Chapter 3

Yeh Rongyao's courtyard is a two-section courtyard. As soon as you enter, you see two large longan trees on either side, their branches lush and sprawling like umbrellas. People who don't know better might think that such tall and large old longan trees would bear a lot of delicious fruit, but Yeh Rongyao knows that these trees only grow leaves and flowers but never bear fruit.

The small courtyard is about 300 square meters, densely shaded by the large longan trees. On the left side is an ancient well made of white stone. It is said that this well existed even before the house was built, though its exact history is unknown. However, the well water is sweet and clear, never drying up.

Walking through the courtyard, there is a red-tiled brick house with two bedrooms and a living room. On either side of the front hall are doors, and in the middle, there is a shrine, which is common in many rural homes. Although the Chinese government has been fighting feudal superstitions for decades, people in the countryside still believe in these things.

Passing through the front hall, there is a corridor on either side, and in the middle is a square skylight. Behind it is a two-story building. Behind the building is a plot of land about three acres in size, where Liu Qingqing has planted some vegetables. Although Liu Qingqing has only been in the countryside for a little over a year, the smart girl has learned some vegetable planting techniques from Yeh Rongyao's parents, which makes her much better at it than Yeh Rongyao, who is a lazy person who doesn't even know how to farm.

The kitchen is in a small house of about 30 square meters at the back, separated from the living quarters by about six to seven meters. This is mainly to prevent the kitchen smoke from blackening the living quarters, as there are no exhaust fans in the countryside. If the kitchen and living quarters were not separated, the smoke would quickly blacken the rooms and make the living conditions uncomfortable. It must be said that Yeh Rongyao's parents are quite particular about this.

Yeh Rongyao's kitchen is divided into two parts: one part is the cooking area, about 15 square meters, and the other part is the dining area, separated by a brick wall with a door that is two meters high and one meter wide. In the dining area, there is a large table that can seat about ten people.

Currently, sitting at the table are Yeh Rongyao and his wife, Liu Qingqing.

"Dear, you should eat too."

Yeh Rongyao, holding a bowl of porridge his wife had prepared for him, said with emotion. He usually acted foolishly, but now he suddenly realized how wonderful his wife is, how virtuous and capable she is. He felt incredibly lucky to have such a beautiful and virtuous wife for only 80,000 yuan, and he believed it was his ancestors' blessing that he had such good fortune.

"I've already eaten, you eat," Liu Qingqing said. She felt a bit excited for some reason. Was it because this was the first time her husband had shown concern for her eating? Did she really have feelings for this man, not just a sense of duty? Liu Qingqing felt a bit lost.

"Okay!"

Perhaps because he had drunk too much the night before and had vomited most of the contents of his stomach, Yeh Rongyao was really hungry. He didn't hesitate to eat and started drinking the corn porridge in large gulps.

Soon, a bowl of corn porridge was in his stomach, but Yeh Rongyao still felt very hungry, so he got himself another bowl. He drank seven bowls of corn porridge in a row before he felt about 80% full, which was more than he usually ate. Normally, he would only drink three large bowls of corn porridge in one meal.

"Dear, the corn porridge you made is really delicious," Yeh Rongyao said, patting his stomach after finishing the porridge.

"If you like it, drink more," Liu Qingqing said, looking at Yeh Rongyao with a bit of surprise. She felt that something was different about her lazy husband today. He seemed to be treating her much better than before, and his appetite was much larger. She couldn't quite put her finger on what else was different.

"Dear, we've been married for more than a year, right?" Yeh Rongyao asked seriously.

"It's been one year, five months, and twenty-one days," Liu Qingqing said. Since she married into the Yeh family, she felt like each day was a year. She remembered the day she married this lazy man, who was ten years older than her, very clearly.

In fact, Liu Qingqing had never imagined that she would end up living in a backward, poor village, let alone marry a farmer ten years older than her, especially one who was a complete lazybones.

Was this a joke played by heaven on her, a young lady from a prominent family? She thought about the boys who had pursued her in college, all from prestigious families, and she had never found any of them suitable. Was this her punishment from heaven? Liu Qingqing didn't dare to think further.

"Yes, it's been one year, five months, and twenty-one days. I know you haven't been happy this year. You are a phoenix, but you married me, a lazy toad. You must have been very unhappy and upset..."

"Stop talking."

Liu Qingqing interrupted Yeh Rongyao. What was the point of saying these things now? She was no longer a virgin, and every part of her body had been taken by him. There was no way to wash it away, and it wasn't something that could be resolved with a simple "I'm sorry."

"No, I have to say it!"

Yeh Rongyao continued strongly, "Actually, from the moment my parents brought you home, I liked you. You are so beautiful, the most beautiful girl I have ever seen in my life. Your demeanor tells me that you are not from the countryside, but from a big city, a cultured person. You are even more beautiful than the campus beauties I saw when I worked as a security guard at Zhejiang University."

"From the first moment I saw you, I said to myself that I had to possess you, own you, and never let you leave me. On our wedding night, I treated you so roughly, not because I didn't want to be gentle, but because I was afraid of losing you. I am an uneducated farmer and a lazybones, so I could only possess you, possess every part of you that could be possessed. Only then did I feel that I truly owned you, such a beautiful woman, that you were my woman..."

Yeh Rongyao poured out his heart, not because he was completing a task for the "Lazy System," but because these were his true feelings, deep-seated feelings of inferiority.

"No, don't say it!"

Liu Qingqing said, blushing. She didn't know why, but his rough confession made her blush and feel a bit sweet inside. This was confusing to her. In the past, she had received many confessions from boys, and their words were much more touching and romantic, and the scenes were much more romantic. This was nothing like sitting in a simple kitchen and confessing without even a single rose.

"No, I have to say it."

Yeh Rongyao continued, looking at Liu Qingqing. He knew that if he didn't say it now, he might never have the chance again if he were "humanely destroyed" by the system.

"You are so beautiful and graceful, like a high-flying phoenix, while I know I am just a nobody, a clown. But even as a nobody, I possess such a beautiful phoenix, which makes me very insecure. To be honest, I am deeply insecure, deeply inferior, which makes me afraid to face you. I can only numb myself with alcohol, beat you, and possess you. I am truly afraid of losing you, of losing such a beautiful phoenix. This morning, when I woke up and saw you, I realized that I need to change."

"What did you realize?"

Liu Qingqing asked, a bit worried. She was afraid that Yeh Rongyao might think too much and do something foolish.

To Liu Qingqing, this man in front of her was the closest person in the world, even closer than her family, who were thousands of miles away and whom she dared not return to. This man was her husband, the one she had shared a bed with for one year and five months, the one to whom she had given her countless firsts.

Although Liu Qingqing hated this man who had taken her youth, she didn't want to lose him. She didn't think of herself as noble, but she believed in loyalty, and she would stay with him until the end.