Chapter 29
Since that day, Zhou Yuan seems to have become very busy. He is rarely seen during the day, but no matter how busy he is during the day, he will still fill the water tank at Chen Qing's house at night.
After taking care of his mother at home for a few days, Li Xin finally found time to go out and play with Chen Qing.
After finishing his work in the fields, Chen Qing had some free time. His head had been aching from bending over so much while sewing clothes these past two days, so he stretched his muscles in the yard.
Li Xin waved to him at the gate of the courtyard, and Chen Qing quickly went to open the door for him: "You're finally out? How is Aunt Yin?"
"Hmm, much better." Li Xin sat down where he was sitting, saw the clothes on the table, and looked at him mischievously: "Was this made for Zhou Yuan? Look at the craftsmanship, you're even more meticulous than when making your own clothes, aren't you?"
Chen Qing nudged his shoulder.
Li Xin knew him; if the jokes continued, he would hide again. So he suggested, "Let's go for a walk in the mountains?"
Chen Qing was feeling a bit tired. The weather was nice, and they wouldn't have to go too far up the mountain; they could just walk around the edge of the valley.
Chen Qing closed the door and walked up the mountain with Li Xin. Li Xin had a lot to say: "Do you know? My father wants that Qi Shuning to go to school."
"Isn't studying a good thing?" Chen Qing picked a branch and casually wove it into a wreath. It was a pity there weren't many flowers on the mountain now, but he put it on Li Xin, and it looked very nice.
“But going to school is so expensive, tuition is so expensive.” Although Li Xin had a relatively comfortable life since childhood, he was taught to be frugal under his mother’s guidance, especially since all that money was earned by his father, hammering away at the cost of his life.
“But what if he becomes successful in the future? He’ll definitely pay your family back.” They sat on a large rock, where they could see a wide view of the entire village.
Li Xin sighed, "We can only try to think positively, but I'm afraid we'll expose an ungrateful wretch."
Chen Qing disliked gossiping behind people's backs, so he stopped talking about Qi Shuning.
The weather had cooled down considerably by then, and after a few rain showers, the temperature had become quite comfortable. The two of them sat on a large rock and chatted about everything under the sun, inevitably bringing up the topic of marriage.
“My mother persuaded my father not to rush me into marriage, and thankfully my father listened to my mother.” Li Xin straightened up. His parents’ loving relationship was well-known throughout Luohe Village.
However, because his father listened to his mother, the matter Zhou Yuan asked him to do was unlikely to go smoothly.
He leaned close to Chen Qing and cupped his face in his hands: "Ah Qing!"
"What are you doing?" Chen Qing laughed, removing his hand from his face, and then couldn't help but laugh again.
Chen Qing rarely smiles. Even when he is happy, he only smiles slightly and purses his lips.
"You should be happier."
Grandma Sun had said the same thing, and Chen Qing felt that the years of wandering he had experienced in the past few years were not so painful to think about now.
He has very good relatives and very good friends.
They chatted on the hillside, while Zhou Yuan on the other side was extremely busy lately.
He still has a lot to do in order to marry Chen Qing.
First, there's the wedding. If he's going to do it, he wants it to be the best, which will definitely be a considerable expense.
There are also betrothal gifts, with wild geese being the best. I wonder if Luohe Village is similar to his hometown, where you can't see any living creatures after winter. I need to hurry up and go find some.
Finally, regarding the rumors, Zhou Yuan pondered them for a whole day after talking with Aunt Sun, concluding that resolving this matter was of paramount importance.
Finally, a solution came to mind.
Niu Niu has been coming to his place frequently these days. To avoid further contact with Li Xin, he relies on Niu Niu to relay messages between them.
That day, Zhou Yuan carried the liquor he had bought from the town, walked around most of the village, and arrived at Li Xin's doorstep.
It just so happened that Li the blacksmith didn't go out to forge iron that day, and Zhang Yin had already prepared a sumptuous meal, just waiting for Zhou Yuan to come over.
Some of the people Zhou Yuan passed by would chat with him for a bit, asking him where he was going.
Zhou Yuan generously said, "Let's go to Uncle Li's house."
The man smiled knowingly: "Going like this? It's a bit informal."
Zhou Yuan just smiled and said, "I'm a godfather, so as long as there's wine, that's fine."
"Huh?" The man stood there, stunned.
Zhou Yuan waved to him, said nothing more, and left.
Before noon was over, news of Zhou Yuan had already spread throughout the village. It turned out that Zhou Yuan and Li the blacksmith's family were not going to become in-laws at all, but rather that they were going to become godfathers.
For a time, many people in the village were tempted, and the matchmaker's house was so crowded that people practically wore down the threshold. Although it was somewhat beneath the dignity of the woman and the man to come to the door, if they could get a good son-in-law, face wouldn't be an issue.
Aunt Hua's mouth was almost dry from talking: "No, Zhou Yuan is as stubborn as an ox. He only says that he has had someone he likes for a long time, and he won't be happy with anyone else."
"Huh? But didn't he say today that he was going to the Li family to pay respects to his godfather?"
For a time, everyone in the village was speculating about who Zhou Yuan's sweetheart was. As the speculations increased, so did the rumors.
Some say he had a lover before he went to the battlefield and was still thinking about his old love; others say he didn't actually want to get married and that having a sweetheart was just a way to avoid being disturbed.
There are many rumors, some true and some false. I don't know when it started, but some people said that Zhou Yuan was actually injured on the battlefield and had a hidden illness that he couldn't show to others, so he used the excuse of having a sweetheart to cover it up.
Rumors spread quickly in the village, and even Chen Qing, who rarely left his house, heard the news.
He and Aunt Sun exchanged a glance, both seeing helplessness in each other's eyes.
"But did Zhou Yuan really become Li the blacksmith's godfather?" Aunt Sun asked Chen Qing.
Chen Qing shook his head: "I don't know."
Chen Qing was unaware that Zhou Yuan hadn't come to visit these past few days. Every night, Zhou Yuan would only fetch water and at most hold Chen Qing's hand by the water tank.
"But that's good too. Even after you get married, there's a high chance no one will say anything bad about you anymore." In this respect, Zhou Yuan is a very thoughtful person.
Looking at his barely concealed smile, Aunt Sun felt a sense of pride, like a mother seeing her son grow up: "We need to get ready too, Aqing, when are you going to embroider your own wedding dress?"
Chen Qing's eyes widened: "Do I have to embroider it myself? Didn't I have a red dress last time?"
His last marriage was also rushed, and Aunt Sun made him a red dress, which is still kept in his closet.
Grandma Sun gently tapped his head: "How can they be the same? Silly."
"It's too much of a waste, Mother. It's not like this is my first time getting married. Let's skip it if we can?" Chen Qing said uncertainly. "Right?"
Just as Aunt Sun was about to speak, Zhou Yuan, whom she hadn't seen in a long time, stood outside the door. She smiled and said, "I'm going out for a walk. You two chat."
After she left, Chen Qing was still a little reserved in front of Zhou Yuan. Zhou Yuan, on the other hand, moved a stool and sat opposite him quite comfortably. Looking at the needle and thread in his hands and the nearly finished garment, he smiled and asked, "Is it almost done?"
Chen Qing nodded.
"Afraid of me?" Zhou Yuan looked at him as he lowered his head, revealing a section of his neck, and couldn't help but tease him.
"No, I'm not afraid." Chen Qing stopped what he was doing, glanced into his eyes, and then looked away. "What have you been busy with lately?"
"They're busy with wedding preparations." The tables and chairs in their courtyard were rather low, and Zhou Yuan's legs were too long, making it a bit difficult for him to sit.
"Ah, oh." Chen Qing lowered his head again.
Zhou Yuan looked at him and remembered something very important: the marriage was something they both tacitly agreed to, but he hadn't heard Chen Qing say "yes" in person yet.
"Let me ask you a question."
He spoke formally, and Chen Qing put his hands back on his knees, listening attentively to his question.
"Would you like to marry me? Or rather, do you like me?"
Chen Qing's fingers curled up unconsciously. He wanted to sneak a peek at Zhou Yuan, but he knew Zhou Yuan was definitely watching him. He didn't dare to look up, afraid of meeting Zhou Yuan's smiling eyes.
He didn't speak, he just nodded.
Zhou Yuan wasn't too satisfied. He leaned closer to Chen Qing and placed his hand on his face: "What does nodding mean? I want to hear what you have to say."
Chen Qing cursed him inwardly for pushing his luck, rolled his eyes, and then said softly, "I'm willing."
Zhou Yuan then laughed, but still wouldn't let Chen Qing off the hook. He slid his hand to Chen Qing's chin, making him look up: "Why do you always keep your head down? And you said you weren't afraid of me?"
He simply moved around to his side, wanting to occupy Chen Qing's entire field of vision.
"No..." Chen Qing's voice was very soft, and he subtly moved a little to the side.
Chen Qing gritted his teeth and slowly turned his head to look at him. Zhou Yuan looked at him and their eyes met. He thought he was very cute. Today he didn't tie his hair up. His slightly long hair hung down in front of his chest. His eyes were a little red. He was shy and his whole body was flushed pink.
Chen Qing couldn't meet his gaze, so he looked away, looking at the yard and the fence, but not at him.
Zhou Yuan found it funny. Before, Chen Qing would secretly watch him, but now that he could watch him openly, he was so shy that he just wanted to hide himself.
Fortunately, the person was obedient and didn't bury their head again after raising it.
"I checked and the auspicious day recently is the first day of the eleventh month, so I'll ask Aunt Hua to come and propose marriage in a couple of days." Actually, the first day of the tenth month is an auspicious day, but Meng Qi had already decided to get married on the first day of the tenth month.
Chen Qing turned to look at him, seemingly thinking of something but hesitant to speak up for fear of upsetting him.
Zhou Yuan looked at him and said, "Say what you want to say."
Chen Qing then said very softly, "I... I haven't finished my mourning period yet."
Zhou Yuan was taken aback, only then remembering this matter. He had indeed been so excited that he had forgotten about it.
"How much longer?"
"I told my mother before that I would observe three years of mourning." Chen Qing was a little nervous, his hands constantly rubbing his trouser leg.
Zhou Yuan frowned: "Three years is too long."
Chen Qing had never thought it was a long time before, but now he actually felt that three years was a long time. He then said, "But Mother only lets me stay for one year."
He remembered that Meng Tao's funeral was held on March 27th, which meant that it would be April of next year, but compared to three years, that was not a long time.
“Okay, then a year it is.” Half a year has already passed, and it’s not unbearable. “It’s good to have a little more time to prepare for the wedding.”
Chen Qing was stunned: "Are we still going to prepare for a wedding?"
“Of course,” Zhou Yuan replied. “What? You don’t want to?”
Chen Qing nodded, but was afraid of saying something wrong and upsetting him. He had already seen him frowning. "I just think, isn't this too, too wasteful of money?"
"You don't need to worry about spending money."
Chen Qing looked at him and said, "But you seem to be doing nothing all day long..." Even if you have money, you should have spent it all by now, right?
Zhou Yuan laughed in exasperation: "In your eyes, am I someone who doesn't do anything productive? If I didn't do anything productive, would you still be willing to marry me?"
Chen Qing didn't know how he could say such shameful things so confidently, so he kicked Zhou Yuan.
"Okay, okay, let's not talk about this." Zhou Yuan was afraid of angering him. "Let me tell you, my family isn't poor. I can earn money, so don't worry about money."
Chen Qing pursed his lips.
Zhou Yuan then told him what he had been busy with lately: "These days, whenever I have time, I stay on the mountain to see if I can catch any geese, but I haven't encountered any. However, I have caught some other prey."
Chen Qing glanced at him: "But I haven't seen you recently."
"If I go up the mountain, I come back very late."
"Oh." Chen Qing nodded.
"There's one more thing," Zhou Yuan said to him earnestly.
Chen Qing looked up, asking silently.
"The rumors that I have a hidden illness are false, so there's no need to worry."
Chen Qing's face flushed red. He kicked Zhou Yuan hard, letting out all the anger he had been holding in all afternoon: "Who's worried about this! You lecher!"
Chen Qing went back into the house, but he could still hear Zhou Yuan's laughter in the yard.
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