LW chapter 85: Extra 1

 

As soon as winter passed, the new year arrived.

This New Year seemed livelier and more joyful because of the arrival of new life.

Since there were no pigs being raised this year, the pork used for pork dishes was bought from the butcher. Three cuts of pork belly were used to cook pork congee. On weekdays, the pork was boiled and sliced into thin, greasy pieces for cooking. The curled piece of meat was the chewiest and tastiest. The pork ribs were salted and dried, then stewed in mushroom soup.

The taste of the New Year came unknowingly. Cheng Qing’s pregnancy was obvious. He wore a loose jacket with rabbit-fur sleeves and squatted near the vegetable field, waiting for Aunt Sun to pinch the tips of pea shoots so he could make pea-shoot meatball soup.

In two days, Meng Shuanzi would marry Qin Xia. Zhou Yuan had been helping them for the past two days. It was another joyful event at the end of the year. Cheng Qing relaxed his brows, and now all he could think about was eating delicious food.

“Look how greedy they are.” Aunt Sun finished pinching the pea shoots and returned to the kitchen to chop meat for meatballs. Cheng Qing rolled up his sleeves and sat by the stove to light the fire.

“I went to see An’an and Ningning today. They’re getting prettier. I don’t know who they look like.” Cheng Qing added a piece of firewood.

The sound of chopped meat continued. Aunt Sun stopped. “I think An’an and Ningning will look like Qi Shuning.”

“Anyway, they’re all handsome.” Feeling a little greedy, Cheng Qing held his face and quietly moved behind Aunt Sun to reach for the pickle jar.

Aunt Sun seemed to be watching his back. She grabbed Cheng Qing’s hand and said regretfully, “Other people’s families crave delicious food when they’re pregnant, but you’re so useless that you end up staring at my pickle jar.”

Cheng Qing ate some sour beans, then gently patted his belly. “Let the child plant vegetables for you in the future.”

“Oh, don’t. I can’t even feel sorry for a baby like that. How could he go plant vegetables with me?”

When the water in the pot boiled, Aunt Sun minced the meat filling and added egg paste, salt, and ginger. After the ginger-infused water came to a boil, Cheng Qing pulled the firewood out from under the stove. Then, Aunt Sun rolled the meat filling into meatballs and put them into the pot.

Once the meatballs were cooked, she added pea shoots to the soup, and it was ready. In another pot, she steamed new rice, and the aroma of hot rice wafted out, making Cheng Qing’s stomach growl.

But Zhou Yuan hadn’t returned yet.

Seeing that Zhou Yuan still hadn’t returned, Aunt Sun gave Cheng Qing a bowl of soup with a few meatballs and pea shoots floating on top. “You eat first. There’s plenty in the pot. Just save some for him.”

When Zhou Yuan came back, Cheng Qing ate with him again. His appetite had increased lately, and he still wasn’t full after another bowl.

“Is everything almost ready?” Aunt Sun asked.

“Almost. But before they’re married, they can’t live together. And Qin Xia still doesn’t have a place.” Zhou Yuan never picked at his food. Seeing that everyone had put down their chopsticks, he finished all the food left on the table.

After a moment of thought, Aunt Sun said, “Just stay here. Ah Qing’s things haven’t been moved out yet.”

Cheng Qing turned away, thinking that Aunt Sun was just being polite. But Aunt Sun smiled and said, “It’s good to have someone to talk to.”

She looked at Zhou Yuan, who nodded. “Then I’ll tell Shuanzi later.”

After lunch, Cheng Qing went with Aunt Sun to see Li Xin and the children. They walked slowly to Li Xin’s door, swaying as they went.

During the winter, they didn’t dare take the children outside, so they only played indoors. Cheng Qing easily walked inside and saw the two children lying on the bed. Li Xin held an embroidery basket, as if he were embroidering.

When Chen Qing went in, Li Xin hastily put it away, as if to hide his guilt. Cheng Qing laughed and said, “Embroidery?”

Seeing that it was him, Li Xin lost his shyness. “This embroidery needle is heavier than an iron hammer.” He stretched out his hands to show him, revealing little needle holes on his fingers.

“Don’t the children have enough clothes? I’m free these days. I can make them two more sets.” Cheng Qing asked.

Li Xin scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed. “It’s true. Nothing the children wear was made by me. I don’t know how to say it, but their clothes were basically made by you. You can’t be exhausted every day.”

Cheng Qing thought for a while. “Then why don’t you embroider their names on the clothes I make in the future? It shouldn’t be too hard to embroider names.”

“Then can you teach me again?”

They stayed at the house all afternoon, learning needlework and not noticing when Qin Xia arrived. He greeted them, but they only replied briefly.

Seeing how focused they were, Qin Xia went aside to look at the children. At that moment, An An woke up. Qin Xia stretched out a finger, and An An grabbed it and started babbling.

Cheng Qing finally finished with Li Xin and spoke to Qin Xia. “You’re getting married soon.”

Qin Xia wasn’t shy. He looked at Cheng Qing. “Yes, I came to thank you.”

“Thank you for what?”

“Shuanzi said that Aunt agreed to let me stay in her house, which was originally yours.”

Cheng Qing laughed. “What’s the problem with that?”

Qin Xia suddenly stood up and said, “I want to recognize Aunt as my godmother. We’ll be siblings in the future.”

Li Xin clapped. “I think that’s fitting.”

Qin Xia was quick to act. He immediately pulled Cheng Qing along and went back to Aunt Sun to tell her what he thought.

“This really isn’t necessary. The house is empty. I’ll get some good luck, too.”

But Qin Xia was very stubborn. “I have no siblings here. If I quarrel with Shuanzi in the future, I won’t even have a place to go. Aunt, please pity me, a lone person.”

As Aunt Sun grew older, her heart softened, perhaps because she remembered her own past. Finally, she nodded.

That night’s dinner was a special occasion, with Cheng Qing and Zhou Yuan in attendance. To demonstrate his filial piety, Qin Xia prepared the meal.

“In the past, I only knew how to give. I felt that they had given birth to me and raised me, so I must repay them.” Qin Xia sipped his wine. “No matter how much they asked, I felt it was what I should do, even if they didn’t treat me like a human being.”

For Qin Xia, those days weren’t passing clouds, the suffering never passed.

“I came here and found that not everything between siblings is about asking and giving.” He smiled. “Even though Shuanzi’s mother never liked me, she actually cared about me. Everyone here is so kind.”

He raised his wine glass again and held it in front of Aunt Sun. “I’ll call you Mother first, and from now on, you’ll be my real mother.”

“Drink slowly.” Aunt Sun had no choice but to drink with him.

“I’ll be filial to you. Cheng Qing and I will be filial to you together.” After just three glasses, Qin Xia was drunk and lying dazed on the table.

Cheng Qing was stunned and helped him into the house with Aunt Sun. Then, the three of them talked.

“He’s also a pitiful child. I hope Shuanzi won’t let him down in the future.” Aunt Sun took a bite of her food.

Zhou Yuan looked outside the courtyard and said, “Don’t hide. Come out.”

Meng Shuanzi came out, looking a little embarrassed. “Aunt.”

“How long have you been here?” Aunt Sun asked.

Cheng Qing went to the kitchen to get Meng Shuanzi a new set of bowls and chopsticks. Meng Shuanzi scratched his head. “He just got here. I wanted to take him home.”

“He’s already asleep.” Aunt Sun said. “Aren’t you two getting married in a few days? You can’t live together anymore. Tomorrow, pack his things and put them here.”

Meng Shuanzi nodded. “Thank you, Aunt.”

After dinner, Zhou Yuan and Meng Shuanzi washed the dishes. Cheng Qing felt back pain and went home to lie down. Zhou Yuan quickly returned.

He fetched water for Cheng Qing to bathe in, and then held him until he fell asleep. His hand unconsciously touched Cheng Qing’s lower belly. Since learning of the pregnancy, Zhou Yuan had developed the habit of talking to the baby before bed, and today was no exception.

This time, however, just as Zhou Yuan called out, he felt a slight movement under his palm. Zhou Yuan stared at Cheng Qing’s belly in disbelief. He called again, and the belly moved again.

This was their first time feeling the baby move. Cheng Qing was overjoyed and tears flowed. “He moved.”

Zhou Yuan moved closer and pressed his ear to the belly. However, the baby ignored them and didn’t move again. Zhou Yuan gently patted the belly. “Sleep well.”

He stood up and kissed Cheng Qing’s cheek. “You rest well, too.”

Three days later was the wedding day of Qin Xia and Meng Shuanzi. From that day on, Qin Xia acknowledged Aunt Sun as his godmother and moved into the house where Cheng Qing had once lived.

As Aunt Sun’s godson, Cheng Qing was family too. He had been with Aunt Sun since morning.

Qin Xia’s wedding clothes weren’t hand-embroidered, they were styled from the city. Even so, Qin Xia was very satisfied.

Cheng Qing asked him, “Are you nervous?”

Qin Xia shook his head and smiled. “I’m not nervous. There’s nothing to worry about.”

After a while, Li Xin arrived as well. He rarely left the two children alone. Now, the three of them were chatting happily inside.

Li Xin came back with his notebook and solemnly handed it to Qin Xia. Qin Xia flipped through it and nodded to him.

As the wedding time approached, Aunt Sun entered the room. Qin Xia hadn’t tied his hair yet. He saw the wooden comb on the dresser. He was waiting for her to comb his hair.

“My life wasn’t very good.” Aunt Sun withdrew her hand. “I won’t comb your hair.”

Qin Xia stood and held her hand. “When Cheng Qing got married, you combed his hair.” He squeezed her hand and said, “Don’t play favorites.”

Aunt Sun had no choice but to comb his hair.

The wedding was lively. Aunt Sun sat in the hall again. Cheng Qing and Li Xin stood in the crowd. After seeing the ceremony through to completion, they were very happy.

Zhou Yuan arrived shortly after. He touched Cheng Qing’s palm and felt its warmth. When night fell, he said something to Shuanzi and took Cheng Qing home.

“I’m so happy seeing them married.” Feeling Cheng Qing’s newfound joy, Zhou Yuan was moved as well.

Zhou Yuan spoke to the child again. “It’s late. Why aren’t you asleep?”

Cheng Qing’s stomach rumbled again, so he gently patted it. “We’re staying up late tonight. Can we sleep soon?”

He spoke softly, his drooping lashes like thin feathers. Zhou Yuan’s Adam’s apple moved. Then, he looked at Cheng Qing. “Can’t we sleep a little earlier? I think…”

He leaned close to Cheng Qing’s ear. “I read that pamphlet. There are other ways. Let’s try them, okay?”

Cheng Qing’s face turned red, and after a while, he nodded gently.

That night was dark, and the room was warm.

---

You can read the full completed story here with instant full access. ✨