That night, before they slept, Lu Chen spoke to Chang Ying about the money. They had already deposited 5,000 yuan in an account solely under Chang Ying's name, but there was still a little less than 500 yuan cash left since Lu Chen had used a little money to buy the prescribed medicine.
Lu Chen knew everything they got today was all thanks to Chang Ying's idea. Even though he was her husband, the money was hers. He was not shameless enough to ask her to give it to him as the family head.
Still, he hoped to talk to her about it. Before, this was a simple matter. He knew Chang Ying was a simple, open hearted girl but Feifei's earlier actions left him feeling reluctant. There were suddenly so many deeper meanings and strings attached to the wad of cash. His coldness and solemn aura of finality he wore earlier in front of his family was nowhere in sight.
He coughed and sat next to Chang Ying, stiff and straight as a pillar. "Yingying...Chang Ying, I want to ask you for something."
Chang Ying stared at him. She blinked a few times, what was so serious that he was so stiff? Did the doctor say something else to him?
"What is it?"
Lu Chen, still stiff as a rod, Spiller out the words in one breath. "I was hoping you could give my mother some money to handle the house expenses. I think fifty yuan is enough. I hope you don't mind." He turned to face her. He face was still stiff but he slowly raise his hand and tentatively closed the distance till his bigger palm clasped over her hand. Lu cleared his throat and continued, "Just help me out a bit, it would put my mother's mind at ease for the next few months."
"What?" Chang Ying was taken aback. "Fifty yuan?"
He nodded. "It is a lot..."
"Wait," she raised her hand, "is this what you wanted to talk about?"
Lu Chen nodded again.
Chang Ying looked at him. He was so stiff as if he was facing a trial. She shook her head. "Lu Chen, you don't have to hesitate about money matters. We are married. The money is for both our futures. I can't have a better life without including you, neither can you without me. But, is 50 yuan enough? I heard you family has a bit of debt. Why don't you take 200 yuan?"
Lu Chen immediately shook his head. "No."
"Why not? Don't tell me you are hesitating because you feel it is my money."
"No, I also wanted to talk to you about my other plan. I was thinking about something. I noticed you were looking around a lot today, at the shops and the prices. I know you might want to start your own business, that 5000 in the bank is good for seed money to startup." Lu Chen looked at her.
Chang Ying nodded. Lu Chen had read her mind exactly.
He continued, "I was also thinking of doing something small for the family to supplement our family income too. I got the idea from the hens you bought. I want to start a small poultry farm. My mother would take care of it. Grandpa is bored all day so he can help out too. We can sell the eggs to make some money."
"That's a great idea!" Chang Ying was glad Lu Chen was starting to think of ways to earn money outside of being under someone's employment. It was the first step to entrepreneurship.
Entrepreneurship was the bread and butter of success in this era.
She didn't know about original timeline Feifei considered her past life. And even in the tainted second timeline that Chang Ying considered her past life, she did not know if Lu Chen simply lived under Feifei's shadow or found his own success. But she knew that Lu Chen was a smart person, though he was a conservative and honest worker. As long as she could get him to start thinking outside his comfort zone, she was sure he could developed his own wings.
Chang Ying wanted to succeed but she also wanted those around her to succeed too. If one party had to lower their head continuously, it would gradually hinder the relationship.
"So would you like to do it?" he asked. "Buying laying hens doesn't cost much. We can even buy some chicks to raise too. More or less, we will need a few hundred yuan."
"I like the idea. But are you sure your mother won't need more money?"
"Don't worry about mother. She and grandpa will be more excited about a poultry farm that could sustain the family in the future. Money can be earned slowly."
"If you say so." Chang Ying tapped her chin, then added, "The semester just started, we can still let Jin Ruishi start class one this year."
Lu Chen chuckled. "You already bamboozled Yang Yangyuan to promise to give Lu Zhi a better position. I'm sure she is already preparing to take her daughter to get enrolled soon."
****
The next morning, Feifei went into the kitchen for war long before dawn and cranked out all her cooking skills.
By the time everyone was done with the morning chores and washing up, Feifei had already set the table.
Food was the truest way to the heart. As the fragrance of the breakfast warmed their nostrils, everyone trudged to the dining area. The memory of the awkward dinner the previous day was tossed into oblivion.
On the table, the gluttonous little girl in the Lu family licked her lips as she surveyed the plate stacked with sweet pancakes on the table. Next to it was the warm egg soup Feifei made to go with the pancakes.
Jin Ruishi ate the egg soup and took a bite of the pancake. Her little face was full of smiles after each bite and swallow. She said to Feifei, "Aunty Feifei, your egg soup is delicious. Aunty Feifei must be the best cook in the world!"
"Yesterday, wasn't your mouth saying the roast duck was the most delicious thing?" Lu Ching did not let go of the chance to tease the little girl again. "I really can't trust the mouth of this girl. Otherwise one day, you'll toss me aside and find a new best uncle."
"Uncle Chen is the best uncle!" Jin Ruishi promptly announced without hesitation.
Lu Chen, who had been eating quietly as usual, nodded and picked out a slice of pancake from his plate and put it in Jin Ruishi's plate. "Good girl, eat more."
Jin Ruishi squealed in delight with a wide grin.
Lu Ching gaped at the two playing favourite uncle and niece in front of him. "You...you said I was the best! Xiaorui, you have learnt to play both sides for benefits at your small age."
"I said you were the best small uncle. Uncle Chen doesn't fight with me for food so he is the best overall!" Jin Ruishi proudly declared her belief of the best. "But you are still the best small uncle."
Lu Ching smiled helplessly. "I am your only small uncle. Where is the accomplishment if I'm the only one?"
Jin Ruishi stuck out her tongue at him and giggled.
Mo Yue looked at Feifei. This morning, she was satisfied with the girl's sensible actions. It showed she had let go of yesterday's resentment and was working harder to get a better impression.
Mo Yue was happy with this. "What XiaoRui said is right. Everything Feifei makes tastes good. She can even make egg soup taste so delicious. I didn't know something like this could become so exquisite without costly ingredients."
Feifei smiled coyly and softly mewed out, embarrassed, "Aunty, you are praising me too much. I'm not that good. I'm just happy to see everyone enjoying what I cooked."
Chang Ying took a look at the shy, hesitant expression Feifei wore. Her eyes flickered. She suddenly said, "Feifei's cooking is really good. Lu Chen, what do you think?"
Feifei was shocked. For a moment, her face faltered between awkward expressions. She did not know which expression to use to face Chang Ying since she was not expecting this woman to praise her.
Seeing Chang Ying looking at Lu Chen for an answer, Feifei looked at him too. Her breathing was tight and hitched. Lu Chen's aloof, ice cold face gave nothing away as usual. His eyes were cast down, focused on the plate, making his expression more unreadable. His pace of eating was even steady, it always was, making it hard to know if he appreciated the taste.
Lu Chen nodded and said between bites and swallows, "She cooks tasty food, better than a lot of food sellers in town."
Chang Ying's lips twitched. Better than food sellers, was that compliment? If her crush said that to her after she had spent hours cooking to get his attention, she might run into a wall to knock herself into amnesia.
Chang Ying had the pleasure of seeing Feifei's face freeze and an ugly, hopeless look momentarily fall across it.
But Chang Ying knew Lu Chen meant no harm. He mostly ate at food stalls. He also considered those women, who cooked delicious street food, as chefs. Chang Ying nodded her head to his words and tried not to laugh as she maintained an amiable smile on her face.
"Since everyone likes it, maybe Feifei can open a restaurant in the future if she wants."
"Wow, that's great! Then can I come to Aunty Feifei's restaurant to eat everyday?" Jin Ruishi exclaimed, she was so excited her face was bright like a sunflower.
Feifei snorted coldly. "I am going to university in the future. I don't have time for such trivialities. Sister Ying, maybe you don't know but I am now part of the student council. My homeroom teacher said with my grades, I will be admitted to university and even qualify for a small scholarship, unlike some people who muddled through school with better learning resources and wasted their advantage. I want to be a pioneering modern woman, I can't afford to hang my future on depending on others. Sister Ying, you understand right?"
All those words, if Chang Ying couldn't see the arrows aimed at her, then she had wasted her rebirth.
Student council? Chang Ying was a average student, she never even got to assistant class monitor once.
Better learning resources? Chang Ying's father was a teacher.
University? Scholarship? Chang Ying had average grades, and this too because she could not slack off too much and get bad grades, affecting her father's reputation.
As for the rest about pioneer woman and not depending on others, Chang Ying simply smiled. Right now she did not have employment and basically fell into the category of housewife.
But Chang Ying had no problem either way, as long as a person could feel fulfilled, it did not matter if she was a housewife or not.
Chang Ying's lips quirked upwards in a smile. "Feifei is so smart. Ah, I almost feel burdened. Don't worry, your big brother and I will work hard to send you to school."
Feifei grit her teeth, nearly biting her tongue. She felt like she was a heavyweight boxer who geared up to throw a punch, only to hit air.
Meanwhile, on the sidelines, Mo Yue, Lu Zhi and Grandpa Lu chattered excitedly.
"So our Feifei had joined the student council, how nice!"
"The teacher said she can pass the entrance exam for university? Ah, things are really getting better these days."
"Don't worry, we will have our farmland. If any of the children enter university, we can sell it to pay. Everyone is working in town nowadays."
"Grandpa, don't be so glum. Things are getting better now. We might not need to sell in the future."
"Feifei, what do you want to study?"
"Feifei, go to a teaching college. You can get a job right away!"
"A nursing school is better!"
The three barraged Feifei left and right. Feifei didn't even have time to float to poor Chang Ying who had not been elected to join student council in her time.
Lu Chen nudged Chang Ying from the side and whispered, "Do you want to go to university too?"
Chang Ying wrinkled her nose. She knew the essence of education, especially since her father was an educator. "Later we can both consider that. Certain things need to be put in place for our future first."
Lu Chen stared at her, slightly perplexed. "Both of us?"
Chang Ying smirked at him. "You too, don't you want to go? You used to be among the top students in your class."
Lu Chen's eyes ceased upwards and his lips curled into a smile. He leaned closer to her and rubbed the tip of his nose against hers. "Yingying is smarter than me."
Chang Ying was startled and tickled by his actions. With his face right before her, she could not help but say that his appearance was really to exquisite. His face was like a carefully sculpted image of an immortal. His forehead, his lips, his chin, his cheeks, everything was exquisite.
Still, nothing could compare to his eyes.
His eyes were beautifully shaped and unique. The long, thick lashes that framed them made them look like they belonged on a woman, a woman who had carefully applied makeup to make her eyes draw the looker in at a glance. Those darned Lu fox eyes!
She felt a little dizzy. To be stared at so closely by such a man made her toes tingle and curl.
Luckily, the others were still engrossed in their excitable discussion for the future. Otherwise, it was a little embarrassing to do this in front of his mother and grandfather.
Chang Ying pushed his chin away, for the sake of her good health, and whispered, "What are you saying? Don't you remember my scores were just average at best. If my father didn't chase me to read every time, I would have been at the bottom."
"Yingying married me. Yingying is the smartest in the world." Lu Chen drew closer again, adopting Jin Ruishi's soft, childish tone.
Chang Ying choked in dry air at his words. "I am sure you just praised yourself in a roundabout way. I never knew I married a narcissist."
Lu Chen chuckled and quickly placed a peck on her lips before he drew away.
Chang Ying touched her lips. It was so quick. The warm impression of his lips on hers was there one second and gone in an instant. She looked at him.
Lu Chen at returned to eating. His expression was indifferent as usual as if all the sneaky things that just happened had nothing to do with him.
Chang Ying grumbled and stabbed the pancakes in her plate.
The rest of breakfast was spent lovely painting a bright, harmonious future for the family. Well, it was mostly Mo Yue, Lu Zhi and Grandpa Lu talking.
****
After breakfast, Chang Ying was not doing anything at home so she decided to escort those going to town to the village bus stop.
Lu Chen, Lu Zhi, Lu Ching, Feifei and the curious Chang Ying all walked to the bus stop after the satisfying breakfast. Jin Ruishi joined them, hopping gleefully in front of the group.
"I'm going to school, I'm going to school, I'm going to school..." The little girl sang happily.
Chang Ying quirked her brows a few times. She didn't think she had ever since anyone, especially a little kid, be so excited about their first day at school.
She whispered to Lu Zhi, "She is excited now, I hope she doesn't start crying when you drop her off."
Lu Zhi glanced at her daughter and chuckled. "I doubt it. Xiaorui will be even more excited to be around children her age. Everyone in the house goes out to either work or school, Xiaorui was already sad she was being left out."
"Ohh," Chang Ying said in a pondering tone. Then she shook her head. "Lu family children are really different. Most of my friends and I couldn't wait to get out of school. Well, are they going to let her join the class today? She doesn't have a uniform or books."
"I'll pay part of the fees today, so they might let her since it's her first week."
The two continued talking till they as they approached the bus stop.
Just before they reached the bus stop, they all noticed a black, off-road vehicle parked not far from the bus stop.
Suddenly the bright yellow headlights of the vehicle flashed and it started to drive towards them. They all caught their breaths in their throats, wondering what was happening.
The vehicle stopped in front of them. The driver door opened and a black, camouflage boot stepped on the ground first. Following that a muscular, long leg connected to the booth emerged and then a torso clothed in a simple white shirt that barely concealed the muscles underneath. The man fully stepped out of the car.
He had a slim, muscled frame but ever step was brimming with power. His eyes, dark and deep like a bottomless pool, were complimented by his strong, square jawline with a slight stubble. The man was most probably already around his early thirties.
Jin Ruishi hardly went out and she hadn't seen such a domineering car before and the man that came out had an even bigger presence. The little girl stared in awe and her small formed a small 'o'.
The man walked, every stride firm and rigidly equal, and halted in front of them. "Good morning, I hope you are doing better today, madam."
Everyone reeled back in shock. Then they turned their eyes and noticed the man was looking at Lu Zhi. Then he was talking to her, right?
Lu Zhi nodded quickly, her eyes darting around to other people staring at them at the bus stop, flustered. "I'm much better today. You didn't have to bother yourself to come."
"You hit her?" Lu Chen cut in. He glanced at his sister, then threw an icy glare at the man. "With your car?"
The man was unfazed by the cold scolding eyes on him, but he nodded and gave a slight apologetic bow. "It was my mistake."
Jin Ruishi looked over at her mother, worried. Her words stumbled out as she trembled in fright. "Mother, did that...that big car hit...hit..."
"No, no," Lu Zhi rushed forward, standing by the man's side, "it was not his fault. Yesterday, a seller bumped into me and I stumbled into the road. Luckily, Qi Xuebing braked his car in time and barely even touched me. The experience was more frightening than hurtful."
Chang Ying let out a breath that was caught in her chest. She felt slightly guilty. Lu Zhi had gone with them to the city but because Chang Ying had to go to the hospital, Lu Zhi went back home alone. Lu Zhi did not even mention her near accident to them at all yesterday.
"Good, good. It's good as long as you didn't have an accident." Chang said, patting her chest in relief.
If Lu Zhi got hit, even though she looked fine today, they might still have to take her to the hospital to make sure she did not suffering internal injuries. Internal bleeding was a silent, deadly killer that did not always strike immediately after the accident.
If she got injured internally, the money for the tests, hospitalisation, treatment, operation, medicine...
Lu Zhi smiled at her. "I was not hit. Mr Qi Xuebing was even kind enough to give me a free ride to the village."
Lu Chen deeply exhaled and his gaze towards the man lost its coldness. "Thank you for helping my sister home yesterday. I'm glad we didn't have any bad news."
The man, Qi Xuebing, nodded at Lu Chen. "It's alright. These types of things happen occasionally on the expressway. I just came to check if every thing was alright with Lu Zhi today."
"I am sorry to put you through so much trouble you like this. I'm alright today. I'm even going back to work." Lu Zhi said quickly to convince the man she was okay.
Qi Xuebing looked around the busstop there were several people still waiting for the bus. A few nosy people are openly staring at them. After all, Qi Xuebing was a car owner, a very rich man by their standards.
Qi Xuebing took back his gaze and offered, "Are you all heading to town? In that case, let me give you a ride." Lu Zhi waved her hands and was about to refuse, but Qi Xuebing added, "It's on the way."
They had no reason to refuse, so they all accepted.
Chang Ying stood aside and waved, absentmindedly as the others climbed into the off-road vehicle. Their actions were tentative and cautious, and their bodies sat in the car stiffly.
Chang Ying didn't come back to earth until the car reversed and headed towards the town. She sighed and slowly walked back home, it seemed Lu Zhi had an interesting encounter after she left then yesterday. Chang Ying was not sure Lu Zhi met such a person in her previous life. Maybe they only met because Lu Zhi had followed her to make that deal.
Chang Ying scratched her head. Then she realised it wasn't such a big deal, she toss the matter to the back of her mind and hummed a pop song on the way home.