Chapter 152
On the last day in Shadong, Qiu Henian loaded all the goods that Qingyan had selected at the Persian’s shop onto the cart.
They bought enough food for the journey. Xiaozao ate his fill, and the family of three began their journey back home.
They weren’t in a hurry and stopped overnight in a town midway to rest. The next night, they continued on their way.
When they returned to the village, it had been about ten days since they left. Aunt Li had been taking care of their home, and all the little animals had grown plump.
Jindou hugged Lamb Mimi’s neck, rubbed against her for a while, then went to hug Ah Miao and the little rabbits one by one, kissing each affectionately.
Passing through Chongyu County again on their return journey, Qingyan bought a lot of braised pig’s trotters to bring back, sharing some with Aunt Li and Qiuniang.
In Muling County, Shen Min had already taken his portion. Qingyan sent it over when Er Yao went to the county the next day. Fortunately, the weather wasn’t too hot, so the food could be kept.
Seeing the goods Qingyan brought back from the Persian, Aunt Li and Qiuniang couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration, eager to immediately stock them on the store shelves to see how they would sell.
They sorted out the things brought back in the afternoon, and the tired family of three went to bed early that night.
Jindou was afraid of the dark and hadn’t fallen asleep yet, so the oil lamp remained lit. Ah Miao half leaned on Jindou’s little arm, feeling heavy.
Jindou touched her soft belly fur for a while. Qingyan thought he had fallen asleep and propped himself up to look, only to see a strange expression on the child’s face.
His little mouth was wide open as he said, “Daddy, Ah Miao kicked me in from its belly.”
Qingyan was stunned and tentatively touched Ah Miao’s belly. When he looked at Qiu Henian, he too wore a look of astonishment and said, “It’s true.”
Qiu Henian got up and also felt her belly, saying, “Ah Miao should be giving birth soon, probably within the next few days.”
Upon hearing this, Jindou’s eyes lit up immediately.
Qingyan said, “Tomorrow we need to prepare a small delivery room for Ah Miao.”
Jindou didn’t fully understand but knew it was for the birth of little kittens, so he wanted to help too. Qingyan agreed.
Jindou became excited, and the couple spent quite some time calming him down before he fell asleep.
When the oil lamp went out, the couple lay down and fell asleep in each other’s arms, exhausted.
Upon their return, their home suddenly became much busier.
The next day, knowing they had returned, several people from Liu’s family came over, making it lively and bustling.
Qingyan distributed the things he had bought for the children of both families, and they chatted about their experiences outside. At mealtime, the whole family returned home.
Qingyan also bought things for Xiao Jiuliang from the neighboring Chen Yu’s house. When he brought them over, Chen Yu was quite happy.
The two children played on the floor, and Chen Yu poured tea for Qingyan, asking how his trip had been. Qingyan knew his temperament and replied that it was alright, without anything particularly interesting or fun.
Sure enough, Chen Yu seemed quite satisfied, saying, “In my opinion, why spend money going out when you could buy a few good clothes and some delicious food.”
Qingyan nodded in agreement.
“Oh, by the way,” Chen Yu looked at the robe Qingyan was wearing, “Do your shop still have those out-of-season clothes like the last time, similar to what you’re wearing?”
Qingyan smiled and said, “Yes, if you have time, bring Xiao Jiuliang to the shop to take a look. I’ll give you a good deal on anything you like or that Xiao Jiuliang can use.”
Chen Yu became even happier.
…
The second day after their return, Xiao Zhuang and Wu Shuang also came over for a visit.
Qingyan noticed that compared to the last time they visited, Wu Shuang looked healthier. His cheeks had filled out, and he no longer looked so empty. It seemed he was living well at Xiao Zhuang’s home.
However, while they chatted for a while, Qingyan felt that something was off between Xiao Zhuang and Wu Shuang.
Every time Xiao Zhuang looked at Wu Shuang, it seemed like he was avoiding his gaze. Despite often serving him food and even giving him his outer jacket when it got windy, Qingyan felt something was amiss.
After the newlywed couple left, Qingyan quietly mentioned this to Qiu Henian.
Qiu Henian said, “Xiao Zhuang is an honest person and wouldn’t mistreat Wu Shuang. They’ve only been married for a short while, so they probably need some time to adjust. It’s not something we can intervene in; let’s just let things take their course.”
Qingyan agreed and didn’t dwell on it further.
……
Xiao Zhuang and Wu Shuang came out from Master and Madam’s house. They had lunch at Master’s house at noon, so there was no need to deliver food again.
Wu Shuang told this to Xiao Zhuang and went home by himself without any hesitation.
Xiao Zhuang watched his figure leave, feeling an urge to call him back at that moment. But he didn’t know what to say if he stopped him, so he had to suppress this desire.
Back at the shop, Xiao Zhuang didn’t think about anything else, focusing on work.
Master would come to the shop tomorrow. Although Xiao Zhuang was not young anymore and could become an apprentice, he was still very afraid of Master. After finishing the work, he cleaned the shop thoroughly from inside to outside, making sure everything was spotless, before locking the door and going home.
Entering the courtyard gate, he first greeted his mother. His mother was cooking dinner, and Wu Shuang and Little Ling were helping.
Xiao Zhuang’s father and younger brother were probably still in the fields and should be back soon. Xiao Zhuang glanced at Wu Shuang sneakily, and when Wu Shuang approached, warmly helping him wipe his hands and face with a towel.
His mother looked very satisfied on the side. When his mother turned to cook, after wiping his hands and face, Wu Shuang went to wash and hang up the towel without looking at Xiao Zhuang again.
When Xiao Zhuang’s father and younger brother returned with their hoes, the meal was ready, and the whole family gathered to eat together.
Their family used to be very poor, and they couldn’t afford much meat or fish for a meal. At most, they added some lard when stewing vegetables.
Later, when their family situation improved a bit, Xiao Zhuang’s mother thought about building a house for the children and getting married, but she still didn’t dare to spend money casually.
It was only after Wu Shuang married in that they started having meat and eggs at night.
With so many mouths to feed, there was only one meat dish and one scrambled egg dish, both of which could be eaten by the two younger ones. Xiao Zhuang’s mother was afraid that Wu Shuang would be embarrassed to eat, so she put a lot of each dish into his bowl as soon as they were served.
Wu Shuang quickly got up to take the bowl and said earnestly, “Mom, this is enough to eat. Leave more for my younger brother and sister. Don’t give me so much.”
Xiao Zhuang’s mother kept busy with her hands and said, “Little Shuang, eat more. Look at them, all strong and healthy, they won’t lack meat.”
Wu Shuang’s eyes were a little red, and he smiled, “Thank you, Mom.”
After that, he sat down and ate little by little.
He knew that his mother had let him eat more to make him healthy and have a chubby grandson sooner.
Since his parents passed away, no one had treated him so well.
He liked this family and was resolved to manage it well.
Xiao Zhuang sat next to him, sneakily stealing glances at him, and keenly noticed that his eyes were red now. Xiao Zhuang suddenly felt a pang in his heart and almost impulsively reached out to wipe the tears from his eyes.
After dinner, after cleaning up, Xiao Zhuang’s mother urged the two of them to go back to their room.
Xiao Zhuang followed behind Wu Shuang and returned to his own side of the house.
After entering the house, Wu Shuang, as usual, took off his husband’s robe, put it in the basin, and prepared to wash it later.
He also took off his greasy clothes and slapped them outside the outer room.
After heating the water, Xiao Zhuang turned around and saw him standing there, naked, his eyes suddenly frozen.
Since the day they talked in the shop, Xiao Zhuang had spoken with Wu Shuang. In the days that followed, the two of them had not been together.
Xiao Zhuang thought that Wu Shuang would try every means to make himself feel comfortable, but in fact, he had no intention of doing so.
During this period, Xiao Zhuang came home every day, and Wu Shuang wore a tight fit. At night, he didn’t even show half of his neck, and he didn’t turn his body after lying down. He slept honestly on his own side. There was still a distance between them and they were separated by a large living person.
Men were like this. If they haven’t done that, they could still endure it. But once they opened up, tasted that wonderful taste, it’s hard to endure.
Xiao Zhuang looked at Wu Shuang’s thin waist under his inner clothes, and his throat moved slightly, swallowing his saliva.
Wu Shuang might have felt his gaze, as he looked back while he lifted his robe.
At the moment when the eyes of the two men collided, Xiao Zhuang wanted to hide, but he was reluctant to hide, so his eyes shimmered with a guilty look.
Wu Shuang looked at him expressionlessly for a while, shook the robe in his hand, put it on again, tied it tightly with a rope, then turned and went back into the room.
