“Why are you here?”

“Why did you buy so much?” Lu Bocheng said as he took the things over.

“This whole bunch is enough for you to eat for a while. And this is just a small amount. I haven’t even bought tomorrow’s gift for the return visit.”

Su Qingyu relaxed her hands, breathed a sigh of relief, and shook her hands. Then she lowered her head to look at the hem of her skirt. She picked it up and shook it. A lot of mud splashed on it, her shoes were soaked in water, and her footwear was wet. She felt a little uncomfortable.

Turning around and looking at the vegetable market street, she saw that it was still lively and busy with people coming and going.

“What are you looking at?”

“Nothing, I have some ideas.”

“What ideas?”

“I haven’t decided yet. I still need to think about it.”

Lu Bocheng saw that she didn’t say anything more, so he didn’t ask anymore. Seeing her patting her clothes, he asked again: “Eat first or go back first?”

Su Qingyu’s footwear and clothes in her shoes were all wet and she felt uncomfortable walking, so she said: “Go back and change my clothes and shoes before going out to eat. I still need to buy a homecoming gift for tomorrow. I guess your stepmother won’t prepare it for us.”

“You still count on her!” Lu Bocheng sneered.

Seeing his disdainful look, Su Qingyu looked at his hands again. In a short time, she bought a lot of things, including ingredients and seasonings for dinner. It cost her more than a tael of silver.

She asked: “Aunt Zhou, who is the helper, does your stepmother give her money to buy it or does your stepmother buy it herself?”

“Aunt Zhou buys it herself. It was originally bought by Wu Shi. She is so stingy that she is afraid that Aunt Zhou may lie about the price of the vegetables. But she only bought them for a few days before she stopped. She said that the vegetable market was dirty and messy, and the smell was not good, and she felt sorry for her clothes, shoes, and socks. “

Tsk, tsk, Wu Shi’s family in the mountains had a lot of problems. A poor girl who couldn’t afford a single piece of clothing, her situation wasn’t much better after she got married. But once she met Father Lu, she became a young mistress.

“Then if she still lets me cook in the future, do you think I should ask her for household money? These things in your hands cost me more than one tael.”

Su Qingyu felt a little distressed.

She packed the box with only two taels of silver. Lu Bocheng had only saved more than a dozen taels over the years, and she spent several more. The rest she wanted to give to him when he left.

Then she would be left with nothing. If Wu Shi still didn’t give her any household money, she wouldn’t agree.

Lu Bocheng was momentarily stunned, then he realized that the heavy thing in his hand was bought with the money earned by him and his wife.

Frustrated, he even shook his hands twice. “When I go back, I’ll demand it from her. No, I won’t ask her, I’ll go directly to Lu Shengcai! On the very first day after our marriage, she didn’t show any reluctance. Instead, she’s thinking about spending my money! Hmph, I’ll make sure to squeeze some money out of him when I get back!”

Su Qingnao found it a little funny when she saw the angry and childish look on his face.

Wu Shi didn’t realize it at all. Lu Bocheng didn’t even get half a penny from the shop, and she didn’t even give him a monthly allowance. He had saved more than a dozen taels by himself for more than ten years, and now she still wanted to spend his money.

Don’t be too impatient.

The two returned to Lu’s house, and Su Qingyu went to change clothes.

Fortunately, on that day, she used the money Lu Bocheng gave her to buy several pieces of cloth and made herself some new clothes. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have had anything to replace them with. After marrying into town, she still wore clothes with patched-up patches, and she was too embarrassed to even go out.

As soon as Su Qingyu changed clothes and packed up, Lu Bocheng came back.

He shook the silver in his hand at her with a proud look on his face.

“Lu Shengcai only wanted to give two taels, but I squeezed ten taels out of him. It really got him worked up. He even said something about how doing business isn’t easy. Bah, running a grocery store might not make much money, but do Wu Shi and her brats spend less? Every month, they are buying fabric to make clothes or jewelry. I only spent a little, and he acted like I was gouging out his flesh, bah!

Su Qingyu saw him leaning on the chair and throwing his hands. There was a purse in it as if he didn’t care. Suddenly she felt a little distressed.

A child without a mother’s love, they won’t cry. The more he went against his nature to make his presence felt, the more annoying he became. It was not easy to live like that, especially at his age.

“Why are you looking at me?” Lu Bocheng turned around and asked.

“You look good.”

Lu Bocheng blushed when he heard this: “You, you…”

He threw the purse in his hand onto the table. “Hurry up, you’re taking forever. I’ve already run to South Street and back, and you’re still not done.”

Su Qingyu rolled her eyes, this man didn’t deserve her heartache. She put away the purse and went out.

The two of them left Lu’s house and found a small shop that Lu Bocheng said was small but made delicious food. They went in and ordered two dishes, and then they started eating.

“It’s quite delicious.”

“Yeah, I’m right, aren’t I? Don’t let the appearance fool you. This shop has been open for over ten years in town. Good taste, large portions, and the prices aren’t expensive. Most people wouldn’t even know about this place.” Lv Bocheng boasted for a few moments.

Without even swallowing the food in his mouth, he added: “If you don’t want to eat at home in the future, come here. The boss is nice, his work is meticulous, and he’s clean.”

Su Qingyu nodded while looking at the small shop. The store owner heard what Lu Bocheng said, came over, and said with a smile: “You still know how to eat, is this your newlywed wife?”

Lu Bocheng hurriedly introduced Su Qingyu to the store owner. Both parties greeted each other.

The shopkeeper smiled and said to Su Qingyu: “From now on when Lu xiǎozi ^[1]a term of endearment like dear is not here, you can just come here alone. Whatever you want to eat, I will cook it for you.”

Su Qingyu nodded with a smile.

After the two of them finished eating and were walking on the road, Lu Bocheng told the story of this store.

The owner’s son went to war and didn’t come back for seven or eight years. The couple didn’t believe their son was dead, so they never moved away. The daughter-in-law ran away, so the couple took their grandchildren and kept the shop open, saying they would wait for their son to come back.

Su Qingnao looked back at the small shop with some emotion. This dynasty would recruit troops from time to time. After expelling foreign enemies, civil war started. After the Civil War, the border became unstable again, so troops were recruited from time to time.

It was the common people who suffered. Who was dead was dead, and the days of living must still be lived.

The two of them went shopping and bought the return gift for tomorrow. Being introduced along the way by Lu Bocheng, Su Qingyu knew a lot about Fengting Town.

At dinner, Su Qingyu’s craftsmanship was praised by the family. Just as Wu Shi started talking and was about to squeeze Su Qingyu into letting her continue cooking, Lu Bocheng pushed her down.

“Er Niang ^[2]a term for mother, you always want my wife to cook. Shouldn’t today’s expenses be covered by you? You can’t expect my wife to support the family with her dowry from now on, can you?”

“What dowry can she have?” Fifteen years old Lu Yuzhu said quickly. There was no hint of respect for the eldest saozi in her words.

“She didn’t bring a dowry, wasn’t she hired by your mother? Now you’re picking on her! I heard your mother went all the way to the county to find a wife for your brother. She’ll likely bring back a good dowry for our family. In the future, your mother might even help you squeeze out a share.”

Lu Bocheng said to Lu Yuzhu.

“You!” Lu Yuzhu glared at him angrily.

Lu’s father slapped the table hard: “You can’t have a good meal!”

He glanced at Lu Bocheng and said, “Didn’t I give you today’s expenses?”

^[3]A/N After writing ancient prose for a long time, I like to study some ancient things, such as going to museums. I just like to stare at the headdresses of ancient women and the pots and pans, haha. … Continue reading

(End of this chapter)