After blowing out the lights, the two tried again. With his previous experience and having read the book, Zhang Fangyuan felt confident and started roughly, thinking that there should be no problem this time.
However, when I really started to use it, everything felt wrong. It really was as the saying goes: learning from books is always superficial.
The drawings in the album were good, but I glanced at them very quickly, and there were no annotations. I just looked at the superficial hand and foot postures, and didn't learn anything important. In the end, Xu He suffered even more.
"Does it still hurt?"
Xu He gritted his teeth, his eyes red: "Yeah!"
“…”
Zhang Fangyuan was deflated again. Although he was not feeling well, he felt so distressed when he heard Xu He crying that he had to stop.
Xu He almost wanted to become a monk.
The two of them were both clearly conscious and not at all sleepy, which made the situation even more awkward. After a long while, Xu He asked in a low voice:
"Is it because I did something wrong?"
Zhang Fangyuan lay flat on his side, panting softly, and said, "How could it be possible?"
"Is that because you haven't finished watching it?"
“…”
"It must be that thief who sells books who fooled me. It has nothing to do with these things. I will deal with him tomorrow."
"Really?"
"nature."
Xu He was silent for a long time. He lay flat on his back, pressing his fingers on the bed: "Are we going to sleep now? Or..." Try again?
Zhang Fangyuan felt sorry for Xu He and said, "I'm going to sleep now."
"Are you angry?"
"Ah? Why am I angry?"
Xu He was unable to speak, but the dark room undoubtedly gave him courage: "Then why...why don't you hold me when you sleep?"
He was not used to it at first, but later he felt that the feeling of being embraced made him feel particularly safe. Even if his hands and feet were not covered with the quilt when he fell asleep at night, he did not feel afraid. Moreover, he believed that Zhang Fangyuan would only hold him like that while sleeping when he was physically and mentally happy.
Nowadays, he is going to sleep alone, but he is angry.
Zhang Fangyuan was stunned for a moment, then his lips curled up and he stopped daydreaming. He quickly moved his body like a lackey and hugged the slender Xu He into his arms again. The two of them exhaled in unison, and the two people who had been tense just now became close again.
"I was afraid that I might have made you uncomfortable and unhappy, and that you wouldn't want me to get so close to you again."
"No." He liked him holding him.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Fangyuan lowered his head and rubbed Xu He's neck.
The two put aside their grudges and fell asleep in each other's arms.
The next day, Zhang Fangyuan overslept. When he woke up, he found that the quilt next to him was not warm, so he quickly got up.
Xu He had already prepared breakfast and had laid out the dishes and chopsticks neatly in the hall. Just as he was about to call them, someone came out and said, "Let's eat."
Zhang Fangyuan saw millet porridge and a basket of white steamed buns with evenly wrinkled and delicate skin. He was surprised and said, "Where can I get such good steamed buns!"
Xu He wiped his hands and smiled: "I wrapped it this morning."
Zhang Fangyuan stretched out his hand to grab it, but Xu He patted his hand: "Go wash your face quickly, the water is ready."
"yes."
The buns are made with bacon with alternating fat and lean meat cut into small pieces, fried in a pan to release the oil, and then stewed with shallots as the filling. After the buns are steamed, they are pinched open and the fat from the bacon is absorbed by the shallots. When you take a bite of the buns with the dough, they are not greasy and are fragrant. They are even better than those with fresh meat fillings in the city.
When you make your own buns, you can put as much stuffing as you want in them. It is unlike the bun shops in the city where there are more vegetables and less meat, and the stuffing is only as little as a fingertip. Of course, farmers are reluctant to put too much stuffing in the dumplings, but Xu He made the dumplings especially for Zhang Fangyuan, so he must have liked the taste, so he put more stuffing in them than those sold in the city.
Zhang Fangyuan ate three in one breath and drank a bowl of porridge. Xu He took a bun and bit it slowly, and from time to time he would secretly look at the person in front of him to see if the food he was eating was to his liking.
It was a great feeling to have food ready as soon as I woke up, but Zhang Fangyuan still said, "Why didn't you wake me up? Don't forget to wake me up next time. Making dumplings is definitely a waste of time, so how early did you get up?"
Xu He thought that going out to earn money was just a day's work, and he would sleep as long as he could in the morning. It was just making breakfast and feeding the horses, which was already very easy work for him.
"No problem."
Zhang Fangyuan sighed and took two more buns to Xu He's bowl: "Finish it."
Then he turned and went into the bedroom, and after a while he came out holding a box and pushed it in front of Xu He.
"All the money in the family is here. You will keep it from now on."
Upon hearing this, Xu He quickly put down the bun in his hand. The money in the box was obviously different and not the gift received at the previous wedding. He took a quick look and saw some small change and copper coins in it. It was obviously all of Zhang Fangyuan's belongings.
The Xu family had nothing else, but one thing he thought was good was that most of Xu Changren's money was given to Liu Xianglan to manage. Although it did not do him any good to have the money in Liu Xianglan's hands, it did not prevent people from thinking that the couple lived in harmony.
Zhang Fangyuan's fourth uncle's wife even teased him and asked him to look after Zhang Fangyuan. In fact, he knew it was just a joke. Zhang Fangyuan was such a grown-up and very strong towards others. How could a little boy like him look after him?
Now Zhang Fangyuan took out all the money in the family and put it in front of him, and wanted him to manage it. He felt both happy and somewhat uneasy.
"If you want to do business, it's more convenient to keep the money in your own hands."
"It's convenient, but it's even more convenient to spend money." Zhang Fangyuan said with a smile, "Didn't you say you wanted to save money to open a shop? If I had kept the money, I wouldn't know when it would be."
Xu He was a little tempted. This family had no parents and no children. Now there were only the two of them. He still wanted to manage the money, not for anything else, just to make life better at home.
It’s just... he’s only been here for a few days, and Zhang Fangyuan has already handed over all the family assets to him.
"Keep it. If you want to buy something or prepare something for your family in the future, you can take out the money and go buy it yourself. You don't have to ask me for money again."
Zhang Fangyuan knew the hardship of asking for money from others. In ordinary families, it was not the wives or the sons who managed the money. The money they could control was mostly the betrothal gift from the husband's family and some dowry from the family. He knew that with the temperament of the Xu family, it was impossible for him to have any money.
No matter how close the person is to you, you will always be inferior if you ask for money. If you meet someone with a bad temper, you may even have to look at his or her face. He was thick-skinned and it was easy for him to ask his wife for money, but Xu He was married into the Zhang family after all. She was not born and raised in the Zhang family. She had a cold personality and would definitely not be as easy to talk to as him.
After some persuasion, Xu He hesitantly agreed: "Then come and get the money if you need it."
Only then did Zhang Fangyuan nod with satisfaction.
"I'll be back early tonight and bring you a fish. Don't prepare any other dishes. We need to eat meat every day."
After they had breakfast, Zhang Fangyuan prepared to go to the city. He took the lunch box that Xu He prepared for him and said, "Don't be so busy doing so much work at home."
"Yeah." Xu He thought that fish was not as expensive as meat, so he did not stop Zhang Fangyuan: "Then let's cook fish with wild vegetables tonight."
After watching the carriage going farther and farther away in the dawn sky, he suddenly lowered his head and raised the corners of his mouth, then turned back to the house. There were seven or eight buns left, and he planned to pack them and send some to Xiaomao's family.
Seeing the money box, which symbolized the financial power of the family, he sat down and tidied up the messy money box. There was one or two ounces of silver and more than a thousand copper coins. The total was not much, not even as much as the betrothal gift when he was first married, but it was already beyond his expectations.
Zhang Fangyuan spent money so much, but he still had so much money left after buying a horse and getting married, which showed that he was really good at making money.
He carefully put the money back into the bedroom. Now that they were married, they didn't have any big expenses for the time being. If they saved money honestly, their lives would get better and better.
Feeling happy, he went to Zhang Shicheng's house to deliver some things and then prepared to go to pick wild vegetables. When Xiaomao heard about it, he also wanted to go with him. Thinking that having more people would be helpful for company, he agreed. The sister-in-law and nephew set off, one carrying a backpack and the other carrying a basket.
"Cousin, I have wanted to come and play with you for a long time, but my parents wouldn't let me come."
Xu He frowned when he heard this: "Why?"
"Mother said that my cousin's wife and my cousin Ayuan just got married and told me not to disturb them."
Xu He pursed his lips upon hearing this, his eyes softened: "No, if I hadn't gone to the city to sell vegetables, you could have come to find me."
"That's great!" Zhang Xiaomao jumped for joy, and the basket on his arm swayed from side to side. He showed the carefreeness that Xu He did not have at this age.
Xu He's mood also brightened up along with the child's joy.
The last time Xu He and Zhang Fangyuan went up the mountain together, all the wild vegetables on the hillside were dug up by the couple. Today he decided to go to another hillside to dig. The young shoots of prickly ash that he took to the city to sell yesterday were quite good, so he thought he could find more this time.
"Brother He!"
The cousins' wives walked briskly. The one behind them who wanted to call them caught up with them. Xu He turned around when he heard the voice and asked, "Mom?"
Liu Xianglan ran out of breath and cursed, "Getting married is a big deal! You saw your mother working in the fields and didn't even say hello."
"I didn't see it."
"Who knows whether you really didn't see it or just pretended not to see it?"
Xu He was too lazy to argue with Liu Xianglan about this useless matter, so he asked, "What's the matter?"
Liu Xianglan straightened up: "Your second sister's marriage to the Fei family has been decided, on April 8th!"
It was already late March, Xu He calculated: "That doesn't have much time left."
Liu Xianglan didn't ask for favors at all. "You know we don't have much time left! The family is busy preparing wedding clothes for your sister. We have to take care of all the dowry and stuff. We are very busy. If you are free, come back and help with some chores at home, such as mowing the grass and driving the ducks home. It's almost April and we haven't planted rice seedlings in the two fields yet. I'm afraid it will be too late to grow them. They are not far away, so if you are quick, it won't be a big deal if you help."
Xu He saw that Liu Xianglan's hair was a little messy. You know, when he was at home, she would comb her hair very neatly. This time, she looked like she was too busy. He said, "If I had free time, I would come back to help. The problem is that I am busy at home now."
"What are you busy with! Don't think I don't know that Zhang Fangyuan's fields are all managed by his fourth uncle, and he just asks for help when he is too busy. I just heard that you went to the city with Zhang Fangyuan to sell wild vegetables yesterday. You both have free time to sell wild vegetables and no time to help the family! Your father is still lying in bed, don't forget that he used money to buy you wedding clothes, you ungrateful wolf!"
"Mom, I've never heard anyone say that making money is a trivial matter." Xu He said coldly, "It's not just my second sister's marriage that is a problem. My husband's family is not a problem! After getting married, they still expect me to go to my parents' house to do these jobs of cutting grass and feeding livestock. Why not just take the livestock to Zhang's house to raise them? Could it be that my second sister's limbs are broken and she can't do the housework?"
Liu Xianglan was so angry at Xu He's sarcasm that her teeth ached: "You little bastard, you think you are so great just because the butcher backs you up! Now you know how to be lazy. If you don't work hard after you get married, it will be strange if the Zhang family doesn't despise you. If they don't care about you anymore, don't come to our house and cry."
"Cousin, let's go." Xiao Mao saw that Liu Xianglan was so unreasonable that he didn't even want to say hello to his elders. He pulled Xu He and was about to leave: "It will be difficult to dig vegetables when the sun comes out later."
"What's your business?"
When Liu Xianglan saw the young man who was helping Xu He, she started cursing Zhang Xiaomao.
"Now my cousin's wife is a member of our Zhang family. If you scold him again, I will tell my cousin Yuan that you bullied my cousin's wife when he comes back!"
"Cousin, let's go!"
Zhang Xiaomao childishly grabbed Xu He's hand and ran. Xu He followed suit, carried by his steps. Liu Xianglan saw that Xu He really ran away without any respect for his elders. She was so angry that she stomped her feet and cursed.
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