When the couple went down the mountain, they carried all the gear on their backs. Since they didn't catch any mountain products this time, Zhang Fangyuan even joked that he wanted to sell the hunting tools to hunters.
But today he had made a deal with Wang Ju, and the hunter gave him half a rabbit, so he did not return empty-handed.
It was already sunset when he got home. Xu He lit a fire and cooked. After putting the food into the pot to heat it up, he couldn't wait to pick the wild vegetables he brought back from the mountain. He didn't expect that after getting married, he would have an extra helper to do things for him.
Zhang Fangyuan took out a large winnowing basket from his home and placed the wild vegetables and bamboo shoots he had dug in the basket to dry. Xu He went over and took out the wild onion, put it in a basin and washed the roots with water. He also washed the part of the onion that was stuck in the soil until it was bright white. He said to Zhang Fangyuan, "I'll take care of these."
It means he can go inside and rest.
It was the same in the Xu family before. He was busy cooking and taking care of the livestock. After finishing his work, Xu Changren would wash his hands in the yard and go to the main hall to rest and wait for dinner. His mother would sweep the yard, and Xu Shaochun would usually be looking for something in the house.
It's not just their family, in fact it's like this in most families in the village. The men go home to rest, and the women take care of the household.
Zhang Fangyuan just touched Xu He's head and did not respond to him.
Xu He stroked the onions and glanced at the busy Zhang Fangyuan, feeling a warm feeling in his heart.
At night, the two of them ate the leftovers from the banquet. A lot of food was given away today, and Zhang Fangyuan could eat a lot in one meal, so there was not much left.
They both sweated a lot climbing the mountain. After dinner, they took a shower one after the other. Zhang Fangyuan, who showered first, put on shorts that reached halfway up his thighs and lay on a bamboo chair with his arms as a pillow. The door of the hall was wide open. He was waiting for Xu He to finish showering so that they could go to bed together.
He Ge'er really doesn't talk much. The two of them didn't say anything when they came back at night. If Zhang Fangyuan didn't speak, Xu He might not say a word for half a day. Even so, Zhang Fangyuan looked at the dark courtyard outside the central hall and felt that his home was much more lively.
However, in just one day, he felt that this empty house was filled with Xu He's busy figure working everywhere. Even if he didn't say anything, he was very content.
In the past, he would definitely not stay alone in the hall in such a comfortable posture for so long. When it got dark, he would go back to his room early. No matter how strong a man was, he was always afraid of loneliness.
"I've finished washing."
When Xu He came out with the clothes, he saw Zhang Fangyuan leaning on a chair with his legs crossed. The man's smooth muscle lines were clearly visible, and his abdominal muscles were in pieces, which was very different from his soft belly. Thinking that this person had pressed on him like this last night, he suddenly felt his ears getting hot and looked away slightly.
"Oh, is your hair wet? Do you want me to wipe it for you?"
When Zhang Fangyuan saw someone coming out, he quickly retracted his stretched limbs. He saw that Xu He's hair was tied up very well. Although he was not wearing an outer coat, he was wearing long sleeves and long pants. He wrapped himself tightly, and even his chest was not exposed at the collar.
He thought he would be a little disappointed and not be able to feast his eyes, but he didn't expect Xu He's behavior to make him even more excited. He wanted to pick her up and throw her onto the bed, but when he thought about their disharmonious relationship last night, he calmed down.
"It's not wet. I'll go wash the clothes first."
Zhang Fangyuan reached out and held the man back: "Wash it tomorrow."
Xu He didn't like to postpone work until tomorrow, because there were a lot of things to do every day. If he was lazy for a while, he might not finish tomorrow's work. "It doesn't matter."
"Zhang Fangyuan!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xu He's feet suddenly hung in the air. He was shocked to find that his husband had picked up his legs, and taking advantage of the gap when his waist was slightly bent, he effortlessly carried him onto his shoulders. He was so frightened that he was at a loss what to do. In panic, he hugged Zhang Fangyuan's neck and said, "Put me down now!"
Zhang Fangyuan agreed and put him on the bed.
Xu He was still holding the clothes that the two had just changed in his hands. He knelt on the soft bed, his chest still rising and falling rapidly. Zhang Fangyuan took the clothes from his hand, threw them on a stool beside him, lifted the quilt, and stuffed the person in.
He got up again and went out to close the doors and windows. When he came back, he blew out the lights and got into bed.
It was rare for Xu He to go to bed so early. He lay down next to Zhang Fangyuan, unable to fall asleep. The two of them lay there for a while, and then Xu He felt a hand reaching out to his waist.
He just knew... The room was dark, and he closed his eyes resignedly, ready to receive some "teaching".
Unexpectedly, Zhang Fangyuan only hugged his waist, and habitually stretched out his legs to clamp him, and the two of them were pressed together, but he stopped there and didn't do anything else.
He thought, this person urged him to rest early, wasn't he just thinking about what happened yesterday, why is he not moving now?
Could it be that you could see that he was unhappy? But he didn't say anything! Could it be that the thought of going to do the laundry was just an excuse on my part? He didn't!
Xu He thought about it carefully and realized that as long as it was Zhang Fangyuan, if he wanted to do that, he would cooperate even if he felt uncomfortable. He didn't understand men, and wasn't good at expressing himself or saying nice things to please others, but he still tried his best to make Zhang Fangyuan happy.
"you……"
Zhang Fangyuan felt the person in his arms move, and he opened his eyes: "What's wrong?"
"You won't tonight..." Xu He couldn't find any words to describe the thing that made him blush. After a long while, he said, "Don't you want to teach me?"
“…”
How could I not want to?
It would be fine if I didn’t mention it, but once I do, I feel like my shower was wasted.
But Zhang Fangyuan just hugged Xu He obediently. He didn't want his wife to think that he was a beast with that thing on his mind. Harmony would be fine, but the problem was disharmony.
Even Xu He, who was such a quiet man, couldn't help but cry out in pain. He was really a little frustrated. He couldn't just enjoy himself and make Xu He unhappy.
"Let's talk about it in two days. I'm a little tired today."
"?"
Xu He was a little bit unbelieving of his ears. When he was holding him just now, he was full of energy and looked like he could plow ten acres of land in one breath, but now he was complaining of being tired? Didn't do much work today?
He just couldn't guess what the man was thinking, and he knew it wasn't the truth, but he couldn't force him to teach him. In fact, it would be best not to teach him, so he wouldn't suffer. But he only thought about it for a second.
How can people retreat in the face of difficulties?
"If you want, I...it's okay."
Zhang Fangyuan used his amazing willpower to say, "No, go to sleep."
Xu He had no choice but to nod.
Then the question arises again.
Should he show happiness now, or should he show regret?
Someone tell him! He really hoped that the day would never get dark, so that there would no longer be these problems that made both of them so uncomfortable.
"Then, go to bed early. I'll cook noodles for you tomorrow morning?"
Zhang Fangyuan responded dryly: "...Okay."
Xu He pursed his lips, and reached out to tuck the corner of the quilt for Da Gouzi, covering his exposed strong chest.
The chest can cover it, but the desire cannot.
Zhang Fangyuan sighed slowly.
There was no activity at night, so both of them got up very early the next day. Xu He kneaded and cooked the noodles in one go. He used the leftover pork with preserved vegetables from the banquet and cut it into minced meat and stewed it with preserved vegetables. He took the cooked noodles out of the pot, poured the sauce on them and sprinkled some chopped green onions on them. Zhang Fangyuan ate a big bowl of noodles before leaving.
He harnessed the carriage and said, "I just talked to a family in the next village about it. I'm going to go see if they want to sell it. You don't have to wait for me for lunch."
Xu He put away the dishes and chopsticks and responded. He did not go out to see Zhang Fangyuan off, but watched from the kitchen window after they left the yard before he scooped water from the pot to wash the dishes. After cleaning the kitchen, he washed the clothes that were not washed yesterday and hung them out to dry in the yard. After doing all this, he found that he seemed to have nothing to do.
At least there was nothing that needed to be completed that day, which made him a little worried. He was really destined to be a hard worker, and he felt a little uncomfortable when he had some free time.
He found something to do, went into the house and cleaned every room, sorted out the big box he brought with him when he got married, and hung the few shapeless clothes he had in the wardrobe that Zhang Fangyuan had bought for him.
The huge cabinet was empty, just like a clear sky with only a few clouds floating in it. He turned around and hung Zhang Fangyuan's clothes in it. Only then did the cabinet start to look a bit like a wardrobe.
One side of the clothes hanging on the horizontal bar is long, wide and big, while the other side is obviously shorter, at least two sizes smaller. The long and short look quite cute.
Xu He closed the cabinet, stood at the door, and curled the corners of his lips slightly.
"Zhang the butcher, you are finally here. The water at home has been boiled. I didn't know what was going on at first, so I was afraid you wouldn't come."
When Zhang Fangyuan arrived at the neighboring village, he saw from afar the young and old of the agreed family looking around several times on the road outside the yard.
"Since I've said it, even if you change your mind and don't want to sell it, I will still come over to ask for clarification."
"Okay, okay, I'm glad you're here. It's just in time for us to kill the pig and have lunch before going back."
Zhang Fangyuan saw that the sun was not very high, and thought about the noodles he had eaten at home this morning. He waved his hand and said, "I have other things to do, so I won't stay."
"Let's go and see the pigs."
The pigs of this family were not very strong. They weighed no more than 150 kg by naked eye, and they shrank after being slaughtered. This did not meet Zhang Fangyuan's expectations, but he knew very well that he could not always get a good pig. But when doing business, he is not a kind-hearted person who would give favors to others. If the person’s character is not good enough, he would just indicate that the price he offers is not good enough.
"Eight."
The old man stood with his hands behind his back and did not answer, with obvious disappointment on his face.
This is not the first time Zhang Fangyuan has bought a pig. When buying a pig, he will also give some benefits to make it easier for the owner to accept: "You can keep the pig's blood and heart and lungs for your own consumption."
The old man's face looked much better and he agreed immediately. Farmers all their lives knew that if a pig was not strong, it would not be sold at a high price. It was great that the butcher was willing to give some profit.
Zhang Fangyuan slaughtered the pig immediately and processed it quickly. Within an hour, he had finished the process and loaded the pork onto his own carriage.
The old man didn't expect Zhang Fangyuan to act so quickly. He hurriedly put the money away and started a conversation, "Zhang the butcher, can you buy sheep? I have two at home, and they are already fat and strong."
Zhang Fangyuan frowned. He had never sold anything before. He could try, but it would not work today. He had already agreed to sell wild goods, so how could he dare to buy sheep?
"Remember that, next time. When you have goods, you can come to the stall to tell them, or you can go to my house."
The old man didn't insist: "Okay, come often."
Zhang Fangyuan urged the horse back and arrived home at noon when it was very hot. The yard was empty when I went out in the morning. I spent the whole morning hanging clothes out to dry and adding a few large winnowing baskets.
He jumped off the carriage and took a look. What was drying in the winnowing basket were bamboo shoots and ferns that had been soaked in water. The bamboo shoots had already been sliced. Xu He dug out a kimchi jar that had not been used for a long time from under the cupboard in the kitchen and prepared to make kimchi with water. While he was brushing the jar, he heard the sound of horses outside, and he immediately put down the work in his hands.
"So early? Have you eaten yet?"
Zhang Fangyuan said, "The host won't prepare it."
Xu He frowned. Which family is so stingy? "Come in and take a rest. I'll cook for you."
"Have you got a meal yet?"
Zhang Fangyuan didn't care about the pork in the yard and went straight into the kitchen. He was a little surprised to see that the kitchen seemed to have been cleaned overnight. How much work could this young man do in just half a day?
"Neither have I."
"Just right, let's fry the pig's liver."
Xu He thought that eating meat for every meal was too uneconomical, but considering the physical work Zhang Fangyuan did, she could do without it, but her husband couldn't, so she agreed.
"The pigs this time are not big. Which ones do you think we should keep?"
Zhang Fangyuan was busy making arrangements: "Leave a basket of lard so you can boil it and use it for cooking later."
Xu He nodded.
"What else?" Zhang Fangyuan turned over the pig's offal: "Do you want to eat the liver?"
Zhang Fangyuan felt that Xu He was not someone who would be willing to be picky, so he tore off two of the leanest pork tenderloins and said, "I'll set up a stall in the city tomorrow and fry them and bring them to lunch."
Xu He: This guy... No wonder He said he was extravagant and needed to be controlled.
The two were discussing what to eat for lunch when another person came outside. Xu He recognized him as Wang Ju, whom he saw on the mountain yesterday. He came to deliver mountain products.
"Just got back from slaughtering a pig?"
"Yes." Zhang Fangyuan invited everyone to come in and sit down, and Xu He went into the house first to pour water. Wang Ju put the backpack he was carrying under the eaves and asked Zhang Fangyuan to count the prey.
Two hares, four pheasants, and a young sheep weighing more than 30 kilograms were all very common prey. Fortunately, we did not collect sheep from the neighboring village, otherwise they would have piled up.
For example, the meat from these mountain products is not fatty, but the taste is different from the pork that ordinary people buy for cooking. They are regarded as delicacies from the mountains by scholars. Even if they are not very satisfying, they are sold at a higher price than pork. Rabbit meat is a mountain product and costs 20 wen. Chicken is more nutritious and costs 10 wen more than rabbit meat. Mutton is even more expensive, at 40 wen per pound.
These are the prices of mountain products. If they are domestically raised, the price will be much cheaper. There is also the price after processing the skin, fur and meat. For products like this that are raw and the purchase price, they definitely cannot be paid that high.
The two men had a brief discussion and decided that the purchase price would be the market price minus eight to ten cents. After a simple weighing, Zhang Fangyuan gave Wang Ju a total of 1,350 cents.
It was Xu He who came out to count the money.
Zhang Fangyuan politely invited Wang Ju to have dinner with him, but Wang Ju refused. Instead, he selected a basket of pork livers and hearts from the cart, deducted forty cents from the money he earned from selling mountain products, and went home with the basket full of satisfaction.
Xu He felt a little distressed as half of the gift money he received for the wedding was gone in one go. He prayed that the mountain products he received would sell well.
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