Chapter 141
Originally, Xiao Zhuang’s family had been preparing enthusiastically for the wedding arrangements. However, after this incident, they didn’t want to leave the house anymore. Every time they did, people would ask them about it.
Perhaps those people didn’t have bad intentions, but just mentioning the matter made Xiao Zhuang’s family feel uncomfortable. Xiao Zhuang’s mother even fell ill and stayed in bed, crying every day.
Qiu Henian asked Xiao Zhuang to take a few days off and rest, but Xiao Zhuang refused. He kept himself busy in the shop, which eased his mind a bit.
Xiao Zhuang had indeed grown up. Although he felt sad inside, keeping busy with work helped him cope. When others asked about his marriage, he could only smile bitterly and laugh it off.
When there were no customers in the shop, Xiao Zhuang brewed tea and brought it over to his master.
Qiu Henian noticed a large blister on Xiao Zhuang’s lip and sighed, saying, “Since things have come to this, don’t get worked up. Later, your master and I will inquire again for you. We’ll surely find a suitable match.”
Xiao Zhuang shook his head and said, “Master, please don’t worry about me. I’ve come to terms with it. Whether I can get married or not, I’ll let nature take its course.”
Just two days after Xiao Zhuang said this, the neighboring village stirred up trouble again.
A man from that village came to Xiao Zhuang’s father and said that there was another child in his family who hadn’t been married off yet and had just turned eighteen. He wanted Xiao Zhuang to return the betrothal gifts taken earlier.
Xiao Zhuang’s father couldn’t make decisions at home, so he went back and discussed it with Xiao Zhuang’s bedridden mother. After hearing the proposal, Xiao Zhuang’s mother felt that the other family was despicable.
However, she also saw some benefits for their family. One benefit was to proceed with the marriage as planned, finding a way to save face. Another was to avoid further embarrassment and difficulty in finding another match if they canceled again.
When Xiao Zhuang returned home, his parents explained the situation. His siblings also agreed, and the whole family became excited.
Xiao Zhuang was more cautious this time. After thinking for a while, he said, “I should inquire more before making a decision. I can’t be rash dealing with these people.”
His parents, although anxious, also realized the necessity of this approach.
Once the decision was made, Xiao Zhuang went to gather information. However, what he found out nearly infuriated his mother.
It turned out that the man’s so-called youngest son wasn’t his biological child at all. He was a stray child picked up during a war years ago.
Originally, the man intended to raise and sell him, but the boy was weak and frail. No one was interested, so he ended up staying in their household as a servant.
The man had no intention of marrying him off, but now he saw an opportunity to marry him off instead of his daughter and get back the betrothal gifts.
“What a greedy person!” Xiao Zhuang’s mother gritted her teeth.
“He’s calculating everything down to the last penny. Although our family is ordinary, we won’t tolerate such mistreatment. If he dares to come again tomorrow, you and your siblings should kick him out!”
Xiao Zhuang nodded tightly with furrowed brows.
The next day, that man shamelessly showed up again.
He not only came by himself but also brought the adopted son along.
As soon as the boy entered, he stood in a corner like a lost soul. His robe looked oversized on his emaciated body, which swayed inside the robe. He was so thin that he resembled a dried corn stalk swaying in the autumn wind.
Xiao Zhuang glanced at him, and the boy immediately lowered his head, almost trying to hide in the wall.
His face was so gaunt that it was hard to make out any features.
Before the man could finish his explanation, Xiao Zhuang strode to the courtyard’s warehouse, grabbed a shovel, and charged back towards the house.
Seeing this, the man shut his mouth immediately. With a shout, he fled the house and dashed out of the courtyard.
Xiao Zhuang turned back to look at the trembling boy in the corner. Shaking violently like a fallen leaf in autumn, the boy couldn’t move under his fierce gaze.
Taking a deep breath, Xiao Zhuang put down the shovel and averted his gaze, no longer looking at the boy.
The boy trembled as he slowly shuffled towards the door. As he reached the doorstep, he stumbled and fell with a loud thud.
It seemed like a hard fall, but he quickly got up, as if the fall had sobered him up. He ran out of the courtyard as if escaping for his life and disappeared from sight.
…
In the evening, two oil lamps were lit in the house. Qingyan and Qiu Henian sat at the table, one sewing a cotton cloth bib for the child, and the other repairing a broken wheel on a toy car.
After having children, their free time had decreased significantly. They were genuinely tired at times, but as parents, they cherished every moment.
Jindou and Ah Miao were happily playing on the bed, giggling.
Qingyan and Qiu Henian were busy with their tasks, occasionally glancing at them. The room was warm, and they also made sure to regularly give the children water to drink.
After a while, Jindou suddenly exclaimed, “Daddy, Father, Ah Miao vomited!”
The two immediately got up and rushed to the bedside. They saw Ah Miao hunched over on the mattress, dryly heaving.
Qiu Henian quickly picked Ah Miao up and placed her on the floor. Ah Miao seemed to understand that she shouldn’t vomit on the bedding and promptly vomited several times on the floor.
Jindou’s little face tensed up, almost crying with worry.
Qingyan also furrowed his brows and said, “Maybe she has too many fur balls in her stomach. We haven’t given her any cat grass in a while.”
Ah Miao looked uncomfortable as she lay on the ground after vomiting. Qiu Henian squatted down, checked what she had vomited, and gently felt Ah Miao’s stomach.
Standing up again, he said, “Ah Miao seems to be pregnant.”
Qingyan was surprised for a moment, then crouched down to touch it. The belly of the little cat was noticeably larger now.
At this moment, it didn’t seem uncomfortable anymore. When its owner touched it, the little calico cat flipped over, exposing its soft belly, meowing softly.
Seeing the subtle changes on her fur belly, Qingyan knew that the cat was most likely pregnant.
Jindou squatted beside his father, seeming to understand vaguely, and reached out to touch Ah Miao’s furry belly.
Qingyan held his little hand, guiding him to be gentle, and said, “We need to be even nicer to Ah Miao from now on, she’s going to be a cat mommy.”
Jindou’s fluffy eyes sparkled, and he exclaimed, “Jindou will have little brothers and sisters!”
Qingyan heard Qiu Henian chuckle behind them.
He shook his head helplessly and said, “If we’re talking about generations, the kittens Ah Miao gives birth to would be your nephews and nieces.”
Jindou blinked his eyes and stood up. He held Qingyan’s hand with one hand and tugged on his father’s hand hanging by his side with the other.
Just like his father, he swayed back and forth with a small habit and asked, “When can Jindou have little brothers and sisters?”
Qingyan hadn’t expected him to ask this and was momentarily stunned.
Qiu Henian crouched down, pinched Jindou’s face, and asked, “Did Grandma tell you about wanting little brothers and sisters?”
Jindou blinked his eyes again and said in a childish voice, “Grandma told me not to tell you.”
To induce labor, Aunt Li has gone to great lengths.
Qiu Henian laughed, and Qingyan smiled and patted the child’s head, saying, “Alright, we’ll keep it a secret from Grandma. We won’t tell her we know.”
After saying that, Jindou went carefully to touch Ah Miao again, and Qingyan looked up at Qiu Henian with a playful look.
Qiu Henian raised his hand and pinched his chin, laughing as he got up and went back to the table to continue working on the small toy car.
When it was almost time, Qingyan took Jindou to wash up, took off his outer clothes, and went to bed.
Ah Miao also jumped onto the bed, snored next to Jindou’s face for a while, found a comfortable position, and lay down.
Qingyan got out of bed, blew out the oil lamp beside the bed, and sat down at the table to continue his work.
The two of them were busy on their own, occasionally chatting or helping each other with the wheels of the toy car or pulling the threads, creating a warm and quiet atmosphere.
The heaviness in their hearts from Xiao Zhuang’s matter had dissipated over the past few days.
When they were almost done, the two husbands washed up one after another and prepared to go to bed.
Qiu Henian finished tidying up first, leaned against the head of the bed to read, Qingyan wiped his face with a cloth, applied ointment evenly on his face, walked to the edge of the bed, and sat down facing him.
Qiu Henian put down his book and looked at him.
Qingyan smiled at him and leaned over to kiss him on the lips. Qiu Henian smelled the faint fragrance approaching, but it quickly receded.
Qingyan stood up from the edge of the bed without saying a word, just glanced back at him, and then walked out of the room to the door.
Qiu Henian heard the door next door click, maintained the posture he had just now for a while at the head of the bed.
Afterwards, he finally got out of bed, put on his shoes, and chased after him.
There was no oil lamp lit in the room next door, and the clothes were thrown at the end of the bed. Qingyan honestly lay in bed with the quilt covering up to his chin.
Qiu Henian sat down at the edge of the bed, and one hand reached under the quilt.
Not long after, Qingyan’s eyes became moist.
Qiu Henian bent over and kissed his eyelids, whispering, “Are you worried after seeing the kittens in the cat’s belly?”
Qingyan didn’t say a word, just lifted his head and opened his lips to reach for the other’s lips.
But Qiu Henian withdrew slightly, causing Qingyan’s attempt to fail. Qingyan looked at him aggrievedly, but the hand under the quilt was not as indifferent as his expression.
Qingyan couldn’t help but hum, his cheeks slightly flushed.
Qiu Henian’s face approached him again, his voice hoarse as he asked, “Do you really want another child so badly?”
Qingyan came back to his senses from the daze and nodded decisively, “I do.”
Qiu Henian looked at him for a while, finally lowered his head, and kissed those full and enticing lips.
After kissing for a while, Qingyan was almost driven crazy by the hand under the quilt. He wanted to raise his hands to hug the man’s neck and press him towards himself.
He thought Qiu Henian wouldn’t easily let him succeed, but as soon as he raised his hands, the other person lowered his body, making it easy for him to hold him.
The two faced each other, Qiu Henian’s eyes were dim, saying, “If you really want it so much, I’ll give it to you.”
Qingyan was as happy as a little bear who had finally tasted honey.
He bumped his forehead against the man’s forehead and asked, “This time, do you want a boy, a girl, or a brother?”
Qiu Henian’s Adam’s apple moved, saying, “Let’s leave it to nature.”
After saying that, he pulled open the quilt, and Qingyan eagerly welcomed him. Qiu Henian lifted his obscene clothes, and with a smooth move, he successfully entered.
…
The next day, Xiao Zhuang told his master about the family sending a little boy over, and his master’s wife and neighbor Aunt Li were also present.
Aunt Li listened and said seriously, “Xiao Zhuang, our family doesn’t have any prejudice against small families. But you mustn’t be confused about this matter. This family is deliberately taking advantage of our ignorance. Your marriage hasn’t been formalized, and after a while, no one will mention it anymore. But once you marry that boy, people will talk behind your back for the rest of your life, gossiping about your family. It’s not worth it!”
Xiao Zhuang furrowed his brow and said, “Hmm.”
Seeing that he understood, Aunt Li didn’t say more.
Qiu Henian instructed, “Don’t have any dealings with this family in the future. If they come to pester you again, let me know and I’ll talk to them.”
Xiao Zhuang nodded, “Yes, Master.”
As soon as he finished speaking, that night, Xiao Zhuang closed the blacksmith shop door, walked out not far, and felt like someone was following him.
He turned around and saw a ragged beggar standing not far away. Although the weather was gradually warming, it was still quite cold.
The beggar was barefoot, with thin clothes patched on top of each other.
Xiao Zhuang felt a bit unbearable when he saw him. Remembering there were leftover steamed buns from lunch in the shop, he waved to the beggar, signaling him to come over and follow him back to the shop.
The beggar was visibly happy when he saw Xiao Zhuang waving at him. He jogged over, his tattered clothes billowing in the wind, and his thin body inside looked as skinny as the stalks of late autumn corn swaying.
His running posture seemed familiar to Xiao Zhuang.
In a short while, the man ran up to Xiao Zhuang. He was panting, with a pointed chin and large eyes, his cheeks sunken, making it impossible to discern his appearance.
He smiled timidly at Xiao Zhuang, clearly afraid of him, but still took two steps closer bravely.
Then, in Xiao Zhuang’s astonished gaze, he suddenly knelt down with a thump, gripping Xiao Zhuang’s shoes tightly, and said, “Please, I beg you, marry me!”
