Chapter 23 – Part 1 out of 3
Qiu Henian just left like that.
Qingyan sat on the bed for a long time, still unable to figure out what had just happened.
He carefully recalled everything he had done, thinking about his flushed face and curled fingers, but didn’t feel like there was anything wrong.
Thinking about it, Qingyan suspected that he might have been too abrupt. After all, he had been bombarded with modern information for more than twenty years as a “thought giant”. He felt that such intimate behavior between husbands was normal, but Qiu Henian, being from an ancient era, might not be able to accept it.
In this era, they valued equality between husband and wife, they valued propriety, integrity, and a sense of shame, they valued subtlety and restraint.
Perhaps, does Qiu Henian feel that this behavior was not refined enough, or even too… wanton?
Qingyan sat blankly for a while, his hair all messed up from his scratching.
When he snapped out of his daze, the sun had already set outside, and the room had darkened.
Only then did Qingyan realize that the room had cooled down. He had forgotten to tend to the stove, and the fire must have gone out long ago.
He hurriedly put on his shoes and went out to the outer room to make a fire again.
It was a bit late for cooking now, but luckily during the New Year period, there were many dishes left over frozen in the courtyard snowdrifts. He could just dig them out and heat them up in a pot.
There were also plenty of bean buns left, just needing to boil some soup or porridge.
Qingyan was pondering what soup to make when he heard a stranger’s voice outside the courtyard gate asking, “Is anyone home?”
Hearing the noise, Qingyan quickly put on a robe casually, opened the door and walked out into the courtyard, asking as he walked, “Who is it?”
Behind the door, a young voice responded, “Master, I am the apprentice from our blacksmith’s shop. My name is Xiaozhuang.”
Qingyan pulled open the door latch, opened a crack in the door, and saw a round-faced young man wearing a thick cotton coat.
Seeing Qingyan open the door, the young man smiled awkwardly, showing a mouthful of white teeth, and said, “Master, Master asked me to tell you that there’s a wealthy household from the county who wants a batch of farm tools made. He’s staying in the shop these days to rush the work and won’t be coming back.”
Upon hearing this, Qingyan was stunned for a moment. He wanted to ask if they really needed to rush the work in the shop and also wanted to ask how Qiu Henian looked when he went to the shop, whether he was very angry or not.
But obviously, it wasn’t appropriate to ask the apprentice about these matters. He could only nod and say, “Alright, I got it. Please wait here for a moment. I’ll pack a few robes for him, and you can help me take them over.”
Xiaozhuang quickly agreed, hands in his sleeves, standing obediently and waiting.
After a while, Qingyan came out with a bundle. After some thought, he added, “Tell your master that I’m waiting for him at home.”
Xiaozhuang agreed, took the bundle respectfully, bid farewell, and left.
As the young apprentice walked along the road, he wondered. Master clearly said he would close early, but then called him back. Not only did he call him back, but he also moved up the work that was originally scheduled for the fifteenth day. And he remembered clearly that this job was not urgent. It would be fine to deliver it before the end of the year, but Master moved into the shop.
Did he quarrel with Master?
Xiaozhuang recalled Master’s wife he had just seen and shook his head, “Impossible, Master’s wife looks so good and has such a good temper. Master wouldn’t bear to quarrel with him.”
Qingyan frowned as he walked back through the gate, and the door of the neighboring house opened. Li Shu waved to him, “Qingyan, the eldest son is not at home. It’s too late for you to cook now. Come to my place for dinner.”
Today, Li Shu stir-fried dried beans and shredded pork, hot steamed bread and millet porridge, and cut a stick of sausage he bought at New Year’s.
Actually, Qingyan didn’t have much appetite, but Li Shu always served him the food she had chosen, so he didn’t eat less.
During the meal, he asked, “Sister-in-law, did Henian live in the shop before?()”
Li Shu nodded and said, “Lived there, but not much. The iron tools from the Li family in the county town were made by him. That family is wealthy and every year they need to make them. Every time it’s not a few, the eldest son is too busy to come over and live in the shop for a few days. “
Just that, Qingyan felt a little better in his heart, but in fact, he also knows that even if he wants to rush to work, there is no such urgent time to say hello.
After dinner, Li Shu took out the flower buds picked in spring and summer. They had dried so she let Qingyan help to select the ones with good appearance.
Qingyan was busy with something in his hands. He thought it was quite good.
He asked, “What are these flower buds used for?”
Li Shu said, “I originally wanted to make incense after drying, but I had an idea these days. Incense is still a bit troublesome, and the cost is also high. If I can blend the fragrance of these dried flower buds into the water, when washing clothes, put a little, it will be much easier!”
Qingyan heard his eyes light up, and blurted out, “Isn’t this perfume?”
Li Shu clapped her hands, “Yes, yes, the name perfume is good.”
Qingyan’s interest suddenly came up.
He said, “Why not put it directly on clothes or on the body when washing clothes, is that better?”
Li Shu’s eyes also brightened, and the two of them were excitedly discussing how to make it more reasonable.
After discussing it, Qingyan asked, “Sister-in-law, do you have any ideas about going to town or county to open a shop to sell the ointments and perfumes you made?”
Upon hearing this, Li Shu shook his head, “I have never done business, and I just think it’s fun to play with these things. Besides, I use them for myself and the people around me. I really haven’t thought about opening a shop.”
Qingyan pondered for a while and said, “I heard from Qiuyuan that there will be a Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first month. The streets will be very lively at that time. It’s too late to make perfume now, but you still have a lot of ointments. If Sister-in-law is interested, why not set up a stall to sell them?”
Li Shu hesitated a bit, “But I don’t know how to yell. At that time, I couldn’t sell a single one, and it was embarrassing.”
Qingyan smiled and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll accompany you then. I’ll bring a few small items to sell as well, and I’ll handle the yelling!”
After returning home from Li Shu’s house, Qingyan was excited for a while. He had admired the children in the neighborhood who opened small shops since he was a child. At that time, he envied others for being able to eat snacks at will.
Now, thinking about it, he didn’t see how the child would eat his own shop’s things. He did business, and he was more enthusiastic and enthusiastic than his elders. Making money is more delicious than eating his own.
Selling things is a fun thing.
He spent half the night planning what to bring for sale, how to price it, how to make a sign, and even calculated how much change he would need.
As the night grew late, it was time to sleep. Qingyan lay alone in bed, the initial excitement fading, replaced by a sense of loneliness. Since coming into this world, this was the first time he had slept alone in the house. Despite the small size of the room, it now felt empty and cold. Qingyan tossed and turned for a long time before finally falling asleep.
Qiu Henian said he would stay at the blacksmith’s shop for two days, and indeed, he didn’t return home at all during those two days. On the third afternoon, seeing that he still hadn’t returned, Qingyan finally decided not to wait any longer. He decided to go to the blacksmith’s shop to find him.
This was Qingyan’s first time going to the blacksmith’s shop. From a distance, he could hear the clangs and bangs, giving a sense of strength. Qingyan passed by rows of shops selling braised meat and steamed buns, but the tempting aroma of food did not attract him at all.
The blacksmith’s shop door was wide open, with a strong fire blazing inside, sparks flying. The young apprentice was nowhere to be seen; only Qiu Henian was in the shop. He was bare-chested, wearing only pants.
As he hammered the iron, the clear texture of his muscles changed with each strike. After a few blows, he used tongs to plunge the glowing iron into water, accompanied by a hissing sound. Sweat dripped from Qiu Henian’s chest muscles.
Qingyan swallowed hard.
He stopped at the shop door, the man inside concentrating on his work still hadn’t noticed him. It wasn’t until the ironwork in his hand was almost finished that Qiu Henian noticed the person standing at the door.
He was slightly startled at first, then set down what he was holding and walked briskly toward Qingyan.
Qingyan felt his nose itch and blushed, lowering his head.
A large hand grabbed his wrist, and Qiu Henian’s voice was low, “It’s cold outside, come in.”
Qingyan followed his lead into the shop. Qiu Henian made him sit on the makeshift wooden bed he had been sleeping on for the past few days, draped a piece of clothing over him, tidied up the tools he had just used, half-closed the shop door, washed and wiped his hands, then walked over to Qingyan, squatting down to look at him, and softly said, “Are you hungry? Should I go get you some meat buns?”
Qingyan kept his head down, not looking at him, nor saying a word.
Qiu Henian wasn’t in a hurry either. He turned back to fetch his cup, poured hot water, blew on it for a while until it felt just right, and placed it in Qingyan’s hands.
“It’s dry in here, drink more water.”
Qingyan pushed the cup away and moved his hand.
Qiu Henian didn’t insist. He put the cup aside and just squatted there, quietly watching him.
Before long, Qingyan’s eyelashes trembled, and tears silently streamed from his beautiful eyes, forming streaks on his face.
Qiu Henian’s lake-like eyes, upon seeing the first tear, shattered all calm like a small stone, causing ripples.
Crying, Qingyan said, “Why didn’t you come home? Are you annoyed with me?”
Having experienced hurt, he felt like an abandoned child, deeply insecure.
Qiu Henian’s gaze softened with guilt.
He said, “It’s not what you think.”
Qingyan reached out, wanting him to hold him, but Qiu Henian stepped back, causing Qingyan to cry even harder.
“My body is dirty,” Qiu Henian said, attempting to wipe Qingyan’s tears, but this time Qingyan turned his head away.
Qiu Henian took a step forward, no longer caring whether he was dirty or not, and embraced Qingyan.
Qingyan started struggling, but couldn’t break free. Qiu Henian gently stroked the back of his head, calming his emotions, and said, “I’m sorry, it’s my fault.”
Qingyan choked up, lifting his head from his embrace, tears blurred as he looked at him.
“That day, why did you suddenly leave me?”
Qiu Henian looked down at him, their eyes meeting. He sighed, turned his face away, showing his good side, and said, “Your actions were demeaning to yourself. I… don’t deserve it.”
Qingyan stopped crying, biting his lip, staring at the man.
After Qiu Henian saw him silent for a long time, he turned to look at him again. Qingyan suddenly spoke up, “I like you.”
Each word was clear and distinct.
Qiu Henian was stunned.
“I just want you to hold me, kiss you, touch your body, and even…” His bold confession was cut off as the man’s large hand covered his mouth.
Qingyan was about to pull away from this hand, but it withdrew on its own.
Qiu Henian withdrew his hand, stood up, took a few steps to the door of the shop, firmly closed the originally half-opened door, and bolted it.
After that, he returned to Qingyan once again, bowed his head to look at him.
There were no oil lamps in the room, only the firelight from the stove.
Qiu Henian’s back faced that light, his body as perfect as a war god. Qingyan couldn’t see his expression at all.
But he heard the other person say, “Okay, now you can continue.”
“!”
Spoiler for the Next Chapter:
Then, the man’s voice grew even lower and hoarser as he asked, “Aren’t you hot, Qingyan?”
Translator’s corner:
What’s gonna happen, nyann? >~<
