Ye Lan buried his head in Xu Qiâs arms, rubbing gently. The familiar scent surrounded him, dividing his mind into two realms: one where he was being punished for his mistakes and pleading desperately, and the other where he was being gently embraced by a woman with a blurred face and a pleasant fragrance.
She took me to see the doctor, treated me gently, touched me. She was very good to me, even in that matter, she was gentle, bringing a completely different sense of comfort than usual.
âWife.â
Ye Lan murmured in Xu Qiâs arms.
Xu Qi only used two fingers to pinch the wooden basin and clothes, feeling very uncomfortable, naturally not in the mood to respond to Ye Lan.
Unexpectedly, the person in her arms seemed dissatisfied, lifted his head from Xu Qiâs arms, and almost sat on her two arms.
âUh.â
Damn it, itâs a bit heavy.
But seeing Ye Lanâs unstable emotions, Xu Qi still spoke to him in a very gentle voice.
âWhatâs wrong, Ah Lan?â
âWife?â
Ye Lan called out again.
This time Xu Qi responded to him, âIâm here.â
Ye Lan saw tears suddenly flowing from her eyes, as if disregarding everything, and rushed over to hug Xu Qi.
Xu Qi was knocked over, but she didnât get angry. Instead, she stopped her steps, threw down everything in her hands, and focused on hugging the little baby in her arms.
With the posture of holding a child, one hand supported Ye Lanâs buttocks, and the other hand patted his back gently.
Ye Lan seemed extremely sad, but extremely restrained, lying silently in the warm embrace without making any sound.
After a long time, Xu Qiâs clothes were wet.
Wet inside, sticking to the skin, the touch was obvious.
âAh Lanâ¦â
Xu Qi called him softly.
Ye Lan rubbed against her clothes again, making her suspect that he wanted to wipe all his tears on her clothes.
âHave you cried enough?â
Xu Qi asked him again, and Ye Lan hesitated before crawling out of Xu Qiâs arms, âUm, I, I didnât cry.â
But those reddened eyes and nose didnât seem convincing at all.
âHey, Missy, what are you guys doing? Arenât you afraid of being seen in broad daylight like this?â
A man passing by recognized Xu Qi and also recognized Ye Lan in her arms, and laughed.
Only then did Ye Lan realize that he had sat on his wife in such a shameful posture and hurriedly pushed Xu Qi to let her put him down.
But Xu Qi enjoyed teasing him. The more he wanted to get down, the more she didnât let go.
âHuh, isnât it my husband whoâs being clingy? Heâs upset as soon as he comes back from outside and insists on me holding him.â
Ye Lan was shocked. He never expected Xu Qi to say such words.
His face turned red with embarrassment, and he secretly pinched Xu Qiâs slender white fingers hard behind her back.
Xu Qiâs arm shook, and she loosened her grip, causing Ye Lan to panic and use his hands to grab Xu Qiâs neck.
Xu Qi indulgently said to him, âLook at you, so careless, what if you fell just now? Loosen up a bit, your wife can hardly breathe.â
Ye Lan was already ashamed to see people, so he quickly buried his face in Xu Qiâs arms, pretending not to see anyone.
Xu Qi didnât want to attract too much attention, so she didnât provoke anyone too much. Otherwise, she might not be able to get on the bed tonight. Seeing Ye Lan looking more lively, she bid farewell to the middle-aged man who was teasing them, one hand holding Ye Lan, and the other picking up the things on the ground, and went home.
âWow, it smells so good.â
As soon as she opened the gate, Xu Qi smelled the meaty fragrance wafting throughout the courtyard, with a hint of sweetness.
âDid my husband specially make something delicious for his wife?â
Xu Qi approached Ye Lan and asked, Ye Lan turned his face away, âItâs not for you to eat, I made it to feed the pigs!â
âHehe, hahaha.â
Xu Qi couldnât help but laugh, and hooked Ye Lanâs slender waist with her hand, âAh Lan, pigs donât eat their own kind.â
Ye Lan suddenly realized that he had said something stupid again, and didnât want to talk to anyone anymore, nor did he want to get down. He just hummed and hugged Xu Qi.
In this way, he looked a bit like a young man, and Xu Qi shook her head with a smile.
Xu Qi opened the pot and saw two big elbows inside, emitting a charming fragrance. She patted Ye Lan from behind, âAre you coming down to eat by yourself or waiting for me to feed you?â
Of course, Ye Lan wanted to come down and eat by himself.
With a blush on his face, he crawled down from Xu Qi, went to the cabinet to get two sets of chopsticks, served the elbows from the pot and arranged them neatly. Everything was ready, waiting for Xu Qi to eat, but Xu Qi was sitting by the stove burning the fire.
Ye Lan called out to her in confusion, âWife?â
âYou can light a fire? Itâs burning quite well.â
Considering how long it took her to learn when she first came, she thought.
âI used to light fires too.â Ye Lan also took out a dish of wild vegetables he had previously cooked. Now both dishes were ready.
âWho was that person we met today?â
Seeing Ye Lan in a better mood, Xu Qi asked him.
The person who was busy stopped again, burying his head even deeper, his long and curly eyelashes trembling.
Seeing that he didnât speak, Xu Qi leaned over boldly, hugged Ye Lanâs waist, and hung on him, swaying back and forth.
âHurry up and tell me, so Iâll know how to reject him next time. Look at him today, dressed like that and asking me to take him in.â
Xu Qi was still a little dissatisfied. How could she be remembered by such a person? Did he think she would pity him just because of his pitiful background?
Ye Lan obviously also recalled the scene today. He lightly covered Xu Qiâs hand on his back, feeling extremely uncomfortable when he saw that scene.
He thought of the safe harbor he had finally encountered, the wife he had exchanged for half his life of suffering, being snatched away by someone.
How many means does Lin Yu have? How could he not know? Itâs said that when Pengcheng was captured, he followed the adults and didnât have a good life, so he set his sights on Xu Qi.
âAh Lan?â
Xu Qi noticed Ye Lanâs distraction and shook his arm gently.
Ye Lan snapped out of it and looked at her, then buried his head back into Xu Qiâs arms, rubbing gently, before lifting his head again to observe Xu Qiâs expression.
When he saw her expression was gentle, he slowly opened his mouth, âHe used to be a slave of the former mistress and had a grudge against me. So he targeted me everywhere, and even fabricated an unchaste accusation against me, selling me off.â
Although he spoke calmly and simply, his body was trembling slightly.
Xu Qi knew that things were definitely not as simple as he said.
That man seemed to be quite eloquent and cunning. Since Ye Lan couldnât speak, he must have suffered a lot in his hands!
Her poor Ah Lan.
Xu Qi hugged Ye Lan tightly and comforted him softly, âItâs all in the past. Now that Iâm here, I wonât let anyone bully you again.â
Ye Lan nodded in Xu Qiâs arms, and unconsciously climbed up even higher, wrapping his arms around Xu Qiâs neck.
He had to explain clearly so that his wife wouldnât think he was promiscuous and had done something unchaste.
His appearance clearly showed his reluctance, so Xu Qi pressed him down and gave him a fierce bite before they both sat down.
Ye Lanâs lips were slightly swollen as he sat there stealing glances at Xu Qi.
This time had passed, and the elbows were almost cold, but fortunately, the delicious taste was still there.
Xu Qi tore off a piece of hot skin from the elbow and put it in her own bowl, then scooped out the soft meat inside and fed it to Ye Lan.
Ye Lan nibbled delicately, looking obedient and enticing.
Xu Qi thought, most likely the person Ye Lan mentioned was blind.
Such a good Ah Lan couldnât be seen, and he only liked those with twisted minds.
After finishing the meal, Xu Qi went out with a large basket.
Ye Lan remembered meeting Lin Yu today and refused to let her go alone. After drinking the medicine, he insisted on accompanying her.
Helpless, Xu Qi had to take out several thick clothes and put them all on Ye Lan.
She changed her own clothes as well, otherwise, with the clothes from noon wet by Ah Lanâs tears, going out in the cold wind would be risky.
Although Ye Lan had been out a few times, he was not very familiar with the outside world. Now he could only follow Xu Qiâs lead and followed her to a slightly distant place behind the mountain where the grass was still green.
âWhat kind of grass is this?â
Ye Lan asked timely.
âThis? Pig grass, for feeding pigs.â
Ye Lan nodded as if he understood, and obediently went forward to help cut the pig grass.
With Ye Lanâs help, this task was completed very quickly. The sun had just set a little when they could go back.
After returning, Ye Lan became even more diligent and insisted on helping Xu Qi feed the pigs. Xu Qi couldnât refuse him, so she taught him how to mix the pig grass and took it to feed the pigs.
There were ten little pigs in the back. Ye Lanâs eyes widened, âWhy are there so many?â
âThey gave birth. There werenât many originally, but there was a litter born recently. Look at that one, itâs going to give birth again.â
Xu Qi pointed it out to Ye Lan.
Ye Lanâs eyes widened, feeling like he had never seen such a thing before.
The big pigâs belly was round and plump, and upon closer inspection, it was indeed a bit larger than the other pigs.
âWith so many pigs, can my wife sell them all?â
Ye Lan asked a question that Xu Qi was also considering. She was alone, and if she wanted to sell so many pigs, she might not be able to handle it all.
Ye Lan quietly looked at Xu Qi, letting her think it over without disturbing her.
It wasnât until they were about to return that Xu Qi saw the wild mushrooms sent by Uncle Man and suddenly had an idea. Maybe she could ask Uncle Manâs family for help?@@novelbin@@
Wait until the pigs give birth a bit more, then sheâll hire a few more people to help, weigh all the pig meat, entrust them to help sell, and earn forty wen a day.
This was already more profitable than most of the odd jobs done by people in the village.
Then, when she had saved up enough money, she would open a restaurant in town, hire an accountant, be self-sufficient every day, and use her own pig meat for her own business.
Xu Qiâs thoughts were very beautiful, and she hugged the little husband and went back.
Ye Lan didnât know what his wife was thinking, but seeing her happy, he was also happy, obediently following Xu Qi and being tightly hugged by her.
Since the incident at noon, Ye Lan seemed to be unwilling to let Xu Qi go out alone, so Xu Qi gained a cute little follower who followed her everywhere. Even when she was chopping wood, he insisted on bringing a small stool to sit beside her and watch.
Xu Qi felt a bit embarrassed but also felt happy.
Who could resist such a husband who was so gentle and willing to come over to wipe your sweat?
Certainly not her.
So the next day, Ye Lan, who had tasted the sweetness, insisted on going to town with her.
Afraid that he might catch a cold again, Xu Qi couldnât agree no matter what, and the two of them ended up in a deadlock.
Ye Lan silently made breakfast, and Xu Qi handed over the medicine she had fried herself, but he didnât even glance at it and just did his own thing.
Xu Qi smiled. He really had a temper. Why not stay and accompany him today?