Chapter 28: Spring Arrives
After New Year’s Day, the weather began to warm up again. This time, there were no more fluctuations; the snow on the ground melted into mud, and every step out the door meant stepping into mud.
A few days later, the snow water seeped into the ground, drying it up. The sunny slopes started showing patches of green—fresh shoots of grass and slender chives.
Having been cooped up at home all winter, by this time, every wife, mother-in-law, and child in every household took sickles and went up the mountains to dig wild vegetables.
Qiuniang called Qingyan and a few young wives from the village, each carrying a small basket on their arms, to go up the mountain.
Next door, Chen Yu heard the commotion and also grabbed a basket to follow along.
Others were unaware of the minor grievances between him and Qingyan. They all walked together, chatting and laughing.
Qingyan didn’t mind at all. He had no issues with Chen Yu as long as he didn’t take advantage or harbor groundless suspicions. Being ordinary neighbors who greeted each other would suffice.
However, Chen Yu might not see it the same way. Every time Qingyan’s eyes met his, Chen Yu would roll his eyes, which Qingyan found amusing yet helpless.
They chatted all the way until they reached their destination.
Qiuniang stood on the slope, looking down and sighed, “Last winter, the snow was heavy. Now the warm weather has come earlier than usual. It looks like this year’s harvest will be good.”
She turned to Qingyan beside her and said, “Eldest Brother picked ten acres of good land for Eldest Master before. Now he still has ten acres left. Because this land lacked vitality before—nothing would grow well—Uncle left it barren for several years. Now it’s about time to clear and cultivate it. Eldest Sister-in-law, do you have any plans?”
Qingyan pondered for a while. With the recent warmer weather, he had indeed thought about this. Although the land wasn’t great, leaving it fallow seemed wasteful. He had ideas about what to plant, but it would require effort to transform it, and there would be significant manpower and resource costs.
The family had accumulated quite a bit of savings recently, enough in silver, but Qiu Henian could only help out when the blacksmith’s shop wasn’t busy. Qingyan could manage some tasks himself, but he knew he couldn’t handle it all alone.
He shared his thoughts with Qiuniang. She had already anticipated that as a scholar, Qingyan wouldn’t be adept at farming.
She reassured him, “This is no problem. Third Brother helps out during the harvest season every year, and I manage most of it myself otherwise. If it gets too busy, we can hire laborers. They are experienced enough, and you can just provide food and drink. When the time comes, pay them for their work.”
Qingyan’s eyes lit up.
“That sounds great!”
Qiuniang said, “Don’t worry, I’ll find suitable laborers when the time comes. I’ll go look for them in a few days.”
Qingyan thanked her.
Everyone dispersed and squatted on the slope to dig wild vegetables. The wind was still cool, but once they started moving, they didn’t feel cold.
The young wives chatted incessantly but didn’t neglect their work. With sharp eyes and quick hands, they soon filled their baskets.
Qingyan started a bit slower since he wasn’t very familiar with wild vegetables. Fortunately, Qiuniang guided him for a while, and soon he picked up speed, with his basket gradually filling up.
The sunlight was perfect, the air clear, and a gentle breeze brushed their faces. Listening to the young wives beside him gossiping about the foolish things their husbands had done, bursts of laughter occasionally erupted, and Qingyan couldn’t help but join in.
As they chatted, time flew by.
One of the young wives said, “I don’t know about your husbands, but mine, as soon as he finishes, can’t wait to eat when he gets home. He grabs me and heads straight to the bed in the inner room, as if he’s been starved for ten days and half a month!”
Another one added, “Men at this age are all like that. As long as they have free time, they think about that kind of thing every day.”
Someone nudged Chen Yu’s shoulder and winked at him, saying, “Mr. Zhang is a scholar, usually so refined and courteous. Does he act like this at home too?”
Hearing this, Chen Yu snorted, glanced at Qingyan, and smirked, “Isn’t it the same? As soon as he enters the house, he throws off his robe and presses me down, unwilling to let go.”
“Tsk tsk.”
Everyone burst into laughter, their faces flushing red.
Qingyan kept his head down, his cheeks blushing faintly to his ears.
“I think about it every night,” Qiu Henian’s expression when he said those words echoed in Qingyan’s mind, making him blush and his heart beat faster even now.
Men at this age are bound to have carnal desires, Qingyan thought.
Qiu Henian was reserved by nature and rarely showed much emotion, perhaps due to the scars on his face.
But in reality, when Qingyan desired him, Qiu Henian desired him too, which made Qingyan feel relieved that he wasn’t the only one enthusiastic about it.
After resting at home for a while, Qingyan started preparing dinner.
He stewed sauerkraut with big bones in the pot first, then went to prepare the wild vegetables.
Chives were fragrant, cleaned and cut into segments, then stir-fried with eggs, exceptionally fresh-tasting, and good for digestion.
Another type of wild vegetable called bitterweed had just sprouted. It was the perfect time to eat it; any later, and it would be too bitter to enjoy. Blanched with hot water, it was tender and refreshing, delicious either cold or dipped in sauce, and helped cool the body.
Li Shen had given him a jar of soybean paste a few days ago. He fried dried chili peppers until fragrant, added a bit of water to the soybean paste, and stewed it slowly over low heat. Once the soybean paste changed color, it was ready.
In the coarse porcelain bowl, the surface of the soybean paste was covered with red oil, and there were crispy fried chili seeds—a spicy and fragrant dish.
By this time, the big bones had stewed until tender and juicy. The meat slid off easily, and the marrow oil had oozed out. Taking a sip of the white soup, it was rich with the flavors of meat and sour cabbage—truly delicious.
Both of them enjoyed their dinner without holding back.
Qingyan discussed with Qiu Henian about cleaning up the ten mu of fallow land and planting crops. He agreed, and the matter was settled.
After the lights were out that night, recalling the words of those young wives during the day made Qingyan restless. Several times, he wanted to turn over and pounce, but thinking about the issue of taking medicine a few days ago, he didn’t want to stimulate Qiu Henian again.
He could only give up.
Another three or four days passed. One night, a deep, muffled thunder-like noise woke Qingyan up, and he vaguely felt the bed shaking slightly, thinking it was an earthquake. He sat up suddenly in alarm.
A warm hand gently grasped the back of his neck to comfort him and guided him back to bed.
“Don’t be afraid, it’s the opening of the river,” Qiu Henian, who had just woken up, said in a hoarse voice.
Qingyan lay back on the pillow, and the fallen quilt was pulled up to his chin, leaving only his face exposed.
With his eyes closed, he asked groggily, “What is the opening of the river?”
The man beside him propped his head with one hand and lay on his side, lightly patting his back.
“The ice on the river surface has melted.”
“Mm,” Qingyan responded, not entirely sure if he understood.
He was falling asleep again, but before he did, he murmured a request like a dream, saying, “I want to kiss you.”
The man coaxed him, “Alright.”
He leaned down and brushed his lips lightly against Qingyan’s, who then fell asleep soundly.
Early the next morning, while they were having breakfast, someone banged on the door outside. It was Liu Fa, calling them to the riverside together.
They finished their meal quickly, and Qiu Henian found a mink fur vest for Qingyan to wear under his clothes, saying, “The ice has melted, and the river wind is cold. You need to dress warmly.”
“What about you?” Qingyan asked.
“I don’t need it,” Qiu Henian replied.
When they arrived at the riverside, Qingyan understood why Qiu Henian had said he didn’t need extra clothing.
Throughout the entire winter, few people had ventured near this stretch of the river. It wasn’t until last night when the river opened up, and the thick ice cracked, forming silver-white ice floes that floated downstream, colliding with each other and making clattering sounds.
The newly melted river water shimmered faintly black between the cracks of the ice floes.
People from the village and neighboring villages had all gathered. Liu Fa had called a few friends who often played together, along with Qiu Henian. They worked together, wearing water boots and spreading large nets in shallow waters to catch fish.
The shore was bustling too. Liu Fa’s wife was busy unloading things from the cart, and every household had brought their pots and pans to collect fish.
Qingyan was busy too, pitching in with the rest.
Once they had set everything up, Liu Fa shouted, and several men had already lifted the large net together, shaking it off onto the shore with a loud crash. Several large and small fish were tumbling inside.
Qingyan hurried over and categorized the fish into containers, pouring some water over them to keep them alive.
After doing this several times, Qingyan noticed that Qiu Henian’s forehead was already covered with a thin layer of sweat, and there was steam in his breath. At this point, Qiu Henian was also looking at him, waving his hand at him.
Qingyan ran over, took off the outer coat that Qiu Henian had taken off, and was about to turn around and leave when he was handed a small paper packet in his hand. Qingyan folded up the coat neatly and put it in the car, finding a clean place in the car to put it, then found a package. He opened it up, and it contained two pieces of candy.
They were working hard, and suddenly they heard a loud noise of something breaking, followed by a burst of men’s coarse cursing.
Qingyan looked over and saw Wang Heyao cursing at a skinny, elderly man who had just fallen down, breaking a pot on the ground and scattering fish everywhere. He was also soaked.
But he didn’t care about himself. He wiped his face with his sleeve, hurriedly climbed up from the ground, found an empty jar, filled it with water, and put the fish in it. If the fish died, the price would be lower.
Qingyan wanted to go over and help, but a hand grabbed his arm. When he turned around to look, he saw Liu An shaking his head at him.
The man finished packing the fish, ran over to work again.
The people nearby only glanced at him a few times, and no one cared anymore. Everyone was busy with their own affairs, and this little episode passed by.
When the fishing net was almost done, everyone worked together to load the jars and pans full of fish onto the cart, fixed them securely, and pulled them to the market five or six miles from the riverside.
The market was crowded with people at this time, more lively than usual. Most of the people who came today were here to buy the fish caught during the opening of the river.
After being frozen under the ice for so long in winter, the fish were starving, their fat and flesh gone, and all sorts of miscellaneous things metabolized. It was the time when the flesh was tight and delicious.
Even common fish like carp, crucian carp, and grass carp, which were usually eaten in large quantities, were especially delicious at this time.
Fishermen and cart pullers were the main force in net fishing and cart pulling. By now, they were all tired, and the sale of fish was left to women and the elderly.
Behind the stall, they squinted in the sun, smoked their pipes, and watched the few wives hustling to sell fish.
Qiu Henian didn’t smoke. He just leaned against the wall. Someone talked to him, and he responded.
He wasn’t talkative, but he knew how to make friends, generous and sincere, so Liu An and the others were willing to call him.
Qiu Henian’s mind wasn’t on talking right now.
Not far from him, a pale little beauty dressed like a ball was busy with his feet, his face reddened by the cold.
He was dealing with customers, bargaining, weighing, and packing, all in one breath, and he was quick and smart. No one took advantage of him. Everyone was laughing and talking.
The sun was warm, and Qiu Henian squinted slightly.
When he saw Qingyan rubbing his hands, he turned his head and smiled sweetly at him. Another person came to buy fish, and Qingyan turned back to greet him.
Qiu Henian lowered his head, his lips twitched slightly, and he smiled too.
Spoiler for the Next Chapter:
Qiu Henian smiled faintly, and after a moment, unable to resist, Qingyan stood up and kissed Qiu Henian on the lips.
