Su Qingyu saw that everyone was looking at her, and organized her words.

She said, “When I was a child, an old widow came to our village. I felt sorry for her, so I often brought her food and drinks, helped her carry water, chop wood, and do some chores. In return, she taught me some skills.”

After hearing this, Madam Ma sighed: “Yes, good people should have good luck. If good people don’t have good luck, but bad people are still living well, wouldn’t it be a mess?”

“Li Niang.” Master Ma saw that his wife was talking to herself again, and hurriedly interrupted.

Madam Ma came back to his senses and looked at Su Qingyu a little embarrassedly: “I’m sorry to make you laugh. Usually, I stay in the backyard alone to recuperate, and there is no one to talk to. If you are free in the future, you can come and talk to me.”

Su Qingyu nodded in response. She felt that the woman in front of her made her feel distressed. It might be the slight sadness between her eyebrows that made people reluctant to refuse.

She chatted with her for a long time, and accompanied her to look at the flowers and plants she raised, and the embroidery she made.

The embroidery was vivid, with butterflies dancing on the embroidery patterns, and the embroidered red plums made people smell the fragrance of flowers.

Seeing that she liked it, Madam Ma generously gave her several embroidery patterns.

Su Qingyu saw that she was sincere in giving them, so she did not refuse and accepted them generously. Seeing that she looked tired, she said goodbye and left.

Lu Bocheng saw her out. He told her that Madam Ma had been in poor health since her sons died, but she was still energetic today.

Su Qingyu sighed after hearing this. The consecutive deaths of several sons were such a blow. Mother and son are connected by heart, and it must be difficult to survive. So she decided to come and accompany her often in the future.

Thinking of the young woman with a woman’s hair next to Madam Ma, she asked him again.

Lu Bocheng said, “She was originally a girl by the master’s wife’s side. The master’s wife wanted her to become his concubine, but the master never took her in. The master has a good relationship with the master’s wife. If any of us brothers dare to be unfaithful, he can break our legs.”

“Your master is outstanding. You need to learn more from your master.”

Tsk, this woman, he knew she would say that.

He stretched out his arm and handed her the basket: “These lotus and swan pastries are delicious. I haven’t eaten enough. Go back and make some more. I’ll go back to eat them in the evening.”

“I don’t have time.”

Wishful thinking. The process was complicated.

Hiss, this woman. She simply didn’t take him seriously.

Other women regard their husbands’ words as the law and dare not refute a word. This woman not only ignored him but also dared to refute him! This was going to heaven!

Lu Bocheng waved his fist at Su Qingyu’s back.

But thinking about her bringing cakes to the master’s wife and brothers to eat, he felt very proud and thought that he was a big man and didn’t care about her.

He stood there and watched for a while until Su Qingyu’s figure turned the corner and disappeared, then he turned back to the martial arts hall.

“Brother, I also want to eat lotus cakes, swan cakes, and white jade cakes…” As soon as Lu Bocheng entered the door, Xiao Douzi came up to him.

Lu Bocheng was very happy and patted his shoulder: “Okay, okay, let your sister-in-law make it for you next time.”

“When?”

“Next time, next time.”
“When is the next time?”

…

In the next few days, Su Qingyu went to Jixiang Shop to teach the chef how to make pastries. Occasionally, she would take some pastries to visit Madam Ma and chat with her. Like Lu Bocheng, she was not at home all day.

This made Wu Shi and Lu Yuzhu very uncomfortable, and they said a lot of bad things to Lu Shengcai who came back from purchasing goods. At the dinner table, Lu Shengcai caught Lu Bocheng and said a few words.

He was so angry at Lu Bocheng’s words that he said he didn’t care about them and let them do whatever they wanted.

Lu Bocheng looked at Wu Shi with great pride, which made Wu Shi feel suffocated.

Which newly married daughter-in-law was not obedient and listened to orders at home? Only her new daughter-in-law was nowhere to be seen every day, treating her, the mother-in-law, as a transparent person.

She didn’t show any sign on her face and just planned to make plans after Lu Bocheng left home.

In the blink of an eye, it was the day when Lu Bocheng was leaving home.

The night before he left, Lu Shengcai finally realized that his son was leaving home, and whether he would come back in the future would depend on whether God would bless him. He felt a little sad. He had a gloomy face all day. After dinner, he called Lu Bocheng to the study.

He handed him fifty taels of silver notes: “Take it with you. Don’t complain that your father gives you too little. Our small shop doesn’t make much money in a year, and the whole family needs food and clothing.”

Seeing that Lu Bocheng just took it silently, he sighed without saying anything.

He said again: “I know you blame your father, but your second mother has come home, and several younger brothers and sisters have been born. You can’t just push them back. You are your father’s first son, your father’s flesh and blood, how can your father not love you…”

Lu Bocheng snorted.

But when he thought that he was about to leave, he didn’t want to be angry with him. His mother was gone, his grandparents were gone, and only his father was left. He couldn’t just abandon him. He endured it and didn’t get angry.

Lu Shengcai sighed again: “When you were a child, your father held you in his arms and loved you so much. You rode on my neck and I took you shopping to see the lanterns. When you were old enough to study, I carefully selected teachers for you, but you couldn’t concentrate on the books. You blamed your father for training your second brother, but your second brother studied better than you did…”

Lu Bocheng finally couldn’t help but retorted: “How much better than me! After studying for so long, you can’t even pass the examination to become a tóngshēng. He goes to Pingchuan County every day to participate in poetry and literary gatherings. He spends a lot of money and has taken the examination for tóngshēng status more than once. What did he get out of studying? You think of him as a treasure that can change the family’s fortune!”

“You!”

Lu Shengcai was angry, but when he thought that he was about to leave home, he calmed down: “I know you don’t like your brother and sisters, but they are also your flesh and blood. In the future, the flesh and blood of the family must support each other.”

Tsk, mutual support indeed! With Lü Bozu’s attitude, if he truly gained fame and success, he would probably be so arrogant that he wouldn’t even acknowledge the brother standing right in front of him.

It was just that his father was blind and trying to cover up the truth.

Seeing that he wouldn’t listen, Lu Shengcai suddenly didn’t know what to say next.

Children born from the same mother’s womb were like fighting cocks every day, let alone children born from different mothers’ wombs. But he still subconsciously hoped that the children could live in peace. After all, they were the closest people in the world.

Seeing his frustrated face, Lu Bocheng suddenly felt distressed and reluctant.

This was his biological father, the biological father for whom he waited at the door every day when he was a child to come back.

After a moment of silence, he said, “You are you, and they are them. As long as they recognize me, I will recognize them. After I leave, please help me take care of my wife. No matter what happens to me in the future, as long as she is willing to stay in the Lu family, you must ensure that she has food and drink, and you can’t drive her away. If you are lucky in the future and have grandchildren, please take care of them more for my sake. After all, they are your flesh and blood.”

Lu Shengcai was still sulking just now, and suddenly he felt a little sad after hearing what Lu Bocheng said. He felt that his son was leaving, and his life and death in the future were uncertain. He didn’t know if he could come back.

(this chapter is finished)