Chapter 30: Aching at the Corners of the Mouth
Qingyan dreamt all night about mushroom picking. Mushrooms covered the hills, endless in number, making him so tired he wanted to give up.
The next day, he noticed his mouth corners were sore.
Qiu Henian sat on a small stool outside, watching the porridge pot simmer. When Qingyan came out from inside, he sat on his lap, anxiously showing him his mouth, “It hurts, could it be something serious?”
Qiu Henian held his chin and examined it carefully, “It should be fine. There’s some unused ointment under the bed. After breakfast, I’ll help you apply some.”
Qingyan nodded, burying his head in the man’s neck, mumbling, “It’s all your fault.”
Qiu Henian hugged his waist, eyes lowered, “Hmm,” acknowledging his wrongdoing.
Qingyan’s collar revealed his fair and tender neck, his back slim under the thin clothing, the natural hollows forming ambiguous shadows beneath his robe.
He could smell the warmth emanating from this body.
Last night, nestled in his embrace, lips moist and reddened, Qingyan cried and spoke about his sorrow, refusing to continue for a while.
The ambiguous situation accelerated Qiu Henian’s blood flow. His mind buzzing, he had to rely on his own strength, simultaneously pinning Qingyan down on the bed to kiss him.
Qingyan kept making noises.
When it was over, Qiu Henian regained his senses and found his side covered in red marks. Until then, Qingyan’s hand was still tightly gripping the obscene clothing on his side.
Morning arrived, and Qingyan woke to find his mouth corners hurting.
Without reflecting on his “misdeeds” from last night, he immediately came to “trouble” him, seeking care and affection.
Qiu Henian felt his heart soften, wanting to kiss him, but seeing the marks on the corners of his mouth, he refrained.
The person in his arms lay softly, full of dependence, Qingyan closed his eyes, avoiding looking at his back. He suppressed the intense urge to love him hard and gently coaxed the person on his lap like comforting a child.
Breakfast was simple: rice porridge and meat buns from yesterday.
Qiu Henian still enjoyed his specially pickled sour vegetables, while Qingyan dared not touch any. He used to think every village pickled vegetables was the same until dining with Aunt Li and others a few times, realizing theirs was unique.
Aunt Li mentioned that this method of pickling vegetables might be from the northwest.
Based on this, Qingyan suspected Qiu Henian might be from the northwest, but Qiu Henian had no memories of his past, making it uncertain, and such evidence couldn’t be relied upon, so he let it go.
After breakfast was cleaned up, Qiu Henian left the house.
Qingyan went to the mirror, trying to open his mouth and feeling pain not only at the corners but also in his cheeks and tongue root.
The ointment he applied tasted bitter, making his throat bitter too.
Last night, Qiu Henian showed signs of losing control again, but it wasn’t like the previous two times.
This time, Qingyan had absolute control. Whenever the other’s gaze seemed off or actions excessive, Qingyan bit his belly and thighs, making him feel pain and immediately sober up.
Even so, Qingyan still felt a sore throat.
He used to think of it as a form of intimacy, something he quite liked initially. However, as time went on, he realized it was simply exhausting physical labor, almost damaging his facial muscles.
After this incident, Qingyan decided never to attempt it again.
Tofu shop Liu Fa’s younger brother was named Liu Cai. His name was ordinary, but he actually looked quite spirited.
He was betrothed to Qi Yanlan from the neighboring Qi family. When Liu Cai was young, he had admired her, but she was quiet and didn’t play with him, often leaving him with a broken heart.
Later, due to the war, their father decided to move to relatives in the south. The whole family packed up and left in a convoy of carts and wagons, with Liu Cai crying all the way.
In recent years, with the war over, their father passed away from illness in another region, and the family never quite adapted to the new place. Liu Fa, as the elder brother, took charge and relocated the family back.
Liu Cai still missed Yanlan. Now that he was of age, Liu Fa decided to arrange a marriage for his younger brother.
The Qi family earned their living from farming and weren’t as well-off as the Liu family. This marriage was somewhat of a social climb, but Liu Cai was a good person, so the elderly father naturally agreed.
The engagement was set half a year ago, and they planned to marry when the weather warmed up after the New Year.
Now, the wedding was scheduled for early next month, and the Liu family had been busy with preparations.
With no elders at home, the elder brother and sister-in-law took charge of everything.
There were just over two hundred households in the village, all acquainted with each other. Liu Fa ran a business and had good relations with the villagers, so people came to help at his house every day.
That morning, Qingyan also went over. Liu Fa’s wife invited him onto the kang (heated platform).
Several wives and old women were already sitting on the kang. Qingyan greeted them and helped pick out things like red dates and lotus seeds for the upcoming wedding.
Everyone chatted and worked together. One man kept his head down, hardly saying a word.
He was older, with faint lines around his eyes, very thin, and his thin cotton robe swayed back and forth, patched in many places.
Qingyan silently observed him for a while.
This person was the young man he had seen by the river last time, Wang Heyao’s son, with his name written on his face: “Shen Min.”
Qingyan turned to Liu Fa’s wife, who gave him a bitter smile.
When Shen Min went to the outer room to fetch fresh beans, Liu Fa’s wife lowered her voice to Qingyan, “I called him here. He can at least live more comfortably with me. ”
She sighed and shook her head.
When Shen Min returned with the beans, Qingyan pretended to pick beans with him and struck up a conversation.
He said, “I’m Qingyan, Qiu Henian’s spouse from the Wang family.”
Shen Min glanced up at him quickly, then quickly lowered his head, saying in a very soft voice, “I know you.”
Qingyan smiled, “Yes, logically, I should call you elder sister-in-law.”
Shen Min shook his head, his voice even lower, “It’s not right for him to cause trouble with you all. The shop isn’t his, and he shouldn’t be farming that land.”
Qingyan was puzzled for a moment before realizing “he” referred to Wang Heyao.
Qingyan said, “He is him, and you are you. If you have time in the future, come to my house for a visit.”
The man looked at Qingyan for a while, then lowered his head again, neither agreeing nor refusing.
He didn’t say a word to anyone.
The work was nearly done, and some were already planning to visit the new house.
Liu Fa’s wife changed out of her apron and led them inside to see.
The Liu family’s house consisted of three rooms in a row: on the right was the tofu shop, in the middle lived Liu Fa and his wife, and on the left was Liu Cai’s house, which was now the new house. In the future, the new groom would live here with him.
All three rooms faced the courtyard and had their own entrances. The two inhabited rooms had kitchens. However, Liu Fa’s wife said they would still cook in her kitchen as one big family for now, not dividing things up.
If Liu Cai decided to leave the tofu shop in the future for something better, they would reconsider.
Most of the new house was already furnished with new beds, cabinets, chairs, and tables, all with clean, bright vermilion paint and snowy white walls. The bed was still empty for now, but in a few days, the bride’s family would come to bring new bedding.
As everyone circled through the new house, they all praised it, saying it was grand, and the sister-in-law had spent a lot of effort and money.
Liu Fa’s wife smiled and said, “My nephew is just like my own brother; of course we must arrange things properly for his wedding.”
Qingyan looked on somewhat enviously. When he and Qiu Henian got married, the circumstances were special, and they hadn’t arranged things so well.
Now that they were relatively affluent, it was no problem to tidy up like this. But Qingyan was now like a pixiu, eager to save money without wanting to spend it. Perhaps in the future, he would open a shop in town or expand the blacksmith shop at home, both of which would require a lot of money, so he had to spend it wisely.
The sun was directly overhead; it was already noon.
According to custom, the host family should keep helpers for lunch, but Qingyan wanted to go back to feed the chickens, so he intended to say goodbye and leave.
Liu Fa’s wife was about to detain him when someone in the courtyard shouted, “Young Master Wang from the Wang family is here!”
Qingyan turned his head and saw a familiar tall figure entering the courtyard, looking towards their house.
Liu Fa’s wife chuckled, “Alright, I won’t keep you. He’s already come to your door!”
Qingyan left the house and walked towards him, asking, “Why did you come?”
Qiu Henian said, “I have something to discuss with you.”
They walked home together. It was only after they returned home that Qingyan learned what the “matter” was.
Qiu Henian had brought back a basket of apples, expecting Qingyan to be at Liu Fa’s house, so he went to find him there.
Apples couldn’t be bought in town or the village at this time. This large household that ordered farm tools from the blacksmith shop stored apples in their cellar since last autumn. Qiu Henian and the steward of that household negotiated and bought a small basket at a high price.
Qingyan was quite happy, washing an apple and taking a big bite. It was sweet with a hint of bitterness, mixing with the ointment at the corners of his mouth, causing his face to scrunch up.
Qiu Henian watched him and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Qingyan said, “The ointment tastes bitter.”
Qiu Henian bent down, his voice low, “Let me taste it.”
Qingyan held up the apple, tilting his head to let his man taste the flavor in his mouth.
After a while, Qiu Henian’s voice hoarse, “It’s a bit bitter.”
The two separated, Qingyan blushing, and Qiu Henian pulled out his hand from under Qingyan’s robe.
“I have to go,” Qiu Henian said, looking at him.
Qingyan adjusted his robe, eyes lowered, unable to look at him, asking, “You’re not eating at home?”
Qiu Henian shook his head, saying, “There’s no time.”
Qingyan nodded and said, “Then I’ll walk you out.”
Qiu Henian left the courtyard, walking far away, and the warm and tender touch of his hand seeming to linger.
Qingyan couldn’t help but twirl his fingers.
Spoiler for the Next Chapter:
“You blockhead, didn’t you see your man coming back? Hurry up and make him some sobering soup.”
