Chapter 9: Seeing Me Fills Their Stomachs

“Who are you? I can say whatever I want.  If you don’t like it, go die.  Seeing how old you are, I guess you’ve lived long enough.”

Zhou Yu lazily picked his ear, his face indifferent, spitting out words that were guaranteed to make people angry.

Zhou Youlu was so angry that his chest was heaving.  He started to gasp for breath.  Zhou Shuwen quickly stepped forward to pat his back, looking at Zhou Yu with a hint of reproach.

“Second brother, can’t you just not anger Dad?  For the past three years since you’ve been in prison, Dad hasn’t stopped thinking about you.  We thought things would be good once you came back, but since you came back, the house hasn’t been peaceful for a single day.  You’re always angering Mom and Dad.  Are you still my second brother?”

He had wanted to say this ever since Zhou Yu came back.  His second brother used to be so good to them, how could he become this stranger?

Zhou Yu put away his flippant demeanor, stared coldly at Zhou Shuwen, his voice colder than the winter wind. “I can’t bear the title of ‘second brother’ from you.  You want me to give you peace? Dream on.”

“If you really want to live a peaceful life, remember to avoid me.  Don’t bump into me, you’ll only be asking for trouble.”

Zhou Shuwen didn’t expect his second brother to be so rude.  He opened his mouth, but as a scholar, he couldn’t say a word.

“Alright, second son, it’s my fault.  The east room was always yours, I didn’t give it to you.”

Zhou Hongguang sighed, patted Zhou Shuwen’s shoulder to comfort him. “We’ve already moved everything we needed.  The east room is yours from now on.”

Compared to Zhou Hongguang, it seemed like Zhou Yu was being unreasonable and deliberately making trouble.

The Zhou family all looked at Zhou Yu with displeasure.  Zhou Yu didn’t care at all. He walked a few steps to the door of the east room, stared at the empty room, and his mocking laughter was like a slap in the face of the Zhou family.

Zhou Yu raised his chin at Xu An. “Move the things.”

He then limped over and started to move the things he had bought.  Xu An immediately went over to help.

Pan Hehua saw the pile of things the couple had bought, and she instantly blew up.

“Second son’s wife, are you trying to die?  Do you need all these things?”

She didn’t dare to confront Zhou Yu, so she could only pick on Xu An.  Looking at bag after bag of things, Pan Hehua felt like all her money was being spent by this spendthrift couple.  Her heart ached.

They had just moved out, and they were already spending money lavishly.  Pan Hehua yelled, “Second son, we split the money clearly.  If you spend it all, I won’t give you a single cent.”

The Zhou family also noticed the pile of things the couple had bought.  Hearing their mother say this, Zhou Dandan immediately shouted, “The house is split, we each live our own lives.  Don’t think you can spend it all and then ask for more from Mom.”

There was her living allowance in there, she wouldn’t let them take it.

“It’s none of your business how I spend my money.  Get lost.” Zhou Yu was a complete bully, impervious to reason.

Pan Hehua said angrily, “From now on, we each live our own lives.  Don’t come begging us for anything.”

The Zhou family assumed that this spendthrift couple wouldn’t be able to make ends meet. They were all waiting to see what would happen.

Xu An and Zhou Yu ignored the Zhou family.  They moved the things into the empty east room together.

Looking at the desolate room, Xu An sighed in relief.  Thankfully, they had bought everything they needed, they wouldn’t freeze to death tonight.

She took the new broom she had bought and started sweeping from the inner room, not missing any corners or the headboard. She swept carefully.

Zhou Yu entered from the outer room, leaned against the wall, and watched Xu An sweep diligently.

Xu An turned around and saw the man leaning against the wall. She called out, “Help me move the bed.”

Zhou Yu walked over and helped Xu An lift the bed frame.  After Xu An finished sweeping, they moved it back.

She asked Zhou Yu to open the window. The cold wind whistled in, instantly chilling her.  There was no way around it, they were going to live here tonight, they had to air it out.

Xu An swept the room, while Zhou Yu moved the honeycomb coal stove out, found some dry straw, lit it, and put the honeycomb coal on top.  He carried the smoky stove to the door and waited for the honeycomb coal to burn.

He took the basin he had bought from the sack and put it on the stove. Then he went to the courtyard to fetch water and boil it.

Xu An finished sweeping the room, then took out everything she had bought and laid it out one by one.  She took a new towel, dipped it in the basin of water that Zhou Yu had boiled, and wiped down the bed and cabinet in the room.  After she finished, Zhou Yu followed behind with a dry towel, wiping away the water, making sure they could use it tonight.

After Xu An finished wiping the cabinet in the outer room, she wiped the sweat off her forehead.  It was the middle of winter, but she wasn’t cold after all the work she had done.

When Zhou Yu followed behind to wipe away the water, Xu An threw the towel into the basin, sat on the chair, and took a break.

She lazily watched Zhou Yu take the bed sheets and duvet cover into the inner room to make the bed.

Xu An sighed, picked up the new clothes she had bought, went into the room, and put the clothes in the cabinet.

She came back out and put the oil, rice, and seasonings she had bought into the cabinet.

As Xu An was boiling water to sterilize the bowls, smoke came from the main room next door.  She could hear Pan Hehua frying food.

Looking at the weather, it should be dinner time in the afternoon.

After a while, Xu An had just finished sterilizing the pots and bowls she had bought, when she heard Pan Hehua calling people to eat from the main room.

She and Zhou Yu were excluded.  The Zhou family was eating together as if they hadn’t split up.

Xu An turned her head and looked at Zhou Yu, who was indifferent beside her.  She paused, took out the freshly washed pot, rinsed the rice, and started making dinner.

Zhou Yu put the bowls that Xu An had sterilized into the cabinet, turned around, leaned against the door, his eyes lazily fell on the woman who was bent over.  He watched her cook the rice, take out the things she had bought, her movements were skilled.  At this moment, she really was as she had said, good at managing money.

“Zhou Yu, wash the vegetables for dinner.” Xu An stared at the small stove, and said softly.

“Just make a cabbage and tofu soup, and a stir-fried pork dish.  It’s enough for two of us, don’t wash everything.”

The woman kept nagging, afraid he would do it wrong.  Zhou Yu frowned impatiently, but he didn’t say anything.  He took out the things Xu An had mentioned, sat on the chair with his legs stretched out, and washed the vegetables.

When the rice on the stove stopped bubbling, Xu An took the pot off the stove with a wet towel and placed it next to the stove.  Then she picked up the cast iron pot and put it on the stove.

She poured in a little oil, and before the pot got hot, Xu An cracked three eggs, added a little water and salt, beat the eggs, and quickly poured them into the hot oil.

Zhou Yu sat on the side, his eyes lazily falling on the woman, his arms crossed, he didn’t say anything.

The moment the egg mixture hit the pan, the rich aroma of eggs instantly filled the courtyard.

The Zhou family, who were sitting around the table in the main room, eating their plain meal, deliberately isolating the newlywed couple, also smelled the fragrance.

Zhou Dandan was the first to lose her temper.  She glared angrily at the plain soup and vegetables on their table, her voice loud enough for the couple in the east room to hear.

“Mom, is this how we live? You’ve saved money for half your life, and you haven’t gotten anything good.  You’ve saved it all for nothing, and someone shameless and spendthrift is taking advantage of it.  If I had known, why would you save money?  We could have eaten fish and meat every day, saving you from having to spend it all on that shameless spendthrift.”

Zhou Dandan stared at the bland food on the table, she was so angry that she put down her bowl and didn’t want to eat anymore.

The Zhou family smelled the aroma of eggs, and they were also a little distracted.

“You child, what’s the rush? He’s spending money lavishly, he’ll spend it all sooner or later.  If I were in charge, our whole family would be eating the wind.  It’s true that you don’t know the value of things until you’re in charge.”

Pan Hehua was even angrier.  Every penny that the second son’s wife spent made her heart bleed.  Even though they had split up, it was still her money.

Zhou Shuwen picked up a piece of food for Pan Hehua and said with a light smile, “Mom, big brother is there to support us.  If they spend too much, they can ask big brother for help later, nothing will happen.”

As soon as he said this, Feng Yirou couldn’t eat anymore.  She looked at Pan Hehua and said softly, “Mom, normally, if the family has any difficulties, Hongguang and I will help if we can.  But since we’ve split up, we can’t always be there to help.  Besides, we haven’t been living a good life either.”

Bang!

Zhou Youlu slammed his chopsticks on the table. His voice was thick. “What helping?  The family is split clearly.  If anyone really spends all their money, not just the eldest son, your mother and I won’t help either.”

As soon as he said this, Feng Yirou sighed in relief.  Zhou Shuwen and Zhou Dandan, who were sitting on the side, also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

This good life of the second brother won’t last long.

Zhou Hongguang frowned. “Mom, when you have time, you should teach second brother’s wife how to manage money.  Even though we’ve split up, we’re still family.  We can’t let them live so recklessly.”

The rich aroma kept wafting into their nostrils.  Pan Hehua’s face was not good. She agreed. “Okay, I’ll talk to the second son’s wife when I have time.  No one in the whole alley lives like this!”

This tempting smell was unbearable.  She still had to talk to the second son’s wife.

The fragrance kept wafting in, and the Zhou family’s appetites were all gone. They were all angry and couldn’t eat.  With two fewer people eating, there was actually quite a bit left.

There was a clattering sound from the main room, and the sound of arguing and angry voices came into Zhou Yu and Xu An’s ears.

Xu An looked at the soup that was just boiling in the pot, speechless.  She hadn’t expected that just making a cabbage and tofu soup would make the Zhou family so upset.  Their hearts were really fragile.  No wonder a whole family couldn’t handle a rogue like Zhou Yu.

Xu An shook her head subtly, turned to look at Zhou Yu beside her, and asked uncertainly, “Zhou Yu, have they never eaten eggs?”

Zhou Yu snorted, lazily crossed his arms, raised his eyebrows, and raised his voice a few degrees, making sure that every member of the Zhou family in the house could hear clearly.

“Eat eggs?  They’re weird, they get full just by seeing me.”

Xu An couldn’t help but burst out laughing. This guy’s mouth was really sharp.  Seeing the man lazily looking over, Xu An coughed lightly, covering her laughter and said casually.

“Well… they have big appetites.”

Zhou Yu stared at her smiling face, then looked away, mockingly.

“That’s right.”