novellhall Chapter 317 The Old Man
Chapter 317 The Old Man
The old man pounded on the door so loudly that Lu Congyue wanted to run away.
My wife was already angry, and being woken up so early in the morning will only make her angrier.
"Sir, please stop knocking. My wife and child are still asleep. You'll wake them up if you keep banging on them..."
The old man immediately became displeased: "Look at you, a grown man, and you're afraid of your wife?! Can't you show some manly spirit? She's angry? If she's angry, slap her twice! Let me tell you, a wife who's beaten is like dough that's been kneaded. You'll make her completely obedient. She won't dare close her eyes to sleep if you're not home! A man is supposed to be in charge, how can he let his wife dominate him?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the door opened, and Zhuang Qingxiang stood in the doorway with a stern face.
Lu Congyue was extremely anxious: "Qingxiang, don't misunderstand, Grandpa..."
"So you're this young man's wife. I have to give you a piece of my mind. You can't do this. How can you not let your husband come home? You can't bear to let him stay out all night. What if he gets sick? You'll be the one taking care of him!"
The old man's mouth was faster than Lu Congyue's; he rattled off a whole bunch of things.
Zhuang Qingxiang frowned slightly after hearing this. She didn't want to pay attention to the two people making a fuss outside, but she couldn't help but glance at Lu Congyue.
Didn't he go home last night? Did he stay out all night?
Lu Congyue noticed that Zhuang Qingxiang was looking at him, and he was both happy and annoyed. Fearing that the old man would say something unpleasant again, he hurriedly asked, "Grandpa, it seems that you are the one in charge at home?"
"Of course, I'm the head of the household, and I make all the decisions, big and small!" the old man said proudly.
No sooner had he finished speaking than an elderly woman emerged from the neighboring courtyard and began yelling at the old man, "You old fool, who have you been whispering to outside all morning? Why aren't you done yet? Go buy your grandson the fried dough sticks he wants!"
"Okay, okay, you've been nagging me like this since early morning, it's never-ending..."
The old man complained and was about to leave.
"You old hag, how dare you yell at me?" The old woman immediately became displeased, put her hands on her hips, and was about to start arguing.
Lu Congyue was at a loss, so he quickly smiled apologetically at the old lady: "Auntie, the old man just helped me with a little thing, please don't blame him."
The old woman's gaze swept over Lu Congyue twice, then over Zhuang Qingxiang twice, before she pouted and said, "Just moved in, huh... Oh well, whatever. You old hag, hurry up and get ready, don't keep your grandson from having breakfast!"
The old lady turned and went back, slamming the door shut with a bang.
Lu Congyue asked in a low voice, "Grandpa, why do you seem a little afraid of Grandma? Didn't you say that a beaten wife is like dough being kneaded?"
The old man glanced at him and said coolly, "We have to defeat them first, right? Alright, alright, you guys hurry back, I still need to get my fried dough sticks."
The old man was about to stroll away with his hands behind his back when Zhuang Qingxiang couldn't help but ask, "Sir, aren't you the head of the household? Do you have to make all the decisions? Do you really need to get involved in something as simple as buying fried dough sticks?"
"Look at what you're saying, nothing serious is happening right now, so you're asking me to handle this little thing?"
The old man waved his hand and strolled away leisurely.
"..." Lu Congyue was speechless for a moment, then gave Zhuang Qingxiang a dry laugh, "Hehe, this old man is really interesting..."
Zhuang Qingxiang closed the door expressionlessly, leaving Lu Congyue, who was wearing a forced smile, outside.
Lu Congyue silently rubbed his nose, sighed, and called into the doorway, "I'm going with Grandpa to buy some breakfast. Don't bother making it; I'll be back in a bit."
Before Zhuang Qingxiang could speak, he took off running and quickly caught up with the strolling old man.
The old man glanced at him sideways, his face full of disappointment: "What? Did you get kicked out again? Tsk..."
"No, I want to learn from the old man and do some small errands," Lu Congyue said with a blank face.
Soon, the two returned carrying their belongings.
The old man was carrying two fried dough sticks and a steamed bun. The bun was a gift from Lu Congyue to help maintain good neighborly relations.
Lu Congyue was carrying more things: four fried dough sticks, five steamed buns, two bowls of millet porridge, five boiled eggs...
The old man shook his head, heartbroken: "They really don't know how to manage a household. Why don't they let their wives make these things? They even go out to buy them."
"We just moved in, so we haven't fully furnished the place yet," Lu Congyue said with a smile. "Besides, I have a lot of kids, three of them, plus my husband and I... we eat a lot."
"Three? That's really great! Many children bring many blessings. You two are still young, you can have a few more!" The old man found Lu Congyue much more pleasing to the eye.
Although he's a bit of a widow and coward, he has a lot of children, which is great.
"She's already had three, what are you afraid of her for? With the kids keeping her tied down, she can't run away, can she?" the old man said, scoffing. "From now on, you'd better straighten your spine!"
Lu Congyue's face hardened again, but after a moment he couldn't help but say, "Grandpa, Grandma has been with you for most of her life, what are you afraid of her for? She's so old, she can't possibly run away!"
"You don't know anything!" The old man glared at him with dissatisfaction. "My wife has been through thick and thin with me, she's suffered most of her life, how can I not give her some face? Alright, I'm not talking to you anymore, I'm going back, you should go home and deal with your wife too."
Lu Congyue watched the old man enter his yard with a blank expression, and then curled his lip.
This old man is really something else. He's living a peaceful life, yet he insists on beating his wife. He really seems to thrive on chaos.
When he arrived at the gate of his own courtyard, Lu Congyue knocked on the door.
After a long while without hearing any movement from inside, I pounded harder this time, and the door opened.
"Stop knocking," Zhuang Qingxiang said, frowning. "Take these things back and eat them yourself; we don't need them."
Upon hearing this, Lu Congyue ignored Zhuang Qingxiang's objections and pushed his way in without allowing any refusal, taking the items to the table in the main room.
"Lu Congyue!" Zhuang Qingxiang's annoyed voice rang out from behind.
Lu Congyue turned his head to look at the east room, but he didn't see the child or hear any sound from the child, so he guessed that the child hadn't woken up yet.
I was hoping the three little ones would come and hug his legs to stop him from leaving, but it seems that's not going to happen.
He sighed, turned to look at Zhuang Qingxiang, and said in a low voice, "I've already bought it, and I can't eat it all myself. I'll leave it for you and the children. Don't refuse. Yueyue and Chenglin are surnamed Lu now, and Donghua is with you. I can't just ignore it. It's only right that I spend some money."
Zhuang Qingxiang turned her face away: "Now that you've put the things down, you should leave."
Lu Congyue pursed his lips and asked softly, "Qingxiang, I know you're angry with me... but can you stay angry for too long...?"
"Get out!" Zhuang Qingxiang immediately shouted.
"Then tell me how you can stop being angry, and I'll do whatever you say, okay?" Lu Congyue asked expectantly, then quickly added, "Divorce is not an option."