Chapter 32
Zhou Yuan left very early the next day. Chen Qing got up when he heard the rooster crow, and when he walked into Zhou Yuan's yard, there was only silence.
He went home somewhat dejectedly. Grandma Sun also got up. When she saw Chen Qing returning from outside, she knew that Zhou Yuan had already left.
She shook her head and smiled. Chen Qing was becoming more and more vibrant, his emotions written all over his face: "Qing, it's time to eat."
Chen Qing said "Oh," patted his face, and then composed himself.
After breakfast, Li Xin came to visit him, and the two of them decided to go herd Zhou Yuan's cattle. After all, everyone in the village knew about the relationship between Zhou Yuan and the Li family, so there was nothing unusual about Li Xin helping to herd the cattle.
“He came to our house before he left. My dad asked him to bring some things back for me.” Li Xin pouted. “Besides asking him to bring back some medicinal herbs for my mother, he also asked him to bring back some books from the capital for Qi Shuning, saying they would be helpful for his imperial examinations.”
Chen Qing nodded, but he wasn't very interested either. He just stroked the cow's back as it grazed.
Li Xin laughed: "It's rare to see Aqing like this."
Chen Qing raised his eyelids, then quickly lowered them again: "What have you been busy with lately?"
"I wasn't busy with anything, just keeping my mother company." Li Xin's smile faded a bit. His mother's health had never been good; she had caught a cold earlier and hadn't fully recovered. She had been resting in bed for a while, but she was feeling better today and could get up, so he came out to find Chen Qing.
"Has the doctor seen you?" Chen Qing asked with concern.
Li Xin nodded: "I've seen it. It's all the same old story. They just say I'm weak and that I should take good care of myself."
"I'll go with you to take a look." Zhang Yin was also very kind to Chen Qing. When Chen Qing first came here, he had no friends. Li Xin was his first friend, and Zhang Yin was always kind to him back then.
They led the cow towards Li Xin's house. Zhang Yin was sunbathing in the yard when she saw them leading the cow back. She stood up, walked to the cow, and gently stroked it: "Is this the cow that A Yuan raised?"
Chen Qing nodded.
Zhang Yin was naturally aware of Chen Qing's relationship with Zhou Yuan. She gently patted Chen Qing's hand and grabbed a handful of dried fruit from the side, giving it to him: "Qing, have some."
"Thank you, Aunt Yin."
"Why be so polite? We'll all be family from now on." Zhang Yin coughed twice.
Chen Qing looked at her, her face pale. The last time he saw Zhang Yin, she didn't seem to be this thin. He looked at Li Xin with some concern, but Li Xin could only manage a weak smile.
Chen Qing sat at their house for a while, and on his way home, he ran into Li the blacksmith. Li the blacksmith greeted him when he saw him.
Chen Qing felt heavy-hearted. When he got home, Aunt Sun was tending to her vegetable garden. Chen Qing helped her and told her what he had seen at Li Xin's house. Aunt Sun paused in her work and sighed.
"I'll find some time to go see her." Grandma Sun wasn't very close to Zhang Yin. In fact, Zhang Yin wasn't very close to anyone in the village. Since she got married, she rarely went out.
It was only during the few years that Li the blacksmith went out to work as a blacksmith that she had more interaction with the people in the village.
After Chen Qing finished pulling up the remaining weeds in the field, he looked at the sky and felt that the sky had become much more suffocating since Zhou Yuan left.
Winter came, and there were many withered branches and leaves on the mountain. The next day, Chen Qing invited Li Xin to go up the mountain to collect firewood.
There are fallen branches and leaves on the mountain. They use the fallen, yellowed pine needles the most. The dried pine needles are easy to ignite, and ordinary households rely on them to start fires.
They went to a mountain that was a bit further away. After autumn arrived, it rained less, so they didn't have to worry about things happening like they did in the summer.
The two of them each carried a large basket on their backs, with a bundle of rope inside. In their hands, they held a bamboo rake. The front end of the rake was made of split bamboo that was then bent down. When gathering firewood, they moved it back and forth close to the ground to gather all the pine needles that were spread on the ground together.
They usually chat the most while working, but Li Xin was very quiet today. Sometimes he would even space out while working. Chen Qing put down the bamboo rake in his hand and moved closer to him: "Is Aunt Yin's condition still not good?"
Li Xin nodded: "It seems to have gotten a bit worse these past few days. My father has closed his shop and is taking my mother to the prefectural city for treatment."
"Oh? Is it that serious?"
Li Xin sighed, "The colder it gets, the worse it gets. The doctor in town said that if I'm lucky enough to make it through the New Year, I'll have some time left, but if I don't..." Li Xin sniffed, "I'm scared..."
Chen Qing reached out and gently hugged Li Xin. He didn't know how to comfort him. Li Xin buried his head on his shoulder and cried. It was too oppressive at home. He had to take care of his mother and avoid Niu Niu. Only now that he was out did he dare to cry out loud: "Qing, I'm scared. I only now understand why my mother took me back to my maternal grandfather's house at the beginning of this year. It's as if she knew her own physical condition and it was like she was saying goodbye."
Li Xin cried loudly, "I don't want to be without a mother."
Chen Qing's eyes also reddened, but he was clumsy with words and didn't know how to comfort people. He could only gently pat Li Xin's back and cry with him.
Fortunately, Li Xin was very good at self-regulating. He wiped his eyes and said, "I will definitely go to the prefectural city with my parents, but Niu Niu..."
“It’s alright, I can take care of Niu Niu,” Chen Qing said. “Don’t worry about things at home.”
Niu Niu was a very well-behaved child, and the Li family raised him very well.
Li Xin nodded. He didn't thank Chen Qing; there was no need for such a formal word as "thank you" between them.
After Li Xin figured it out, she worked with more energy, and soon the two of them filled two baskets with pine needles and other leaves, and then headed down the mountain road.
Li Xin also poured all the firewood from her basket into Chen Qing's house. Chen Qing said it wasn't necessary, but Li Xin said that Niu Niu would need their help in the future, and her family didn't really need these things.
When Li Xin got home, Aunt Sun had just returned from outside. Li Xin talked to her for a while and felt that she was not in a good mood, so she did not stay any longer and went home.
Chen Qing looked at Granny Sun: "Mother, what happened?"
"I went to see Zhang Yin," Aunt Sun sighed. "Her condition isn't good."
Chen Qing nodded: "Li Xin just told me."
Then Aunt Sun said, "Originally, Li the blacksmith didn't want her to give birth to Niu Niu. Childbirth is a life-or-death experience. But she insisted on leaving Li the blacksmith a son. She had a difficult labor. Li the blacksmith has taken good care of her all these years, but her constitution is not good. It's so difficult."
Chen Qing's heart also felt heavier.
"She told me today that she's still worried about Li Xin and wants to see him get married." Grandma Sun looked in the direction of Li's house. "They say if you survive the winter, you'll still have a chance to live; if you don't, it'll be difficult."
"Li Xin said that Uncle Li is going to the prefectural city to find a doctor, hoping to find a good one." Chen Qing thought of that faint hope.
The two talked for a while, then went back to their own business.
In the blink of an eye, Zhou Yuan had been gone for ten days. On a fine day, Li the blacksmith took Zhang Yin and Li Xin to the prefectural city. Chen Qing saw them off and brought back Zhou Yuan's ox, which was kept at Li Xin's house.
Qi Shuning was also there. He said he could help look after Niu Niu, since the academy was on holiday recently and he had time to help watch over Niu Niu.
However, Li the blacksmith was still worried, so he eventually handed Niu Niu over to Chen Qing and asked Qi Shuning to help look after the house.
In fact, Qi Shuning had already dropped out of the academy. He had also asked the dean for a portion of his tuition back, which he stuffed into the bundle that Li the blacksmith and the others had taken with them. However, Li the blacksmith was unaware of this yet.
Watching Niu Niu bid them farewell with tears in his eyes, Chen Qing held his hand until they were out of sight, then nodded to Qi Shuning and took Niu Niu home.
"Brother Aqing, will my mother be alright?" Niu Niu hugged Chen Qing's leg, crying so hard he could barely breathe. He had been holding back his tears when he saw Li Xin and the others off.
"Everything will be alright, Niu Niu, don't worry." Chen Qing didn't know how to comfort a child; all he could say was that he'd cook something delicious for him when they got home. "Shall we go herd the cattle first?"
Niu Niu nodded. He really liked Zhou Yuan's cow; it was Niu Niu who was in charge of grazing it when it was at their house.
There wasn't much grass at this time of year, so they just led the cattle around the village once before returning home.
Grandma Sun had already prepared things for Niu Niu's arrival. Since Niu Niu was already six years old, it wouldn't be appropriate for him to sleep with any of them, so Grandma Sun set up a small bed for him and let him sleep in the same room with her.
Niu Niu was quite reserved at home at first, and seemed to be a little unfamiliar with his bed. Although he was being very careful, Aunt Sun still heard him tossing and turning. So she lit a lamp, went to Niu Niu's bedside, and found him crying in the quilt.
Grandma Sun picked him up from the bed and gently patted his shoulder. Niu Niu was only six years old after all. Grandma Sun held him and coaxed him until he finally fell asleep, sobbing.
Chen Qing saw the firelight, knocked on the door and came in. He saw Granny Sun holding Niu Niu and leaning against the headboard.
Niu Niu's nose was very red and her eyes were a little swollen; it was obvious she had been crying.
Grandma Sun mouthed to Chen Qing, "It's nothing, go to sleep. He just misses his parents."
Chen Qing then returned to his room. After the lights were turned off, Chen Qing stared at the dark ceiling and thought of Zhou Yuan.
When Li Xin and his group returned after ten days away, the entire Luohe Village was preparing to cure meat.
In the past, Aunt Sun and Chen Qing never did these things. They would save money wherever they could. They would only buy a pound of meat a few days before New Year's Eve to eat during the New Year, just to show that it was a token gesture.
Life was a bit better this year. The harvest was plentiful, and thanks to Meng Tao, the family no longer had to pay as much tax. They kept enough food for their own consumption, and sold the surplus, leaving them with some extra money.
So Aunt Sun decided to smoke some cured meat this year. Chen Qing has been living at home for so long, but he hasn't eaten cured meat much. He used to be able to eat it when there was a banquet, but Chen Qing rarely goes out to eat banquets, so he rarely has the opportunity to eat it.
And Zhou Yuan, we should also make something for him, since he's not a local and probably hasn't tried it before.
Li Xin came to pick up Niu Niu from his house, carrying some snacks she had brought back from Fucheng. Chen Qing refused them, but Li Xin stuffed them into his hands and pulled him into the house, wanting to have a private chat with him.
Grandma Sun was playing with Niu Niu in the yard. Chen Qing looked at Li Xin's expression and instinctively felt that this trip to the prefectural city was not going smoothly.
"How is Aunt Yin? What did the doctor in the prefectural city say?"
Li Xin looked at him for a while, then covered her face with her hand: "The same thing the doctor in town said."
Chen Qing's heart sank.
"Aqing, I'm getting married." Li Xin then dropped another bombshell on Chen Qing.
Chen Qing, who hadn't put the pastry down in his hand, slammed it onto the bed: "What?"
"I'm getting married on the 26th of the twelfth lunar month," Li Xin replied, but there was no joy in her voice.
Chen Qing looked at him in disbelief, stammering, "No, so hastily? Who are you marrying? You didn't, you didn't want to get married, did you?"
“I have no other choice, Aqing. The doctor in the prefectural city said my mother won’t live past the New Year. I don’t want to watch her die. I went to ask the Bodhisattva, and the people in the temple said that I can use this to bring good luck.”
Chen Qing didn't know what to say. He hugged Li Xin and said, "But Aunt Yin won't agree to this. She loves you so much."
Li Xin shook her head: "It's precisely because she loves me so much that I want to give it a try."
"So, who will you marry?" That's the most important question.
"Qi Shuning".
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