Chapter 33
Chen Qing had always known that he didn't like Qi Shuning very much, but how could he suddenly be getting married to Qi Shuning after just one trip?
“I couldn’t find a suitable candidate for a while,” Li Xin said. “Later I felt that he was the most suitable. He has no relatives left, and now he is indebted to my family.”
"But what about you?" Chen Qing asked with some worry.
"I'm fine. As long as Mom is well, I'll do anything. At worst, I'll divorce Qi Shuning after he gets into university."
Seeing that he had thought everything through, Chen Qing didn't know how to persuade him.
"Don't worry about me, I'm fine." Li Xin rubbed her eyes. "I saw that Niu Niu has even gained some weight here with you guys."
“He always misses you, and sometimes he cries secretly.”
Li Xin smiled and said, "I'll take him back first, and I'll come talk to you tomorrow."
Chen Qing nodded, and together they tidied up Niu Niu's clothes, watching them leave.
"Mother, Li Xin said he's getting married on the 26th of the twelfth lunar month."
Grandma Sun was also surprised, but after thinking about it, she understood the reason. It was rare for him to have such filial piety. But if Zhang Yin knew that he was getting married because he wanted to bring good luck to the family, she didn't know how upset she would be.
That's how unpredictable life can be.
Soon everyone in the village knew that Li Xin was getting married, and they were all very surprised. They all thought that Li the blacksmith was going to find Li Xin a marriage partner in the town or even the county, but they did not expect it to be so hasty and hasty, that she would marry a young man who came to their house to freeload.
"This blacksmith Li, wasn't he so arrogant before? Now he's willing to agree to this marriage?"
"No, how can you not understand? That young man has no one left in his family, so he's basically a live-in son-in-law."
"So that's how it is. He's a scholar, so perhaps he has a promising future."
"I heard that Li the blacksmith also rented an old house from Jiang the village that was not in use."
Old Jiang's son was doing business in the prefectural city and originally wanted to bring him to live there. However, Old Jiang couldn't adapt to life in the prefectural city and returned to the village. His son had no choice but to rebuild a house for him, but he still lived alone in the old house, and the house his son built for him was left unused.
This time, Li the blacksmith really went all out, renting Old Man Jiang's house.
There was a lot of discussion in the village, but it was all just a few words. Chen Qing didn't know how Li Xin had made arrangements with Qi Shuning, but Li Xin was currently nestled in his bed, watching Chen Qing make his wedding dress.
The weather has been warm these past few days, so Li the blacksmith has closed his shop and is focusing on taking care of Zhang Yin and preparing for Li Xin's wedding. Because it's all happening so quickly, there are a lot of things to do.
Perhaps because Li Xin was getting married, Zhang Yin's health seemed to have improved a lot, and she even had time to worry about his wedding.
She initially didn't believe that Li Xin had suddenly gotten married, but seeing Li Xin's closeness to Qi Shuning, and Qi Shuning's ears turning red when Li Xin approached, she remembered what kind of man Li Xin often said she liked.
Qi Shuning seems to fit the bill quite well.
Zhang Yin thought a little deeper. Qi Shuning was a scholar and seemed honest. Secondly, he had no relatives left and would settle down in Luohe Village in the future. As long as he was in the village, Li the blacksmith could keep an eye on them and wouldn't have to worry about Li Xin being bullied.
If his studies really lead to a bright future, it would be a good thing for Li Xin. She knows she doesn't have long to live, so she always wants to make sure everything is taken care of.
"See, this is still useful, isn't it?" Li Xin touched the red cloth, watching Chen Qing's fingers move up and down, and the cloth began to take the shape of a garment.
Chen Qing never asked Li Xin if she minded his status as a widow, and Li Xin would only clap her hands and say that Chen Qing's cooking was too good.
"But do you really want to marry him?" Chen Qing asked, still somewhat worried as she sewed her wedding dress.
“Of course,” Li Xin said nonchalantly. “You know I like people who are slender, refined, and preferably scholarly. He fits all my preferences perfectly.”
But mutual affection and a forced relationship are two completely different things.
But Chen Qing couldn't say these things.
Li Xin returned home without her wedding dress, leaving it with Chen Qing. Chen Qing looked at the bright red dress in the night and wondered how Zhou Yuan would persuade Li Xin if he were here.
Then I wondered where Zhou Yuan was now, whether there were any dangers on the road, and whether he had brought all his belongings safely. While traveling, did he have time to think about Luohe Village?
The following days were very busy. Li Xin didn't care about other people's opinions at all. He just wanted Chen Qing to help him. Chen Qing would go shopping with him during the day and help him embroider his wedding dress in the afternoon. Li Xin was not at all shy and didn't stand on ceremony with Chen Qing.
Chen Qing had already finished the basic design of the wedding dress, and Li Xin had tried it on and it fit perfectly. All that was left was to design the patterns on the dress. Chen Qing simply picked out whatever auspicious patterns to embroider, such as twin lotus flowers or mandarin duck patterns.
However, for each type, a few stitches were left at the end to finish the design. By the time Chen Qing finished embroidering, it was already December.
Although Li Xin's marriage was announced hastily, Li the blacksmith still made sure to put on a grand show. Although the village chief's family had some complaints about Li the blacksmith not marrying Li Xin into their family, weddings and funerals were important events in the village, so he came to help.
Chen Qing delivered the nearly finished wedding dress to Li Xin's house and saw Zhang Yin wearing a thick cloak, talking to Li Xin in the yard. When she saw Chen Qing, she waved to him.
So the three of them went to Li Xin's room and unfolded the wedding dress. Chen Qing's craftsmanship was excellent, and the embroidery was very lifelike. However, each pattern was missing a crucial part. Chen Qing said, "I think Aunt Yin must have wanted to add the finishing touches for him, so I left a little bit of everything."
Chen Qing didn't leave much of the work behind. Even though Zhang Yin was in poor health, she could finish it in just a few stitches. As she finished the last stitch, a tear fell onto the bright red fabric.
“Mother.” Li Xin tugged at her sleeve.
Chen Qing knew that the mother and son had something to talk about, so he made an excuse that he had something to do at home and left first.
On his way home, Chen Qing passed by many houses. In each house, a rack had been set up in the yard, and newly made cured meat was drying on the rack.
Chen Qing quickened his pace, eager to get home. His family had also dried cured meat this year, which was the first time he had come to Luohe Village. He found it very novel and had been staying at home these days, tending to the cured meat rack every day.
When Aunt Sun saw Chen Qing return, she quickly packed her things and got up, saying, "You stay home and keep an eye on things. I still need to go and discuss the wedding details with Zhang Yin."
She rushed off, and Chen Qing sat under his own cured meat rack, a little curious. He stood up and smelled the cured meat, then realized he was being silly and sat back down, grinning foolishly.
The Laba Festival is just two days away. I wonder if Zhou Yuan has a bowl of Laba porridge to drink outside. Chen Qing remembers that when he was a child, his family would cook Laba porridge with several kinds of beans until it was sticky and mushy. His uncle would melt the sugar cubes into the porridge, and a bowl of fragrant and sweet Laba porridge was what really made him look forward to the New Year.
In his first year in Luohe Village, Chen Qing was stunned when Aunt Sun cooked a bowl of salty Laba porridge. He didn't know that Laba porridge could be made salty.
Although he was not used to it, he had just arrived and could not waste food, so he finished the whole bowl of salty porridge. However, it did not taste strange as he had imagined, and he felt a different feeling after finishing the bowl.
But on the Laba Festival of the following year, Aunt Sun cooked him sweet Laba porridge. Although it was different from the one her uncle cooked, Chen Qing still felt a long-lost sense of peace after eating it.
When Aunt Sun returned, she talked to him about Li Xin's marriage: "Li the blacksmith is very generous to be able to rent Old Man Jiang's house."
Chen Qing nodded: "That's good too, so Li Xin can stay home and take care of Aunt Yin."
"But I guess Li the blacksmith took out all his family's savings, saying he would use them to repair the house after the New Year," Grandma Sun sighed. "I hope this Qi Shuning is a good person."
"He's a scholar, he's read the classics, he can't be all that bad, right?"
Grandma Sun looked at him with a hint of disappointment: "Who said that scholars read the classics? Some scholars are really wicked and harm people without anyone noticing."
Chen Qing didn't really have any impression of Qi Shuning. The only time he had seen him was when he was following behind Li the blacksmith after they came back from the mountain. He wasn't very tall and was quite thin.
"However, Li Xin is not stupid. He is much smarter than you and should not be easily manipulated."
Chen Qing stuck out his tongue and smiled somewhat embarrassedly.
On Laba Festival, Grandma Sun still cooked two bowls of porridge, one of her own savory porridge and one of Chen Qing's greasy sweet porridge. Li Xin came over to share it with her. Then she said she was going to town so the two of them could hitch up the oxcart. After driving the ox back last time, they hadn't sent it back to Li Xin's house.
"Can you drive the cart?" Chen Qing helped him hitch up the cart. They had been using the oxcart quite a lot lately for all sorts of purchases.
"Yes." Li Xin was dressed warmly, wearing a scarf that Zhang Yin had knitted for him years ago, and was about to leave.
Chen Qing chased after him: "Where are you going? Are you going alone? Or should I come with you?"
Li Xin laughed: "I'm going to the academy to pick up my future husband. What are you going there for? Next time you go to pick up my brother, I'll go with you."
Li the blacksmith found out that Qi Shuning had dropped out of school without permission. He dragged Qi Shuning back to the academy, apologized to the dean, and made him pay his tuition again. Today was the day their academy was on holiday.
Chen Qing patted him on the back: "Then be careful on the road, and be careful when you catch the train."
"Okay." Li Xin patted the cow's rump. "Is there anything you want? I'll bring it back for you."
"Bring some needles and thread, I've been going through them too quickly lately."
Li Xin nodded and waved to him, "I'm leaving."
Chen Qing watched his departing figure, glanced at Zhou Yuan's house one last time, and then turned and walked back.
As Li Xin drove away in the oxcart, out of Chen Qing's sight, she slowly suppressed the smile on her lips.
When the oxcart arrived at the academy in town, Li Xin chose a more open spot and stared at the academy gate in front of her.
A short while later, he saw someone carrying a book box coming out of the main gate.
Li Xin was perched on the oxcart with one leg dangling from the other. He didn't react much when he saw Qi Shuning come out, until Qi Shuning sat down next to him.
"I'm sorry to trouble you to pick me up."
Li Xin merely glanced at him indifferently: "It's no trouble at all. I should thank you for your help."
"Let me drive the carriage," Qi Shuning said, wanting him to sit next to her.
Li Xin merely glanced at his hands and said indifferently, "Your hands are for writing, not for doing these things."
Without waiting for Qi Shuning to sit properly, he headed straight for the town: "I need to buy some things on the street. If you don't mind, wait for me for a while."
Qi Shuning naturally didn't mind; he simply looked at Li Xin with a restrained gaze that wouldn't disturb her.
The oxcart was parked to the side, and they walked to the street to buy things. Li Xin was a shrewd and good bargainer. Unlike Chen Qing, who would be nervous for a long time before speaking a single word to a shopkeeper, Li Xin could become like family to the vendors as soon as he opened his mouth.
After buying the things, Li Xin remembered that there was a person named Qi Shuning beside him. He lowered his eyelashes, knowing that scholars were all proud and would naturally not like such petty and trivial matters.
Li Xin pouted, who cares whether he cares or not.
Qi Shuning helped him carry the things he had bought, looking at him with a hint of admiration: "You're really amazing, they can't argue with you."
Li Xin: ……
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