Witty Wife, Better Life

Chapter 267: Chapter 257 The Early Bird Flies First

By three o’clock that afternoon, Li Hongjun returned to Gaijiatun, covered in snow.

When Shen Yunfang saw Li Hongjun’s complexion, she knew nothing good had happened on his trip. Sigh, during the festive season, she didn’t want to be bothered by her in-laws’ troubles, so if Li Hongjun didn’t mention it, she wouldn’t ask.

"You’ve come back at just the right time. Hurry up and see my sister-in-law off. Tomorrow is the thirtieth, and I bet there’s a pile of chores to do at home; don’t get stuck doing tasks at our place." Sitting on the kang, Shen Yunfang couldn’t move and could only watch Dashuan’s wife tidy up her home inside and out.

"Hehe, now that Hongjun is back, I can rest assured. I’ll be going then." Dashuan’s wife didn’t stand on ceremony; she had been there almost every day recently, leaving her home to her mother-in-law, who was old and not as quick with chores, so she was genuinely worried.

After Li Hongjun saw Dashuan’s wife out, he was immediately tasked with a new mission.

"We haven’t fried the meatballs and such yet, what do we do?" Shen Yunfang was anxious but couldn’t do anything about it.

"What else can we do? I’ll fry them," Li Hongjun said, without exposing his wife’s little schemes.

"Do you know how?" Shen Yunfang was satisfied with his answer, but she hadn’t actually seen him cook before and didn’t know whether he could.

"You just rest well and don’t worry about anything else." Haven’t eaten pork or seen a pig run? It was just that simple, he had watched it done plenty of times, of course he could do it.

And so, Comrade Li Hongjun finally understood a lesson today: only the combination of theory and practice yields truth.

After many stumbles, Li Hongjun managed to fry the meat and also two fish.

Shen Yunfang was genuinely worried by the racket of frying coming from the kitchen, but all she could do was call out from inside the house without raising her voice too much, as the child was sleeping nearby. Oh, how awkward it was.

When Li Hongjun went to bed that night, Shen Yunfang specifically asked him to extend his hands for inspection. There were no serious injuries, but two small blisters had formed from oil burns.

As Shen Yunfang lay in his arms, she treated not only his physical wounds but also his emotional ones. This poor child, if he hadn’t met such a good wife like her, he’d probably be depressed before long.

Early the next morning, Li Hongjun got up and began bustling about in the main hall, preparing for the reunion dinner.

Even from the kang, Shen Yunfang could hear the sound of chopping. "Hongjun, why are you starting to cook so early?" They had just finished breakfast.

From the main hall came a muffled reply, "Didn’t you say last night that the early bird catches the worm?" He had realized that his cooking skills might not be up to snuff, so he thought to start early and take his time, hoping to keep each dish intact by dinnertime.

Unable to hold back, Shen Yunfang chuckled. How could this man be so stubborn?

Having realized yesterday that Li Hongjun wasn’t cut out for cooking, Shen Yunfang had said that they could take the reunion dinner and New Year’s Eve meal right out of her storage space, since she had plenty stored from her usual cooking. But Li Hongjun, the stubborn mule, wouldn’t have it and insisted on preparing fresh dishes himself.

Among the constant chopping sounds, little Pangpang finally woke up gracious enough, yawning and reaching out for his mother.

At this time, a baby’s life revolves around sleeping and eating, so right upon waking, he was already thinking about the "milk bottle" from his mother.

Knowing her son well, Shen Yunfang shouted towards the main hall, "The potty."

Taxue, who was lying by Li Hongjun’s feet, suddenly sprang up and darted into the house, fetching Pangpang’s special potty from under the table and delivering it right to Shen Yunfang’s side.

Shen Yunfang took it over and patted Taxue’s big head as a sign of praise. Taxue’s tail wagged so vigorously it nearly turned into a windmill.

Li Hongjun stood at the door with his arms crossed and frowned, as the dog had managed to be faster than himself.

Yunfang began to help the child pee. After taking care of his physiological needs, Pangpang authoritatively grabbed his bottle and started guzzling his milk. That was his favorite thing indeed.

Yunfang winced from her son’s antics and, feeling annoyed, she gave his little bottom a pat. Little Pangpang didn’t take it to heart, continuing to eat as he pleased, exerting just as much force as he had before.

Li Hongjun at the doorway felt even more conflicted; his heart ached for his wife’s suffering and for his son getting smacked. Ah, perhaps it was best to just turn a blind eye.

Seeing the retreating figure silently slip away, Yunfang couldn’t help but laugh again. Ever since he had seen the child, he had been entangled in all kinds of dilemmas, unsure of when he would figure things out.

During lunch, Li Hongjun brought the special meal he had made for his wife to her side, "You eat first, I’m going to set off fireworks. You help our son cover his ears."

"You want me to eat and cover your son’s ears at the same time. How many hands do you think I have? What exactly do you want me to do?"

"You figure it out." With that, Li Hongjun left to ignite the fireworks outside.

The fireworks these days were only the small 100-shot strings. Li Hongjun picked them up with a stick and was about to light them when someone knocked on the door.

Resignedly, he postponed the lighting. On opening the door, he found it was Shen Yunfang’s family’s second son, Shen Zhiwen.

"Brother Zhiwen, why have you come at this time?"

"My dad sent me to call you guys over for dinner." Shen Zhiwen was the most honest child in Shen Yunfang’s family and had the best relationship with Yunfang, which is why the task had fallen to him.

The dinner two nights before hadn’t been very pleasant, and after going home, Shen’s father had some reflections and thought inviting them over for dinner might ease the relationship between the two families.

Li Hongjun smiled, "Brother Zhiwen, we’ll pass. Yunfang hasn’t finished her confinement period yet and can’t go out. The baby is also too small, afraid he might catch a cold if we carry him outside. I’m worried about them being on their own at home. Please thank our father for me, but we won’t come today. We’ll have an opportunity in the future, and I’ll invite the old man over."

It was only then that Zhiwen remembered Yunfang was still in her confinement period and couldn’t possibly be out in the wind. His face grew warm as he quickly apologized, saying he had forgotten, and told Li Hongjun to take care of Yunfang at home before he hurriedly ran off like a fleeing deer.

Li Hongjun turned back to close the courtyard door and then picked up the fireworks again. He lit them, and as they exploded in a series of cracks, he made a sincere wish for his wife and son to be healthy next year and for their family to live happily together.

When he returned inside, Hongjun told Yunfang about Shen Zhiwen’s visit to call them to dinner.

Having nothing else to do, the couple’s conversation veered towards Shen’s father. Both agreed beyond a doubt that he was a good man but noted that everyone has their personality traits. Despite being good, Shen’s father was also protective and a loving father to his children.

Both listed several examples and analyzed the specifics of each case. Somehow, the topic shifted to the Li Family, and the couple started dissecting the personality traits of Qiu Shuping and the old man from the Li family.

It turns out, there had been quite a lot happening at home with his wife, none of which had made it into the letters.