Chapter 21: Trouble at the Door
According to tradition, everyone spends New Year’s Day at home without visiting relatives.
In households with many people, they might play cards together or drink and chat.
Qingyan and Qiu Henian’s family consisted of just the two of them. They didn’t play cards, and they didn’t drink much either.
After breakfast, Qiu Henian took out his carpentry tools and prepared to make another box for Qingyan.
Qingyan was immediately interested. He had dabbled in woodworking a couple of years ago when it was trendy to do so, with many online streams about handmade woodworking gaining popularity.
He had bought a complete set of tools and experimented at home. Although his enthusiasm didn’t last long, he had learned enough to assist Qiu Henian.
Seeing some leftover pieces of wood, he felt it would be a waste not to use them.
He brought them over, polished them into several spinning tops, painted them with a base coat of iron-red paint used for the box, delicately drew patterns with black paint, and outlined them with gold dust left over from writing Spring Festival couplets.
When they were finished, he set them on the windowsill to dry, surprisingly finding them quite beautiful.
Qiu Henian walked over to the window to take a look and praised, “Not bad.”
Qingyan grinned proudly, his lips soft and full, showing off his white teeth.
Making the box wasn’t difficult; they finished it in one day and left it outside to dry.
For dinner, Qingyan stewed a big fish and rabbit meat. Rabbit meat was lean, so he added some pork fat to balance it out, along with a potato that softened to melt in the mouth.
After eating too much meat, Qingyan stir-fried some bean sprouts he had grown himself.
The couple didn’t talk much during dinner. They would push the plate of food they liked toward each other or simply pick up a bite and pass it over.
After dinner, Qiu Henian didn’t let Qingyan clean up; he did it himself, washing the dishes and pots.
With nothing else to do, Qingyan casually went to the adjacent room, ground ink, and started practicing calligraphy.
They still maintained an unspoken understanding. When one of them produced a model calligraphy sample, they would quietly leave it on the table.
After Qingyan copied it several times, he would leave his best attempt there as well. The next day, when he revisited it, there would be new comments and corrections, prompting him to rewrite it accordingly.
After doing this several times, Qingyan realized that this method was much more effective than blind practice alone.
Moreover, Qiu Henian was deliberate in his choice of characters. Initially straightforward but not simplistic, the character structures were relatively symmetrical, making them easy to grasp.
Once Qingyan had mastered the basic copying, the next sample would slightly increase in stroke difficulty.
Though mastering the characters would still take time, Qingyan no longer felt anxious about it; he felt grounded.
On the second day of the lunar year, people began passing by their door more frequently. It was the time when daughters-in-law brought their husbands and children to visit their mothers’ homes.
Sister Lan and her husband had also returned, and Aunt Li’s house was lively all day.
In the morning, Wang Sanyao and Qiuniang came over with their son, carrying bags of gifts.
Wang Sanyao’s parents had passed away long ago, and Qiuniang’s parents were also gone.
In previous years, they would visit Blacksmith Wang’s family on the second day of the New Year. After the old man passed away, this tradition continued.
Qiu Henian was two years older than Sanyao. Sanyao and Qiuniang called him Second Brother, considering him somewhat of an elder, especially with their son present.
In theory, Wang Heyao should have been ahead of Sanyao, but the two families had long been at odds, not speaking or visiting each other for years, let alone exchanging New Year’s greetings.
At this moment, Qingyan and Qiuniang sat together. Their son, Niansheng, had candy in his mouth and sat obediently next to his father and uncle, listening to their chatter.
Qiuniang cracked melon seeds as she spoke, “Big Brother didn’t come this year to ask Second Brother for money. This is a first!”
Qingyan didn’t know about this, “Every year he used to come to ask for money?”
Qiuniang nodded, “Yes, he used to come every year. Second Brother would give him some money every time. He’d take it without a thank you, acting like Second Brother owed him something. This year, it’s strange he didn’t come. Maybe it’s because Second Brother got married, and he’s embarrassed.”
Wang Heyao was an incessant nagger. Shortly after Qiuniang finished speaking, in the afternoon when the sun was about to set, he showed up at their door.
In a rare move, he wasn’t empty-handed this time; he brought a jar of soy milk from Liu’s Tofu Shop.
Although this gift wasn’t particularly impressive, it was a first for them.
Qiu Henian frowned and instructed Qingyan not to come out, heading out himself to the courtyard to talk to Wang Heyao.
Through the crack in the door, Qingyan could vaguely see Wang Heyao’s appearance.
He was a middle-aged man wearing a gray long shirt and a black felt hat. He was tall, not fat, with a fair complexion. However, he had long legs and short arms, a bulky back, and a slight stoop.
Since they were standing a bit far from the door, Qingyan didn’t hear what they initially said.
After a while, Wang Sanyao’s face suddenly changed, and he loudly cursed, “Don’t forget, your surname is Qiu, not Wang! Running the blacksmith’s shop under your name is shady business. Just because you’ve fooled the old man doesn’t mean everything’s fine. Let me tell you, Qiu, this isn’t over!”
After that, Qingyan heard a crash, followed by heavy footsteps leaving the courtyard. The courtyard door slammed shut with a loud bang, finally bringing calm.
Qingyan hurriedly pushed open the door and stepped out, finding Qiu Henian standing alone in the middle of the courtyard. In front of him was a spilled jar of soy milk, the ground scattered with white liquid.
Not far away, the courtyard door swung back and forth in the wind. The hinge above the wooden door seemed broken, drooping like a dislocated shoulder.
Hearing him come out, Qiu Henian turned around and reassured him, “It’s okay. It’s cold outside. Go back inside first; I’ll clean up.”
Qingyan was about to speak when the door to the neighboring courtyard opened, and Sister Lan and her husband came out.
They weren’t leaving tonight; they were staying overnight at their mother’s house.
Aunt Li followed behind them, anxiously saying through the fence, “This Wang, he’s really no good!”
Sister Lan turned to her mother and said, “Don’t worry. Go back and play with the kids. We’ll go chat with Qingyan and them.”
Inside the house, Qingyan poured hot tea for the couple. Sister Lan looked around and chuckled, “It’s different now that Henian’s married.”
She noticed the spinning tops Qingyan had already dried on the windowsill and brightened, picking one up, “These are beautiful. Did you buy them in town?”
Qingyan said, “I made these. If Sister Lan doesn’t mind, take two back for the kids to play with.”
Brother-in-law Lan quickly interjected, “No, no, if you offer, she’ll take them immediately. What will they look like then?”
Qingyan smiled, “I made them just for fun. I can’t play with so many by myself anyway.”
Lan said, “Then I won’t be polite with you.”
Qingyan nodded.
As they were talking, Qiu Henian repaired the door and tidied up the yard, then came back inside. Qingyan stood up to help him take off his outer robe and brought him a towel after he washed his hands.
The whole sequence flowed smoothly without a word spoken, but it was seamless. Lan laughed quietly while watching beside them.
Qiu Henian also sat down, and the group chatted while drinking tea.
Lan asked, “What did he say just now?”
Qiu Henian said, “He came this time to ask me to buy him a shop in the county.”
Lan widened her eyes and said, “This old guy must be out of his mind. A decent shop in the county would cost at least a thousand taels of silver. Where does he think you can just take that kind of money from? And why does he think he can demand it from you?”
Qiu Henian lowered his eyelids slightly and said calmly, “In the past, out of respect for my foster father, I could help if I could. But now my situation is different from before, and I can no longer help him.”
He didn’t specify exactly how his situation had changed, but everyone understood his meaning.
Qingyan lowered his head and under the table, lightly pinched the corner of Qiu Henian’s wide sleeve.
Lan thought for a moment and said, “In this matter, you’re in the right. We don’t need to be afraid of anything. If this guy has any bad intentions, just send someone to find your brother-in-law in the county. There are plenty of young men in our medicine shop. It shouldn’t be a problem to handle it.”
Brother-in-law Lan also said, “My father is acquainted with the county yamen’s bailiff. If necessary, I can ask that bailiff for help.”
Qiu Henian nodded and said, “Thank you, Sister Lan, Brother-in-law. But knowing Wang He-ya’s character, he won’t dare to do anything outrageous. It’s just that he might harass us in the future.”
Although this matter was unpleasant and would likely be a nuisance, it couldn’t be resolved for the time being, so they changed the topic after chatting for a while.
After chatting and playing leaf cards together for a while, they didn’t disperse until late at night.
Unable to sleep for a while at night, Qingyan decided to practice calligraphy again. He had been making rapid progress lately and found himself somewhat addicted to practicing.
When he had finished practicing, Qingyan suddenly had an idea. He took out a blank piece of paper and carefully wrote some characters on it.
He placed it on the top of the table and secured the edges with a paperweight before feeling satisfied enough to leave it.
The next day was the third day of the New Year. According to custom, they would go out to the streets. Every year, the village head’s house would set up a stage, and the big show would run from noon until late at night.
People would wear their new clothes bought for the New Year, and young women and children would especially put on beautiful plum blossom makeup.
The children were very lively, carrying lanterns made by adults and running in groups through the crowd, asking for the candies that had long been prepared for them in their pockets.
After breakfast, Qingyan was called over by Aunt Li and Sister Lan, while Brother-in-law Lan was “mercilessly” sent next door. Helplessly, he sat down to have tea with Qiu Henian early in the morning.
Aunt Li had served rich families in the county, and dressing up and grooming were easy tasks for her.
Qingyan didn’t mind dressing up. Before winning the big prize, he had worked as a Taobao model for a while to pay his tuition fees. During the busiest times, he wore makeup day and night, shooting hundreds of outfits a day.
Aunt Li put effort into dressing him and Sister Lan, and Qingyan cooperated especially well.
After this makeover and playing with the children, more than an hour had passed.
After Brother-in-law Lan glanced several times toward the yard and then even Qiu Henian put down his teacup to look out the window several times, the door over there finally opened.
Aunt Li stuck her head out and called to them, “Both of you, come over here!”
Brother-in-law Lan had been waiting for this moment, so he strode quickly around the gate and into the yard next door, with Qiu Henian following closely behind him.
After the door opened, Aunt Li stepped aside, smiling and looking at her daughter, who walked gracefully into the courtyard. Brother-in-law Lan looked at her eyes, glowing, and spoke in a stutter, “True … really good-looking!”
Behind Sister Lan, the two or three-year-old girl also ran out with a red dot on her forehead, running into her father’s arms in one go.
Brother-in-law Lan kissed her cheek, “My precious baby also looks good.”
The whole family was warm, and another person walked out of the door.
He was wearing a moon-white cotton robe, with a bright red thin cotton long vest outside, which set off his originally white and tender face even brighter.
The daily ponytail hair was smooth, clear, and carefully woven into a complicated and exquisite hair bun on the top of the head.
Part of it scattered behind the ear, but not like a woman’s prominence of gentle beauty, but with some heroism.
The faintly swept brows, a bright red plum blossom mark on the forehead, complemented the bright red lip rouge on the lips.
A beauty walked out of the door and stood in the courtyard.
His eyes were as clear as water, his lips curved slightly, and he smiled slightly, looking at the man in front of him who had been staring at him silently for a long time, and asked in a tone that seemed to be angry and mocking.
“Sir, you’re staring without blinking your eyes. What are you looking at?!”
Spoiler for the Next Chapter:
After touching, he still wanted to lower his head…
