CH 12

“thud thud thud.”

“Your behavior today is very bad, do you know that? Let me tell you, Mr. Liu is a guest. When guests come to our house, we have to entertain them well. We will rely on Mr. Liu to make money in the future. Do you want to eat meat every day? Do you want to eat delicious food?”

After dinner, Cheng Yun softly lectured Yang Hongjin while helping him wipe his body.

“I want to eat meat and delicious food, but I don’t like Mr. Liu.” Yang Hongjin honestly replied.

Cheng Yun was not happy and poked him on the head with her index finger. “If you want to eat delicious food, you can’t offend Mr. Liu. Otherwise, who else can we rely on to make money? Without money, where will we get the meat to eat?”

Yang Hongjin straightened his chest and said, “I can farm and make money.”

Cheng Yun chuckled and didn’t undermine his morale, saying, “Yes, but do you want to live in a big house? Do you want to have a lot of money so that you can eat delicious food in town and see what the world is like under the feet of the emperor in the capital?”

Yang Hongjin looked confused and tilted his head to think for a moment. “Wife, would you like to?”

Cheng Yun was stunned and couldn’t answer.

Did he want to live in a big house? He didn’t seem to have a strong desire for it. If he were still in the modern world, his goal might be like most people’s, to work hard for a house for his entire life. But the house they lived in now, although not large, was considered a luxury villa in the future. With a little tidying up and some effort, it could be quite comfortable to live in, and there was no need to buy a bigger house.

However, talking about this made him think of another issue.

He took out a towel and put it in the basin, then sat next to Yang Hongjin after helping him put on his clothes, and said, “I want to ask you something. Yesterday, I heard from Aunt Wang that you know how to do carpentry. Can you tell me more about it?”

Yang Hongjin happily took Cheng Yun’s hand and played with it. He then tilted his head and said, “Carpentry?”

The word was a bit too advanced for him, so Cheng Yun thought for a moment and used a different term, “You know how to fix tables and chairs,” she raised her hand and gestured, simulating the sound of knocking with tools, “like this, thud thud thud.”

“Thud thud thud.” Yang Hongjin repeated after her, then grinned and said, “Thud thud thud.”

Cheng Yun was speechless. She didn’t realize how childish her actions were until they were imitated.

He glared at Yang Hongjin angrily. “Do you know how to do it or not?!”

Yang Hongjin still had a smile on his face, and seemed to know that Cheng Yun wasn’t really angry, but he nodded obediently, “I know how to fix tables and chairs, thud thud thud.”

Cheng Yun blushed and pretended not to hear the last sentence. “Just fixing them? Can you make a chair out of a piece of wood?”

At the words, Yang Hongjin started to wave his hands and feet, “To make a chair, you need a piece of wood this big, and for a table, you need one this big. If Brother finds them, I can make them, thud thud thud.

He smiled with pursed lips as he spoke of the sound “thud thud thud,” then continued, “You can’t use it immediately after making it. My brother said to polish it first, or it will poke into the flesh and hurt, and mother won’t let me eat.”

Cheng Yun was curious and wondered to himself, “Why did they ask you to make this in the first place?” He suspected that maybe his stepmother deliberately made him do these difficult things and withheld food from him, which was too wicked.

However, the reason was unexpected. Yang Hongjin said, “My brother asked me to do it.”

“Hmm?” Cheng Yun asked him to explain in detail.

So Yang Hongjin thought for a moment and said, “My brother said that if we want to be useful people, we must have food to eat at home. They all said that I am serious and I that do things very seriously! My brother asked me to learn to do it. If I did it wrong, mother wouldn’t give me food to eat. I can’t make mistakes, I have to be serious.”

Yang Hongjin rambled on for a while, but Cheng Yun organized his thoughts a bit and, combined with his situation, understood what he meant.

Yang Hongjin’s brain didn’t work well, and he had been bullied since he was a child. Li Fengjiao probably scolded him a lot at home and took the opportunity to bully him, withholding his food and not allowing him to eat. His second brother wanted to protect him, so he thought about teaching Yang Hongjin to do something.

This fool also knew that he was not smart and was always afraid of making mistakes and being beaten and scolded. So he instinctively learned from other people’s methods. If someone did something correctly, he would surely be correct if he followed along. Over time, his ability to imitate became stronger.

He was focused on what he did, and even when someone taught him something, he listened carefully and remembered it, although his understanding was not strong, he could still remember it after practicing a few times. Yang Hongcai was patient enough with his younger brother too. After knowing that he was good at this craft, he let him focus on it. Over time, he really developed a skill.

When Yang Hongjin talked about the past, he just described it simply, but Cheng Yun’s heart was aching. He thought of Yang Hongjin’s careful and serious life, which was more diligent than anyone else’s, but he couldn’t get what he deserved. How miserable this poor little guy was.

He touched Yang Hongjin’s head and saw his silly appearance. He wanted to comfort him, but the comforting words he had prepared were useless. Cheng Yun decided to treat him better in the future and make up for the losses he had suffered before. Someday, he would make this fool stand proudly in front of others and no longer have to live under anyone’s face.

Cheng Yun tidied up a bit, took a quick shower, and lay down. He didn’t mention that Wang Liang wanted to learn carpentry from the fool. He needed to find a chance to verify Yang Hongjin’s skill.

He was thinking about what he had talked about with Liu Wen that afternoon. He still needed to go to town tomorrow to discuss in detail the cooperation with Liu Wen. Liu Wen only hinted at something at lunch, but didn’t say anything specific. Cheng Yun didn’t know what to expect.

He also needs to think carefully about the road ahead. After working with Liu Wen, what else can he do to bind this big tree? What other ways are there to make money?

After a busy day, Cheng Yun was tired and fell into a deep sleep. The rhythmic breathing from the small houses in the village kept coming.

The next day, Cheng Yun got up early. He had tried making some noodles the previous night, and the result was quite good. After a simple wash-up, he had two bowls of noodles. When he finished cooking and serving them, Yang Hongjin had just got up.

“Wife,” Yang Hongjin said, still a little groggy from waking up. Standing there rubbing his eyes, he looked like a big kid. Cheng Yun’s heart softened and she spoke softly, “Go wash up quickly, breakfast is ready.”

When Yang Hongjin came back after washing up, Cheng Yun let him drink a large bowl of water first. Then the two sat facing each other and quickly finished breakfast. Yang Hongjin was generous with his praise, saying it was “delicious.”

“I’m going to town this morning. You be good at home. I’ll come back as soon as possible and make lunch for you. If I can’t make it back in time, just go to Aunt Wang’s house for a meal. I’ll talk to her later,” Cheng Yun said.

Cheng Yun wanted to settle this matter as soon as possible. He wouldn’t be able to focus all day if he didn’t get it done. He wouldn’t have time to prepare lunch either, so he had to hurry back.

However, when Yang Hongjin heard this, he refused to go. He put down his chopsticks, walked up to Cheng Yun, and hugged him. His grip was so tight that Cheng Yun almost couldn’t breathe.

“I’m not going. Wife, I’m not going,” Yang Hongjin’s face wrinkled.

Cheng Yun patted his hand, letting him loosen his grip a little. But this guy was stubborn, and Cheng Yun didn’t know what to do. He could only say in this position, “I’ll be back soon, just like last time. You can do your work for half a day, and I’ll be home when you come back.”

Afraid that he wouldn’t agree, Cheng Yun added, “If you don’t want to stay at home today, you can go help your brother. I’ll come back at noon to pick you up, and we’ll go home together, okay?”

In the past, if Cheng Yun could come to the field to see him, Yang Hongjin would be happy for half a day, sitting under the tree doing nothing. But this time, he wasn’t happier, and his hands became even tighter. He kept repeating, “Wife, I’m not going.”

Cheng Yun didn’t know if Yang Hongjin had become more dependent on him recently, or if he was scared by the stranger he saw at home yesterday. After thinking about it for a while, Cheng Yun made up his mind and decided to take Yang Hongjin with him to town.

Author’s note:

Yang Hongjin: Thud, thud, thud

Cheng Yun: …Enough, please be quiet.

Thank you for the angel who voted for me or irrigated me with nutrient solution~

Thank you to the little angel who watered with [nutrient solution]:

I am very grateful for everyone’s support. I will continue to work hard!