Honey (Part 2)

It was evident the person who cleaned it was only staying temporarily, as only the area near the bed was dusted, leaving the rest untouched.

Huo Tianzhou stood at the door for a few seconds before going inside to retrieve some gauze.

When he returned to the backyard, Liang Hongyu came out of the kitchen holding a large bowl.

He glanced at the bowl's contents and was surprised to see that Liang Hongyu had brought back a honeycomb.

The honeycomb was somewhat damaged.

Liang Hongyu carefully selected a clean piece, broke it, and placed it on the gauze, while Huo Tianzhou crouched down to help.

After finishing, they folded the gauze and squeezed it.

Liang Hongyu tied it to a wooden stick she had found in the kitchen and set it up between two chairs in the main room, placing a jar underneath to catch the honey.

The honey looked like it would yield two or three pounds.

Sugar was very expensive in this era, with the cheapest costing over ten wen per 50 grams, and ordinary sugar costing over thirty wen per 50 grams.

However, Liang Hongyu hadn't planned to sell the honey. 

As long as it remained untouched, the honey would be fine.

Liang Hongyu dusted off her hands and said to Huo Tianzhou, "From now on, drink honey water every morning. After a while, you can start drinking it every other day."

Huo Tianzhou looked at her in astonishment: Don't you want to sell it?

"No, we won't sell it. There's not much, so we'll keep it for ourselves," Liang Hongyu replied.

Huo Tianzhou watched her turn around and walk away.

Realizing something, he lowered his eyes and pressed his lips together slightly.

Liang Hongyu returned with a money pouch and sat down at the table, asking, "Do you still have the IOUs for the money we borrowed before?"

At the end of the month, they had to repay part of their debt.

After hearing Liang Hongyu's question, Huo Tianzhou went to his room and brought out the IOUs.

The small loans that they had borrowed from the villagers, Huo Tianzhou had already repaid them.

What remained were the larger sums.

After reviewing the IOUs, Liang Hongyu noted they still owed two taels of silver to He Bingwen, one tael to the Butcher Ma at the east end of the village, and 500 wen to an uncle who had moved to town after doing business with Huo Tianzhou's father.

Liang Hongyu currently had one tael and three qian.

After some thought, she counted out 500 wen and pushed it towards Huo Tianzhou, "We'll repay Uncle Hong's 500 wen in full this time."

"We'll pay the village head 300 wen and the Butcher Ma 200 wen," she said while counting out the amounts and handing them to Huo Tianzhou.

The money pouch still contained 335 wen, which they needed to keep for emergencies.

Liang Hongyu put away the money and, recalling that Huo Tianzhou had only five coins in his pocket, decided to count out another 100 coins for him to keep.

Huo Tianzhou looked at the money in front of him, hesitated for a moment, then took the money pouch and divided the coins into separate pockets.

Liang Hongyu planned to divorce him, so he shouldn't trouble her any more, nor should he use her money. 

However, the family debts couldn't be delayed any longer, and he had no way to repay them by himself.

He would just have to repay Liang Hongyu later.

In the scorching summer, the villagers would wake up early to work in the fields.

If they waited until the sun was fully up, they would have to return home soon after and could only go back out in the cooler afternoon, losing precious time needed for the crops.

Huo Tianzhou usually woke up early, but today he rose just after dawn, only to find that Liang Hongyu was already get up even earlier than him.

In the dim morning light, the kitchen's long-unused oil lamp was lit, and Liang Hongyu stood by the stove, rolling out dough.

Huo Tianzhou was still not used to seeing Liang Hongyu in the kitchen.

He stood there for a moment, watching her, then turned around to wash his face and chop chicken grass to feed the chickens before heading out.

Their home was far from the village center, and the quiet nights allowed Liang Hongyu to sleep well and wake up early.

With nothing else to do, she pondered what to make for breakfast.

The villagers typically had simple cornbread for breakfast, and the wealthier ones might have stuffed buns.

With time on her hands, Liang Hongyu decided to make noodles.

After cooking the noodles and seasoning them with oil, salt, and spices, she fried some eggs and added blanched greens, topping it all with a handful of chopped scallions.

The aroma and presentation made the meal instantly appetizing.

Liang Hongyu hadn't realized she had the patience for cooking until now.

It seemed the environment had brought out this side of her.

She carried two bowls of noodles outside and called for Huo Tianzhou.

This breakfast was very ordinary for Liang Hongyu.

If they had more ingredients at home, she could make it even more lavish.

However, for Huo Tianzhou, who sometimes couldn't even have cornbread in the morning, it felt like an extravagance.

If the villagers knew they ate over a pound of meat for dinner and had noodles with eggs for breakfast, they would surely call them wasteful.

Huo Tianzhou couldn't help but worry.

At this rate, the rice and flour they bought yesterday might not last long.

After finishing the noodles, Huo Tianzhou went to wash the dishes.

Liang Hongyu got up to fetch the rice seeds from the corner of the house.

Shortly after, Huo Tianzhou came out carrying a bamboo basket filled with compost from the chicken coop.

Huo Tianzhou had sold the family's paddy field to pay for his mother's medical treatment.