Chapter 35
Today is the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, the Little New Year.
When Chen Qing got up in the morning, he stood at the door as usual and glanced at Zhou Yuan's house in the distance, but today it was foggy and he couldn't see anything. He sighed.
Next, I went to the back to feed the chickens, ducks, and geese, and prepared soybean meal separately for the cows. After doing all this, a little orange light appeared on the horizon, but the sun's rays were weak and could not dispel the thick fog.
After winter sets in, Luohe Village experiences this almost every day: thick fog in the morning that doesn't dissipate until almost noon.
Li Xin hasn't been coming over these past few days. After all, he's getting married at twenty-six, and it's not appropriate for him to keep going out. With him gone, Chen Qing has had some free time. He doesn't have to look after the cured meat rack at home anymore, and he's a little unsure what to do.
My mother was familiar with some of the aunties in the village. Since there wasn't much work to do in the winter, the aunties would get together to play cards, which was a way to pass the time.
She used to take Chen Qing there, not wanting him to be cooped up at home, but after two visits, Chen Qing still felt uncomfortable, so Aunt Sun stopped taking him.
Even at home, Chen Qing can find some enjoyment. Embroidering, feeding the chickens and ducks, tidying up the house, and gazing at the sky in a daze are all his pastimes.
Today is a little different, after all, it's the Little New Year, so we have to take it seriously. Grandma Sun started preparing early this morning. They're going to kill a chicken today, eat half of it today, and eat the other half during the New Year.
Grandma Sun went to the back to catch chickens, and Chen Qing started boiling water. If you think about it carefully, they've already killed chickens twice this year.
The river water was too cold to touch. When Chen Qing first arrived, he wasn't used to the winter climate here and got frostbite in his first year. He would get frostbite every winter thereafter.
This time, the chicken feathers won't be kept after slaughtering the chicken. Chen Qing carried a bucket of hot water to pour it outside. The fog hadn't dissipated yet, and everything was still a white blur.
Chen Qing was about to carry the bucket to the river to empty it. He didn't encounter many people along the way. Although the river water wasn't frozen, it was still bone-chillingly cold. Nowadays, people in the village boil hot water to wash clothes, and they would wait until the weather warmed up to wash their overcoats.
Chen Qing carried the bucket and walked through the thick fog.
Suddenly a dark figure appeared in front of him. Chen Qing's heart skipped a beat, and he almost dropped the bucket in his hand. Just as it was about to fall, the dark figure caught it.
Chen Qing then saw Zhou Yuan's face clearly through the fog. It had only been two months since they last met, but it was as if he didn't recognize him. Chen Qing stood there, stunned, not knowing what to say.
Zhou Yuan put down the bucket in his hand, no longer restraining himself, and reached out to hug Chen Qing.
Chen Qing was so small that he was perfect to be carried. Zhou Yuan picked him up like a baby, and Chen Qing swallowed his gasp. After Zhou Yuan picked him up, he was finally able to look Zhou Yuan in the eye.
"I'm back."
Chen Qing's lips moved, feeling that he had a lot to say, but at this moment he seemed unable to say anything. Originally, his hand was holding Zhou Yuan's arm, but now he raised his hand and wrapped it around Zhou Yuan's neck.
Neither of them spoke again, enjoying this moment of tenderness and peace.
It wasn't until Granny Sun called out to him loudly from not far away that Chen Qing jumped off Zhou Yuan, his face turning bright red again: "Have you eaten?"
Zhou Yuan helped him carry the bucket and followed him to the front door. Only then did Zhou Yuan say, "I haven't eaten. I just got here."
Chen Qing thought for a moment, then pulled him into the yard. Anyway, it was foggy and no one could see him: "I'll make you something to eat."
Zhou Yuan followed him into the house, and Aunt Sun was startled to see him: "Zhou Yuan is back!"
Zhou Yuan nodded: "Auntie, I'm back."
"Oh dear, you must have had a long and tiring journey. You look like you've lost a lot of weight." Aunt Sun patted his shoulder. "Did you just arrive?"
Zhou Yuan just smiled and said, "Yes, I just got home and came to check on things."
Aunt Sun naturally knew that Zhou Yuan hadn't come to see her: "You two talk for a while, and I'll make you something to eat. You probably haven't eaten yet, have you?"
"Thank you, Auntie. I'll take him to pack his things and we'll be back in a bit."
After Sun Da Niang said "okay" from the kitchen, Zhou Yuan took Chen Qing's hand and led him back to his home. The road was narrow, and the two walked one in front of the other, but their hands were still clasped together.
Zhou Yuan's luggage was still in the yard. He didn't even go into the house. He put his things down and went to look for the person. Even though he only glanced at it briefly, he could tell that the whole yard was clean and tidy, which showed that Chen Qing usually came to tidy it up.
Chen Qing was a little embarrassed: "I came to sweep with Li Xin, so no one will know."
Zhou Yuan, carrying his luggage, said, "I'm afraid others won't know. If people see me sooner, I'll marry you sooner."
Chen Qing's face flushed again; the blush on his cheeks seemed to have never faded since Zhou Yuan returned. He looked at Zhou Yuan's luggage; when he left, he had only one bundle, but when he returned, he had many more things.
It was just a striking splash of red.
Zhou Yuan told him about the origin of the red cloth: "It is really not good to go against the general's wishes, so the lady prepared these."
The idea of a general from the capital was something very, very far removed from Chen Qing's life. The highest official he had ever met was a county magistrate. Now, looking at this piece of cloth, which was supposedly a gift from a general, he was extremely careful even when touching it.
"Anyway, this is for you." Zhou Yuan stuffed the cloth into his arms. "Use this as your wedding dress. If you want to embroider it, you can do it yourself. If not, I'll find someone to make it for you."
Chen Qing quickly returned the cloth to him, saying, "It's such a waste to give me such fine cloth." He was afraid that his rough hands would scratch the precious fabric.
As they passed and pushed, the soft satin, which wasn't tied very tightly to begin with, fell down, and the red cloth scattered. Chen Qing quickly went to pick it up, but a piece of paper fell down as well. Zhou Yuan saw it, picked it up, and glanced at it.
There were two silver notes worth one hundred taels each.
Chen Qing had never seen a silver note before. He had only seen five- or ten-tael silver ingots once or twice, let alone a silver note. He moved closer to Zhou Yuan and asked, "What is this?"
"Silver notes".
Chen Qing was startled: "Oh no, did I break it?"
Zhou Yuan smiled and shook his head, then put away the silver notes and helped Chen Qing pack up the things he had brought back.
He brought back medicinal herbs for Zhang Yin, as well as many trinkets for Li Xin and Niu Niu; he didn't forget anyone he knew well.
Chen Qing then remembered what he wanted to tell him: "Zhou Yuan, Li Xin is getting married on the 26th."
Zhou Yuan was stunned: "He's getting married? To whom?"
"The scholar who's staying at his house." Chen Qing sat on a stool to the side, still a little embarrassed to sit on Zhou Yuan's bed, and told Zhou Yuan about the recent events in the village.
"Is Godmother's health deteriorating again?" Zhou Yuan looked at the large bags of medicinal herbs he had brought back. "I'll go check on her in a bit."
Chen Qing nodded: "Okay."
Zhou Yuan didn't have anything to pack up anyway; he only called Chen Qing over to talk to him alone.
He touched another small bundle inside the main bundle: "Everything in here is for you."
Chen Qing instinctively wanted to shake his head and refuse, but then he heard Zhou Yuan say, "It's nothing valuable."
Then they opened it together: "These are the seasonings we brought back from Xixin Prefecture."
Chen Qing opened it and took a look, but he didn't recognize anything inside: "What is this?"
Zhou Yuan then recounted his experiences after returning from Beijing, mainly talking about the Tianji restaurant they had eaten at: "Being able to have a hot meal in the winter is really satisfying."
Chen Qing knew that Zhou Yuan wasn't a picky eater, but if he said something was delicious, it must be exceptionally tasty.
“If there’s a chance in the future, I’ll take you there too. They say these things are used to make that delicious stuff, so you can take a look.” Zhou Yuan then showed him another one. “These are all little gadgets, inexpensive and novel.”
A pale yellow headband with two small bells, a five-colored bracelet, and some stylish handkerchiefs—none of them were expensive, but they all required careful selection.
"Do you like it?" Zhou Yuan looked into his bright eyes and knew he liked it.
"You bought too many." Chen Qing couldn't take his eyes off them. Chen Qing had received a limited number of gifts since he was a child, and after his father passed away, he had rarely seen such vibrant colors.
"None of them are expensive."
Chen Qing then noticed a small box inside. He picked it up, opened the lid, and smelled a wonderful fragrance. Zhou Yuan also came over and said, "This is frostbite cream I bought from Beijing. Do you get frostbite?"
He took Chen Qing's hand and saw the chilblains on it: "Looks like I bought just the right amount."
Chen Qing smiled and held the small box in his palm.
After looking around, he stood up and said, "Let's go see Auntie."
Chen Qing then remembered that he hadn't even eaten breakfast that morning, so he quickly got up and went home together.
Grandma Sun had already kneaded the dough and prepared the chicken giblets from the freshly killed chicken, but she didn't touch them. She couldn't cook chicken giblets well, so she was waiting for Chen Qing to come back.
Zhou Yuan and Aunt Sun were talking about Li Xin's marriage in the courtyard, while Chen Qing was stir-frying chicken giblets on the side.
Every family in Luohe Village has a pickling jar. Leftover vegetables can be put into the jar, brine is used to pickle them, which preserves their crispness but also gives them a different flavor.
Melt the chicken fat, sauté the ginger from the kimchi jar until fragrant, then add the chicken giblets to the pot and stir-fry over high heat to release their aroma.
On the other side, as the water boiled, Chen Qing also poached two eggs. Once the noodles were ready, he poured the pickled cabbage and stir-fried chicken giblets on top, and a bowl of chicken giblet noodles was done.
As usual, Zhou Yuan was served in that large basin, a full bowl of soup and water.
Zhou Yuan finished the whole thing in one go. When he saw the two poached eggs in the bowl, he winked at Chen Qing, but Chen Qing didn't look at him.
Today is the Little New Year. When Aunt Sun asked Zhou Yuan about his plans, Zhou Yuan drank the last sip of soup before saying, "Today I'm going to my godfather's house to see if there's anything I can help him with. I also need to visit my godmother and bring the medicine I bought over."
Grandma Sun nodded: "That's how it should be. Although they are godparents, they will be family in the future."
These past two days, Li Xin's family has been tidying up their newly rented house, and Zhou Yuanqu has been able to help out.
"I'll come over for dinner tonight. Auntie, you won't leave me any food, will you?" Although he was talking to Aunt Sun, his eyes were always on Chen Qing.
Grandma Sun laughed: "That depends on whether Aqing has done enough."
“Mother…” Chen Qing sat to the side, feeling a little embarrassed.
"Oh dear, Aqing is shy." Aunt Sun laughed loudly. "She's much better now. She wouldn't even say a word a while ago, but now her expressions are so lively and colorful."
Feeling embarrassed by what he was being said, Chen Qing turned and went into the kitchen.
Watching his retreating figure, the two people in the courtyard burst out laughing.
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