Chapter 78
On the fifteenth of August, they stopped in a small town and took a break from their busy schedules to admire the bright moon.
Before long, Chen Qing fell asleep on Zhou Yuan's shoulder. Zhou Yuan stopped looking at the moon; he was a rough man and didn't know what was so interesting about it. He'd rather spend that time looking at Chen Qing.
Chen Qing was unaware that Zhou Yuan had been watching him for most of the night. When he woke up the next day, he was still rubbing his eyes. Zhou Yuan thought about it and decided to switch to a horse-drawn carriage in town, otherwise it would be dangerous for Chen Qing to sleep while riding a horse.
For some reason, Chen Qing, who was always frugal, agreed. Perhaps it was because Zhou Yuan had been holding him while he slept on horseback and he hadn't been sleeping well.
With the carriage, Zhou Yuan bought him a lot of snacks and put them in the carriage. However, Chen Qing didn't want the snacks, but he bought a lot of the town's specialty, a kind of pastry called sour jujube cake.
The journey went smoothly from there. On the third day of the ninth month, they finally arrived in the county town to retrieve the things that Meng Qi and the others had left behind. After asking around, they learned that Meng Qi had gone out again, this time with his wife.
Meng Shuanzi did return to the village, after all, he still had to deal with Qin Xia's affairs, and there might even be a wedding soon.
When they returned to the village, it had changed dramatically. When they left, the second round of rice seedlings had just been planted, and the village was lush and green. When they came back, the rice ears had already sprouted, and the seedlings had turned yellow.
Yellow signifies harvest in autumn.
The horse stopped at the gate of the courtyard. Chen Qing stepped into his own yard and finally felt like he was standing on solid ground. He took a long breath and smelled the earth, the mountain wind, and the river in the air. This was his hometown.
"Aqing! You're back?" Grandma Sun was just about to go out when she saw the person standing at the door. She quickly dropped what she was holding and ran over.
Chen Qing was also very happy to see Granny Sun, and helped her up as she came over, saying, "Mother."
Grandma Sun gently touched his face and then pinched his arm: "You're perfectly fine, you haven't lost weight."
Chen Qing smiled happily: "I've been fine the whole way."
He led Grandma Sun into the house. The house was tidy and dust-free. The cows were not in the cowshed. Grandma Sun said, "Li Xin went to herd the cows for you."
Chen Qing's eyes widened: "Isn't he about to give birth? And he's still herding cattle for me?"
"There's still a month left. The doctor said he needs to walk around more, otherwise it will be very dangerous during childbirth." Before Aunt Sun could finish speaking, Li Xin returned with the cow.
"I was wondering why my left eye had been twitching all day. Turns out someone came back." It wouldn't be accurate to say that Li Xin was herding the cattle; Li Xin was just following behind Niu Niu, and Niu Niu was the one doing the herding.
Chen Qing quickly went over to help him, and Aunt Sun also brought out a chair for him to sit on.
Li Xin was a little out of breath, mainly because her belly was so big. Chen Qing had been gone for so long, and her face had become rounder, but her limbs hadn't changed much. It was just that her belly was frighteningly large.
"Stop looking." Li Xin, still with her fiery personality, said, "Come and touch it."
Chen Qing carefully placed his hand on Li Xin's belly, and the baby inside her moved as if it could sense it.
"He moved!" Chen Qing quickly withdrew his hand. "Did I hurt him?"
Li Xin found it funny and burst out laughing.
Zhou Yuan and Niu Niu tied up the oxen and horses, then came over to sit down. Remembering the things they had brought back, they moved a table over and poured all the novelties onto it.
Li Xin's eyes lit up when she saw the sparkling gems and colorful silk scarves: "Are they for me?"
"Choose the one you like," Chen Qing said.
Li Xin was overwhelmed by the choices, and Zhou Yuan asked again, "Has Shuning already gone to Yuancang Prefecture?"
Li Xin nodded: "I'm going. The autumn examination is on the fifth day of the ninth month, it'll start in the next couple of days."
Chen Qing asked, "Did the doctor say when you're due? Is it still possible for him to give birth in time?"
Li Xin gently patted her belly: "The doctor said that it should have been early October, but because it's twins, it might be earlier."
"Then he won't make it in time."
Li Xin said calmly, "What's the point of bringing him back? Can he help me have a baby or something? Just focus on his exams."
He glanced at the things on the table again, and without being polite, picked out a lot of things he liked that his child could use and wrapped them up: "You can take me home later."
They then recounted what had happened in the village during this period.
"The rice harvest is about to begin, and threshing is hard work," Li Xin said. "I heard the old foreman say that you have to beat the grains with a lot of force to get them off. It's so tiring."
Grandma Sun nodded in agreement: "I saw a few days ago that the village chief was having a carpenter make something, it looked like a big basket with a curtain on top, but I don't know what it was for."
“But Auntie, it seems like the rice in your field ripens the first,” Li Xin said. “Fortunately, they’re back, so you can relax a bit.”
"There's no rush. Let them rest first." Grandma Sun originally thought that if Chen Qing and the others couldn't come back, she would harvest the rice herself first, and then ask the villagers for help with threshing.
Back in the village, Chen Qingcai felt a sense of reality. Upon reflection, he realized there was still much to do, and he felt that this kind of life suited him best.
However, he was very tired from traveling, and Aunt Sun cooked dinner for him. He ate a few bites quickly and then said he was sleepy, so Aunt Sun told him to go to sleep first.
The next morning, Zhou Yuan took Chen Qing up the mountain. Each of them carried a hoe, intending to dig a grave for their two fathers on the mountain.
Although Chen Qing said he wanted to do it himself, Zhou Yuan absolutely refused to let Chen Qing do the work alone. This was his duty as a son-in-law. If he let Chen Qing do everything, what would he be?
Chen Qing laughed and dug the pit with him, and they agreed to have the stonemason make the tombstones when they had time: one for his grandmother, one for his father and great-grandfather, and one for Meng Tao.
Previously, there were no conditions for this, but now that there are, the deceased should be given priority.
Seeing that the pit was finished, Chen Qing took out a purse from his pocket and carefully put it into the pit: "Father, Uncle, Luohe Village is very nice. There is no sandstorm, and the mountains and rivers are beautiful."
“From this spot, you can see my house if you look down the mountain.” Chen Qing pointed down, “That’s the spot; you can see me at a glance.”
They then filled the pit, and the two knelt in front of the grave. The firecrackers were bought by Meng Qi and the others when they came back. Now that the firecrackers had gone off, Chen Qing and Xia Xi would have no further connection.
On the way down the mountain, Zhou Yuan offered to carry him on his back, so Chen Qing lay on his back and called out, "Zhou Yuan."
"Um?"
"Happy," Chen Qing said.
"stupid."
"Hehe." Chen Qing chuckled, "Everything is fine now."
*
After finishing that, she cleaned the house inside and out, and washed all the sheets and blankets. Now, while hanging up the clothes, Aunt Sun came over with meat and vegetables: "I thought you had just come back and had nothing to eat, so I brought these for you."
"Thank you, Mom. I'm really craving it." Chen Qing had only eaten casually for the past two meals since he came back, but he really missed the home-cooked meals.
Grandma Sun laughed at him, "I've never seen you so hungry before, you must have been craving food for a long time."
At noon, Chen Qing cooked a dish of braised pork, served with steamed cornbread. Chen Qing ate a huge bowl of it, which surprised Zhou Yuan, as he usually doesn't eat that much.
"It seems that in Aqing's heart, even the most exquisite delicacies are not as good as a bowl of home-cooked food," Zhou Yuan laughed at him.
Chen Qing stepped on his foot under the table, and after a while, Li Xin slowly walked over.
"Why are you here again?" Zhou Yuan was alarmed to see him with his big belly, afraid that he might fall or hurt himself. He said this to him, but he had already prepared a chair for him.
“I’m so bored at home. It’s so rare for Aqing to come back. After you all go to work tomorrow, I’m going to go to the fields to keep an eye on things.”
Chen Qing followed him out, saying, "I was shocked when I saw your belly."
Li Xin sat down and gently patted her belly: "I wonder if the babies know their dad is taking an exam, they've been chirping non-stop all morning."
"We're connected by blood," Chen Qing said.
Li Xin felt a little regretful: "If it weren't for having a child, I should have gone with him. I don't know how he is. He's such a silly person, I wonder if he can't even find the exam venue."
"Don't worry too much," Chen Qing said. "You have to believe in him. He's an adult. How could he be so foolish as to get third place?"
While the two of them were chatting, Zhou Yuan went with Aunt Sun to check on the harvest in the fields.
"Tell me quickly, what have you encountered along the way?" Li Xin grabbed Chen Qing's hand.
Chen Qing stood up: "Let me pour you a glass of water first."
After pouring the water, Chen Qing began to tell him about the people and things he had encountered along the way.
"How can your family be so shameless? Our Aqing has really suffered." Li Xin squeezed Chen Qing's hand. "Fortunately, he met his aunt, met me, and that cheap older brother. Things will get better from now on."
Chen Qing nodded.
"What about your enemy? Have you taken revenge?" Li Xin was also someone who hated evil and naturally hoped that bad people would be punished.
"No," Chen Qing shook his head. "He died long ago."
Li Xin felt a little regretful, but then comforted him: "Not everything in this world is something we can do as we please. As long as bad people get their comeuppance, that's enough."
At this point, Chen Qing added, "Do you know how he died? It was..."
Chen Qing continued talking non-stop, and Li Xin's eyes widened: "What a coincidence! You said you met Dr. Yu and Dean Fu's child?"
"Yes, he's the Vice Director's son. I heard he's going to Yuancang Prefecture to inspect the examinations." Chen Qing's eyes lit up when he talked about them, especially when he mentioned Chen Zixi.
“I think he’s a lot like you. You’re both so carefree,” Chen Qing said, his eyes filled with envy.
Li Xin moved closer to him and gently patted his face: "Aqing, don't envy others. Everyone has their own unique strengths. You are you, one of a kind."
Chen Qing blinked: "I understand."
Li Xin added, "By the way, Meng Shuanzi brought a boy home, you know? His family is making a huge fuss about it now."
"What? His mother won't allow him to marry Qin Xia?" Chen Qing asked with some concern.
“It’s not that we don’t allow it, it’s just that it’s so sudden, and his mother can’t accept it right away,” Li Xin said. “She just feels that people from such a far place as Xiaxi are unreliable, and she’s afraid that they might run away again one day.”
Chen Qing nodded: "His mother's worries are not without reason. I think he only came with us in the first place because he wanted to leave that place."
"Chen Qing! You're back?" A not-so-standard dialect rang out outside his courtyard wall. Chen Qing turned around and saw Qin Xia standing at his door.
Chen Qing was stunned. Sure enough, you shouldn't talk about people behind their backs.
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