Chapter 171
Since visiting the old physician, Wu Shuang was no longer as obsessed with the idea of having a child, and his enthusiasm for intimacy subsequently waned. Previously, he and Xiao Zhuang couldn’t get enough of each other, sometimes doing it twice a day, but now it had decreased to once every six or seven days.
Xiao Zhuang, accustomed to eating richly every day. Suddenly faced with a more vegetarian diet, he naturally found it hard to bear. Wu Shuang wasn’t working as tirelessly as before; during the day, he occasionally helped his mother-in-law with the children, or went with Qi Yinglan to gather wild vegetables, or assisted with household chores.
In his spare time at night, he devoted most of it to learning to read and write. Sometimes Qingyan took Wu Shuang to the Fragrant Melody Pavilion.
When the shop was busy, Wu Shuang also learned to help out, finding it quite interesting. However, when he discovered that even the youngest shop assistants responsible for inventory knew how to keep accounts and recognized some characters, he couldn’t help but feel envious.
Seeing Wu Shuang’s interest in learning, Qingyan taught him during their free time, providing him with brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.
Each time he taught him only five or six characters, Wu Shuang took them back to memorize and practice slowly. Over time, he learned more and more characters, able to read store signs when out and understand children’s books to some extent, which further fueled his passion for literacy.
At night, seeing how earnestly he studied characters, Xiao Zhuang refrained from disturbing him. Wu Shuang had read books before and knew quite a few characters, but had little interest in the subject and had given up because the family was poor at the time.
Now that Wu Shuang was studying every day, Xiao Zhuang, with nothing to do, wanted to get closer to Wu Shuang and started learning alongside him. Seeing his interest, Wu Shuang was excited and insisted on practicing together after dinner every day, making Xiao Zhuang feel both bitter and eager, his eyes practically glowing with anticipation.
One evening, it had been seven or eight days since their last intimacy, and Xiao Zhuang had been thinking about it all day. After dinner, both took showers, and Xiao Zhuang eagerly awaited their time together.
However, Wu Shuang happily brought out his books again, saying that his mother-in-law had praised his progress and taught him a dozen new characters that day, asking Xiao Zhuang to practice with him.
This unexpected turn left Xiao Zhuang feeling cold, but he gritted his teeth and reluctantly joined Wu Shuang in studying characters. After they put out the lights and lay down, Xiao Zhuang felt a burning desire he couldn’t suppress. He tossed and turned until dawn, unable to sleep. He got up and drank some cold water, which briefly helped, but he still couldn’t sleep.
After struggling for what seemed like an eternity, Xiao Zhuang finally crawled back into bed, but soon after, Wu Shuang woke up, staring blankly at the ceiling. Dawn was approaching, and the room was no longer pitch-black.
After a short while, Wu Shuang fully awakened and realized what was happening, his cheeks flushing red. He reached down and grabbed a handful of Xiao Zhuang’s rough hair. Xiao Zhuang emerged from the blankets, licking his lips, his eyes seeming to glow with fire.
His voice hoarse, Xiao Zhuang said, “I’ve tried my best to resist, but I can’t anymore.”
Wu Shuang looked at him for a moment, then lifted his arms to embrace Xiao Zhuang’s neck, pulling him down, and they came together in an embrace.
Though no words were spoken, their actions spoke volumes.
They spent a long time together in bed until Wu Shuang hurriedly reminded Xiao Zhuang, “We need to get up and prepare food. Mother and Xiao Ling may already be busy in the next room.”
Xiao Zhuang’s forehead was sweating, his throat hoarse.
“Just a little longer,” he begged.
After they finished, Wu Shuang hurriedly dressed while Xiao Zhuang continued to nibble on his jaw until Wu Shuang pushed him away. Wu Shuang left the room first, and Xiao Zhuang followed after a moment.
Xiao Zhuang thought Wu Shuang might be upset with him for what had happened earlier in the morning. After all, it was a bit excessive to do it during the early hours. However, when he entered the next room where Wu Shuang was cooking, Wu Shuang stuffed a freshly cooked white steamed bun into his mouth. The taste made Xiao Zhuang’s eyes narrow in joy, then realizing that Wu Shuang had not held a grudge against him.
During the hot summer days, the blacksmith shop closed for a month. With nothing to do, Xiao Zhuang joined his father and younger brother in the fields for morning and evening work. When it was too hot to work in the fields, he went to the mountains to chop wood, where the trees were plentiful and the shade dense, making it bearable.
Today, Xiao Zhuang was going to chop wood, and Wu Shuang, having nothing to do these days, said he wanted to go with him. Xiao Zhuang was delighted to hear this, his face unable to hide his smile as he hoisted the basket onto his back.
Though they said they were going to chop wood, there was no rush. They had plenty of firewood at home, but accustomed to labor, they couldn’t help but think about finding some work to do. As they walked along the mountain path, they often spotted wild garlic and mushrooms, which they picked along the way.
The wild garlic was already mature, extremely spicy when eaten raw, bringing tears to their eyes. However, when pickled with soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar for three to five days, it became sour, sweet, salty, and delicious, perfect for eating with meat to balance its richness.
The mushrooms were in season, and after a recent heavy rain, they had grown large and juicy. They would either stew them with meat or dry them for winter consumption, both options excellent.
Having become experienced at foraging in the mountains, they knew which plants were safe to eat and enjoyed their leisurely climb.
Walking along, they could hear the sound of rushing water. Xiao Zhuang raised an eyebrow and said, “It’s a stream. Want to go take a look?”
Wu Shuang naturally agreed, and the two went there, one after the other.
Passing through a grove, they could see a small stream flowing down from the mountain. The heavy rain of the past few days had made the creek more abundant, noticeably fuller than usual.
The two husbands set down their baskets, squatted by the stream, rolled up their sleeves to splash water on their hands, wash their faces, and immediately felt relief from the heat.
Xiao Zhuang suggested Wu Shuang take off his shoes and cool his feet in the water. Wu Shuang hesitated, worried about being seen by others.
Xiao Zhuang grinned, showing his large white teeth, and said, “No worries, hardly anyone comes here. If anyone does, I’ll cover for you, and you can quickly put your shoes back on.”
Only then did Wu Shuang relax and took off his shoes, dipping his feet into the stream, letting out a contented sigh.
Xiao Zhuang also removed his shoes and submerged his feet.
A gust of wind blew through the forest, and countless leaves rustled.
The stream flowed gently, its coolness refreshing, the grass and leaves deep green. Nearby, butterflies fluttered elegantly.
Xiao Zhuang tilted his head to look at Wu Shuang beside him. After watching for a while, he was finally noticed by Wu Shuang.
Wu Shuang turned to him, their eyes meeting.
Xiao Zhuang whispered, “This morning, I got carried away. I hope I didn’t hurt you.”
Wu Shuang replied, “You did hurt me. Shall we not do this again in the future?”
Xiao Zhuang felt embarrassed and said, “Next time, I’ll be more gentle.”
Wu Shuang looked at him for a moment, smiled, and said, “Fool,” before turning his head forward, his smile lingering for a long time.
After resting and cooling off, they dried their feet, put their shoes back on, and continued up the mountain.
On the way, they saw a mountain apricot tree. The apricot blossoms had already withered, and the branches were now filled with unripe green apricots.
Wu Shuang stopped under the tree, looked up, and Xiao Zhuang also glanced up, saying, “These things aren’t edible now; they’re very sour.”
As he spoke, he lifted his foot to leave, but Wu Shuang stayed put.
Xiao Zhuang looked back at him, and Wu Shuang said, “I want to try it.”
This small request naturally had to be fulfilled by Xiao Zhuang.
He put down everything he was carrying. Though his body was strong, he had been playing in this area since childhood and was quite agile in climbing trees. In a few moves, he climbed up the tree.
The mountain apricot was quite plentiful, and he directly broke off a heavy branch and dropped it down, landing neatly on the ground.
With a bang after landing, he presented the branch to Wu Shuang as a treasure.
Wu Shuang took it, picked one and stuffed it into his mouth, crunching through even the still-soft pit, making Xiao Zhuang’s mouth pucker with sourness.
After eating one, Wu Shuang said, “Delicious,” then picked another and started eating it with gusto.
Seeing him enjoy it so much, Xiao Zhuang hesitated for a moment before picking one himself. He put it in his mouth and chewed it, but before he could finish chewing, the sourness made his face crumple, looking quite comical.
Wu Shuang laughed at him, and though he didn’t say anything, Xiao Zhuang knew he was being called a fool in his mind.
There was no one else in the mountains, so Xiao Zhuang stared at Wu Shuang’s smiling face for a while before suddenly hugging him around the waist and kissing his lips.
The apricot in Wu Shuang’s mouth was nothing special, just as sour as the others, and Xiao Zhuang’s kiss was both painful and joyful.
After all, they were outside, and Xiao Zhuang didn’t go too far, kissing for a while before letting go.
He helped Wu Shuang straighten his clothes, put the basket back on his back, and said, “Let’s go.”
Wu Shuang held the branch of mountain apricots and followed beside him, eating as they walked.
If Xiao Zhuang’s mother had been nearby, she would have noticed something, but Xiao Zhuang was a naive young man who didn’t understand anything and hadn’t thought about it.
About ten days later, one morning during breakfast, Wu Shuang suddenly ran outside and vomited. He threw up twice that day. He didn’t have a headache or a fever; vomiting was the only symptom, and after vomiting, he didn’t want to eat anything, but there was nothing else wrong.
Xiao Zhuang’s mother watched and heard Xiao Ling say she would get some leftover pills for her sister-in-law from when she had wind chill, but Xiao Zhuang’s mother quickly stopped her.
She looked at Wu Shuang and it looked like he didn’t seem to be sick. But since the last visit to the doctor, it was not even half a year, and she thought it was unlikely.
But Wu Shuang was uncomfortable, so he should definitely go see the doctor.
Xiao Zhuang borrowed a carriage from his master and took Wu Shuang out. Xiao Zhuang’s mother thought about it and took off her apron, gave the work to Xiao Ling, and also sat in the carriage and followed.
When they arrived at the old physician’s place, after a brief pulse check, the old man’s face showed surprise. He glanced at Wu Shuang’s complexion, then at Xiao Zhuang, before finally fixing his gaze on Xiao Zhuang’s mother.
He chuckled, “Madam, go back and take good care of your son here. Congratulations, you’re going to be a grandmother!”
Xiao Zhuang and Wu Shuang hadn’t quite grasped the situation yet. Xiao Zhuang’s mother initially looked bewildered, but then suddenly understood the old physician’s meaning. In an instant, tears welled up in her eyes.
She stepped forward, embraced Wu Shuang’s shoulders, and held him close, tears of joy streaming down her face, “Truly, heaven has blessed us. Finally, my poor child’s life has turned for the better!”
