LW chapter 64

 

Zhou Yuan couldn’t hold back any longer. Ever since he was injured, Chen Qing had always made excuses, saying his hand was hurt or that he was busy the next day and needed to save his energy. He never allowed Zhou Yuan to touch him.

Now that Zhou Yuan could carry a pig with one hand, Chen Qing surely couldn’t come up with another excuse.

After nightfall, they had dinner at Aunt Sun’s house and returned home with a jar of lard.

Zhou Yuan put the jar in the kitchen and lit a fire to boil water. Since winter had set in, they had been soaking their feet every night. Because of his physical condition, Chen Qing’s hands and feet were always cold in the winter, so soaking them at night was beneficial.

Zhou Yuan had his own selfish intentions, so he boiled extra water. He had bought a hot water bottle in the county town and put it in the blanket before bedtime so that, when they got under the covers, it wouldn’t be cold.

Zhou Yuan was boiling water when Chen Qing came to fill the hot water bottle. “Why did you boil so much water?”

Zhou Yuan only smiled and didn’t respond.

Once the water was ready, he added more firewood to the stove. Then, he locked the courtyard door, checked the surroundings, and went into the bedroom.

Chen Qing sat by the bed waiting for Zhou Yuan to bring the water to wash his feet. Zhou Yuan placed the water next to the bed. Chen Qing took off his shoes and put his feet in the water. The water was a bit hot, so he touched it lightly and pulled his feet back. Zhou Yuan moved a stool over and sat across from Chen Qing. He could tolerate the heat better, so when he put his big feet in the basin, Chen Qing rested his feet on top of them. He moved them back and forth. When the water was no longer too hot, Zhou Yuan pressed Chen Qing’s feet down.

Chen Qing lifted his head and smiled.

After soaking his feet, Zhou Yuan poured out the water while Chen Qing climbed into bed. He curled up under the blanket and took off his clothes since it was too cold outside the quilt.

Before he had finished undressing, Zhou Yuan had already gotten under the blanket and brought in a gust of cold air. Chen Qing shivered and was pulled into Zhou Yuan’s embrace.

Feeling Zhou Yuan’s warmth, Chen Qing tried to back away, but was held again. Zhou Yuan whispered in his ear, “My wound is healed, and I won’t be busy tomorrow.”

Chen Qing’s heart pounded. He placed his hand on Zhou Yuan’s chest and made an excuse, saying, “I’m cold.”

“I always sweat a lot.” Zhou Yuan slipped his hand inside his clothes and said, “I haven’t even tried more than half the books by the bedside.”

Chen Qing’s face flushed red. He buried his head under the blanket, and Zhou Yuan followed him in. His lips brushed against Chen Qing’s neck and moved slowly downward.

The blanket muffled Chen Qing’s panicked breathing. Suddenly, he froze and reached out to grab Zhou Yuan’s hair. However, his hand was too weak, and it only slid down into Zhou Yuan’s hair.

Chen Qing hadn’t known that such torturous methods existed in those books. By the time Zhou Yuan finally emerged from under the quilt, Chen Qing’s eyes were full of tears.

Zhou Yuan had held back for too long; he couldn’t ignore Chen Qing’s pitiful act. “Ah Qing, the night is still long.”

Chen Qing couldn’t be comforted now and slightly regretted things. He wished he hadn’t left Zhou Yuan alone for so long.

In the latter half of the night, Chen Qing could no longer endure it and fainted. The warm water in the kitchen had already cooled. Zhou Yuan got dressed and heated the water, carefully wiping down Chen Qing before letting him sleep peacefully.

The next morning, Chen Qing couldn’t get out of bed. He didn’t want to talk to Zhou Yuan for the next few days.

However, as the end of the year approached, they had to start preparing for the new year. Since this year wasn’t too busy, they could take it easy.

As the year drew to a close, Li Xin was very busy, and Qi Shuning had set up a stall in the village’s ancestral hall to write Spring Festival couplets. They weren’t expensive, only two copper coins each. Everyone in the village knew he had passed the scholar exam, which was considered an auspicious sign.

Early one morning, Qi Shuning delivered the Spring Festival couplets he had written to their house. Aunt Sun carefully stored them, planning to put them up in a few days.

On the 26th day of the lunar month, Li Xin finally took a break and made plans with Chen Qing to shop for New Year goods the next day. Qi Shuning had spent the past few days writing couplets and went along with them.

“We’re planning to spend the New Year with my mother’s family this year. This year’s been relatively smooth, and I actually enjoy the liveliness,” said Li Xin.

Chen Qing paused for a moment before asking, “Is that okay?”

He didn’t want Aunt Sun to spend the holiday alone and wanted to celebrate with her as well. However, in his hometown, married sons and daughters could not return to their mother’s family to celebrate the New Year. Even divorced ones had to avoid going home during the holiday. It was said that celebrating New Year in their natal home would affect the family’s luck. If there was a ger in the household, they would never allow married children to come back for the holiday.

Li Xin didn’t care. “You want to talk about curses, don’t you? If Niu Niu really thinks I’m cursing him, I’ll kick his ass.”

Chen Qing pressed his lips together and smiled. “I was just asking.”

Li Xin could immediately tell what he was thinking from his expression. “Your two families are so close. Why don’t you just invite your aunt to spend the New Year with you? Don’t put yourself in that position.”

Chen Qing suddenly understood. He leaned closer to Li Xin’s ear again and said, “Would he mind?” He was talking about Qi Shuning.

“If he disagrees with anything, he’ll still listen to me.”

Chen Qing glanced at Li Xin. If Li Xin had a tail, it would definitely be swishing high and proud right now.

Then, he noticed Qi Shuning sitting next to Zhou Yuan, glancing back at them from time to time. After thinking for a moment, Chen Qing swapped seats with him.

When Qi Shuning came over, Chen Qing noticed a bruise on his neck.

He had been married long enough to know what it was. He quietly gave Li Xin a thumbs-up. Thinking of himself, he was the one covered in marks. It was all Zhou Yuan’s fault for having such thick skin and being unable to feel pain, even when pinched.

Chen Qing sat beside Zhou Yuan. Zhou Yuan took his hand and kissed it. Chen Qing quickly pulled his hand back. His hands were short and plump with chilblains, and Zhou Yuan’s actions were beyond his comprehension.

When they arrived in town, they split up. Qi Shuning went to buy brushes and ink while Zhou Yuan and Chen Qing went to buy snacks and fruit.

“Can we invite Mother over for New Year’s Eve dinner this year?” Chen Qing asked.

“Of course. Whatever you want.” Zhou Yuan replied. “I don’t believe in those things. I took you from your mother, so I should certainly respect her.”

Chen Qing held Zhou Yuan’s hand tightly and kissed his palm. Zhou Yuan was delighted.

When he was happy, he wanted to buy clothes for Chen Qing, so he took him to a clothing shop.

Since they got married, Zhou Yuan had bought many clothes for Chen Qing. Every time he went out, he would bring back a few outfits for him. He hadn’t forgotten that on their wedding day, when he saw the empty wardrobe, his first thought was to buy Chen Qing lots of clothes.

After buying clothes, they bought New Year’s goods. Once they were finished, they waited by the ox cart for Li Xin and the others. Zhou Yuan suddenly remembered that they had forgotten the spices Aunt Sun wanted. He asked Chen Qing to wait there while he went to buy them.

Chen Qing sat on the ox cart and stared straight at the road.

Suddenly, he saw a man—the same one from the Sun family who had tried to abduct him before. He didn’t know his exact name, but he knew that he was Aunt Sun’s nephew.

The man looked a little dazed as he glanced around. Chen Qing froze, but then quickly looked away. Fortunately, Sun Wei seemed to be in a hurry and didn’t approach him.

After a while, Zhou Yuan returned with Li Xin and the others. Seeing that Chen Qing looked uneasy, Zhou Yuan hurried over to check on him.

Chen Qing held Zhou Yuan’s hand and shook his head. “It’s fine. I just saw someone.”

“Who?” Zhou Yuan asked, still worried.

“My mother’s nephew. I saw him rushing off somewhere.”

Zhou Yuan sighed in relief and drove the oxcart home.

On the way, Chen Qing forgot about the matter, but Zhou Yuan didn’t. He decided to look into it when he had time to cut off any danger at the root.

After they arrived home, Chen Qing went to talk to Aunt Sun about the New Year, while Zhou Yuan sorted through the goods.

“How could that be? You two young ones should celebrate the New Year yourselves. What would I be doing tagging along?” Aunt Sun firmly refused when she heard Chen Qing’s proposal.

“If you don’t come to our house, then we’ll have New Year’s Eve dinner at yours.” Chen Qing held onto Aunt Sun’s arm.

Aunt Sun pinched his arm lightly. “Nonsense.”

“Mother, Zhou Yuan bought too much. We can’t finish it all. Besides, I’ll be the one cooking, so you just come and help me.” Chen Qing knew how to handle Aunt Sun. After much coaxing, she finally agreed.

That winter night was especially quiet. Chen Qing fell asleep with his head on Zhou Yuan’s shoulder. He didn’t know that Zhou Yuan had woken up once during the night.

His habit of being a light sleeper came from his army days. In the military camp, he had to be alert to surprise attacks at any time. So, when he heard footsteps in the courtyard, he threw on a coat and got up.

He didn’t turn on a lamp, but instead walked to the courtyard wall where he saw a shadow sneaking around.

Chen Qing had said he saw Sun Wei in town earlier that day. Was Sun Wei now sneaking around their village at night?

Before Sun Wei could reach Aunt Sun’s door, he suddenly turned and looked straight at Zhou Yuan, as if he had eyes in the back of his head. Having been beaten by Zhou Yuan before, Sun Wei immediately bolted before Zhou Yuan could act.

Zhou Yuan narrowed his eyes, deciding to settle the matter at daybreak.

Chen Qing didn’t know what had happened the previous night. He was only startled when Zhou Yuan said he was going out today. “Then come home early. I’ll wait for you to put up the couplets.”

“Go eat lunch at your mother’s. I might not be back by noon.” Zhou Yuan kissed Chen Qing’s cheek, let him rest, and then left on his own.

Zhou Yuan went into town and found Wang Wu. He invited Wang Wu out for a drink and asked him about Sun Wei.

It turned out that Sun Wei had fallen into depression after being rejected. At some point, he started associating with town thugs, going with them to gambling houses. At first, he won small amounts, but he soon began losing.

This time, he reportedly lost twenty taels of silver. Zhou Yuan realized that Sun Wei had snuck around their home last night to steal money.

Zhou Yuan recalled that the manager of the gambling house in town was among those who had helped him before the year’s end. He thanked Wang Wu, then went to the gambling house.

By the time he settled the matter, it was nearly dark. He rushed back home and bought the last basket of meat buns for Chen Qing on the way.

Chen Qing was waiting for him at the courtyard gate. When he heard the sound of the oxcart, he finally felt relieved. He ran over, fearing that Zhou Yuan might have been hurt again like last time. After carefully checking him over and finding no injuries, he finally relaxed.

Zhou Yuan didn’t want to hide anything from him. “I saw Sun Wei sneaking around your mother’s place while you were asleep last night. I confronted him about it today.”

Chen Qing was startled. “Is my mother all right?”

“She’s fine. He wouldn’t dare do anything while I’m here.” Zhou Yuan stroked Chen Qing’s hair and said, “I met with the gambling house manager in town and asked him to keep an eye on the Sun family, so I came back a little late.”

Chen Qing looked at Zhou Yuan. Without him, Chen Qing might have been anxious, but Zhou Yuan was always prepared and cut off dangers at the start.

“Did you save me any food? I’m a little hungry.”

Chen Qing helped Zhou Yuan tie up the ox and feed it straw. Then he said, “My mother and I chopped minced meat this afternoon and made meatball soup. I used the mushrooms the twins dried. It tastes very fresh.”

Zhou Yuan handed him the meat buns. “I brought these for you. There are only a few left. The boss is closing up for the New Year and won’t open again.”

Though they were a little cold, Chen Qing took a bite and they tasted just as he remembered.

Back in their room, Chen Qing served Zhou Yuan a bowl of warm meatball and mushroom soup along with three pancakes.

Zhou Yuan ate the pancakes and meatballs with relish. Chen Qing sat beside him, nibbling at the bun in small bites. Zhou Yuan occasionally fed him spoonfuls of soup.

In the dim light, the two cared for one another, creating a peaceful and warm atmosphere.

 

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