Witty Wife, Better Life

Chapter 286: Chapter 276 Tit for Tat

At noon, Shen Yunfang cooked braised chicken chunks. When Li Hongjun came home, he didn’t ask where the chicken came from since it was a common meal at their home.

It was only after Shen Yunfang explained to him that he realized the chicken wasn’t from his wife’s kitchen but a gift from Sister Wu.

"What do you think I should send back?" Shen Yunfang sought the opinion of the head of the household.

Reciprocity is the essence of good relations.

This question actually stumped Li Hongjun, as he had no idea what an appropriate return gift would be. "How about we send Sister Wu a head of cabbage?"

When they moved in, a lot of people helped them, and almost everything they owned was laid bare for all to see. His wife had also been staying at home these past few days and hadn’t gone into town, so it would be awkward to offer meat in return.

Shen Yunfang nodded in agreement after hearing this. She had learned from Sister Wu earlier that day that most families had nearly finished their fall vegetables and that there was nowhere to buy fresh cabbage at this time, so this return gift should be suitable after all.

"Or maybe you should bring Sister Wu a few quails instead, either for laying eggs or for their children to eat the meat," Li Hongjun truly felt that cabbage wasn’t equivalent to meat, so he immediately overturned his previous suggestion.

"Alright, that works too," Shen Yunfang agreed, thinking a few quails along with a head of cabbage would suffice. "When should we set up the quail hatching barrel at our place?"

Ever since the two of them got married, whenever Li Hongjun came home, he was in charge of the egg incubation. But this talk was now more of a joke. Previously, when Li Hongjun came home, it was to visit family, and he was there all the time, with enough time to turn the eggs. Now that he had to work every day and could only return home for lunch and in the evening, relying on him to do this was out of the question.

"There’s no rush. I’ll gather some firewood tomorrow when I have the day off," Li Hongjun stood up and added more rice to his wife’s bowl.

"I forgot to ask, where does one go to gather firewood anyway? Is there a designated place?" Shen Yunfang took the bowl and continued eating.

The military division was nestled in the mountains, and stepping out of the house, one could see the high mountains behind them. However, there’s a saying, "A watched pot never boils," and mountains that look close aren’t necessarily that near. Based on her experience, even a one- to two-hour walk might not take her to the real foot of the mountains.

Moreover, not all mountains are open for anyone to enter. People these days have a strong sense of territory. Like in Gaijiatun, only the people from their village were allowed to use their village path to the mountain; the outsiders were not permitted. Of course, if you encountered strangers in the mountains, that was another matter.

"Just follow the road westward. After about two hours, you’ll see Xikou Village. There’s a small path in front of the village that leads up the mountain. People around here go up there to gather firewood. But you don’t need to go; just stay at home and look after the child. I’ll make the trip tomorrow," Li Hongjun said this out of concern for his wife and child.

In such cold weather, even if they had a bicycle at home, it would still take about half an hour to pedal to the right spot, and they would freeze along the way.

Shen Yunfang obediently nodded. She wasn’t keen on riding a bike with her child to such a far place in this weather. However, she considered that when the weather got warmer and the child was a bit bigger, she could take the child to play and pick up some firewood on the way.

"We’ll just burn coal at home for the next couple of days," Li Hongjun said after thinking it over, as the firewood he would gather tomorrow couldn’t be burned immediately due to the moisture.

"Fine, whatever you say," Shen Yunfang was indifferent to what they burned, though she felt that coal was too dirty and preferred the taste of food cooked over a wood fire.

The two chatted idly about household matters, and the meal was finished just like that. Then Shen Yunfang washed the pots and dishes, while Li Hongjun soothed their son on the kang. He then picked up a basin and began washing the baby’s diapers.

Shen Yunfang poked her head into the room and saw Li Hongjun squatting on the ground, huffing and puffing as he washed the diapers. She hurriedly intervened, "Don’t do that anymore, you’ve been busy all morning. Take some time at noon to lie down on the kang and straighten your back. I’ll wash the diapers later."

But Li Hongjun didn’t listen to her. He earnestly rubbed a bar of soap onto the diaper in his hands and then scrubbed it carefully. "There are only a few, I’ll finish washing them in no time." His wife wasn’t having it easy either, watching the child and cooking at home, so he wanted to do what he could to help and give his wife some time to rest on the kang.

Indeed, there were not many diapers, and seeing how meticulously Li Hongjun was washing them, Shen Yunfang stopped bothering him. If he wanted to wash them, let him wash. Yet, she couldn’t seem to control the slight upward curve of her lips.

The diapers really weren’t numerous and were quite easy to clean. By the time Shen Yunfang had tidied up the stove, Li Hongjun had already finished washing their son’s diapers, hanging them around the stove inside the house.

They had intentionally installed that stove in the house for the child. The structure of the house meant that the stove and the indoor kang shared a flue, which, in turn, meant that cooking outside also heated up the kang. This not just saved wood and resources but did not really warm up the interior to a very high temperature; during the day, it was only about fifteen or sixteen degrees Celsius, and it got even colder at night.

They had a little one, Pangpang, and such low temperatures were unacceptable, so after discussing it, they installed an additional stove in the room. Without firewood, they burned honeycomb coal instead. Although more expensive, it was safe and convenient, and it raised the room’s temperature. Even if the child kicked off his little quilt, there was no fear of catching a cold. Another benefit was that the washed diapers dried within a couple of hours when hung next to the stove, always ready for their child to wear.

The stove wasn’t left burning for no reason either; they always had a kettle of water on it, so there was warm water available for any needs, and the room didn’t dry out—it was quite nice.

After both had finished tidying up, they cuddled together and lay down on the kang for a nap.

Of course, little Pangpang had excellent timing. Just as his parents were about to sleep, he woke up. He didn’t cry, just kept calling out "ah, ah" while looking at his dear mother.

"Ah, my son must be hungry. Come on, nursemaid to the rescue," Li Hongjun didn’t feel upset about his son’s lack of attention to him. Instead, he sycophantically vied for his son’s comfort.

Nursemaid Shen Yunfang lay down on the kang with due diligence, positioned herself, and then loosened her clothes before giving her son the bottle.

Having arranged her son properly, she then caught Li Hongjun staring straight... at her chest.

Blushing, she pulled the pillow from under her head and threw it at him. "What are you looking at? Can’t you act decent in front of your son?"

Li Hongjun felt aggrieved. He was being called indecent? He had proactively made way for his son, only to be chided for just looking. There was no justice in that—after all, she was his wife.

Li Hongjun got up from the kang with a scowl.

Shen Yunfang thought Li Hongjun might be angry, and silently chided herself. She shouldn’t have lost her temper; when had she ever behaved like this before?

But no, her behavior was all thanks to Li Hongjun’s indulgence.

"You..." Shen Yunfang wanted to soften things with a few words. After all, it wasn’t right for her to hit her son’s father in front of their son.

However, before she could finish her sentence, she saw Li Hongjun stride over their bodies and then lie down behind her once again.

"You’re tough now, huh? If I don’t teach you a lesson, you won’t know who’s in charge of this house anymore, will you?"