CH 22

“Returning home”

For the ‘family’ of the Cheng family, Cheng Yun’s understanding of them is not as good as that of the Yang family.

All of this can be attributed to Cheng’s mother’s education policy. Before getting married, Cheng’s mother always taught them that they should follow their husbands after marriage and not come back home for no reason. It’s not that their families don’t want them, but if they keep coming back home every day, who knows what others will think of them.

Cheng Yun couldn’t understand this in the past, but he has been living here for a month now, and he gradually understands these things.

The people here have narrow vision. They only care about their own small piece of land, and even small events in other families can become big news. They also like to gossip and cannot stand seeing others doing well. They hope that others will live worse than themselves, and they even spread rumors.

Cheng Yun and his husband themselves are controversial figures, and if Cheng Yun were to go back to his natal home frequently, even if it was just to see his family, he didn’t know what people would say about him.

Cheng Yun himself is not someone who cares about what others say, but his biggest problem is that he is very protective of his own people. He will protect them no matter what. Since Cheng’s mother does not want him to go back to his natal home and is afraid of gossip, he will try to avoid unnecessary comments.

This is why he has been here for so long and has only talked to Cheng Bao, his brother, a few times at the beginning. He dare not even say hello to Cheng Chuan, his father, when he sees him in the field, let alone go back to his natal home.

But this time, Cheng Yun really wanted to drink some sour plum soup. He thought it would not be a problem to go back home once after such a long time, and since he could now bring Yang Hongcai to become wealthy together, his family should also be helped by him.

He thought about this problem all the way and soon arrived at the Cheng family’s home.

At this time, Cheng Chuan and Cheng Bao had not returned from the field yet. When Cheng Yun arrived home, Cheng’s mother was momentarily surprised, but immediately frowned and asked, “Why did you suddenly come back?”

Cheng Yun knew that his mother was saying this for his own good. In the original owner’s memory, Cheng’s mother’s natal home was in the neighboring village, not too close but not too far either. She only returned home once a year during the New Year or for a big event at home. So, in traditional Cheng’s mother’s eyes, Cheng Yun’s sudden return home was quite irregular.

Cheng Yun helped his mother into the house. This mother, whose health was not very good, had not seen any sunlight in years. She was pale and smelled of medicinal herbs.

“Recently, the weather is hot. I wanted to make some sour plum soup. We have all the other ingredients at home, but we were short of dark plums. I thought we should have some at home, so I came back to take a look.” Cheng Yun helped Cheng’s mother sit down in the hall. The house was pitch black. Cheng Chuan was afraid that his mother would catch a cold, so he kept the windows closed all year round. Cheng’s mother was also frugal and didn’t light candles at night if she could avoid it, let alone in the morning.

Having gotten used to the brightly lit environment at home, Cheng Yun opened all the windows in the room. The sunlight poured in from outside, dispelling the gloominess in the house.

Cheng’s mother was not used to such a bright environment, but she did not stop him either. She said, “Just tell Bao’er to bring it to you. You’ve only been married for a short time, and now you’re running back home. What will others think?”

“There’s no need to worry about that,” Cheng Yun said quickly when he saw his mother was going to say more. “I couldn’t resist my cravings and had to come back home. We haven’t done anything wrong, so why care about what others say?”

“It’s precisely because we haven’t done anything wrong that we should be more careful not to give others any reason to talk about us,” Cheng’s mother said, beginning to feel sad again. She reached out and touched the red mark under Cheng Yun’s ear. “It’s all my fault for being weak, otherwise…”

“It’s okay, mother. I’m fine now,” Cheng Yun sighed inwardly and patiently comforted her. “Hongjin is also good. He listens to me and treats me well. If I had married someone else, I might not be as happy as I am now.”

“You… ah, how can you say that?” Seeing that Cheng Yun didn’t care, Cheng’s mother didn’t want to say anything unpleasant. She changed the subject. “You said something about using dried plums to make soup earlier? What kind of soup?”

“Sour plum soup,” Cheng Yun answered. He had thought of it on the way back. “It’s not difficult to make, but nobody has tried it before. Once I succeed, I’ll teach Bao’er how to make it. I’m currently working with Mr. Liu from Yueqiong Tower. I’m hoping Bao’er can provide sour plum soup for Yueqiong Tower and make some money.”

Cheng’s mother looked surprised when she heard this. “You’re working with Yueqiong Tower?”

Cheng’s mother usually stayed at home and rarely went outside. She hadn’t heard what other people in the village were saying about Cheng Yun and his wife, so she didn’t know that they often went to town.

Cheng Yun nodded and explained their cooperation briefly. Cheng’s mother was shocked and couldn’t believe it. “You mean they paid you fifty taels of silver just for some recipes?”

As a modern person, Cheng Yun had seen a lot of money, and he had even participated in Ma Baba’s hundred-billion-yuan activity. Although a hundred taels of silver was a huge sum of money at this time, he didn’t think much of it. He was just afraid that telling his mother the true amount would scare her, and that she would worry about something unnecessary. So he halved the real amount.

However, he didn’t expect his mother to be so shocked. Cheng Yun explained their cooperation to her, but Cheng’s mother still found it hard to believe. “What if Mr. Liu is trying to trick you? You need to be careful. How can such a good thing be so easily done?”

“Look at you,” Cheng Yun smiled and shook his head, “Mr. Liu earns a fortune every day and plans to open a branch in the capital. Fifty taels of silver is nothing to him.”

Not only did he not care about the money, but Liu Wen also wanted to keep him bound to his service. However, Cheng Yun didn’t say these words out loud.

He continued, “I just thought of this sour plum soup. If it turns out well and you guys like it, I’ll tell Mr. Liu about it. Then, my dad and Bao’er won’t have to work so hard on the farm anymore. We can just go to Yueqiong Tower and make money there.”

Cheng’s mother thought he was talking nonsense and was worried about her family’s reputation. “Is it really a good idea? Mr. Liu has already paid you so much money, and now you want us to sell things in his shop? What will he think? Will he think we’re too greedy?”

Cheng Yun thought to himself that Mr. Liu would want more ideas from him to make money. “I’ll talk to him about it later. Even if he doesn’t agree, we can always set up a stall in town.”

Cheng’s mother still felt uneasy, but she didn’t understand these things. Her son had grown up and had his own ideas. He had also made so much money, which made her feel proud. Whatever Cheng Yun said, she would support him.

Cheng Yun took a pound of dark plums from his mother and said he would try to make the sour plum soup. When he succeeded, he would come back to share it with them.

Cheng’s mother thought it was a bad idea and asked, “How long does it take to make this sour plum soup?”

“It’s not too long,” Cheng Yun corrected her, “I can make it in the afternoon and put it in the cellar to cool. We can drink it tonight, and it can stay fresh for three to five days.”

“Then I’ll have Bao’er go to your house tomorrow to find you,” Cheng’s mother said, then couldn’t help but remind him, “You shouldn’t always want to go back home. You’ve been married for over a month now, but you still act like a child…”

Cheng’s mother lectured him on how to be a good wife. For some reason, even though it was such a boring topic, it made Cheng Yun feel a rare warmth from his family.