Chapter 335: Isn’t it Mother who is in charge of our family?

He only smiled and did not say anything, which prompted someone to have dreams.

Now the pedantic and serious image of the man in Fu Yuzheng’s mind has slowly collapsed. She bit her lips, only to realize that he was deliberately teasing her.

Beneath the surface, he was deadly.

She then grew annoyed, and her moist beautiful eyes flickered with a thin layer of anger.

Liu Zhixia curled his lips and whispered, “At home, men do the rough work.”

“…” The anger beneath Fu Yuzheng’s eyes instantly faded, and a scarlet tint climbed up her cheeks.

This…This bad man.

She silently spat at him, but a trace of sweetness crept up her heart.

She hung her head, and her lips lifted at an angle invisible to the man. 

“Let’s go home quickly, but pay attention to the road. Be careful of the slippery road,” the man admonished, striding ahead.

Although it did not rain or snow, the weather was too cold and frost formed on the ground. If not careful, one could slip down. 

She trodded carefully and walked behind him, so she slowed down.

And no matter how slow she walked, he was never more than three steps away from her.

But there was no trace that he was matching her footsteps.

It didn’t bring her a sense of urgency, but instead, it was snugly smooth.

She only had to look up, and she could see his straight and broad back, not far ahead.

A spot somewhere in her chest slowly heated up.

“Didn’t you say you would show me the porcelain kiln?” Suddenly, she had an urge to hear him talk.

“If you want to see it, I’ll pick a sufficient time to take you there next time,” he turned around with serious black eyes and devoid of any nonchalance, “Let’s first make cakes today, hmm?”

“Mm.” Her long lashes trembled, and she answered softly.

On the way back, they met villagers who were walking around from time to time, and Liu Zhixia all greeted and exchanged pleasantries with them.

Every time he stopped, the villagers’ eyes would always fall on Fu Yuzheng, and then their meaningful glances slithered around between her and Liu Zhixia.

Despite this, Liu Zhixia only smiled and said nothing. 

He was fully aware of what they were thinking, but he just didn’t clarify their misunderstandings.

By the time they got home, Fu Yuzheng’s pretty face was already red.

Grandpa Liu, Grandma Liu and Liu Yusheng witnessed everything scrupulously in the kitchen. The three ancestors nestled in front of the stove, covering their mouths and snickering.

It seemed that there was indeed an opening!

“I used to think that the eldest kid still wasn’t enlightened at his age, but he moved really fast this time. They only went out, but look at how shy Yuzheng is.”

“This has nothing to do with being enlightened, but not meeting the right one. That boy, Zhixia, is like me, when I was young. I also grew old without marrying, and it’s only when I met you that I got enlightened.” The old man curled his beard and proudly reminisced about the past.

“Don’t you have control over your mouth? Your granddaughter is still here. Are you not ashamed to say this? You didn’t get married in your early twenties. Was it because you didn’t meet the right one? It’s obviously because you were too poor to get married!” Grandma Liu’s wrinkled face turned red from the firelight in the stove.

Grandpa Liu stubbornly insisted, “There is nothing to be ashamed of. Who hasn’t been young? If I hadn’t met you at that time, I might have been an old bachelor! Isn’t there a saying that it’s better to go without than make do with a substandard substitute? Right, Nannan?”

Liu Yusheng nodded heavily. “Yes, rather go without than make do with a substandard substitute! Grandpa, you had a good eye when you were young. You actually fell in love with my grandmother at a glance!”

“For sure. Back then, my family was poor, and in order to marry your grandmother home, I had to smash our iron pots and pans into pieces and sell them as scrapped iron.”

“What? Do you regret selling your iron?” Grandma Liu glared.

“Look at what you’re saying. Do I look like I regret it? I am glad that I have sold my iron. Otherwise, such a good old wife would not be mine!”

“Pfft!” Liu Yusheng covered her stomach and leaned on the old man’s arm, laughing so hard she could barely stand up. Her grandparents were getting younger and younger at heart, so cute!

The old lady’s face was also bashful, but she couldn’t stop smiling.

This old fogey, the older he was, the more outspoken he became. He dared to pour out everything even in front of their grandchildren. 

When eating lunch, two people at the table were blushing, one old and one young.

The large Liu family members, several of whom did not know anything, looked left and right, and even ate their meals awkwardly.

Fu Yuzheng, a young lady, was shy and pretty, so forget about it. But how old was the mother of the family, but she was still blushing?

“Mother, what’s wrong with you? Do you have a fever? Or were you smoked by the stove fire? It doesn’t look like it, ah…” Before Liu Erlin could finish his observation, the old man hit his hand with a chopstick.

“Dinner is not enough to stop your mouth! Am I in charge of the house or you are?”

Liu Erlin: “Isn’t Mother the head of our family?”

The old man choked and stared dryly, unable to refute.

Liu Erlin snorted deep inside. Father, look how you’re flying into a shameful rage. But he didn’t dare voice it out.

Otherwise, he would have to receive a chopstick again.

Grandma Liu’s cheeks turned even redder.

Du Juan looked at her man’s face and stamped his foot under the table. “Hurry and eat. You’ll have to help move this afternoon.”

She was so ruthless that Liu Erlin’s tongue failed him. 

Liu Yusheng had a delicious meal, smirking the whole process.

She was in the know!

It was like being awake while everyone was sleeping. Tsk-tsk, this feeling made her meal more appetizing than usual.

After lunch, the Liu family just washed the dishes when people arrived one after another.

“Brother Liu, sister-in-law, are you guys ready to make the rice cakes?!”

Grandma Liu smiled and replied, “We’re ready. I expect a lot of people, so let’s do it in the courtyard. Set up a few large wooden boards on the shelf and put the rice flour sieve on it, so they will not get dirty.”

Liu Yusheng was very active, and directed her two brothers to lift the wooden boards and put them neatly on the yard, with long wooden benches underneath them, stably.

One by one, baskets were also carried out and placed around the boards; fire pots were put in the frames; charcoal fires were lit; and thin-bore baskets were set up on top of the baskets, so that when the cakes were ready, they could put them on the top and eat them when they were ready.

Soon after,  the planks were full of people, all of whom were the village’s mothers and daughters-in-law, as well as children rushing to join in the fun. Before they began to make cakes, they often reached out for sweet stuffing.

The whole courtyard was bustling with activity.

Although they were in open air, and the sky was freezing cold, it was rare that there was no wind today. Sitting next to the braziers lit by charcoal fire, it was not cold at all as they worked.

The womenfolk of the families were all on the stage, so Fu Yuzheng was unable to escape and was dragged by Liu Yusheng to make rice cakes.

Sprinkle a layer of rice flour with sesame and peanuts on the wooden mold, then sprinkle some sweet stuffing, and finally spread a layer of rice flour. Use a wooden pestle to compact and smooth the rice flour until the outermost layer is tight and smooth. Use a blunt knife to scrape off the powder spilling over the mold frame, and knock the rice cake out of the mold, and done.

It was simple and easy to do.

Fill a wicker sieve with rice cakes, cover it with a layer of greaseproof paper, and set it on the wicker basket to dry.

In a quarter of an hour or so, a sieve was ready and the yard was filled with the aroma of rice cakes.

Greedy children squatted next to the baskets, their chubby little fleshy hands holding their cheeks, waiting to eat.