Chapter 15

Zhou Yanfeng suggested to He Ting, “Why not find out which family in the team has leftover tiles from building a house? We can pay them a little and bring some back.” 

“But when it comes to fixing roof tiles, we’ve never done it before. If you lose your footing on the roof, falling down is no joke.” 

Zhou Yanfeng confidently promised, “I’ll ask around to see who has leftover tiles. Then I’ll find a local who knows how to repair roofs. Tomorrow, we’ll fix up the two rooms at your clinic.” 

“I’ll cover the cost of the roof repair. You’re getting married—I have to show some support, don’t I?” 

“But seriously, are you really moving in to live with that childhood fiancée of yours?” 

Zhou Yanfeng couldn’t help lamenting over He Ting’s early marriage. “Back in the compound, so many girls were after you. Even Feng Shishi, the prettiest one, followed you around like a little sidekick. Then here in Xiangyang Village, all those female educated youths at the station—every single one of them was interested in you, openly or subtly showing affection.” 

“You’re such a dashing, charming gentleman, and yet you casually get married like this? I honestly think you two don’t match. Ting-ge, it’s like a fresh flower stuck in…” 

Before he could finish his jab, He Ting, carrying things behind him, gave him a solid kick. 

With just a few steps left to the village clinic, He Ting coldly warned, “Lu Baiwei and I got our marriage certificate today.” 

“No matter the reason we got married, she is now my wife and your sister-in-law.” 

“If you’re my brother, you’ll respect her.” 

“If you don’t respect my wife, that means you don’t respect me, He Ting. And Zhou Yanfeng, if that’s the case, we might as well stop being friends.” 

He Ting’s tone was deadly serious, even harsh, making it clear he wasn’t joking. 

Look at that—he had just gotten married, and he was already so fiercely protective. 

Turns out, Ting-ge was a hidden wife-protector all along! 

“Ting-ge, don’t take it seriously. I was just joking! Look at me running my big mouth.” 

Seeing He Ting angry, Zhou Yanfeng panicked. “Ting-ge, I was wrong. I really was!” 

“If I ever make a disrespectful joke about your wife again, I won’t wait for you to punish me—I’ll go jump in the village river myself to cool off!” 

“Ting-ge, don’t be mad. Fine, I’m the cow dung, okay?” 

Willing to mock himself, Zhou Yanfeng promised to respect Lu Baiwei from now on. Only then did He Ting’s anger subside a little, and the fierce aura around him diminished. 

Seeing He Ting like this, Zhou Yanfeng, who was both flustered and exhausted, finally let out a sigh of relief. 

He silently warned himself that Lu Baiwei was now his “big boss,” and he must never say anything to offend her. Otherwise, his friendship with He Ting would be over. 

So, when they finally carried the things to the village clinic, Zhou Yanfeng behaved like a mouse in front of a cat when he saw Lu Baiwei. 

After setting everything down, he obediently called out, “Sister-in-law.” 

“Thank you, Comrade Zhou, for helping with the move,” Lu Baiwei said as she set the table with bowls and chopsticks. “You’ve worked hard. Come and eat with us.” 

Lu Baiwei set the bowls and chopsticks and called to him, “Thank you for running the errand. Come and have something to eat with us!”

As soon as Zhou Yanfeng entered the house, he smelled the fish soup on the table. 

The delicious aroma made his mouth water. 

But when he met He Ting’s cold expression, Zhou Yanfeng quickly waved his hand. “No, no, they’ve saved me food at the educated youth station.” 

Seeing that Zhou Yanfeng was behaving decently in front of Lu Baiwei, He Ting finally decided not to fuss about his earlier remarks. 

He called out to Zhou Yanfeng, “If I offer you food, just eat it. Stop talking so much.” 

Tempted by the fragrance of the fish soup, Zhou Yanfeng changed his mind. “Alright then, I’ll have some!” 

Tang Yunling had brought over quite a lot of fish soup—enough to fill a large ceramic pot, with plenty for everyone, and some left over. 

Lu Baiwei ladled out three bowls and then served the cornbread on the table as well. 

The fish soup, stewed with perilla leaves, had perfectly removed any fishy smell, leaving behind only the fresh, fragrant taste of the soup. One sip, and it felt refreshing throughout. 

Zhou Yanfeng took only one sip, and was immediately conquered by the deliciousness of the fish soup. 

“Sister-in-law, your cooking is amazing.” 

The girls at the educated youth station could barely afford to use any oil when they cooked, so they would just cook the food until it was edible. 

Now, here in Xiangyang Village, it was rare to have meat, let alone such a fragrant fish soup. 

He Ting was really going to enjoy himself in the future—Zhou Yanfeng couldn’t help but feel a little envious. 

Completely taken by the fish soup, Zhou Yanfeng shamelessly said, “Sister-in-law, you’re going to be my real sister-in-law now.” 

Then, without shame, he asked, “Can I come by every few days to bum a meal?” 

Lu Baiwei couldn’t help but laugh at him. 

He Ting had had enough: “The fish soup wasn’t made by Vivi, and did you even think for a second? Vivi and I just moved in—where would we get fish for soup?” 

“Ah, it wasn’t you?” 

Zhou Yanfeng quickly asked, “Then who made it?” 

“My third aunt made it. She and my cousin went to the next village to fish with a dam net. She knew that He Ting and I just moved in and couldn’t cook, so she made this pot of fish soup and sent it over.” 

Zhou Yanfeng was surprised to learn that the village head, Tang Jinghe, was actually Lu Baiwei’s uncle. 

The village head’s wife really knew her way around the kitchen. 

It wasn’t Lu Baiwei who cooked it, and Zhou Yanfeng felt a little disappointed. 

It wasn’t Lu Baiwei who made the fish soup, and Zhou Yanfeng felt a bit disappointed.

He asked Lu Baiwei, “Sister-in-law, is your third aunt still looking for a nephew?”

He Ting, this brother of his, was actually quite witty and humorous.

Lu Baiwei laughed again at his joke: “I can make fish soup too, and you’ll be able to have some again tomorrow.”

Lu Baiwei wasn’t just teasing Zhou Yanfeng when she said she could cook the fish.

For their wedding, they would definitely need to host a celebration and invite her uncles and the people from He Ting’s educated youth group.

Right now, it was busy harvest season.

The village had just harvested the first crop of rice, and for the next few days, they were plowing the fields, preparing to plant the second crop of rice.

Lu Baiwei’s original plan was to wait until the roof was repaired and help with the rice planting before organizing the wedding banquet with He Ting.

However, since her eldest uncle would be finishing the work soon, she thought it might be better to take advantage of the one or two days between planting the rice to hold the wedding banquet early.

After sending Zhou Yanfeng off, Lu Baiwei brought up the idea of holding the wedding banquet.

“Once the village finishes planting the rice, I want to go up the mountain, and I also need to quickly finish the barefoot doctor certification. I’ll be quite busy.” 

Lu Baiwei discussed with He Ting: “My plan is to take advantage of this break during the busy farming season to just go ahead and hold the wedding banquet tomorrow. We can invite my uncles and the people from your educated youth group to have a meal together.”

“My cousin told me today that her uncle caught a lot of fish with a dam net at the village. It’s hard to get meat tickets, but the fish can be bought easily—my aunt can go get them.” 

“The fish is cheap, only a few cents per pound.” 

He Ting understood. 

His wife wanted to take advantage of the affordable fish to hold the wedding banquet. 

Fish is still meat, and it would save a lot of money. 

How did he end up with such a wife who was so good at helping him save money? 

He hadn’t even had time to inform her uncles before marrying Lu Baiwei. 

She had quietly come over and helped with the roof repairs without saying a word. 

For He Ting, marrying Lu Baiwei and hosting the wedding banquet was more about showing the right attitude. This meal needed to happen soon. 

“We can’t just have fish, we need some pork dishes too.” 

He Ting agreed to hold the wedding banquet tomorrow: “I still have a lot of meat tickets. I’ll go to the supply and marketing cooperative tomorrow and buy some meat for the banquet.”