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Chapter 607: Chapter 597: Let me teach you, this is how to hug mom
The family dinner bustled with activity until past seven o’clock before it finally came to an end, after which Li Hongjun led his wife, child, and an added dog, sauntering back to their own home.
This year, Li Hongjun was at home, and since the main house in the courtyard had been converted into a storeroom, even though it was now devoid of firecrackers, there was no time to tidy it up specifically, making it temporarily unsuitable for habitation, so they decided they would just head back to their own place to make dumplings.
Once inside, they sent the child to watch TV, and Shen Yunfang and Li Hongjun both set to work in the kitchen.
Just having finished dinner, but still, the dumplings at midnight were a must. If they couldn’t manage much, they would just eat fewer, of course, at this time, it was rare for anyone to say they were too full to eat anymore; there always seemed to be a little space left to fit in just a bit more.
Shen Yunfang kneaded the dough, while Li Hongjun helped wash the vegetables and chop the filling.
"Is the house on the other side all sorted out?" asked Shen Yunfang.
"Yeah, pretty much, we got allocated a two-bedroom with a living room, on the fourth floor. I went to sort it out as soon as I got the keys, got the bed, tables, and everything moved in, it’s just that we’ll need to bring our own bedding," Li Hongjun explained as he cleaned the cabbage leaves and washed vegetables under the tap, feeling how icy the tap water was, he thought that in the future, he should take on more of this task. It wasn’t good for a woman to constantly be touching such cold water.
"Mm, I’ve got all that prepared, made all new ones. I don’t plan on moving these things from our place here; when we come to the Capital in the future, we can stay directly at home." she had started preparing several months ago when she knew their family would be moving with the military to Z Province. With plenty of Remittance Coupons in hand and the Capital having a fuller range of products, she had bought fabric and cotton, and had estimated and made the bedding needed for the barracks. Of course, she also didn’t skimp on buying daily necessities; now they were all piled up in the study.
"Alright, you decide," Li Hongjun had no objections to these matters, "I’ve also talked to the school for the kid. After school starts in spring, we’ll just bring the kid over to register."
"Hmm, when you leave on the fifth day, see if you can find a vehicle to take the things from our house with you directly. That way, when I come over with the child, it’ll just be a matter of taking the train, easy and unencumbered. Oh, and take our bicycle as well, I’ll need it for commuting to and from work," said Shen Yunfang as she finished kneading the dough and placed a dampened cheesecloth over the bowl.
"Sure, I’ll see if the troops have a vehicle going that way; if not, we’ll just hire a car," Li Hongjun was not inflexible, and if there happened to be a military vehicle heading their way, catching a ride would be quite convenient.
"The filling’s about ready, put it in this bowl here, then you can keep chopping the meat." Shen Yunfang saw that the chopped cabbage on the cutting board was fine enough and bent down to fetch another large bowl from below for the filling.
"Wife, I need to tell you something. My sister came to see me today, saying she wants to visit mother tomorrow. In our family, you’re the boss. I told my big sister that I have to run it by you," Li Hongjun said while observing his wife’s expression. He knew that saying so, his wife would definitely agree because she was never unreasonable and had never prevented him from being filial to his parents, but the relationship between his wife and his own mother was indeed very tense. He wanted to see how his mother was doing inside, but he also didn’t want to upset his wife.
Oh, being a man is difficult, but being a son who is both loving to his wife and filial to his parents is even more challenging!
Shen Yunfang glanced at him. Today, when she saw Big Sister Li pulling him aside and whispering, she guessed it was about this, "Drop it, as if I, an outsider, could really take charge of your Li Family. If your mother found out, she’d slap me silly."
"Nonsense. Who’s in charge of the old Li family, I don’t know, but in our house, it’s definitely my wife who makes the decisions. Whatever my wife tells me to do, I’ll do, and whatever she says not to do, I definitely won’t do it," Li Hongjun asserted firmly.
Shen Yunfang couldn’t help but laugh, regardless of whether this was true or not, it was pleasant to hear, "You also stop kidding around with me, I won’t meddle in your family’s affairs. She’s your mother, and if you want to go see her, I can’t stop you, but let me be clear, consider how much you can save from your salary after providing for us, and whether it’s enough to meet what your mother has been longing for." She could now imagine that when Qiu Shuping saw Li Hongjun, she would definitely have nothing but curses for her. She didn’t care how others saw her, but she just couldn’t stand to be treated like a fool by everyone.
"Wife, don’t worry, this time I’m just going with my sister to check on how my mother is living inside, I absolutely won’t agree to her unreasonable demands. Don’t you trust my character?" Li Hongjun said with righteous words, for he was a man of principles.
Shen Yunfang rolled her eyes at him, "I don’t distrust you, it’s your mother I don’t trust."
These words were too damaging, and with one sentence had left Li Hongjun with nothing to say.
Li Hongjun slammed the kitchen knife onto the cutting board, with the entire blade trembling from his force.
"What’s going on, what are you trying to do?" Shen Yunfang raised her eyebrows immediately upon seeing him like this, wondering if he was thinking of rebelling or what.
Li Hongjun looked at his wife expressionlessly for quite a while, then suddenly and unexpectedly, he bent slightly and picked her up, so that the two of them were now face to face.
"What do I want to do? I think my wife has worked hard. You’ve been with me for so many years, bearing and raising children for me, and you’re the major contributor to the Li Family. Yet, because of me, you’ve been wronged. I, as your husband, feel that I’ve let you down, so I’ve decided to make it up to you." Li Hongjun said every word with utmost seriousness.
But having been married for so many years, Shen Yunfang knew him well. Just by the look of him, she knew he was up to no good, "You don’t need to make it up to me, put me down quickly. The kids will come in later and see; it’s not proper."
"No, as a soldier, I can’t take even a needle or thread more than ordinary people, but I owe you too much. I’ve thought about it, there’s no other way to repay you, so there’s only one option left—repayment in kind. Wife, do you like the sound of that?" Li Hongjun’s words became more and more improper as he spoke, until at last he was whispering against his wife’s lips.
"You shameless thing, always finding excuses for yourself." Shen Yunfang had no way to deal with him; in fact, deep down, she didn’t want to reject this closeness from her own man.
"Dad, what are you doing? Mom is uncomfortable, you shouldn’t hold her like that, you should do it this way."
Suddenly, a voice at the kitchen door made the two unabashedly brazen figures stiffen up.
"Dad, look at me, I’ll teach you, this is how you should hold Mom." Manman, feeling impatient seeing her father not turning around, hadn’t noticed that her mother had buried her head. She must be crying secretly because Dad isn’t holding her comfortably.
Li Hongjun put his wife down and had her hide behind him. He turned around to see his little daughter in his arms, holding a Barbie doll and using a demonstration method to teach her dad how to hold her mom properly.
