Chapter 167
This revelation was like a bolt from the blue.
Xiao Zhuang and Wu Shuang went to see the doctor without telling their family, only saying they were going out for a stroll.
On the way back, Xiao Zhuang had no intention of telling his parents about the matter. He spent the whole way comforting Wu Shuang, but Wu Shuang didn’t say a word, and it was unclear if he had even heard him.
When they got home, Wu Shuang went to his parents’ room and invited them into the house. He repeated every word the doctor had said, and Xiao Zhuang couldn’t stop him.
But then he thought, even if he didn’t say anything, their family would ask sooner or later, so he didn’t stop Wu Shuang.
Xiao Zhuang’s father smoked quietly, not saying a word, his eyes glancing towards Xiao Zhuang’s mother.
Xiao Zhuang’s mother looked stunned. After a while, she seemed to finally react and lowered her head, wiping away her tears.
Wu Shuang stood aside, prepared to be scolded by her.
But after wiping away her tears, Xiao Zhuang’s mother stood up and hugged him, crying, “This child has suffered. Your foster parents will surely have a bad end!”
Then she pointed at Xiao Zhuang and scolded, “You are also confused. How could you have used such unethical medicine on Little Shuang back then, sob…”
Her crying intensified.
Xiao Zhuang lowered his head, unable to regret it, but at that time, given the circumstances, there really was no other choice.
The reaction of the mother-in-law was beyond Wu Shuang’s expectations. He thought she was only treating him well because he could give her a fat grandchild. Once she found out he couldn’t guarantee having children, she would probably treat him coldly, even scold him.
But Xiao Zhuang’s mother’s tears didn’t seem fake at all. Her genuine concern and pain had no hint of blame.
Wu Shuang was used to suffering and hardship, not accustomed to others treating him unconditionally well. He immediately felt at a loss.
He looked blankly at his mother-in-law, who was holding him, then at his father-in-law who was sitting on the kang with a distressed face, and his younger brother and sister who were peeking worriedly at the doorway.
Wu Shuang finally looked at Xiao Zhuang, who was also looking at him.
This honest man had red eyes.
His Adam’s apple moved, and he said, “I’m sorry, Little Shuang. If I really prevent you from getting pregnant in the future, let’s adopt an orphan like you and raise him well. What do you think?”
Wu Shuang didn’t say a word for a long time, and tears streamed down his face.
A person who rarely cried, once tears fell, those teardrops were particularly heart-wrenching.
Wu Shuang didn’t eat dinner that night. Xiao Zhuang served him porridge and vegetables, but he didn’t touch them at all. He went to bed early and slept.
Early the next morning, before dawn, Wu Shuang got up and went next door to start a fire and cook.
By the time everyone else woke up, he had almost finished cooking, chopped the firewood, cleaned the yard, and washed the clothes.
Xiao Zhuang looked at his hands, which were red from being washed in cold water, feeling heartbroken.
Since that day, Wu Shuang seemed normal, eating and drinking as usual, but he worked so hard that Xiao Zhuang’s mother and Xiao Ling hardly had to lift a finger at home.
He did everything — cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, and feeding chickens.
Before, if he wasn’t allowed to go into the fields, he wouldn’t go. He would only pick up trash. Now, if he wasn’t allowed to go, he would still go out and hoe and weed under the scorching sun, doing everything.
Xiao Zhuang’s daily persuasions were of no use. Xiao Zhuang’s mother and Xiao Ling also tried to persuade him, but it was still useless.
Xiao Zhuang looked at Wu Shuang like this, feeling extremely distressed.
He knew that Wu Shuang had never felt secure. He had relied on the idea of having children to keep him going before. Now that hope was dim, he couldn’t sit idle for a moment and wanted to do more for this family, so he wouldn’t be driven out.
Xiao Zhuang felt very bitter.
In the evenings, they used to be intimate in bed once or twice.
When Wu Shuang found out about this matter, his mood was bad, and Xiao Zhuang was also guilty and depressed, so they hadn’t been intimate.
Until some time later, Xiao Zhuang couldn’t stand it anymore and wanted to be intimate. But Wu Shuang would lie down early every night and get up before dawn.
He was so tired, Xiao Zhuang couldn’t bear to trouble him again, so he had to give up.
They were all kind-hearted people, feeling sorry for Wu Shuang’s fate.
Although adopting a child could solve this problem, Xiao Zhuang knew that Wu Shuang would never feel at ease and would always fear being driven out of this family.
…
When Little Hongdou turned three months old, she drank milk six times a day, chubby and white, resembling a New Year’s doll.
She was good in every way, but was especially attached to her father. During the day, her father could console her, but at night, she absolutely had to be held by her father to be put to sleep.
This chubby daughter was quite heavy to carry. Every time he put her to sleep, Qingyan had to ask Qiu Henian to massage his waist and back.
The man’s large, warm, dry hands kneaded on his smooth back, which felt very comforting.
After finishing, Qiu Henian let Qingyan rest on his legs as he read to him.
The couple had been married for many years, with two children. But, their habit of reading before bedtime had never been broken.
Recently, Qiu Henian had been reading what Qingyan requested: travelogues he had written himself.
In addition to the places they had traveled together, Qiu Henian also included places he had passed through during his years in the military.
As he wrote more, Qingyan bound them into volumes. He felt it was a waste to keep these books only for himself, so he asked Qiu Henian’s opinion on publishing it. Through the county leader Zheng, he sent them to the hands of a shopkeeper at a bookstore.
The shopkeeper was excited after reading them and came to see Qiu Henian in person. The two talked for an hour or two before the man left.
The printed books were initially sold in the bookstore on a small scale. At first, sales were lukewarm, but several readers from neighboring counties casually bought them and praised them after reading.
Word of mouth spread, and in a few days, all the books in the bookstore were sold out.
Seeing the promising signs, the bookstore owner printed another batch, which also sold quite well.
Almost every reader had a copy, praising the travelogue for its rich knowledge, beautiful language, and high literary attainment. Whenever they had leisure time, they would casually flip through a page, feeling relaxed and comfortable as if they were there themselves.
Qingyan wasn’t surprised by the development of this matter.
Back then, “Memories of Huaiyang” was Qiu Henian’s work, which had been popular in teahouses throughout Muling County for a year or two. Later, it was said that people in other places had also heard scholars talking about it.
Although Yang Huai’s incident had caused a stir and promoted the book, if the story had not been well written, it would not have been widely spread.
In these two years, you could still hear this book in teahouses, unchanged from the beginning.
When the bookstore owner came to Qiu Henian again for manuscripts, Qingyan suggested that he try writing scripts.
After each piece was written, Qingyan was the first reader, providing suggestions and proofreading.
Once, Qiu Henian wrote a story about a talented scholar and a beauty.
However, no matter how Qingyan looked at it, he felt that the beauty was modeled after himself. The story described how the scholar fell in love at first sight with the beauty, how he thought about him day and night, and how wonderful he was, making Qingyan blush.
Qiu Henian said, “If this isn’t for the bookstore, I’ll let you have it for yourself.”
Qiu Henian was not very good with words. For such a person to express his love in this way, Qingyan found it very romantic.
Which man would write such long love letters to his husband?
Qingyan felt extremely satisfied.
That night, on the bed in the next room, Qingyan pressed Qiu Henian down and patiently served him. After finishing, his cheeks were sore, but he didn’t complain.
Pouting, Qiu Henian went to kiss him, but he avoided it and pointed to his own lips.
Qiu Henian asked softly, “What should we do about that?”
Qingyan blinked, gulped, and swallowed it all down, his eyes moist, as were his lips.
So beautiful and obedient.
Qiu Henian’s heart softened. He held his waist with his large hands and hugged him tightly, kissing him for a long time.
…
Over a month later, Zhou Yanliang came to the house, crying to Qingyan.
It turned out that Yu Qingxi had been beaten again.
This time, he was beaten at the doorstep of a wealthy household by a group of outsiders who appeared suddenly, beat him up, and then ran away. They still couldn’t catch the perpetrators.
Upon hearing this, Qingyan frowned and said, “Since they are already divorced, what is he doing going to their house?”
“It’s that woman who’s shameless. How long has it been since their divorce? She’s already planning to remarry!” Zhou Yanliang showed a harsh expression.
“How can you hold my son responsible for this? She was the one who insisted on finding a son-in-law, which made my son uneasy about becoming one and led to conflicts later. Now that she’s ready to remarry, how can this not be seen as bullying?”
“Qingxi felt it was unfair and went to their house to seek an explanation, but they kept the door shut. He tried several times and was beaten last time,” Zhou Yanliang said angrily.
Qingyan listened and said, “No one forced him to become a son-in-law in the first place. How did he dare go there himself?”
Zhou Yanliang couldn’t say anything, closing her mouth.
Qingyan asked again, “Was he drunk when he went?”
Zhou Yanliang pursed her lips and, with lowered eyelids, murmured, “Yes.”
Qingyan coldly snorted.
Zhou Yanliang cried, saying, “That old man in my family won’t let me interfere. If I dare to, he’ll kick me out. It’ll be really difficult then. Qingxi is your younger brother after all. He was beaten badly this time and is enduring it alone at home. Even the doctor looks down on him. I beg you, save him. Otherwise, I’m afraid one day he’ll die alone in that house without anyone to collect his body.”
Qingyan asked, “I heard that the rich man gave him some compensation. Shouldn’t he have some silver in hand?”
Zhou Yanliang looked guilty but dared not lie to Qingyan, afraid he would find out. In a fit of anger, she had no choice but to say, “When he drank too much, someone stole it from him. All the books in the house were sold by him to buy alcohol. Besides that house, he really has nothing left.”
Qingyan paced back and forth in the room. After a while, he took out a silver ingot from his belt and handed it to her, saying, “This is the last time. From now on, whether he lives or dies, it has nothing to do with me.”
Zhou Yanliang was not entirely satisfied.
She said, “Aren’t you afraid that your own younger brother will starve to death at home?”
Qingyan said coldly, “He has hands and feet. He can do something to support himself. If he starves himself to death, it’s his own doing. It has nothing to do with me. You can’t expect me to support a grown man in his twenties for the rest of his life!”
Zhou Yanliang’s face turned red.
She stomped her foot, took the silver, and turned to leave.
