Chapter 54

Three days after Lu Yun and He Cheng’an got married, they were preparing to visit Lu Yun’s family.

The two of them planned to stay at the Lu family home as long as they lived in the county.

They packed several items and took the gifts that He Cheng’an had prepared in advance for this visit before they set off.

When they arrived at the courtyard, Lu Yun hadn’t even stepped inside when she heard the sounds of an argument from within. He Cheng’an, noticing this, frowned slightly and walked in ahead of Lu Yun.

Inside the yard, Aunt Zhou was having a heated argument with Aunt Li while holding her grandson. Her face was flushed with anger as she exclaimed, “Your nephew bullied my grandson! How can someone so big act like that?!”

Aunt Li was not one to back down; her voice was even louder than Aunt Zhou’s. “My nephew is just trying to teach your grandson a lesson! If you don’t educate him properly, he won’t turn out well in the future!”

As He Cheng’an and Lu Yun passed by, Aunt Li noticed them and her voice lowered noticeably. However, as soon as Lu Yun and He Cheng’an returned home, the quarrel resumed outside.

Lu Yun went to find Zhang Meili and asked her what had happened. She learned that Aunt Zhou’s grandson had said something about growing up and not being like Aunt Li’s nephew, who was incompetent yet arrogant and would never find a wife.

The other children in the yard had chimed in, and Aunt Li’s nephew, furious at the remarks, had come out and hit Aunt Zhou’s grandson.

After hearing the whole story, Lu Yun found herself at a loss for words. It seemed that Aunt Li’s nephew living there was indeed inconvenient.

It felt as though the atmosphere in the courtyard had shifted somehow.

Lu Yun was still accustomed to living at the Lu family home. After rolling around on the bed for a while, He Cheng’an came over and brought her some clean fruit. Then, he went outside to help Zhang Meili and Lu Dong with the cooking.

After a short while, Lu Yun could hear everyone praising He Cheng’an from inside the house.

“What a good son-in-law you’ve found!”

“When are you moving to the provincial city?”

“Lu Yun really married well.”

Lu Yun lounged around for a bit. Since her marriage to He Cheng’an, she hadn’t done any studying. After thinking about it, she finally got up from the bed and sat down at her desk to begin reviewing her materials.

However, just a few minutes into her studying, Lu Yun felt quite tired. She placed the review materials back on the desk and decided to lie down and rest instead, realizing that her first three days of marriage had been extraordinarily eventful.

He Cheng’an’s cooking was indeed delicious, and Lu Yun felt that his dishes suited her taste perfectly.

In the afternoon, Lu Yun was in the room explaining to He Cheng’an how she wanted to decorate their home. He Cheng’an listened intently as Lu Yun drew on paper, noting down the points that she mentioned.

Lu Yun simply needed to express her ideas while leaving the actual work to He Cheng’an. After all, she had come from another time and place, so if she hadn’t, she likely wouldn’t have interfered at all, allowing He Cheng’an, the professional, to take charge.

That day, the Lu family members had all taken the day off, so they were quite relaxed and spent the day at home. Lu Dong and Zhang Meili took advantage of the free time to go shopping or chat with familiar faces, and they even went to Lu Yun’s shop to lend a hand. When it came time to return home in the evening to prepare dinner, they appeared to be in good spirits.

Lu Yun, lazily resting her head on the table, asked them, “What’s going on?”

Lu Dong replied, “Aunt Li’s nephew got Aunt Zhou’s son beaten up and even threatened that every time Aunt Li’s nephew shows up in this courtyard, he’ll hit him again.”

After saying this, he couldn’t help but add, “I really don’t understand what Aunt Li is thinking.”

Zhang Meili chimed in, “Isn’t it because she has a daughter? She keeps wanting to rely on her brother’s family. If it weren’t for that, she wouldn’t act this way. Fortunately, her husband is sensible; otherwise, Aunt Li’s daughter would probably suffer.”

Lu Yun felt a twinge of sympathy but didn’t make any comments or judgments. She thought it might be for the best; this way, the people in their courtyard would remain quiet and not be disturbed by Aunt Li’s nephew.

Later that night, as she prepared for bed, Lu Yun found herself feeling a bit warm. She opened the window to let in some air before closing it again, guessing that once it warmed up, she might be able to wear a dress.

As she settled down to sleep, He Cheng’an suddenly wrapped his arms around Lu Yun and whispered in her ear, “Ah Yun, I prefer having a daughter, but I would like a son too.”

Hearing He Cheng’an say this made Lu Yun think of Aunt Li’s situation from earlier in the day. She wondered why he suddenly brought up the topic of boys versus girls. Nevertheless, she felt pleased by his words; she didn’t believe in valuing one gender over the other.

Lu Yun didn’t respond to He Cheng’an immediately. Instead, she tentatively asked, “He Cheng’an, what if I don’t want to have children? Giving birth is really painful, and taking care of a child afterward is tough.”

Lu Yun was aware of the difficulties of childbirth, not because she had experienced it herself—after all, she had never been in a relationship before—but because she had read some informative articles online. She knew that childbirth pain wasn’t the only concern; there were issues during pregnancy like not being able to eat, swelling in the calves, and a whole range of other problems. Not to mention, the challenges of raising a child once it was born. As Lu Yun mentioned this, she felt He Cheng’an tighten his embrace around her.

He Cheng’an replied, “Then we won’t have children.”

Lu Yun let out a soft laugh. “But I do want a child of our own! However, if we do have a baby, you must promise not to be hands-off about it.”

Since getting married, He Cheng’an and Lu Yun had set aside time for each other. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the season for honeymoons, and Lu Yun didn’t want to go anywhere, so they mostly enjoyed each other’s company at home.

The day after Lu Yun’s visit to her family, everyone in the Lu family went back to work. Sometimes, He Cheng’an would help out by preparing dinner and cleaning, while Lu Yun focused on her studies.

One day, as Lu Yun was studying, she noticed a new book on her bookshelf about pregnancy, as well as another about parenting. She gently flipped through the pages of both books and found herself smiling as she read.

—o—o—o—

In mid-May, Lu Yun and He Cheng’an took a trip to the provincial city together. He Cheng’an needed to go back to register a company, and Lu Yun decided to accompany him.

However, they got stuck when it came to choosing a name for the company. It wasn’t that they couldn’t think of any; rather, Lu Yun found He Cheng’an’s suggestions too cheesy and overly personal, often relating directly to her.

After brainstorming for a day, Lu Yun finally made a decision. They would use their surname as the company name, which sounded quite grand.

They prepared the necessary materials and visited the business registration office, busying themselves for several days.

During this time, He Cheng’an even took Lu Yun back to the county for a visit. When they finally received their business license from the registration office, each of them held a copy in one hand while their other hands were tightly clasped together.

They exchanged a glance and both broke into smiles.

After receiving the business license, Lu Yun and He Cheng’an spent a few more days finalizing everything.

To celebrate their company registration and He Cheng’an’s successful acquisition of nearly twenty properties in Xuefu Garden for renovation, they went out for a hotpot meal together.

Dressed in a white long-sleeved dress, Lu Yun sat in the hotpot restaurant. After eating for a while, He Cheng’an reached over to wipe her mouth. Lu Yun felt a bit embarrassed and lowered her head to continue eating.

On their way back, Lu Yun noticed that her dress had absorbed some of the hotpot smells. She quickly changed clothes, and He Cheng’an took her dress to wash. While Lu Yun took a shower, He Cheng’an was busy cleaning the dress.

By the time Lu Yun finished her shower, He Cheng’an had also completed the laundry and went to take his own shower. They were both bustling about, and by the time they finally settled down, it was almost ten o’clock.

Feeling drowsy, Lu Yun still pondered over what to do with their new company in the future.

—o—o—o—

In June, Zhang Hao returned from the county town, bringing back a large batch of black fungus that He Cheng’an had ordered. Lu Yun had enjoyed it before, but after eating it a bit too often, she found it still acceptable. However, He Cheng’an had a way of preparing black fungus in various styles, so Lu Yun was happy to eat it.

Zhang Hao smiled at Lu Yun and said, “Sister-in-law, I’m off to work.”

Thinking back to when Zhang Hao had given her and He Cheng’an money, and later when she had repaid him, Lu Yun realized that with the money Zhang Hao had earned while working with He Cheng’an, it would be enough to purchase a smaller apartment. She shared her thoughts with Zhang Hao.

Lu Yun said, “If it’s not enough, we still have some here that you can use for temporary support.”

Zhang Hao smiled and said, “Okay, I’ll listen to my sister-in-law. If you say I should buy it, I’ll go get one shortly. But I can probably only afford a 40 to 50 square meter place, which should be enough to live in.”

That evening, when He Cheng’an returned home with Zhang Hao, Lu Yun noticed that Zhang Hao looked particularly cheerful. He Cheng’an informed Lu Yun that Zhang Hao had bought a house.

Hearing this, Lu Yun felt a wave of excitement. Even if the unit was small, they could always purchase another one later.

—o—o—o—

Later that night, Lu Yun shared her thoughts with He Cheng’an, suggesting that once they bought a second property, they should hold off on renovations for now. They could just leave it as is for the time being. He Cheng’an listened to her and agreed without hesitation.

Seeing Lu Yun’s delight at the thought of buying another house, He Cheng’an walked over and playfully placed a lollipop in her palm.

Lu Yun’s eyes lit up. “A lollipop?”

He Cheng’an smiled and said, “Happy Children’s Day, Ah Yun.”

Lu Yun had completely forgotten that today was Children’s Day.

 After all, she had been so busy studying in the provincial city. She hugged He Cheng’an, her voice taking on a slightly spoiled tone as she said, “Happy Children’s Day, He Cheng’an.”