Chapter 97 : What Can I Do?

The day before she entered the chaotic courtyard ended with a flurry of noise.

He Tingyue boiled hot water and brought it into the bathroom.

“I’ll go get a bucket of cold water to mix in for your wash.”

Their south courtyard had a large vat, and every morning, He Tingyue would fetch water from the main courtyard, so they wouldn’t have to keep going out to collect it for bathing and washing their faces.

Jiang Yu wanted to say she could do it, but seeing that he had already gone out for water, she let him be.

The south courtyard was the only one with a bathing room, the other families could only wipe down in their houses, and big men didn’t mind the details, washing directly in the yard.

But for women, it was inconvenient. In the heat of summer, they either had to pay to go to a bathhouse or just wipe down at home.

Just this point alone made many people envious of the south courtyard.

After Jiang Yu finished bathing, she used a towel to dry her hair.

Now that the weather had turned cooler, she felt a bit chilly after her shower.

Come winter, she imagined it would be quite freezing.

“I’m done, is there still hot water? You should wash quickly.”

He Tingyue naturally took her towel and deftly dried her hair a couple of times.

“Yes, I filled the thermos too, you can use the hot water to wash your face when you wake up tomorrow.”

Jiang Yu enjoyed his service, feeling relaxed enough to squint her eyes in comfort.

“It’s not too cold now, washing with cold water is fine.”

He Tingyue dried her hair until it was half-dry before putting down the towel. “We have the conditions for this, even in the heat of summer, it’s fine to wash your face with hot water.”

They were currently using coal balls for heating, and He Tingyue had connections, allowing them to stockpile quite a bit every year.

In the corner of the south courtyard, they had built a small enclosure with bricks specifically for storing the coal balls, with a wooden board underneath and covered with oilcloth to prevent moisture.

In the countryside, they still burned firewood. Jiang Yu had never used coal balls before.

Today, after watching He Tingyue burn coal, she learned that to ignite the coal balls, they still needed firewood to start it.

“You should wash quickly.”

“Okay.”

When He Tingyue took his clothes and went out, Jiang Yu suddenly felt as if awakening from a dream, realizing that today was their wedding night.

Wang Yunshan had said a few words to her before, claiming that it would be quite nice.

Jiang Yu suddenly felt nervous, this was her first time sharing a bed with a man.

Before long, He Tingyue returned to the room after washing.

“So fast?”

“It’s a habit from the army, you have to wash quickly.”

Moreover, tonight was their wedding night after waiting so long, he had to act quickly.

As he approached, Jiang Yu’s face flushed deeply.

“Did I turn off the light?” he whispered.

Jiang Yu replied softly, lifting the covers to get into bed.

Once the light was out, the room plunged into darkness, making Jiang Yu even more anxious.

He Tingyue got into bed and wrapped his arms around her, making her feel the reality of being his wife.

“We’re married now.”

Jiang Yu looked up at him. “We’re married.”

Suddenly, He Tingyue flipped over, hovering above her.

His breath enveloped Jiang Yu, and she felt her heart racing like a drum.

“Do you know what we’re supposed to do on our wedding night?”

Jiang Yu shyly murmured, “Auntie told me.”

In the next moment, she felt the man lean down, his warm lips brushing against her forehead.

Jiang Yu was taken aback, her heartbeat skipping a beat.

But Auntie didn’t say this.

His kiss was gentle, moving from her forehead to her nose, and finally landing on her lips.

“Um…”

She didn’t know how long He Tingyue had held back before finally kissing her coveted red lips.

He savored it like a delicacy, taking his time, enjoying the appetizer before moving on to the main course.

In her daze, Jiang Yu heard him tearing something.

She opened her eyes and asked, “What’s that?”

He Tingyue replied, “A condom.”

Jiang Yu had never seen such a thing, but the name was self-explanatory, and she understood its purpose.

“What do we need a condom for? Aren’t we having kids?”

He Tingyue kissed her lips again.

“We will, but in a couple of years.”

He had asked the obstetrician, it wasn’t good for a woman to have children too early. If they weren’t in a hurry, waiting until she was around twenty-three or twenty-four was perfectly fine.

He Tingyue had gotten some condoms, intending to delay things for as long as possible.

Jiang Yu had lost her ability to think, and when the sharp pain came, she couldn’t help but silently curse Wang Yunshan.

What did she mean by just a little pain? It was clearly very painful!

Fortunately, after a while, as they became more in tune with each other, she finally began to feel comfortable and pleasant.

But doing this was incredibly exhausting, just like working in the fields during busy season, her legs felt sore.

“Are you almost done?” Jiang Yu whispered.

The man held her and whispered back, “Almost there, just a little longer.”

Jiang Yu didn’t believe him anymore, this was the umpteenth time he had said that.

She drifted in and out of sleep, waking up and dozing off again.

When she finally woke up, it was already late morning.

Jiang Yu felt that her description was still too conservative, this was more tiring than working in the fields, her whole body ached.

Yesterday was Sunday when they got married, and school was off.

Today, He Feiyan and the two kids had gone to school, while He Tingyue had to go to work, leaving Jiang Yu alone at home.

The fried sauce noodles they had made yesterday were gone, and the dishes were all washed.

But He Tingyue had left her a note, saying he had warmed some porridge on the stove and steamed some white buns, and that they would eat at home for lunch before going to the civil affairs bureau to get their marriage certificate.

Jiang Yu went into the kitchen and saw the plump white buns.

These buns were substantial with the porridge, she couldn’t finish a whole one, so she tore off half and sat in the living room, nibbling slowly.

She had barely eaten half when she heard Xu Lihua’s voice.

“Truly, some people have different fates! Jiang Ting, aren’t you twins? Look at you, washing all the family’s clothes so early in the morning, while your sister hasn’t even gotten up yet. Tsk tsk, what time is it, and she’s still asleep? This little He must have married a lazy wife.”

Jiang Ting forced a smile, almost tearing the clothes she was holding.

Jiang Yu pretended not to hear, finishing her food, cleaning up the dishes, and taking her newly made cotton clothes to find Yao Xiangling.

As soon as she stepped outside, she saw the clothes drying in the yard and felt a bit unnatural.

The He family advocated for washing their own clothes, including He Zhengdong and He Lilan, and no one was allowed to help.

But when He Tingyue washed his own clothes, he also washed hers.

Not only her wedding dress from yesterday but also the set she changed out of at night.

He had even washed the bed sheets.

Fortunately, they were drying in their own courtyard otherwise, she didn’t know how long she would be laughed at.

“Jiang Yu, did you just get up? You’re being too lazy, what wife sleeps until this time?” Xu Lihua played the role of the mother-in-law.

Jiang Ting was delighted to watch the show, adding fuel to the fire: “My older sister was like this when she was in the countryside, she never did any work. I did all the work.”

Xu Lihua exclaimed, “Then Little He must have really misjudged! He married a lazy wife home.”

Jiang Yu smiled lightly, “It’s proven that as long as you’re capable, there’s always work waiting for you. My family isn’t the Fu family, there’s not that much work waiting for me. He Tingyue helps me wash my clothes, what can I do?”