Ye Li’s Plans
The little figure in his arms was simply too lovable. After rubbing him to his heart’s content, Ye Li pinched Jiang Ya’s soft cheeks and said with a smile, “Yage’er, truth be told, I want bone broth too.”
“How about this—every day I’ll set aside two wen. After seven days, we can buy one big marrow bone. What do you think?”
A single marrow bone weighed a little over a jin and cost twelve wen per jin.
Having it once every seven days wasn’t extravagant.
But Jiang Ya’s big eyes blinked twice. Then he lowered his head, clenched his tiny fists, and began counting on his fingers, two at a time.
At first Ye Li didn’t understand what he was doing, but soon it dawned on him.
He was calculating?
The thought had barely crossed his mind when the little boy cried out, “Li-ge, that’s fourteen wen! That’s too expensive!”
“You know how to do sums?” Ye Li asked in surprise.
“Yes. Big Brother taught Second Brother, and Second Brother taught me,” Jiang Ya answered solemnly.
Ye Li burst into laughter and cupped his small face again, rubbing it affectionately. “So clever!”
These past days since transmigrating, he’d been busy making tofu, frying tofu puffs, and dealing with countless chores. The two boys cut pigweed in the mornings and gathered firewood in the afternoons—they were busy too. He truly hadn’t noticed this before.
Jiang Ya flushed at the praise. He twisted around in Ye Li’s arms, and his bright eyes immediately met his elder brother’s gaze.
Tilting his head, he said, “Big Brother, you should thank Li-ge too. He spent so much money, and the soup tastes so good.”
Jiang Ji: “…”
Ye Li couldn’t help the curl of his lips. He reached out and ruffled Jiang Ya’s hair.
He hadn’t doted on this little one for nothing.
Beside them, Jiang Mai quickly chimed in, “Thank you, Li-ge.”
“Good boy, Xiaomai,” Ye Li replied with a beaming smile.
Then his eyes shifted to the bargain husband seated opposite him.
Jiang Ya and Jiang Mai both turned to stare at him as well.
The kitchen fell so quiet it was almost oppressive. At last, Jiang Ji’s slightly narrow eyes lifted to meet Ye Li’s.
Ye Li regarded him with open amusement.
After a few seconds of silence, Jiang Ji spoke in a low voice, “Thank you. You’ve spent quite a bit today.”
That afternoon, he had listened as Xiaomai and Yage’er carefully recounted everything that had happened at home in recent days. Since changing his ways, this person had indeed treated the two boys kindly.
And today, he had truly spent a good deal of money.
The meat they bought had gone into the stomachs of the three brothers. Out of eight small marrow bones, six had gone to them.
There was genuine sincerity in Jiang Ji’s thanks.
Ye Li felt not only gratified, but pleased.
Good. Not some stubborn mule beyond reason. When choosing a partner, looks were only part of it—their temperament mattered just as much.
As for the “Are you possessed?” at noon—considering the original owner’s dreadful behavior, he decided not to hold it against him.
Calmly, he replied, “No need to thank me. I eat the Jiang family’s grain—did I ever thank you for that?”
Jiang Ji: “…”
That retort had skill. It left him momentarily at a loss for words.
Not only could this person make tofu now—his mind seemed sharper too?
When Jiang Ji said nothing, Ye Li continued, “Eat. Sleep early after. Tomorrow get up early and help me turn the mill. Twenty jin of beans—I can’t manage it alone.”
“Alright.” Jiang Ji nodded, lowering his gaze to his soup again.
Though not as rich as at noon, it was still good.
After the meal, Ye Li tidied up the kitchen.
Jiang Ji told Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya to wash up, then fed the pigs and chickens before coming into the kitchen to wash as well.
Ye Li was squatting at the kitchen doorway brushing his teeth, having filled a bowl of water and taken it by the well.
Night had fully settled, the moon newly risen and faint. He could only make out Jiang Ji’s tall, indistinct silhouette.
Ye Li quickly withdrew his gaze.
No rush. It was only the first day.
After rinsing his mouth, he went back into the kitchen, set down his bowl and toothbrush, ladled some hot water from the iron pot, and sat at the doorway to wash his feet.
A moment later, Jiang Ji entered the kitchen. He, too, drew hot water—but after stepping out, he carried his wooden basin into the east room.
Ye Li immediately rolled his eyes. What was he, some cloistered maiden? Was washing in the courtyard together going to cost him a piece of flesh?
Snorting twice, he finished quickly and returned to the west room with faint displeasure to sleep.
He’d thought he might lie awake—but the moment his head touched the kang, drowsiness swallowed him whole. He sank into the soft bedding without resistance and drifted off to meet the Duke of Zhou.
At the rooster’s first crow, Ye Li woke on time.
He heard water being splashed and footsteps in the courtyard. The small sounds snapped him fully awake.
A little surprised—his bargain husband rose this early?
He dressed, stepped off the kang, and went outside.
Dim light filled the kitchen. Just as he was about to head over, Jiang Ji emerged holding an oil lamp.
“You’re up so early?” Ye Li asked.
The question came naturally, as though there had never been any grievances between them.
Jiang Ji paused before answering, “I’m used to it.”
He extended the lamp toward Ye Li. “You wash up. I’ll fetch the lamp from the east room and start grinding the tofu.”
“Oh, I usually grind first, then wash,” Ye Li waved him off.
At first he’d washed upon rising too—but after grinding tofu he’d be drenched in sweat and need to wash again. He’d simply skipped the first round and cleaned up afterward.
Hearing this, Jiang Ji only said, “Then I’ll start grinding.”
“We’ll do it together.”
Ye Li went into the kitchen in the dark, quickly washed his hands, and entered the storeroom.
Jiang Ji had already set the lamp on a stool and brought over the soaked soybeans. When Ye Li stepped in, Jiang Ji was scooping beans into the mill’s eye.
Ye Li walked over and took the ladle from him. “You push. I’ll add the beans.”
Jiang Ji gave a quiet hum and gripped the mill handle with his large hand, pushing steadily.
The two stone discs ground against one another, crushing the plump beans into pale slurry flecked with bits of pulp. The liquid trickled down the grooves into the wooden bucket below. Any residue that didn’t slide down, Ye Li scraped in with a wooden spatula.
They worked in silence, well-coordinated.
The storeroom held only the harsh rasp of stone grinding against stone.
When the first bucket was nearly full, a second sound joined the room:
Jiang Ji’s heavy breathing.
He had not paused once, grinding continuously for two ke. Even in the lamp’s dim glow, the flush on his cheeks and the fine beads of sweat on his brow were clear.
Yet he didn’t look greasy.
Ye Li disliked sweaty men—filthy and reeking.
But even with sweat covering his face, this bargain husband still appeared clean, crisp.
Ye Li’s gaze skimmed across his handsome features. “Switch with me for a bit. Take a rest.”
“…No need.” Jiang Ji refused in a muffled voice.
This person was a ge’er. With him here, how could he let such work fall to him?
Ye Li had expected the refusal. Smiling faintly, he said, “Then let’s have tofu pudding this morning. We’re always drinking corn gruel—it gets tiresome. The iron pot’s free now; I’ll make a savory sauce later.”
The simple, homely tone caught Jiang Ji off guard.
Suppressing the urge to look up at Ye Li, he kept pushing the mill and answered with a quiet “Alright.”
Ye Li said nothing more, only glancing at him from time to time, in an excellent mood.
Soon the slurry filled two buckets. The beans were done—but the pulp was still coarse and needed another pass.
Jiang Ji was soaked through with sweat. Ye Li went back to the west room and returned with a new cloth, handing it over. “Wipe your sweat.”
Jiang Ji froze again.
The household’s old face cloth was nearly worn through with holes. This one was dry and stiff, faintly scented with soapberry—a brand-new towel.
What… was going on?
On their wedding night, the west room had been their bridal chamber. But this person had despised him for being useless—not only refusing to let him enter, but throwing his belongings and clothes out.
And now he was offering him a new towel?
Ye Li understood exactly why he was stunned. But after yesterday and this morning’s brief interactions, he had already concluded that Jiang Ji was a decent young man.
In that case, they might as well consummate the marriage in the next couple of days.
As for whether that was too hasty, whether they might find themselves incompatible afterward and end in divorce—Ye Li didn’t care.
What, was he supposed to leave this perfectly legal husband untouched and guard his chastity for some hypothetical second spouse he hadn’t even met?
As if.
His brain wasn’t wrapped in feudal footbindings. He wasn’t playing that game.
Whether or not things worked out with Jiang Ji, the marriage must be consummated.
Ahem. Twenty-three years single—his curiosity about marital affairs had long simmered…
Back at school, he’d had the heart but not the courage to find a boyfriend. After graduation, he’d returned to the countryside to run a farmstay—no opportunities there either.
Now, after transmigrating, a handsome husband had dropped from the heavens. He’d been itching to try.
He would try. He had to.
So for now, he needed to lay the groundwork—let his bargain husband experience his thoughtfulness.
With that in mind, he spoke again, snapping Jiang Ji from his thoughts. “What are you standing there for? Keep pushing. I’ll go prepare breakfast.”
Jiang Ji: “…”
Clutching the cloth, he quickly wiped the sweat from his face, then picked up the ladle and poured slurry back into the mill’s eye.
Ye Li went into the kitchen.
The night had mostly faded; dawn was near. Too lazy to relight the lamp, he worked by the dim natural light. He washed the spinach Ye Liang had brought yesterday, lit the fire, and scrambled four eggs.
He chopped the eggs fine with the spatula and added two bowls of water. When it boiled, he mixed cornmeal into a slurry and poured it in—without starch to thicken, cornmeal would have to do.
Once the sauce thickened, he added the spinach, salt, pepper, and the small dried shrimp Ye Liang had sent earlier.
The savory sauce was done.
Hmm. Later he’d make his bargain husband drink an extra bowl or two.
The young man was too thin.
If not for his broad frame, he’d look downright scrawny.
Ye Li had no wish to be disappointed once the clothes came off.
Just then Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya woke.
Hearing they would have tofu pudding for breakfast—with egg and shrimp sauce—the two boys were delighted.
Jiang Ya exclaimed several “Ai-ya!” in a row, his little face glowing as he bounced into the storeroom.
“Ge, ge! We’re having egg and shrimp!”
Without slowing his steps, Jiang Ji looked over. Seeing the child’s flushed, excited face, a smile finally appeared on his own handsome features.
How nice.
That person, though… somewhat strange.
But for now—he was alright.
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