Chapter 66

The next day, Cheng Duo woke up as usual, and before he got up, he felt a weight on one side of his body. He glanced down and saw that Yong Ge was tightly hugging his arm, burying almost half of his face, sleeping soundly.

The earthen house had a warming effect in winter and cooling effect in summer, especially in the morning when the sun had just risen, and the temperature inside the room was not too high. However, it didn't mean that two people squeezed together wouldn't feel hot. Yong Ge was clearly sweating profusely, and he still clung to Cheng Duo's arm as if afraid that he might leave…

Cheng Duo couldn't help but chuckle and picked up a piece of clothing to wipe the sweat off Yong Ge's face. Then he carefully moved his arm away and got out of bed.

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To avoid waking Yong Ge, he pulled the gray cloth bed curtain together, leaving only a small gap for air circulation.

Cheng Duo went outside and fetched a bucket of water from a small pool to take a cold bath. After that, he entered the kitchen.

There were some leftovers from yesterday's dinner in the kitchen, but Cheng Duo didn't touch them. Instead, he started a new pot and cooked a pot of lean meat porridge.

When the porridge was almost ready, he went to the field and picked two vegetables, chopped them, and added them to the porridge. Then he went back to the room to call Yong Ge.

"Yong Ge, wake up and have breakfast. After eating, you can go back to sleep." Cheng Duo gently tapped the person under the thin blanket.

Yong Ge's long eyelashes twitched, but he didn't open his eyes. Instead, he frowned and made intermittent pleas from his throat, "Cheng Duo, I'm so sleepy… Can we do it tomorrow… tomorrow…"

Cheng Duo: "…" He had only done it twice, and Yong Ge was already this tired. It seemed that the book had misled him.

Of course, Cheng Duo was quite happy about it. Otherwise, he wouldn't have "forgotten" to enlighten Yong Ge with the truth after their second round when Yong Ge was already sober…

Yong Ge subconsciously reached out and clung to Cheng Duo. However, he ended up holding onto thin air, and this action made him inadvertently move his waist and thighs that had been tense the whole night. His face twisted in pain, and he groaned, "Hmm…"

Cheng Duo found it both amusing and heart-wrenching. "Don't move; let me massage you."

Yong Ge was already awakened by the pain, and he felt the movements of the large hand on his waist. His blushing face stiffened, but the sensation of that hand relieving the sore muscles was too overwhelming. He gritted his teeth and endured for a while but couldn't help but whimper under the blanket.

His exposed neck outside the blanket was fair, tinged with a light blush, his beautiful eyebrows tightly furrowed, and it seemed like tears were gathering under his trembling eyelashes.

Cheng Duo admired the sight of his young wife, listening to the slightly painful but also pleasurable moans. His hand continued to knead the tender and flexible muscles… His nose itched, and a hot stream rushed downward.

This was dangerous…

Fortunately, Cheng Duo still had his wits about him and knew that Yong Ge was in no condition to do anything right now. He cleared his throat and increased the speed of the massage, quickly stopping his actions.

Yong Ge's moans ceased when Cheng Duo coughed. He endured the relief and embarrassment in his heart, and with a blush, he quickly got up and put on his clothes. "Cheng Duo… um, Husband, why didn't you wake me up when you got up?"

He felt that he shouldn't have let his husband go to the kitchen to cook breakfast on their first day of marriage. If his father knew about this, he would surely scold him.

Cheng Duo was taken aback, "You can call me Cheng Duo, it sounds better."

"Okay." Yong Ge had no objections. In their village, they called the head of the family "father" and their child's father "husband," but the use of "Husband" sounded a bit awkward for him.

"Cheng Duo, why didn't you wake me up? Cooking is my job. How can I let you do it?" Yong Ge was anxious, thinking that he should take care of things for Cheng Duo and not burden him with household chores.

Moreover, Cheng Ge had already been good to him. If he couldn't even handle basic housework and had to be taken care of by the other, what face would he have left in this family?

"Why can't I? What if I get sick and don't want to chop wood or hunt? Will you do it for me?" Cheng Duo asked, raising an eyebrow.

Yong Ge opened his mouth but couldn't find a response. "That… That's different."

"How is it different?"

"A man is the pillar of the family. The wife should take care of him," Yong Ge said shyly.

Cheng Duo knew that Yong Ge's ideas had been influenced by others and could only slowly change them. Therefore, he gave up reasoning and resorted to acting shameless, "Then I want you to take care of me in bed, just like last night. If you do everything and tire yourself out, unable to move when you lie down, I won't be happy."

Yong Ge blushed even more, "It's broad daylight, why are you suddenly talking about this…"

Cheng Duo's face also felt hot, "Alright, I won't mention it again. Get up quickly; the porridge will cool down soon."

He looked around and found Yong Ge's pants. He was about to pick them up when, in the next moment, the person on the bed suddenly pounced on him and tightly embraced his waist.

"Yong Ge…" Cheng Duo was taken aback.

Yong Ge felt comforted; he might be stubborn, but he wasn't foolish. He realized that Cheng Duo was doing all this for his sake.

"Cheng Duo," Yong Ge bit his lip, struggling to think of what he could do for Cheng Duo. After a moment, he blushed and said shyly, "If you want, we can do it in broad daylight too…"

He would make an effort to make Cheng Duo happy!

Cheng Duo's heart skipped a beat; his wife took the initiative to invite him, and he knew it wasn't just empty words!

He really wanted to go along with it and push Yong Ge back to the bed, but he remembered that Yong Ge was injured last night, and Cheng Duo himself had applied the ointment…

With a sigh of regret, Cheng Duo replied honestly, "I want to as well, but you're injured. Let's have breakfast first, and after we eat, I'll apply some more ointment for you."

"Oh…" Yong Ge lowered his head in disappointment, remembering the semi-conscious state from last night when his husband had bathed him. He also recalled feeling a bit chilly afterward, but because he felt so comfortable, he quickly fell asleep.

Yong Ge was even more disappointed than Cheng Duo. Cheng Duo stifled a smile, finding his wife incredibly adorable. Well, maybe he shouldn't explain the purpose of that book…

Anyway, there are a total of eighteen moves. He really wants to know how Yong Ge will behave after using them.

Due to this incident, when the husband and wife had breakfast, one was shy, and the other was joyful. In the early morning, there were ambiguous pink bubbles in the air.

After eating, Yong Ge insisted that he was fine and rushed to do the dishes.

Cheng Duo didn't argue with him and stood at the sink to wash the dishes without bending over. Compared to this, it was better for him to wash the clothes…

Cheng Duo was washing the festive clothes they wore yesterday. These clothes had a red base with dark patterns and were suitable for everyday wear. Moreover, since Yong Ge personally tailored them, they were better than the ready-made ones Cheng Duo bought in twenty li slope. They could be considered the best clothes in his wardrobe.

Of course, the same was true for Yong Ge; neither of them had many good clothes.

Yong Ge finished washing the dishes and saw Cheng Duo washing clothes. As expected, he wanted to take over. This time Cheng Duo didn't let him and only allowed him to watch from the side…

But Yong Ge couldn't stay idle. He remembered the little chicks he had sent earlier and quickly let them out of the cage, rushing them to the vegetable patch to find insects to eat.

It wasn't that Yong Ge didn't care about the vegetables, but nowadays, they didn't use pesticides, and there were more bugs in the vegetable patch than actual vegetables. It didn't make sense for the chicks to have meat and not eat it, preferring to eat greens…

(T/N: Suggesting that the chicks should eat insects rather than seeds or something when the alternative is available.)

After releasing the chicks, Yong Ge saw the horses in the stable and asked Cheng Duo about them. Then he came back and poured half a basket of green grass and a basket of dried soybeans into the feed trough.

Cheng Duo was utterly helpless. After finishing washing the clothes, he quickly called Yong Ge back, applied the medicine to him, and coaxed him to sleep.

"I'm not sleepy…" Yong Ge said he wasn't sleepy, but after lying on the bed for a while, his eyelids began to fight each other.

Cheng Duo knew that they had only slept in the latter half of the night yesterday and got up early in the morning. It was strange that he wasn't sleepy!

Cheng Duo himself felt quite energetic. He went to the back of the house to look at the piece of land he had just bought. He originally planned to build the brick and tile workshop near their house, but now it seemed that the land was still too small.

He had already built the stable and woodshed and needed to expand the courtyard. The brick and tile workshop not only required a kiln and warehouse but also needed a study and a place for workers to rest… With people coming and going, he didn't want to have no peace when he went home in the future.

Cheng Duo used a wooden stick to draw lines and plan on the ground for a while, feeling that it was almost enough, and then returned to the room to take a nap with Yong Ge.

They didn't go out in the afternoon either. After eating, Cheng Duo found a copy of the Three Character Classics and taught Yong Ge how to read.

Since Yong Ge was just starting to learn, Cheng Duo didn't prepare paper and ink and just used a sand tray. He and Yong Ge copied the Three Character Classics together.

Yong Ge took this seriously. Cheng Duo had told him about many plans for the future, and sometimes he couldn't even understand them, let alone help him?

Yong Ge had always been very self-conscious. He felt unworthy of Cheng Duo. Cheng Duo was so capable, he knew everything, and he could even discuss business with Young Master Xie. As for himself, he had no family background, no dowry, and couldn't do anything…

In order to be a good wife, Yong Ge was very devout in learning characters, making Cheng Duo feel embarrassed about teasing him with any romantic activities in the study.

Did Yong Ge always love to study like this at home? How could Cheng Duo dare to do any sneaky things in this environment!

To maintain the study atmosphere, Cheng Duo endured teaching Yong Ge twenty characters and refused to teach more: "Alright, let's learn only these today. Learning too much might make you forget."

Yong Ge also felt that he had reached his limit. Even with these twenty characters, his head was starting to feel heavy and swollen.

Cheng Duo was afraid of straining his eyes. Since the sun wasn't scorching anymore, he used the excuse of delivering vegetables to take Yong Ge out for a walk.

On the country paths of summer, cicadas chirped continuously, and ripe wheat hung heavily on the branches, swaying gently with the warm breeze, bringing the scent of a bountiful harvest.

Cheng Duo and Yong Ge each held a bamboo basket containing the leftover meat and vegetables from yesterday's feast. Although the dishes were clean and could be stored in the space for a while, everyone saw how much was left yesterday. Besides, Third Madam Li and others had helped a lot, so it wouldn't be fair not to share some with them.

Cheng Duo was too busy yesterday, and they forgot to mention it when they left. It was Yong Ge who brought it up during lunch, reminding him to give Li San Ye, Aunt Qian, and Shanzi's family a share.