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Chapter 176: Chapter 169: Days of "Recuperation
During the following period, Li Hongjun still needed to "recuperate," so Shen Yunfang didn’t go to work either. The two of them stayed home like a couple of homebodies or wandered around the mountainside occasionally.
Of course, that was the impression Li Hongjun and his wife gave to others.
The reality was that every morning, after they’d taken care of the household chores, they’d head to the hillside hand in hand, shoulder to shoulder, to till the land.
What would have taken Shen Yunfang ten days to half a month to finish by herself was greatly expedited with Li Hongjun’s help. In just one week, they’d tilled all the land on the hillside, even expanding it a bit.
Shen Yunfang also learned how to snare rabbits, of course from Li Hongjun. However, maybe because they were always active on the hillside, the rabbits didn’t dare come close, so ever since Shen Yunfang learned to snare, a week had passed and she’d only caught one.
This promptly threw her impractical idea of living off hunting to the wind. Sticking to farming and raising pigs was more reliable.
During this time, Li Hongjun went out several times. He brought back a bag of high-quality wheat seeds, eleven piglets, a pregnant sow, and eight little lambs.
Shen Yunfang was overjoyed. Getting an old sow wasn’t easy; this was sustainable development!
She kept the old sow at home, not daring to leave it in the mountains, and besides, it wouldn’t be possible to raise it there come winter.
The rest of the piglets and lambs were sent off to be raised on the hillside.
By mid-April, the two had finished sowing the wheat on the hillside, and both their planting and breeding operations at home were on the right track.
Li Hongjun’s leg had healed over the three months and was almost ready for him to return to the army for rehabilitative training.
Of course, Li Hongjun couldn’t leave without making sure everything was settled for his wife.
First, in the village, he had to find someone to look after his wife, and who better than Elder Shen. Therefore, one evening, Li Hongjun and his wife went to Elder Shen’s house, carrying a big chunk of cured pork head and ten deep-fried quails.
Of course, by this time Li Hongjun’s leg was mostly healed, so they brought their own small stash of liquor, planning to have a good drink with Elder Shen.
Elder Shen was very happy, and Mrs. Shen was delighted. She sliced half of the pork head Yunfang had brought and picked six of the fried quails to serve on the table, sneakily keeping the rest aside to give to her daughter.
Shen Yunxiu was now over eight months pregnant, almost due soon, and she was very picky with her cravings. Since returning from the Capital, her cravings had intensified; if today she didn’t long for one thing, then tomorrow it was another. She wouldn’t ask Fang Chengjian for these things but would go home almost every day to ask her mother for them.
Mrs. Shen truly doted on her daughter, so whenever there was something good at home, she thought of bringing some to her daughter.
"Tsk, this is good liquor," Elder Shen praised after taking a sip.
Of course it was good; it was brewed by Shen Yunfang herself. After Li Hongjun got injured and came back, she had opened her first jar of home-brewed liquor, taking out a small jar to add Essence of Life for Li Hongjun to drink daily. Although the liquor they brought today didn’t contain Essence of Life, it was still very fragrant and mellow.
"Hehe, if you enjoy it, Uncle, that’s all that matters. I’ve got a small jar back at home as well; I’ll bring it over to you next time." Li Hongjun said with a smile.
It’s probably best to keep the fact that my wife can brew liquor under wraps. I’m afraid it would bring too much trouble if word got out—people would start coming over asking for a jar, and whether you give it to them or not, it’s a hassle. Better not to mention it at all.
"Good, good," Uncle Shen was becoming more and more pleased with his nephew-in-law. "Hongjun, it’s about time for you to return to the military, isn’t it?"
"Indeed, my leg has pretty much healed up, the recovery hasn’t been too bad, and it’s time to go back for rehabilitation training. Currently, our situation doesn’t allow Yunfang to come with me and join the military life, so I’m going to be a bother and ask you, Uncle, to look out for her after I leave."
"Haha, that’s not a problem at all, you can count on me. We definitely won’t let her be at a disadvantage while she’s under our care," Uncle Shen promised readily.
Reassured by Uncle Shen’s promise, Li Hongjun then mentioned his wife’s poor health, hoping that Uncle Shen would keep an eye out for her, especially regarding her work in the fields.
What he was mainly concerned about was that his wife still had a ton of things to handle on the hillside, having to feed the pigs at least twice a day. If she had to continue working as usual, it would be too exhausting. Although he knew his wife had an extraordinary constitution, he couldn’t help feeling distressed for her whenever he thought about it.
Uncle Shen also understood what they meant and cheerfully agreed to help out.
The four of them were enjoying their drinks and conversation when Fang Chengjian, supporting Shen Yunxiu, came over.
Fang Chengjian and his wife knew that Shen Yunfang and her husband would dine at Uncle Shen’s home that evening, and they’d brought over plenty of delicious food. Their mother-in-law had already delivered it. Although they could have stayed home and had enough to eat, Fang Chengjian wanted to cosy up to his father-in-law and Li Hongjun, so he persuaded his pregnant wife to come along.
The arrival of the couple was unwelcome to everyone but Aunt Shen. Uncle Shen didn’t feel like talking to this son-in-law, and neither did Li Hongjun. The lively conversation came to a halt with their arrival. Unaware of the awkwardness, Fang Chengjian desperately tried to keep the conversation going on his own.
Yunfang couldn’t help but admire his tenacity; that must be considered a talent.
After settling things with Uncle Shen, Li Hongjun invited Dashuan and his wife, Jianjun and his wife, and Erzhu and his wife for a meal at Yunfang’s own place. A Brass hot pot was set on the kang table, with eight people huddled around it, chattering away while they cooked slices of mutton.
Since it was only April, the vegetables in the fields had just been planted, so apart from a large bowl of sliced mutton on the table, there were also corn paste, pork paste, and beef paste made by Yunfang herself. The vegetables included a bowl of cabbage leaves, a bowl of mushrooms, a bowl of green bean sprouts, a plate of potato slices, a plate of sweet potato slices, and a bowl of soaked vermicelli.
The guests’ eyes nearly popped out of their heads at the sight; none had ever experienced anything like this. Hot pot? They’d never even tasted it before.
Li Hongjun invited these people to dinner mainly because he knew they had helped his wife before, especially Dashuan and his wife. He hoped they would continue to lend a hand to Yunfang whenever she faced difficulties.
Being all young folks, the older women had become friends, which meant their husbands couldn’t be too bad either, so the meal was extremely lively, relaxed, and joyful.
Shen Jianjun was the most energetic of the lot, and after a few drinks, he put his arm around Li Hongjun and started calling him brother. Pounding his chest, he promised Li Hongjun not to worry, assuring that they would definitely take good care of his wife. 𝙣𝒐𝙫𝙥𝙪𝙗.𝙘𝙤𝙢
None of them had ever had a chance to indulge in meat like they did that day, so after the meal, they genuinely felt grateful to Shen Yunfang and her husband. They indeed proved to be very helpful to Yunfang later on.
The last visit Li Hongjun made was to Jian Hui and her husband in the county town, where they received him with open arms and great hospitality. After all, Xing Zhonghua used to be a soldier too, and could relate well with Li Hongjun.
