CH 43

Qiao Yuan was chatting and laughing with Yu Dameng one second, but the second he heard the sound of Qiao Wangshi coming over. He immediately ran to the bed and lay down, pretending to be sick and weak.

As soon as Qiao Wangshi entered the door, she wiped her tears and hurriedly ran to the bed, asking, “Yuan Ge’er, where does it hurt?”

Qiao Yuan faked a cough twice and weakly called out, “Grandma.”

Qiao Wangshi tucked in Qiao Yuan’s blankets, then held his hand as tears streamed down her face. She lamented that Yuan Ge’er had such bad luck. He had barely enjoyed a few days of happiness before he fell ill.

Qiao Yuan was afraid that she would get sick from being too sad. He coughed again and said, “Grandma, I feel much better when I see you.”

Qiao Wangshi felt even more heartbroken after hearing this. Her tears flowed even more.

Qiao Yuan felt a headache. He didn’t want her to continue being sad. He softened his voice and begged Qiao Wangshi, “Grandma, I want to eat the dumpling soup you make.”

In the past, Qiao Wangshi would always secretly make a bowl of dumpling soup for the original owner when Xu Xiuhua was not around. It was just a little oil and a handful of flour so Xu Xiuhua couldn’t tell. This was a small secret between the grandmother and grandson.

Qiao Wangshi perked up when she heard this. She wiped her tears and smiled brightly. “Okay, grandma will make it for you right away.”

The dumpling soup was not very delicious, but Qiao Yuan knew that it was one of the rare comforts for the original owner in those dark years. He savored it carefully, while looking at Qiao Wangshi’s gray hair. He thought to himself that he would take good care of grandma for him.

That day, Qiao Wangshi settled down in Qiao Yuan’s home. She stayed in the vacant main room, which was spacious and bright. It was much better than the low and cramped room she lived in at the Qiao family’s house. The bedding inside was all new cotton this year, and it felt soft to the touch.

Qiao Yuan was worried that she was old and afraid of the cold, so he ordered Yu Dameng to specially light a stove for her.

Qiao Wangshi exclaimed that it was a waste and stopped Yu Dameng from lighting the stove, saying “It’s not even cold enough to freeze, there’s no need to light the stove!”

Qiao Yuan pretended to be uncomfortable, giving a couple fake coughs. “Grandma, I’m cold.”

“If you don’t burn it in your room, then I don’t need it either.”

He continued to pretend, and he acted so sickly that it looked very convincing. Qiao Wangshi felt sorry for him and didn’t stop him anymore.

Yu Dameng was constantly being ordered around by Qiao Yuan, but he didn’t complain at all.

After observing for a day, Qiao Wangshi finally believed a bit of what Qiao Yuan had told her before, that he was in charge of his home.

Qiao Yuan relied on pretending to be sick to stabilize Qiao Wangshi first. The next day, he could only watch Yu Dameng leave with longing eyes.

Yu Dameng was still worried. He instructed him, “Don’t catch a cold. Remember to add coal to the stove. Mother will come over with Liu Ge’er to keep you company later.”

Qiao Yuan happily said, “It’s not like I’m really sick!”

He sat on the bed, with his arms around Yu Dameng’s waist. He made complaining whines as he nuzzled against his husband, reluctant to let the other go.

But there was no choice, as they had been busy making stoves in the iron shop lately, so Yu Dameng had a lot of work that couldn’t be delayed.

Qiao Yuan reluctantly sent Yu Dameng out the door.

As soon as he turned around, he saw Qiao Wangshi standing in the main hall, smiling as she watched him.

Qiao Yuan’s face turned red. He walked over and supported Qiao Wangshi, calling her grandma sweetly.

Qiao Wangshi saw the young couple’s affection and was happy in her heart. “Are you feeling better today?”

Qiao Yuan said sweetly, “Yes, I got better after eating the dumpling soup grandma made for me.”

Qiao Wangshi looked at Qiao Yuan, feeling extremely sad. She blamed herself for being incompetent, for not protecting Yuan Ge’er, for letting a lively young man be worn down into a timid and weak personality.

Now, finally seeing some vitality, Qiao Wangshi was genuinely happy from the bottom of her heart, “He really treats you well.”

Qiao Yuan seized the opportunity and pleaded, “Grandma, please just stay and live here with me.”

“How can I do that?” Qiao Wangshi said earnestly, “You two just married. He loves you very much right now, so he can accept it. But as time goes by, your feelings will fade. When you quarrel in the future, I will be here, and you will be at a disadvantage for no reason.”

Qiao Yuan grew a bit anxious. He wanted to say Yu Dameng was not that kind of person, and they would never grow apart. But on second thought, Qiao Wangshi’s words applied to most marriages, and even if he told her they were different, she wouldn’t believe it.

The root of the problem was to make her believe that he could stand on his own without relying on a man.

He was determined to broaden Qiao Wangshi’s horizons and show her more of the world.

Qiao Yuan roughly calculated the silver he had on hand. Not counting the iron shop’s side, he had three hundred and forty taels of silver. He planned to open another shop and let Qiao Wangshi witness the whole process.

In winter, the first thing he thought of was hotpot.

It warmed the body and dispelled the cold, and it was spicy and appetizing.

It happened that Lin Cuifen brought some meat and pork bones. Because he often cooked at home, he had all kinds of seasonings.

Qiao Yuan didn’t want to waste time and intended to try making it at home today.

After hearing this, Qiao Wangshi quickly stopped him and asked, “You’re sick, why aren’t you resting properly?”

Qiao Yuan touched his nose and felt a little guilty for lying. “Grandma, I’ve been lying down all day yesterday. Can you let me move around a bit?”

Upon seeing this, Lin Cuifen took hold of Qiao Wangshi’s arm and spoke up for him, “Auntie, Yuan Ge’er is a lively child. Lying in bed all the time will make him restless. Just let him move around.”

Qiao Wangshi was slightly puzzled. How did Yuan Ge’er become more active after marrying someone?

However, she didn’t think much about it and just assumed that Qiao Yuan was doing well at the Yu family’s home and gradually became livelier.

There was Liu Ge’er at home, and he also had to consider that Qiao Wangshi was old and should eat less spicy food. Qiao Yuan planned to make two kinds of soup bases: clear soup and spicy soup.

Lin Cuifen heard that he was going to make broth with not only pork bones but also chicken frames1鸡架 (jī jià) – chicken frames, the bones and cartilage left over after the meat has been removed. She immediately ordered the twin brothers to go home and catch one. “Catch the black one with spots. The older one makes better chicken soup.”

Qiao Yuan cleaned the bones while saying, “That’s perfect. We’ll stir-fry the meat and eat it for lunch.”

Qiao Wangshi’s heart rose. The man was not at home, and Yuan Ge’er even dared to say that he wanted to eat meat in front of his mother-in-law. Wasn’t he afraid of her displeasure?

But Lin Cuifen was happy and showed no anger at all. She even eagerly helped Qiao Yuan with the work, which made Qiao Wangshi feel relieved.

This Yu family was really a decent family.

“Mother, can we still buy fish from Qian’s place?” Qiao Yuan wanted to make fish balls, but Qian Caiwang’s family had just caught a lot of fish last month, and then put new fish fry in the pond. He didn’t know if they were still selling them.

Lin Cuifen was efficient and stood up after listening, saying, “I’ll go ask, there should be some. During the New Year, everyone in the surrounding area bought from him. I’ll go buy some and prepare it with the chicken later.”

Qiao Yuan nodded. When she was almost at the door, he remembered and reminded her loudly, “Mom, buy a big one!”

“Got it,” Lin Cuifen replied loudly as well.

After she was completely out of sight, Qiao Wangshi said with some concern, “Yuan Ge’er, your mother-in-law…”

“No.” Qiao Yuan interrupted Qiao Wangshi’s words and said seriously, “Grandma, don’t worry, my father-in-law, mother-in-law, and my brothers-in-law are all very good. I really treat them as family.”

Lin Cuifen’s concern for Qiao Yuan and the closeness of the children from the Yu family to Qiao Yuan did not seem fake. Qiao Wangshi believed Qiao Yuan’s words to some extent, but still couldn’t stop worrying.

Qiao Yuan knew it was because she cared for the original owner that she was overly concerned, so he patiently told her some daily interactions between the Yu family and him, trying to slowly change her thinking.

Buying that fish took Lin Cui Fen a long time. By the time Yu Shanwen and Yu Shanwu caught the chicken, Qiao Wangshi had helped prepare it all. Only then did she return.

She made eye contact with Qiao Yuan, who understood and didn’t immediately ask for the reason.

After Qiao Yuan put the chicken frames and bones into the pot, Qiao Wangshi helped watch the stove. Qiao Yuan and Lin Cuifen started making meatballs with the three children in the main hall. She then said, “There’s trouble at the Qiao family!”

“I told you yesterday when I went to pick up your grandma from the Qiao family, that Xu Xiuhua still had the nerve to talk back to me! It turned out that Qiao Da lost his job and never came back. She didn’t even know that Qiao Da had lost his job!” Ever since Qiao Yuan asked Qiao Guangzhi for his share of the family property and broke off relations, Lin Cuifen stood on his side and never called Qiao Guangzhi Qiao Yuan’s uncle again.

“He was carried back drunk today.” Lin Cuifen avoided the three kids and whispered to Qiao Yuan, “It was the people from Tianxiang Lou. They came to collect debts!”

Tianxiang Lou was a famous brothel in Yunshui County. It was very expensive. Xu Xiuhua would surely be furious.

“It’s better to let them torture each other.” Qiao Yuan couldn’t bring himself to kill the Qiao family, so he did his best to stir up trouble and let them torture each other, to comfort the spirits of the original owner and his parents in heaven.

But his home was on the edge of the village. He could hide it from Qiao Wangshi for a day or two. If it dragged on, she was bound to hear eventually. Qiao Yuan decided they should avoid it for now.

“Mom, let’s move to the house I rented in the county tomorrow and stay there for a while. I don’t want grandma to hear the news so soon. Besides, I’m busy opening a new shop lately.”

“After I get through this busy period, I’ll properly take you all around the county seat to visit and play.”

Lin Cuifen had no objections. She had a good relationship with her neighbors on both sides. She could ask them to look after the pigs and chickens at home when the time came.

The three children cheered when they heard her agreement, “Great!”

There were so many delicious and fun things to do in the county town!

And the new house was so beautiful!

The soup base took a long time to prepare and was complicated to make. This hotpot would be ready just in time for Yu Dameng and his father to come back at night.

Qiao Yuan had more time to prepare various ingredients for the hotpot, such as meatballs, fish balls, vegetable balls, glutinous rice balls, egg dumplings, fish dumplings, crispy meat and so on. It was a full table, which made up for the lack of vegetables in early winter.

Qiao Wangshi was shocked to see that the Yu family allowed Yuan Ge’er to do this.

Whether it was Lin Cuifen who assisted Qiao Yuan throughout the entire process or Yu Dameng and his father who returned from work in the evening, no one raised any objections. They all curiously asked him what he was preparing and helped to bring things to the table with laughter and conversation.

Qiao Wangshi gradually understood that not all families were as dirty and noisy as the Qiao family.

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. If you want to show your support, you can buy me a coffee. It would make my day! For every five coffees I get, I will release a bonus chapter.