Their home really had very few pieces of furniture; when the two of them got married, they only made a bed and didn’t even prepare a set of cabinets.
Thanks to selling fermented tofu, paddy rice fish, and vegetables, they already had savings of nearly twenty-one taels. Now, with no urgent need for money elsewhere, they could afford to get some more furniture.
Of course, that was An Jing’s consideration.
But when Xiao Changyi heard An Jing’s words, he didn’t even think about it and readily agreed, saying, "Hmm."
"So, what kind of furniture do you think we should make?"
"You decide." He was indifferent.
She wasn’t annoyed at that. Instead, she smiled and said, "Then let’s make two rosewood chairs, a top cabinet, a dish cabinet, and a writing desk. For the writing desk, we can buy some brushes, ink, paper, and an inkstone later, so we can write when we want to and not have to use charcoal anymore."
"How much do you think that will around cost?"
"It depends on what kind of wood you use."
"Let’s go with elm." Actually, An Jingxin really wanted to use huanghuali or zitan wood, but those two types of wood were really expensive, the most topnotch kinds, too pricey for her to do anything but dream about.
Elm wood was considered a mid-range wood here. It was durable and lasting due to its hardness and toughness, but since elm was available in many places, unlike the rarer huanghuali and zitan wood, its price was not too high.
Xiao Changyi estimated and then said, "Around two taels."
An Jing felt that two taels was acceptable, so this matter was settled, and she went on, "The bed we have is made from locust wood. It’s fine to sleep on now, but with time, it’s likely to crack and warp. We’ll have to make another one eventually, and we should choose better-quality wood for it, but for now, we don’t make it since we would have nowhere to put it."
An Jing thought about it before asking, "Husband, should we build a house?" It would only cost seven or eight taels to build a few ordinary farmer’s houses.
"If you want to build it, then build it."
"I do want to build. In the end, our thatched cottage isn’t as sturdy as other people’s houses; it even leaked during the last heavy rain. It’s just that I’m not sure where to build the house." An Jing looked troubled. "Originally, I had the idea of moving to An Village and becoming one of the An family villagers. Xiao Lan also mentioned this to me many times, but I can’t guarantee that the people of An Village will stay the same... After thinking it over, I still believe not moving there is better."
Xiao Changyi said nothing, just watching An Jing.
An Jing and Xiao Changyi silently stared at each other for a while before she snuggled into his embrace, and Xiao Changyi immediately held her.
"Husband," An Jing’s voice was low as she buried her face in his chest, "to reduce friction, let’s just keep to our own household, just the two of us, you and me."
In fact, it wasn’t to reduce friction, but because she knew her husband was cold and reticent by nature, not at all fond of socializing. So moving to An Village would serve no purpose; it would be more comfortable for the two of them to have their own independent household.
The two of them had long been on the same page, and how could Xiao Changyi not know what was in An Jingxin’s heart? His arms tightened around An Jing without thinking.
"Hmm," he responded softly and at the same time planted a gentle kiss on the top of her head.
An Jing, curled up in Xiao Changyi’s arms, felt the kiss on her head and her heart suddenly squeezed in pain. She quickly reached out her arms, tightly hugging him back, burying her face deep in his chest.
Childhood has a big impact on a person, and his had not been a good one. It was no wonder he had turned out this way.
And she, she felt heartache.