Chapter 42

The village chief's family affairs were the talk of the town throughout the Spring Festival. All that was known was that the village chief's house was in chaos the next day after he sobered up.

First, the eldest and second eldest sons of the village chief's family felt ashamed and quickly proposed to separate the family. After all, there were still younger generations in the family, and if they really committed incest, they were afraid that these younger ones would not be able to get married in the future.

Then they argued endlessly about how to divide the family property. After the division, Aunt Wang wanted to divorce Zhang Ran, but the third son, Meng Bing, firmly disagreed and was called a "bastard" by Aunt Wang.

The daily squabbles and fights at the village chief's house became the talk of the village after meals.

Winter is almost over, and spring plowing will begin soon. We must seize the time to enjoy the excitement.

Unexpectedly, the matter did not end there. Two days later, the village head came to the village and said that the village chief had done something immoral and was no longer able to win the support of the people. Luohe Village needed to elect a new village chief.

The village head summoned all the villagers to the council hall to elect a village chief, but for a while the villagers were clueless and did not know who could take on this important task.

Chen Qing didn't go to the council hall. His mother's involvement was enough. Winter in Luohe Village seemed to pass quickly. It was only the tenth day of the lunar month, and there was already greenery along the ridges of the fields.

Chen Qing and Li Xin led Zhou Yuan's cow around the field ridges. The sun was warm, but the spring breeze was still a bit chilly.

“Qi Shuning is going to the prefectural city to take the imperial examination in February, and I have to go with him.” They found a piece of land where some fresh grass had grown on the ground, so Li Xin loosened the cow rope and sat down with Chen Qing on the edge of the field to talk.

"Can he pass the exam?" Chen Qing didn't know much about studying, but he knew that the imperial examination was very difficult.

"I don't know, I don't understand studying either, but he looks so confident." Li Xin said nonchalantly, "Who cares if he can pass the exam or not? My mother told me to go with him, so I have no choice but to go."

Last time I went to the prefectural city, I was full of worries. This time I should be able to relax a bit. Li Xin asked, "Do you want to go out and have some fun?"

Chen Qing shook his head: "It was busy farming season back then."

There was still a whole month until the first exam on the ninth day of the second lunar month. Spring was for plowing, and there was still a lot to do in the fields.

The vegetable garden by the door ensures they have fresh vegetables to eat this winter. After the last batch of pea shoots is harvested, they will have to wait for it to flower and bear peas. The wheat planted last year needs to be fertilized, the weeds in the wheat field need to be pulled, and the soil in the empty fields that are prepared for planting corn needs to be loosened.

After a winter of laziness, Chen Qing felt his bones were getting loose and he needed to get some work done.

Seeing the surging crowd, Chen Qing knew that the meeting at the council hall was over. He led the cow back and waited for Aunt Sun to tell him who the new village chief was.

"I never expected that someone would suggest Zhou Yuan be the village chief," Grandma Sun said with a smile.

Li Xin burst out laughing: "Who is it that has no sense of tact?"

"Qi Shuning".

Li Xin's smile vanished instantly.

Qi Shuning is now a member of the village, so naturally he has to attend these important village events.

In the end, the village chief was Old Man Jiang, who rented his house to Li Xin and his family. Old Man Jiang was not short of money, so he naturally wouldn't take the opportunity to make money like the previous village chiefs. Old Man Jiang was also a good person and always had a smile on his face.

Except for the original village chief's family, everyone in the village was very satisfied.

"Old Man Jiang is a nice man," said Granny Sun.

For the villagers of Luohe Village, who becomes the village chief has little impact on them; they will continue to live their lives as before.

On the Lantern Festival, the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, Li Xin came to my house early in the morning, saying she wanted to go see the lantern festival.

Li Xin said, "Qi Shuning wants to go see it. He said he's nervous because the college entrance exam is coming up soon. My dad asked me to take him out to relax. There's a Lantern Festival going on, so I'll take him to see it. Why don't you come with us?"

Chen Qing looked troubled. The lantern festival wasn't in the town, but in the county seat, and he'd heard it would end late, meaning he wouldn't be able to get back that day. He'd never stayed out all night since he came to Luohe Village.

"Why don't you go?" Aunt Sun chimed in from the side. "You haven't been to the lantern festival yet, have you? It's very beautiful."

"It's inconvenient to live outside." Chen Qing shook his head, then turned to Li Xin, "Just let me know when you've seen it."

Seeing that he really didn't want to go, Li Xin simply said, "Alright then, I'll be going now."

Chen Qing nodded, but Aunt Sun still felt regretful and said to Chen Qing, "You should go and see it. The Lantern Festival in the county town is very beautiful. I went to see it many years ago, especially the lanterns, which were very well made."

Chen Qing smiled and said, "There will always be opportunities to go in the future."

Grandma Sun sighed, "That's true. It's just a young couple going. You can go after you get married."

After Li Xin left, Chen Qing and Aunt Sun started making glutinous rice balls. Aunt Sun felt a little uneasy because Zhou Yuan didn't come to visit today.

Zhou Yuan returned in the evening, carrying a lantern. Chen Qing took the lantern from him and asked, "Did you go to the lantern festival?"

Zhou Yuan nodded: "I had some business to attend to in the county town, and since it wasn't time for the lantern festival to start, I only bought one lantern to bring back."

He carried it back casually all the way, and some talkative people even asked him if it was a gift for his sweetheart, but Zhou Yuan just smiled.

After giving the lantern to Chen Qing, Aunt Sun invited him to eat glutinous rice balls at home. He agreed and then went home again, bringing with him the red cloth he had brought back from the capital last time.

"It's the Lantern Festival now, and there are only a few days left until the end of March." Zhou Yuan placed the cloth into Chen Qing's arms. "Do you want to make your own wedding dress, or have someone else make it for you?"

Chen Qing looked up at him and said, "I'll do it myself."

When Aunt Sun brought out the glutinous rice balls, she also saw the red cloth. She touched it with the back of her hand and felt the silk-like texture of the cloth: "This cloth is really nice. It will look beautiful on Aqing when it is used to make a wedding dress."

Chen Qing, unusually, didn't blush. He hugged the cloth to his chest and said very seriously, "I will do my best."

It doesn't take long to eat a bowl of glutinous rice balls. The moon is full on the fifteenth of the lunar month, and the moonlight shines down in the courtyard, like frost covering the ground.

Grandma Sun looked at Zhou Yuan and Chen Qing sitting in the courtyard and said, "Why don't you go out for a walk? Don't waste such a beautiful moonlight."

As they stepped out of the courtyard, Zhou Yuan remembered Chen Qing saying he wanted to see the moon, so he took his hand and headed towards the back mountain. Chen Qing shrank back and asked, "Where are you taking me?"

"Let's go see the moon," Zhou Yuan replied.

The moonlight was so bright today, and the mountain path wasn't difficult to walk. Soon they arrived at the back of the mountain, where Zhou Yuan saw a tree that was so big that it would take two people to hug it, with one branch extending to the side.

Zhou Yuan asked, "Can you climb trees?"

Chen Qing shook his head; there weren't any trees big enough to climb in his hometown.

So Zhou Yuan picked him up with one hand like he was carrying a child, and used the other hand to climb the tree. Chen Qing's heart was in his throat, but in the end Zhou Yuan steadily placed him on the tree and sat him down.

Chen Qing had never seen Luohe Village from this angle before; the moonlight was like a veil, covering the entire village.

"So this is what it looks like to see a village from here." Chen Qing looked at the village, and Zhou Yuan looked at him.

He didn't hear Zhou Yuan's reply, so he turned his head to look at him and noticed that Zhou Yuan had been staring at him. He was a little embarrassed and asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It looks good." Zhou Yuan stroked his hair.

Chen Qing turned his head, assuming Zhou Yuan was talking about the moonlight. The moon hung high in the sky, seemingly within reach.

Zhou Yuan sat beside him, not really in the mood to look at the moon. Chen Qing looked at the moon, and he looked at Chen Qing.

I never felt time passed so slowly when I was in the military. There are still two months left in March, but it feels like an eternity.

"The matter at the village chief's house..."

Zhou Yuan raised an eyebrow at his words: "What?"

"It's not as simple as you say, is it?" Chen Qing may seem clumsy, but he spends a lot of time thinking things through in private; he just doesn't say it out loud.

Since he had already guessed, Zhou Yuan no longer thought about hiding it from him. He explained the events of that day in detail and told him, "If they hadn't set their sights on me, I wouldn't have done these things."

Chen Qing looked at him for a while, then looked away. Just as he looked away, Zhou Yuan heard him let out a faint sigh.

Zhou Yuan didn't let him turn his head; instead, he grabbed Chen Qing's chin with his large hands, forcing him to meet his gaze.

Chen Qing couldn't break free and looked at him innocently: "What's wrong?"

"Why are you sighing?" Zhou Yuan asked.

Chen Qing was surprised that his slightest movement had been noticed: "I didn't sigh."

“Speak your mind, don’t keep it bottled up inside,” Zhou Yuan said. “That’s the problem with Chen Qing; he keeps everything inside, which isn’t a good habit.”

"I really wasn't thinking anything," Chen Qing said, pursing his lips. "It's a bit cold, shall we go back?"

Zhou Yuan just stared at him intently, and Chen Qing felt a chill run down his spine under his gaze, his voice trembling as he spoke: "I..."

Zhou Yuanchao moved a little closer to him.

Chen Qing was startled and instinctively tried to back away. He forgot that he was sitting on a tree trunk and almost fell off, but Zhou Yuan grabbed him, bringing the two closer together.

Chen Qing had never been so close to a man before. The last time he kissed Zhou Yuan's chin at night was the most outrageous thing he had ever done. Now that Zhou Yuan was so close to him, his hand on Zhou Yuan's wrist was trembling uncontrollably.

Perhaps in the past Zhou Yuan would have asked Chen Qing if he was afraid of him, but now he knows that Chen Qing is just shy.

"Go, go back now." Chen Qing released Zhou Yuan's hand, not daring to look at him, but his hand couldn't be pulled back, and was instead held by Zhou Yuan.

"Okay." He agreed verbally, but didn't make any move, just holding Chen Qing's hand and looking him over.

Chen Qing knew his hands weren't pretty; they had many bruises of varying sizes, and his fingers weren't slender or long, but rather short and chubby. Moreover, during his first year in Luohe Village, he hadn't adapted well to the climate and developed chilblains on his hands. These chilblains recurred every year after that, though they were better now, but the marks were still there and didn't look very nice. So he thought about pulling his hands back, but Zhou Yuan stopped him.

"How did you get hurt here?" Zhou Yuan asked, holding his hand up to his eyes and pointing to a bruise on the back of his hand.

Chen Qing shook his head: "I don't remember." He had too many things to do, and this little injury didn't seem to matter much.

"The chilblains seem to be getting better." Zhou Yuan gently touched the red and swollen area on his hand.

Chen Qing nodded: "The frostbite cream you brought back is very useful, and the weather is getting warmer too."

Zhou Yuan held his hand and kissed it: "I'll bring more back next time if I have the chance, but I heard that hands get itchier when it gets hot."

Chen Qing stammered, "No, no, it's much better now."

Chen Qing felt his palms were sweating, and the frostbite spots were starting to itch. Not only his hands, but also his back felt like insects were crawling on it, and his chest felt like it had been scratched by a cat.

Zhou Yuan moved even closer to him, and Chen Qing's heart skipped a beat, but he didn't back away.

When Zhou Yuan's kiss landed, Chen Qing gripped his arm tightly. Even through his clothes, Zhou Yuan could feel the pressure of Zhou Yuan's grip on his hand.

Unlike the last time when the kiss landed lightly on his chin, this time they were very close, and when their lips touched, Chen Qing even forgot to close his eyes.

He just stared intently at Zhou Yuan with his eyes wide open.

It was so quiet all around that he could only hear Zhou Yuan's rapid breathing and the soft sound of their lips and tongues entwining.

Many images flashed through Chen Qing's mind: lanterns, red cloth, the moon, corn, wheat, and many more.

When he came to his senses, Zhou Yuan's hand was on his shoulder, and another kiss landed on Chen Qing's eyes.

The moon seemed to hang right on the treetops, unsettling the mind. Zhou Yuan thought, "Chen Qing's eyes are brighter than the moon."