Old Mrs. He came out of the kitchen when she heard the commotion. Seeing her son and daughter-in-law holding hands, she pressed her lips together and smiled. When a family lived in harmony, everything prospered; seeing that her son and daughter-in-law cared for each other put her mind at ease.
When Su Nuanru noticed Old Mrs. He’s gaze, her face immediately flushed. She hurriedly pried Huo Hanye’s hand away with her other hand and ran into the kitchen.
Huo Hanye’s eyes remained fixed on Su Nuanru’s retreating back.
Old Mrs. He came over and reminded her son, “Be a little more careful. Don’t frighten your wife.”
Huo Hanye gave a light cough. “I know, Mother.”
Huo Hehua looked at Su Nuanru’s flushed face, then glanced at her brother in the courtyard. Her eyes darted about.
Ever since the Su family had moved back to the village, her brother had taken a liking to Su Nuanru. She had originally thought that her sister-in-law disliked her brother terribly, but judging by her reaction, she did not seem to hate him quite that much after all.
Su Nuanru was just about to carry out the food when she noticed that Huo Hanye had dirtied her hand. She looked at it and said quietly to Huo Hehua, “I’ll go wash my hands first.”
“All right.”
Su Nuanru ran to the well. Huo Hanye had already drawn some water and was about to wash his hands. When he saw her coming, he said, “You wash first.”
“No, you go ahead.”
Huo Hanye acted as though he had not heard her and continued holding out the dipper.
This time, Su Nuanru did not say anything more to him. Suppressing her embarrassment, she reached out her hand and quickly washed it. Then she murmured her thanks and went into the kitchen.
During the meal, Su Nuanru did not dare look at Huo Hanye and kept her head lowered.
Huo Hanye picked up an egg and placed it in front of her.
Su Nuanru raised her eyes to look at him. Eggs were a rare delicacy; how could they eat them every day? She glanced around the table. Only she and Huo Hehua had eggs in front of them; no one else did. She quickly pushed the egg away.
“I just had an egg yesterday, so I won’t have one today. You should eat it, Husband.”
Huo Hanye looked at Su Nuanru, completely unable to understand what she was thinking. Was his kindness toward her really so unacceptable to her?
Seeing that the atmosphere between her son and daughter-in-law was somewhat off, Old Mrs. He looked from one to the other and said, “A-Ru[1]A-Ru – as a familiar, affectionate form of address to Su Nuanru jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3525231_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3525231_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });, you should eat the egg. You’ve been tired lately, so you need to nourish yourself properly.”
Nourish herself?
Su Nuanru’s face turned red at once. Nothing had happened between her and Huo Hanye the previous night—there was no need for her to replenish her strength. But she could hardly say that aloud. She turned her head to glance at Huo Hanye and saw that he had already peeled the egg. He held the shelled egg out to her.
Su Nuanru did not move.
As she ate her own egg, Huo Hehua said, “Sister-in-law, just eat it and keep me company. If I’m the only one eating one, it’ll make me look terribly greedy.”
Huo Hanye asked in a low voice, “Do you think my hands are dirty?”
There was a distinctive scent about Huo Hanye, carrying the smell of earth mixed with a trace of sweat. The scent made Su Nuanru’s face flush even more, and she hurriedly denied it. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Then take it.”
Su Nuanru truly did not know how to respond, so she could only accept the egg.
At the table, Old Mrs. He chatted with her daughter for a few moments before asking Huo Yangshu about the state of the fields. Huo Hanye was a man of few words and usually did not interrupt, while Huo Hehua asked several more questions.
Listening to everyone’s conversation, Su Nuanru’s eyes suddenly grew sore.
How long had it been since she had felt the warmth of a family?
Ever since the family business had begun doing worse and worse, the atmosphere at home had deteriorated along with it. Her father had become taciturn during meals and often sighed heavily. Later, he had even begun arguing with her mother. She and her younger brother had not dared make a sound.
After they returned to the village, the atmosphere at home had not improved much. Later, she married into the Qian family. Scholar Qian’s father had never managed to attain the rank of xiucai in his entire life, so he placed all his hopes in his son. Everything in the Qian family revolved around Scholar Qian; the whole household catered to him. Since Scholar Qian had to study, no one in the family was allowed to make a sound, and the entire household was stiflingly repressed.
Huo Yangshu and Old Mrs. He were both in poor health, and all the money in the household went toward medical treatment. After finally saving a little, they had used it to arrange a wife for their son. Their life was far worse than that of either her own family or the Qian family. She had assumed that the Huo family’s circumstances would be even worse than the Qians’, yet the atmosphere in the household was wonderfully harmonious. Although the family was poor, everyone got along peacefully, chatting and laughing together. Unlike many other households, they did not favor sons over daughters; they doted on their daughter as well.
Now that she had only just married into the family, Su Nuanru watched the Huo family like an outsider, envy in her eyes.
Just then, a piece of lean meat suddenly appeared in her bowl. She raised her eyes to Huo Hanye.
Huo Hanye glanced at her but said nothing. He simply continued shoveling rice into his mouth, as though he had not been the one to put the meat in her bowl.
Su Nuanru looked down at the piece of meat and felt a trace of warmth. Now that it was already in her bowl, it would be awkward to put it back. She ate it, then quietly thanked Huo Hanye. “Thank you.”
He gave a soft “Mm” and said no more.
Huo Yangshu and Huo Hanye had spent two hours working in the fields that morning. After eating, the father and son went back inside to rest.
Su Nuanru insisted on washing the dishes and scrubbing the pots. This time, Old Mrs. He did not try to stop her. Huo Hehua went over to help. Even when Su Nuanru said she could do it herself, Huo Hehua did not leave.
Old Mrs. He was the sort of person who could never sit idle. When Su Nuanru came out of the kitchen, she found that Old Mrs. He had already gone to sweep the courtyard.
Old Mrs. Zhen and Old Mrs. He were complete opposites: one only talked and never worked, while the other only worked and never talked.
Huo Hehua continued preparing feed for the chickens, and Su Nuanru helped her.
“Sister-in-law, this is very simple and won’t take any effort. I can do it myself, so go back and rest.”
Huo Hehua knew how much her brother liked his wife and did not dare let her tire herself out.
“It’s all right. I’m not tired. Besides, I can learn from you.”
She could not do farmwork in the fields, but she still had to do the housework.
Hearing this, Huo Hehua did not refuse again.
The three of them worked together, and in about fifteen minutes, every chore in the household was finished. In the past, it had taken Su Nuanru an hour to do all these chores alone. She had not only needed to wash clothes, cook, and sweep the courtyard; sometimes, she had also had to clean the neighboring courtyard where Tongsheng Qian taught his students.
Old Mrs. Zhen would sit nearby and watch her. If anything was even slightly unsatisfactory, she would make Su Nuanru do it all over again.
When she saw Old Mrs. He return to the house, Su Nuanru went back inside as well.
She had assumed that Huo Hanye would be sleeping, but the moment she opened the door, she saw his bare upper body, and her face immediately flushed.
Huo Hanye was changing his clothes. Hearing the noise, he turned around.
Su Nuanru hurriedly apologized. “I’m sorry. I forgot to knock.”
Seeing how cautious she was, Huo Hanye frowned. He had not said a word, yet she was already so frightened. Was he really that frightening?
“There’s no need to knock in your own home.”
The moment Huo Hanye frowned, Su Nuanru became frightened. She was just about to close the door and retreat when Huo Hanye stopped her.
“Close the door and come in.”
Remembering that they were now husband and wife, Su Nuanru could only force herself to enter. She turned and closed the door, then sat on a chair with her back to him, not daring to look at him again.
Yet the image she had just seen continued to float through her mind. Huo Hanye looked rather thin when he was dressed, and there did not seem to be much flesh on him, but she had not expected his body to be so solid. His back and chest had looked broad and full; clearly, he was used to hard physical work. Her younger brother was also very thin, but he was merely gaunt, with hardly an ounce of flesh on him. He was nothing like Huo Hanye’s sturdy build. Scholar Qian was even more different. His family supplied him with the best food and drink, and he did no work at all; he even had excess flesh around his waist. The moment she thought of him, she suddenly felt nauseated.
After changing his clothes, Huo Hanye came over to Su Nuanru. She sat with her head lowered, lost in thought, and did not notice him approaching.
“Ahem!”
Su Nuanru quickly came back to herself and raised her eyes to look at Huo Hanye, giving him an up-and-down glance. By then, he had finished dressing. His loose gray homespun clothes concealed his excellent physique completely, and she felt a faint sense of disappointment.
Huo Hanye was somewhat puzzled. Why was she looking at him with such disappointment? Could she be dissatisfied with his body? But her face had clearly turned red just now.
“I’m going out for a while.”
Su Nuanru pushed the strange thoughts from her mind. “Huh? Oh, all right.”
“Get some proper rest. If you need anything, ask Hehua.”
“All right. I understand.”
Although the two of them were already married, they had barely spoken and were not familiar with each other. Su Nuanru was somewhat afraid of Huo Hanye, while Huo Hanye liked Su Nuanru but knew that her heart belonged to someone else and did not know how to interact with her. The two of them simply looked at each other, and the atmosphere gradually became awkward.
Through the window, Su Nuanru caught sight of the wedding clothes hanging in the courtyard. Seeing that Huo Hanye was about to leave, she hurriedly said, “Thank you for washing my clothes.”
“It was no trouble.”
“You don’t have to wash them anymore. I can do it myself.”
In her previous life, all it had taken was for her clothes to come out insufficiently clean for Old Mrs. Zhen to spread the story everywhere, letting the villagers laugh at how clumsy she was. Now that Huo Hanye had washed her clothes for her, she did not even want to imagine what the villagers would say behind her back if they found out.
Huo Hanye’s expression darkened. “Do you think I didn’t wash them cleanly, or are you afraid I’ll scrub them until I ruin them?”
Su Nuanru froze. She had not expected him to take it that way, so she hurriedly made herself clearer. “That’s not what I meant. You’re a man. If people found out you were washing a woman’s clothes, they would laugh at you.”
“I’m not afraid of being laughed at.”
Su Nuanru stared at him for a moment. Men cared deeply about their dignity; she had not expected Huo Hanye not to care what others said about him. In truth, she wished she could be like him and have fewer concerns, but gossip could end up hurting her parents.
Seeing the expression on her face, Huo Hanye remembered how she had reacted when he brought her hot water to wash her feet the previous night. He explained, “It was still dark when I got up, and I didn’t meet anyone on the way. No one will find out.”
At that, Su Nuanru’s expression eased considerably. She thanked him again. “Thank you.”
Elsewhere, Hao Chunniang was just about to leave when Old Mrs. Zhen called out to her.
“Chunniang.”
Hao Chunniang stopped.
Old Mrs. Zhen came over and took her hand, looking warm and affectionate.
“Chunniang, the more I look at you, the more I like you.”
Hao Chunniang had still been angry over Scholar Qian’s behavior that morning, but hearing this dispelled much of her anger.
“Mother, I like you too.”
“I knew from the beginning that you were diligent and capable. There isn’t a girl for miles around who can work as well as you.”
Hao Chunniang liked hearing that and smiled proudly.
“I’m not as good as you make me sound, Mother.”
“Your marrying into our family is a blessing for the Qian family. But now that you’re our daughter-in-law, you should have been the one to cook this morning. I like you so much, though, that I couldn’t bear to see you tire yourself out, so I did it for you.”
A rare trace of guilt arose in Hao Chunniang’s heart. “Thank you, Mother.”
Old Mrs. Zhen rubbed her lower back and put on a pained expression.
“Mother, what’s wrong? Where does it hurt?”
“I wanted to do more work, but I’ve always been weak. The moment I do a little, my back and waist start aching. I’m truly useless! I’ll have to rely on you to help out in the future.”
Scholar Qian had his heart set on Su Nuanru across the way, and Hao Chunniang wanted to win Old Mrs. Zhen over. Thus, she took the opportunity to say, “Mother, just tell me what needs doing.”
Old Mrs. Zhen smiled in satisfaction. “The courtyard got terribly dirty during yesterday’s feast. Go sweep it.”
Hao Chunniang had not expected Old Mrs. Zhen to assign her work immediately. Her heart felt as miserable as if she had swallowed a fly. Had Old Mrs. Zhen deliberately said all those flattering things just to coax her? Yet she had no reason to refuse.
Old Mrs. Zhen continued, “That Su girl has such slender arms and legs. She certainly couldn’t work as well as you. Good thing our Wangzu married you instead of her, or I would have had to suffer even more.”
Those words made Hao Chunniang feel somewhat better. Though unwilling, she still took the broom from Old Mrs. Zhen’s hand.
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