“Time to eat!” Lu Qing called everyone for the meal.
“Here!” Lu Qing handed a large chicken leg directly to Han Qiuniang.
“Husband?” Han Qiuniang looked at him shyly, especially with everyone else watching.
“You were weaving nets and digging wild greens today. You worked hard. Eat a chicken leg to nourish yourself,” Lu Qing said, looking at her still somewhat thin frame.
“Thank you, Husband. I’m fine,” Han Qiuniang quickly waved her hand.
“You all eat too. Everyone contributes to this household,” Lu Qing added, glancing at Cheng Su’e, Zheng Yulan, and Dong Chunhua.
“Alright!” Cheng Su’e and Zheng Yulan nodded.
Dong Chunhua was stunned.
“What’s wrong?” Zheng Yulan asked.
“It’s nothing,” Dong Chunhua shook her head gently.
“Why are you crying?” Han Qiuniang noticed the tears in her eyes.
“I never imagined I’d ever get to eat white flour buns,” Dong Chunhua said, eyes brimming with tears. She wasn’t afraid to be laughed at—this was a heartfelt truth. Since she was young, she had never eaten white flour buns. She’d only seen one once, when her mother was sick and her father somehow got half a bun. Her mother ate it and miraculously recovered. In Dong Chunhua’s eyes, white flour buns were like medicine.
“That’s how amazing our husband is. From now on, we’ll be able to eat them often,” Han Qiuniang said with a smile, comforting her. It reminded her of the first time she ate with Lu Qing in a restaurant—it had felt like a dream.
After eating…
“Yulan, Su’e, Chunhua, you three stay home and keep weaving the fishing nets. I’ll go out with Qiuniang for a bit!”
“Alright,” Zheng Yulan nodded.
Leaving the house, Lu Qing picked up a bag of white flour, a bag of millet, and a jin of pork.
“Husband, what’s all this for?” Han Qiuniang asked, puzzled.
“To visit the village chief!” Lu Qing said with a smile.
“The village chief?”
“That’s right.” Lu Qing looked at Han Qiuniang’s confused expression. “Didn’t Sun Magan steal everything from his house? They must be left with nothing now. I thought we should go check in—after all, he’s been good to us.” New chapters come out on g.com first.
“But isn’t this a bit too much?” Han Qiuniang felt a little heartache seeing the amount.
“It’s not too much,” Lu Qing shook his head.
He brought Han Qiuniang to Liu Xicai’s house. At that moment, the whole family was gathered around bowls of boiled wild greens, all looking gloomy.
“What do we do now? That bastard Sun Magan stole everything,” Liu Xicai’s son, Liu Erzhu, frowned.
“Yeah…” Liu Erzhu’s wife agreed.
“Father, you were too soft. You knew what kind of person Sun Magan was, but you still covered for him. You should’ve listened to Uncle Facai and kicked him out of Manglong Village,” Liu Erzhu continued to complain. Those savings were for Liu Feng’s future marriage, and now they were all gone.
“I…” Liu Xicai was full of regret. He had protected Sun Magan so many times and now the man had repaid kindness with betrayal. He regretted not listening to Wu Facai.
“Is the village chief in?” Suddenly a voice came from outside.
“Who is it?” Liu Erzhu shouted impatiently. Everyone was already in a bad mood.
“Lu Qing!” Lu Qing answered.
“Scholar Lu? What’s he doing here now?” Liu Erzhu frowned.
“I don’t know,” Liu Xicai shook his head, but still asked Liu Feng to go receive them.
Lu Qing and Han Qiuniang hadn’t waited long before Liu Feng came out.
“Brother Qing!” Liu Feng greeted him warmly. Being two years younger than Lu Qing, it was only natural for him to call him that.
“What’s all this?” Liu Feng quickly noticed what Lu Qing was carrying.
“I heard Sun Magan stole everything from your home, so I brought Qiuniang to visit. After all, the village chief got involved because of my situation,” Lu Qing explained with a smile.
“Oh, that’s really kind of you.” Liu Feng smiled.
He led Lu Qing and Han Qiuniang inside.
“Grandpa, Father, Brother Qing brought some things to see us.”
“Huh?” Liu Xicai and Liu Erzhu were stunned.
“Oh, Little Qing, what’s all this?” Liu Xicai looked at the flour, millet, and pork.
“It’s what I should do,” Lu Qing said, placing everything in front of them.
Liu Erzhu’s eyes lit up at the sight of the pork—they hadn’t eaten meat in ages. Meat had become a luxury. You are reading on g.com, the official source.
“Father, it’s his good will. Why reject him?” Liu Erzhu said, unhappy with Liu Xicai’s reaction. When someone came bearing gifts, refusing wasn’t polite.
“You little rascal!” Liu Xicai glared at him.
“Village Chief, I came not only to visit but also to ask a favor,” Lu Qing said, sounding a bit hesitant.
“Go on,” Liu Xicai smiled.
“I’m staying at Sun Magan’s house now, but that’s not a long-term solution. I want to build a brick kiln and a new house. So I’d like to ask the village chief to allocate me a piece of land.”
In ancient times, land was a sensitive matter. One couldn’t just claim unowned land. Especially for building houses, official approval was needed.
“I thought it was something big. That I can take care of. In Manglong Village, pick any spot you like—I’ll give you the certificate,” Liu Xicai said generously, agreeing right away.
“Thank you, Village Chief!” Lu Qing let out a breath of relief. He didn’t expect things to go this smoothly. He genuinely had to thank Sun Magan—if not for the recent mess, he wouldn’t have had a reason to bring it up so easily.
With everything settled, Lu Qing and Han Qiuniang left.
On the way back from Liu Xicai’s home, Han Qiuniang looked at Lu Qing. “What is it?”
“You brought flour, millet, and pork… just to ask for land?” she asked. Han Qiuniang was sharp—she had figured it out.
“Exactly.” Lu Qing nodded. “If this were any other time, Liu Xicai might not have agreed so easily. But right now, his family’s struggling, and we’ve come with timely support. As the saying goes, people soften when you feed them and grow hesitant when they’re indebted. So he agreed readily.”
“You’re brilliant, Husband!” Han Qiuniang gave him a thumbs-up. Everyone thought Lu Qing was a bookish fool, but he clearly understood how to deal with people well.
“Tomorrow, I’ll open a brick kiln here in Manglong Village. Once the bricks are ready, we’ll start construction. I’ll build you a big house—with a bath inside,” Lu Qing said, painting a vision.
“A brick kiln?” Han Qiuniang was curious.
“That’s right. I’ve decided not to use mud bricks—I want to use fired bricks. The house will be stronger and look better.”
“That must cost a fortune,” Han Qiuniang couldn’t imagine it. Building a kiln just to build a house? It felt expensive. To her, a mud-brick house was already good enough. She was content.
“How much can it really cost? Do you know how much we have saved up?” Lu Qing asked with a grin.
“15 taels of silver,” Han Qiuniang calculated. Last time when they sold ginseng, they earned twenty-five taels. Ten were spent, and fifteen remained. Thankfully, Lu Qing had hidden the money well, or Sun Magan would’ve taken it.