Chapter 45: The Ugly Ger’s Farming Story

The morning air is the freshest, and everywhere is filled with the beauty of spring. A new day has begun, and slowly, the rural household becomes lively again.

“Slap!”

Chen Hong fell to the ground, covering the side of his face that had been slapped, looking at Chen Ama in disbelief.

“Ama…”

Chen Ama’s chest heaved with anger. “Don’t call me Ama. I don’t have a shameless son like you!”

Early in the morning, Chen Ama had called Chen Hong to come out for breakfast after several days of refusal. However, when Chen Hong said, “I won’t eat with you until you agree to my request,” it infuriated Chen Ama. He immediately approached Chen Hong, who was unprepared, and gave him a resounding slap. Chen Hong’s face showed a mixture of confusion and disbelief. No one in the family had ever laid a hand on him since he could remember!

“Why?”

Chen Hong held his stinging cheek and stood up, looking at Chen Ama.

“Why? You’re asking me why?!” Chen Ama felt absurdly infuriated. Even the fact that the person being slapped didn’t understand the reason for the assault made him even angrier.

“From your childhood until now, have your father, elder brother, or I ever mistreated you? Did we deprive you of food or clothing? For the sake of a man, you disregard the feelings of your father and me in such a despicable manner. You stubbornly insist on your own path, only thinking about yourself. You! You! You should seriously reflect on yourself!” This was simply outrageous! Chen Ama immediately locked Chen Hong’s room.

“What are you doing?! You’ve already hit and scolded him, now you’re locking up the child too!” Old Man Chen, who had been listening to the commotion inside Chen Hong’s room, looked at Chen Ama locking the door and quickly intervened to stop him.

Chen Ama pushed away Old Man Chen’s hand, trying to stop him, and shouted, “It’s because we’ve spoiled him too much all these years! We’ve let him have his way, that’s why he acts so recklessly! Don’t stop me. If you have nothing to do, go to Anle Village and bring back Chen Qi and his wife. They’ve been gone for several days, why haven’t they returned yet?”

Old Man Chen had no choice but to watch as Chen Ama locked the door and left. Chen Qi and his wife had a misunderstanding, and it had been several days since they left without returning. “Xiao Hong, it’ll be fine. Your Ama has a quick temper, but once he calms down, things will be alright.”

“I know, Father. Please go about your business,” Chen Hong replied in his usual calm tone. Hearing this, Old Man Chen felt relieved and left. Little did he know that Chen Hong in the room was already in tears, a complete mess.

He was wrong, terribly wrong. He was delusional to think that Li Changfeng would still have feelings for him. He was so wrong, wrong to the extreme, disregarding his family’s feelings, making them worry and feel sad.

***

These days, Li Changfeng had been busy making a wardrobe for Second Wei. He even worked on it at night, which made Xu Qing worry about him. He had dark circles under his eyes. It was Second Wei who suddenly informed them that the wedding date was set for the 15th of this month. They were running out of time! They had no choice but to prepare some delicious food to reward themselves for their hard work.

The spring rain had just passed, and the bamboo shoots were sprouting one after another, attracting Xu Qing’s attention. Bamboo shoots were one of the most delicious and tender delicacies of the year. They were crisp, sweet, and tender, whether in cold salads, stir-fries, or soups. So, eating bamboo shoots had to be done early; if neglected, they would turn old, and the taste would be completely different.

Xu Qing went to dig up the bamboo shoots early in the morning. Stir-fried bamboo shoots with meat was a great dish! For this dish, he had specifically bought meat from the market yesterday.

“Changfeng, come on, it’s time for lunch. Finish your meal and then continue working!” After Xu Qing carefully served the specially made dish in a small bowl for Xiaobao, watching him enjoy the delicious food, he finally felt relieved and returned to the table to have lunch with Li Changfeng.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

“Eat more. Look at how busy you’ve been these past few days. You even have stubble growing!” Xu Qing kept putting food into Li Changfeng’s bowl. “These are bamboo shoots that I dug up specifically. They’re tender. Do you like them?”

“They’re delicious. Don’t just feed me, you should eat too. Once I finish the wardrobe, I’ll go dig up some more in the afternoon.”

Xu Qing felt relieved when he heard that it was almost finished. After all, it was their first project, and it was good to see it nearing completion. “Okay, then I’ll pickle a couple of jars of bamboo shoot pickles so we can make even more delicious dishes. We can cook fish or stir-fry the shoots; they’re delicious no matter how we prepare them!”

Li Changfeng ate the delicious food Xu Qing made and nodded in agreement with his words. If his wife said it was delicious, then it must be delicious!

After finishing their meal, before they could go out to dig bamboo shoots, someone came to their door. It was someone Xu Qing didn’t recognize, but felt like he had seen before.

With a smile on his face, Luo Jiao looked at Xu Qing and Li Changfeng, who was working. “I’m Luo Jiao. My family is in Anle Village, and my husband’s family name is Zhang. Well, Wei Ama told me that your family also works with wood, so I came to bother you. I happen to want a dresser, but I’m not sure if you have the time?”

The more Xu Qing listened to Luo Jiao, the more familiar he seemed, but he couldn’t remember where he had seen him before. “We have time, we have time. I just don’t know what kind of style you want or if you have any specific requirements. And when would you like it roughly?” After all, he was a customer, and they couldn’t neglect him.

Luo Jiao lazily waved his hand. “I don’t have any specific requirements. Just carve some patterns on the top. I’m not in a hurry. Whenever you finish it, let me know.”

As he spoke, his peach blossom eyes, filled with spring-like affection, couldn’t help but gaze at Li Changfeng. Tall and muscular, doing it with someone like him must be enjoyable. With this thought, Luo Jiao’s gaze towards Li Changfeng became bolder and more provocative in front of Xu Qing.

“Ahem! Alright, then please pay a deposit first. That’s the rule, and we can’t break it.” What are you looking at, you guy? Didn’t you say you have a husband?!

Luo Jiao was straightforward. After he left, Xu Qing looked at the money in his hand and couldn’t believe that their first official business came so quickly!

“But I still feel like I’ve seen this person before. Who could it be?” Xu Qing couldn’t figure it out, and it made him uncomfortable.

“It’s one of the wild lovebirds we encountered in the mountains a few days ago!” Li Changfeng didn’t want to see Xu Qing frowning, so he kindly reminded him.

Xu Qing was shocked. It was the voice! No wonder the person seemed vaguely familiar.

“Only Second Wei and Xie Ama know about our woodworking business. How could Luo Jiao find out so quickly?” Even if they knew their family did woodworking, it’s unlikely they would come directly to place an order, right? After all, there’s also the Zeng family in the village who has been doing woodworking for years. Normally, people would wait and observe the newbies’ work before making a decision, instead of coming over and paying a deposit right away to start.

“Could it be that this person knows what happened back then?” Xu Qing keenly sensed that Luo Jiao’s visit was not just about furniture. If the other party knew about their presence at that time, it would make more sense for them to come and probe.

After Li Changfeng finished his last task and tidied up the mess, he said, “If they know, they know. It’s their own headache. So what if we encountered each other? They just want to test if we’re loose-lipped.” It would be best if the other party behaved, or else he wouldn’t let them off easily!

“Let’s go. Aren’t we going to dig bamboo shoots?” After Li Changfeng put the bamboo basket on his back, he pulled Xu Qing, who was still lost in thought. Xu Qing snapped out of it and looked at the increasingly strong and handsome Li Changfeng. “You better behave yourself these days!” The thought of Luo Jiao’s gaze towards Li Changfeng made him angry.

Although Li Changfeng didn’t understand the meaning behind Xu Qing’s words, he still obediently nodded, “I’ll behave, I’ve always been behaving.”

“Yes, I hope you continue to behave!” Keep pretending to be a lamb while devouring the tiger!

***

Li Xiao’er was taking care of Li Laosan’s little nephew at home when someone knocked on the courtyard door. “Xiaoyou, be good here. I’ll go and open the door.”

Xiaoyou wrinkled his little nose and nodded obediently at Li Xiao’er. It was an endearing sight.

“Oh, Xia Ama? What brings you here?”

As soon as Li Xiao’er opened the door, he saw Xia Ama’s joyful face. Xia Ama looked at Li Xiao’er who opened the door and thought to himself, not bad. Although he can’t compare to the one from the Chen family in terms of appearance, his figure is quite good. He must come from a good background!

Li Xiao’er felt uncomfortable under Xia Ama’s overt gaze. “Xia Ama, do you need something?”

Xia Ama quickly put on a smile. “Look at you, Xiao’er. You’re growing more handsome every day. Is your Ama at home? I’ve come with good news this time!”

Li Xiao’er didn’t particularly like Xia Ama’s demeanor. How did he become so different from the previous Xia Ama? “He’s not home. If you have something, come back later. I’m busy right now and can’t spare the time. Please excuse me!” With that, he closed the courtyard door in front of Xia Ama.

Xia Ama felt his smile becoming stiff, but he didn’t want to show his frustration. Once this matter is settled, it will bring a substantial amount of money. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have failed to match the Chen family and then make promises to find an unmarried ger for the Ma family one after another.

This Li Xiao’er is smart and articulate. Moreover, his third brother is a scholar, while the cousin of the Ma family holds a position in the government office. It’s a heaven-sent opportunity for a prosperous union!

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Thingyan: I’m starting to feel the Ma family is targeting those around Li Changfeng. Does anyone think that Ma Poopgui might have impure thoughts on our ML? Poopy being a pig, it’s so totally possible.