The cleverest housewife couldn't cook a meal without rice
Your uncle! Shen Yanbei did the calculations. Except for the unresolved accounts of Lin's Family, in the past three years, others owed him more than 15 taels of rent! 15 taels!
For a moment, Shen Yanbei almost thought that he had returned to his childhood. At that time, his family's life was very tight. He had no allowance at all, even though occasionally his mother would give him fifty cents during the holidays. He saved up all his money, but the total didn't even reach ten dollars. One day, the scumbag took away his money in the name of borrowing and didn't pay it back! At that time, Shen Yanbei really had an intention deep in his heart to kill the scumbag!
The most damning thing was to borrow money and didn't pay it back!
Those people bullied Shen Yan as stupid. Seeing that Shen Yan didn't come to their door, they didn't take the initiative to pay the rent. Now, Shen Yanbei must take the money back!
This house was a blue brick house that was built right after Shen Yan being as a xiùcái*. The foundation was well assembled and the walls were thick. The villagers were envious of this new house because this house was for Shen Yan to marry his wife. It also had another two rooms to make it easier for Shen Yan's children to live in. But no matter how spacious and nice the house was, he still couldn't get away from the leaking roof problem.
*One who passed the imperial examination at the county level in the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Shen Yanbei observed the house and decided to repair the house first. After that, he bought some furniture and daily necessities after getting the rent bill. This house would be his from now on. Since you had married your wife, you had to take care of it and make it look like a home.
"Hus...Husband*... time for dinner." The man outside opened his mouth several times. Finally, he called out softly with blushing.
*fūjūn.
"Okay, I'm coming!" Shen Yanbei responded. He washed his hands before walking to the dining table.
On the table, there was a bowl of sweet potato porridge, a dish of dry greens, and a dish of pickled radishes.
Shen Yanbei never had such a bland meal since his family became rich. He froze while holding his chopsticks for a moment. He didn't know whether it was caused by hunger when he was a child, but he got hungry easily. Moreover, If there wasn't meat, he always felt never full. Now they were too poor to make the hotpot, where did the meat come from? Shen Yanbei reluctantly picked up the bowl. He prepared to eat porridge, but the man didn't sit down.
"Why don't you sit down?" Shen Yanbei asked strangely. As soon as he finished speaking, he remembered the good things the original owner did. He suddenly became embarrassed. The original owner didn't allow the man to eat at the table. Only a pair of tableware was always placed on the table!
"Ekhem... It's boring to eat alone. Since we are husbands, we should have dinner together. Now, get the bowl." Shen Yanbei said while rubbing his nose.
Hearing this, the man raised his head in astonishment and met Shen Yanbei's serious eyes. His eyes flashed as he said, "I...I have eaten..."
Had eaten? How was this possible? Shen Yanbei frowned and looked straight at the man without speaking.
The room was silent for a while and the atmosphere became a bit stiff.
The man stood there uneasy with his back straightened and his hands and feet stiff.
He made the Patriarch angry. What should he do?
"You come here or I'll go," Shen Yanbei said in a deep voice.
The man was startled but saw Shen Yanbei pointing to his own lips.
You will be punished if you did something wrong.
The man blushed in shame. He finally walked straight to Shen Yanbei then bowed a bit...
It seemed that he knew that he had done something wrong, the man's actions were cautiously flattering. He learned how to suck the lips as Shen Yanbei did now, but the man wasn't able to go further. Shen Yanbei's expression was a little slow. He turned from passive to active, held the man's face to deepen the kiss. Shen Yanbei's kiss was very gentle. It made the man's face and ears red and his heart thumped like a drum.
After a moment, Shen Yanbei let the man go and said, "Don't lie, I don't like it."
"I...I won't be like this anymore!" The man hurriedly promised. His quiet black eyes were full of anxiety.
Shen Yanbei touched the man's face and sighed, "I'm not angry that you lied. I am angry if you would rather carry it alone than tell me. We are husbands. You will make me sad if you do this..."
Shen Yanbei paused, then continued with serious eyes, "Because I haven't fulfilled my duties as a husband and failed to take care of my husband, I already made him worry without knowing it..."
The man had to bear this matter by himself. Really made him scared.
The man's heart trembled, his eyes became astringent, and his throat became blocked.
"If there is a problem in the family, from now on, we should work out a solution together. If we husband and husband are of the same mind, their sharpness can cut through metal."
Shen Yanbei's words made the man feel ashamed. He nodded dully.
Seeing the man's face full of self-blame, Shen Yanbei quickly comforted. "Actually, it is also my fault. I have been fainted these few days and forgot that a clever woman can't cook without rice*. These two days are really hard for you."
*巧妇难为无米之炊; even a clever woman [housewife] cannot cook a meal without rice; if you have no hand you can't make a fist; one can't make bricks without straw; no housewife can cook a meal without food and vegetables; the cleverest housewife can't cook a meal without rice; you cannot make an omelet without breaking eggs; you cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear--> you can't make something out of nothing.
"My husband didn't do anything wrong. It's just that I ain't quite good..." The man whispered.
"Everyone is wrong in this matter. It's no big deal to correct it!" Shen Yanbei took the man's hand and said warmly, "You and your husband are one, okay?"
"Okay," The man responded heavily with red eyes.
"Then come to eat. I can't bear you being hungry." Shen Yanbei got up and sat the man down. Then he turned to the kitchen to get a bowl.
He ran to the kitchen and found that there was no more rice in the house. Actually, the porridge wasn't enough for two people. Fortunately, there were some sweet potatoes in the corner. While the stove was still on, Shen Yanbei threw a few sweet potatoes in to simmer. He put the remaining porridge into the bowl and half-filled it with dried vegetables and carrots. At the same time, he took out the simmered sweet potatoes, blew the ashes clean, and peeled the skins. It turned out to be an attractive orange sweet potato.
"Good smell!" Shen Yanbei hadn't eaten simmered sweet potatoes for many years. The sweet potatoes had been boiled for winter and were full of sweetness. When you bit it, it was sweet and delicious, like oozing sugar water!
Tasty! It tasted the same as when he was a kid! Shen Yanbei narrowed his eyes in nostalgia. The young man squatted casually in front of the stove, held a sweet potato, and ate with relish. He didn't look like a gentle scholar at all. But the man felt that Shen Yanbei was much cuter than he was before who talked insultingly and had no gentleness.
"Why don't you eat? Is it still hot? Then eat this one!" Shen Yanbei looked at the man in a daze, passing the sweet potato peeled in his hand.
"..." The sweet potato was just bitten by Shen Yanbei, showing the bright yellow flesh inside.
"Hurry up, it's delicious!" Shen Yanbei directly moved the sweet potato to the man's mouth.
The man blushed. He bit it, only to feel the sweetness of sweet potato creeping into his heart.
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