Chapter 60
After Zhou Yuan returned, he didn't have a moment's rest. The day after he came back, he took Meng Qi and Meng Shuanzi back to the county town.
Zhou Yuan used all his savings to take over Zhenwei Escort Agency in the county town. When he went to pick up Li Xin and the others, he also brought back two truckloads of goods from Yunxi Town. This time, he didn't sell them in small quantities; he gave them all to Xiankelai. The money from this sale was just enough to cover the entire escort agency's expenses during this period.
The entire escort agency operates very smoothly. Zhou Yuan is not like he is in front of Chen Qing when he is outside. He has a bad temper outside. If there are troublemakers in the agency who are dissatisfied, he will not say much and just give them money to leave.
No one turns down money, so after a period of turmoil, Zhenwei Escort Agency got back on track.
This means that Zhou Yuan is going on another long trip.
When Zhou Yuan discussed it with him, Chen Qing had already accepted the reality that he would have to spend less time with Zhou Yuan in the future.
In the dim light, Chen Qing helped Zhou Yuan pack his bags. After packing the bundle, he climbed onto the bed and found his own purse in the box by the bedside. The purse was heavy.
He emptied his purse, and a lucky charm landed in his palm, along with some copper coins and tiny silver particles.
The copper coins were earned by Chen Qing from selling handkerchiefs and such, and the silver particles were given to him by Zhou Yuan.
"Take them all with you. They say a poor family should travel with plenty of money. There's nothing at home that requires spending money." Chen Qing simply put all the purses into his bundle.
Zhou Yuan took out his purse again: "I don't need to spend any money. All expenses will be paid from the escort agency's account, so don't worry about me."
Chen Qing rarely showed any emotion on his face: "But I'm just worried. It's always good for you to bring it."
Zhou Yuan cupped his face and kissed him on the lips: "Okay, I'll listen to you and bring them all."
In fact, as the owner of Zhenwei Escort Agency, Zhou Yuan didn't need to travel far from home often. However, this time, the amount of silver being escorted was very large, and the head escort requested that Zhou Yuan accompany him.
After packing his luggage, Zhou Yuan took down the knife he had been hanging on the wall. After being reforged by Li the blacksmith, the knife was so sharp that it could cut through iron like mud. Zhou Yuan cherished it and would take it out from time to time to wipe off the dust.
Although he accepted Zhou Yuan's ambition, Chen Qing couldn't help but worry.
"Don't be afraid, we have experienced镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) with us. They've been doing镖 (escorts/escorts) for so many years, there won't be any problems."
Chen Qing nodded, but his eyes still held worry.
“While I’m away, you can go visit Li Xin or stay at your parents’ house to keep her company. Would that make you feel better?”
Zhou Yuan reached out and pulled him into his arms: "Next spring, I'll take you out again, and we'll go to a place even further away."
Chen Qing nestled in his arms and nodded. Zhou Yuan put him down, then carefully placed the packed luggage in the corner of the room before starting to take off his clothes.
Chen Qing knew what he was going to do as soon as he saw his movements, so he subconsciously crawled to the inside of the bed.
But the deeper they went, the more they fell into the hunter's trap.
The red gauze curtains used during the wedding have been replaced, and no matter what Chen Qing does, he can't reach his lifeline.
Only during the brief moment of calm after the storm did Chen Qing say, "We agreed on just this once. I'll get up tomorrow to see you off."
"Okay." The man on top of her seemed unaware of what he had just agreed to.
Zhou Yuan seemed to enjoy watching him climb, always pulling him back by the ankle just when he thought he had escaped. Through his blurry eyes, Chen Qing saw a somewhat wicked smile on Zhou Yuan's face.
This was an expression Zhou Yuan would never normally show; only Chen Qing could see it.
Soon Chen Qing was caught up in another heavy rain, leaving him no time to think about anything else.
The next day, Chen Qing couldn't get out of bed. Zhou Yuan kissed him for a long time by the bedside, and only left when he realized there wasn't enough time left.
After Zhou Yuan left, Chen Qing couldn't sleep anymore. He turned to his side, touched the spot where Zhou Yuan had slept, and closed his eyes to rest for a while.
Zhou Yuan's departure wasn't actually that difficult to endure, and Chen Qing also had many things he needed to do.
He would get up early to cook for himself and sweep the yard. He would take the cow out to graze, and after returning, he would run to Grandma Sun's place to help her with the housework. Sometimes he would eat with Grandma Sun, and sometimes he would go to see Li Xin.
After returning from Yunxi Town, Zhang Yin's illness was completely cured. Sometimes Chen Qing would see her hoeing the ground in front of her house.
Chen Qing went over to help, and Zhang Yin said, "Dr. Yu said that I am now no different from an ordinary person. It would be bad if I were to be lazy and inactive all the time."
They trusted Dr. Yu completely. At first, Li the blacksmith disagreed with Zhang Yin working so hard, but after hearing Li Xin say the same thing, he reluctantly agreed. Zhang Yin wanted to farm, but their land had already been rented out, so they could only level a plot of land for her to grow some vegetables.
Half a month after Zhou Yuan left, Li Xin began to learn blacksmithing from Li the blacksmith.
When Chen Qinggang heard about this, he was stunned and stood there for a while before he remembered to go to Li the blacksmith's shop to find him.
The shop was located some distance from the village because the sound of blacksmithing was too noisy, but it was on a main road. A flag fluttered by the roadside, which read "Li Family Blacksmith Shop".
As they approached, they could hear the clanging sound of blacksmithing.
Before even stepping into the shop, Chen Qing felt a wave of heat hit him. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and saw Li Xin holding an iron hammer, repeatedly hammering the things in front of her, without even having time to wipe her sweat.
When Li Xin saw him arrive, she stopped what she was doing and asked with some surprise, "Aqing, what brings you here?"
Chen Qing looked at his flushed face and said, "I came to see you."
Li Xin walked away from the stove and pulled Chen Qing outside to talk: "It's hot inside, let's talk here."
Chen Qing looked at him and asked, "Where's Uncle Li?"
Li Xin pouted and said, "He went back to stay with my mother, and now he's completely shirking his responsibilities."
Chen Qing held a handkerchief and wiped his sweat: "Are you tired?"
Li Xin nodded: "It was a bit tiring at first. I couldn't even lift my arms for the first few days. My dad said that as long as I could get through it, it would be fine."
He lifted his shirt, revealing his arm: "Look, these are my hands. Taking down Zhou Yuan now wouldn't be a problem."
"Why did you suddenly start learning blacksmithing?" Chen Qing asked.
Li Xin laughed: "Back in Yunxi Town, when I saw Manager Tian, I felt like I was always living in a daze, not knowing what I wanted to do. After spending more time with him, he taught me not to be bound by what I am, whether I am a boy, a man, or a woman. But in the end, I am just myself. I will do whatever I want."
After he finished speaking, the smile on his face faded a little: "My father's health has actually not been very good these past few years, especially during the time we went to get treatment. He worked day and night forging iron. I didn't want my mother to get better and then my father to get sick again."
Chen Qing grabbed his hand. It turned out that Li Xin's hands didn't have calluses before, but in the past few days, his palms had developed many calluses, and his once fair and tender hands were now covered with scars.
Chen Qing felt a tightness in his chest; he felt sorry for Li Xin, but it was Li Xin's own choice, and he was happy as long as she was.
"Don't worry about me, I also like blacksmithing, I find it fascinating." Li Xin put on her carefree smile again. "If you're free lately, come keep me company, anyway, my cheap older brother isn't home."
Chen Qing nodded: "Okay, I'll bring you meals from now on."
Days passed by like this, and it seemed that there were no cool and pleasant autumn days in Luohe Village. By the time people realized it, the weather had already turned cold.
While the weather was still relatively cool, Chen Qing cut a lot of grass for the cow, dried it, and piled it in the woodshed. He also took advantage of Li Xin's rare day off from blacksmithing to go up the mountain and collect a lot of firewood. Although Zhou Yuan had previously said that they could buy charcoal in the winter, Chen Qing was used to being frugal and still felt that firewood was more suitable for them.
After Zhou Yuan left, Chen Qing lived a very regular life. In the morning, he would do some work with Aunt Sun, and then go down to the shop to find Li Xin. He brought his sewing basket with him. While Li Xin was forging iron, he would embroider handkerchiefs on the side. In the past few days, he had already embroidered several handkerchiefs.
While Li Xin was drinking water, he came over to take a look and said that Chen Qing's handkerchiefs were getting better and better. Chen Qing himself didn't feel that way; the handkerchiefs he embroidered were nothing more than some flowers and birds.
Li Xin didn't really know how to appreciate things, but he said, "Holding this handkerchief, I know you're thinking about my cheap older brother!"
Chen Qing blushed. He didn't deny that he had indeed intended to give these handkerchiefs to Zhou Yuanxiu.
Li Xin reached out and ruffled his hair: "Let's go to town tomorrow. I need to buy some things. Take the handkerchief with you. Haven't you been selling handkerchiefs in a long time?"
Chen Qing nodded. Ever since the shopkeeper said that his handkerchiefs weren't very unique, he hadn't been back. Come to think of it, it had been over a year...
“Then let’s go tomorrow. If the shopkeeper dares to lower your price, I’ll beat him up with my fists that are as big as sandbags.” Li Xin raised his somewhat muscular arms and swung his fists twice.
Chen Qing readily agreed. He was going to town anyway, as Grandma Sun had been coughing a bit these past few days, and he needed to go there to get some medicine.
The day they went to town was the first day of the eleventh lunar month. If you think about it carefully, Zhou Yuan had been gone for almost two months. They didn't know if he would be able to come back for the New Year.
The two of them drove the oxcart to town. Along the way, they hitched rides with some people, and Li Xin charged them one or two coins for the ride. In the past, Chen Qing wouldn't have dared to say a word; he would have just let others take advantage of him.
But now that Li Xin is by his side, and thinking of Zhou Yuan, he can also say that he wants to take money.
When they arrived in town, they went to sell handkerchiefs first. The shopkeeper was somewhat surprised when he saw how Chen Qing made them.
He looked at Chen Qing: "This husband of mine is..." He wanted to say it was a second spring, but because of the young man next to him, he didn't dare to say it.
"Shopkeeper, just name a price," Li Xin said impatiently.
"Twenty coins per piece," the shopkeeper said.
Li Xin thought about it and felt it was acceptable, but she still bargained with the shopkeeper and finally managed to get the price down to 28 coins per handkerchief. Chen Qing brought five handkerchiefs, which came to a total of 140 coins.
Chen Qing looked at Li Xin with bright eyes. Usually, the shopkeeper would only charge him fifteen coins for the handkerchiefs he embroidered.
"It's because you embroidered it so well," Li Xin said.
Chen Qing, clutching his purse, saw someone selling candied hawthorns by the roadside and bought one for him despite Li Xin's objections.
Li Xin licked the candied hawthorn while scolding Chen Qing: "Making a handkerchief is so tiring, and it only sells for twenty-odd coins. You still bought me this candied hawthorn. You have too much money to burn."
They also mentioned that they were too busy this year to go up the mountain to pick mushrooms and wild fruits. There are plenty of wild berries on the mountain, and they can make them themselves, which is cheaper and more cost-effective than buying them.
Chen Qing wasn't upset by his scolding. The two of them went to the pharmacy hand in hand. Chen Qing wanted to buy some cough medicine such as licorice and loquat leaves. These medicines were common and inexpensive. They waited at the counter to have the medicine packaged when they heard a familiar voice coming from behind them.
"It's just a common knife wound, nothing serious. Just change the dressing every two days."
"Thank you, doctor."
Chen Qing's eyes widened; he could clearly hear Zhou Yuan's voice coming from inside the room.
He didn't care about anything else, nor did he think about whether someone was watching him. He lifted the curtain behind the clinic and met Zhou Yuan's eyes, who was sitting to the side.
Chen Qing's gaze shifted downwards and he saw the white bandage on Zhou Yuan's arm, with a few faint red stains on it.
Zhou Yuan: ...
Li Xin ran over with the medicine and saw Zhou Yuan, as well as Qi Shuning standing next to him like a quail.
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