Begging You to Break Off This Engagement! Chapter 19

Translated by Dandan, Edited by Ahzinal

Thank you F.M., aaa22, Mrow and Yui for your ko-fi donations! The support is really really appreciated ❤

At first, Luo Tian and Li Yuehua worried that after Luo Fei was married off to the Xi's house, he would cry and shout about wanting to go home not even after two days. They didn't expect that kid to actually be successful in settling down and establishing roots. They obviously lived so close to each other, but he had actually not even returned once to his parent's house. Originally, Li Yuehua had wanted to go to the Xi house to see how Luo Fei was doing, but she was stopped by Luo Tian.

“How many days has it been?” Luo Tian said, “Just wait a little longer. You will be able to see him when they visit us*. Don't let Xi Yanqing worry.” According to the customs of Yu Qing Country, there are to be three visits to the bride's parents. One visit is on the sixth day after marriage, the second is on the sixteenth day, and the third is on the twenty-sixth day. Accounting for all the “sixes*” of each month means that everything will go smoothly in the future. During this period, it wasn't that no one visited early, and some mothers would even go to see their own children, but if that happened , it is easy to be gossiped about by people behind their backs. If it wasn't that "the party that married their children out of the house is not at ease with the husband's family", then it's that "the child's marriage is not going well". Anyway, nothing good came of it, so no one usually did it. After all, It was only in six days, so talking about the length, it wasn't that much.

[T/N: Married women often come back to visit their parents' homes with their husband as part of rituals.]

[T/N: I think the smooth marriage correlation is that the word six (六, liu) is a homophone for the word smooth (流, liu) But here's more info (last paragraph) ]

“All right. I-I'm just worried that they aren't able to eat well. I'm telling you, since he was young till now, Er-bao's cooking skills have not improved. Also, Yanqing just returned from fighting in a war. I reckon the he also wouldn't know how to make some stuff to eat. What if……”

“What 'what if'? You women just love to worry.” Luo Tian lying in the blankets rested his head on his sturdy arm. “You can just be at ease. Can't you tell from Yanqing, that kid's expression when he looks at Er-bao? He cherishes our Er-bao in his heart and definitely wouldn't allow Er-bao to suffer any grievances. When I came back from the field today, I met Xiao Zhou. Xiao Zhou also told me that Xi Yanqing and Er-bao were laboring together while talking and laughing. Afterwards, the Zhou family's old aunt reminded them that after getting married, Er-bao should pay more attention to his body. Yanqing immediately didn't let our Er-bao work anymore."

“Ai, Er-bao, after leaving home, he is really like a chick flying from the nest. Even if you try, you can't even catch him anymore.”

“Hei, I say, Li Yuehua, is something wrong with you? The one who was afraid that he would come back is you, but then the one complaining that he is not coming back is also you.” Luo Tian shook his head. “Really hard to please!”

“Still don't know who is serving who!” Li Yuehua glared, “Aren't I just, just concerned about him? I'm saying, that plum blossom on his hand is so light that you can't even see the color. What if it's really as Qin Guizhi said? I'm really afraid that during then our Er-bao…”

“Younger generations will do well on their own. Why are you thinking so much? Sleep!”

“You want to sleep, sleep yourself!” Li Yuehua turned onto her other side and continued to think about her Er-bao. She counted on her fingers and it seemed that there were still two days until he could come back. Thinking about it, she felt that two days were still quite difficult to bear.

However, some people just can't help but keep harping on, but it seems that after harping on about it, they (XYQ and LF) actually came.

After Xi Yanqing's quail egg and dough clump soup, Luo Fei ate another not fully cooked deep-fried pancake alongside a not fully cooked plate of pan-fried potato pieces, as well as a plate of soft and mushy mashed potatoes, that were boiled for too long because he was afraid they would still be raw.

In short, if he had to eat this for any longer, Luo Fei felt that he would develop stomach problems. Thus, after he consulted with Xi Yanqing, he decided to go back to the Luo house to learn how to cook with Luo Ru.

Xi Yanqing had especially said that if he learns well, he could be compensated. He wouldn't deduct a single wen but rather increase his pay by a wen.

So, on a sunny morning, Luo Fei took out a little money from his secret stash, went to the village's Zhao house, and bought two pieces of tofu. Carrying them, he returned to his parents' house. About the matter of returning to his parents' house, Luo Fei hadn't taken it seriously at first. From his point of view, his parents' house was a place where, if he wanted to return, then he would return and without Xi Yanqing had no objection either. . Not returning before now was simply because he felt there was no need to. Moreover, he had already been employed by Xi Yanqing, so shouldn't he have some kind of personal integrity? He couldn't skip work when he just started. So only when he really needed to go back would he go back, like today.

“Father! Mother! Big brother, San-bao, Si-bao! I'm back!” Luo Fei yelled as soon as he entered the door. "Are you guys home?”

“Aiyo, my Er-bao is back!” Li Yuehua wiped her hands on her apron as she ran out. “Er-bao, why did you already come back today? Hurry and let mom take a look at you!”
　　

“Hehe, I was missing you guys, so I just came.” Luo Fei handed over the tofu, “Mom, I just bought it, still warm.”

"If you're coming, just come. No need to bring tofu." Luo Tian said, "Where's Yanqing? How come he didn't accompany you?"

"He also came, but, on the way here, we met Han Yang and Chen Huazhang, so he probably wanted to say a few words to them and then come." Luo Fei entered the house, "where's San-bao?"

"San-bao is in the vegetable garden." Luo Ji said, "How have you been these few days?"

“Ah, not bad.” Luo Fei originally wanted to complain, but he was worried that his family would think Xi Yanqing wasn't good enough to him, so he just said "not bad". After all, even asking his own heart, Xi Yanqing was really good to him.

“Er-ge, why are you already back today?” Luo Ru patted her sleeves and asked as she came out of the back yard. She remembered that her second brother should not have been returning today.

“Er-ge came to learn how to cook with you as not to waste food.” Luo Fei said straightforwardly, “These few days have been very good. It's just, once it comes time to eat, I always feel queasy. You also know that I don't like entering the kitchen, so our meal times have been miserable.”

“All right, then I will teach you how to make good food. Don't worry, as long as you study with me for a few days, you will be able to eat well!” Luo Ru patted her chest as she promised. She felt that her second brother is quite smart, just that before he never liked dealing with oil and grease, so he was never willing to go into the kitchen. If he really decided to put work into learning, then it would definitely be no problem.

“That's set then. Afterwards, I will learn from you every day.”

“Every day? You want to return home to live here?” Li Yuehua asked as she furrowed her brow. She misses her son, but she would not let her married-off child come back to live with her. That is not good for the child or the husband's family.

“En, then I'll just come over when I have time. Yanqing also agreed.” Luo Fei said, “So I won't always have to not eat well. Mom, what did you make this morning? Is there any left? Yanqing and I couldn't even make flat cakes properly, so we didn't really eat this morning."

“I just made some porridge in the morning, and we had some dried eggplants in sauce with it, but there isn't much left.” Now, it was already springtime, but it was only in autumn when there was a lot of food; where it was impossible to finish all the food and there would still be some left after eating. But most of the time, just having enough food to fill their stomachs was enough. Li Yuehua's heart hurt as she glanced at Luo Fei: “If you are hungry, mother will make you some dough drop soup quickly.”

“Then that's fine mother. Xi Yanqing knows how to make that. We often eat that these few days, and I am getting so tired of eating it.”

“You've already gotten married, so why are you still calling him with his surname!" Li Yuehua knocked at Luo Fei's forehead. “This is not good, change it.”

“Er-ge, Er-ge, is Xi-ge good to you? Actually good to you?” Luo Yi jokingly asked.

“He is good to me. He went up the mountain and found five bird eggs and gave them all to me to eat.” Luo Fei thought to himself, when meeting others, why is the first problem they notice is what he calls Xi Yanqing? The focus of these people is really strange. However, it seems that his form of address really does have to be changed.

Luo Fei didn't want to eat dough drop soup. But other than porridge, he didn't know how to make anything else. When making wheaten products, time was also tight; so at the end, Luo Ru looked at the tofu Luo Fei bought, sliced it into finger-width slices, and finely sprinkled some salt on it. After she lit the firewood, she also tasted the tofu. At this time, she added lard to the pot then fried the tofu. The outside was seared and the inside was tender. When it entered the mouth, it was especially fragrant.

At first, Luo Fei wanted to dip the tofu in soy sauce; but after tasting the plain fried tofu, he felt that it was better that way. Thus, he had renewed motivation to learn from Luo Ru. In fact, it seemed that he didn't really have to learn, because, when Luo Ru was cooking, he was watching by her side. This thing is not that complicated, so just by watching, he already knew how to do it.

Luo Ru pan-fried one whole piece of tofu, and Luo Fei ate half of it. The remaining half was left for Xi Yanqing. However, at this time, anyone who smelled such a fragrant thing would generate some appetite. When Luo Fei saw Luo Yi peeking in from time to time, he also pan-fried the second piece. That's right, the second one he fried, with Luo Ru watching from the side.

“I just knew that if Er-ge focused on learning, then there'd definitely be no problem. Needlework is so hard, yet you do it so well. How would making some small dishes still be hard?” Luo Ru was also happy. She ate a piece of pan-fried tofu while beaming.

“San-bao, come look if this is okay. Tomorrow Er-ge will come around noon. Whatever you are making, Er-ge will come and learn from you. Is that all right?” Luo Fei felt that coming at dawn was too early, but at noon was good. The food made during noon would be much more complex than in the morning, so he was mostly likely going to be able to learn more.

“Okay! How would it not be okay?”

“Then this is settled.” Luo Fei finished saying this then saw that Xi Yanqing still hadn't come. The tofu was almost cold, so he was a little troubled and hesitantly said: “I will go out and have a look.” It was too difficult if you wanted to eat something fancy in this place; but, although this pan-fried tofu is not a fancy thing, when you eat it, it is actually rather tasty. However, waiting until it was cold to eat was not good as the lard used would congeal once it got cold.

Xi Yanqing and Chen Huazhang set an appointment for when he would drop in to measure what was needed for the furniture. he was about to enter the Luo* family's courtyard, but he met Luo Tian outside and started chatting about some things, so he hadn't come in.

[T/N: Original text said Xi but I think it's a typo.]

After arriving in Huaping Village, Luo Fei still had some time, but Xi Yanqing had his own plans. When Xi Yanqing went into the mountains previously, he saw some medicinal ingredients he was familiar with, but he had gone up the mountain in order to cut trees and didn't have time to get it. Later, he went to the mountain again, to get some thin wood for the fence. At that time, he looked closely and discovered that there were indeed some herbs suitable to take home to raise.

Now that the days have just begun to warm up, many plants have begun to sprout, so he only saw a portion of the perennial ones, such as the ladybell root*. In fall, some of the stalks that would coil around the trunk of trees will dry up. Some may rot, but others would still be coiled on them, so you could see them. Its roots could be used as medicine or for food. He himself didn't know how to make it, but he had eaten it. It should have been fried after pickling it with spices and the taste was not bad. When he put it in his mouth, it felt silky and soft, but when one chewed it, it still had a bite to it. If he could bring it home, there would not only be an extra dish on the table, but also, he could bring it into a medicine shop to ask them if they would buy it or not. Although it did not count as some valuable medicine, there were still others he could plant.

[T/N: I don't think I've ever had this, but I think the picture on the right is the dish that Xi Yanqing talked about.]

Before, Luo Fei asked what the empty piece of land in the vegetable garden would be used for. That piece of land was specially left for the purpose of transplanting and experimenting with medicinal herbs.

Xi Yanqing's way of thinking right now is that he can't just sit here and eat while leaving the mountains empty.

Don't say that there was not much money in the first place. Even if there is a lot of money, one still can't just stay idle. If you want to live a better life here, being busy seems to be a must.

Luo Fei brought the plate out to Xi Yanqing to eat the fried tofu. Xi Yanqing was especially comfortable, and smiled as he said, "You feed me, I haven't washed my hands yet."

So sappy!

Luo Fei glared: “Xi Yanqing, stop showing off your looks shamelessly! It is good enough to have something to eat, so just eat it yourself!”

Li Yuehua came up and gave him a slap: “Bad child! I told you to change how you speak!”

Luo Fei sullenly retracted the plate and in his heart he said: "What do I change?! I can't actually call him 'big tiger', right? As for 'Hubby', it is even more impossible!"

Luo Yi at the side laughed: “Hahahahaha, Er-ge, recently, have you been beaten more than me? But Mom, you can't beat him in front of Xi-ge. Xi-ge's heart will hurt.”

Once he heard that, Luo Fei thought, right! Luo Yi called him Xi-Ge. Then, how about he also calls him -ge? Either way, Xi Yanqing is older than him!

“Cough!” Luo Fei cleared his throat and passed over the plate again: “Qing-ge, you eat.”

“En.” Xi Yanqing smiled and took the plate. He was eating the tofu, but most of the time, his eyes were glued to Luo Fei's face. After eating it, he wiped his mouth and said: “In the afternoon, Chen Huazhang and Han Xu should be coming to our place. We arranged for them to measure some things. Before that, think about what you want the bowl rack to be like, so it will be more convenient to tell them.”

“Oh, all right.”

“Besides this, after we get this settled, tomorrow we have to start planting the dry fields. Do you want to go take a look?" If he wanted to go, then he would have to prepare some things in advance.

“Going is okay.” Luo Fei did not think that there were leeches in the dry farmland. He felt that going to see where his own family's land was good, in case he wasn't able to find it when he went to send a meal. “What do you want to plant?”

“Corn-Covering-Soybeans.”

“What is that?!”

"It's just mixing two kinds of plants. After raising it, it can increase the harvest." Xi Yanqing smiled, "You will see after I grow and harvest it."

Xi Yan Qing's major was in the study of agricultural related technology. Luo Fei did not doubt his skills in his major. However, the "Corn-Covering-Soybean" he mentioned was the first he had ever heard of it.

Although they didn't come visit on the day they were supposed to, they had already come here and always had to stay to eat a meal before going. So, Luo Fei and Xi Yanqing freeloaded at the Luo House for lunch. They didn't stay much after they finished, because Chen Huazhang and Han Xu were coming in the afternoon, so the two went back after eating. Before they went back, Li Yuehua also gave Luo Fei many deep fried pancakes to take. Originally, she intended to give him steamed buns, but the dough hadn't finished rising yet, so it couldn't be steamed. Luo Ru, who was good at understanding others, eagerly stir-fried some julienned potatoes* for them to roll in the pancakes to eat. This was a very rare and delicious thing. When Luo Fei went back, he was extremely careful with the stuff.

[T/N: I love this dish! It's super easy to make and I like stir-frying it with soysauce (third pic) but you can also get light flavors with just some spring onion (first pic) or with other veggies for some color (second pic)]

In the evening, Luo Fei had heated up some deep fried dough cakes and julienned potatoes. This meal with Xi Yanqing, was quite an improvement. In fact, taking into account how they lived in the modern world, this was not really some super fancy thing to them.  However, eating it for a few days straight was doable, so, comparing it with a treasure, there was not much difference.

After eating the flat cake, Luo Fei moved away the table and then scratched his back.

After getting married, he hadn't taken a bath. But now, since it was getting hotter by the day, he is cooking and cleaning up the house, and he also had to clean the yard every day, his body got very dirty easily. He had long wanted to take a bath, but he wasn't able to lift so much water or the bathtub. That thing was extremely heavy and also quite tall. It was impossible for him to lift a large bucket of water up and pour it inside. He guessed that, even if he had the strength, he would not have enough remaining energy to even take the bath.

At this time, he had to find Xi Yanqing to help.

Xi Yanqing was outside and gathering the rootstalks of something; Luo Fei couldn't make out what it was. After Luo Fei came over, he scratched at the side of his mouth—when he was hesitant, he liked to do these small movements of bad habit.

“Is there something you need?” Xi Yanqing turned to look at Luo Fei.

“I want to take a bath, but I can't lift the bathtub.” Luo Fei himself did not realize how pitiful the way he said it sounded like, and Little Donkey Luo had turned into Little Puppy Luo.

“I will help you lift it in a moment.” Xi Yanqing looked at Luo Fei tenderly. “You should first find some clothes to change into.”

“Okay, thank you!” Luo Fei seeing Xi Yanqing answer so straightforwardly  happily ran into the house. He opened the cabinet next to the bed, took out a set of clean inner garments out, and also took out a piece of cloth. This piece of cloth was not intended to be used for cleaning, but intended to be used as a dish cloth instead.

Tomorrow, he was going into the fields to take a look. There would definitely be no time for needlework, so he planned to just take advantage of the time it took for his hair to dry to embroider a bit before going to bed. He wouldn't decide the size yet, just embroider a little something on it.

After Xi Yanqing organized a few pieces of wolfsbane* and put it aside, he went to go help pump water for Luo Fei. The hot water had already been heated by Luo Fei, so they just had to add a little cold water to adjust it. There is a large water tank in the kitchen, and Xi Yanqing would fill it up every day. He took the water out of the water tank and poured it into the tub, then he tested the water temperature for Luo Fei.

[T/N: Chinese wolfsbane; actually really toxic if not prepared properly]

“This way, won't we just have to pour in new water again in a little while?” Otherwise, the water in one tank was enough for two or three days. Luo Fei said: “We might as well just pour the newly pumped  water directly into the tub, so we can save a little bit of effort.”

“The well water that was just pumped is too cold. Adding both pots of hot water in still won't make it too hot. This water was placed in the house for a long time, so it should still be warmer than the water outside. If it's troublesome, then just let it be troublesome. It isn't every day that we can wash. I will help you warm the water a little more. If you can wash comfortably, then that would be good.” After Xi Yanqing finished saying that, he poured in the rest of the water and put the bucket aside. “You go wash, I'm going into the house to calculate some things.”

“Okay.” Luo Fei paused a little. “Thank you Qing-ge.”

“You're welcome.” Xi Yanqing walked to the door of the big house and suddenly stopped. He turned his head and smiled while asking: “Wife, are you sure you don't need a back-scrubbing service?”

“Don't need!” Luo Fei's hair stood up, “If I don't call for you, you are not allowed to come!” He wasn't able to be decent for more than 3 seconds! He shouldn't think that this person in front of him is a kind and honest person!

When Luo Fei undressed, he repeatedly looked towards the door in fear that Xi Yanqing would actually come. However, Xi Yanqing actually did not appear, contrary to what he thought. He kept thinking about Xi Yanqing as if he had a mental illness all the way until he finished his bath.

What on earth was that guy calculating in the room?

After Luo Fei wiped his body, he changed into clean clothes then rubbed at his hair as he was walking into the room. He didn't know that right now, his cheeks that were flushed pink, his eyelashes that were slightly wet, and his whole body that brought in a cloud of steam were more than enough to make a hundred Xi Yanqing's go crazy!

Xi Yanqing, hearing the noise, turned his head, and really forgot to breathe…

Luo Fei was still not self-aware. He sat on the bed towards the paper in front of Xi Yanqing and gestured with his chin: “What are you calculating?”　　

Xi Yanqing didn't say anything. After a moment, he got up and walked over, took the cloth from Luo Fei's hand, and gently tilted up his chin.

Luo Fei stared blankly for a second: “What?”　　

Xi Yanqing did not speak. He just stared silently at Luo Fei for a moment then suddenly bent down to kiss Luo Fei's mouth…

Notes:

*SQUEAL* σ(≧ε≦ｏ)

Recipe for Julienne Potatoes:

Chapter end