Chapter 41 1/2

With the major event of their wedding concluded and no need to visit the city to inspect shops or slaughterhouses, Huo Shu suddenly found himself with nothing urgent to attend to. However, having spent ten years in the army camp, he had grown accustomed to staying busy.

Even without fixed tasks, he found agricultural work to occupy his time, filling his days.

The chores that the Ji family usually handled were all taken care of by him. From chopping wood on the mountain to harvesting grass in the frost, he was tireless and unafraid of the cold, making the hired labourers seem inadequate in comparison.

The Ji family became increasingly satisfied with their son-in-law.

Taking advantage of two sunny days, they went to help repair the roof of Yuan Huiru’s house.

The Zhao family’s house was not as sturdy as the Ji family’s, and the thatched roof couldn’t withstand the rain after several days of downpour, leading to leaks.

During the cold winter months, although it rarely snowed in this area, constant rain made the house damp and cold, with even fewer people gathering inside.

If they didn’t repair the roof while the weather was good, they would have to endure the cold until after the new year.

“It’s done. With the roof properly patched up like this, we shouldn’t have to worry about leaks for a while.”

Yuan Huiru smiled as she looked at the newly laid straw matting on the roof. “This roof hasn’t been repaired in a couple of years.”

Since Huo Shu and Taoyu got married, Huang Manjing and Yuan Huiru have been visiting each other more often. The villagers were somewhat superficial, and upon seeing Yuan Huiru’s relationship with the Ji family, they suddenly became warmer and more attentive to the widow.

Yuan Huiru’s social life had become livelier than before.

Huo Shu often came to help with various tasks, and life was just as good as before.

Upon hearing a noise, Taoyu hurried over from the side and saw Huo Shu coming down from the ladder. “How’s it going?”

“It’s almost done. As long as there’s no strong wind, it should be fine.”

Huo Shu put away the ladder and moved it under the eaves.

There was dust and debris scattered around the eaves, both inside and outside the house. The group of them cleaned it up together.

Although it wasn’t much work, they had been busy for most of the day.

As evening approached, they finished tidying up, and Huo Shu and Taoyu headed home.

“We didn’t do much work, but my arms are sore and my legs ache.”

Huo Shu watched the little boy walking in front of him, rubbing his shoulders and muttering, but he didn’t say much. He simply picked him up onto his back.

Taoyu hung softly on Huo Shu’s back, her chin nestled against his neck. “We’re only a few steps from home. You don’t need to carry me.”

Ignoring the boy’s words, Huo Shu said, “After a few days, there will be a temple fair during the Lantern Festival. Shall we go together?”

“What for?”

Huo Shu pinched Taoyu’s slender ankle. “To pray for a child?”

Taoyu squinted her eyes and suddenly bit Huo Shu’s earlobe, her tone casual. “Praying to the gods won’t help.”

Huo Shu’s earlobe suddenly felt warm and wet, causing him to pause. “If you keep doing that, don’t blame me if you fall.”

“Am I going to fall because I bit you?”

“I won’t let you fall.”

Huo Shu was straightforward. “It’s just that when you do that, my legs go weak.”

Taoyu blushed when she heard Huo Shu’s words. She wanted to say that when she climbed onto the high and slippery roof in the morning, her legs didn’t tremble, but now that she was firmly on the ground, her legs felt weak.

She buried her head on Huo Shu’s shoulder, no longer daring to cause trouble.

After returning home, the Ji family’s house was quiet. Mr. and Mrs. Ji had been invited to a feast in the city, and although Taoyu had been asked to go along, she chose to go with Huo Shu to help repair the roof at Zhao’s house.

The two of them had to prepare dinner themselves.

Taoyu looked at what was left in the house to eat. The leftovers from the feast had been eaten over the past few days, and the soups and dishes had gone bad.

He went into the kitchen and looked through the cupboard, only to find that his mother had already dealt with all the vegetables on the table, and now there was nothing left in the house that could be easily heated and eaten.

“How about some egg noodles, then?”

Taoyu took out two fresh eggs from the rice jar and asked Huo Shu for his opinion.

“Okay.”

Huo Shu lit the fire while Taoyu kneaded the dough.

One is busy at the stove; the other is busy with chores below.

They didn’t know when Mr. and Mrs. Ji Yangzong would return, so while Huo Shu was cooking noodles, he filled the pot with water.

By the time dinner was ready, the water in the pot was hot, so when the couple returned in the cold wind, they could soak their feet in hot water.

Huo Shu poured the water, and Taoyu didn’t idle either. While waiting for the noodles to wake up, she made a rich soup of eggs and greens with pork fat.

The pork fat melted, the eggs scrambled, and water was added to boil the tender radish leaves, which cooked as soon as they hit boiling water. Adding more salt to enhance the flavour, the noodles were just right when dipped in the soup.

After the couple had dinner, the night had completely fallen, but Mr. and Mrs. Ji Yangzong had not yet returned, so they left the door and courtyard lights on for them.

The young couple returned to their room.

Winter days were short, and the nights were long. Even though it was already too dark outside, it wasn’t too late.

Since their marriage, Taoyu has been sleeping well, and she still wasn’t sleepy when night fell.

As usual, she soaked her feet and curled up in bed, reading some medical texts, waiting for Huo Shu to come to bed.

“Aren’t you coming to wash your feet yet?”

Taoyu glanced at the table and then at the book Huo Shu had bought earlier, “Washing Away Unjustified Charges,” a forensic text that she hadn’t dared to read alone before. With Huo Shu around, she dared to read it boldly.

After flipping through two pages and seeing that Huo Shu hadn’t come yet, she couldn’t help but call out, “Are you going to wash up, or should I bathe first?”

Taoyu turned her head and saw that Huo Shu was wearing only a thin undershirt and carrying a bucket of water towards the bath.

Since it was cold in the morning, there was no need to bathe every day, but after working most of the day today, he was sweaty all over, so a bath was appropriate.

Thinking of this, Taoyu agreed and soaked her feet in the basin.

As he was about to flip through a few more pages of the book, two words suddenly popped into his mind: bathing~

Thinking of Huo Shu’s tall figure, a somewhat impure smile involuntarily appeared on Taoyu’s lips.

It had been almost half a month since they got married, but he hadn’t seen what was under Huo Shu’s clothes, which felt a bit too unfamiliar.

With this in mind, Taoyu took a towel from the rack and tiptoed into the bath.

The bath was connected to his bedroom, so it wasn’t very big, and the furnishings were simple, with a tub placed against one wall and a screen dividing the room in half.

Huo Shu disliked wasting water and trouble, so he never used the tub for bathing; instead, he just showered directly after undressing.

As soon as Taoyu sneaked into the room, she saw the shadow of Huo Shu taking off his robe on the screen, and her face instantly turned red, flushing from her neck to her forehead.

Although her face was red, her eyes never left the shadow on the screen.

Huo Shu not only had broad shoulders and a tall stature, but his figure was also well-proportioned and smooth.

With one arm holding the ladle, the bulging tendons could be clearly seen when he exerted force, and the water splashed on his neck, wetting his ink-black long hair that hung halfway down. The remaining water droplets flowed smoothly down his firm abdomen.

Taoyu looked at the pillow where she usually sleeps, which was solid yet flexible and, most importantly, still warm.

Usually, with a layer of fabric separating the pillow, she couldn’t help but imagine how exhilarating it would be to lay there with just that on his chest.

She silently swallowed her saliva, her gaze following the water flow, and below the waist… were Huo Shu’s unworn pants.

Taoyu immediately pursed her lips.

She squatted down and slowly moved towards the screen. It was really unreasonable for someone to bathe while wearing pants.

Taoyu thought that since he was wearing pants, it wouldn’t be excessive to take a peek behind the screen. Both people were hers, after all.

She squatted at the corner of the screen, slightly tilted her head, and saw Huo Shu’s topless figure. His tanned skin caught her eye, and Taoyu’s face didn’t get hot, but her eyes suddenly widened, and she frozen in place.

Huo Shu heard the movement in front of the screen and glanced over, seeing someone staring blankly at the screen. His brow furrowed. “How did you get in here?”

Taoyu snapped out of it at his words and hurriedly handed over the towel in her hand. “I… I saw that you forgot to take the towel for drying yourself.”

Huo Shu frowned. “Just put it aside for now.”

“Oh, okay.”

Taoyu absentmindedly responded and quickly backed out.

Huo Shu watched the barefoot figure run away, his brow furrowing even more.

He withdrew his gaze and looked down at the hideous scars and bullet wounds on his chest and abdomen. There were more than a dozen visible to the naked eye, not to mention the ones he couldn’t see.

Huo Shu knew that his appearance would startle ordinary people, let alone a sheltered young woman.

Just closing his robe might frighten people a bit, but without it, he looked more like a demon or a king of hell, likely to give someone nightmares.

Aware of this, he had always been careful not to reveal anything, but how could he hide these things when they lived together day and night?

He almost wanted to crush the ladle in his hand.

Fifteen minutes later, when Huo Shu came back after sorting out his clothes, he saw Taoyu washing her feet again, squatting down to pour water.

He walked up, took the basin of water without saying a word, and carried it out along with the bucket.

When he returned and saw Taoyu standing foolishly by the table, Huo Shu frowned slightly. “My parents are back; let’s go to bed.”

Taoyu looked at Huo Shu, who was dressed as usual, but the scene she had just seen was still vivid in her mind.

Feeling a bit awkward, she tried to explain, “I… I just wanted to see you.”