If Luo Mingchen’s build could barely be considered capable of holding his own in a fight, then when the tall and broad Huo Yan stepped forward, the man completely lost any desire to make a move.
Luo Mingchen had originally planned to kick the man out the moment he attacked. But when Huo Yan stepped in front of him and blocked part of his view, he quietly withdrew his hand.
“Brother, we’re all here to browse and buy books. Knowledge does not distinguish between high and low status. Mingchen wasn’t carelessly flipping through the books either. Why be so aggressive?”
“Little Daddy.”
Huo Xiang nervously grabbed the hem of Luo Mingchen’s clothes.
The man’s gaze swept over them in a vulgar manner before he sneered.
“People from small places really don’t know much. So you’re one of those woman-like things. No wonder you’re so arrogant. Turns out you’ve got a man backing you up.”
The people accompanying him laughed as well.
Luo Mingchen wasn’t angry in the slightest.
“What? Jealous? Too bad. Looking like that, even men wouldn’t want you. All you can do is stand here yelling. Looking like a woman is still better than looking like dog shit. If I were you, I probably wouldn’t leave the house. Wouldn’t want to scare children. You’re ugly and your mouth stinks too. Honestly, I admire the courage it takes for you to come outside.”
“Say that again!”
“You think I’ll say it just because you tell me to? Then where would my dignity be? What exactly do you think you are?”
After saying that, Luo Mingchen rolled his eyes at him and turned to Huo Yan.
“Once we’ve bought everything, let’s leave.”
“Alright.”
The man wanted to fight, but he was afraid of Huo Yan and could only swallow his anger.
At that moment, a puzzled voice sounded.
“Brother Li, what’s going on? Why are you arguing?”
The speaker was about to walk over when he suddenly saw Huo Yan and the others. After a brief pause, he greeted them.
“Cousin.”
Luo Mingchen glanced at the young man in green robes. He looked about the same age as Luo Mingchen and appeared refined and scholarly. Still, anyone who was friends with a person like that probably wasn’t much of a good person either.
Besides, since he called Huo Yan “cousin,” he was probably that cousin from the village everyone talked about—the one who had passed the county examination and become a xiucai, Lin Qingfeng.
Upon hearing that, Li An immediately lost his composure.
“Lin Qingfeng! Explain yourself properly. What exactly do you mean by ‘cousin’?!”
Lin Qingfeng frowned slightly.
“How did my cousin offend Brother Li?”
Huo Yan merely looked at him silently.
Seeing that he wasn’t speaking, Lin Qingfeng turned to Li An and said,
“Brother Li, could you give me some face and let this matter end here?”
Hearing that only made Li An even more arrogant.
“No. They must kneel and apologize to me. Otherwise, your matter won’t get done.”
“This…”
Lin Qingfeng looked hesitantly at Huo Yan.
“Cousin, this matter is also your fault. Why don’t you…”
“How is it our fault?”
Luo Mingchen was speechless.
“Do you even know what happened? You need something from that idiot, but we don’t know him, and we don’t know you either. If someone needs to kneel, you can do it yourself. We don’t have time for this. Move.”
Lin Qingfeng frowned as he looked at Luo Mingchen.
“And you are?”
Huo Yan calmly replied,
“Your cousin-in-law. Or you can call him cousin.”
Luo Mingchen: “…”
“Your friend was the one who insulted us first. Logically speaking, you should be asking him to kneel and apologize to us. However, we aren’t interested in arguing with him. Please step aside. We have things to do.”
Lin Qingfeng was somewhat afraid of Huo Yan. Hearing this, he moved out of the way.
Li An continued cursing behind them, but Huo Yan simply paid for the books and left the bookstore with Luo Mingchen and the children, completely ignoring whatever threats he shouted after them.
After leaving the bookstore, they bought two large fish along with some chicks and ducklings.
The live animals were difficult to carry around, and if they left them on the ox cart, they might die from the heat. Luo Mingchen simply put them into his space.
When Huo Yan glanced at him, Luo Mingchen replied confidently,
“You already know about it anyway.”
“…Mm.”
After eating lunch in town, they started heading home.
On the way back, Huo Xinyue, wearing a straw hat, leaned against Luo Mingchen and dozed off in his arms.
Meanwhile, Luo Mingchen fanned her with a palm-leaf fan.
“I heard your cousin is very talented at studying. He has a good chance of obtaining an official title.”
As he drove the cart, Huo Yan said,
“Whether he lives in poverty or wealth has nothing to do with me.”
Luo Mingchen smiled.
“That’s true. With the way he treats you, even if he becomes successful, he probably won’t remember that he has a cousin like you.”
“Mm. I plan to keep the chickens and ducks near the cattle shed.”
Luo Mingchen blinked.
“What cattle shed?”
Huo Yan replied,
“If I build one, won’t there be one?”
“…You know how?”
“I do. It’s not difficult.”
Hearing how confident he sounded, Luo Mingchen still had his doubts.
Huo Yan wasn’t the delicate type, but he was also very different from ordinary farmers.
He looked less like someone who did rough labor and more like a general or leader from a historical drama. It was difficult to imagine someone like him building cattle sheds and chicken coops.
But after they returned home, Luo Mingchen discovered that Huo Yan not only knew how to do it, he was actually quite skilled.
The food they had eaten in town had only been fresh and different.
On the way home, Luo Mingchen had already heard Huo Xiang say more than once that it wasn’t as delicious as what he cooked.
Afraid the children would be hungry, Luo Mingchen steamed an entire basket of mantou after returning home.
When he came back outside, Huo Yan had already finished half of the cattle shed in the backyard.
“Do you want me to help?”
Hearing that, Huo Yan said,
“Help me get that cloth over there.”
Luo Mingchen looked around, found a piece of cloth hanging over a pile of wood, picked it up, and brought it over.
“Here.”
Huo Yan, who was hammering wooden pegs into place, turned his head and used the cloth in Luo Mingchen’s hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead before continuing his work.
Luo Mingchen: “…”
So his role was just to wipe away sweat?
When he noticed the bandages wrapped around Huo Yan’s arm, Luo Mingchen felt a little guilty.
“How about I do it instead? What if you tear your wound open again?”
“It’s fine. The wound has already healed.”
Luo Mingchen frowned.
Could it really heal that quickly?
But there was no blood seeping through the bandages, which meant the wound hadn’t reopened.
After that, Luo Mingchen watched as Huo Yan finished building the cattle shed and then started making a chicken coop.
The bamboo strips they had cut earlier were woven into a large square cage. He even fenced off an area around it so the chickens and ducks could roam freely.
Meanwhile, all Luo Mingchen did was hand over tools, lend a hand occasionally, and wipe Huo Yan’s sweat.
“Oh right, don’t people here have stone mills?”
Luo Mingchen had wanted to grind rice flour to make steamed pork with rice powder and also make some tofu, but he had given up because there wasn’t a stone mill at home.
After drinking a ladle of water, Huo Yan replied,
“In the past, if people wanted to use a stone mill, they either borrowed the village chief’s or someone else’s. If you want one, I can make one tomorrow.”
“Make one? Can’t we just buy one? I’d like a larger one that can be used for making tofu.”
Luo Mingchen had seen tofu being sold in town. It wasn’t as soft and tender as the tofu he could make, so he hadn’t bought any.
If the results turned out well, selling tofu would be a good source of income.
Otherwise, they would have to keep waiting for the vegetables to grow, with no other way to earn money. The two children needed schooling, and everyone needed food. How long could they rely solely on the money Huo Yan earned?
Huo Yan paused.
“If you need it urgently, we can buy one.”
Thinking that making a stone mill would take a lot of time and effort—and wanting to eat tofu sooner—Luo Mingchen decisively said,
“Then let’s buy one.”
“Alright.”
That night after dinner, Huo Yuhui deliberately gathered Huo Xiang and Huo Xinyue together. After whispering among themselves for a while, they announced that Huo Yan and Luo Mingchen should share a room while the three of them would sleep together.
After all, they would need to practice writing and study together from now on.