Chapter 1
The night in the mountain village was always quiet. A rooster crowed, breaking the silence of the night. Chen Qing opened his eyes, dressed, and quietly went out of the house, only to find the sound of firewood crackling in the kitchen.
"Mom, why are you up so early?" Chen Qing rubbed his eyes and saw Grandma Sun sitting by the stove.
Grandma Sun stood up from the stove: "Today we need to plow that piece of land on that hill over there. I borrowed an ox from the village chief. You should eat something quickly so we can go together."
Chen Qing went to the courtyard, scooped up a handful of water to wash his face, and his face was reflected in the water vat.
He was a bit rounder than five years ago, but still thin. He was shorter than his peers when he was young and had a baby face. Back then, he was always the one left over by the slave traders. People who came to see them always said that he was too short to do heavy work and that his waist was too thin to bear children. Finally, he met Granny Sun.
Chen Qing was incredibly grateful to Aunt Sun in the kitchen for the days when he was no longer wandering. Aunt Sun's husband's surname was Meng. She lost her husband early and raised her son Meng Tao alone.
Chen Qing was not from Luohe Village. His family was poor, and his father died early. His stepfather took him and was driven out of the house, where they lived a difficult life. He was very similar to his stepfather in temperament, not liking to talk or communicate. One day, his stepfather cooked him a meal of meat, and after Chen Qing had a full meal, he jumped into the river the next day.
The introverted Chen Qing went to his grandmother's house hoping they could hold a funeral for his stepfather. His grandmother looked at Chen Qing and said that as long as he was willing to become a concubine for an old widower, she could give his stepfather a straw mat and bury him in the Chen family. The old widower's reputation for cruelty had already spread far and wide. Chen Qing knew that if he went, he would also die.
The body of the younger brother was left at the grandmother's house for two days. Just when everyone thought Chen Qing was about to give in, Chen Qing simply sold himself to a human trafficker. He took two taels of silver and let his younger brother leave with dignity. However, the human trafficker couldn't sell him. Five years ago, he wandered to Luohe Village and was bought by Granny Sun for three taels of silver. She said she wanted him to be the husband of her son, Meng Tao.
The custom in Luohe Village is that the couple cannot meet before the wedding. Chen Qing stayed at the village chief's house for one night, waiting for the wedding the next day. But suddenly, something unexpected happened. The imperial court was conscripting soldiers. He was taken away without even seeing his husband, Meng Tao.
Grandma Sun originally said that she would wait for Meng Tao to return before getting married, but the villagers said that since the wedding banquet had already been held, it would be a waste of money. So Chen Qing, dressed in a simple wedding dress, held a chicken and performed the wedding ceremony, marrying into the Meng family.
Five years have passed in the blink of an eye.
Chen Qing was a diligent person, as was Aunt Sun. The two of them kept their small courtyard very clean and tidy. Since they couldn't afford to build a brick house, they built it with mud bricks.
There is a bamboo fence around their house, which Chen Qing wove during the off-season. He is hardworking and skillful. He told the village chief that he had hoeed a few plots of land outside the house and planted some vegetables, which is enough for the two of them to eat every day.
Luohe Village is nestled against the mountains and beside the water, but there is not much fertile land. So the slightly flatter mountainside was allocated to the villagers to grow crops, and the Meng family was allocated this piece of land.
Grandma Sun lifted the lid of the pot, revealing two steamed cornbread buns inside, with a pot of boiling water underneath, in which two eggs were being boiled. Chen Qing naturally took out some pickled vegetables from the pickle jar on the side, cut them into thin strips, and placed them on the low table in the yard.
The two ate their simple breakfast in silence. Afterwards, Chen Qing carried a basket on his back, took two hoes, closed the fence gate, and went out with Aunt Sun. Before leaving, Aunt Sun put the eggs from the pot into her bosom.
When they arrived at the village chief's house, Aunt Sun glanced at Chen Qing and said, "I'll go up the mountain first. You go to the village chief's house to borrow a cow."
Chen Qing exclaimed, looking conflicted. He stammered, "Mother, why don't you go?"
Grandma Sun didn't tolerate him. She handed the two eggs in her arms to Chen Qing and went up the mountain first.
Chen Qing stood in front of the village chief's house, pacing around in circles several times. Then, he took a deep breath, as if to encourage himself, and knocked on the door with a smile on his face: "Auntie, my mother and the village chief agreed yesterday to borrow an ox for plowing the land."
The village chief's wife, Aunt Wang, looked displeased: "So early!"
Chen Qing's face turned red. Remembering the eggs that Aunt Sun had given him, he handed the eggs to Aunt Wang: "Xiao Bao is growing a lot lately, please don't mind them."
Aunt Wang's expression improved slightly, and she weighed the egg in her hand: "It's time to return it at Chenshi (7-9 AM)."
Chen Qing nodded and said quickly, "I will definitely return it on time and it won't delay your work."
Aunt Wang still didn't give him a friendly look. She handed the ox rope to Chen Qing, then went to fetch the plow. Chen Qing carried the plow on his shoulder, led the ox by the hand, and headed up the mountain.
He was small and looked like he was struggling, but he still walked steadily.
When he arrived at the mountain, Granny Sun had already started hoeing the land. Chen Qing attached the plow to the ox and then drove the ox to start hoeing. With the ox, they quickly finished hoeing the land, and the sunlight was shining on them.
"Mom, you take the cow back to the village chief's house. I'll go up the mountain to gather some more firewood." He really didn't want to deal with Aunt Wang anymore. If he could, Chen Qing didn't want to deal with anyone.
Grandma Sun nodded: "Don't go too deep into the mountains." She led the cow away, and Chen Qing packed up his hoe, put it aside, and walked into the mountains.
Chen Qing had been living such a leisurely and carefree life in Luohe Village that he seemed to have forgotten what kind of life he had lived before coming here. Therefore, he was extremely grateful to Aunt Sun for bringing him back to Luohe Village.
During these five years, he would occasionally wonder what kind of person his husband, Meng Tao, really was. At first, he asked Aunt Sun, who always spoke highly of her son, saying that he was tall, strong, blushed when talking to girls and boys, and was very filial.
In short, Aunt Sun used every word she could think of to praise him. Occasionally, Chen Qing would hear about Meng Tao from the villagers. No one in the whole village had ever said that he was of bad character, so he must be a good person.
On the quiet, deserted mountain, Chen Qing blushed.
Five years have passed. For the first two years, Meng Tao would still send letters home. He was illiterate, so he would take his mother to the village chief's house each time. The village chief's son, Meng Xin, had attended school and could read the letters home for them.
Unfortunately, none of Meng Tao's letters ever included a separate message for him.
Chen Qing thought that two years had passed since Meng Tao last sent a letter home. Every time his mother went to the market, she would go to the post station to ask, but she always returned disappointed.
Chen Qing piled up the firewood he found, untied the rope around his waist, carried the firewood on his shoulder, and then went to their field to collect the rest of their supplies before returning home.
This is the season for planting corn. Last year, when paying taxes, Chen Qing had already prepared the corn seeds in advance, selecting only plump kernels, since the villagers all depend on the weather for their livelihood.
Back home, Aunt Sun was already busy again. They raised chickens and ducks, and she was going out to cut grass to feed them.
She always did things efficiently and neatly. When she saw Chen Qing return, she said, "Qing, tidy up the kitchen, clean the chicken coop, and remember to drink the water on the table."
Chen Qing nodded and watched her leave with her basket on her back.
After tidying up the collected firewood, I swept the kitchen and yard with a broom. Finally, I went to the chicken coop and piled up the chicken droppings, which are excellent fertilizer and shouldn't be wasted.
After tidying up, Chen Qing sat down at the small table to rest. Seeing a bowl of water left on the table, he picked it up and drank it, the sweetness spreading from his mouth to his heart.
Chen Qing felt a warmth in his heart. Grandma Sun was a woman of few words, with half black and half white hair. She was not gentle in appearance, but had a sharp and capable air about her, and she walked with a swagger. The children in the village were all afraid of her.
When Chen Qinggang first entered the family, he was also afraid of her. His wedding was a mess, the groom didn't even show his face, and it was unclear whether the marriage was valid or not.
Grandma Sun arranged for him to stay in the room where Meng Tao used to live, and told him that there were no rules to follow here, and that he should just wait patiently for Meng Tao to come back and live a good life together.
Chen Qing had known Aunt Sun for less than three months when he learned about her temperament. She said what she meant and never hid anything. She was also very kind to him. Things like the sweet soup today had happened many times before.
The spring sun wasn't too strong, and Chen Qing felt energetic after drinking the sugar water. He cleared the weeds from the vegetable garden in front of his house, then went to the Luo River to fetch water and watered the garden. After doing all that, he selected the corn seeds stored in the house.
After spring arrived, the Luo River thawed, and the water plants along its banks grew lushly. Grandma Sun, carrying a basket on her back, happened to run into another aunt who was also there to cut grass.
"So early?"
Grandma Sun kept her head down cutting grass and simply nodded.
Aunt Liu leaned closer to Grandma Sun: "Still no news from your Taozi? I heard the other day that quite a few letters arrived at the post station."
Grandma Sun raised her head from the bushes: "Thank you so much. I'll go to town to take a look tomorrow."
Aunt Liu's original intention was to provoke her, but seeing Grandma Sun's calm and unwavering eyes, she felt sorry for her: "That makes sense. Maybe the messenger missed it."
Grandma Sun hummed in agreement and moved a little to the side, not wanting to talk to her anymore.
He had just finished cutting grass for the chickens when he heard several children at the village entrance excitedly shouting on his way home: "He's back! He's back! Uncle Shuanzi is back!"
Shuanzi was a villager who was conscripted into the army along with Meng Tao.
Grandma Sun's basket fell to the ground with a thud. Her usual calm and composure vanished. She ran quickly to the village entrance and saw a group of people approaching. She looked into the crowd but did not see the figure she longed for.
The village chief rushed out at this moment, holding two strings of firecrackers in his hand. He then lit them, and they made a crackling sound.
Chen Qing, who was at home, naturally heard the noise. He stood up and saw Aunt Liu running to their door.
"Chen Qing, are you still at home? Didn't you hear the commotion at the village entrance? Your husband is back."
Chen Qing was startled and accidentally knocked over the corn seed basket in front of him: "What?"
"Go and pick her up quickly, your mother has already gone." Aunt Liu returned the basket she had picked up along the way to them, and then she went to watch the commotion herself.
Chen Qing ran to the door, then looked down at his clothes. He vigorously brushed off the dust, then raised his hand to smell himself. He had just cleaned the chicken coop and didn't know if he had picked up any smell.
His heart was pounding like a drum. He awkwardly tidied his hair before running towards the village entrance, his hands and feet clattering together.
Chen Qing immediately noticed the tallest person in the crowd; no one next to him was taller than him. He remembered his mother saying that his husband, Meng Tao, was also very tall…
Chen Qing lowered his head slightly, but his gaze seemed to be drawn to that direction again, until half of his arm went numb and his ears turned bright red.
All around were cries. Five years ago, when the army was being conscripted, about a dozen people from Luohe Village were taken away. These dozen or so families had gathered at the village entrance, and Chen Qing went to find his mother in the crowd.
He was puzzled as to why his mother hadn't gone to Meng Tao's side. He pushed through the crowd and saw Granny Sun crying so hard in the middle of the road that she was almost breathless.
He rushed over and helped Grandma Sun up: "Mother, what's wrong?"
Grandma Sun seemed to have finally found some support. She straightened up and walked up to the tall, strong man: "Are you mistaken? My son, how could he have died in battle?"
Chen Qing's face turned as white as a sheet. For a moment, he didn't know whether it was Aunt Sun supporting him or he supporting Aunt Sun.
Her husband is dead?
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