A Good Country Wife

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Lin Yue didn't make a sound and that was taken as an agreement. Although the noodles indeed weren't delicious, they weren't so bad that they were inedible. They were much tastier than the dry, hard pancakes she had eaten the day before. She understood that Zhao Erhu, being a big man, naturally had a large appetite, and a bowl of noodle soup at noon would hardly be enough to fill his stomach.

Lin Yue's behavior really didn't fit that of someone from a poor family. If the Lin Yue of the past could have had a bowl of noodles like this, she would have likely been overjoyed. Zhao Erhu didn't think much of it. To him, the clear soup noodles were already quite a delicacy. He tried to persuade Lin Yue to eat a few more times, but seeing that she firmly refused and looked somewhat displeased, he picked up the bowl and started to eat with big bites, thinking that he must change his little wife's picky eating habit in the future. For now, he would indulge her, planning to buy her something else to eat later. It wasn't right to just eat so little.

After finishing the noodles, Zhao Erhu took Lin Yue to a Bun Shop and asked the owner to pack two meat buns. Remembering how the children had drooled over the pancakes last time, Lin Yue pleaded with Zhao Erhu to buy a few more to take back for the kids. Aside from doting on the children, she also wanted to build a good relationship with them. She wasn't foolish and could sense the children's hostility towards her. The younger ones were still more manageable, but Erlang treated her like an enemy. After all, they would have to live together in the future, and it wasn't good to continue like this.

Nowadays, buns weren't cheap, as the technique of fermentation was mastered by only a few. Ordinary folks would only make food from unfermented dough, with the dry, hard pancakes that Lin Yue had eaten a few days earlier being the most common. They couldn't compare with the soft and fragrant buns. Poor families couldn't afford such luxuries; even the pancakes were only available to families who were slightly better off. You only had to see how the children had eyed the pancakes with such longing. It was only because Zhao Erhu felt pity for his wife that he had decided to buy two meat buns. Seeing Lin Yue asking for a few more, he hesitated for a while but still agreed. However, what he bought wasn't meat buns, but asked the Bun Shop owner to pack a few more steamed buns.

"Here are your buns, Customer, that will be eighty coins in total," said the Bun Shop owner as he wrapped the buns and steamed buns in oiled paper and smiled broadly at Zhao Erhu, thinking that although this man looked rather shabby with patches on his clothes, he was surprisingly generous. It really was true that appearances can be deceiving. Zhao Erhu of course knew the price of the buns and steamed buns and was about to pay when Lin Yue stopped him.

"Wait a moment, boss, have you made a mistake with the calculation? We only bought two buns and five steamed buns, so why is it eighty coins? Don't tell me you're cheating us country folks because we don't know the numbers!" Lin Yue said somewhat angrily. In her mind, buns and steamed buns were the cheapest kinds of food, worth just a couple of coins each, enough. After all, an egg sold for just four coins, yet now she was being charged eighty coins for two buns and five steamed buns—that was clearly a rip-off. This Bun Shop owner was really dishonest.

When the owner of the Bun Shop heard Lin Yue's complaint, his face darkened. He, Li Er, had been selling buns on this street for several years. Although he was known to drive a hard bargain, he had never overcharged a customer, even by a small amount. Now this young girl was accusing him of cheating them out of their money, which was a deliberate attack on his reputation. How could he continue doing business here? It was intolerable to him. He thought when he had seen these two looking so poor that they probably couldn't afford the buns, and indeed, trouble had come.

As soon as Lin Yue spoke, Zhao Erhu knew they had offended people. Bun Shops in Xin'an City were not uncommon, and all priced the same. His little wife really had forgotten her past. Otherwise, she wouldn't have said such a thing. Seeing the Bun Shop owner's obvious wish to burst out in anger, Zhao Erhu hurriedly stopped Lin Yue from continuing and stepped forward to apologize.

"Boss, my apologies, my wife fell seriously ill a few days ago and her mind isn't very clear yet. She didn't mean to say that. Please be magnanimous and let it pass. We are in the wrong here, and I will compensate you. Eighty coins, right? I'll pay right now," Zhao Erhu chuckled sheepishly.

Lin Yue, realizing that the buns were probably that expensive here, hurriedly stopped Zhao Erhu as he was about to pay. "Brother Erhu, if buns are so pricey, let's not buy them. With that amount of money, we can buy flour and meat to make many buns at home. Let's go, we can go around the market instead," Lin Yue said, pulling on Zhao Erhu to leave.

The face of the Bun Shop owner grew even uglier upon hearing Lin Yue's words. He looked at her scornfully and said with sarcasm, "What a joke. The recipe for these buns was passed down from my grandfather, who was a cook in the Royal Residence. It's not something just anybody can do. Otherwise, I wouldn't need to run this Bun Shop. You, a village woman, think you can make buns? Who are you trying to fool? If you can't afford it, just get lost and don't get in the way of my business."

"How can you talk like that? It's just..." Lin Yue was about to argue with the Bun Shop owner, who had spoken so rudely, but Zhao Erhu stopped her, knowing that she begrudged spending the money. Even though she was usually timid, why was she so brazen now? Her demeanor looked a bit like that of the village shrews, although she lacked their fierceness. He certainly didn't want his little wife to become like that. It seemed he would need to teach her properly in the future.

"Niuniu, be good, don't make a fuss," Zhao Erhu said, his tone slightly stern. He wasn't a troublemaker and didn't want to create conflicts over such a trivial matter, especially since they were wrong in the first place.

"But..." Lin Yue still wanted to say something, but seeing the serious expression on Zhao Erhu's face, she fell silent. In an era where wives were expected to obey their husbands without question, it was better for her to behave. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down, and it would be problematic if Zhao Erhu were to discover the secret within her. In the end, under Lin Yue's disapproval and the Bun Shop owner's frowning face, Zhao Erhu spent thirty coins on two meat buns, and they didn't take the steamed buns.

Lin Yue held the hot, just-out-of-the-oven buns, and although the exchange with the Bun Shop owner had been unpleasant, she had to admit that the buns were indeed sizable. Each bun was only slightly smaller than her palm, twice as large as modern ones. They were so juicy that the oil dribbled out after only a few bites, clearly indicating that the filling was plentiful. However, there was too much fatty meat, which made them greasy and overpowering. Lin Yue had eaten only half of one when she started to feel full.

"Brother Erhu, I can't eat any more. You have this," Lin Yue said, knowing that Zhao Erhu wouldn't mind that she had already eaten some, and she pushed the remaining half bun and the wrapped one into his hands. But this time, Zhao Erhu no longer indulged her; he insisted that she finish the two buns. Later, seeing that Lin Yue really couldn't eat any more, he finished the remaining half of the bun himself.

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