LW chapter 49

 

Third place?

Is Qi Shuning that good at studying? Is he a scholar now?

Chen Qing was excited and eager to tell Li Xin the news, but there were too many people around to easily leave. He was small and could easily be stepped on.

Zhou Yuan simply lifted him up and let him sit on his shoulders. They walked out of the crowd with a proud air.

Chen Qing had never been carried on someone’s shoulders before. The only time he could remember was when his father had carried him on his back when he was very young, but he couldn’t recall how it felt.

Sitting on Zhou Yuan’s shoulders made him feel a little dizzy. He held onto Zhou Yuan’s head. “Put me down.”

He didn’t dare look at the people around them. He knew without thinking that the people nearby must be watching them.

Zhou Yuan reluctantly put him down and placed a hand on his shoulder. They had gotten up early and hadn’t eaten yet. At that moment, they were excited and hungry.

At a roadside stall, Zhou Yuan ordered a bowl of dumplings for Chen Qing and bought five sesame cakes. Chen Qing had a small appetite, so he ate half the dumplings and half a cake, Zhou Yuan ate the rest. After eating, they went to a snack shop and bought snacks for Li Xin and Niu Niu.

By the time they returned to the village, it was already afternoon. Chen Qing couldn’t keep it all to himself. He said something to Zhou Yuan, who was still unloading the cart, then ran straight to the Li household.

The new Li house was being built quickly and was about to be tiled. Since Li Xin had recently been at home with Zhang Yin, Chen Qing knew he would find Li Xin there if he went to the Li household now.

When Chen Qing arrived, he saw Li Xin and Zhang Yin talking while sorting wires in the courtyard. Qi Shuning was nearby on the ground, using a wooden stick to teach Niu Niu how to write.

“Why is Ah Qing running so fast?” Zhang Yin asked, stopping her work to look at the panting Chen Qing.

Still catching his breath, Chen Qing greeted Zhang Yin first, then placed the snacks on their small table. “We went to the county yesterday and waited until today to see the results.”

Hearing the word “results,” Qi Shuning stood up and walked over to Li Xin. “It seems the results will be released around this time.”

Li Xin looked at him with slight regret. “With your memory, it’d be strange if you passed the exam.”

Qi Shuning didn’t get angry, he just smiled and scratched his head.

Zhang Yin poured Chen Qing a glass of water. She had brought this tea set from her mother’s home, and she had always taken good care of it, so it still looked brand new.

After finishing the water, Chen Qing said, “We saw the results. He got third place.”

Li Xin widened his eyes in disbelief. “You can’t read, so you must’ve read it wrong.”

Qi Shuning, the person in question, looked slightly surprised for a moment, then said calmly, “That’s pretty much what I expected.”

Li Xin: “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” He walked up to Qi Shuning and pulled his ear.

“You weren’t interested.” Qi Shuning didn’t seem angry, even as his ear was twisted. “If I couldn’t pass the imperial college entrance exam, I’d disappoint my parents after all they’ve done for me.”

Chen Qing laughed too. “I heard the team that announced the good news will arrive in two days. It’ll be lively then.”

After he finished speaking, Chen Qing looked toward Zhang Yin. Zhang Yin smiled, clearly pleased. “Aning has always been hardworking. It’s only natural for him to do well on the exam.”

“Now that Aning has passed the exam and your new house is almost finished, everything is good news.” Her eyes curved into a smile she couldn’t hide.

Chen Qing instinctively turned to look at her, sensing that something was off. However, the excitement in the courtyard quickly swept over him.

At that moment, Li the blacksmith returned from outside. As soon as he came in, he heard laughter coming from the courtyard. “What’s making you all so happy?”

Zhang Yin walked over to him. “Ah Qing just came back from the county and said Shuning got third place on the exam. We’re very happy right now.”

The blacksmith, Li, raised his eyebrows. “Oh? He passed and became a scholar?”

Qi Shuning nodded. “I have to thank Father. Without you, how could I have achieved this result?”

Zhang Yin patted the blacksmith Li on the shoulder. “Go to the butcher’s and buy some meat and wine. Let’s celebrate at home tonight.”

Then she turned again. “Ah Qing, go home and call Ah Yuan and your mother. Let’s have fun together.”

Chen Qing nodded. “Then I’ll head back first and come help later.”

As she watched Chen Qing leave, Li Xin looked at Zhang Yin. “Mother, don’t you think Ah Qing has changed a lot?”

Zhang Yin nodded. “Ah Qing had a hard life, but he’s finally happier now that he has Ah Yuan.”

Chen Qing took the long way back, stopping by Aunt Sun’s place. Aunt Sun happened to be home. When she saw him enter the yard, she went with him to feed the pigs.

The soft, pink piglets had grown to twice their original size in nearly half a year. They no longer looked cute and had become smelly.

Despite Aunt Sun’s efforts to keep the pigsty clean, the pigs still smelled, and Chen Qing couldn’t help but look a little disgusted.

“Auntie, Qi Shuning passed the exam and ranked third.” As he poured pig feed into the trough, Chen Qing told Aunt Sun, “Aunt Yin invited us to dinner tonight. She said we should have some fun.”

Aunt Sun was stunned. “It’s not appropriate for me to go. You all go without me.”

Chen Qing was silent. “But Aunt Yin specifically told me to bring you too. If you don’t go…”

Aunt Sun also felt that Chen Qing had changed a lot—he even knew how to play the victim now. “All right, all right, I’ll go. But I still have to bring some gifts.”

Chen Qing nodded. Aunt Sun knew more about social etiquette than he did.

He was like a little bee delivering messages, and he was finally ready to go home.

Zhou Yuan was sweeping the courtyard. Seeing Chen Qing return, Zhou Yuan poured him a glass of water. “Did you deliver the message?”

Chen Qing took the cup and drank. After finishing it, he let out a breath of relief. “I told them everything. Aunt Yin asked me to come over for dinner tonight.”

“Alright.” Zhou Yuan put down the broom. “Let’s go get some wine. We have to drink tonight.”

Chen Qing nodded, put his purse in his pocket, and followed Zhou Yuan. There was a family in the village who brewed wine, and villagers would go to their house to drink it.

They met Li Tiejiang on the road. He was holding a rack of beef ribs and two pieces of pork belly. When he heard they were going to get wine, he went home and told Chen Qing, “Come help out later. Li Xin’s cooking skills are really not good.”

Chen Qing quickly nodded. “We’ll come after we get the wine.”

Zhou Yuan took two jars and had Chen Qing pay for them. Chen Qing pulled out his wallet and noticed that it was much heavier than before. Opening it, he saw several silver and copper coins inside.

Worried about making the man wait, Chen Qing paid first and then asked, “Did you put this money in my purse?”

Zhou Yuan lifted the wine jars and nodded. “You’ll be the head of the household from now on, so of course you’ll be in charge of the money.”

Chen Qing smiled and immediately headed toward the blacksmith, Li.

Li Xin was busy inside. Qi Shuning tended the stove fire. Zhang Yin wanted to help, but the blacksmith, Li, stopped her.

Soon, Aunt Sun arrived. She had always lived frugally, and this time she came bearing eggs.

Zhang Yin said she was just being polite, but Aunt Sun only smiled and went to chat with her.

Chen Qing went to the kitchen, too. Zhou Yuan pushed Qi Shuning away from the kitchen door and started the fire.

Li Xin snorted at him. “How dare you disrespect Master Qi!”

Zhou Yuan pointed to his fist, which was bigger than the casserole. “In the future, even if he’s Master Qi, if he doesn’t cook well, he’ll get punched.”

Chen Qing focused on preparing the ingredients and didn’t join in their banter.

He chopped the pork ribs into pieces about the length of a finger and marinated them with scallions and ginger. Li Xin quickly said that he wanted to make this dish himself. There was a special dish at his grandfather’s house called sweet and sour pork ribs that Niu Niu loved.

Chen Qing didn’t object and went to handle other tasks.

The Blacksmith Li had not only bought meat, but he had also slaughtered a chicken—a hen. Li Xin said, “He said he wanted to make chicken soup for Mother to nourish her health.”

Chen Qing prepared the chicken and put it in a casserole. First, he added water to blanch off the scum, then he added fresh water after it boiled. He added sliced ginger and goji berries and let them simmer together. When blacksmith Li saw the pot of soup that Chen Qing had prepared, he went home to fetch some wild ginseng to add to it.

Once the chicken soup was ready, Li Xin added his ribs to the pot. The once tender red ribs became glossy and fragrant after being coated in Li Xin’s fried sauce. Zhou Yuan said it was no wonder Niu Niu liked eating them—after all, what child doesn’t like sweets?

Chen Qing looked at the ribs that Li Xin had fried and then at the piece of pork he was holding. He asked Li Xin to fry another batch of sauce and poured the boiled pork into it. Zhou Yuan used high heat, rendering a lot of fat. Finally, Chen Qing ladled in some broth and let the meat simmer slowly.

The other dishes were simpler: stir-fried potato slices, pickled cabbage, and bacon cured during the Lunar New Year. After boiling and slicing the bacon thin, its once slightly greasy fat became translucent, like crystal, as if it could glow.

By sunset, the large table was set with dishes. The table at blacksmith Li’s home was large enough for everyone to sit in a circle.

Everyone except Niu Niu and Zhang Yin had a cup of wine in front of them. As head of the family, the blacksmith Li raised his glass first. “Today is a good day.”

Li Xin and Zhang Yin both laughed, along with the blacksmith. Then he looked at Qi Shuning, the most educated person there. “Aning is learned. Aning, say something.”

Qi Shuning stood up and scratched his head. “Thank you, everyone.”

The whole table burst into laughter at this, and Zhou Yuan added, “Enough talking—Niu Niu’s drool is about to overflow his bowl.”

So, everyone started eating. After a while, they loosened up and started talking. Next to Zhang Yin sat Aunt Sun, who held a bowl of chicken soup and sipped it. Looking at everyone at the table, she whispered, “I’m happy too.”

Aunt Sun smiled too. “Yes, it’s nice to feel so excited.”

Zhang Yin continued, “After Li Xin got married, one worry was lifted from my heart. Now it’s Niu Niu—I hope he grows up healthy and happy.”

Aunt Sun paused before picking up food with her chopsticks. She had a bad feeling and looked at Zhang Yin.

Zhang Yin looked back at her. “Sister-in-law, now that our two families are connected by marriage, we’ll be one family in the future.”

Aunt Sun’s heart sank further, but Zhang Yin said nothing more. He just smiled and listened to the others talk.

The blacksmith Li and Zhou Yuan drank the most, yet neither got drunk. Qi Shuning had had too much, and his eyes were now dazed. Li Xin took a few sips, and Chen Qing took only a little. When they dispersed, Li Xin and Qi Shuning didn’t leave, they slept in Li Xin’s old room.

Aunt Sun was deep in thought and very quiet on the way home. Although she saw how happy everyone was, she didn’t voice her concern.

When she arrived home, she didn’t rush Chen Qing and Zhou Yuan out the door. Instead, she went back to her own house to voice her concerns.

“I saw your godmother. She hasn’t seemed healthy lately.”

Chen Qing and Zhou Yuan exchanged glances. Chen Qing replied, “But tonight, she seemed in good spirits.”

Aunt Sun paused for a moment, then said, “She told me something tonight. I heard she wants to entrust her child to me.”

Zhou Yuan: “You mean…”

“She feels that everything is settled now—you and Li Xin are married, and Qi Shuning has passed the imperial exam. The breath she’s been holding in all this time will soon be released.”

Chen Qing began to feel afraid, recalling how he had worried that Aunt Sun might commit suicide after handling Meng Tao’s funeral.

He stared blankly at Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan nodded. “Mother, I understand. I’ll talk to my godfather about it tomorrow.”

Chen Qing went home feeling worried and lay awake all night.

 

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