The breakfast consisted of millet congee, meat buns, tea eggs, fried dough sticks, and chives pancakes.
After a night's rest, Li Wanzhen felt much more at ease. This breakfast, without Li Weiyan's constant prompts, she ate to her heart's content.
Li Weiyan teased her, saying she hadn't eaten enough last night because she was too polite.
Li Wanzhen, blushing, playfully glared at him.
Li Weiyan laughed heartily, "Alright, I won't tease you anymore. In the countryside, we don't stand on ceremony. When we're hungry, we can eat cold rice if we have to."
"There are cucumbers, tomatoes, and apples in the vegetable basket under the kitchen counter. There's always something to eat, so don't starve yourself."
Li Wanzhen nodded.
After breakfast, the plan was to go to the county town. Li Weiyan asked his family if anyone wanted to go with them. Apart from Chen Fu, no one did.
Li Weihao drove the seven-seater car out.
Li Weiyan turned to look at his younger cousin in the back seat and said, "Xiao Fu, when a woman is disobedient, a couple of beatings will make her obedient."
He didn't know the reason why Lin Hua'er hadn't come to the courtyard, but he knew it was definitely not his honest cousin's fault.
Chen Fu shook his head, "Uncle said, in our family, men don't beat women."
Li Wanzhen's hand, which was about to pinch Li Weiyan's waist, paused because of Chen Fu's words.
Li Weiyan grabbed Li Wanzhen's hand and said solemnly, "When a man has feelings for a woman, she cannot take advantage of his affection to be willful. If she is too willful, the man will get tired and resort to violence."
"I promised I wouldn't hit you, but if you forget your original intention and act willfully, I won't hit you; I will give you other lessons."
"A home needs to be managed by two people. I feel guilty towards you because of my work and will tolerate you, but you also need to manage our home with care."
Li Wanzhen blushed. This man hadn't proposed to her, and she didn't know what he had said to her parents, but they had let her and her elder sister come for the New Year.
This man never spoke sweet nothings to her; he always talked about their future together.
Facing his seriousness at this moment, she just nodded vigorously and then leaned her head on his shoulder.
Without sweet words, she could often feel his sincerity, and her heart felt very at peace.
Li Weiyan put his arm around her shoulder and pointed to the scenery outside the car, introducing it to her.
Chen Fu looked at the two couples in front. One couple leaned against each other, while the other occasionally exchanged smiles. A heavy feeling welled up in his heart.
...
Lin Hua'er cried herself out. She applied a cold compress to her swollen eyes and tidied herself up before going to the courtyard.
When she arrived at the courtyard, she learned that her husband had gone out with his two cousins.
Her heart suddenly sank.
Her husband was not the type to casually leave his burdens behind and go out to play.
This time, he was truly angry.
Last time, he had hit and scolded her. This time, he hadn't hit her, but he had the thought of divorce.
Divorce was impossible. She would never divorce, even if she were beaten to death.
Once Brother Niu and Brother Niu Er divorced, not only girls from other villages but even girls from their own village would be interested. She had even considered Brother Niu and Brother Niu Er for her elder sister.
The wives in Kùshān who agreed to divorce were all fools.
Lin Wan desperately wanted to go to another place and become a city dweller. In her opinion, if that KTV had not been ruined by her aunt, then after Lin Man lost her value, it would be Lin Wan's turn. That stepmother's calculations were all for Lin Enhu alone.
She took a deep breath and bowed to Tian Jing, apologizing, "I'm sorry, Aunt. It was my jealousy."
"From now on, if I have any grievances, I will talk to the person directly. Once it's cleared up, the knots in my heart will be untangled. I will never speak ill of others in front of my mother again."
Tian Jing sighed softly, "It's impossible for a family to have no friction. It's good that you've figured it out. Be good with Xiao Fu."
Lin Hua'er straightened up, "Thank you, Aunt."
Then she apologized to Li Min, "Mom, I'm sorry. I won't scheme anymore. When you scolded me this morning, you still advised me. You truly care for us; I was blinded."
Li Min waved her hand, "I'll let this slide this time. If you do it again, I won't bother with you anymore."
Lin Hua'er nodded, "Yes, thank you, Mom."
She turned and apologized to Grandma Li, "Grandma, thank you for your tolerance all this time. I avoided things last time, and I made a mistake again this time. I'm sorry, please forgive me."
Grandma Li smiled and nodded, "We're all family. Even teeth sometimes hit each other. What's past is past. Just don't forget the lessons from these two times."
Lin Hua'er nodded, "Yes, I won't forget."
Grandma Li waved her hand, "Go take care of the child. Your eldest aunt probably can't manage alone."
After Lin Hua'er left the kitchen, Grandma Li sighed softly but said nothing.
They were all family. If someone sincerely wanted to change, they wouldn't gossip behind people's backs.
Li Min changed the subject by mentioning Yu Ziyu's situation, "Ziyu, do you know if she's having a boy or a girl?"
"A girl."
"A girl."
Grandma Li and Tian Jing said in unison.
Li Min was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, "Mom, Little Aunt, you two are so mischievous."
...
After entering the county town, Chen Fu did not accompany Li Weihao and Li Weiyan. In the past few years, he had occasionally come to the county town, but only to buy things and then rush back.
Today, he wanted to relax, to look at the changes in the county town, and to measure it with his own feet, having never truly observed it before.
"Chen, Chen Fu?"
A female voice reached Chen Fu's ears. He turned and saw a woman smiling charmingly at him.
In the cold wind, the woman was wearing a long woolen coat over a down jacket slightly shorter than the coat, and short boots. She looked fashionable, elegant, and refined.
Her willow eyebrows and apricot eyes, her slightly curled long hair, and the pretty smile on her face made her already youthful-looking round face exude a unique blend of youthful energy and mature charm.
Chen Fu frowned, "Who are you?"
The woman walked up to Chen Fu and looked up at him, "I'm your deskmate, Tong Xinhua."
"Tong Xinhua?" Chen Fu didn't remember having such a deskmate.
The woman said playfully, "We were deskmates for only one semester in the third year of junior high before you dropped out. That semester, you seemed lost in thought, and you copied all your homework from me, which caused me to always hand in my homework with you at the last minute."
Recalling this, Chen Fu remembered. He felt he couldn't learn anything more and wanted to drop out. His aunt's advice was for him to talk to his father during the winter break.
Every day that semester, he was restless in the classroom. But he had to hand in homework, so he secretly copied the assignments of the female classmate next to him.
The first time he was caught copying, the female classmate not only didn't blame him but also pointed out the parts he had copied incorrectly.
He was so embarrassed that he sweated profusely, even making mistakes while copying. The female classmate burst into laughter.
From then on, the female classmate would arrive at school a little earlier every day, hand him her homework to copy, and then check it after he finished, saying he couldn't disgrace her.
The memories in his mind surfaced, and the face that had burst into laughter overlapped with the smiling face before him:
"So it's you. Thank you for your homework."
Tong Xinhua nudged him with her elbow, "What's wrong? You're looking so cold even when you see an old classmate?"
"Are you remembering embarrassing things from back then? Or have you encountered some difficulties?"
"If you have any difficulties, just say so. Maybe I can help you."
Chen Fu shook his head, "Thank you, I don't have any difficulties, and I don't care about the embarrassing things back then. Isn't everyone's childhood a collection of many embarrassing moments?"
"Oh?" Tong Xinhua exclaimed, "You're so young, but your words are like those of an old person who has experienced countless trials. Have you become a monk?"
Chen Fu shook his head lightly, "I just want to walk around quietly."