Chapter 22

Yong-ge doesn't dare to say yes or no… His father had made it clear before, even saying words of not acknowledging him. How could he dare to admit it? But if he doesn't admit it, he would have to lie to his dad again. Yong-ge was caught in a dilemma.

Li Wang saw his hesitant appearance and couldn't help but get agitated, covering his chest: "Didn't I say you're not allowed to go find him? Why don't you listen?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than he coughed violently.

Yong-ge was obedient and quickly poured water for his dad, then knelt down with a thud: "Father, have some water… I know I was wrong, please don't be angry."

Yong-ge had thought beforehand, even before reaching Twenty-Li Slope, that his father, although strict with his words, would loosen up once he showed some weakness.

Sure enough, Li Wang calmed down the irritation in his throat, leaned on his cane, and stood up. Just like many times before, he pointed at the nameless memorial tablet on the main table: "Don't kneel to me, kneel to the tablet. When you realize your mistake, then you can get up."

These one or two incidents are all debts! Yong-ge honestly faced the memorial tablet, but his eyes secretly glanced in his father's direction: "Father, I know I was wrong."

"… " Li Wang paused: "Even if you know you were wrong, keep kneeling!"

Yong-ge stuck out his tongue and knelt for a while, twisting around as if there were bugs on his body. He occasionally pounded his waist, massaged his legs, appearing uncomfortable.

Li Wang was about to reprimand him when he suddenly remembered that Twenty-Li Slope was quite far away, and he must have walked on the mountain road for most of the day… And he had been roughing it outside for two days, so he must be tired as well.

Li Wang shook his head and said with dissatisfaction, "Get up. It's getting late today, we'll continue tomorrow!"

After speaking, he coughed twice.

"Okay." Yong-ge chuckled and quickly got up from the ground. His dad always says "tomorrow," but he doesn't really get angry the next day. If he acts spoiled and tries to please him, everything will be fine.

"Wait." Just as Yong-ge was about to return to his room, Li Wang called him again, "The outsider who stayed in our village, is he the one you saved before? I heard from others that you even grew vegetables for him?"

Yong-ge was startled, but he plucked up the courage and said, "It's him… Father, he gave me money."

Li Wang frowned, "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"It's not a big deal." Yong-ge's eyes flickered, "Father, Cheng Duo never mentioned the tiger bone whistle. He doesn't know about it."

Li Wang quietly observed Yong-ge's expression and noticed that when he mentioned that outsider, there was no fear on his face. On the contrary, his words carried a sense of familiarity.

Li Wang had a feeling: "The chicken leg and bamboo rat meat you brought back before, he gave them to you too, right?"

"Yes." Yong-ge nodded nervously, unsure of what his father would say next. But Li Wang didn't say anything. He remained silent for a while, then just urged him to go back to sleep: "Alright, go to sleep early."

However, just as Yong-ge was about to close the door, his father casually added, "You don't need to use the medicine on your face after a while."

"Father?"

Li Wang sighed, as if talking to himself, then turned around. "You're not young anymore. Feng-ge, who is half a year younger than you, is already engaged…"

Those two unfilial sons are missing, and he doesn't want to think about what happened to them. For now, he can only focus on Yong-ge. And the most important thing for Yong-ge now is to find a good family…

Actually, if it weren't for Village Head Li's mention of Cheng Duo, he would definitely oppose Yong-ge associating with him. But according to him, Cheng Duo is a young and strong man with great strength. He can support himself just by hunting.

Li Wang had also seen the house in the mountain hollow. The roof was covered with thick wheat straw, and the beams and pillars were brand new. Although the surrounding walls were too high for him to see inside, he knew that the person who built the house put a lot of effort into it.

Cheng Duo is also grateful. He gave Yong-ge money before, and when Yong-ge went to work, he even provided him with food and other things. One could say he was very generous.

Village Head Li also said that he is reasonable and has good character.

Li Wang compared several unmarried men from the surrounding villages and found that besides not having any land, Cheng Duo is actually a very good match…

Of course, Li Wang didn't know that it was Village Head Li who made the decision, and he would definitely speak well of Cheng Duo to others. Moreover, Li Wang didn't specifically ask about it. He only heard it in passing during idle chats. Village Head Li wouldn't randomly bring up Cheng Duo's missing marriage without reason.

How could Li Wang possibly ask? They are a family, and if others haven't spoken up, he can't go prying and ruin his own ger's reputation.

The next day, Yong-ge got up early and went into the kitchen, wanting to make a hearty breakfast for his father to please him and make him forget about his secret trip to Twenty-Li Slope.

But to his surprise, his father was up even earlier. Not only that, he had already made corn porridge and boiled a bowl of wild vegetables.

The pickled vegetables had been prepared in advance, chopped and mixed with a few drops of soybean oil, ready to be served with the corn porridge.

Li Wang saw Yong-ge peeking his head into the kitchen but not daring to come in. He glanced at him and said, "You're up? Hurry up and freshen up, it's time to eat." It seemed no different from usual.

"Okay!" Yong-ge felt relieved and replied loudly. He took a basin and went to the broken water tank in the yard to freshen up.

They had breakfast together. After Li Wang left with a bamboo basket on his back, Yong-ge followed him.

Little did he know that after he left, Li Wang, who had already left, turned back and stood at the empty courtyard gate for a long time, sighed, and limped away.

When Yong-ge arrived at Cheng Duo's house, Cheng Duo had just woken up. When he saw Yong-ge, he yawned without any grace. "You came at the right time. Help me make a few pancakes for breakfast. I want pure meat filling!"

He had bought pork and flour yesterday, and he had already considered what to eat this morning while lying in bed.

Yong-ge was already happy with the corn porridge he had with his father, but Cheng Duo wanted to eat oily pancakes early in the morning, and he even specifically mentioned pure meat filling… It was really extravagant!

He stuck his tongue out at Cheng Duo's back and obediently went into the kitchen. Making pancakes was very simple. Yong-ge kneaded the dough and cut a piece of pork to make the meat filling.

Cheng Duo's kitchen had plenty of seasonings that he had bought from the traveling hawker earlier. Yong-ge had used them to cook before, so he was already skilled. He brought a basket of vegetables with him, including green onions. He chopped some green onions and quickly seasoned the meat filling.

He fried nine meat pancakes in one go, brought them out and served them to Cheng Duo, then turned around and started boiling lard.

Boiling lard was simple. He washed the pork fat, cut it into small pieces, put it in a pot with some water, and slowly simmered it. This process required patience. The heat couldn't be too high or too low, and during the boiling of the lard, he also had to skim off the foam from time to time.

Only when all the water in the pot had evaporated, and the pork fat had turned golden and crispy, filling the room with the fragrance of lard, he added a little salt to the clay pot, and the scooped lard was fragrant and translucent.

Cheng Duo had been in this ancient era for quite some time, but this was the first time he had such a hearty meal. He inadvertently ate five meat pancakes and still felt unsatisfied.

He glanced at the four left for Yong-ge but didn't touch them. Following the aroma, he ran to the kitchen. Seeing the hot and crispy pork fat scraps just scooped up, he couldn't help but mix them with salt in a bowl.

"How is it? Is it delicious?" It was Yong-ge's first time making so much lard, and he was a little worried about his cooking skills.

Cheng Duo casually handed a piece to his mouth. "Try it for yourself."

Yong-ge paused for a moment, slowly chewing the piece of pork fat scraps. He thought Cheng Duo had forgotten his identity as a ger and didn't pay much attention to it. He turned his head and continued to scoop the lard in the pot.

Little did he know that behind him, Cheng Duo was rubbing the fingertips that had touched the soft lips of the little ger, feeling a little strange in his heart…

Now that Cheng Duo was full and had unintentionally taken advantage of the situation, his long-lost conscience finally came back. Seeing Yong Ge busy and sweating, without hesitation, he stepped forward and snatched the spatula from his hand, then handed him the bowl of freshly mixed pork fat scraps that hadn't been touched much. "Let me scoop, you go sit and eat."

Yong-ge was caught off guard as his spatula was snatched away, and he was handed a bowl of pork fat scraps. He said worriedly, "Are you sure you can handle it? Don't spill it…"

Before he could finish speaking, he saw Cheng Duo confidently scoop a large ladleful, but when he poured it into the earthenware jar, a lot of it spilled onto the stove.

Yong-ge's brow furrowed. "Slow down! You spilled it outside!"

"It's okay, just a little bit." Cheng Duo didn't mind. Yong-ge couldn't bear watching anymore. "Forget it, let me do it myself. Give me back the spatula!"

As he said that, he put down the bowl of pork fat scraps and tried to snatch the spatula from Cheng Duo.

Cheng Duo was taller and stronger, so he slightly raised the spatula, making it out of Yong-ge's reach. He could only helplessly jump up and down. "Give me back the spatula!"

Cheng Duo used his hand to block him and said confidently, "It was my first time, I didn't control the strength well… I'll scoop a bit less next time, it won't spill anymore!"

"I'm almost done scooping!" This person wasn't here to help, he was simply causing trouble.

Although Cheng Duo repeatedly urged Yong-ge to eat his own food, Yong-ge still stared at the oil jar, not even tasting the pork fat scraps in his mouth.

Because he was worried that Li Wang would return home early, Yong-ge quickly went back after finishing the lard.

At noon, he cooked corn porridge again and reheated the meat pancakes he had brought back from Cheng Duo.

Li Wang didn't even ask about it, but Yong-ge himself felt guilty and explained with his head down, "These meat pancakes were given to me by the inn I stayed at in Twenty-Li Slope yesterday morning. I didn't want to eat them, so I brought them back…"

He wasn't exactly lying. The inn did give him corn and pork scraps pancakes, but they were all eaten by him and Cheng Duo.

Li Wang glanced at the clearly freshly made food and once again affirmed that Cheng Duo was a good person. When he saw that the pancakes were filled entirely with meat, he was shocked again. Why didn't Yong-ge advise against it?

If Yong-ge couldn't persuade him, how would they live together in the future?