A Good Country Wife

"Brother Wang, we have a few more people for lunch today. Dongjia’s wife has asked you to prepare a few extra dishes."

"Sure thing, no problem!" Wang Dachuan responded cheerfully, happy to have more people enjoying his cooking, satisfying as it was to see everyone relishing his meals and praising them. The feeling was deeply fulfilling. Besides, now that he didn’t have to work at the tavern, cooking for just a few people at home hardly took any effort. With time on his hands, he enjoyed experimenting with various delicious dishes. The ingredients here were plentiful, and Dongjia’s wife was generous and easygoing, not minding his experimenting. In fact, he had developed several new dishes. It was just a shame that the tavern was now closed; otherwise, they would surely have been a huge hit.

Lin Yue didn’t feel comfortable joining the table with several men present. She had eaten a late breakfast and had been well fed by Zhao Erhu, so she wasn’t hungry at the moment. She casually ate a little and then went back to her room. In three months, Zhao Erhu was going to sea, and Lin Yue thought of embroidering more pieces. Embroideries were sold at much higher prices overseas—even a small piece with her skill could fetch hundreds or even several hundred taels of silver. Now, with a skilled craftsperson like Zhang Qiusheng, she no longer had to just finish her embroideries and take them to a framing shop. In the past, some more challenging pieces that Lin Yue was unsure about could not be properly framed, which limited her. Now, she could directly have Zhang Qiusheng do the framing.

After eating, Zhao Erhu came into the room and saw Lin Yue busy with her embroidery. He frowned, "Wife, why have you started embroidering again? Haven’t I told you to rest more? Your health is the most important thing. I’m working myself to the bone precisely so that you can have a good life. Why won’t you listen?"

As Lin Yue heard Zhao Erhu starting his nagging again, she rolled her eyes in resignation, "I do listen. If I get tired, naturally I’ll stop embroidering. With some free time on my hands right now, what’s wrong with doing some embroidery? You know I love this. Seeing the embroideries I’ve created gives me a sense of achievement, which you wouldn’t understand. But it’s fine if you don’t understand, just don’t disturb me."

"Wife, are you finding your husband annoying now?" Zhao Erhu had had quite a bit to drink. Although not drunk, he was still slightly tipsy and stuck close to Lin Yue, nuzzling against her neck.

Such a stoically masculine man usually, but behaving now with the tenderness of a young bride, and wearing an expression of wounded abandonment, he looked up expectantly at Lin Yue, and suddenly appeared somewhat adorable. As Lin Yue turned to look at him, Zhao Erhu stuck out his tongue and licked her smooth cheek with a smack.

"Wife smells so good, hehe," Zhao Erhu chuckled and rubbed Lin Yue a few times more, clearly attempting to coax her while drunk.

Lin Yue was initially amused by the older man’s childish antics and found the change refreshing, but Zhao Erhu’s actions quickly overwhelmed her. "Zhao Erhu, you’ve had too much to drink, haven’t you? Making a scene while drunk—get away from me. You reek of alcohol, so go lie down on the bed yourself."

Saying so, Lin Yue pushed Zhao Erhu, who was leaning heavily on her, but she didn’t use much force out of concern that he was drunk.