Chapter 23

Su Liyan didn't know what those people chattering far away were saying.

Anyway, Su Liyan felt happy in her heart.

Her face was also filled with an extremely happy smile.

The people in the village all said she had married well, and Su Liyan also felt she had married well.

As for her husband's family property and such, it was actually fine for Su Liyan.

Su Liyan wasn't actually greedy for those things.

As a woman who came from a village, she was different from those women in Huangcheng who saw all kinds of colorful things every day.

Compared to other Huangcheng women, Su Liyan was very pure.

What Su Liyan wanted was simply for her husband to treat her well.

That was enough.

Looking at it now, how good her husband was to her, how much he cherished her?

He gave her so much money she couldn't spend it all, and when he proposed, he also gave her family so many things.

Although sometimes her husband was quite domineering.

But that domineering attitude was out of love for her, and Su Liyan actually liked her husband's domineering spirit~

Based on that, Su Liyan also wanted from the bottom of her heart to live a good life with her husband.

After all, as someone from the countryside, she knew nothing in Huangcheng and relied entirely on her husband to support her, so of course she had to work hard at home.

This wasn't just her husband's home; it was also her home.

Managing her home—what was there to complain about?

Su Liyan was truly very satisfied with her current life.

Let's not talk about her husband's secret mansion and such.

Just say that she also had money now; her husband had given her three taels last time, which she hadn't spent yet, and this morning before he left he gave her another thirty taels.

At home there was still a bag of mixed flour and two bags of corn flour, especially that mixed flour which in the village could only be eaten during festivals.

Now they had so much of it, and her husband still went to work to earn money to support the family.

She just washed things at home—what was there to be dissatisfied with?

Su Liyan's heart really felt happy~

In the future she would bear a few sons for her husband, teaching them to read every day, after all Su Liyan had studied for a few years in a village school.

Just thinking about that life made Su Liyan extremely happy.

Moreover, when her sons grew up, they wouldn't fear running out of space at home; then they could move into that large three-courtyard residence.

What a heavenly life this is!

To be honest, even though she had married Lu Yuan, up until now Su Liyan still felt it was like a dream, unreal.

Her fate was also too good.

The more Su Liyan thought about it, the more motivated she became; the elderly women in the neighboring courtyard, seeing Su Liyan work without knowing fatigue, cursed Lu Yuan harshly in their hearts again.

At that moment, Lu Yuan, who was slacking off at the Forging Bureau, sneezed loudly.

……

At noon, Su Liyan cooked a meal for herself.

Although her husband had said she could go out to eat at a restaurant at noon, Su Liyan was reluctant to spend money.

Moreover, her husband said that from now on the family would not eat corn flour, only white flour.

Saying that…… Su Liyan felt, given her understanding of her husband……

Her husband was a man of his word.

What should be done with the corn flour and mixed flour at home?

Could it be thrown away?

Hmm…… Su Liyan thought…… it actually might be possible!

Her husband really could pull off something like that.

Just like the old bedding from last night—obviously it could be re-fluffed to become new cotton, and then a new quilt could be remade.

But her husband just threw it away, and Su Liyan felt very sorry.

But if the mixed flour and corn flour were also thrown away, Su Liyan would truly be reluctant.

Her husband, having been a city person since childhood, had never gone hungry and didn't know how precious food was, but Su Liyan did.

Just a few years ago during the turmoil, the family of four couldn't even share a whole sweet potato in one meal.

Therefore, this corn flour absolutely must not be thrown away.

Su Liyan would eat it herself; even if her husband bought back white flour at night, from then on she would let him eat the white flour first while she finished these corn flours.

Her husband, being a city person with a delicate constitution, naturally shouldn't eat corn flour, so she would just eat these things herself.

At noon, Su Liyan steamed herself a bun; the kitchen still had half a rotten cabbage, she added a little oil and some vinegar, stir-frying it to make something tasty.

Su Liyan was still good at cooking; back when the family was busy with farming, she always cooked at home and then took the meals to the fields to eat with her parents.

Actually, the village girls basically all did that.

After Su Liyan finished cooking, she also poured herself a cup of boiled water to cool; the bun was choking to eat, so she would drink some water to help it go down.

"Your husband only gives you this to eat?"

Sun Erniang stood at the doorway, staring in shock at the steamed bun on the table.

Sun Erniang had finished her meal early and was thinking of coming to see Su Liyan.

It wasn't really to see Su Liyan; Sun Erniang just wanted to check whether that scoundrel Lu Yuan's family had bought anything, so she had lured Su Liyan over under false pretenses?

But after she came, aside from that new bedding, there really wasn't anything new in the house at all!

You say you're getting married, but you didn't mention preparing anything—at least you could have written a 'double happiness' character and put it up at home!

There's nothing at all!

It's not that there's nothing; all you have is that one set of new bedding.

Good grief, you're just thinking about that bedroom business, aren't you?

And never mind that—what's with this one steamed bun and a small bowl of stir-fried cabbage?

You're going to eat just this for lunch?

Can that even work?

Su Liyan tidied up so much this morning, and now at noon you're eating just this?

Su Liyan turned around, saw them, and quickly rose with a smile, saying:

"Sun Erniang, you've come."

Su Liyan knew that earlier today, the people in the courtyard had been saying a lot of bad things about her husband, claiming he seemed to be mistreating her.

But Su Liyan couldn't say they had money, yet she wanted to defend her husband, so she hurriedly said:

"I was exhausted from all the work this morning, so I didn't want to cook—I just threw something together."

That makes people think I'm lazy, but that's better than them saying bad things about my husband, right?

Sun Erniang didn't believe that Su Liyan was tired—she works so hard, how could she be lazy about cooking?

They must have run out of grain at home.

Sun Erniang, meanwhile, furrowed her brows and said:

"Didn't your husband give you living expenses? At least go out and have a bowl of noodles."

Su Liyan pressed her lips, smiled, and shook her head, saying:

"No need, auntie—I can just get by on my own at lunch."

…………

"This is really tormenting a person!!"

"Just giving someone a steamed bun, half a bowl of stir-fried cabbage, and if they choke, they drink some hot water to get it down—this is really tormenting a person! How can you do this, Lu Yuan!!"

In the afternoon, everyone gathered again, now full of resentment, their indignation filling their chests.

This time Pang Kaige wasn't there—he was sleeping in the house—while Kou Yang came.

Kou Yang's family runs a restaurant, right next to the Forging Bureau.

So Kou Yang, when he goes out, is different from others—his main task is preparing the lunch and midnight meals; some Forging Bureau workers don't want to eat at the canteen at noon, so they come out to eat.

As for dinner, no one goes to the restaurant—those who work during the day go home to eat, and those who work at night eat at home before heading out.

So in the afternoon, Kou Yang came back, waiting to go to the restaurant at night to cook.

Kou Yang has always longed for Su Liyan; after returning home, he didn't rest but ran to the backyard to join these aunties.

These aunties were talking about what happened at noon.

Suddenly, one of the aunties looked at Su Liyan, who was again busy washing things that afternoon, and said:

"Su Liyan, when are you holding the wedding banquet?"

Su Liyan, washing things by the pool, lifted her head, tucked a stray lock of her beautiful hair behind her ear, and revealed a stunning smile as she said:

"We're not having it—my older brother just bought a horse, we don't have much money left, so we need to be frugal."

This was the excuse Lu Yuan taught Su Liyan to use.

And upon hearing this, everyone was completely dumbfounded.

Is Lu Yuan even human??!

Lu Yuan really isn't a person!!

This is a grave lack of virtue!!

Who treats a person like this!!

They're not even holding a wedding banquet!!

Is this taking a wife?!!

They've just hired a servant!!

(End of chapter)