LW chapter 84 [END]

 

The atmosphere was truly joyful. The examination was a success. For a scholar, passing the exam was very difficult. Qi Shuning had actually passed the exam. According to the villagers’ limited understanding, passing the exam meant that someone could go to the capital and meet the emperor. What an honor!

The yamen servant who came to announce the good news saw the excitement in the courtyard and asked if there were other celebrations happening at the house. Li Tiejiang then reacted, hurriedly giving a few red envelopes to the yamen servant. “Today is the children’s full moon wine celebration. You should sit and drink a few cups of wine. That can also be considered part of the celebration.”

The yamen servant stayed as well. Li Tiejiang immediately set up another table and asked Zhou Yuan to join them.

Li Tiejiang hurriedly prepared firecrackers. Originally, only two strings were lit today, but since it was such a joyous occasion and an honor for the family, he planned to light five strings at once.

Li Tiejiang went to light the firecrackers. Zhou Yuan took this opportunity to approach Chen Qing. As the firecrackers went off, Zhou Yuan covered Chen Qing’s ears.

Chen Qing went home before the banquet ended. Qin Xia escorted him home. Zhou Yuan was still helping out at the Li family’s home, and Aunt Sun was helping Li Xin take care of the children. Therefore, the task of sending Chen Qing home fell to Qin Xia.

Qin Xia was happy to be with Chen Qing. Although Chen Qing didn’t talk much, Qin Xia felt very at peace with him. While Chen Qing sewed, Qin Xia helped him sort the thread.

Chen Qing glanced at him several times, so Qin Xia placed the thread in his hands. “What is it?”

“How have you been lately?”

Qin Xia smiled. “I’m fine. I’m getting married soon.”

Chen Qing finally sighed in relief. “Aunt won’t stop you?”

Qin Xia smiled. “If we really want it, she can’t stop us. I don’t want Shuanzi to be unfilial. I want my mother to see my good side.”

“Then congratulations to you,” said Chen Qing.

“I should thank you. If you hadn’t come back for this trip, my parents might have really sent me to be a concubine for those two men. If I hadn’t seen a different way of life through you, I wouldn’t have had the courage to leave.” Qin Xia said seriously, “It’s really nice here.”

Chen Qing gently patted his hand. “Everything will be fine in the future.”

“I’ve already decided. If I get married and have kids, I’ll stay in the village. If I don’t have children right away, I’ll go with Shuanzi. He can be my escort, and I can accompany him. The two of us can take care of each other.”

Qin Xia was full of confidence. “We will definitely live a good life.”

The Li family was joyful for several days. At first, the villagers thought Qi Shuning was just a son-in-law who had married into the family. They belittled him, but they didn’t expect him to be so motivated and pass the imperial examination. Now, everyone came to their door, praising either the children or Qi Shuning.

A half-month later, things quieted down, and the two families finally had time to gather for a meal together. After attending An An Ning Ning’s full moon banquet, the two uncles of Li Xin left. Qi Shuning and Li Tiejiang sighed in relief at the same time.

Today was the first day of the winter month. The weather in Luohe Village had already grown colder. Chen Qing had changed jackets as well. His belly had grown slightly, too. After enduring morning sickness for a month, Chen Qing’s appetite had finally improved. At least he wouldn’t vomit as easily anymore.

Once he could eat again, his weight slowly increased, but the fat seemed to grow only on his belly. His face was still not plump, but his skin looked good.

Chen Qing was doing well and was happy to stay at Li Xin’s house. With two more people in the family, it was now very lively. The two children were growing every day. They no longer looked wrinkled. Their skin was fair and soft. Chen Qing wanted to bite their cheeks.

When Li Xin’s family renovated their house, they built a kang. They were afraid the children would be cold, so they started heating the kang in early October. Chen Qing brought his embroidery to Li Xin’s house so he could work on it and help look after the children.

Together with Aunt Sun, he sewed quilts for the two children. Aunt Sun asked each household for an extra piece of cloth and then sewed small quilts.

Li Xin’s two uncles gave the children a lot of soft, comfortable cloth. However, Li Xin didn’t know how to sew, and Zhang Yin didn’t have time to do it because she had to take care of the children. So, Chen Qing volunteered. Zhou Yuan kept him at home all day, so it was better to have something to do.

“My father said we should eat at home tonight.” Li Xin held a rattle toy to tease the children. “A few days ago, there was chaos, and our family left the door open while celebrating.”

Chen Qing nodded. “Coincidentally, my mother and the others are busy, too.”

The previously dried rice was about to be husked. Chen Qing wanted to help, but Aunt Sun wouldn’t allow it and told him to just watch from the side.

After pounding the first batch of new rice, Aunt Sun made a bowl of porridge for Chen Qing. He felt it was the most delicious porridge he had ever tasted, and Aunt Sun’s eyes welled up. From today on, they could eat rice too.

Village Chief Jiang went from house to house to ask about the harvest. He found that, although it was their first time planting rice, the harvest was similar to the old village chief’s estimate. They wouldn’t need to pay taxes for the past two years. They could store the last two years’ harvest in their own granaries, and surely the days ahead would be much better.

Everyone thanked Village Chief Jiang for his decisiveness at that moment. If he hadn’t taken this step, their entire village would still be dying.

“Fortunately, the village chief was replaced,” Li Xin said. “If it were still Old Man Meng, we would still have to pay tribute to him.”

After a while, Zhou Yuan and Qi Shuning returned. After Chen Qing’s condition stabilized, he would sometimes go to the county town. He still needed to make decisions about the escort agency’s affairs. Initially, some escorts needed him, but Zhou Yuan prioritized Chen Qing, arranging for others and planning not to go out in the future. Now, the escort agency had enough escorts, so the absence of one person was not a big problem.

Zhou Yuan came more often to handle interpersonal issues and also brought Qi Shuning to help with accounting. Qi Shuning didn’t want to and only wanted to accompany Li Xin and the children, but Zhou Yuan said that, as a man, he needed to support his family, so he had to help Zhou Yuan.

Qi Shuning regretted learning to ride a horse at that moment.

Upon returning, the first thing Qi Shuning did was hug Li Xin, then go see the two children. After seeing them, all his fatigue disappeared.

Zhou Yuan looked at Chen Qing and touched his hand. “Are you okay?”

Chen Qing nodded. “Everything is fine now. The child won’t cause trouble again.”

At that moment, Zhang Yin and Aunt Sun were cooking in the kitchen. Niu Niu was walking the sheep. Li the blacksmith went to his shop because he had orders to fill and couldn’t keep the customers waiting.

Zhou Yuan went to play with the child for a while. However, this was Li Xin and Qi Shuning’s bedroom, so it wasn’t appropriate for him to stay long. Chen Qing accompanied him outside.

Zhou Yuan remembered something and took out a sleeved cage to help Chen Qing put it on. “Wear this to stay warm.”

There was a circle of white rabbit fur on the sleeve that swayed in the wind and looked beautiful.

“Are you busy at the escort agency?” Chen Qing asked.

Zhou Yuan told Aunt Sun that he was taking Chen Qing for a walk. On the way, he shared his thoughts with Chen Qing: “I plan not to go out in the future.”

Chen Qing looked at him from the side. “The escort agency is well-established, and I have plenty of escorts. I wanted to do this at that time because I was with Shuanzi and Meng Qi, and I couldn’t let them follow me without doing anything. Now, they’ve become independent escorts and have built a strong foothold in the agency. They no longer need my support.”

At that time, both Meng Qi and Meng Shuanzi prioritized Zhou Yuan. They did whatever he said, so he had to take responsibility for them. That’s why he took over when he heard the escort agency was taking action.

“Shuanzi can now go to the Xiaxi route. Qin Xia knows that place very well. I’ll give Shuanzi the Xiaxi route and let him run it.

“Let him do business?” asked Chen Qing.

“Yes. The goods we brought back from Xiaxi last time were very popular and almost sold out.”

“From an escort agency to a chamber of commerce, right?” Chen Qing understood Zhou Yuan’s meaning.

“Slowly become independent.” Zhou Yuan continued, “Those who want to be escorts can do so, and those who want to do business can rest assured that they will be safe.”

“What about you?” Chen Qing asked, looking at him.

“I want to spend more time with you.” Zhou Yuan replied, “The escort agency can be run by more than one person. The more money you invest, the more of a voice you have. What do you think?”

This topic was still too complicated for Chen Qing. “I don’t understand.”

Zhou Yuan hugged him. “It doesn’t matter. Anyway, I can take good care of you and the children.”

After they finished talking, they returned to Li Xin’s house. The table had been set up in the main room and was full of dishes.

Since there were no outsiders today, Li the blacksmith closed the gate.

Li Xin had been eating soup for a month, and now he could finally eat something else. As soon as he sat down, he saw a bowl of pork ribs on the table.

Chen Qing sat next to him. Zhou Yuan and Qi Shuning sat next to them. The two children had eaten and drunk their fill and were now sleeping soundly.

Li the blacksmith raised his glass first and said, “A lot has happened this year. Ayin recovered from illness. Xinxin and Shuning had Anan and Ningning. Shuning passed the imperial exam and became a juren. Chen Qing had a child. Niu Niu found a path.” As he spoke, Li the Blacksmith became happy and finished the wine in one gulp. “Our family’s life will definitely get better and better in the future!”

Everyone laughed. It was rare to hear Li the Blacksmith talk this much.

Only Li Xin had a question: “What about Niu Niu’s future?”

Li the Blacksmith then remembered that he hadn’t told him this. “You know your maternal grandparents are rich in porcelain. There’s a porcelain kiln there called Honghui, and they’re willing to let Niu Niu apprentice there. They will send him there after the New Year.”

Li Xin was stunned. “Didn’t you say that Niu Niu could study with Shuning?”

Niu Niu immediately said, “Brother, I prefer apprenticing to studying.”

“Really?”

Niu Niu nodded. “Studying is too hard. I think kneading clay is much more interesting.”

Zhou Yuan also said, “I know the Honghui Porcelain Kiln. They have a shop in Beijing, too. Their porcelain sells very well. Learning a craft is a good thing.”

“Xinxin, don’t worry. Niu Niu will go to your maternal grandparents. Your grandparents and several uncles will look after him.”

Li Xin was still reluctant to let go. Now that he had become a father himself, his heart was soft. “But Niu Niu is still young…” After all, he had also raised Niu Niu.

“As expected, now that you’re a father, your heart is soft.” Zhang Yin laughed at him. “But the child is grown and will eventually leave home.”

Li Xin said, “Oh,” and started eating the ribs.

This was the most delicious meal they had eaten in a long time. There was no intentional flattery or indirect probing, only joy among family.

After eating, it was dark outside, and the road was difficult to navigate at night. Zhou Yuan simply carried Chen Qing, who wrapped his arms around Zhou Yuan’s neck and felt him walk very steadily.

“Zhou Yuan.”

Zhou Yuan looked at him. He had had a little wine, but not too much, and his eyes were still clear.

Once winter arrived in Luohe Village, the nights were gray. Even if there was a moon, it couldn’t light the road ahead.

Chen Qing remembered that when he first arrived, he was afraid that Aunt Sun would drive him away and that the villagers wouldn’t accept him. He had looked up at such a gray sky before, not knowing where tomorrow would take him.

Now, with Zhou Yuan by his side, he had the leisure to enjoy the scenery on dark nights.

This relaxed and comfortable life was brought to him by Zhou Yuan.

“What is it?” Zhou Yuan asked.

“I’m glad I met you.”

 

Acargoreng: I’ll be taking a short break! Extra chapters will be posted next week. See you next week, and thank you for reading 😊💕

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