Chapter Bonanza (3/10)

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Tang Xianling and Huangfu Tieniu swiftly “settled” the lease termination with the Li family. Regardless of how sour the expressions on the old woman’s and her daughter-in-law’s faces were, they left immediately after finishing their business. 

They hadn’t gone far—not even reaching the well at the alley entrance—when they heard Madam Li bellowing from behind: “The landlord’s family has such stiff backs, so full of themselves! They kick people out without a second thought, not a shred of mercy. His father was a decent man, but with him… oh my…”

This was a veiled criticism, a thinly veiled insult. 

Tang Xianling thought: If he were like Old Tang, he’d probably hang himself with a noodle. 

The Li family soon started bawling their heads off, implying that Brother Wu of the Tang family was a miser. They argued that they hadn’t skimped on paying rent while living under someone else’s roof. Now that they were told to move out, they had to leave without a word. They also reminisced about how good things were when Father Tang was alive, and that Wu-ger was no good. In the alley, only the Zhao family, known for their sugar-oil cakes, murmured in agreement. 

The others: ???

“Wu-ger isn’t that kind of person.”

“If he weren’t so soft-hearted, there’d be few decent families left in the whole of Baxing District.”

“The Li family wasn’t easy to deal with either. Right after they rented the place, they put up walls within days. Now that Wu-ger runs a business and needs space to sun-dry preserved vegetables, and his son-in-law gave him money, it’s only natural he’d want the courtyard back.”

Someone else asked, “Your family signed a lease with the Tang family. And the three years aren’t up yet. If you’re unhappy, go sue them.“

Upon hearing this, the Li family’s mother-in-law and daughter-in-law didn’t mention suing. Instead, they changed their tune, saying, ”Forget it. We won’t bother staying with such difficult landlords.“ 

”It’s less trouble this way.”

People weren’t fools. Seeing the Li family’s attitude, they quickly realized there was more to the story. Sure enough, before noon, the reason came out through Lu Sanniang at the steamed bun shop.

“When Brother Tang Wu returned the lease, besides paying the rent for the remaining two years and six months, he also compensated the Li family for breach of contract—a full twelve taels of silver.”

“So you’re saying the Li family only had the hassle of moving? By renting from the Tang family, they got to live rent-free for half a year. Not only did they suffer no loss, they actually profited?”

“Exactly.”

“No wonder the moment I suggested the Li family take them to court, they changed their tune.”

“Mr. Tang really is a decent man.”

“The lease signed while Old Tang was alive was for three years. Now that Mr. Tang wants the courtyard back, there’s nothing they can do.”

Some felt the Tang family lost out, paying over ten taels of silver for nothing. They thought that if they’d made a fuss, acted more forcefully, they could have forced the Li family to vacate or at least reduced the compensation. After all, the Li family was outsiders—what else could they possibly want?

But such talk couldn’t be voiced—it would make them seem dishonorable, like bandits.

All things considered, the Tangs were still decent folk.

“That Li family? I suspect they never had good intentions when renting from the Tangs in the first place.”

“Mr. Tang would have been better off paying a little compensation to reclaim the courtyard sooner. Now it’s a new home. When they have children in a few years, they’ll need a place to live.”

Still, some lamented the twelve taels of silver lost.

“The Li’s got the better deal and still complained. I thought they had some great wronged,” someone sneered.

Regardless of how unpleasant Brother Tang Wu’s tone was when terminating the lease, he actually paid you compensation. He followed the contract. Some tough, stubborn, and aggressive landlords might find ways to bully tenants. What exactly is the Li family complaining about?

I just don’t get it.

“To push Mr. Tang to the point of speaking harshly… the Li family, task.”

They exchanged glances. Having dealt with the Tangs for years, it was easy to tell who was trustworthy—the Tangs or the Lis, who’d only stayed half a year.

Outside, gossip swirled while inside the Tang courtyard, Tang Xianling was balancing accounts.

He’d saved a little over three taels of silver from his business dealings, and after spending two taels on hiring a theater troupe, only a little over one tael remained.

“This little over one tael will cover our household’s daily expenses,” Tang Xianling said, placing half the copper coins into a wooden box in the kitchen. “Mother, if you need money, just take it. Don’t feel awkward about spending it. Keep the rest in your room. When the wooden box runs low, I’ll replenish it.”

Tang Xianling didn’t want to manage the money himself, knowing Jiang Yun was frugal and tight-fisted. If he held all the coins, she’d likely feel awkward asking for money. But leaving it all under her control would make it inconvenient for him when he needed funds. 

Better to leave half the spending money in the outer chest. Daily expenses for three people weren’t much, especially with the household’s stockpile of rice and flour. Cooking at home saved money. He’d just been busy lately with the chaos at home. Once he finished handling matters in the back courtyard, he could start earning again.

“Tieniu gave me all his money. Earlier purchases included clothes, fabrics, odds and ends, plus the matchmaker’s fee for Master Yuan—that came to over thirteen taels. The remaining three hundred and fifty-seven taels went toward two years’ rent refund and penalty fees for the Li family, totaling forty-two taels. That leaves three hundred and fifteen.” Tang Xianling jotted the figures down on paper.

Jiang Yun glanced at Tieniu, then at Wu-ger. “Perhaps we shouldn’t touch Tieniu’s money…” 

Wu-ger had only recently married Tieniu. Spending Tieniu’s money so decisively worried her that he might harbor resentment.

Though Tieniu showed no outward displeasure and even nodded occasionally.

Tang Xianling didn’t even lift his head. “He gave it to me, so it’s mine!”

Huangfu Tieniu, standing nearby, smiled upon hearing this and declared firmly, “Right!”

“Don’t be idle these next three days. We’ll find a mason. Once the Li family vacates, we’ll need to fix up the place—repaint the walls, tidy the floor tiles. Then both of us and Mother can move to the east wing. It gets better light. As for the west wing, the room we’re in now will become a storage space. We’ll enlarge the kitchen and build a bathing area beside it. We’ll also set aside room so when my eldest sister’s husband visits, he can stay for a few days.”

Tang Wu’s second and third sisters married far away and haven’t returned yet.

Tang Xianling had everything arranged. It must be said that the Tang family courtyard was truly spacious. Since it was two courtyards combined into one, spacious enough to add more structures. For instance, the east and west sides of the back alley could be built into a mule shed and a latrine. 

The east wing had three large rooms, each over twenty square meters. If the family was large, like the Lu family next door, they built four rooms along the east wall. On the west side, next to the courtyard wall, they constructed a narrow kitchen, making the courtyard much smaller.

The Tang household was different. The east and west wings were large, and the central area was incredibly spacious—after all, it was two courtyards merged into one. The courtyard could be used for growing vegetables, and the Tangs had already cleared a vegetable patch in the middle.

Tang Xianling planned to reserve half the plot for scallions, ginger, and garlic, making the courtyard feel more open and spacious. This would facilitate his food processing and other culinary activities.

Along the east wing, Jiang Yun and his room with Tieniu would leave one room empty in between, serving as a living-dining area for receiving guests and meals.

He would take this opportunity to tidy up the entire courtyard at once.

Such a plan for the courtyard would require major renovations, likely costing a considerable amount of silver. Tang Xianling didn’t mind—it was a necessary expense anyway. Living comfortably at home was paramount. He set down his brush, pushed the notebook aside, and turned to Tieniu: “Once the house is tidied up, I’ll go back to the village with you. We’ll burn paper offerings for your foster father, invite Uncle Zhang and Uncle Wang over as guests, and have a celebratory meal for both of us.”

“Since my father passed away, we can’t hold a public ceremony, but preparing some dishes to entertain your relatives is still possible.”

Tieniu’s foster father had passed away, and his biological father might as well be dead. During the time Tang Xianling had spent with Tieniu, he had only seen Tieniu’s expression soften when he mentioned Uncle Zhang, suggesting a certain closeness.

Huangfu Tieniu nodded in agreement, then smiled.

“What are you laughing at? Silly face.”

“I’m happy.” Huangfu Tieniu knew Tang Xianling cared about him and understood him. He looked at his mother and said, “Mother, let Xianling spend money. I’m happy when he spends money.”

Jiang Yun: ……

This was the first time she’d met such a son-in-law—not the least bit concerned about money. Yet she felt happy upon hearing this, nodding repeatedly in agreement.

By evening, the Li family in the back half of the courtyard began shouting loudly, cursing over the wall toward the Tang household. Likely, the Li family’s second son and several younger lads had returned. With the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law now emboldened, they sought to vent their morning frustration.

Li Erlang and his son were in the midst of a heated tirade when they suddenly heard faint sounds from the other side of the wall. Instinctively, they took a couple of steps back. There, perched atop the wall, sat a man, his gaze coldly fixed upon them.

This was Tang Wu-ger’s new husband, a hunter whose hands were stained with the blood of beasts.

“Say that again, and I’ll hear it,” Huangfu Tieniu said from his perch on the wall.

Tang Xianling shouted from below the wall, “The neighborhood watch isn’t here, and curfew’s almost in. If you beat him bloody, we won’t be able to get a doctor. Tieniu, take it easy.” 

Who doesn’t know how to be sarcastic!

“I know. I’ll make sure every punch lands solidly without leaving external wounds. I can do it.”

Li Erlang and his two sons: …Their faces darkened. In the end, they didn’t even dare utter a parting shot like “Just you wait!” and slunk back inside with their children.

“That couple,” Madam Li murmured, “they’re a perfect match—both rotten to the core.”

Only the neighbors in the Baxing District couldn’t see clearly. They said Brother Tang Wu was honest and kind-hearted, but she saw him as cold-hearted and ruthless, unlike a proper husband at all, even more ruthless than a man.

Over the next two days, the Li family dared not utter a single curse. They packed their belongings behind a wall, sending things back and forth. By the third day, the Li family felt a bit of joy— that kind of uncontrollable glee that still needed to be suppressed, like they were hiding something good that hadn’t quite materialized yet.

The Li family matriarch resumed her smiling tiger persona, cheerfully saying: “Truth be told, even without Xiao Tang mentioning it, I was already thinking of giving up this courtyard. It’s too cramped for my business to expand. My son and grandson have taken their carts out to set up stalls elsewhere—it’s better this way.”

“I just didn’t expect you to bring up moving out first, and now you owe us twelve taels of silver. How embarrassing! We’ve been neighbors for half a year now.”

She wanted this statement to sting Tang Xianling. It implied they’d long wanted to move out, disdaining the Tang family’s courtyard, but hadn’t mentioned it yet. Tang Xianling had pushed them out and paid compensation, only for them to unexpectedly gain an advantage.

“If you feel awkward, just return it,” Tang Xianling said with a forced smile.

Madam Li: …

Tang Xianling knew this woman was all talk. He added, “It’s fine if you don’t return it. I never intended to take it back. Consider it as money spent to ward off misfortune and bad luck.”

“What do you mean by that?” Madam Li snapped angrily. Merchants valued good fortune, and Tang Xianling’s words implied her family was cursed.

Tang Xianling smiled sweetly: “Nothing at all.”

“Mother, forget it. Mr. Tang, count it over. If it’s right, we’ll give it back.” Li Erlang said.

Jiang Yun checked everything. “I remember there was a wooden stool, and a washbasin.“

Li Erlang glanced at his wife, who had a sour look on her face.

Who cares about that stuff?

Tang Xianling retorted, ”If you don’t want it, why did you sneak it away? I’d be happy to chop it up for firewood.“

”Young Tang, you’re being petty. How could you say such things?” Mrs. Li retorted, “Just a broken basin and a stool? We don’t care about those. The bricks in this wall are worth quite a bit—”

Tang Xianling suddenly realized, “Auntie, you reminded me—I’d forgotten. You built this wall. Take it down, too. We don’t want the bricks from the masonry wall. We won’t take advantage of you. You should haul them all away.”

The Li family: …

They were shaking with rage.

This young husband, barely grown, speaks with such sharp, cutting words. Yet every word holds truth—the wall was Madam Li’s idea, and he used her own words against her.

Finally, Li Erlang had his children summoned their cousins to help tear down the wall, haul away the bricks, and cart them off. By the time this drawn-out eviction was fully settled, it was already well past noon.

Once the Li family departed, the small courtyard gate shut behind them. Tang Xianling stood beside the persimmon tree in the center of the yard, patting its trunk with his hands on his hips, unable to suppress a smile.

What a relief!

With the space now open and airy, his mood lifted. Most importantly, the people who had constantly weighed on his mind were gone for good. This courtyard would be his territory from now on.

Jiang Yun had been reluctant to pay the twelve taels penalty for breaking the lease. Several times she’d wanted to persuade her Wu-ger to “bear with it a little longer”—after all, it was only two and a half more years. But she knew his resolve was firm now, and he wouldn’t change his mind. So she’d held back.

Yet now, standing in the middle of the yard, looking at the spacious, open courtyard, she felt her eyes inexplicably well up. “Back when your grandmother was alive, times were tight. We were still renting this place. Your father and I would push our cart out to set up shop during the day, earning every piece of money by selling bowl after bowl of steamed buns. I had to trouble the Lu family next door to look after your eldest sister. Later, when Erniang came along, the landlord was kind-hearted. Seeing how pitiful the two of us were, he asked if your father wanted to buy the place outright. They’d stopped trading and saved enough money to return to their hometown…”

Though Tang Xianling disliked Father Tang, he didn’t interrupt Jiang Yun as she recounted these memories—the story of most of her life.

“Back then, the moment I opened my eyes, it was time to work—lifting and hauling. After selling everything, I’d come back and still had to wash the dishes.”

“Your eldest sister barely got to enjoy life; it was hard on her, working alongside me and helping care for Erniang. Things started looking up when your third sister was born. We finally saved some money, but your father was too frugal to spend it. He thought, ‘No son yet, but hardship comes before sweetness,’ and never bought your three sisters anything nice… …“

”When Silang came along, your father was overjoyed to finally have a son. That same year, he bought the neighboring courtyard, merging the two into one.”

This courtyard was all property Father Tang had earned for his sons.

Now they were in Tang Xianling’s hands. 

Tang Xianling: …

Jiang Yun spoke in a jumbled, disjointed manner, her thoughts wandering as she spoke. Tang Xianling and Tieniu listened while they worked, though Tang Xianling’s mind was filled with a stream of inner commentary.

“All this furniture is being sold… right?“ Tang Xianling stared at the furniture dragged out of the room. The wood was all pieced together, and a few pieces were in decent shape. He doubted they could be sold.

It was clear the Tang family had truly lived frugally in the past.

”This cabinet was left behind by the original owner. The doors are warped, but your dad said it didn’t matter; it could still be used.”

“This table lost a leg, so your dad just took the door off that cabinet, split it, and used it as a makeshift leg. It’s still wobbly, so we prop it up with a brick.”

“This bed your eldest sister slept in? The slats were all salvaged and pieced together.”

Jiang Yun could recount the origin of every single piece of furniture.

Tang Xianling: “Just burn it all for firewood!“ Fearing Jiang Yun might linger in nostalgia, he nervously suggested, ”But if you can’t bear to part with it, Mother, you could keep one piece.”

“But I still think—out with the old, in with the new. Our better days are ahead. No need to cling to the past. Just hold onto the good memories. These are just material things.”

Jiang Yun had genuinely considered keeping one or two pieces. But when Wu-ger uttered that last sentence, she fell silent for a long moment. What good memories?

When she gave birth to her eldest daughter—her first child—she’d been overjoyed. But Old Tang had immediately snapped, “It’s a girl? Why not a son?”

Her heart had gone cold with fear then.

“…Burn it all,” Jiang Yun murmured, her lips pressed together.

Tang Xianling was overjoyed. Worried Jiang Yun might change her mind, he signaled to Tieniu to hurry—chop the wood now, immediately.

Seeing the mischievous gleam in Tang Xianling’s eyes, Huangfu Tieniu was delighted.

He looked like a child.

That day, Tang Xianling and Tieniu hauled out the furniture from every room. The Tang household had always been frugal; the walls had never been plastered, and the Li family certainly wouldn’t spend money fixing it up after moving in. Consequently, the place was an eyesore.

It was dirty and old, with plaster flaking from the walls.

Without a major overhaul, it was truly uninhabitable—though technically livable. If one were truly destitute, it could be made to work in a pinch. But now that Tang Xianling had money, he refused to settle for such discomfort.

Comfort levels would be significantly improved.

Huangfu Tieniu chopped the wooden furniture into pieces and stacked them against the back wall of the courtyard.

The next day, the bricklayers arrived to tear down walls—when the house was rented to the Li family, the kitchen was split in two, with the Li family getting a slightly larger portion. The east room, Jiang Yun’s room, also had a small section allocated to the Li family.

Now that both walls were torn down, Jiang Yun’s room suddenly felt much larger.

“Leave my side alone. I sleep alone, and the space is sufficient. Don’t touch my wall. It’ll still be spacious enough for the baby later.“ Jiang Yun disliked the hassle and expense.

Tang Xianling often forgot he was a ger capable of bearing children, and at this moment still thought they were talking about the baby at his eldest sister’s house.

“Mother, if we’re altering everything, let’s do it right. Make it spacious—it’ll be more comfortable for everyone.”

“The child is coming, and there’s still room in the house.”

The house wasn’t overflowing with possessions, but it was spacious enough for everyone.

Huangfu Tieniu worked silently, listening to his husband’s words. He couldn’t suppress a slight smile, though Xianling didn’t seem to be referring to their own child.

After tearing down the wall, they still had to tidy up the room.

The plaster was scraped off, revealing the color of the green bricks. Then they began mixing mud, adding wheat straw to it. After repeated pounding, it became quite sticky. They used this mud to smooth out the gaps between the green bricks. The room would be warm in winter and cool in summer. After smoothing the walls, they applied a layer of white lime, and the room instantly became much brighter.

After the walls were finished, the floor tiles remained.

The floor was laid with scraps of blue bricks—Father Tang was frugal, unwilling to spend money “inside,” preferring to spend it “outside.” “Outside” meant buying two courtyards, fixing up the shop, and furnishing it with nice tables and stools.

Outsiders and customers would only praise Old Tang for his skill in building such a large business and adding new tables and stools. Of course, investing in shop fixtures was wise. In business, especially food service, you couldn’t skimp on hardware. Otherwise, customers using chipped bowls or worn-out chopsticks and spoons would lose their appetite no matter how delicious the food tasted.

Now, all these bricks were dug up and shoveled into the courtyard. Someone was buying them.

Tang Xianling inquired at the kiln factory and ordered a batch of square bricks—fifty centimeters by fifty centimeters, bluish-gray in color. He replaced the floor tiles in several rooms, repaired damaged bricks in the shop, and used the discarded pieces to pave the courtyard, avoiding the vegetable patch. Only the area adjacent to the back of the shop, the front half of the east and west rooms, and the front courtyard were paved. A path was laid from the vegetable patch to the back alley entrance. All told, this cost him twenty-two taels of silver.

!!!

Labor wasn’t expensive these days, but materials were truly costly.

“Now that we’ve reclaimed the courtyard, we won’t just sell breakfast later. Since we’re closed for renovations, I want to offer full meals throughout the day.” Tang Xianling shared all his plans with Jiang Yun and Tieniu.

Two large shops were far too spacious to be used solely for breakfast.

“As for what exactly we’ll sell, I haven’t decided yet.”

They’d tackle the renovations first.

Jiang Yun didn’t mind either; she always followed Wu-ger’s lead.

Besides the walls and floors, the second biggest expense was the bathhouse next to the stove room. That required completely redoing the drainage pipes. Fengyuan City had public sewage channels in the neighborhoods, but only rainwater and snowmelt could be dumped into them. Bathwater, dishwater, laundry water—all that sort of water—could be poured in, but not sewage. After all, the sewers ran alongside every household’s alleyway entrance. If fecal waste were dumped there, the stench would be unbearable.

To prevent residents from dumping sewage, Fengyuan City enforced two measures: First, a nightly sanitation fee must be paid per household. Second, if any resident was reported by neighbors for dumping fecal waste into the drainage channels, they would face heavy penalties, while the informant would receive a reward.

Repeat offenders faced fines plus corporal punishment. Naturally, some neighbors engaged in petty squabbles, secretly dumping human waste into each other’s drains at night to frame one another. When disputes escalated, both parties were punished and flogged.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Before anyone knew it, the start of summer arrived. As the Tang household bustled with fervent activity, tidying their courtyard in the sweltering heat, stories like “Brother Tang Wu’s Furious Confession Exposes the Wolf,” “Heaven Strikes Down Juren,” and “Juren’s Greed for Wealth and Women Brings Retribution” swept through Fengyuan City.

People had little entertainment back then. The wealthy fared better, with many places to pass the time, but ordinary folk mostly gossiped about this family or that, or chatted about what new trinkets had arrived at the East or West Markets, or what cheap, quality goods the Hu merchants were peddling.

But recently, a small opera became wildly popular.

The play first spread from Datong Lane. It featured just two performers: one playing a charming young husband, the other a grotesque Juren Hu. Facing each other, the charming husband first sang the story’s beginning, then unleashed a torrent of accusations, leaving the clown husband thoroughly humiliated.

As the clown playing the Juren was berated, he performed all sorts of comical antics, even tumbling head over heels, which had the children roaring with laughter.

The string of scolding verses delivered in the song was truly exhilarating and satisfying.

After berating Mr. Juren, as if karma struck, the clown-husband snapped his neck and ‘died’. The young husband then covered his face and wept, launching into a long lament: his wicked husband had ruined his family, yet outsiders knew nothing—the Tang family had no voice to speak.

The singing was so heartrending that listeners wept, and onlookers shed tears.

Then the young husband bowed skyward to report the matter to the authorities, for his father had been driven to death by the Hu family.

When the troupe performed on Datong Lane’s main street, passersby gathered. Hearing just the opening lines, everyone knew which family was being spoken of.

“Could it be our Datong Alley’s Hu family?” 

“Alas, what a disgrace to our neighborhood.” 

“The Hu family oppressing the Tangs like this—what a sin! No wonder Juren Hu passed the imperial examination only to die soon after.” 

“Heaven truly could not bear to watch.”

The song’s lyrics were blunt and sharp. A child picked up a bit, running and playing in the streets while singing it, and soon it spread through the neighboring quarters. After evening meals, everyone chatted idly about this very affair.

For days, the Hu family’s courtyard gate remained tightly shut, no one daring to go out.

Hu Kang’s two sons cursed inside, but dared not raise their voices. They were bullies only at home. Ever since their grandmother was taken away by the constables, they knew it was Tang Xianling, a mere commoner, who dared to sue the officials. How could they possibly dare to knock on the Tang family’s door now?

Even those going out to chase the traveling theater troupe dared not.

These two young men had been spoiled rotten by the old matriarch of the Hu household. She would constantly remind them: “When your father becomes a high official someday, we’ll be able to marry off our second and third sons to wealthy families.”

The two men never worked a day in their lives. They weren’t masters, yet they lived like masters.

After Old Madam Hu fell ill, there was no one left to cook in the house.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

The sudden popularity of the short opera was also unexpected by the young troupe leader. After performing for just one day in the West Market, spectators began saying: “The show is entertaining and thrilling, though a bit rough around the edges. That scene where they sue the magistrate just doesn’t work. I heard that back then, the Hu family actually caused a commotion in the courtyard.”

Theatre Manager:? It’s that popular?

“The young husband sued his deceased Juren husband. The Prefect upheld justice and revoked the Juren’s title. Word has spread far and wide.”

The troupe leader worked through the night to rewrite the play. Though originally agreed with Brother Tang to perform for ‘three days,’ the troupe leader ended up selling tickets based on this play and made a tidy profit. The production was polished to perfection, running for over ten days. Even troupes in the East Market copied it, with each troupe offering its own version.

The only thing missing was bringing Juren back to life to be beheaded again in the courtyard.

The crowd clapped and cheered with delight.

Young Master Wei and his friend Third Brother Gu were enjoying themselves in the West Market when they heard this abridged play again. “I caught bits of it yesterday in the East Market. How come the storytellers in the West Market teahouses are telling it too?”

“I see both wives and husbands in town love listening. They throw coins for rewards without hesitation. The storyteller must be raking it in,” said Gu Sanlang. “What’s profitable? These troupes just perform whatever’s popular.”

That was normal.

Ding Quan, overhearing their conversation, chimed in with a clever remark: “Gentlemen, this is true. Though Young Master Wei hasn’t met the storyteller’s ‘Brother Tang Wu,’ he has tasted his goods.”

“You mean—” Young Master Wei pondered carefully, then realized with a flash: “That pork floss bread?”

“Exactly. Young Master Wei praised it as quite good, though a bit coarse. I later wanted to buy more, but when I went to look, I was disappointed—his shop was closed. After inquiring around, I learned the reason…” Ding Quan recounted the entire story.

Unnoticed, a crowd had gathered around, listening with rapt attention.

“So Brother Tang Wu also made breakfast?”

“Where?”

“I’ll go buy some to support him. It’s tough for a young husband.”

“Poor fellow…”