Chapter 28
Before Chen Qing could open the door, Zhou Yuan simply used the low courtyard wall as leverage to easily jump into the yard.
In the dim light, Chen Qing could see that he was also in a sorry state, with mud spots all over his trouser legs and his shoes so dirty they were unbearable to look at.
"Where have you been?" He doesn't look like he just got out of bed; he looks like he came back from outside.
"What's wrong with you?" Zhou Yuan raised the lantern, and in the dim light he could see Chen Qing's face clearly. His eyes were as red as the rabbits he had caught from the mountain. He was wearing an undergarment and carrying a basin of water.
Chen Qing had just finished crying and was still sobbing: "Mother, Mother just had a fever, and her whole body was convulsing. I was scared..."
Zhou Yuan sighed and made a rather unconventional move. He stepped forward and gently pulled Chen Qing into his arms, patting Chen Qing's back lightly with his large hands.
This was the first time Chen Qing had been so close to a man since his father's death.
Zhou Yuan was so tall that Chen Qing's head only reached his chest. He raised his hand to push him away, but his hand fell back down when it reached Zhou Yuan's chest.
Chen Qing didn't know how long they had been hugging, but when he stepped back, he noticed that Zhou Yuan's shirt was wet in one spot.
The night breeze was a bit chilly, so Zhou Yuan patted him on the back: "Come inside, it's cold outside."
Chen Qing nodded and invited him to sit down in the main room. He then went into the room to check on Granny Sun, whose condition had stabilized considerably. Only then did he return to the main room and walk to the swaying oil lamp, where he felt somewhat embarrassed.
In the dead of night, alone, he was still wearing his undergarments.
Chen Qing went back to his room and put on a coat. Then he poured Zhou Yuan a bowl of hot water. They didn't have teacups at home, so they drank water from bowls.
Zhou Yuan took a sip and felt a warmth spread through his stiff legs. After listening to Chen Qing's words, Zhou Yuan roughly understood Sun Da Niang's situation. As people get older, getting caught in the rain or falling down can be very dangerous.
"Don't worry, it's just a cold and fever. Do you have any alcohol at home?"
Chen Qing shook his head: "No."
Zhou Yuan stood up: "I'll go get you some."
Before Chen Qing could speak, Zhou Yuan had already left. He returned shortly after, carrying a jar of wine, and handed it to Chen Qing: "Use this wine to rub your aunt's palms and soles; it will help reduce her fever faster. We'll go to town to see a doctor tomorrow."
Chen Qing nodded without thinking much and quickly went into the room to rub Grandma Sun's palms and soles with wine as Zhou Yuan had instructed.
Grandma Sun woke up at this moment, her palms warm from being rubbed by Chen Qing: "Aqing..."
"Mother, you're awake?" Chen Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief, her voice trembling.
"Did I scare you? Old people shouldn't act like they're going to die from getting caught in the rain." Grandma Sun propped herself up to sit, smelling the alcohol on her palms. "Where did this alcohol come from?"
Chen Qing lowered his head and said, "Zhou Yuan gave it to me."
Grandma Sun was taken aback: "How did he know so late at night?"
Chen Qing kept his head down, not daring to look up: "I just came here."
Grandma Sun breathed a sigh of relief: "I'm fine now. Could you find me some clothes so I can change?"
Chen Qing helped her light the oil lamp and found her some clothes to change into. Grandma Sun sat on the bed and said, "Let him go back after we've talked for a while, it's the middle of the night after all."
"Um."
"You should go to bed early too."
"good."
Chen Qing came out of the room and nodded to Zhou Yuan: "Mother is alright, you can go back now."
"Okay." He stood up. "I'll come see Auntie again tomorrow."
Chen Qing saw him to the door, then stopped after a moment's thought: "Wait a moment." He hurriedly ran back to the kitchen and pulled a piece of ginger from the cupboard.
He handed the ginger to Zhou Yuan: "Go back and make some ginger soup."
When Zhou Yuan picked up Jiang, he squeezed his hand. Chen Qing's ears burned, and he looked up at him.
Zhou Yuan, holding his hand, pulled him forward a little more and gave him a gentle hug: "Go back to sleep, see you tomorrow."
Zhou Yuan let go of him first and pushed him into the yard: "Lock the door."
Watching Zhou Yuan leave, Chen Qing locked the door, turned around and saw the lantern Zhou Yuan had left there. Chen Qing put the lantern into his room, took off his clothes, and lay flat on the bed.
He thought he wouldn't be able to sleep because of those two hugs, but to his surprise, he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the bed. He didn't fall asleep until the roosters crowed behind the house. He quickly got out of bed and saw that Aunt Sun was already sweeping the yard.
"Mother, are you alright?" Chen Qing, with her hair disheveled, stood at the door.
"It's alright now." Aunt Sun smiled at him. "You'll be fine after you drink another dose of medicine in a little while."
Chen Qing was still worried: "Shall we go to town and get a doctor to prescribe some medicine?"
The old man was very stubborn about this and refused to see a doctor no matter what. Chen Qing had no choice but to go wash up first.
After Chen Qing finished washing up, Aunt Sun went to the backyard and herded all the chickens and ducks out of the shed. She also brewed some medicine for herself and drank it. Chen Qing couldn't persuade her anymore, so he could only go to the back to help her.
When they returned from the backyard, Zhou Yuan was already waiting in the yard.
When Aunt Sun saw Zhou Yuan, she glanced at Chen Qing out of the corner of her eye and saw that Chen Qing became very flustered. She met Zhou Yuan's gaze, and then Zhou Yuan said, "Help me herd the cow. I didn't let it out yesterday afternoon, and it's probably hungry now."
"Ah? Oh, okay." Chen Qing walked to the door, glanced at Aunt Sun, then at Zhou Yuan, and then went out the door with his head down.
Watching Chen Qing's departing figure, Zhou Yuan helped Grandma Sun sit down in the courtyard and got straight to the point: "I went to town yesterday, Auntie. The man Aunt Hua mentioned is not a good match either."
Zhou Yuan went to town as soon as he heard the news yesterday. He left in a hurry. When he was renting a place at the town's inn, he met a man named Wang Wu. Wang Wu was a know-it-all in town. There was nothing that happened in town that he didn't know.
He found Wang Wu, treated him to a meal, and then learned what kind of marriage matchmaker Hua had arranged for Chen Qing.
Yuan Jia Dalang's previous husband was beaten to death by him. Just for that reason, he would never allow Sun Da Niang to marry Chen Qing into such a family.
"The reason his family is in such a hurry, and doesn't mind that he wore mourning clothes, is because his old lady is dying, and they're anxious to have someone come in to bring good luck." Zhou Yuan's voice was filled with anger. "Auntie, although I'm not that good, I'm not worse than that kind of person, am I?"
Grandma Sun sighed, "I've already turned her down."
"Now that you know about this, you must also know what I'm worried about," said Aunt Sun. "No one is better off than you, but I want to know how you plan to handle these issues that I'm concerned about?"
"Don't worry, I will handle these matters well and will not let him be bothered by any rumors."
Zhou Yuan thought for a moment and then said, "Perhaps you are overthinking these things. The villagers may not have those thoughts about this matter."
Grandma Sun paused for a moment, then said, "Maybe."
Zhou Yuan added, "Don't worry, I will protect him."
Grandma Sun nodded: "If you have that ability, I will naturally believe in you." She added, "I also told Aqing that we should just let things take their course."
Zhou Yuan finally got a satisfactory result and breathed a sigh of relief.
Unexpectedly, Aunt Sun asked again, "So what you said back then was that my Meng Tao asked you to take care of us..."
"I'm not really that familiar with Meng Tao," Zhou Yuan said, choosing to be honest.
Grandma Sun's nose tingled with emotion: "Then what you said, he was on the battlefield..."
"Those are all true; he was indeed very brave." Everyone is brave enough to fight bravely on the battlefield.
Grandma Sun pressed her temples and said, "Good, good."
"I won't stop you from doing what you want, but you must not let Aqing get hurt."
Zhou Yuan said very solemnly, "I know, thank you, Auntie."
Chen Qing led the cow to the riverbank. He knew that his mother and Zhou Yuan had something to talk about. He sat on a rock by the river and let the cow graze.
He had never thought about the problems his mother mentioned, as if those problems wouldn't exist if he didn't think about them.
Can he withstand the gossip and rumors?
Chen Qing himself didn't know either.
But the embrace was so warm.
Chen Qing looked at his reflection in the water. It was nothing special. What was so special about him? He couldn't quite figure it out.
Seeing that it was almost time and the cow's belly was round and full, Chen Qing led the cow home. When he arrived at Zhou Yuan's house, he saw him just coming out of his own house.
Zhou Yuan quickly walked up to him, took the rope for tethering the ox from his hand, and Chen Qing looked up to see that Zhou Yuan was still smiling. As he took the rope, he held Chen Qing's hand.
Chen Qing's first thought was to let go, but seeing Zhou Yuan's smile, Chen Qing ultimately did not let go.
"Wait for me. After I've taken care of these matters, I'll come to propose marriage."
Chen Qing nodded with an almost imperceptible arc, then lowered his head and went home.
When Aunt Sun saw Chen Qing return, she coughed twice and looked at him with a teasing expression.
Chen Qing lowered his head and said, "Mother."
"Alright, Mother knows." Aunt Sun cleared her throat. "Didn't you still have one winter coat that you haven't finished? Keep working on it."
Chen Qing nodded, and Aunt Sun helped him with the stitches. Aunt Sun was also a skilled seamstress when she was young, but as she got older, her eyesight deteriorated, so Chen Qing took over all the needlework at home.
"Tomorrow, I'll hoe those plots of land in front of the door and sow some vegetable seeds," said Grandma Sun as she tidied the thread.
When Chen Qing first came here, he wasn't used to it. In Luohe Village, it doesn't snow in winter, and there are fresh green leafy vegetables to eat in the winter.
Although it wasn't snowing, it wasn't much warmer here than in his hometown. Back home, as long as you wore clothes, you could keep warm, but in Luohe Village, even if you wore thick clothes, the cold could still seep in through any gap.
Fortunately, although it's cold here, we don't need to buy charcoal like we used to at home, so we won't freeze to death.
"Okay." He looked at Aunt Sun expectantly again, "Can we plant peas?"
Chen Qing's favorite food is pea shoots. He loves their fresh and delicate flavor. He's not someone who's obsessed with food, so it's rare for him to be able to say that he really likes something.
Looking at his unusually lively expression, Aunt Sun smiled to herself. Indeed, people need other emotions to make life more vibrant.
Chen Qing used to be lifeless, and he would only perk up when Li Xin came. Now that Zhou Yuan is here, you can clearly see more expressions on his face.
For Chen Qing, meeting Zhou Yuan was probably a good thing.
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