Chapter 59
Time flies, and in two days it will be the Ghost Festival.
The Ghost Festival is a day for ancestor worship. Zhou Yuan and Chen Qing went to town early on the 14th of July to buy paper money.
They first went with Aunt Sun to pay respects to Father Meng, and then went to pay respects to Meng Tao. After that, Aunt Sun went down the mountain first, and Zhou Yuan took Chen Qing to his grandmother's grave.
Zhou Yuan was clearing away the debris around the grave, while Chen Qing knelt before the grave and lit incense.
He had thought about what he wanted to say to his grandmother before he went up the mountain, but he forgot it all after he got there. All he could remember was the old woman's thin, dry hands, which were very warm.
“Grandmother, I’m married. You chose my husband.” After finishing his preparations, Zhou Yuan knelt down next to Chen Qing.
Chen Qing smiled and said, "Grandmother, do you still remember me?"
Zhou Yuan held his hand: "Grandmother, we will be fine. You can rest assured."
Watching the last embers of the paper money burn out, Zhou Yuan helped Chen Qing up: "Let's go home."
As they descended the mountain, Zhou Yuan carried him on his back, walking steadily step by step.
"Let's go pick up Li Xin and the others in a couple of days. I don't know if we'll be able to make it back in time for the Mid-Autumn Festival," Zhou Yuan said.
"Safety on the road is the most important thing." Chen Qing leaned on his back. "This time, I guess I won't go?"
Zhou Yuan thought about it and agreed. Chen Qing was actually quite tired from the trip. He could tell from carrying him that Chen Qing had lost a lot of weight, so he decided to let him rest at home.
"good."
On July 17th, Zhou Yuan set off for Yunxi Town, this time taking Meng Qi with him.
On the fifteenth of August, they were unable to return in time, so Chen Qing spent the festival with Aunt Sun alone.
Chen Qing didn't feel uncomfortable at all, after all, he had been doing it this way for the past few years. Before the festival, he went to the Li family's house. Li the blacksmith was still working in his shop. With the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, he had a lot of orders for iron molds.
Niu Niu helped Chen Qing prepare a meal. Chen Qing even taught Niu Niu how to make a few mooncakes. As the sun set, Chen Qing told Niu Niu to wait for his father at home before leaving the Li family to go home.
When Li the blacksmith returned, the sun was setting, and the last bit of sunlight in front of the house disappeared. Niu Niu saw his tall father at the door.
Li the blacksmith was carrying a roast chicken. Lately, he had been spending most of his time at the shop and hadn't been paying enough attention to Niu Niu.
When Niu Niu saw him, he hugged his leg. Li the blacksmith picked him up and carried him back into the house. He saw the dishes on the table and asked, "Did you make this?"
Niu Niu shook her head: "It was Brother Chen Qing who made it."
"Did you thank him?" Li the blacksmith asked.
Niu Niu nodded: "I said thank you."
After washing his hands, Li the blacksmith sat down at the table with Niu Niu, tore off the two legs of the roast chicken in his hand, and put them into Niu Niu's bowl.
Niu Niu was very happy and said with a smile, "Thank you, Dad."
Li the blacksmith wiped his hands and patted his hair: "Eat."
When Chen Qing returned home, Aunt Sun had already prepared the meal. Since it was just the two of them, she didn't have to cook as much, but their lives were clearly much better. Eggs, which she used to only eat when there was something going on, were now steamed for him by Aunt Sun without her even frowning.
"You've definitely lost a lot of weight after going out for a while." Aunt Sun put some food on his plate. He was already exhausted from all the running around, and then he helped harvest corn afterward, so he lost even more weight, and his clothes were too big.
Chen Qing glanced at himself: "I don't feel anything, isn't this fine?"
For some reason, both Aunt Sun and Zhou Yuan said he looked thin, even though he looked about the same as before.
"It's been so long, and there's still no sign of pregnancy?" After finishing her meal, Aunt Sun went to check on Chen Qing's belly.
Chen Qing almost choked on his food, unable to swallow a mouthful: "Mother!"
"You've been married for so long, aren't you planning to have children yet?"
Chen Qing had never thought about this issue, nor had Zhou Yuan mentioned it. It was only when Aunt Sun brought it up today that he remembered he had a child.
"I... I don't know what Zhou Yuan is thinking." Chen Qing touched his stomach. "He's probably just letting nature take its course."
"Hmm, it's time to think about it." Aunt Sun looked at him. "While I still have the energy, I can help you look after the children."
Chen Qing's face flushed slightly, but he still nodded: "I'll discuss it with him when he gets back."
"Yes, living together requires two people to discuss things together."
After finishing his meal with Aunt Sun, Chen Qing helped her wash the dishes. Then he returned home. A round moon hung in the sky, and Chen Qing missed Zhou Yuan.
At the end of August, Chen Qing anticipated that Zhou Yuan would be back soon. During the day, he would take Niu Niu with him and lead the cow to graze. On the way back, they would always stop at the village entrance for a while before going home separately.
On the third day of the ninth lunar month, Chen Qing finally met Zhou Yuan at the village entrance.
He saw the carriage coming towards the village from afar, and Chen Qing's heart was pounding. He went forward to greet it.
Zhou Yuan, who was driving the carriage, also saw Chen Qing standing at the village entrance. As he passed by, he scooped Chen Qing up with one hand and put him on the carriage. Unable to contain his emotions, he kissed Chen Qing on the cheek.
Chen Qing was a little shy and gently pinched his palm. Then Chen Qing looked into the carriage and saw Zhang Yin and Li Xin smiling at them.
"Aunt Yin, are you all better now?"
Zhang Yin nodded: "I'm all better now." After nearly two months of acupuncture and medication, Zhang Yin's illness was completely cured. Chen Qing had never seen her look so good in his memory. Even after sitting in the carriage for so long, she didn't seem tired at all.
"Dr. Yu is truly a miracle doctor." Li Xin also chimed in, "In the beginning, my mother was very weak, and I was actually quite worried. But unexpectedly, after taking medicine and acupuncture, my mother really got better day by day."
Chen Qing clutched his chest: "That's good, that's good. Do I still need to take medicine?"
Li Xin nodded: "Mother needs to eat a little more to consolidate her health, then she'll be just like a normal person."
"That's wonderful!" Chen Qing was genuinely happy, then asked, "Hasn't Qi Shuning returned?"
“He will come back just before the New Year,” Li Xin said. “The dean of the academy suggested that he stay there for a longer period of time.”
The carriage soon arrived at the Li family's courtyard. Li the blacksmith hadn't gone out today, and when he saw the carriage parked in his own yard, he was overjoyed. Ignoring the gazes of the younger generation beside him, he climbed onto the carriage, picked up Zhang Yin, looked her up and down, and then burst into tears.
Zhou Yuan squeezed Chen Qing's hand, greeted Li Xin, and then took Chen Qing back.
Chen Qing was much more lively in front of Zhou Yuan, and on the way home, he told him a lot about what happened at home when Zhou Yuan wasn't there.
“My mother and I have raised a few more chickens, all hens, and they’ve started laying eggs recently.”
“I’ve been going to herd cattle with Niu Niu every day these past few days. Niu Niu is such a good boy.”
No matter what Chen Qing said, Zhou Yuan gave him perfunctory answers. Just as Chen Qing was about to frown and ask him a question, he realized that they had already arrived home.
Zhou Yuan didn't even unload the car. He just parked it in the yard, then lifted Chen Qing out of the car with one hand, quickly locked the yard gate, and carried Chen Qing into the house.
As Zhou Yuan began to strip off his clothes, Chen Qingcai's eyes widened. He grabbed Zhou Yuan's large hand and said incredulously, "Zhou Yuan, it's still daytime."
The sun was shining brightly in the sky, and what Zhou Yuan was about to do was really going too far.
Chen Qing covered his clothes and hid by the bed.
Zhou Yuan held his hand, his voice low and deep: "I just miss you so much."
Chen Qing's heart melted instantly. While listening to him speak, Zhou Yuan had unknowingly moved closer to him.
If you miss the first opportunity to escape, you won't be able to escape later.
In the moment before he lost his mind, Chen Qing thought that the old saying was true: don't be too soft on a man.
When he woke up again, it was completely dark. The lights were on in the room, and Zhou Yuan squatted down to pack his luggage.
It was as if he had eyes in the back of his head; he would immediately turn around at the slightest movement from Chen Qing. Under the flickering oil lamp, Chen Qing saw his big white teeth and his happy smile.
Chen Qing: ...
"I steamed some egg custard for you." Zhou Yuan sat on the edge of the bed and helped Chen Qing up. It was September, and the weather wasn't so hot anymore. Chen Qing was covered with a thin blanket, but when he sat up, the blanket slipped down, revealing the bluish-purple marks on his body.
Chen Qing's skin was much whiter than his exposed skin, making it easy to leave marks. Zhou Yuan felt his throat tighten again and looked away.
"You can't do that again next time," Chen Qing said reproachfully. "It's broad daylight; it wouldn't look good if others found out."
"Why should I care what others think? What couple doesn't do this? I haven't seen my husband in so long, what's wrong with me being a little anxious?" Zhou Yuan said indifferently.
Chen Qing's cheeks flushed red. She raised her hand and gently slapped him, then asked, "Did you see your mother when you came back today?"
Zhou Yuan nodded: "You went there after you fell asleep and told your mother about your godmother. Your mother insisted that I bring some eggs back."
Chen Qing smiled. He hadn't noticed how quickly the chickens laid eggs in the past few years, but this year the egg baskets had been full. In the past, you had to be careful about the days when you could eat an egg; you could only eat them during holidays. Now, he could eat them whenever he wanted.
Chen Qing seemed to remember something, then leaned against Zhou Yuan: "My mother asked me the other day when we were going to have a child."
Zhou Yuan was taken aback; he had never thought about this question before. So he turned the question to Chen Qing: "What about you? When do you plan to have children?"
Chen Qing shook his head: "I don't know, I'm a little scared, and I'm not prepared."
Zhou Yuan knew what he was afraid of. Although Chen Qing was already twenty-two years old this year, in Zhou Yuan's eyes, he was still like a child. If he were to take care of a child now, he would probably be flustered and overwhelmed.
“We did all that before and the child still didn’t come. It seems he thinks we’re too poor for now,” Zhou Yuan said with a smile. “Let’s just let things take their course. What do you think? He can come whenever he wants.”
They had reached an agreement on the matter of the child, and Chen Qing breathed a sigh of relief before starting to eat the steamed egg custard.
After finishing his steamed egg custard, Chen Qing's back was still sore. Zhou Yuan put the bowl back in the kitchen and then made Chen Qing lie down so he could massage his back. However, as he massaged, his hands became a little inappropriate. Chen Qing, who was feeling drowsy from the massage, immediately became alert and grabbed Zhou Yuan's mischievous hand.
Zhou Yuan leaned on him and said, "Look, it's already dark. If we do it now, no one will know."
"No way." Chen Qing was adamant, because Zhou Yuan had severely bent his back.
Zhou Yuan rolled off Chen Qing, propped his head up, and looked at him: "I haven't seen you in so long..."
Chen Qing looked away, determined not to repeat the mistake he made that afternoon.
“Aqing…”
Chen Qing covered his ears.
Zhou Yuan reached out and pulled him into his arms: "Are you still able to sleep right now? You slept all afternoon."
Chen Qing, with his eyes closed, said, "I can sleep."
"We just ate, let's digest a bit," Zhou Yuan persisted.
Chen Qing: ...
"Zhou Yuan, you're so annoying." Chen Qing rested her forehead on his shoulder.
“I’m really happy.” Zhou Yuan kissed his forehead. “Now when I go out, there’s someone at home waiting for me. Before, it was just my grandmother. After she passed away, I was all alone. Aqing, it’s so good to have you.”
Chen Qing recalled his past, when he and his grandmother depended on each other for survival. Thinking back to himself, he realized that at least when he was young, he had received love from his father and stepfather.
Sensing Chen Qing's loosening, Zhou Yuan tentatively reached out and unbuttoned Chen Qing's shirt without resistance. Zhou Yuan then turned over, his lips brushing against Chen Qing's, and mumbled, "I knew A-Qing cared about me..."
Forced to feel sorry for Zhou Yuan until almost midnight, Chen Qing became even more determined never to feel sorry for Zhou Yuan again!
Feeling sorry for a man will only bring you trouble!
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