| TBBOTOF | 291
Tang Xu couldn’t sleep well.
In the middle of the night, he always woke up startled, his mind in a chaotic mess, his forehead drenched in cold sweat.
But when he turned over beside him, he would sometimes sit up in alarm. How could he not know?
Wei Dong also sat up along with him.
Wiping his face to shake off his drowsiness, Wei Dong, still half-asleep, muttered, "What are you fussing about?"
The morning light filtered through the gauzy window, casting a hazy glow in the room. Tang Xu could vaguely make out the worry on Wei Dong's face.
He exhaled, leaned his body forward, and slumped against his man's chest, his forehead pressing against his firm and resilient chest muscles.
After pursing his lips, he said, "It seems like I had a bad dream."
Wei Dong pulled him into his arms and gently wiped the cold sweat from his forehead onto his chest muscles before saying, "Is it because of Old Wen?"
That afternoon, Tang Xu had told Wei Dong about Old Wen giving him a box. The two of them had opened it.
Inside were five gold ingots, a banknote for one thousand taels of silver, and some jade pendants, all of which were of excellent quality. Tang Xu didn’t know much about such things, but just holding them gave him a sense that they were extraordinary.
After examining the contents, they had locked the box in the cabinet and then both fell silent for a while before continuing with what they were doing.
Wei Dong could somewhat understand Old Wen’s intentions. Years ago, when Old Wen came here, it was under the pretense of visiting Old Xu.
At the time, he had said he wanted them to care for him in his old age and bury him when the time came.
But no one really took it seriously.
Years had passed, and Old Wen had been living a carefree life here. He ate well, drank well, and seemed to sleep soundly without any apparent health issues.
It seemed that now, while he was still aware, he was handing over what he had long prepared to Tang Xu, just as he himself had put it—making arrangements for his affairs in advance.
This didn’t mean that the old man’s health was declining, yet Tang Xu still couldn’t sleep because of it.
Wei Dong sighed. “Look at the energy the three of them use to argue every day. Does that look like he has any problem?”
Tang Xu: “…”
Wei Dong snorted. “Their voices are even louder than mine. They’re close to pulling each other’s beards.”
Tang Xu raised his hand and gave his chest a light slap. “Talk properly.”
“Alright, alright. Let’s catch some sleep before the rooster starts crowing.” Wei Dong lay back down, pulling Tang Xu into his arms as they both reclined.
But no sooner had they gotten comfortable and closed their eyes than the rooster outside began crowing.
“Cock-a-doodle-doo~~~~”
“Cock-a-doodle-doo~ Cock-a-doodle-doo~~~~”
Tang Xu buried his face and chuckled softly.
Wei Dong clicked his tongue, tightened his hold, and yawned. “Let’s just butcher it. With such a loud voice, it’s bound to have good meat.”
“No way! Our big rooster is powerful—it can catch rats and guard the house.” Tang Xu chuckled lightly, remembering the last time a rat was chased into the chicken coop by the fat cat.
In its panic to escape, it was ambushed by the big rooster, which descended like a hawk, pinning it under one claw and pecking furiously with its sharp beak.
By the time it was done, the rat was riddled with bloody holes.
Normally, if there was a cat outside the back wall by the mountain trying to climb the fence, the big rooster would get even more spirited, flapping its wings like it wanted to chase the intruder down and peck it to death.
It wasn’t just the big rooster; even the hens had terrible tempers. Whenever Tang Xu went to the coop to collect eggs, he had to be extra careful.
Yawning, Tang Xu closed his eyes. “Let’s sleep for a bit more and get up later.”
They didn’t sleep for too long this time. When Tang Xu got up, he made breakfast, while Wei Dong went to see Old Wu specifically to ask about Old Wen’s health.
Old Wu looked a bit startled by his question, then smiled. “He’s doing well. Did something happen? Yesterday, when Xu Ge’er came out of his room, his face looked concerned.”
The two of them had originally lived together for a few days, but eventually found themselves disagreeing too often and decided to live separately.
However, despite their differences, they often gathered to study medicine and herbs together.
Back when Old Xu was still alive, he had planted a small medicinal herb field in the backyard. Now it was being tended by Old Wu.
Wei Dong told Old Wu about the money Old Wen had given Tang Xu.
Old Wu stroked his beard and said with a cheerful smile, “That old man has no nephews or children of his own. Naturally, he’d entrust it to you two. If he hadn’t come here, how could he be living so comfortably now? Tell Xu Ge’er not to overthink it—everything’s fine.”
Wei Dong thanked Old Wu and then went to relay the message to his husband.
“That’s good to know.” Tang Xu took a flatbread out of the pan with his bare hands and tossed it into a bowl nearby.
Then, he grabbed a ball of dough and spread it across the hot pan with quick, practiced motions. The high heat caused the batter to solidify immediately, releasing a fragrant aroma.
He alternated between spreading batter and flipping the bread with such speed that his fingers, constantly exposed to the heat, had turned red.
After watching Tang Xu pull out several flatbreads, Wei Dong finally spoke up. “Doesn’t it burn?”
“Not really, I’m used to it.” Tang Xu shook his hand and blew on his reddened fingertips. “Making the bread this way keeps it thin, Ze’er~~” He tilted his head and called out the window.
Xu Ze had just finished washing up and was pouring the basin water onto the vegetable patch.
Hearing Tang Xu’s voice, he turned around and looked toward the kitchen window. “What’s wrong, Brother Xu?”
“Cut some mung bean sprouts that sprouted the day before yesterday and grab a handful of spring onions. We’ll roll them in the flatbreads later.”
Xu Ze nodded, replied “Got it,” emptied the basin, and went to cut the sprouts.
Meanwhile, Tang Mei came out of the house, tying her long hair into a bun and fixing it at the back of her head. She entered the kitchen and asked, “Are we making soup?”
“No, I’ve already cooked some millet porridge,” Tang Xu replied, then turned to Wei Dong. “Don’t just stand around here. Come back when the food’s ready. Go take care of things in the backyard.”
Wei Dong pinched Tang Xu’s cheek before turning and leaving the kitchen.
Tang Mei couldn’t help but blush every time she saw the affectionate interactions between Wei Dong and Tang Xu.
No matter how many times she witnessed it, she still wasn’t used to it and would instinctively avert her gaze.
She also deeply admired their relationship dynamic. They discussed everything together, and Wei Dong had never spoken a harsh word to Tang Xu. For someone as strong and commanding as Wei Dong, he was surprisingly polite and gentle with his family.
“Cousin? What are you thinking about?” Tang Xu called out to her.
Tang Mei smiled at him. “I’m envious of how close you two are.”
“What’s there to be envious about? Just keep your eyes open and find yourself a good man to marry next time,” Tang Xu said nonchalantly.
Tang Mei widened her eyes in surprise. “I have two kids. How could I possibly find a good man to marry?”
Since she had returned to the village, rumors had started swirling. Some speculated that she had come back after being mistreated by her in-laws, while others suggested she had been divorced due to conflicts with her husband’s family.
However, no one dared say anything to her face, especially near the Wei family’s large estate.
Few people would come looking for trouble in a place like this.
“With the money you’ve saved, you can find any kind of man you want,” Tang Xu replied as he finished making a large stack of flatbreads.
After roughly estimating the number, he decided it wasn’t enough and grabbed another ball of dough from the basin to spread batter onto the pan. “And if it doesn’t work out, then don’t bother. Living on your own is just as good.”
Tang Mei froze for a moment, then nodded firmly. “You’re right. That’s absolutely true!”
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