Chapter 36

On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, Li Xin got married.

Although Chen Qing repeatedly said he wouldn't go to Li Xin's wedding, on the 25th, Li the blacksmith and Zhang Yin came to deliver an invitation, insisting that his family attend. They even took Chen Qing to their house, telling him to sleep there that night and talk to Li Xin.

So, when night fell, Chen Qing finished tidying up the housework and told Aunt Sun that he was going out. But when he passed by Zhou Yuan's house, he ran into Zhou Yuan coming out of the house.

"Going out so late?" Zhou Yuan glanced at him.

Zhou Yuan has been very busy these past two days. Li the blacksmith's family doesn't treat him like an outsider, and it's rare for Zhou Yuan to experience such a lively time. So Zhou Yuan helps set the table, buy groceries, and does all sorts of chores.

Chen Qing replied softly, "Li Xin asked me to sleep with him tonight."

Zhou Yuan nodded and said, "Let's go, I'll go with you."

Chen Qing looked up at him: "Is there something you need?"

Zhou Yuan nodded: "Go and go over tomorrow's schedule with them again."

Winter days are short and dark. Chen Qing didn't turn on a light and walked rather slowly. Zhou Yuan's legs were longer than his, so he had to stop and wait for him every now and then.

Because it gets dark early, the villagers also go to bed early, and apart from a few barks of dogs, there is almost no sound outside.

"This is my first time attending such a joyous occasion; it's very lively," Zhou Yuan said.

Looking at his tall figure, Chen Qing felt that Zhou Yuan looked a little lonely at this moment.

He quickened his pace a little, and just as they came to a small path, Chen Qing looked around and then gently took Zhou Yuan's hand.

Zhou Yuan's smile bloomed in the darkness, slipping through Chen Qing's fingers and interlocking with his.

When they reached the door, Chen Qing finally broke free from Zhou Yuan's hand.

Li Xin and others were in the courtyard. After seeing Chen Qing, they pulled him into the room. Their courtyard was already packed full, with almost no room to even step.

Zhou Yuan was talking to Li the blacksmith in the courtyard when he saw Chen Qing enter the house out of the corner of his eye. He then said, "I'll come over earlier tomorrow."

Li the blacksmith thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you go directly to Shuning's place tomorrow morning? He doesn't have any relatives or friends, and it wouldn't be right for him to come alone to pick up his bride."

Zhou Yuan nodded: "Then I'll invite a few more people to make it more lively."

Li the blacksmith agreed, then remembered something: "I see your knife has several nicks. Bring it over when you have time, and I'll reforge it for you."

After all, that knife had been with Zhou Yuan for many years, and he still cherished it, taking it out every few days to wipe off the dust.

"Then thank you very much, godfather."

Li the blacksmith patted him on the shoulder: "We're all family, it's only right. You really don't want to learn blacksmithing from me?"

Zhou Yuan shook his head: "I'm really afraid of the heat."

Li the blacksmith stopped trying to persuade him and told him to go back and rest early.

Inside the room, Li Xin showed no signs of being a young man about to be married. An oil lamp was lit in the room, and their house had underfloor heating, making the room warm and cozy. Chen Qing leaned against the bed and looked at Li Xin.

Li Xin met his gaze: "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Chen Qing shook his head: "I just feel that you don't seem to be getting married tomorrow at all."

Li Xin laughed: "I don't really feel that way, because even if I get married, I won't leave home. I'll still live the same life as before."

"Besides, Qi Shuning is not a bad person. Apart from his tendency to be a scholar who likes to talk about principles, he is not bad at all."

Chen Qing looked at him: "What has happened these past few days? I remember you used to dislike him."

"After getting to know him, I found he wasn't so bad after all." Li Xin squeezed Chen Qing closer to her.

At this moment, Zhang Yin was wearing a cloak and holding a small booklet in her hand.

"Come here, let me tell you something."

Chen Qing shrank back towards the bedside. After all, this was a private conversation between him and his mother. Unexpectedly, Zhang Yin waved to him, saying, "Qing, come and listen too."

"ah?"

Zhang Yin spread a small booklet on the bed. By the light of the oil lamp, Chen Qing saw what was drawn in the booklet. He only glanced at it, but it felt like something exploded in his mind. The aftershocks made his hands and feet go numb and his ears ring.

Unlike him, Li Xin was very interested and exclaimed, "Mom! You actually have this!"

Zhang Yin slapped his head: "You don't look like a proper young man at all! This is what your maternal grandmother gave me when I got married. It's for you to see. Take a look at it today so you won't be at a loss tomorrow."

Li Xin leaned closer: "So you mean, Mother, you have other things? Let me see them all."

Zhang Yin slapped him: "Shameless!"

After smoking, Zhang Yin turned her head and coughed twice. Li Xin immediately became nervous. Zhang Yin comforted him, "It's nothing, just a tickle in my throat, don't worry."

Li Xin was relieved and then brought up the matter of the booklet.

However, she didn't leave Chen Qing out: "Qing, don't be so shy. You're getting married soon, and your mother will definitely tell you about it. Now that you've seen it, you won't be so shy then."

Li Xin looked up and met Zhang Yin's gaze. The two of them looked at Chen Qing together and saw that Chen Qing's whole body was red.

Li Xin laughed: "Oh dear, what will happen to our Aqing in the future?"

Chen Qing buried his head in the blanket. Zhang Yin talked to Li Xin for a while before telling them to go to sleep early.

Zhang Yin walked out of Li Xin's room, took out a handkerchief to cover her mouth, and after suppressing a cough, she saw a red stain on her white handkerchief.

Zhang Yin clutched the handkerchief in her hand and went to the kitchen, where water was still boiling. She threw the handkerchief into the fire and watched it burn completely before she breathed a sigh of relief.

She looked at the flickering candlelight in Li Xin's room, took a deep breath, and resolved to hold on until Li Xin finished his wedding.

Li Xin had something to say to Chen Qing, but Chen Qing had finally managed to recall what he had just seen. Then he heard Li Xin say, "Qing, do you think it will hurt a lot?"

Chen Qing turned over and ignored him.

Li Xin leaned closer and said, "Look at that picture, are those poses even something a human could do? They're all bent over like that."

Chen Qing could no longer bear it. He turned over and covered Li Xin's mouth, his voice trembling slightly: "Don't talk anymore, this is such an embarrassing thing."

Li Xin whimpered, and Chen Qingcai released his grip, looking at him and saying, "Don't say anything more."

Li Xin nodded.

Then the room quieted down: "Aqing, I've made up my mind. After I get married, I'll go and learn blacksmithing from my father."

Chen Qing: !

"I thought you were joking!" Chen Qing turned to look at him. "Blacksmithing is so tiring, and you're so skinny. Uncle Li definitely wouldn't want you to do this."

"I'm married now, what right does he have to control me?" Li Xin said nonchalantly.

Then the room fell silent again, and then Li Xin spoke up again: "My mother doesn't want me to be like her. She says the sky is vast, so why should women and boys be confined to the courtyard?"

No one had ever told Chen Qing these things. He felt that having a stable life was already difficult enough, so he never thought about what else he could do, not to make money, but just because he liked it.

"Do you like blacksmithing?" Chen Qing asked, facing him.

"I don't know, I'll only know after I try." Li Xin closed her eyes. "What do you want to do in the future?"

Chen Qing looked at the dark roof and said, "I used to think that it would be good enough to be able to settle down."

Li Xin reached out and ruffled his hair: "That's good too."

Winter days don't dawn early. Chen Qing is a bit of a light sleeper and felt like he had just fallen asleep when the room suddenly lit up. He opened his eyes, a little dazed, removed Li Xin's hand from his face, and lifted her legs off him.

He said he was so tired after sleeping so much that night, as if he had carried hundreds of kilograms of corn up a mountain, and he was panting heavily.

Li Xin also woke up, but was still too lazy to move. The wedding custom in Luohe Village is the evening ceremony, which takes place at dusk.

So Li Xin didn't need to get up too early today, but as soon as it was light, the courtyard was already noisy.

Li Xin couldn't sleep either, and got up yawning. Chen Qing followed behind him and saw that some villagers had already come to give congratulatory gifts.

Those people looked at Chen Qing behind Li Xin, and their expressions changed slightly. Li Xin noticed that he was standing next to Chen Qing, blocking their view.

The morning passed quickly, and around noon, Li Xin was confined to the room, dressed in her wedding gown, and forced to sit on an embroidery stool by Zhang Yin to work out dough.

Chen Qing was helping out outside when he could hear Li Xin crying out in pain from inside the room. Chen Qing smiled and soon someone asked him to pass something over there, so he went quickly.

His first wedding wasn't so lucky. He stayed at the village chief's house, and even the red dress didn't fit him. No one told him anything about women's love affairs. If it weren't for the money that Aunt Sun gave his family, the village chief's wife would never have let Chen Qing stay there.

After Li Xin finished cutting the dough and Chen Qing finished his work, he went into the room to see her. Li Xin, who was originally very dashing and heroic, looked a little shy in her red wedding dress.

"It's really beautiful," Chen Qing said sincerely.

Zhang Yin's eyes were a little red. They must have just had a private conversation. Zhang Yin stood next to Chen Qing and said, "It's because A Qing's craftsmanship is so good. The mandarin ducks and lotus flowers he embroidered look so real."

Chen Qing was a little embarrassed: "It's not that good, it's just that Li Xin is born beautiful."

Soon, lively sounds arose outside; the feast was about to begin. The lunch was for acquaintances at Li Xin's house, and the dinner would be at Qi Shuning's place, where the ceremony would also be held.

Chen Qing didn't go out; he stayed inside with Li Xin and ate with her.

Li the blacksmith came from a wealthy family, and the banquet was of the highest quality. Although it was set up outside and it was winter, the dishes on the table did not have any solidified oil or poor presentation.

By the time we finished eating, it was almost dusk.

When the auspicious hour arrived, the sounds of music and celebration could be heard outside; it was Qi Shuning, the bride-to-be, arriving to fetch her.

When Chen Qing went to see Li Xin, he found that Li Xin had no expression, as if she were just a friend visiting his home.

According to custom, there is a tradition of blocking doors in Luohe Village.

Many of the boys they used to play with have already married and moved away to other places. Their new husbands and wives are just nodding acquaintances. The ones helping to block the door now are Meng Qi's new wife, Wang Xuemei, and Li Xin's younger brother, Niu Niu.

Li Xin wanted Chen Qing to go along as well. He knew that Li the blacksmith had prepared a lot of red envelopes for Qi Shuning to distribute during the wedding procession. Of course, he couldn't forget Chen Qing when it came to making money.

Chen Qing refused to go, after all, he had been staying by Li Xin's side all day, which had already made many people point fingers at him.

"No, you have to help me hold them off a little longer." Li Xin hugged his arm. "It's my wedding day, you have to fulfill all my conditions today."

Chen Qing had no choice but to stand with Meng Qi's wife. Wang Xue's face was a little round, and when she smiled, she would reveal two tiger teeth, making her look very approachable.

Qi Shuning was a scholar, but most of the villagers were illiterate, so the steps of urging the bride to get ready and the bride to leave were all omitted.

Beside him stood the tall Zhou Yuan, the muscular Meng Shuanzi, and the very clever Meng Qi.

When Meng Qi saw that it was his wife blocking the door, he laughed three times and carried her away before anyone could react.

Meng Shuanzi effortlessly lifted Niu Niu, leaving only Chen Qing behind.

Zhou Yuan smiled at him and said, "Are you going to step aside yourself, or do you want to do what they did?"