Chapter 65: Getting Close 1/3

After making braised pork, Li Qingzhi washed the pot with dried loofah, then used it to render pork fat.

He saved some of the rendered pork fat and used the rest to fry a few eggs.

After frying the eggs, he used the leftover pork fat to stir-fry a plate of vegetables and made a seaweed tofu soup.

Since it was quite cold outside, and they used lard in cooking, which easily solidified, after finishing cooking, Li Qingzhi didn’t remove the soup from the pot. Instead, he placed a steaming rack on top of the pot and arranged the cooked dishes on it, and covered it with the pot lid to keep it warm.

There were a bit too many dishes, and the steaming rack couldn’t hold them all, so he also placed some on the steaming rack of another iron pot used for cooking rice.

“Ah Qing, what’s the occasion today? Why did you make so many delicious dishes?” Li Laogen asked, swallowing his saliva.

Li Qingzhi replied, “Xiaoye has closed a big deal, so we’re celebrating a bit.”

“Oh, I see!” Li Laogen nodded as if he understood, then asked, “Ah Qing, did you know? I heard all the stories about the magistrate of Guo County at the teahouse. Those stories are really interesting. Have you heard them?”

Li Qingzhi smiled, “I wrote them.”

Li Laogen didn’t believe it at all, “Ah Qing, even if you want to brag, you shouldn’t brag like this.”

Li Qingzhi sighed inwardly. He wasn’t bragging!

While Li Qingzhi was cooking, Li Laogen had been helping with the fire behind the stove. Now he was still squatting there, warming himself by the fire.

Li Qingzhi walked over and said, “Dad, move over a bit.”

Their kitchen had two stoves and two fireplaces behind them, so two people could sit behind the stove.

Li Laogen made room for Li Qingzhi and began enthusiastically recounting the things he had encountered while drinking tea. He said with excitement, “Ah Qing, they all envy me for having a capable daughter-in-law…”

Li Qingzhi quite enjoyed hearing Li Laogen praise Jin Xiaoye. She was indeed very capable.

When Jin Xiaoye and Jin Xiaoshu returned, Li Qingzhi immediately brought out the warm dishes.

“Brother-in-law, why did you make so many dishes?” Jin Xiaoshu was astonished.

“To celebrate your sister closing a big deal,” Li Qingzhi replied.

“That’s right, my sister made quite a bit of money this time,” Jin Xiaoshu nodded.

Only then did Li Laogen remember to ask, “Did Xiaoye make a lot of money this time? How much?”

“She made about seven or eight taels, but I told everyone she made ten taels,” Jin Xiaoye said.

Li Laogen looked at Jin Xiaoye in shock for a moment, then immediately turned to Li Qingzhi and said, “Ah Qing, since Xiaoye made so much money, we should celebrate for a few more days! You should cook tomorrow as well!”

Li Qingzhi: “…”

Everyone enjoyed the meal immensely.

Li Laogen exclaimed, “Ah Qing, the dishes you made are even more delicious than those made by the chef at the Zhu family. They’re truly delicious!”

Li Qingzhi knew that his culinary skills couldn’t compare to those of the chef at the Zhu family, but impoverished people like them had grown up eating everything and often had less refined taste buds, so they couldn’t discern subtle differences.

Passing a piece of meat to Jin Xiaoye, Li Qingzhi said, “Xiaoye, have some more.”

Jin Xiaoye glared at Li Qingzhi again.

After dinner, Li Qingzhi went to boil water. He used both stoves and boiled two pots of water.

Since it was cold outside, he didn’t bathe frequently, but today he definitely needed to wash up.

After boiling the water, Li Qingzhi removed the unburnt firewood from the stove, placed it in a clay basin, and carried it into the bathing area along with two buckets of hot water.

Hmm, it was a bit heavy.

Seeing this, Jin Xiaoye carried both buckets of water into the bathing area.

Li Qingzhi: “…”

Li Laogen, who saw this, chuckled, “Ah Qing, you’re too weak, even compared to Xiaoye. Hehe!”

Then he added, “In the dead of winter, you’re using so much firewood to heat water for bathing… Even the landlords wouldn’t do that, right? I never expected to live such a life…”

“Do you want to bathe, Dad? Tomorrow I’ll heat water for you and Damao and Ermao to bathe,” Li Qingzhi asked.

Li Laogen didn’t hesitate, “I do!” He actually didn’t want to bathe, but if he bathed with so much water in the dead of winter, he could boast about it!

“In that case, I’ll heat water for you tomorrow… Dad, you should go back to your room now,” Li Qingzhi started ushering him away.

Li Laogen didn’t mind and happily left.

After Li Laogen left, Li Qingzhi placed some straw in the clay basin, lit a fire, and added the two buckets of hot water, creating a lot of steam…

The narrow bathing area instantly warmed up.

Li Qingzhi looked at Jin Xiaoye and asked, “Shall we bathe together?”

Jin Xiaoye glared at him again but didn’t object.

Unfortunately, their bath together wasn’t romantic at all. There was no choice; it was too cold that day, so they had to be quick and efficient, washing themselves as fast as they could.

When they returned to the bedroom and crawled under the covers, Jin Xiaoye couldn’t help but say, “It’s so cold!”

Li Qingzhi hugged her and said, “Xiaoye, let me warm you up…”

Li Qingzhi liked lively human beings. It felt like he was the only one alive in the whole world, which was truly terrible.

But he had experienced the end of the world, so it was hard for him to trust the people around him.

So, what he liked the most were the people who belonged to him.

Like Li Damao and Li Ermao, they were his sons. In this era where filial piety governed the country, they would probably respect and honor him for their entire lives. How wonderful!

Then there was Jin Xiaoye. She was his wife, a girl who clearly distinguished right from wrong. In the current social context, as long as he treated Jin Xiaoye well and didn’t betray her, she would treat him well and definitely wouldn’t betray him.

That was exactly what he longed for.

Today, Li Qingzhi was acutely aware that Jin Xiaoye belonged to him completely and unequivocally.

He would do everything in his power to treat Jin Xiaoye well and love her. He believed that Jin Xiaoye would never leave him.

The original host’s father treated the original host’s mother very well. Consequently, after the father got into trouble, the mother prepared to die with him.

Having someone who would be with him forever was absolutely the most beautiful thing in the world.

Li Qingzhi hugged Jin Xiaoye tightly, unwilling to let go.

When he was with Li Damao and Li Ermao before, he always wanted to kiss and hug them. Skin contact brought him great satisfaction.

Now he suffered from severe skin hunger, craving human contact.

However, Li Damao and Li Ermao were his sons. He could kiss and hug them, but he couldn’t do more. Jin Xiaoye was different!

Jin Xiaoye was his wife!

They could be intimate and have maximum skin contact!

Li Qingzhi persistently prevented Jin Xiaoye from putting on clothes.

Jin Xiaoye: “…”

Li Qingzhi was being too clingy!

Well, let Li Qingzhi be as he pleased.

After a busy day and another round of antics with Li Qingzhi at night, Jin Xiaoye felt exhausted and quickly fell asleep.

However, she was awakened in the middle of the night.

Was there no end to this? Jin Xiaoye trapped Li Qingzhi in her arms. “Go to sleep!”