Before arriving at the Fei residence, Fei Ni reminded Fang Muyang that if her parents brought up topics like wedding banquets, he should remain silent and let her handle the refusals.
Although the elderly Fei couple weren’t entirely satisfied with Fang Muyang, they had still cleaned the house thoroughly before his visit. Normally, they would intentionally prepare extra porridge and dishes at noon to eat in the evening, but today’s lunch had been made just enough, with no leftovers. Dinner consisted entirely of freshly cooked dishes, with ingredients bought early that morning from the market, where prices were cheaper than at the grocery store. The fish had been purchased alive, killed at home, steamed, and plated just in time for Fei Ni’s return.
Fei Ni’s room was also decorated with popular wedding slogans of the time.
Upon arriving home, Fei Ma asked Fei Ni if she had gone to a photo studio to take a wedding photo after completing the formalities.
Fei Ni knew that saying no would upset her mother, so she claimed they had. Fang Muyang didn’t expose her lie. Before returning home, they had passed by a photo studio, and Fang Muyang had suggested taking a picture there, but Fei Ni had outright refused. She thought to herself that Fang Muyang seemed to have a good grasp of her parents’ mindset.
In addition to presenting fabric as a gift, Fang Muyang also brought out a stack of papers—all furniture design sketches—and asked his in-laws for their opinions.
“I bought some lumber in the countryside. It’ll arrive in a few days, and then I can start making the furniture.”
His in-laws had initially had low expectations of him, but seeing that he could draw designs and had even gone out of his way to buy lumber from the countryside, they suddenly felt he was a reliable young man. They urged him to sit down and eat, frequently serving him dishes during the meal.
Before Fang Muyang’s arrival, the elderly couple had agreed that no matter their dissatisfaction with Xiao Fang, they would hold back, remain polite, smile often, serve him more food, and avoid complaints. After all, their daughter had already married him, and complaining wouldn’t change anything—it would only harm family harmony. Now, they didn’t need to pretend; their smiles were genuine as they sincerely urged Fang Muyang to eat more.
Old Fei praised him, “Xiao Fang, these drawings of yours are quite impressive. You’ve studied drawing, haven’t you?”
“I learned a little in the past.”
“I think you could work as a designer at a furniture factory. I’ve never seen styles like these in anyone else’s home.” Old Fei took charge, saying, “Once the lumber arrives, you don’t need to worry about it. I’ll find a carpenter, and I’ll supervise the furniture-making process. I have nothing else to do anyway.” Naturally, he would also cover the cost. If Fei Ni had married someone else, this expense could have been saved, but since she had chosen Fang Muyang, it was unavoidable. Now, seeing that he was more dependable than they had imagined, they were willing to spend the money.
While urging Fang Muyang to eat, Fei Ma examined the sketches, turning them over and over. She couldn’t help but discuss with him, “This sofa design isn’t available at furniture factories. It’s good-looking, but the carpenter might not know how to make it. Should we consider a different style?”
“I’ll make it myself.”
One surprise followed another.
The elderly couple exclaimed in unison, “You can make furniture too?”
Fei Ni couldn’t resist poking Fang Muyang with the square end of her chopsticks. Although she had asked him to tell some white lies before coming, there was no need to exaggerate this much. If her parents believed him, how would they handle the aftermath?
Unexpectedly, Fang Muyang didn’t understand her hint. He placed the deboned fish from his saucer into her bowl and said, “I just finished deboning it. It’s for you.”
Fei Ni cursed him inwardly as a fool. Who needed him to debone her fish? It wasn’t as if she didn’t have hands of her own.Fang Muyang smiled and answered the elderly couple’s question: “I did some carpentry work back in the countryside.”
He answered modestly, and the elderly Fei couple believed he truly was skilled. If Fang Muyang had showcased these abilities before marrying Fei Ni, the couple wouldn’t have found him particularly remarkable, as Fei Ni had many other options back then—she could have easily married a man with a ready-made house and furniture. But now that the marriage was settled, the fact that Fang Muyang could buy lumber and craft furniture was a genuine surprise to them.
In her delight, Fei Ma also felt a pang of sympathy for him. “Xiao Fang, you went to the countryside when you were just fifteen, didn’t you?”
Her own son had also suffered in the countryside, but he was already twenty when he was sent. The year the college entrance exams were canceled was Fei Ting’s final year of high school. After classes were suspended and then resumed, there were too many graduates, and the city couldn’t provide enough jobs for them, so they had to be sent to the countryside. Even though Fei Ting was twenty when he left, his mother still saw him as a child. As for Fang Muyang at fifteen—he really was just a child.
Fang Muyang confirmed it.
“You must have endured a lot of hardship.”
“Not really. My life was pretty much the same as everyone else’s in the village.” He didn’t feel he had suffered much, because all the other young people in the village lived the same way. The only thing was, staying in one place for too long without the freedom to go elsewhere felt stifling.
To Fei Ma, this sounded exactly like hardship. She urged him to eat more, hoping to make up for the nutrition he had missed over the years.
“Your cooking is wonderful.”
“As long as you like it. Since your and Fei Ni’s house isn’t ready yet, why don’t you stay here for the time being? I’ve prepared bedding for you—it’s all new, and I just sunned it today.”
Fei Ma had initially planned to prepare dowry bedding, but Fei Ni said she was getting married, not being married off, and there was no need for dowry items. Besides, why make quilts in the middle of summer? Fei Ni had taken charge of the big decisions, so she couldn’t oppose her mother on the smaller details. In the end, Fei Ni couldn’t sway her mother and insisted on making the bedding herself, not wanting to see her mother sweating over cotton quilts in the summer heat. Fei Ma insisted on using satin for the quilt cover, so Fei Ni had to pick a ginger-yellow base with white gardenia patterns from the fabric store. The flowers were machine-embroidered, somewhat rough, but not noticeable unless examined closely. After work, Fei Ni spent her time at home making the quilt for Fang Muyang. She used the originally intended coarse fabric for a dust cover, enclosing the ginger-yellow gardenia quilt cover inside. Fei Ma scolded her, saying how could such a smart person be so impractical, and removed the dust cover, leaving the brand-new quilt cover exposed. Now the quilt lay neatly folded on Fei Ni’s bed.
“I’d love to stay here and eat your cooking every day.”
Fei Ni lowered her head to eat, seemingly unintentionally poking Fang Muyang with her chopsticks. Just like last time, Fang Muyang failed to grasp her hint and instead placed the fish he had deboned into her bowl.
Fang Muyang added a “but”: “But I’ve already asked someone to help me find a temporary place to stay. I owe them a favor, and it wouldn’t be right not to go now.”
“That’s fine too. If it doesn’t work out, you can always move back here.”Fei Ma brought up the wedding banquet, and Fang Muyang agreed, though he suggested it would be best to wait until the house was ready before hosting the celebration together, making it a double blessing. The unspoken reason was that he currently had no money for the banquet.
Fei Ni’s parents praised him for being so thoughtful and naturally agreed.
Toward the end of the meal, Fang Muyang apologized for not having a new home, saying that on such an occasion, he could only have Fei Ni stay with him at the guesthouse.
The elderly couple exchanged a glance and said the idea of staying at the guesthouse was excellent. The small inner room was too cramped to serve as a bridal chamber, and there hadn’t been time to install a door—only a curtain, which blocked no sound at all. Even if the young couple didn’t mind, the elderly couple would feel awkward.
However, the guesthouse required an introduction letter, and finding a single room was quite difficult.
Fang Muyang said he had already obtained the introduction letter, and the room was a double, so they could push the two beds together.
Fei Ni’s parents had nothing more to say, as this son-in-law far exceeded their expectations, leaving them thoroughly satisfied.
Fei Ni hadn’t heard Fang Muyang mention the guesthouse before, and upon learning she would be staying out with him that night, she naturally disagreed. But at the table, in front of her parents, she couldn’t say anything. After the meal, she pulled Fang Muyang to the washroom to help her wash the bowls.
Fei Ma stepped on Old Fei’s foot and whispered something in his ear. Old Fei, suppressing the pain, smiled and said, “Xiao Fang and I will go. Let your mother have a private word with you.”
Normally, guests shouldn’t be asked to wash dishes, even if it’s their son-in-law, but if they didn’t speak now, there would be no time once they went to the guesthouse.
After Fang Muyang left, Fei Ma pulled her daughter into the inner room, held her hand, and explained what to pay attention to that night. She felt embarrassed bringing it up, but if her second daughter hadn’t been busy today, she would have had her talk to Fei Ni.
Fei Ni’s face flushed instantly. She endured listening for a few sentences but couldn’t hold back: “I know, please don’t say any more.”
Fei Ma grew suspicious: “How do you know?”
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