I Became a Vicious Supporting Role in the '70s-Chapter 316: Just Sleeping.

Liu Sanjin’s heart ached terribly, but she still took out the money. She dared not avoid buying what was needed. The money from Shangjing for this month had not yet been sent over, delayed by many days compared to usual, and she was already quite worried. If she didn’t do as the old man said and he, in a confused moment, wrote a letter to that Mr. Bai, then what would she, her son, and her grandson have left to eat and drink?

With a swipe at her moistened eyes, she quickly went back to get the money.

Lu Changzhu walked into the kitchen, checked the groceries that were bought, and found them satisfactory. He then picked up the basket by the wall and went out to pick vegetables.

With both the eldest and the third son providing filial money, and now the second son’s family willing to contribute to food expenses, he, being advanced in age, no longer wanted to work. It was too exhausting.

He hoped that the second son and fourth son would show some spirit. Ah, being old means having endless worries.

Shen Meng fanned herself, her hand nearly sore from the movement. It was past two o’clock, the weather was getting cooler, and she started to feel sleepy.

Lu Zhenping lay in the room for a while unable to sleep, then went outside, pulling a small bed from the courtyard entrance into the yard, and covered a few children with a sheet. After closing the courtyard door, he took Shen Meng back inside.

"What are you up to? Why are you doing this in broad daylight?"

"I’m not up to anything, just pure sleep. It’s been a while since I’ve laid down this comfortably. I’m having trouble sleeping. Come join me, and we’ll sleep together. The kids are all covered with sheets; they won’t catch a cold."

"Alright, I’m pretty sleepy myself."

Hearing this, Lu Zhenping took off his shirt and lay on the kang bed, stretching out his arm, waiting for Shen Meng to lie down next to him.

Shen Meng saw him squinting, and she guessed he must have been too busy lately, plus with leaving the army, he hadn’t even had time for a haircut. The fringes of his hair were almost covering his eyes. He was wearing a white tank top, lazily leaning against the kang bed, which entranced her. She licked her lips and forcefully turned her head away.

The bed that had been without a man for so long now hosted someone; the room felt filled with hormones.

She walked to the room door, closed it, then went to the kang and changed into her cotton floral pajamas.

Without looking, she could feel that intense gaze from behind.

Strange, before returning to the room she was yawning with sleepiness, but in just these few minutes, she felt completely awake as if she’d taken some kind of aphrodisiac, not sleepy at all.

Shen Meng swallowed, slowly got onto the kang, and lay down in Lu Zhenping’s arms. Her heart was a mess, her mind filled with mosaic, and she felt her body heating up as she drew close to him.

His soft and gently charming wife finally lay in his arms. To say he had no thoughts would be a lie, but at this moment, Lu Zhenping did nothing. Holding her, he felt deeply content, even more so than if he had acted on his desires.

A soft sigh escaped him, his embrace unconsciously tightening a bit.

"Hmm? Is that all, just sleeping?"

"From the tone of your voice, you sound disappointed, wife. Let’s just have a good sleep, shall we? Everything can wait until tonight, no need to rush."

"...I’m not that impatient."

"Sleep now. We will eat at the old house tonight; we won’t need to cook at home."

"Okay."

Shen Meng waited for a while, then heard his faint snoring. She exhaled deeply; he really fell asleep. She had thought he was joking since he had just said he couldn’t sleep, and now he was already snoring.

Ever since he came back, she hadn’t had a proper look at him. She slightly moved her body away and closely examined his eyebrows and eyes.

Thinner, darker, and seemingly a bit rougher.

He must have suffered a great deal, she thought to herself, feeling a pang of pity as she gently touched his face with her hand.

Shen Meng rested her forehead against his chest, blinked her eyes, and thought to herself, how firm his muscles were—it was somewhat uncomfortable to lean on, but she didn’t move away. It made her feel secure. To stop her mind from wandering, she quickly closed her eyes; otherwise, she would surely start to fidget.

The whole family slept until after four in the afternoon.

The Lu Jiasheng family had come by several times, saw the doors closed, and did not knock loudly. Xie Jinghao had come over after lunch and heard Lu Zhenping was resting, so she had to leave quickly for work.

They met again sitting at the Lu Family’s dining table in the main room.

The instant Wu Xianglan got off work, she started busying herself with cooking. Initially, when Liu Sanjin asked her to cook, she was reluctant. Meal fees were already paid, and she expected to eat ready-made meals, especially when there was a freeloader in Lao Si’s house!

But as soon as she heard Lu Zhenping had returned and brought back lots of meat, fish, and ready-cooked food, she threw her bag onto the kang bed and ran towards the kitchen, calling Yong Qiang and Yong Li to help pick vegetables and stoke the fire.

Liu Sanjin, finding himself with some spare time but not daring to leave, dragged a stool over and sat at the kitchen entrance, supervising Wu Xianglan as she cooked.

Unfortunately for him, Wu Xianglan was no longer the same as before. The trimmings she sliced off while cutting the cooked food, she stuffed into Yong Qiang and Yong Li’s mouths piece by piece.

While frying dishes, she scooped out large lumps of lard. Liu Sanjin clutched at his heart, wanting to scold but not daring to; he couldn’t risk provoking Wu Xianglan’s maternal family again.

So, by the time everyone was seated in the main room, Wu Xianglan and siblings Yong Qiang and Yong Li sat at the far end, almost full from eating. If not for wanting to chat with Shen Meng and Lu Zhenping, the three would have washed up and gone to bed early.

The happiest of all was Lu Changzhu. He poured himself a glass of sorghum liquor and passed the bottle to his other sons.

"Today your eldest brother is back, let’s all have a drink. It’s fine; I’ve distilled two jars of sorghum liquor, plenty to go around," he said.

"It’s only when big brother is at home that mom and dad would bother to prepare so much meat and dishes. Hahaha, big brother, I toast to you. I heard you made great contributions to the flood relief efforts. Congratulations, congratulations."

Before anyone could start pouring the drinks or say anything, Lu Jiaxuan hurriedly raised his glass in a toast to Lu Zhenping.

"Family shouldn’t be so formal, sit down!"

Lu Zhenping gestured with his hand for him to sit, not even picking up his glass. Lu Jiaxuan’s expression froze on his face as he awkwardly sat down, his glass of wine untouched.

Lu Jiasheng and Lu Jiahe also poured themselves some wine, holding their glasses and waiting for the old man to speak—one not knowing what to say, and the other eager to eat meat, wishing to speak less.

Lu Changzhu looked at his sons all eyeing him, cleared his throat twice, and picked up his wine glass.

"Today, the eldest has come back; this really pleases an old man like me. He has made contributions for the country and the people, someone our family should all respect. Here, I propose that this glass of wine is to honor the eldest. You youngsters toast as you see fit, but I, being an elder, will drink alone."

Liu Sanjin watched his smug expression, wishing she could split open his mouth. With so much talk, it was all about elevating the eldest and stepping on the faces of his own sons. The table was full of wines and dishes, but just looking at them made her feel unbearably stifled.