Chapter 64
Zhou Yuanzheng couldn't take it seriously anymore. Ever since he was injured, Chen Qing had been saying that his hand was injured or that he was too busy tomorrow and needed to conserve his energy. In short, he wouldn't let Zhou Yuanzheng touch him.
Now that he can carry a pig with one hand, Chen Qing will definitely not find any other reason to refuse him.
After dark, they ate dinner at Aunt Sun's house and then carried the jar of lard home.
Zhou Yuan put the lard jar into the kitchen and lit a fire to boil water. After winter arrived, they would soak their feet every night. Chen Qing, due to his constitution, always had cold hands and feet in winter, so soaking his feet at night was also beneficial.
Zhou Yuan had his own selfish reasons, so he boiled more water. He bought a hot water bottle from the county town and put it in his bed before going to sleep, so he wouldn't be freezing when he first got into bed.
Zhou Yuan boiled water, and after the water was hot, Chen Qing came to pour hot water on the hot water bottle: "Why did you boil so much water?"
Zhou Yuan just smiled at him and didn't say anything.
Seeing that the water was at the right temperature, Zhou Yuan added some firewood to the stove, then bolted the gate to the yard, checked around, and headed towards the bedroom.
Chen Qing sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for Zhou Yuan to bring the water for washing his feet. Zhou Yuan placed the water on the bedside, and Chen Qing took off his shoes and put his feet in. The water was a little hot, so he touched it lightly and then moved it away.
Zhou Yuan moved a stool and sat opposite him. He was more resistant to heat, and his big feet were soaking in the basin. Chen Qing put his feet on top of Zhou Yuan's feet, moved them away and put them back. Only when the water wasn't so hot did Zhou Yuan press Chen Qing's feet down.
Chen Qing raised his head, his eyes smiling.
After soaking his feet, Zhou Yuan went to pour out the water, and Chen Qing climbed into bed. He took off his clothes while huddled under the covers because it was too cold outside.
Before Chen Qing had finished taking off his clothes, Zhou Yuan slipped into the blankets, bringing a cool breeze that made Chen Qing shiver. Then Zhou Yuan pulled him into a tight embrace.
Feeling the heat emanating from Zhou Yuan, Chen Qing shrank back, only to be pulled away again by Zhou Yuan.
He hugged her tightly, his voice low as he whispered in Chen Qing's ear, "I'm healed, and I won't be busy tomorrow."
Chen Qing's heart was pounding. He placed his hand on Zhou Yuan's chest and made an excuse, saying, "I'm cold."
“I’m always drenched in sweat.” Zhou Yuan reached into his clothes. “There are still more than half of the books in that booklet by the bed that I haven’t tried yet.”
Chen Qing's face turned bright red. He buried his head in the blanket, and Zhou Yuan followed. His lips brushed against Chen Qing's neck and slowly moved downwards.
The blanket covered Chen Qing's panicked breathing. He froze abruptly, reached out to grab Zhou Yuan's hair, but then realized he had no strength left in his hand, and his hand just landed lightly on Zhou Yuan's hair.
Chen Qing had no idea that the booklet contained such torturous methods. By the time Zhou Yuan crawled out of bed, Chen Qing was already in tears.
Zhou Yuan had endured for too long and wouldn't be fooled by Chen Qing's pitiful act: "Qing, the night is still long."
Chen Qing was now suffering in silence and somewhat regretful, wishing he hadn't ignored him for so long.
In the latter half of the night, Chen Qing could no longer hold on and fainted. The water in the kitchen had cooled down, so Zhou Yuan put on his clothes and went to reheat the water. He then carefully washed Chen Qing before letting him sleep peacefully.
Chen Qing couldn't get out of bed the next day, and for the next few days he didn't want to talk to him.
However, with the end of the year approaching, they also need to start preparing for the New Year. It seems that there are no major events this year, and they can spend the New Year leisurely.
Li Xin was very busy as the year drew to a close, and Qi Shuning also set up a stall in the village ancestral hall to write Spring Festival couplets. They weren't too expensive, only two coins per couplet. Everyone in the village knew that he had passed the imperial examination and become a scholar, so it was considered a good omen.
Qi Shuning delivered the Spring Festival couplets he had written for them to their home early in the morning. Grandma Sun carefully put them away, planning to put them up again in a few days.
On the 26th of the lunar year, Li Xin finally got a real break. She made an appointment with Chen Qing to go shopping for New Year's goods on the 27th. Qi Shuning had finished writing the Spring Festival couplets in the past few days, so she went with them.
“We plan to spend the Spring Festival with my parents this year. Things have gone relatively smoothly this year, and I like a lively celebration,” Li Xin said.
Chen Qing paused for a moment before asking, "Is this okay?"
He didn't want Aunt Sun to spend the New Year alone, and he also wanted to spend the New Year with her. However, in his hometown, married men and women were not allowed to return to their parents' home for the New Year. Even divorced men and women who returned to their parents' home had to avoid going out for the New Year. It was said that if they spent the New Year at home, it would affect the fortune of their parents' family. In particular, if the parents' family had brothers, they would be even less likely to allow married women to return for the New Year.
Li Xin didn't take it seriously: "You mean to talk about those 'cursing' things, right? If Niu Niu really thinks I'm cursing him, I'll spank him until his butt is sore."
Chen Qing smiled and pursed his lips: "I was just asking."
Li Xin could tell what he was thinking just by looking at his expression: "Your two families live so close together, why don't you just ask your aunt to come to your house for the New Year? Don't try to find a way out of this dead end."
Chen Qing suddenly understood, and he leaned close to Li Xin's ear again: "Doesn't he mind?" He was referring to Qi Shuning.
"He listens to me no matter what he disagrees with."
Chen Qing looked at Li Xin. If Li Xin had a tail, it would be sticking up in the air right now. He moved away from Li Xin.
Then he saw Qi Shuning sitting next to Zhou Yuan, glancing back from time to time. Chen Qing thought for a moment and switched seats with him.
When Qi Shuning came over, Chen Qing saw a patch of bruises on his neck.
Having been married for so long, he naturally knew what it was. He secretly gave Li Xin a thumbs up in his heart. Thinking of himself, he realized that he was the one who always had marks on his body. It was Zhou Yuan's thick skin that made it so that he didn't feel any pain when Zhou Yuan pinched him.
Chen Qing sat down next to Zhou Yuan, who took his hand and kissed it. Chen Qing quickly pulled his hand away; his hand was short and chubby, and he still had chilblains on it. He didn't know how Zhou Yuan had managed to kiss it.
Once they arrived in town, they split up to explore. Qi Shuning went to buy writing brushes and ink, while Zhou Yuan and Chen Qing went to buy snacks and fruits.
Chen Qing said, "Can we invite Mom to our house for New Year's Eve dinner this year?"
“Of course, you can do whatever you want,” Zhou Yuan said. “I don’t believe in any superstitions or curses. I took you away from your mother, so naturally I will take care of her with you.”
Chen Qing gripped Zhou Yuan's hand tightly and kissed it.
Zhou Yuan was overjoyed. In his excitement, he wanted to buy clothes for Chen Qing, so he took him to a clothing store to buy clothes.
Since their marriage, he has bought Chen Qing a lot of clothes. Every time he went out, he would buy some clothes for Chen Qing. He did not forget that on his wedding day, when he saw his empty closet, his first thought was to buy Chen Qing lots and lots of clothes.
After buying clothes, they bought some things for the New Year. After that, they waited for Li Xin and the others by the oxcart. Zhou Yuan suddenly remembered that they had forgotten to buy some seasonings that Aunt Sun had asked for, so he asked Chen Qing to wait there while he went to buy them.
Chen Qing sat on the oxcart, his eyes fixed on the direction leading to the street.
Suddenly, Chen Qing saw a man who was from the Sun family who had tried to kidnap him last time. He didn't know his exact name, but he was one of Aunt Sun's nephews.
He looked flustered and glanced around. Chen Qing didn't realize what was happening and their eyes met. Chen Qing quickly looked away. Fortunately, Sun Wei seemed to be in a hurry to do something and didn't come up to cause him any trouble.
A short while later, Zhou Yuan returned with Li Xin and the others. Seeing that Chen Qing's expression was off, they quickly went over to carefully examine him.
Chen Qing held Zhou Yuan's hand and shook his head at him: "It's nothing, I just saw someone."
"Who?" Zhou Yuan was still uneasy.
"It's my mother's nephew from her maternal family. I saw him in a great hurry."
Zhou Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief and drove the oxcart back home.
On the way, Chen Qing forgot about the matter, but Zhou Yuan kept it in mind and thought he would find out about it when he had time, nipping the danger in the bud.
After returning home, Chen Qing went to discuss the New Year's arrangements with Aunt Sun, while Zhou Yuan stayed home organizing the things they had bought.
“How can that be? You two are celebrating the New Year by yourselves. What would it look like if I went with you?” After hearing Chen Qing’s purpose, Aunt Sun firmly disagreed.
"If you don't come to our house, then we'll eat here with you," Chen Qing said, linking arms with Aunt Sun.
Grandma Sun pinched his arm lightly: "Nonsense."
"Mom, Zhou Yuan bought too much food, we can't finish it all, and I cook by myself, so please help me." Chen Qing already knew how to manipulate Aunt Sun, and after much coaxing, she finally agreed.
The winter night was quiet. Chen Qing slept soundly with his head on Zhou Yuan's shoulder, completely unaware that Zhou Yuan had gotten up once during the night.
Zhou Yuan is a light sleeper at night, which is closely related to his experience in the military camp. In the military camp, one must always be on guard against enemy attacks, so when he heard footsteps outside the courtyard, Zhou Yuan put on his coat and got up.
He didn't turn on the lamp, but as he walked to the courtyard wall, he saw a furtive figure.
Chen Qing said he had met Sun Wei in the morning, and then Sun Wei sneaked into their village that evening.
Sun Wei, as if he had eyes in the back of his head, turned around and met Zhou Yuan's gaze before he even reached Aunt Sun's door. Sun Wei had been punched by Zhou Yuan before, so he took off running before Zhou Yuan could even make a move.
Zhou Yuan rolled his eyes and decided to resolve the matter by dawn.
Chen Qing had no idea what had happened yesterday. He was only taken aback when Zhou Yuan said he was going out today: "Then come back early. I'll be waiting for you to come back and put up the couplets."
"Go to your mother's for lunch. I might not be able to come back at noon." Zhou Yuan kissed his cheek, then told Chen Qing to rest for a while and go out by himself.
When Zhou Yuan arrived in town, he found Wang Wu, who was there, treated him to a drink, and inquired about Sun Wei's situation.
It turns out that after being jilted by his fiancé, Sun Wei became somewhat depressed and somehow got involved with the local thugs. He went to gambling dens with them, initially enjoyed some success, but then started losing.
Upon hearing that he had lost twenty taels of silver, Zhou Yuan realized that Sun Wei had come to their house last night to steal money.
Zhou Yuan recalled the year-end social interactions at the escort agency, which included the manager of this gambling den in town. Zhou Yuan thanked Wang Wu and then went to the gambling den.
By the time Zhou Yuan resolved the matter, it was almost dark. He hurried home, making sure to bring Chen Qing the last basket of meat buns on his way, which he kept in his heart.
Chen Qing stood at the gate of the courtyard waiting for him. He only breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the sound of the oxcart. When he went to meet him, he was afraid that he had been beaten up again like last time. After carefully checking that he was not injured, he was relieved.
Zhou Yuan didn't want to hide it from him: "Last night, while you were asleep, I saw Sun Wei acting suspiciously outside my mother's house. I went to deal with it today."
Chen Qing was startled: "Is Mother alright?"
“It’s alright, with me here, he didn’t dare to do anything.” Zhou Yuan patted his hair. “I contacted the manager of the gambling den in town and asked them to keep an eye on the Sun family for me, so I came back a little late.”
Chen Qing looked at him, thinking that if it weren't for Zhou Yuan, he might have been living in constant fear, but Zhou Yuan would have taken precautions and nipped the danger in the bud.
Did you leave me some food? I'm a little hungry.
Chen Qing helped him tie up the cow and fed it hay. Then Chen Qing said, "This afternoon, I chopped minced meat with my mother and made meatball soup. We used mushrooms that the twins dried. It was so delicious."
Zhou Yuan pulled out a meat bun from his pocket: "These are for you. There are only a few left. The boss is going home for the New Year and won't be setting up his stall anymore."
Although Zhou Yuan had kept it in his arms, it had gotten a little cold. Chen Qing took a bite, and it still tasted just like he remembered.
Back in the room, Chen Qing brought Zhou Yuan a bowl of warm meatball and mushroom soup, along with three flatbreads.
Zhou Yuan ate his pancake and meatball with relish, while Chen Qing sat next to him, nibbling on his steamed bun. Zhou Yuan would occasionally feed him a sip of soup.
A dim lamp, two people who love each other, a quiet and warm moment.
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