Chapter 137
When it was time to sleep, Liu Fa’s wife and Qi Yinglan took the two children back with them.
Now there were only the two husbands left at home. When Qiu Henian took off his robe, he discovered a bruise on his arm, fortunately without breaking the skin.
Seeing this, Qingyan quickly got off the bed to help him inspect it. Fortunately, it was just a frightening bruise, with some red marks on his back but nothing serious.
Qingyan asked Qiu Henian to sit at the edge of the bed while he searched for ointment in the drawer below. He asked Qiu Henian to hold it as he applied the ointment with one hand.
After applying it, Qingyan gently blew on the bruise. Qiu Henian chuckled and set the ointment aside, then hugged Qingyan around the waist and made him sit on his lap.
Sitting in his embrace, Qingyan said, “It’s suddenly so quiet at home, it’s a bit unusual.”
Qiu Henian said, “After we come down from the mountain tomorrow, I’ll go to Old Liu’s place and bring Jindou back.”
Qingyan murmured in agreement, but lowered his head with a slightly furrowed brow, still worried.
Qiu Henian reassured him, “Don’t worry, with so many people together, nothing will happen. The black bear was just leading its cub, and the villagers won’t harm it. They’ll just drive it deeper into the forest, so we won’t encounter it on our way again.”
Qingyan nodded, feeling reassured.
After a tender moment between them, Qiu Henian asked, “Is it time to sleep?”
Qingyan buried his face in Qiu Henian’s neck and shook his head.
Qiu Henian asked, “Should I read to you?”
Qingyan still shook his head.
Before Qiu Henian could ask further, Qingyan lifted his head and found his lips, kissing him.
Qiu Henian hesitated for a moment and then lifted Qingyan’s head, kissing him back.
After a while, Qingyan lay back on the bed, his clothes disheveled, his eyes watery as he looked at the man on top of him.
Qiu Henian softly asked, “Is your hand hurting?”
Qingyan shook his head, “I’ll be careful not to touch it.”
Qiu Henian pressed down gently, Qingyan wrapped his good hand around his neck, and placed the bandaged hand on his cheek.
In moments of passion, his mind went blank. Qingyan forgot about his hand, and the pain came back, making him moan.
The man held his wrist firmly, and the other hand also held his wrist, straightening his arm and tying it above his head.
Qingyan was so overwhelmed by passion that he couldn’t move, only able to strain his chest in futile effort.
…
The lamp flickered, and the rain gradually stopped.
Qingyan’s arms were sore, and the man held his wrist gently, carefully placing it back on his cheek.
Warm kisses enveloped him, and Qingyan weakly responded.
After a long kiss, the man left his body, rolled over, lay beside him, took a few breaths, then turned over, pulled up the blanket at his feet, and covered Qingyan.
Qingyan murmured, “Hot,” so the blanket was only pulled up to his abdomen.
Qiu Henian lay back on his side, not feeling so passionate and satisfied for a long time. He was somewhat absent-minded, his gaze unconsciously scanning over the smooth skin revealed by the person beside him.
Qingyan’s leg was bent, the other leg relaxed on the mattress, from the calf to the thigh, the lines were beautiful. Moving upward to the thigh, there was a round and full buttock.
After looking for a while, Qiu Henian reached out and grabbed it. Perhaps it hurt when he grabbed it. Qingyan turned his head, half complaining and half shyly glanced at him. Qiu Henian was enchanted, lifting the blanket he had just covered Qingyan with, then covered him again.
This time, he remembered to put Qingyan’s injured hand on top of his head first.
…
After another round, Qingyan was too tired to keep his eyes open. He let the man manipulate his body, clean him up, dry off, cover him with a blanket, and soon fell asleep.
After all the tossing and turning, the lingering fear and anxiety in his heart finally dissipated.
Early the next morning, before the sun had fully risen, Qiu Henian quietly finished packing and went out. San Yao was already waiting outside the courtyard gate.
Qingyan slept until daylight. Feeling muddled, he heard movement outside the outer room and thought it was Qiu Henian.
Casually putting on a shirt, he slipped on his shoes and opened the inner room door.
As soon as he opened the door, he met eyes with Aunt Li. Aunt Li had finished cooking noodles and was about to knock on the door to wake him up.
Her gaze swept in surprise over the marks on Qingyan’s chest that weren’t covered properly. Qingyan quickly adjusted his clothes, and Aunt Li covered her mouth and smiled.
After laughing, to avoid embarrassment for Qingyan, she said, “The noodles are cooked. It’s the braised eggs and persimmons you like.”
Qingyan thanked her and hurried into the inner room to tidy up his clothes.
During the meal, Aunt Li had already eaten and sat next to him chatting, saying, “With San Yao as your brother, it’s good to have each other to take care of things at home. Jindou is alone, and when he grows up, he won’t have anyone to help him in a fight.”
Qingyan couldn’t help but laugh. The words Aunt Li said were similar to what his grandmother used to urge his mother to have a second child.
When Qingyan was a child, he thought he was fine. All the good food and fun at home belonged to him alone. When he grew up and saw other children with siblings, he envied them, especially in his situation. If his parents had another child back then, maybe he wouldn’t have had such a hard time, as Aunt Li said, at least there would be someone to take care of each other.
Aunt Li said, “Don’t just laugh. Tell Auntie what you think. If you want, I’ll talk to Qiu Henian about it whenever I can.”
Qingyan smiled and said, “If you want me to say it, then I will!”
Aunt Li chuckled as soon as she heard it, clapping her hands and saying, “That’s right!”
…
A couple of hours after finishing lunch, the villagers who went up the mountain returned.
Qingyan looked towards the road from his doorstep. A man approached him and said, “Brother Qiu and the others are moving slowly with the cart. They’ll be back a bit later.”
Qingyan relaxed a bit and asked, “Did you find the black bear?”
The man nodded and replied, “We searched in several teams. Liu the hunter’s team found a tree hollow deep in the woods, quite far away. The black bear and its cub have returned to hibernate in the hollow. It seems the bear has eaten something, and they probably won’t come out again before spring.”
“That’s good then,” Qingyan finally felt completely relieved.
Qingyan couldn’t get his hand wet, so Aunt Li helped him prepare dinner. When they were almost done, they heard a noise at the courtyard gate.
They opened the door and saw that Qiu Henian and San Yao had opened both doors. Seeing them at the outer door, they waved at them.
Afterwards, the two turned and went out again. Shortly after, a horse-drawn carriage was slowly led in.
Qingyan’s eyes lit up, calling out “Xiaozao,” and hurried over to greet them.
Xiaozao looked plump and strong, with bright big eyes, showing no signs of being thin or weak.
“Dad!” From the carriage, Jindou saw Qingyan and reached out his little hand for him to hold him.
Qingyan patted Xiaozao’s head and then went around to pick up Jindou, holding his in his arms and saying with a smile, “What delicious things did you eat at Zhaungzhuang’s house? How did you gain weight?”
Jindou, in a childish voice, said, “I ate all of Zhaungzhuang’s food.”
Qingyan praised, “Zhaungzhuang is so sensible. You should play well with Zhaungzhuang in the future.”
Jindou nodded, looking at his dad with his big, bushy eyes. Qingyan quickly understood and said with a smile, “Our Jindou is also very sensible. Even without Dad or Father around, he behaves well, neither causing trouble nor crying.”
Jindou was satisfied then.
Aunt Li also came out of the house and listened nearby, laughing and patting Jindou on his little bottom.
All the things in the cart were there, packed tightly.
Qiu Henian lifted the tarp and suddenly a small shadow darted out, startling Aunt Li.
Qingyan saw it and exclaimed happily, “It’s Ah Miao!”
That day, before they descended the mountain, they hadn’t found Ah Miao in the bedding on the cart. Qiu Henian had opened the tarp at the time but didn’t see it, assuming it had run far away like Xiaozao, frightened.
They couldn’t do anything about it at the time, so they had to give up.
Qingyan thought Ah Miao would never come back, but he didn’t expect it had been hiding on the cart all along. It was just too rushed that day and they hadn’t noticed.
The little calico cat jumped off the cart and came to Qingyan’s feet, rubbing against his legs.
Qingyan bent down and picked it up into his arms.
San Yao came over to look closely at Ah Miao and said in surprise, “I just said I heard movement on the cart. This cat looks sleek and doesn’t seem hungry at all.”
Qiu Henian jumped onto the cart to look and said, “It’s the fried small yellow fish leftovers in the oiled paper. Ah Miao ate most of it.”
Qingyan lowered his head and rubbed Ah Miao’s head, saying, “Ah Miao is so smart.”
Luckily, the cart was left on top of the mountain at that time. Otherwise, even if it didn’t starve, with the cold nights on the mountain, the calico cat’s fur wouldn’t have been enough.
Aunt Li also came over to touch the fur on Ah Miao’s back, sighing, “Surviving a great disaster brings good fortune.”
She wasn’t just talking about the little calico cat but also about the family of three.
The ordeal had passed, and although there was inevitable fright, fortunately the couple only suffered minor injuries, Jindou was unharmed, Ah Miao and Xiaozao were safe, and all their belongings were intact. They were very lucky.
…
A couple of days passed, and it was almost New Year’s Eve.
This year, just before New Year’s Eve, Aunt Li’s young granddaughter came back. She had been longing to play with her little brother Jindou, who was finally able to accompany her. The two children had several years’ age gap but got along very well.
Nannan knew many games that Jindou had never heard of.
Jindou toddled behind Nannan, calling out “Big Sister Nannan” every now and then. The scene was sweet, showing his admiration for her big sister.
Nannan was also very happy.
While playing, she held Jindou’s little face in her hands and praised, “Jindou, you are so handsome and well-behaved. Big Sister likes you the most!”
Jindou smiled with narrowed eyes, sharing all his delicious and fun things with his sister.
Qin Lan remarked, “Jindou is not stingy at all.”
Aunt Li glanced at Qiu Henian and said meaningfully, “With a big sister to play with, Jindou is so happy. If he had been alone at home every day, it wouldn’t have been so interesting.”
Qiu Henian didn’t say anything at first, but when he noticed Aunt Li watching him, he smiled and said, “Yes.”
With just these simple words, Aunt Li became spirited and began enumerating the benefits of having siblings for children. Qiu Henian could only agree repeatedly.
Qingyan couldn’t help but laugh quietly beside them, reaching under the table to sneakily hold his hand.
Qiu Henian listened attentively to Aunt Li’s chatter, holding Qingyan’s hand in return, gently rubbing his thumb on the back of his hand.
After a while, Qingyan looked at the table and said, “This scallion braised lamb is delicious. Aunt, how did you make it?”
Only then did Aunt Li shift her attention and began to explain the recipe for the dish.
Under the table, Qiu Henian lightly squeezed Qingyan’s soft hand, silently expressing his gratitude.
Qingyan smiled again, planning to tell him later that Aunt Li’s encouragement had been at his behest.
