LW chapter 59

 

Time flies. In two days, it will be the middle of July.

Early on July 14th, Zhou Yuan and Chen Qing went to the town to buy paper money.

First, they went with Aunt Sun to worship Father Meng, and then it was Meng Tao’s turn. After that, Aunt Sun went down the mountain, and Zhou Yuan brought Chen Qing to his grandmother’s grave.

Zhou Yuan cleaned up the debris, while Chen Qing knelt in front of the grave and lit incense.

He had thought of what he wanted to say to his grandmother before climbing the mountain, but once he reached the top, he forgot everything. All he could remember was the old woman’s thin, warm hand.

“Grandma, I’m married now. This is the husband you chose for me.” After Zhou Yuan finished cleaning, he knelt beside Chen Qing.

Chen Qing smiled. “Grandmother, do you still remember me?”

Zhou Yuan held his hand. “Grandmother, we’ll be fine. You can rest easy.”

After the last trace of fire on the joss paper extinguished, Zhou Yuan helped Chen Qing up. “Come on, let’s go home.”

He carried Chen Qing down the mountain, taking steady steps.

“In two days, let’s go pick up Li Xin and the others. I don’t know if we can make it in time for the Mid-Autumn Festival.” Zhou Yuan said.

“Safety on the road is most important.” Chen Qing lay on his back and said, “This time, I won’t go, right?”

Zhou Yuan thought about it and agreed. In fact, Chen Qing was still very tired after the trip. Zhou Yuan could feel that Chen Qing had lost a lot of weight while carrying him on his back, so he let him rest and recover at home.

“Alright.”

On July 17, Zhou Yuan set out for Yunxi City with Meng Qi.

They did not make it back by August 15, so Chen Qing spent the festival with Aunt Sun.

Chen Qing did not feel uncomfortable, after all, he had been this way for years. Before the festival, he went to Blacksmith Li’s house. Li, the blacksmith, was still working at his shop. Since the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching, his shop had received many orders for iron molds.

Niu Niu helped Chen Qing. The two of them set out food on the table. Chen Qing also taught Niu Niu how to make mooncakes. As they watched the sunset, Chen Qing told Niu Niu to wait at home for his father. Then, he left the Li family home and went back.

By the time Blacksmith Li returned, the sun had already set. The last rays of sunlight in front of the house had disappeared when Niu Niu saw his tall father at the door.

Blacksmith Li was holding a roast chicken. He had always been at the shop during this time and did not pay much attention to Niu Niu.

When Niu Niu saw him, he hugged his leg. Blacksmith Li picked him up and took him home, where they saw the dishes on the table. “Did you make this?”

Niu Niu shook his head. “Brother Chen Qing made it.”

“Did you thank him?” asked Blacksmith Li.

Niu Niu nodded. “I already thanked him.”

Li Tiejiang washed his hands, sat at the table with Niu Niu, picked up two roasted chicken legs, and put them in Niu Niu’s bowl.

Niu Niu smiled and said, “Thank you, Father.”

Li Tiejiang wiped his hands and touched his hair. “Eat.”

When Chen Qing returned home, Aunt Sun had already prepared the meal. Since there were only two of them, they didn’t need to cook much. Still, their life was clearly much better. In the past, he only ate eggs on special occasions, but now, Aunt Sun steamed an egg custard for him without hesitation.

“You’ve lost a lot of weight since you left.” Aunt Sun put some food in his bowl. He was tired from running around, and even after returning, he helped harvest corn. He had lost a lot of weight, and his clothes were too big.

Chen Qing looked at himself. “I don’t feel it. It’s fine.”

He didn’t know why both Aunt Sun and Zhou Yuan said he was thinner. He was clearly the same as before.

“It’s been so long, and still no news from your belly?” After finishing her meal, Aunt Sun went to check Chen Qing’s belly.

Chen Qing almost choked on his bite of rice. “Mother!”

“You’ve been married for so long. Aren’t you ready to have a child now?”

Chen Qing had never thought about this question, nor had Zhou Yuan mentioned it. It was only when Aunt Sun brought it up today that he suddenly remembered the matter of having children.

“I, I don’t know what Zhou Yuan thinks.” Chen Qing touched his belly and said, “I think we should let nature take its course.”

“All right, but it’s time to think about it.” Aunt Sun looked at him and said, “While I still have energy, I can help you raise the child.”

Chen Qing’s face turned slightly red, but he nodded. “I’ll talk to him about it when he comes back.”

“Yes, living life is about two people discussing things together.”

After eating with Aunt Sun, Chen Qing helped her wash the dishes and then went back to his house. The round moon hung in the sky, and Chen Qing missed Zhou Yuan very much.

By the end of August, Chen Qing hoped Zhou Yuan would return soon. During the day, he took Niu Niu with him and led the cow to graze. On the way back, he would stand at the village entrance for a while before he and Niu Niu returned home.

On September 3rd, Chen Qing finally saw Zhou Yuan at the village entrance.

He saw the carriage approaching the village from afar. His heart beat fast as he stepped forward to greet Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan, who was driving the carriage, also saw Chen Qing standing at the village entrance. As he passed, Zhou Yuan lifted Chen Qing up with one hand and sat him in the carriage. Overcome with emotion, he kissed Chen Qing on the cheek.

Chen Qing was a bit embarrassed and lightly pinched his palm. Then, he looked into the carriage. Zhang Yin and Li Xin were looking at them with smiles.

“Aunt Yin, are you all right?”

Zhang Yin nodded. “I’m fine.” After more than two months of acupuncture and medicine, Zhang Yin’s illness had been completely cured. Chen Qing could not remember a time when her face looked better. Even after sitting in the carriage for so long, she didn’t look tired.

“Doctor Yu is truly a miracle doctor.” Li Xin also came over. “At first, my mother was very weak. I was really worried. Unexpectedly, after taking the medicine and receiving acupuncture, my mother got better day by day.”

Chen Qing covered his chest and said, “Good, good. Do you still need to take medicine?”

Li Xin nodded. “She still need to take some more to strengthen her. Then, my mother will be like an ordinary person.”

“That’s great.” Chen Qing was also happy and asked, “Has Qi Shuning not returned yet?”

“He’ll be back before the new year.” Li Xin said.
“The dean of the academy suggested that he stay there a little longer.”

The carriage soon arrived at the Li family courtyard. Blacksmith Li did not go out today. When he saw the carriage parked in his yard, he was overjoyed. Not caring about the looks of the younger generation beside him, he climbed into the carriage and carried Zhang Yin. He looked her up and down and then cried again.

Zhou Yuan squeezed Chen Qing’s hand, greeted Li Xin, and carried Chen Qing back.

Chen Qing was much more talkative in front of Zhou Yuan. On the way home, he told Zhou Yuan a lot about what had happened at home while he was away.

“Mother and I raised a few more chickens—all hens—and they just started laying eggs recently.”

“I’ve been grazing cattle with Niu Niu every day, and he’s very sensible.”

No matter what Chen Qing said, Zhou Yuan answered indifferently. Just when Chen Qing was about to frown and ask him something, they arrived home.

Zhou Yuan didn’t unload the goods from the carriage, he just parked it in the yard. Then, he lifted Chen Qing from the carriage with one hand. He quickly locked the courtyard gate and carried Chen Qing into the house.

Seeing Zhou Yuan start to take off his clothes, Chen Qing’s eyes widened. He grabbed Zhou Yuan’s big hand and said in disbelief, “Zhou Yuan, it’s still broad daylight.”

The sun was shining brightly in the sky, and what Zhou Yuan was about to do was outrageous.

Chen Qing covered himself and hid by the bed.

Zhou Yuan held his hand and said in a low voice, “I missed you so much.”

Chen Qing’s heart instantly softened. He did not even know when Zhou Yuan had come to his side while listening to him.

If you miss the first chance to run away, you won’t be able to run later.

Before losing consciousness, Chen Qing thought the old saying was true: Don’t pity a man.

When he woke up again, it was completely dark outside. The room’s lamp was lit, and Zhou Yuan was crouched over his luggage, packing it.

It seemed as if he had eyes in the back of his head. He immediately turned around when Chen Qing made the slightest movement. Under the swaying oil lamp, Chen Qing saw Zhou Yuan’s big white teeth and happy smile.

Chen Qing: …

“I made you steamed egg custard.” Zhou Yuan sat by the bed and helped Chen Qing sit up. It was September, and the weather was not too hot. Chen Qing was covered with a thin quilt. When he sat up, the quilt slipped off, revealing blue and purple marks on his body.

His skin was much whiter than the parts usually exposed, so it was easy to leave marks. Zhou Yuan’s throat tightened again, and he turned his head away.

“Don’t do this next time.” Chen Qing said angrily, “It’s broad daylight. It’s not good if others know.”

“Why do you care about others? What couple doesn’t do this? I haven’t seen my husband in a long time. What’s wrong with being anxious?” Zhou Yuan didn’t care.

Chen Qing’s cheeks turned red. He raised his hand and lightly tapped him. Then he asked, “You came back today. Did you go see Mother?”

Zhou Yuan nodded. “I went after you fell asleep and told Mother about the godmother’s matter. Mother insisted that I bring back some eggs.”

Chen Qing smiled. He didn’t think that hens had been laying eggs too fast recently. The egg basket was always full this year. In the past, you had to wait for a special occasion to eat eggs, but now you could eat them whenever you wanted.

Chen Qing remembered something, then leaned on Zhou Yuan. “A few days ago, Mother asked me when I would have a child.”

Zhou Yuan was stunned. He had never thought of this question, so he threw it back at Chen Qing. “What about you? When do you want to have a child?”

Chen Qing shook his head. “I don’t know. I’m a little scared, and I’m not ready yet.”

Zhou Yuan knew what Chen Qing was afraid of. Although Chen Qing was 22 this year, Zhou Yuan still saw him as a child. If Zhou Yuan asked him to take care of a child, Chen Qing might be in over his head.

“We’ve done it before, but the child didn’t come. It seems they think our family is poor for now,” Zhou Yuan said with a smile. “Forget it. How about this? He’ll come whenever he wants.”

They had reached an agreement about the child.

Chen Qing breathed a sigh of relief and began eating the steamed egg custard. After he finished, his waist still hurt a lot. After Zhou Yuan put the bowl away, he asked Chen Qing to lie down and massaged his waist. However, his hands were a little unruly during the massage. Chen Qing, who had become sleepy from the massage, immediately became alert and grabbed Zhou Yuan’s hand.

Zhou Yuan took advantage of the situation and lay on top of him. “Look, it’s already dark. If we do it now, no one will know.”

“No.” Chen Qing was firm. Zhou Yuan had really broken his waist.

Zhou Yuan rolled off Chen Qing’s body, propped his head up, and looked at him. “I haven’t seen you in so long…”

Chen Qing turned his head away, determined not to make the same mistake as in the afternoon.

“Ah Qing…”

Chen Qing covered his ears.

Zhou Yuan reached out and pulled him into his arms. “Can you sleep now? I slept all afternoon.”

Chen Qing closed his eyes. “I can sleep.”

“I just ate. I need to digest.” Zhou Yuan persisted.

Chen Qing: …

“Zhou Yuan, you’re so annoying.” He leaned his forehead on Zhou Yuan’s shoulder.

“I’m really happy.” Zhou Yuan kissed his forehead and said, “I’ll come back now. There’s someone waiting for me at home. Before, it was only my grandmother. After she passed away, I was alone. Ah Qing, it’s so good to have you.”

Chen Qing thought of the past, when he and grandmother relied on each other. He also thought of himself. At least when he was young, he received affection from his father and stepfather.

Seeing that Chen Qing was softening, Zhou Yuan reached out his hand hesitantly. When Zhou Yuan unbuttoned Chen Qing’s clothes, Chen Qing did not resist. Zhou Yuan turned him over, their lips touching, and said faintly, “I know Ah Qing loves me…”

Chen Qing, forced to love Zhou Yuan, loved him so much until nearly midnight. He became even more determined not to love Zhou Yuan anymore!

Loving a man will only make you suffer!

 

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