Chapter 27
The next day, Chen Qing heard that Li Xin's mother was unwell, which was why she hadn't come to visit him for the past few days. After thinking about it, Chen Qing discussed it with Aunt Sun and then took some eggs from home to visit her.
Li Xin's mother's name was Zhang Yin. Her ancestral home was not in Ningchun Prefecture. She met Li the blacksmith when he went there to learn blacksmithing. Later, she married into Luohe Village.
Chen Qing rarely went to Li Xin's house; he was a little afraid of Li the blacksmith.
"You've arrived?" Li Xin opened the courtyard gate for him. "You've come all this way, why did you bring anything?"
“There’s nothing good at home.” Chen Qing handed him the eggs. “You always say that Uncle Li loves to kill chickens.”
Because Zhang Yin was in poor health, Li the blacksmith would kill a chicken every few days to help her recover, but no one could stop him from doing so.
"Then I'll accept it. It just so happens that Niu Niu said he wanted to eat steamed egg custard." Li Xin didn't stand on ceremony with him and then took him to see Zhang Yin.
Zhang Yin was lying in bed when Chen Qing arrived. She asked him to sit down and inquired about his family situation.
Li Xin's mother had a chronic illness. Originally, Li the blacksmith didn't plan to have any more children after giving birth to Li Xin, but she unexpectedly became pregnant with Niu Niu. Li the blacksmith didn't want the child, but his mother insisted on giving birth to him.
After giving birth, her health deteriorated further. She had to take medicine every few days and had to be extra careful when it was cold or rainy.
After he talked with Zhang Yin for a while, Zhang Yin told him not to stay in the room any longer and to go out and play.
Chen Qing actually had a lot to say to Li Xin. Now they went to Li Xin's room, and Li Xin showed him the handkerchief she had embroidered with great interest.
Um, there seems to be something rather unrefined on there.
"This is……"
“Flowers,” Li Xin said, quite pleased with her embroidery. “I embroidered them based on the handkerchief my mother gave me. My father said that if I could embroider them just like my mother’s, he would teach me blacksmithing.”
Chen Qing couldn't bring himself to say they were the same, so he simply said, "They're so lifelike."
"Right?" Li Xin smiled. "Your foot is fully healed, isn't it?"
"Yes, everything is ready."
He looked at Li Xin for a while, then said, "I have something I want to tell you."
Li Xin, still clutching her handkerchief, said, "Go on, I'm listening."
Chen Qing thought for a moment, but didn't know what to say. He hesitated for a while without speaking. Li Xin looked up and saw that Chen Qing's face was red. He put down his handkerchief and said, "Hurry up and tell me."
"That's right, Zhou Yuan, he said..."
Li Xin burst into laughter, and Chen Qing quickly pulled him away, saying, "Don't laugh."
"Cough cough." Li Xin held back her cough. "Actually, I already knew. The medicine I gave you to rub your shoulder last time was something he asked me to give you. Anyway, a lot of the things I help you with are things he asks me to do."
Li Xin kept talking, telling Chen Qing a lot of things from his perspective that Chen Qing had no idea about. Chen Qing's eyes widened, completely surprised that some things could be like this.
"So I think if your aunt wants to marry you off, Zhou Yuan is a good candidate."
"But Mother thinks it's inappropriate."
Li Xin seized on the loophole in Chen Qing's words: "Actually, you like it too! Right?"
Chen Qing was shy and had never thought about this before. Even marrying Meng Tao was not his own choice. He had never met Meng Tao, let alone liked her. When he wore the wedding dress, he did not feel his heart pounding like a drum. At that time, he was more confused.
When he first saw Zhou Yuan in the crowd, he thought it was Meng Tao, and only then did he belatedly experience his first flutter of the heart.
"But why isn't Auntie happy? Isn't there anyone with better conditions than Zhou Yuan?"
"Mother is saying it's because his conditions are too good." Chen Qing told Li Xin about Grandma Sun's doubts.
Then he pinched his fingers and said, "I think I'm fine as I am now. It's good that I'm not getting married."
“That won’t do,” Li Xin said. “I want you to be happy.”
"Didn't you say that you can live well without a man?"
Li Xin looked at Chen Qing. His situation was completely different from Chen Qing's. It wasn't that he was bragging, but his life was much better than Chen Qing's. Chen Qing had been wandering for so many years. If he could have a man to make his life better, why wouldn't he?
Chen Qing laughed. A moment later, he heard a noise outside. Li the blacksmith hurriedly went home, followed by Qi Shuning.
Chen Qing was still afraid of him. After exchanging greetings at the door, he hurriedly went home. Li the blacksmith was completely confused when he saw Chen Qing running away so fast.
He looked at Li Xin: "Can Dad eat people?"
Li Xin laughed: "Dad, you're so scary."
Watching Chen Qing's departing figure, Li Xin thought to herself that she must tell Zhou Yuan about this, otherwise he would still be kept in the dark about his husband's passing.
But then he remembered what Chen Qing had said before: that everyone in the village was saying he and Zhou Yuan were about to get married. If he went to find Zhou Yuan now, it would be even more dangerous.
Looking at Niu Niu catching bugs in the corner of the yard, he picked Niu Niu up and asked, "Niu Niu, do you still remember Zhou Yuan?"
“As tall as Dad,” Niu Niu said.
Li Xin smiled and said, "He's still a bit taller than Dad. Go to his house and tell him what your brother said."
Niu Niu nodded: "Okay."
Niu Niu doesn't quite understand the meaning of some words, but he sometimes reads with Qi Shuning, and Qi Shuning teaches him to recognize characters, so his memory is quite good.
Niu Niu repeated it, and Li Xin understood the gist of it, so she told him to go find Zhou Yuan.
On his way home, Chen Qing chose a long but secluded route to avoid exchanging pleasantries with the villagers. As a result, Chen Qing had not yet arrived at Zhou Yuan's house by the time Niu Niu reached it.
Upon seeing Niu Niu, Zhou Yuan was also quite surprised: "Niu Niu?"
Niu Niu ran up to Zhou Yuan and told him everything Li Xin wanted to say, then added, "I heard Aunt Hua say that she found a widower for Brother Aqing, and he has three children."
Zhou Yuan felt a lump in his throat, but considering Niu Niu's presence, he took a deep breath and said, "Thank you, Niu Niu."
Niu Niu nodded like a little adult: "Then I'm going home. My dad will kill a chicken later, my brother will get one chicken leg, and I'll get one."
Zhou Yuan saw him to the door: "I'll buy you a chicken leg next time too."
After seeing Niu Niu off, Zhou Yuan leaned against the wall, thinking about what Niu Niu had said. It was his oversight. He had thought that once they knew his feelings, he could go to their door to propose marriage on a chosen day. But he never expected that because of his actions, Chen Qing and Li Xin would be criticized.
Li Xin, in particular, was completely innocent of this disaster, and she was even trying to help him.
Only after resolving these concerns can one formally propose marriage.
But the first problem to solve is that widower who has three children out of nowhere.
Chen Qing knew nothing. After talking with Li Xin, his psychological burden was not so heavy. At least Li Xin really didn't like Zhou Yuan, and it wasn't him who stole Li Xin's sweetheart.
As Grandma Sun left the house, the courtyard gate was gently closed. Chen Qing glanced to the side subconsciously and only saw Zhou Yuan's hurried departure.
This year, the weather has been favorable. The wheat has just been planted. If it doesn't rain, we'll have to carry water to irrigate the fields. Chen Qing's foot has just healed, and if we really have to irrigate the fields, who knows what it will be like.
Just moments ago the sun was shining brightly, but now a strong wind was blowing, and after the dark clouds drifted in, a torrential downpour began. Chen Qing quickly found his raincoat at home to go and meet Grandma Sun, but as soon as he reached the door, he saw Grandma Sun returning in the rain.
The heavy rain soaked her to the bone, so Chen Qing quickly made her some ginger soup and boiled water for her to take a bath. After she finished bathing, Chen Qing made her some hot noodle soup. After drinking the warm soup, Aunt Sun went to bed early.
The rain continued. Chen Qing went to the back to check the chicken coop for leaks, dug a ditch with a hoe, and then returned to his room. He stood outside Grandma Sun's room for a while, but didn't hear anything, so he went back inside.
The sound of rain falling on the roof is the most soothing thing for a person to sleep. Chen Qing likes rainy days, especially rainy days in Luohe Village, which make him sleep very soundly.
His hometown is prone to sandstorms all year round, and rain is a very luxurious thing. When he came to Luohe Village, he found that he could sleep soundly while listening to the sound of rain.
Chen Qing was fast asleep, but an unexpected person appeared in his dream.
Meng Tao still couldn't see his face clearly, but his tone was urgent and anxious: "How can you still sleep? Get up now."
"Huh?" Chen Qing's eyes widened. "Isn't this bedtime?"
"I told you to take good care of my mother, where have you been taking care of her?!" Meng Tao was still pacing around in place. "Get up right now."
"Huh?" Chen Qing was still surprised. He didn't know why Meng Tao had come all over today. He tried to catch up but couldn't. Meng Tao turned around and scolded him.
Chen Qing was startled awake.
He sat up. The rain had stopped by now. He lit the oil lamp with a tinderbox and went to Granny Sun's room.
Because it was a rainy day, the room was pitch black. Chen Qing's oil lamp was the only light in the darkness. He walked to Grandma Sun's bedside and only when he got closer did he hear her sigh.
Chen Qing immediately put down the oil lamp, reached out and touched Granny Sun's forehead, only to find that her forehead was terribly hot.
"Mother, Mother..." Chen Qing was at a loss for what to do. He was at a loss, but he forced himself to calm down. He thought that Aunt Sun must have caught a cold from being caught in the rain in the afternoon and now had a fever. What should he do now?
First, decoct the medicine. Yes, decoct the medicine first.
There is no village doctor, so the family keeps some herbal medicine at home.
Chen Qing ran to the kitchen to brew the medicine, but Grandma Sun still didn't wake up. It was too dark, and he couldn't see a single ray of light. Chen Qing was very panicked. Although he knew that Grandma Sun had just caught a cold, he was still very scared.
His hands were trembling as he started the fire.
After finally getting the medicine ready, Chen Qing rushed to the room to feed it to Grandma Sun, but she vomited it all up and suffered convulsions all over her body.
Chen Qing held her tightly, but fearing she might bite her tongue, he found a handkerchief and stuffed it into her mouth.
Chen Qing held her, and it took her a while to calm down. Chen Qing then fed her the rest of the medicine. Although she frowned because of the bitterness, she managed to swallow it all.
Chen Qing then threw a handkerchief and placed it on her forehead, before cleaning up the mess on the ground.
When he went out to get water, he saw a glimmer of light coming toward him.
Chen Qing stood there stunned, and a moment later Zhou Yuan walked up to their yard.
His eyes stung. When he reached his doorstep, he saw Zhou Yuan covered in mud, his lantern barely glowing.
He looked at Chen Qing, who was wearing an undergarment, and glanced into the room: "What happened?"
Upon hearing his words, two lines of tears slid down Chen Qing's cheeks.
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