The Second Young Master’s Obedient Husband : Chapter 53

Life after marriage was lively and sweet. Three days later, Liang Yu took Su Qingyu back to visit his family, bringing a full basket of return gifts: meat, medicinal herbs, rice, flour, and other practical items. Hidden at the bottom was a small packet of silver money. He didn’t give too much for fear that Su’s mother would refuse it, so he only wrapped a few taels of silver for her to improve her life a bit.

Su’s mother had been waiting in the courtyard since early morning. When she heard the knock at the door, she hurried to open it, and her face bloomed with joy at the sight of the couple. She kept them for a meal, pulled Su Qingyu aside to talk for a long time, and they stayed for dinner as well before heading home before sunset.

That evening, after washing up and lying in bed, Liang Yu reached out and pulled Su Qingyu over to hold him, rubbing his chin against the top of Su Qingyu’s head. “I want to discuss something with you.”

Su Qingyu leaned against his chest and made a soft sound of acknowledgment.

Liang Yu looked down at him. “Those few mud brick rooms at your mother’s place are old and worn, leaning every which way. They let in the wind in winter and leak in the rain in summer. They aren’t safe to live in. I want to tear them down and build a few tile roofed rooms in their place.”

Su Qingyu was stunned. He looked up at Liang Yu, and his eyes immediately reddened.

Liang Yu used his thumb to rub Su Qingyu’s face and kissed his eyes. “Why are you crying?”

Su Qingyu shook his head, buried his face back into Liang Yu’s chest, and said in a muffled voice, “How much silver would that cost…”

Liang Yu laughed softly. “Your husband has saved up quite a lot of silver these past few years. A few rooms are nothing.”

Speaking of silver, Liang Yu suddenly remembered that he hadn’t given Su Qingyu his money box yet. The money for Liang Yu’s wedding had basically come from the family common fund, about the same amount spent when Liang Feng married Zhang Yun. It was just that Liang Yu had added some of his own silver on top, which made the betrothal gifts seem especially generous. The wedding itself hadn’t cost much, and Liang Yu normally didn’t spend much either. He had earned quite a lot of silver over the years and had basically saved it all.

Liang Yu pinched Su Qingyu’s face and said, “Wait a moment.”

With that, he lifted the covers and got out of bed. He opened the cabinet and took out a wooden chest from inside. The chest wasn’t very large; Su Qingyu could have carried it without any trouble.

Liang Yu placed the chest on the bed, took out the key, and opened it. Su Qingyu curiously propped himself up on the bed and leaned over to look. Inside the chest were roughly a dozen or so taels of small silver fragments, plus over a dozen ingots of whole silver in denominations of five and ten taels. There weren’t many copper coins, only about a dozen or so strings. By village standards, this was quite a substantial fortune.

Su Qingyu satisfied his curiosity and was just about to shrink back and sit properly when he saw Liang Yu’s next move, and his eyes widened in surprise. Liang Yu poured out all the silver and copper coins, reached into a hidden compartment, and pulled out a stack of silver banknotes, which he handed to Su Qingyu. Su Qingyu counted them; there were roughly over twenty notes, with the smallest denomination being fifty taels. At the bottom were also several land deeds and lease contracts for shops in town. Just from collecting rent alone, he could earn several dozen taels of silver each year.

Liang Yu reached out and rubbed Su Qingyu’s head. Looking at the little man’s stunned face, he chuckled. “What… Have you gone silly?”

Su Qingyu only came back to his senses after being rubbed until his hair stood on end. He carefully put the things back into the chest, reached out to wrap his arms around Liang Yu’s waist, buried his face against Liang Yu’s lower abdomen, and rubbed against it enviously. “You’re so rich…”

Liang Yu laughed hard at his words, handed the key in his hand to Su Qingyu, hooked his chin, and bit his face. “It’s all yours.”

Su Qingyu held the key and giggled foolishly, then wrapped his arms around Liang Yu’s neck and gave him an especially passionate kiss.

After the deep kiss ended, Su Qingyu went soft and limp in Liang Yu’s arms, but he still couldn’t stop fiddling with the silver, grinning like a silly fool.

Liang Yu indulgently held his silly husband. Once the person in his arms stopped giggling, the two of them tidied up the bed, set aside the silver for building the tile roofed house, and put the rest of the money back into the wooden chest. They locked it and placed it back in the cabinet.

Su Qingyu didn’t feel safe keeping the key himself. After thinking it over, he had Liang Yu knock loose one of the bricks at the foot of the bed, put the key inside, and fit the brick back in place. Then he pushed the cabinet by the bed up against it. The key was hidden extremely well; from the surface, nothing looked out of place at all.

After finishing the work, Liang Yu clapped his hands and said with a smile, “My husband is so clever.”

Su Qingyu raised his little chin proudly. Liang Yu adored the sight so much that he carried him back to bed and doted on him all night.

…

Once they said they would do it, they got to work. A few days later, Liang Yu went to find people.

During the winter slack season, the men in the village would go out to look for odd jobs. Since it was still relatively early, not many men in the village had found work yet. Liang Yu asked Father Liang to find the same mason and carpenter who had built their own house, and also recruited over a dozen laborers from the village. They were all familiar faces. When they heard it was for Second Master Liang’s house, they were all willing to come work. Liang Yu paid generous wages and even provided two meals a day.

The few old mud brick rooms at Su Qingyu’s family home were knocked down in half a day. Su’s mother stood nearby, wiping tears as she watched. They had lived in this house for many years. Though broken and old, it had been the family’s shelter from wind and rain. Now that they were building something new, she felt both sorrow and joy.

Su Qingyu supported his mother without speaking, simply looking at the pile of rubble. At first he felt a sense of loss, but then he became happy again.

Out with the old, in with the new. No matter how dark the past had been, people must always look forward and keep moving ahead.

“We’ll be able to live in the new house when spring comes.”

Su Qingyu looked up at Liang Yu with a brilliant smile.

During the days of construction, Liang Yu discussed things with his parents and cleaned up the side room for Su’s mother to move into. Although it was a bit small and old, it had a heated brick bed so she wouldn’t freeze, and Mother Liang even brought over new bedding and quilts so that her in law could live comfortably.

Building a house was a major undertaking. Liang Yu would go to check on the progress every few days. Su Qingyu and Su’s mother also busied themselves running back and forth, boiling water and cooking meals for the craftsmen. The villagers all said that Second Master Liang had married a good young man, well behaved and hardworking, and so good looking too.

Mother Liang and Zhang Yun especially couldn’t stay idle, running over every few days. They would look here and touch there, pointing things out, more invested in it than anyone else. One time, Su Qingyu was boiling water in the kitchen when Mother Liang came in, took his hand, and looked him up and down.

“You’ve lost weight. Are you overworking yourself?”

Su Qingyu shook his head. “I’m not tired.”

Mother Liang patted his hand and said with a smile, “If anything is tiring, tell Mother. Don’t push yourself.”

Su Qingyu smiled and nodded.

Mother Liang looked at him, and the more she looked, the more she liked him. She couldn’t resist reaching out to pinch Su Qingyu’s face before turning around and leaving.

As the New Year drew near, Liang Yu had them go back to celebrate the holiday. They could return after the New Year once the snow had melted and the ground thawed. The weather was too cold to work anyway, so there was no rush for those few days.

This year’s New Year, the whole family celebrated together at the Liang household. It was wonderfully lively, and Su’s mother even had a smile on her face. For the New Year, she made Eight Treasure Rice Pudding and let the Liang family taste the flavor of a Jiangnan New Year. Mother Liang and Zhang Yun both loved eating it and kept saying they wanted to learn how to make it from Su’s mother so they could eat it every year. Sweet and fragrant, they celebrated the New Year in joy.

…

By the time the snow melted and the ground thawed, the house was ready for its ridgepole.

That main ridgepole was made of good wood, thick and straight, personally selected by Liang Yu from the mountains. On the day the ridgepole was raised, firecrackers were set off at the front door, and candy was scattered about. Many people from the village came to watch the excitement. Su Qingyu stood at the front, watching that great beam slowly rise into place, and suddenly felt a surge of warmth rush through his heart. The new house was finished.

Two main rooms, one side room, blue brick walls rising to the roof, neat and tidy tiles. The courtyard was paved with stone slabs, so there would be no more trudging through mud on rainy days.

Liang Yu also found a well digger to dig a water well in the courtyard.

The communal well was far away, and it was hard work for the mother and son to carry water. They had to be sparing even with drinking water. Now that they had their own well, they no longer had to fight with others over a bucket of water, and Mother wouldn’t have to be so reluctant to take even a hot bath.

Su’s mother stood inside the new house, tears flowing unstoppably.

Su Qingyu supported his mother, his own eyes reddening as well.

Liang Yu stood in the courtyard, watching the mother and son pair. He simply leaned against the doorframe and waited, not disturbing them.

That evening after returning home, Su Qingyu heated some water and brought it to Liang Yu’s feet. Liang Yu soaked his feet, reached out to touch the person who was being especially obedient today, pulled Su Qingyu into his arms, removed his shoes and socks, and had him wash together.

Su Qingyu obediently leaned against Liang Yu’s chest and said sweetly, “Thank you, husband.”

Liang Yu lowered his head and kissed his sweet lips. “We’re family. What is there to thank?”

Su Qingyu’s eyes curved into crescents with his smile. He buried his face against Liang Yu’s shoulder and made a soft sound of acknowledgment.