Chapter 85 Extra 1
Once the winter month is over, the end of the year is approaching.
This year's New Year seems to be more vibrant and full of life because of the arrival of new life.
This year we didn't raise pigs, so the pork for making cured meat was all bought from the butcher. Three pieces of pork belly were used to cook salted meat porridge. On ordinary days, the pork belly was boiled and sliced until translucent, and it was also very oily when stir-fried. The piece of pork snout was the most chewy and delicious. The pork ribs that were salted, air-dried, and stewed with mushrooms were absolutely amazing.
The festive atmosphere of the New Year arrived without anyone noticing. Chen Qing's belly was already showing. He was wearing a loose-fitting jacket, with rabbit fur sleeves tucked into his hands, and squatting by the vegetable garden waiting for Aunt Sun to pick pea shoots for him to make pea shoot meatball soup.
In two days, Meng Shuanzi will be getting married to Qin Xia. Zhou Yuan has been helping them these past few days. With the end of the year approaching, it's another happy occasion. Chen Qing's face relaxed, and all he could think about right now was eating delicious food.
"Look how hungry they are." After picking the pea shoots, Aunt Sun went back to the kitchen to chop meat and make meatballs. Chen Qing put down his sleeves and sat by the stove to tend the fire.
“I went to see An’an and Ningning today. They’re getting prettier and prettier. I can’t really tell who they look like.” Chen Qing added a piece of firewood.
The sound of chopping meat wasn't bothersome, and Aunt Sun stopped: "I think An'an and Ningning will look like Qi Shuning."
"They all look good anyway." Chen Qing cupped his face, feeling really tempted, and quietly moved behind Aunt Sun to reach into the kimchi jar.
As if she had eyes in the back of her head, Aunt Sun grabbed Chen Qing's hand, somewhat exasperated: "Other people who are pregnant are craving all sorts of delicious food, but you're so useless, just staring at my kimchi jar."
Chen Qing picked up a pickled green bean and ate it, then gently patted his stomach: "I'll have the kids grow vegetables for you in the future."
"Oh no, please! I cherish this precious child so much, how could I let her come with me to grow vegetables?"
As the water in the pot boiled, Aunt Sun chopped the meat, added an egg, salt, and ginger for seasoning. After the water with ginger slices boiled, Chen Qing removed the firewood from the stove. Then, Aunt Sun shaped the meat into meatballs and put them into the pot.
Once the meatballs are cooked, blanch the pea shoots in the boiling broth, and the soup is ready. On the other side, fresh rice is steaming in a pot, and its fragrant aroma is making Chen Qing's mouth water.
But Zhou Yuan hasn't returned yet.
Aunt Sun noticed his intention to hit him and immediately served him a bowl of soup with a few meatballs and a handful of pea shoots floating on top: "You eat first, there's so much left in the pot, we're saving it for him."
When Zhou Yuan came back for dinner, Chen Qing ate some with him. His appetite had increased recently, and he didn't feel full even after eating another bowl.
"Is everything almost ready?" Aunt Sun asked.
"That's about it. The only problem is that they can't live together before the wedding, and Qin Xia doesn't have a place to stay yet." Zhou Yuan has never been picky about food. Seeing that they had all stopped eating, he finished off all the remaining dishes on the table.
After thinking for a moment, Aunt Sun said, "You can stay here with me. Aqing's old house hasn't been moved."
Chen Qing looked over, thinking that Aunt Sun was just being polite, but Aunt Sun smiled and said, "It's good to have someone to talk to."
He looked at Zhou Yuan, who nodded: "Then I'll tell Shuanzi in a bit."
After lunch, Chen Qing and Aunt Sun went to see Li Xin and the child. They walked slowly and leisurely to Li Xin's door.
In winter, they dared not take the children out, but only let them play indoors. Chen Qing entered the house with ease and saw two children lying on the bed. Li Xin was holding a sewing basket in her hands, as if she was doing embroidery.
When Chen Qing went in, Li Xin quickly put the basket away as if she were burying her head in the sand. Chen Qing then laughed and said, "Want to do some needlework?"
When Li Xin saw it was him, he was no longer embarrassed: "This embroidery needle is heavier than the iron hammer used for blacksmithing." He held out his hand for Chen Qing to see, his fingers covered with tiny needle marks.
"Don't the children have enough clothes? I happen to have some free time these days, can I make them a couple more outfits?" Chen Qing asked.
Li Xin scratched her head, somewhat embarrassed: "Well, I didn't make anything for the children at all. I feel a little... I don't know how to say it. Besides, you made most of their clothes. It's not good for you to work so hard every day."
Chen Qing thought for a moment: "Then from now on, will you embroider names on all the clothes I make for them? Embroidering names shouldn't be too difficult, right?"
"Then can you teach me again?"
They spent the entire afternoon holed up in the room learning needlework, not even noticing when Qin Xia arrived. When Qin Xia greeted them, the two of them simply responded with a single sentence.
Seeing that they were focused, Qin Xia went around to the side to watch the child. An'an woke up at that moment, and Qin Xia stretched out a finger, which An'an grabbed, babbling softly.
After Chen Qing finished talking to Li Xin, he spoke to Qin Xia: "We're getting married soon."
Qin Xia showed no embarrassment as he looked at Chen Qing and said, "Yes, I came to thank you."
"Thank me for what?"
"Shuanzi said that my aunt agreed to let me marry into her house, which was originally your place."
Chen Qing laughed: "What's wrong with that?"
Qin Xia suddenly stood up: "How about I recognize my aunt as my godmother? From now on, we'll be brothers."
Li Xin clapped her hands and said, "I think this is appropriate."
Qin Xia was a decisive person, and she immediately escorted Chen Qing back to Aunt Sun's place and explained her thoughts.
"No need, the house is empty anyway, I'll just share in the joy."
Qin Xia was stubborn: "Anyway, I have no relatives or friends here. If I quarrel with Shuanzi in the future, I won't even have anywhere to go. Auntie, please have pity on me since I'm all alone."
As Grandma Sun grew older, her heart softened, and perhaps remembering her past self, she finally nodded.
So dinner was made more lavishly, with Chen Qing and Zhou Yuan as witnesses. To show their filial piety, Qin Xia cooked all the dinner that night.
“In the past, I only knew how to give. I felt that they gave me life and raised me, and I should repay them.” Qin Xia took a sip of wine. “So no matter how much they asked for, I felt that it was what I should do, even if they didn’t treat me like a human being.”
For Qin Xia, the past is not like a fleeting cloud; those hardships have never truly passed for him.
“When I came here, I discovered that relationships between relatives aren’t all about giving and taking.” He smiled. “Although Shuanzi’s mother always complains about me, she actually cares about me a lot most of the time. Everyone here is wonderful.”
He raised his wine glass again and held it out to Grandma Sun: "I'll call you 'Mother' first, from now on you're my mother."
"Drink slowly," Grandma Sun said helplessly, and drank a cup with him.
"I will take good care of you, Chen Qing and I will take good care of you together." After just three cups of wine, Qin Xia was drunk, and he slumped onto the table, feeling dizzy.
Chen Qing was dumbfounded. Finally, he and Aunt Sun helped the person into the house, and then the three of them talked.
"He's a pitiful child. I hope Shuanzi won't let him down in the future." Grandma Sun took a bite of her food.
Zhou Yuan glanced at the outside of the courtyard and then said, "Stop hiding, come out."
Meng Shuanzi then came out somewhat embarrassed: "Auntie."
"How long have you been here?" Aunt Sun asked.
Chen Qing went to the kitchen and got him a new set of bowls and chopsticks. Meng Shuanzi scratched his head and said, "I haven't been here long, and I wanted to come and take him home."
"He's asleep," said Aunt Sun. "He's getting married in a few days, so he can't stay under the same roof anymore. Tomorrow, pack his things and put them here."
Meng Shuanzi nodded: "Thank you, Auntie."
After dinner, Zhou Yuan and Meng Shuanzi washed the dishes and cleaned up. Chen Qing felt a bit sore in his back and went home to lie down. Zhou Yuan returned shortly afterward.
After he helped Chen Qing wash up, he climbed into bed and cuddled her as they slept. His hand unconsciously rested on Chen Qing's lower abdomen. Since the time Chen Qing was on bed rest, he had developed the habit of talking to the baby before going to sleep, and today was no exception.
Just as Zhou Yuan called out, the area under his palm twitched slightly. Zhou Yuan stared at Chen Qing's stomach in disbelief, called out again, and Chen Qing's belly twitched again.
This was the first time the two of them had felt the baby move. Chen Qing was also very excited, and his eyes were filled with tears: "He moved."
Zhou Yuan moved a little closer, pressing his ear against Chen Qing's stomach, but the baby didn't want to pay attention to them and wouldn't move. Zhou Yuan gently tapped Chen Qing's stomach: "Go to sleep."
He got up and kissed Chen Qing's cheek: "You should get some rest too."
Three days later, it was Qin Xia and Meng Shuanzi's wedding day. Qin Xia recognized Meng Shuanzi as her godmother that day and moved into the house where Chen Qing used to live.
He was Aunt Sun's godson, so Chen Qing was naturally his family. He stayed with Aunt Sun from early morning.
Qin Xia's wedding dress wasn't embroidered by herself; it was a style from the town. Even so, Qin Xia was already very satisfied.
Chen Qing asked him, "Are you nervous?"
Qin Xia shook her head and laughed: "I'm not nervous, what's there to be nervous about?"
Li Xin arrived shortly after. He rarely left his two children to go for a walk, and the three of them were chatting animatedly inside.
Li Xin returned with his booklet and solemnly handed it to Qin Xia. Qin Xia glanced at it and nodded to Li Xin.
As the wedding day approached, Aunt Sun came into the room. Qin Xia hadn't tied her hair up yet. Aunt Sun looked at the wooden comb on the dressing table, knowing that Qin Xia was waiting for her to comb her hair.
"I... I'm not very lucky," Aunt Sun said, withdrawing her hand. "I won't comb your hair anymore."
Qin Xia stood up and took Grandma Sun's hand: "When Chen Qingcheng got married, you were the one who combed his hair, weren't you?" He shook Grandma Sun's hand, "Don't be biased."
Helpless, Aunt Sun could only help him tie his hair up as well.
The wedding was very lively. Grandma Sun sat in the main hall again, while Chen Qing and Li Xin mingled in the crowd, watching the ceremony conclude with great joy.
Zhou Yuan arrived shortly after. He touched Chen Qing's palm; it was warm. As night fell, he told Shuanzi and then took Chen Qing home.
"I'm so happy to see them get married." Seemingly sensing Chen Qing's renewed joy, she also stirred.
Zhou Yuan spoke to the child again: "It's so late, why aren't you asleep?"
Chen Qing felt a lump in his stomach again, and he patted it gently: "We went to bed late today, shall we rest right away?"
His voice was soft, and his lowered eyelashes resembled thin feathers. Zhou Yuan's Adam's apple bobbed, and then he looked at Chen Qing: "How about we don't rest so early? I think..."
He whispered in Chen Qing's ear, "I've read the pamphlet; there are other methods. Shall we try them?"
Chen Qing's face turned red, and it took him a while to nod slightly.
The night was deep and the room was warm and cozy.
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