CH 34

“Wife, I want to hold your hand.”

“Sorry, the sour plum soup is completely sold out. Please come a bit earlier tomorrow.”

With the last cup of sour plum soup sold out, the two jars of sour plum soup brought in were sold out within half an hour after the lunchtime started.

At first, Cheng Bao’er was worried that they wouldn’t be able to sell the items, but after selling the first cup, as his older brother had said, the sales continued one after another. After selling the first jar of sour plum soup, some customers even requested a whole pot, which was met with disdain from others, implying that they were buying too much and preventing others from getting any.

The group quickly tidied up their belongings. When Liu Wen learned that they had sold out everything in a short amount of time, even receiving complaints from customers about the insufficient quantity for them to taste, he was amazed at how well the items sold. So, after the Cheng brothers finished packing up, he instructed Li Fan to host them in a private room for a meal.

Cheng Bao’er held the money bag tightly, feeling nervous as he had never seen so much money before, fearing that it might be snatched away by someone.

He quickly calculated that they had earned nearly two hundred yuan in just one morning. Even after splitting with Yueqiong Tower, they would still receive close to a hundred yuan! And they had only spent a morning to achieve this!

Cheng Bao’er’s head was spinning, and he felt a bit light-headed. After Wang Liang was finished, Cheng Yun asked him to stay for a meal together and watch Bao’er’s amusing state from the adjacent seat, not forgetting to brush up some goodwill.

Wang Liang: “You guys were amazing this time. You sold out everything in less than two hours!”

Wang Liang’s words brought Cheng Bao’er back to reality. He looked at Wang Liang, his face blushing, and said earnestly, “I have to thank you for this. If it weren’t for you…” As he spoke, he suddenly stopped and rummaged through the money bag, taking out four yuan and handing them to Wang Liang. “Here, take this back.”

Wang Liang looked at the money being handed to him and was momentarily stunned. Then his face changed dramatically, and he pushed the money back. “What are you doing? I have to pay for the sour plum soup I drank. I can’t take advantage of you.”

“No, I can’t take advantage of you either,” Cheng Bao’er firmly said. “Besides, if it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have sold the sour plum soup so quickly. I can’t accept these four yuan from you.”

The two of them insisted on returning the money to each other, one thinking that they shouldn’t take advantage of Wang Liang, as it would make them look greedy, and the other thinking that if Bao’er wanted to argue over such a small amount of money, it would make their relationship too distant.

Cheng Yun found their interaction amusing. He could tell that Wang Liang probably liked Bao’er, and from Bao’er’s reactions throughout the morning, it seemed that the feeling was mutual.

Wang Liang seems like a decent young man. In this era, once a person is chosen for marriage, it’s a lifelong commitment. Many people get married just for the sake of getting married, so it’s rare to find someone you genuinely like before marriage. Therefore, facing these two naive youngsters, Cheng Yun decided to give them a little push.

He said to Bao’er, who had pushed the money back countless times, “Just accept it. It’s rare for Xia’er to have such a good intention to please you. Consider it a little gift from him to make you happy.”

This statement made both of them pause for a moment. Then their cheeks rapidly turned red visibly, and they looked at each other briefly before lowering their heads. After two seconds, they couldn’t help but raise their heads to steal glances at each other.

Youngsters with blossoming feelings, Cheng Yun sighed in his heart. It’s truly naive and beautiful.

Having achieved his goal, he didn’t tease them any further. The group followed Li Fan and were led to a private room.

Liu Wen had been waiting there since early on. When he saw them enter, he quickly put down the account book in his hand and had Li Fan take it away. He stood up and greeted Cheng Yun and the others to take their seats.

“Cheng-Ge’er, you’ve brought me good business again this time. I heard that many people couldn’t buy it and were complaining,” Liu Wen said, then turned to Cheng Bao’er behind Cheng Yun and added, “Your younger brother is also very impressive. The Cheng family is remarkable.”

This sentence indirectly dispelled the earlier doubts about Cheng Bao’er, affirming his capabilities and making the Cheng brothers feel very pleased.

“And who is this?” Having learned a lesson from the previous judgmental look towards Cheng Bao’er, upon seeing Wang Liang entering last, Liu Wen took the initiative to ask.

Cheng Yun and Cheng Bao’er looked at Wang Liang together. Wang Liang felt uneasy under their gaze, but he couldn’t show any weakness in front of Bao’er, so he was still pondering how to introduce himself. However, Cheng Yun resolved his embarrassment first.

“He’s a little kid from the next door. He also helped us open up the market today,” Cheng Yun briefly explained, telling Liu Wen what Wang Liang had done.

“Oh?” Liu Wen found it interesting and his eyes held a touch of appreciation when looking at Wang Liang.

After everyone took their seats, while the meal was not yet finished, Cheng Yun briefly went over the accounts with Liu Wen.

Cheng Yun said, “We sold two barrels, totaling 182 yuan. Split evenly, Yueqiong Tower and us each receive 91 yuan. Take a look and see if there are any issues.”

“I trust you,” Liu Wen glanced briefly without seriously reviewing it. “I’ll let the people below know. When you finish selling for the day, just hand over the portion of money that belongs to Yueqiong Tower to the shopkeeper. I’ll create another account book, and if I haven’t returned, just write down a number for you. It’ll make it easier for the accounting department to tally.”

Cheng Yun nodded; it was indeed a good solution. Besides simplifying the complex task of reconciling accounts, it also prevented any dishonesty on the part of the shopkeeper. If discrepancies arose later, they would have a valid reason. However, all of this was contingent upon Liu Wen trusting the two brothers.

After the meal, Cheng Yun and his group didn’t linger and purchased some essential items and the ingredients for making sour plum soup in town before heading back.

With their first earned money in hand, although Cheng Bao’er still found the town’s items relatively expensive when buying things, he wasn’t reluctant to spend anymore. Today’s good business gave him more confidence. The thought that these items were bought to continue making money made it less painful when paying.

They came with three people and returned with four. Cheng Yun and Yang Hongjin led the donkey cart ahead, giving the young couple some personal space to foster their relationship.

Wang Liang wasn’t a fool. Hearing Cheng Yun’s words and seeing his actions, he immediately guessed that he had passed Cheng Yun’s test. He didn’t let Cheng Yun’s kind gesture go to waste and made an effort to leave a good impression on Cheng Bao’er.

Cheng Yun leisurely walked ahead with Yang Hongjin. Hongjin was still sulking about the morning incident, but Cheng Yun paid him no attention. He hummed a little tune and strolled at his own pace.

Cheng Yun could tell that Yang Hongjin kept wanting to talk to him. He would start to say “Wife” but then close his mouth, pout, and touch his nose sometiems, as if confirming whether he had a nose or not.

Cheng Yun inwardly chuckled at this but didn’t show the slightest hint on his face, letting Yang Hongjin dwell on his own thoughts.

He realized that he had become increasingly mischievous lately. In the past, he would cajole this fool, afraid that he would keep his displeasure bottled up. But recently, he only wanted to tease and play with him.

Perhaps it was because Yang Hongjin’s reactions had changed significantly. Before, he would simply repeat what others said or occasionally ask a question. However, recently, he would give more interesting responses, making Cheng Yun no longer feel like he was talking to himself.

Cheng Yun attributed all of this to his daily efforts to enlighten Yang Hongjin, which had gradually made him more cheerful. As the saying goes, even the coldest stone can be warmed by rubbing, not to mention the human heart. Although Yang Hongjin couldn’t give precise adult-like responses, occasionally bickering and displaying a bit of a temper would stimulate his thinking.

In his mind, Cheng Yun secretly speculated that they were probably nearing home. Only in situations without outsiders would Yang Hongjin stop sulking, but he hadn’t expected that they would only have traveled halfway when that guy couldn’t resist but stick close to him.

“Wife…” that voice still sounded aggrieved.

“What’s wrong?” Cheng Yun pretended as if nothing happened and replied.

Yang Hongjin pursed his lips but couldn’t resist saying, “Why don’t you hold my hand?”

“Didn’t you say that no one is allowed to touch my hand?” Cheng Yun teased him, suppressing a smile.

“But you’re my wife!” Yang Hongjin straightened his back and attempted to grab Cheng Yun’s hand but was evaded. His expression became even more aggrieved, as if he could burst into tears in the next second.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Cheng Yun educated him, “First, I am Cheng Yun, and then I am your wife. It’s fine for you to stick to me at home, but you can’t do this outside.”

Regardless of whether he understood or not, Cheng Yun repeated his stance, believing that if he said it multiple times, Yang Hongjin would eventually understand.

After Cheng Yun finished speaking, he secretly observed Yang Hongjin’s reaction. He saw several expressions flash across his face, from confusion to conflict and then to disappointment, as if he had given up the struggle. He then sneaked a glance at Cheng Yun, seemingly unsure of what to do next.

Cheng Yun guessed that Yang Hongjin had never encountered a situation like this before, so he “kindly” gave him a way out.

Just as he opened his hand, Yang Hongjin’s eyes lit up, wanting to reach out and hold his wife’s hand. However, Cheng Yun quickly withdrew his hand.

“What are you doing? No touching.” Cheng Yun pretended to be angry.

So, Yang Hongjin obediently withdrew his hand, wearing a well-behaved and innocent expression.

Cheng Yun opened his hand again, and this time Yang Hongjin didn’t dare to move. Cheng Yun nodded in satisfaction and said, “From now on, you can’t interrupt other people’s conversations like this outside, and when I’m discussing things with others, you can’t rudely touch or grab attention. If you can do that, then I’ll hold your hand.”

Yang Hongjin pondered for a moment, unsure if he truly understood. But after Cheng Yun finished speaking, he happily extended his hand and tightly grasped his wife’s small hand. A contented smile once again appeared on his face.

Cheng Yun shook his head helplessly. It was fortunate that his husband was a carefree “child.” If this had happened with someone else, who knows how long they would have ended up in a cold war.

Watching Yang Hongjin treat his hand like a precious treasure, pinching and shaking it as if showing off, Cheng Yun couldn’t help but feel both amused and exasperated.

But in this moment, he felt needed, not like in the past when he was just a pitiful creature, unloved and uncared for.

Author’s note:

Thank you to the little angels who voted or provided nourishment for me~

Thanks to the little angel who voted for [Landmine]: Chang’an 1 vote.

Thanks to the little angels who provided nourishment [Nutrient Solution]:

Chang’an 10 bottles; Mao Lv Ya Mao Lv 2 bottles.

Thank you all for your support. I will continue to work hard!