LW chapter 78

 

On August 15, they stopped in a small town to take a short break from their busy schedule and admire the bright moon.

However, before they could look at it for more than a moment, Chen Qing fell asleep on Zhou Yuan’s shoulder. Zhou Yuan no longer paid attention to the moon. He was a rough man who didn’t understand its beauty. He was probably better off paying attention to Chen Qing.

Chen Qing didn’t know that Zhou Yuan had been watching him almost the whole night. When he woke up the next morning, he was still rubbing his eyes. Zhou Yuan decided to switch to a carriage in town, otherwise, it would be dangerous for Chen Qing to fall asleep while riding a horse.

For some reason, despite his usual frugality, Chen Qing agreed. Maybe it was because Zhou Yuan hadn’t slept well while holding him on horseback.

Zhou Yuan bought Chen Qing many snacks and put them in the carriage, but he didn’t want them. Instead, he bought a lot of sour jujube cakes, a local specialty of the town.

The journey went smoothly. On the third day of September, they finally arrived at the county town to collect the belongings left behind by Meng Qi and the others. After asking around, they learned that Meng Qi had left again, this time with his wife.

Meng Shuanzi had indeed returned to the village. After all, he still had to take care of Qin Xia’s affairs, and a wedding might soon be approaching.

When they returned to the village, they found that it had changed a lot. When they left, the second round of seedlings had just been planted and were still green. By the time they returned, the wheat ears had grown and the seedlings had turned yellow.

Yellow meant a good harvest in autumn.

The horse stopped at the courtyard gate. Chen Qing stepped into his yard, feeling solid ground beneath his feet for the first time in a while. He took a deep breath, smelling the earth, mountain wind, and river in the air. This was his hometown.

“Ah Qing! You’re back?” Aunt Sun had just been about to go out. When she saw someone standing at the door, she quickly dropped what she was holding and rushed over.

Chen Qing was also delighted to see her. As she approached, he steadied her. “Mother.”

Aunt Sun smiled at him and pinched his arm. “I’m fine. You haven’t lost weight.”

Chen Qing smiled happily and said, “I’ve been doing well all this time.”

He held Aunt Sun’s arm and entered the house. The house was very tidy and dust-free. The cattle were not in the cowshed. Aunt Sun said, “Li Xin went to herd the cattle for you.”

Chen Qing widened his eyes. “Isn’t he about to give birth? Why is he herding cattle for me?”

“There’s still a month left. The doctor said he needs to walk more, otherwise, it’ll be dangerous when he gives birth.” Before Aunt Sun could finish speaking, Li Xin returned with the cow.

“I told you my left eye kept twitching today. Turns out someone’s back.” It wasn’t quite right to say Li Xin was herding. He was simply following Niu Niu. Niu Niu was still the one herding the cattle.

Chen Qing quickly went to help him, and Aunt Sun moved a chair so he could sit down.

Li Xin was slightly out of breath, mostly because of his big belly. After being away for so long, Chen Qing noticed that Li Xin’s face had become rounder and his belly had grown large, though his limbs hadn’t changed much.

“Don’t just stare at it.” Li Xin was still in high spirits. “Come, touch it.”

Chen Qing carefully placed his hand on Li Xin’s belly, and the baby inside moved as if sensing him.

“He moved!” Chen Qing quickly pulled his hand back. “Did I hurt him?”

Li Xin thought it was funny and laughed.

Zhou Yuan and Niu Niu tied up the cow and horse, then sat down. They moved a table and poured all the new items they had brought back onto it.

When Li Xin saw the glittering jewels and colorful scarves, his eyes lit up. “Are those for me?”

“Pick what you like,” said Chen Qing.

Li Xin was fascinated by the choices. Zhou Yuan asked again, “Did Shu Ning already leave for Yuancang Mansion?”

Li Xin nodded. “Yes, the Autumn Examinations were held on September fifth. The exams will begin in two days.”

Chen Qing asked, “Did the doctor say when you’ll give birth? Can he make it back?”

Li Xin gently patted her belly and said, “The doctor said it should be early October, but since they’re twins, it might be earlier.”

“Then he won’t be able to make it.”

Li Xin remained calm. “Why would I want him back? Can he help me give birth? He just needs to do well on the exam.”

He looked at the items on the table again. Without being polite, he picked out things he liked and things the children could use. He packed them up and said, “Send me back later.”

They chatted about what had happened in the village during this time.

“We’ll start harvesting rice. Threshing is exhausting work,” said Li Xin. “I heard from the old village chief that you have to beat the rice very hard to get the grains out. How tiring that is.”

Aunt Sun nodded, too. “I saw the village chief ask a carpenter to make something a few days ago. It looked like a big basket with curtains over it. I don’t know what it’s for.”

“But Aunt, the rice in your fields seems to be the first to ripen. Luckily, they’re back now, so you can relax a little,” Li Xin said.

“There’s nothing urgent for the next two days. Let them rest first.” Aunt Sun had originally thought that, if Chen Qing and the others couldn’t return, she would harvest the rice herself and then ask the villagers for help threshing it.

Back in the village, Chen Qing had a strong sense of reality. After thinking carefully, he realized there was still much to be done. He felt that this kind of life suited him.

Since the road had been so tiring, however, Aunt Sun cooked dinner that night. After eating just a few bites, Chen Qing said he was sleepy, so Aunt Sun let him rest first.

The next morning, Zhou Yuan took Chen Qing up the mountain. They each carried a hoe to dig graves for the two fathers in the mountains.

Although Chen Qing said he wanted to do it himself, Zhou Yuan wouldn’t let him work alone. It was his duty as a son-in-law. If Chen Qing did everything, what would Zhou Yuan do?

Smiling, Chen Qing dug the hole with Zhou Yuan and said that, when there was time, a stonemason would make gravestones for Grandmother, Father, Little Father, and Meng Tao.

There hadn’t been any conditions before, but now there were, and the dead had to be respected.

After seeing the hole being dug, Chen Qing took the purse out of his hand and carefully placed it in the hole. “Father, little father, Luohe Village is very good: There’s no wind or sand, and the mountains and rivers are beautiful.”

“From this spot, you can see my house when you look down the mountain.” He pointed below. “From there, you can catch a glimpse of me.”

Then, they filled in the hole and both knelt before the grave. The firecrackers had been bought by Meng Qi and the others when they returned. Now that the firecrackers had been lit, Chen Qing and Xia Xi no longer had anything to do with each other.

On the way down the mountain, Zhou Yuan offered to carry Chen Qing, who lay on his back. “Zhou Yuan.”

“Hmm?”

“Happy,” said Chen Qing.

“Foolish.”

“Hehe.” Chen Qing smiled foolishly. “Everything is fine now.”

After that, he cleaned the house from top to bottom and washed all the bedding. While he was hanging up the laundry, Aunt Sun came over with meat and vegetables. “I thought you just got back and didn’t have much to eat, so I brought you some.”

“Thank you, Mother. I’m so greedy.” Chen Qing had only eaten casually for two meals since returning and craved homemade food.

Aunt Sun laughed at him. “I don’t usually see you craving food like this. You must’ve been longing for it.”

At noon, Chen Qing cooked braised pork and steamed corn buns. He ate a large bowl of it. He normally didn’t eat that much, which surprised Zhou Yuan.

“It looks like, in Aqing’s heart, delicacies from land and sea aren’t better than a bowl of homemade food.” Zhou Yuan teased.

Chen Qing stepped on Zhou Yuan’s foot under the table. After a while, Li Xin arrived.

“Why are you here again?” Zhou Yuan asked, frightened by his big belly and worried he might fall and get hurt. He scolded him but had already prepared a chair.

“I’m bored at home. Aqing finally returned. I’m going to the fields with you tomorrow to keep you company while you work.”

Chen Qing followed him out. “I get scared just looking at your belly.”

Li Xin sat down and gently patted his belly. “I wonder if the children know their father is taking the exam. They’ve been shivering all morning.”

“Blood ties,” said Chen Qing.

Li Xin felt a little regretful. “If I didn’t have kids, I would’ve gone with him. I don’t know how he’s doing. He’s so foolish, he couldn’t even find the exam hall.”

“Don’t worry too much,” said Chen Qing. “You should trust him. He’s grown up. If he managed to place third, how could he be so foolish?”

The two chatted while Zhou Yuan went with Aunt Sun to check the harvest in the fields.

“Quick, tell me what you encountered along the road.” Li Xin grabbed Chen Qing’s hand.

Chen Qing stood up. “I’ll pour you a glass of water first.”

After pouring the water, he began telling him about the people and things he had met along the way.

“How could your family be so shameless? Our Aqing is so pitiful.” Li Xin squeezed Chen Qing’s hand and said, “Luckily, you met your aunt, me, and my sworn brother. Everything will be fine in the future.”

Chen Qing nodded.

“What about your family’s enemy? Did you get revenge?” Li Xin hated evil, too, and naturally hoped that all bad people would be punished.

“No.” Chen Qing shook his head. “He’s been dead for a long time.”

Li Xin felt a bit regretful but tried to comfort him. “We can’t always get what we want in this world. It’s enough that bad people receive retribution.”

At this point, Chen Qing told him again, “Do you know how he died? It was…”

Chen Qing continued speaking, and Li Xin’s eyes widened. “What a coincidence! You said you met Doctor Yu’s son and Dean Fu’s son?”

“Yes, Dean Fu’s son. I heard he’s going to Yuancang for an examination.” Chen Qing’s eyes sparkled when he talked about them, especially when he mentioned Chen Zixi.

“He’s very much like you—very carefree and at ease.” Chen Qing said this, his eyes full of envy.

Li Xin moved closer and gently patted his face. “Ah Qing, don’t envy others. Everyone has their strengths. You are unique.”

Chen Qing blinked. “I know.”

Li Xin said again, “By the way, did you know that Meng Shuanzi brought a ger back? His family is making a fuss now.”

“A fuss? Didn’t his mother allow him to marry Qin Xia?” Chen Qing was a little worried.

“It’s not that he didn’t allow it, it’s just that it was too sudden, so his mother couldn’t accept it right away.” Li Xin continued, “he feels that, since he’s from such a faraway place as Xia Xi, he can’t be trusted. he’s also afraid that he’ll run away again someday.”

Chen Qing nodded. “His mother’s worries aren’t unreasonable. I think that when he first followed us, he just wanted to leave that place.”

“Chen Qing! You’re back?” A voice speaking in a not-so-standard dialect was heard outside his house. He turned around and saw Qin Xia standing at his door.

He was stunned. As it turns out, you really can’t talk about someone behind their back.

 

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