Even Xu Aihua was a little worried. She hurriedly tried to persuade him, “Yanfeng, don’t be angry. Xinran definitely didn’t do it on purpose. She’ll slowly learn how to do it—”
“If there’s something to say, let’s talk it out. You mustn’t hit her.”
The corner of Li Yanfeng’s mouth twitched. Why was even Sister-in-law Xu saying this? Was he really that frightening now?
He instinctively looked at Lu Xinran and saw that her eyes were misty with tears. Could it be that she was worried too?
Li Yanfeng tried his best to make himself look less intimidating.
“I know. It’s just a small matter.”
“There’s nothing more to deal with here. You should all go back first.”
At that moment, Sister-in-law Xu from the Women’s Federation said, “Commander Li, I’ve already reprimanded her. If you need anything else, remember to come find me at the Women’s Federation.”
Li Yanfeng frowned slightly. He looked at Lu Xinran and asked in a low voice, “What did Sister-in-law Xu just say?”
“Nothing.” She shook her head. She hadn’t taken those words to heart.
“You should all go back first.” With so many people crowding around his house, anyone would think something serious had happened.
Outside, the tractor finished unloading the soil and drove away.
Although the other wives were curious about what had happened between the couple, they were even more afraid of Li Yanfeng. They could only awkwardly leave.
Xu Aihua had to go to work in the afternoon too, so she couldn’t stay there forever.
“Yanfeng, whatever you have to say, just talk it out, okay? Don’t scare Xinran!” Before leaving, she couldn’t resist reminding him one more time.
Lu Xinran couldn’t help laughing. “Sister-in-law, don’t worry. Yanfeng won’t do that.”
She hadn’t even had time to say a few words in Li Yanfeng’s defense just now. Who knew what kind of story the people in the family compound would be spreading tomorrow?
His reputation in the family compound was already terrible to begin with.
Before long, everyone had dispersed.
Li Yanfeng took Lu Xinran by the hand and led her inside.
“Sit here and wait for me for a moment.” After saying that, he went back outside.
Lu Xinran sat on the sofa. She had already calmed down. The back of her hand where she had been burned still stung slightly.
While Li Yanfeng was gone to get something, Lu Xinran poured some spiritual spring water from her cup and applied it to the burn. The discomfort instantly eased.
Soon, Li Yanfeng returned. He had wrung out a wet towel and brought some toothpaste with him.
“I’ll wipe your hand first, then put some toothpaste on it. Later, I’ll go to the clinic and get some burn ointment.”
“Yanfeng, I’m sorry. I caused you trouble.” Lu Xinran apologized.
She had been so confident when she said she could handle everything. She hadn’t expected that she had still overestimated herself.
“You don’t need to apologize. It wasn’t your fault. From now on—”
“From now on, I’ll practice more. This really was an accident. You believe me, okay?”
Lu Xinran’s eyes were still moist from all the smoke that had made her cry earlier.
Even a tough, battle-hardened man like Commander Li couldn’t resist her like this. No matter what, he simply couldn’t bring himself to refuse her.
“Mm. Just don’t rush next time. Take your time lighting the stove.”
“I know. The main problem this time was that I was trying to manage two stoves at once and couldn’t keep up with both. I won’t be so reckless next time.”
Li Yanfeng covered the back of her hand with toothpaste.
A whole tube of toothpaste was quite expensive, and sometimes it was even out of stock. But he didn’t hesitate for a second. All he cared about was making her feel better.
“How is it? Does it feel better?” he asked with concern.
“Mm. It’s cool. Much more comfortable.”
After finishing with her hand, he took the wet towel and wiped her face.
She had only tried to cook a meal, yet she had ended up looking like a little kitten covered in soot.
He knew she had probably never used an earthen stove before.
Having to start from scratch and learn everything must have been difficult for her.
Lu Xinran didn’t even dare look at him. She felt so embarrassed. She just hoped Li Yanfeng wouldn’t think less of her after this.
Soon, her face was clean.
But when he saw that there were still fingerprints on her fair cheek, he frowned.
Could those marks have been left by him when he had wiped her face just now?
Had he pressed too hard?
No wonder even Sister-in-law Xu had been worried that he might hit her!
“Did it hurt when I wiped your face just now? Was I too rough?” he asked softly.
Lu Xinran shook her head. “No, it didn’t hurt.”
“If it hurts, just tell me. You don’t have to endure it. I won’t get angry.” He tried his best to speak gently.
Lu Xinran stared at him in confusion.
“It really doesn’t hurt. I’m not lying to you. I’m not the type to silently endure things, either.”
“Why did you ask that?” She had already found the other wives’ reactions strange earlier.
“There are fingerprints on your face… They must have been left by me.” Li Yanfeng felt a little guilty.
He knew he sometimes didn’t realize how much force he was using.
“Huh?” Lu Xinran exclaimed.
The next second, she immediately understood.
She smiled helplessly and explained, “My skin is very delicate, so it leaves marks easily. It really doesn’t hurt. I’m not lying to you.”
Li Yanfeng suddenly understood.
It could actually be like that?
Looks like he would have to be even gentler with her from now on.
“As long as it doesn’t hurt.”
“Yanfeng, what about lunch today…?” Lu Xinran glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already past one.
They had been working for so long, and now they hadn’t even had lunch.
“I already sent Xiao Chen to the family compound cafeteria to bring food back.”
“What about the pots?” She was worried that the pot might have been burned through. There had been so much smoke that she could barely open her eyes.
“They’re fine. The oil pan caught fire. Once we put it out, everything was fine. The pot wasn’t damaged.”
“The rice in the other pot is fine too. It looked scary, but it really wasn’t a big deal.” There was an obvious note of reassurance in Li Yanfeng’s voice.
Only then did Lu Xinran quietly let out a sigh of relief.
“That’s good.”
“It definitely won’t happen again next time,” Lu Xinran promised.
“Mm.” Li Yanfeng agreed.
But he was still worried inside.
Today, he happened to be home, so he had been able to deal with the situation in time.
What if he hadn’t been home and something like this happened again? How helpless would she have been?
But he had already promised her that he wouldn’t stop her from cooking because of this incident.
Just then, the guard, Xiao Chen, returned carrying the food.
Li Yanfeng had asked him to bring some plates from their house and pack the dishes into them. He had brought back three dishes.
The rice was still perfectly edible.
“Let’s eat first,” Li Yanfeng said.
The food at the family compound cafeteria really didn’t have much oil or meat.
After lunch, the kitchen was cleaned up as well.
Lu Xinran went to look at the vegetable garden. That was what she was most excited about.
The garden in the courtyard had already been enclosed with a fence, and the soil had been divided into neat rows. There were four planting beds in total.
Now all they needed to do was buy some seeds or seedlings and plant them.
Li Yanfeng had also shown quite a bit of experience. He had deliberately stuck several poles along the wall so that climbing beans, gourds, and other vine crops could grow up them later.
Lu Xinran was delighted. The vegetable garden already looked quite impressive.
Li Yanfeng stood beside her. Seeing how happy she was, the sternness in his eyes instantly softened.
He deliberately asked, “What do you think of the vegetable garden? Is there anything else that needs improving?”
“No, it’s already perfect! Yanfeng, you’re amazing!”
Her eyes were filled with admiration.
Commander Li thoroughly enjoyed being looked at like that.
But he didn’t show how pleased he was. He hadn’t expected that something he could easily do back home would seem so impressive to her.
“It’s just a small thing.”
“Tomorrow, I’ll take you to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some vegetable seeds.”
“Okay.”
The kitchen fire had originally been nothing more than a minor incident, and by evening, Lu Xinran had already forgotten about it.
Who would have thought that the very next day, it would cause a huge commotion throughout the entire family compound?