  

Qiao Yuan silently thanked the heavens that this era wasn’t so twisted as to force a ger to dress like a girl. These colors would be suitable for men to wear as well, but he bought too many at once. Qiao Yuan casually asked, “How much did these cost?”  

This time, Yu Dameng learned his lesson and knew he might get scolded, so he lowered his head and honestly answered, “Three…three taels of silver.”  

“What?” Qiao Yuan felt his blood pressure rise. He had just been happy about closing a deal worth one tael of silver earlier in the day, but in a blink of an eye, Yu Dameng went and spent three taels of silver just like that! 

Yu Dameng, this prodigal man, must be taught a lesson!  

“How much money do you earn by making an iron tool? How many times do you have to hammer in a day? Do you know what three taels of silver mean? It’s enough for you, a big eater, to eat for a year!”  

“You are very extravagant, spending three taels of silver on just a few pieces of clothing.”  

“Yu Dameng, you big fool!”  

……  

At first, he only wanted to say a few words to Yu Dameng, but he didn’t expect to get so angry while speaking.  

After a round of scolding, Qiao Yuan saw Yu Dameng bowing his head obediently. He then remembered that the money was spent to buy clothes for him. Qiao Yuan suddenly couldn’t be tough anymore and stumbled, saying, “Then…this…these three taels plus the two taels for the scar removal ointment before, a total of five taels of silver, consider it as my debt to you.”  

In one sentence, Yu Dameng’s newly ignited hope was extinguished. He had thought Qiao Yuan finally wanted to build a future together, but now it seemed that he still wanted to keep things separate. 

“I didn’t plan on making you pay it back,” said Yu Dameng, a little upset.  

With a turn of his mind, Qiao Yuan understood why he was unhappy. Yu Dameng’s thoughts were written all over his face. If he wanted to control Yu Dameng’s emotions, he knew how to do it. So he cleared his throat and said, “I’ve heard that when two people get married, the family’s finances are managed by the husband. The husband is responsible for taking care of the household’s money.” 

Upon hearing this, Yu Dameng immediately became excited and foolishly rummaged through the drawers of his wardrobe to retrieve his money bag and handed it over.  

Qiao Yuan weighed it and surprisingly it was still heavy.  

Yu Dameng explained, “When I was serving in the army before, I received a small reward for my service. The general rewarded me with 300 taels of silver. I gave 280 taels to my father to pay off our debts and invested the rest in a shop. Later, I earned some money from blacksmithing, and now there is a total of 15 taels inside.”  

This was his hard-earned money from serving in the army.  Thinking of this, the big fool didn’t even blink and spent five taels of silver on himself. Qiao Yuan’s heart softened, “Aren’t you afraid that I’ll take the money and run?”  

Yu Dameng looked at Qiao Yuan in disbelief, as if he hadn’t thought of this possibility before. He glanced at the money bag and suddenly felt uneasy. It seemed that Yuan Ge’er had never personally told him about wanting to be his husband.  

Qiao Yuan found this amusing and playfully slapped Yu Dameng on the head, “You big silly bear! Fortunately, you met me.”  

“I’ll keep it for you temporarily to prevent you from spending money recklessly! If you need money, just tell me.” Qiao Yuan said as he took out a couple of silver coins from his purse and handed them to Yu Dameng. “You can carry these silver coins with you for emergencies, but you can’t spend them recklessly.”  

Just temporarily.  

Yu Dameng’s face fell as he responded with an “Oh.”  

Qiao Yuan’s mood improved, and he went to look at those clothes again. He thought that every piece was nice and well-matched with a hairband of the same color. As he looked further, he found fur clothes, pants, and handkerchiefs. Qiao Yuan thought that Yu Dameng was quite thoughtful, until he came across that small piece of clothing. His whole demeanor changed, and he became angry again, “Yu Dameng, what is this!” 

Qiao Yuan recognized the small garment as something resembling a bellyband that female leads in period dramas would wear. In that moment, Qiao Yuan wondered if the gers in this world also had to wear bellybands? There was no memory of this in his original body, or did he lose his parents before they even had a chance to tell him about it?  

Yu Dameng looked at the small, improper garment in Qiao Yuan’s hand and felt his face turn red. He scratched his head and stuttered, speaking in a quieter voice, “The clerk at the clothing store said that newlyweds really like it…”  

Qiao Yuan understood immediately. The guy meant that the clothes were used for bedroom activities. What a joke! He’s a man, how could he wear such clothes! Qiao Yuan angrily threw the garment onto Yu Dameng’s head and gave him a stern look. “If you want to wear it, wear it yourself!”  

After speaking, he ran to the yard to get some fresh air, his face was flushed. It’s so hot.  

Yu Dameng followed him outside and tried to apologize, but he was tongue-tied and only made things worse. 

Qiao Yuan wasn’t truly angry with him, but he felt embarrassed. He also enjoyed teasing Yu Dameng by not giving in to his attempts at making amends. When he heard Lin Cuifen and Liu Ge’er returning, Qiao Yuan quickly said he wasn’t angry and suggested that Yu Dameng go fetch some water. 

As soon as Lin Cuifen and Liu Ge’er entered the courtyard gate, Qiao Yuan asked, “Mom, where did you go?”  

“The village chief’s house, Aunt Zhao asked me to help her count the betrothal gifts,” Lin Cuifen complained to Qiao Yuan. “You wouldn’t believe it, but Liu Ge’er was having so much fun with Laifu that I had to yell at him before he would come home.”  

Qiao Yuan smiled and pinched Liu Ge’er’s chubby face, using a tone of voice used to coax children, saying, “After all, Liu Ge’er is still a child!”  

“You spoil him too much.” 

Liu Ge’er stole a glance at Lin Cuifen and whispered quietly to Qiao Yuan when she wasn’t paying attention, “I didn’t finish playing games with Laifu.” 

Qiao Yuan became even happier and asked eagerly, “What game did you play? Big brother will play with you.”  

“The little chick needs to eat, so we stopped playing,” Liu Ge’er shook his head and refused. 

After speaking, she went to Lin Cuifen and acted cute, calling her “mother” and asking for her help in mixing chicken feed. This made Lin Cuifen unable to contain her laughter and she started joking around with Liu Ge’er.  

The sound of laughter and play between family members filled the air, and Qiao Yuan watched the sunset in the distance. He felt that there was no better day than today. 

After an unknown amount of time, Yu Dameng pushed open the door and entered.  

They exchanged a glance, and Qiao Yuan smiled at him. 

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