OFTLHFRO C12

Chapter 12: Can Be Both Cousin Sister-in-law and Cousin Brother

If Luo Mingchen’s physique was still barely capable of holding his own, when the tall and burly Huo Yan stepped forward, the man didn’t even muster a hint of intention to strike.

Luo Mingchen, planning to kick the man out as soon as he made a move, restrained himself quietly when he saw Huo Yan blocking his view.

“Brother, we are all here to read and buy books. Knowledge should not distinguish between nobility and commoners. Mingchen wasn’t casually flipping through books; there’s no need to be so aggressive.”

“Little daddy.”

Huo Xiang timidly clung to Luo Mingchen’s sleeve.

That man cast a lecherous glance at them and sneered, “Small-town people really have no insight. Turns out you’re like a woman—hence your arrogant tone. Must have a man backing you up.”

His companions laughed along.

Luo Mingchen was not angry, “What? You jealous? Too bad, you look like that and even men won’t want you, so you can only yell here. Being like a woman is better than being like dog dung. If I were you, I wouldn’t even leave the house, so as not to scare the children. Ugly face, foul mouth, yet still brave enough to show up—I actually admire that.”

“Say that again!”

“If I don’t say it, who will? How disgraceful I am! You are nothing.”

Luo Mingchen finished and rolled his eyes at him, then said to Huo Yan, “Let’s buy our stuff and leave.”

“Alright.”

The man wanted to make a move but feared Huo Yan and held back.

A voice asked curiously, “Brother Li, what’s going on? What are you arguing about?”

The speaker, just about to approach, stopped abruptly upon seeing Huo Yan and the others. After a slight pause, he greeted, “Cousin brother.”

Luo Mingchen looked at the man in green robes before them, roughly the same age, who appeared refined, but being friends with such a person probably wasn’t a good thing.

Moreover, this man called Huo Yan “cousin brother,” which likely meant he was Lin Qingfeng, the cousin who passed the scholar’s exam, as the villagers had mentioned.

On hearing this, Li An lost his composure, “Lin Qingfeng! You better explain clearly what you mean by ‘cousin brother’!”

Lin Qingfeng frowned slightly, “Brother Li, what offense has your cousin brother committed?”

Huo Yan just quietly looked at him.

Seeing no reply from Huo Yan, Lin Qingfeng said to Li An, “Please show some leniency and let this matter drop.”

Li An became even more arrogant, “No! They must kneel and apologize to me! Otherwise, I won’t be able to handle your affairs.”

“Um…”

Lin Qingfeng glanced hesitantly at Huo Yan, “Cousin brother, this is also your fault. You see…”

“How are we at fault?”

Luo Mingchen was speechless. “Do you even know what happened? You’re asking favors from that fool; we don’t know him well, nor do we know you. If anyone is going to kneel, you can do it yourself. We don’t have that spare time. Now get lost.”

Lin Qingfeng furrowed his brows looking at Luo Mingchen, “Who are you?”

Huo Yan said calmly, “I am your cousin sister-in-law. You can also call me cousin brother.”

Luo Mingchen: “……”

“It was your friend just now who spoke rudely. By rights, you should have made him kowtow and apologize to us. However, we won’t quarrel over this. Please step aside; we have business to attend to.”

Lin Qingfeng was somewhat afraid of Huo Yan, so upon hearing this, he stepped aside.

Li An cursed behind them, but Huo Yan just paid and, with Luo Mingchen and the children, left the bookstore, completely ignoring any harsh words Li An spat out.

After leaving the bookstore, they bought two big fish, a young chicken, and some ducklings.

Since live animals were hard to carry and he feared the sun might kill them on the ox cart, Luo Mingchen simply put them in a space pocket.

Seeing Huo Yan look over, Luo Mingchen said confidently, “You already know, right?”

“…Mm.”

They had lunch in town. On the way back, Huo Xinyue, wearing a straw hat, was leaning on Luo Mingchen, dozing off.

Luo Mingchen fanned her with a cattail fan.

“I heard your cousin excels at studies and has a good chance of passing the official exams.”

Huo Yan, who was driving, said, “Whether he is poor or rich is none of my concern.”

Luo Mingchen smiled, “True, with the attitude he had toward you, he wouldn’t even remember you if he became successful.”

“Mm. Those chickens and ducks, I plan to raise them near the ox pen.”

“Ox pen? Where did that come from?”

“We’ll just build one, won’t we?”

“…You know how?”

“Yes, it’s not difficult.”

Luo Mingchen, hearing the confident tone, still felt a bit doubtful.

Huo Yan was not the delicate type, yet he looked quite different from a typical peasant farmer.

He didn’t look like someone who would do hard labor, more like a general or a leader from movies, making it hard to imagine him building a cattle shed or chicken coop.

But when they returned, Luo Mingchen found that not only could Huo Yan build it, he was quite skilled.

The meals in town were just for freshness.

On the way back, Luo Mingchen had already heard repeatedly from Huo Xiang that their cooking wasn’t as good as his.

Fearing they might be hungry, Luo Mingchen steamed a basket of buns after returning home.

Looking outside, Huo Yan had already built half of the ox pen in the backyard.

“Need a hand?”

On hearing this, Huo Yan said, “Help me hold that cloth over there.”

Luo Mingchen looked around, found a cloth hung over some wood, picked it up, and handed it over, “Here.”

Huo Yan, hammering wooden wedges, turned and wiped the sweat from his forehead with Luo Mingchen’s hand, then continued hammering.

Luo Mingchen: “…”

So his job was just to wipe sweat?

Seeing the bandage on Huo Yan’s arm, Luo Mingchen felt a bit guilty, “Should I do it? Don’t want to reopen your wound.”

“It’s okay, it has already healed.”

Luo Mingchen frowned. That fast?

But no blood had seeped through the bandage, so the wound wasn’t reopened.

Afterwards, Luo Mingchen watched Huo Yan finish the ox pen, then start on the chicken coop.

The cut bamboo strips were woven into large square cages, surrounded by a fence to keep chickens and ducks.

Luo Mingchen did nothing except handing things over, helping a bit, and wiping sweat.

“By the way, isn’t there a stone mill here?”

Luo Mingchen had wanted to grind some rice flour to make steamed pork with rice flour, and also wanted to make tofu, but gave up due to the lack of a stone mill.

Huo Yan drank a scoop of water and said, “If you wanted to use a stone mill, you used to borrow from the village chief’s house or someone else’s. If you want one, I can make one tomorrow.”

“Make one? Can’t we buy one? I want a bigger one, one that can be used to make tofu.”

Luo Mingchen saw in the market that the tofu here wasn’t as tender as what he could make, so he didn’t buy any.

If it turned out well, selling tofu might be a good option.

Otherwise, they’d have to wait for vegetables to grow, with no other income, and the two kids needed schooling and food. Relying solely on the money Huo Yan earned wouldn’t last long.

Huo Yan paused, “If you urgently need it, you can buy one.”

Thinking that making a stone mill would take time and effort, and wanting to eat tofu sooner, Luo Mingchen said, “Then let’s buy one.”

“Alright.”

After dinner, Huo Yuhui specially took Huo Xiang and Huo Xinyue away, whispering for a bit, then said that Huo Yan and Luo Mingchen should sleep together, while the three of them would share a room, as they still needed to practice their writing and study.