Chapter 41: Trouble
On the painting, the image of a middle-aged man with an elegant demeanor and a white beard came to life vividly on the paper.
Qingyan had kept this matter to himself because he wasn’t entirely sure if the county magistrate of Nanhui County was Li Xizhen’s husband.
However, as events unfolded, it seemed increasingly likely that the county magistrate of Nanhui County was Qin Liangchuan from Liuxi Village.
After discussing with others present, the team leader sent someone to invite Qin Lan.
Fortunately, the team leader knew Ren Xiao, which facilitated the process.
When Qin Lan and her husband Ren Xiao arrived, Qin Lan burst into tears upon seeing the portrait.
The person depicted was her father.
Despite this revelation, Qin Lan still intended to keep this information from her mother, as the situation was not yet certain.
According to Third Brother Feng, Qin Liangchuan had encountered some difficulties. He remembered Li Xizhen’s appearance but couldn’t recall her name, which explained why Third Brother Feng knew Li Xizhen’s name but not her identity.
After further discussions among them, it was decided that Ren Xiao would accompany the caravan south in a few days to personally meet the county magistrate of Nanhui.
With the plans settled, though concerns lingered, Qin Lan repeatedly thanked Qingyan and held onto his hand gratefully.
The team leader returned the silver they had received.
For Qingyan, he had done all he could. What came next had to be left to Qin Lan and her husband.
On their way back, Qingyan hesitated before speaking to Qiu Henian, “I didn’t mean to keep it from you. I just wasn’t certain. I was afraid it might lead to nothing.”
Qiu Henian seemed ready to respond, but instead, he gazed at Qingyan with his calm, serene eyes, like a tranquil lake. After a moment, he gently squeezed Qingyan’s wrist.
Walking behind Qiu Henian, Qingyan bit his lip. In that moment, he felt deeply connected to Qiu Henian, sensing the subtle shifts in his emotions. He wanted to ask questions but decided to wait for the right time to take the initiative.
Qingyan lowered his head, silently resolving that one day, when the time was right, he would confide all his secrets to Qiu Henian—his true past and the necessary concealments included.
By the time they returned to the village, it was late. They hurried to the Liu family’s house. Qiu Henian waited outside while Qingyan delivered the items, exchanged a few words, and then headed back home.
…
The Dragon Boat Festival arrived swiftly. Qingyan held the ladder while Qiu Henian placed worm-repelling artemisia and calamus under the eaves of their house. They did the same for Li Xizhen’s house.
During the festival, the two of them spent time at Li Xizhen’s place.
Qin Lan returned with her child and informed her mother that Ren Xiao had traveled with the caravan for business. Li Xizhen, recalling similar situations with the pharmacy in the past, had no suspicions.
Following this incident, Qin Lan noticeably warmed up to both Qingyan and Qiu Henian.
Qin Lan called her young daughter over, pointing to Qiu Henian and Qingyan, saying, “In the future, these two will be your uncle and aunt.”
Encouraged by her mother, the little girl ran to Qingyan, eager to get close to him.
Qingyan hadn’t interacted much with children before. He glanced at Qiu Henian, who smiled back at him, and awkwardly bent down. He felt the soft cheek of the little girl against his own, a feeling both heartwarming and unfamiliar.
Watching nearby, Li Xizhen remarked with a smile, “You two should have a child soon. Then when this little one returns, she’ll have a playmate.”
At these words, Qingyan suddenly remembered the previous night.
After finishing reading, Qiu Henian had gotten out of bed. Qingyan assumed he was going to turn off the light, but it remained on, and Qiu Henian returned to bed.
However, when Qingyan turned and glimpsed the black wristband on Qiu Henian’s arm, his face flushed red immediately.
Despite the man’s strong physique pressing against him, Qingyan pushed him away and hid under the covers.
Kisses landed on Qingyan’s ears, neck, and the rough hands slipped under the blanket…
Qingyan bit his lip, counting the days. It had been over a week since the last time they did it, and he wanted to, but he was afraid…
Qingyan covered his lower abdomen with his hand, knowing that the signs of pregnancy were sure to show up again there.
He wasn’t ready to have a child yet. This matter had a huge impact on him, and he needed time to adapt.
Although the wristband helped during the process, in the end, the man’s loss of control reached its peak, and Qingyan himself was exhausted. No matter how he resisted, that place, like a wedge, went deeper and deeper, no matter how he pushed, climbed, or cried and begged, he couldn’t break free, and in the end, almost all of it went in without wasting any.
After several such incidents, it’s unclear exactly when, but Qingyan decided he didn’t want to risk getting pregnant either.
So, no matter how the man behind Qingyan kissed him, how his body moved, he didn’t move, biting his teeth and refusing to respond.
Fortunately, when Qingyan couldn’t hold on any longer, Qiu Henian turned off the light, and the room suddenly went dark.
Qingyan was a little uneasy, afraid that the man would be angry. However, he hugged him around the waist and belly. A light kiss fell on the back of his neck, as if he knew everything, a low voice comforted him, “It’s okay, go to sleep.”
This morning, Qiu Henian was still the same as before, as if nothing had happened, cooking and eating together, Qingyan sighed with relief.
The two finished their work together, and they came to Li Xizhen’s house for the festival at noon.
Just now, Li Xizhen’s words made them quiet for a while.
After that, Qingyan heard Qiu Henian’s low voice beside him, “This isn’t an urgent matter, let’s talk about it in a few years.”
Li Xizhen also mentioned that she still needed to discuss important matters with Qingyan.
Qingyan released his second batch of perfumes. He named them based on their distinct scents, designed labels, and Qin Lan was thrilled with them, predicting they would sell well.
After the Dragon Boat Festival, Qingyan and Qiuniang revisited the county’s major market. This time, along with snowflake ointment and perfume, Qingyan also introduced various hair accessories and affordable jewelry. He emphasized quality over extravagance, believing it would appeal to customers.
The success of these items largely depended on the stall owner’s selection and Qingyan’s keen eye for aesthetics.
Following Qingyan’s advice, Qiuniang also decided to venture into selling cosmetics like rouge and lead powder. She sought out a supplier through Third Brother Feng, who had recently started offering forehead ornaments, a trend that was just beginning to gain popularity.
The county’s large market was significantly bigger than those in the villages and towns, drawing a large flow of customers, including not only common folk but also wealthy noble families who flocked to make purchases.
Qingyan was thrilled with the turnout and he and Qiuniang were kept busy throughout. They even enlisted the help of three sisters from a wealthy family to assist them.
By nightfall, when it was time to pack up their stall, there was almost nothing left to take down.
Sanyao and Qiu Henian arrived to help dismantle the booth, and together they hurried back to the village under the cover of night.
In the evening, Qingyan and Qiuniang settled their accounts together and found that they had earned much more than the previous two times combined.
Qingyan conducted his usual review, focusing this time on using snowflake ointment as the primary product to drive sales of other items.
The sale of perfume was particularly noteworthy. Despite being a new product that initially puzzled many customers (no one asked about it initially), once customers tried it, many returned to purchase. The perfume’s appeal was more immediate than that of snowflake ointment.
Additionally, the goods brought by Qingyan and Qiuniang, such as snowflake ointment and perfume, were well-received by women and children. Qingyan attributed this to their specific types and targeted audience, which proved more appealing than the varied offerings of previous stalls.
The next day, Qingyan settled Li Xizhen’s accounts, distributing the profits as per their agreed terms plus a commission. Surprisingly, Qingyan’s net profit this time exceeded 30 or 40 taels.
Meanwhile, Qiu Henian recently returned with around three or four hundred taels of silver, after deducting his daily expenses and purchasing supplies like fertilizer and hiring labor. Even so, he had less than two hundred taels left. Adding their household savings, they now had over four hundred taels in total. This amount was substantial enough to purchase two hundred square meters of fertile land.
Qingyan joyfully stashed the money bag under the bed, unable to contain his happiness.
…
A few days after the Dragon Boat Festival, the field work was nearly completed. With the seedlings sprouting, timely fertilizing, weeding, and pest control were now the main tasks. Qingyan planned to handle these himself, only hiring help during the autumn harvest.
According to tradition, on the final day of work, they treated their hired workers to a meal and drinks to show appreciation for their hard work.
Since Sanyao from Qiuniang’s family wasn’t available and it wasn’t suitable to visit them, Qingyan and Qiu Henian decided to host the meal at their own home. Qiuniang also brought over meat and vegetables, and together they prepared a large spread. Since their outer room wasn’t big enough, they moved the feast to Wang the Blacksmith’s house.
Qiu Henian bought two jars of wine and some smoked sauce from the town’s cooked food shop. By noon, the four workers arrived from the fields. The eldest among them calmly washed up and sat at the table, while the youngest couldn’t resist looking around curiously. He was particularly intrigued by Qiu Henian’s scar, though the older worker discreetly reminded him to focus on the meal.
Qiuniang went to pick up Nian Sheng from the private school, and once they returned, the meal began.
Qingyan brought out the freshly steamed powdered pork as the final dish. When he reached out, a glimpse of his white wrist was revealed, dazzlingly bright.
After setting down the last dish, he sat down too, beside Qiu Henian, and they ate together.
Qiu Henian took care of the four workers, while Qiuniang attended to Nian Sheng. Qingyan ate quietly on his own. After finishing his meal, he went to tidy up the outer room and left without noticing someone’s disappointed gaze.
After three rounds of drinking, the old worker asked the young one to go to the outhouse together.
The young man was a little unhappy and grumbled as he left, “Why do you call me to go with you? I don’t want to go.”
Once in the courtyard, the old worker lowered his voice and said, “How many times have I told you, don’t look around recklessly at master’s house. You must know your place!”
The young worker, already a little tipsy, burped and said, “Did you see that? Young Master Yu is so delicate, but the man in this house is so ugly. it’s like a fresh flower planted in…”
“Shut up!”
The old worker interrupted him sharply, cutting off his words, deeply concerned, “With that mouth of yours, you’re bound to get into trouble sooner or later!”
The young worker didn’t care at all, wiping his chin with his finger, his eyes filled with fantasies, “Since Young Master Yu is interested in him, although I’m poor, my looks aren’t bad…”
Slap!
The old worker slapped him hard on the back of his neck. Angered, the young man trembled all over, “You’re really thick-headed. His demeanor and speech, how could you compare to him? Let me tell you, when we go back later, quietly eat your meal, and leave immediately without saying another word!”
The two returned to the house and resumed eating.
Qingyan and Qiuniang cleared up the outer room when they were almost done, and Nian Sheng had to go back to write the characters left by his teacher, so Qiuniang took him home first.
Qingyan returned to sit by the dining table, listening to their drinking and chatting.
Midway through, the young worker went to the outhouse again. Perhaps because he had drunk too much, he didn’t return for a while.
After finishing the meal, which was already in the afternoon, they settled the wages beforehand.
After the work was done by a few people, they enjoyed the good food and drink, and agreed to come back during the autumn harvest, satisfied and went home.
The two spent the whole afternoon exhausted, so they went back to their room to rest.
After resting for a quarter of an hour, they both got up again.
Qiu Henian was going to town in the afternoon to buy supplies, so Qingyan went to get the money from the drawer under the bed.
But as soon as he pulled open the drawer, he saw that the money bag that should have been inside was gone without a trace. The spot where it should have been was empty.
Qingyan exclaimed, and Qiu Henian asked, “What’s wrong?”
Qingyan’s face turned pale.
“The money… the money has been taken. Over four hundred taels of silver, all gone!”
Spoiler for the Next Chapter:
Qiu Henian couldn’t remember how many nights he had held the young man in his arms, his large hands stroking down his back from behind his neck, all the way down…
