Chapter 49: Liu Xiang
The summers in the north are short. After entering August, the weather no longer feels as oppressively hot.
In the mornings and evenings, one might even need to wear a light robe over a thin shirt, though it remains sweaty around noon.
There’s no need to work in the fields daily now. Having an interval every few days was enough.
The blacksmith’s shop has reopened.
It’s not yet harvest time, so there’s not much work in the fields. If needed, Qiu Henian goes out early by himself and returns after finishing. Qingyan prepares breakfast just right, and they eat together. Then he heads out to the shop.
Once Qiu Henian leaves, Qingyan grabs a small basket and goes with Qiuniang and Autumn Lady to the mountains to gather ferns.
The early August ferns were still tender. After blanching them in boiling water, they’re mixed with chili oil and minced garlic, offering a taste and texture different from common wild vegetables—very delicious.
These ferns were not cheap. After gathering enough for their own tasting at home, they sold the rest, which brought in a decent little income.
On this day, they also found a pleasant surprise: a large patch of sorghum fruit among the trees. Each fruit was not large but bright red, juicy, and delicious.
They each picked a lot of sorghum fruit to take home, only regretting that the basket wasn’t big enough.
Back home, Qingyan put the sorghum fruit directly into the basket and hung it on the clothesline to wash off the water scoop by scoop.
After taking out a large handful, he put it in a basin, added white sugar, smashed and mixed the fruit until evenly coated with sugar, then poured it into a large bowl and chilled it in the freshly drawn cold well water.
In the evening, when Qiu Henian returned, he saw his little apprentice happily eating sorghum fruit. When he entered, Qingyan’s eyes sparkled as he looked up at him. His face has regained its whiteness, with red fruit juice still sticking to his lips, looking quite attractive.
Qiu Henian also looks at him, silently counting to himself, “One, two…”
Sure enough, before he could count to three, Qingyan had already stood up, gently nestled into his arms, and affectionately rubbed against his neck before putting a piece of fruit in his mouth.
Qiu Henian opened his mouth and ate the fruit. He hugged Qingyan’s waist, kissed his fingertips still stained with juice, and then kissed his lips stained with fruit juice.
Puckering his lips, Qingyan said, “More.”
Qiu Henian chuckled, lowered his head, and kissed him tenderly.
After kissing, Qingyan looked satisfied, like a fox spirit soaking up the sun. Licking his lips, he left Qiu Henian’s embrace contentedly.
Qiu Henian quickly washed up, changed his robe, and together they dished out the food from the pot, sitting at the table chatting while eating.
Qingyan mentioned that they found a lot of sorghum fruit on the hillside today. He and Qiuniang have already remembered the location and planned to go pick more in a few days.
He also mentioned that they gave Li Sheng a large bowl of sorghum fruit. When he went to her house, she was busy cooking the flower buds they recently gathered, looking quite happy. It seems Lan Jie hasn’t told her about that matter yet.
They talked back and forth like reporting to each other. Qiu Henian also talked about what ironware he forged today and how much money he made. Little Zhuang’s younger siblings came to the shop today and brought pickled vegetables made by Little Zhuang’s mother.
In the end, there was nothing more important to discuss, just miscellaneous chatter, but both were quite happy. Qingyan was cheerful, and Qiu Henian’s lips occasionally curled into a smile.
After finishing their meal, Qingyan took out the bowl of chilled sorghum fruit soaked in sugar water. They each took a spoon and enjoyed it—refreshingly cold, sweet, and sour, much better than the taste of commercially sold ice and snow.
Two days later, Liu Fa’s daughter-in-law came to their house in a hurry, borrowing five catties of white flour from Qingyan without even sitting down. She said their household was running short of flour and would buy more the next day to repay her.
Qingyan asked curiously, “What urgent matter brought you here?”
Liu Fa’s daughter-in-law sighed and said, “It’s that relative we mentioned last time!”
The trading caravan that was supposed to return in a month hadn’t arrived yet, but the relatives Liu’s family had said would come in two months unexpectedly arrived early.
According to Liu Fa’s daughter-in-law, they had already set the date in their letter, but those relatives quietly set off early, catching Liu’s family unprepared with nothing ready.
“Well, since they’ve come, we have to figure out how to settle them. There’s no time to make a table full of dishes, so we’ll just make a batch of pork and green onion dumplings for them. With so many people, we can make them quickly,” Liu Fa’s daughter-in-law said as she was already leaving.
She turned back and said, “Alright, no need to see me off. You hurry back inside. I have to get back to work. We still don’t know where this bunch of people will sleep tonight. Sigh.”
Qingyan knew about this. Liu Fa sought help from the village head and borrowed an old vacant house in the village.
Although the house was old, it was still sturdy. Liu Fa had someone repair it, and within a few days, the family arrived.
Now Liu’s family was busy every day with the tofu shop’s work. On top of that, they had a pregnant daughter-in-law to worry about and these relatives who have come from afar. It must not be easy for them.
In the evening, Qingyan mentioned this to Qiu Henian, suggesting they should bring some things over to take a look tomorrow.
Qiu Henian pondered for a moment and said, “It seems those relatives may not be easy to get along with. Just go over to visit; there’s no need to get too close.”
Qingyan nodded and said, “Okay.”
The next day, Qingyan carried a basket of sorghum fruit he had picked to Liu’s house.
As soon as he entered the courtyard, he was stunned. There was a large cart in the yard with things still unpacked on it, and scattered items on the ground.
Qi Yinglan happened to be sitting in the yard.
When she saw him, she straightened her slightly bulging belly, grabbed his hand, and said, “Big brother Qingyan, you’re here. Come inside quickly.”
Qingyan smiled and said, “I picked a basket of sorghum fruit for you all to try.”
Qi Yinglan happily took the basket and said, “We were just craving this. The fruit you picked is really good, so fresh.”
Once inside, Qingyan understood why Yinglan was sitting in the yard. The house was also filled with a lot of stuff, with bags open and things scattered all over.
When Liu Fa’s daughter-in-law saw him, she hurriedly asked him to sit down.
They exchanged a few words, and then two brothers who looked very alike came out from the neighboring room. The taller one, the elder brother, was named Liu Yong. The younger, more delicate-looking one was named Liu Xiang.
Liu Xiang’s eyes lit up when he saw the basket of sorghum fruit.
He looked at Qingyan and said, “Is this handsome brother giving the sorghum fruit to me?”
Qingyan hesitated for a moment, glanced at Liu Fa’s embarrassed daughter-in-law, and smiled awkwardly, “Let’s all eat it together.”
Liu Xiang said eagerly, “Then my brother and I will wash them and bring them over to share.”
Saying that, he and his brother, who was staring blankly at Qingyan, carried the basket out of the house and washed it in the yard.
Qingyan lowered his voice and asked Liu Fa’s daughter-in-law, “How did they spend the night yesterday?”
Liu Fa’s daughter-in-law sighed, “They wanted to stay in Yinglan’s house. I stopped them and let Liu Fa and I sleep on the floor of the tofu shop’s house, letting them stay in this house.”
After a while, Liu Xiang and his brother returned after washing up. They placed the basket on the kang (heated brick bed), took off their shoes, and sat cross-legged next to the basket. They began to eat the fruit one by one and even called their brother over to join them.
Liu Fa’s daughter-in-law looked at them with a displeased expression, and Qi Yinglan bit her lip, looking unhappy.
At this moment, a middle-aged couple came in from outside. They looked to be around forty years old and were the parents of the twins. The man was named Liu Youfu, and the woman was named Zhang Ju. They greeted Qingyan politely before going back inside.
Qingyan felt it was about time to leave and bid farewell.
As he left, he glanced at the brothers. They had already picked through and eaten most of the large basket of sorghum fruit. What was left was already too ripe after being washed, not suitable for further eating.
As he left, Qingyan heard Liu Xiang say to Qi Yinglan, “Sister-in-law, hurry and eat. I’ve saved the best ones for you!”
When he returned home, Qingyan saw Lan Jie’s daughter playing alone in the neighboring courtyard. The door didn’t block the sounds of crying and soft consolation from inside the house.
Li Sheng’s crying wasn’t loud and heart-wrenching but muffled and intermittent, making anyone who heard it feel uneasy.
Finally, Qin Lan had told her mother.
Qingyan hesitated for a moment but decided not to go over. It was better to let Lan Jie and Li Sheng’s mother and daughter have a good talk.
The next day, Qingyan went to the blacksmith’s shop.
Xiao Zhuang’s family sending over pickled vegetables reminded Qingyan that he should also prepare some delicious food to take to the apprentices at the shop when he had time.
When he arrived at the shop, Qiu Henian was out getting supplies and hadn’t returned yet. It was already close to noon, so Qingyan took out a plate of dumplings from the food basket and served them hot to Xiao Zhuang first.
The dumplings were filled with pork and chives, each containing a shrimp, making them fresh and fragrant. Xiao Zhuang ate with his eyes narrowed in delight, the flavors making his mouth oil up.
One plate wasn’t enough, so Qingyan served him another half plate, and only then was Xiao Zhuang satisfied.
After finishing his meal, Xiao Zhuang even knew to take the empty plate, clean it with water, and return it to his master.
Once they were done eating, the two sat at the door chatting.
Xiao Zhuang said, “Yesterday, there was a strange man and woman who came by. They didn’t even ask about the ironwork; they just stood at the door pretending to casually watch my master. After staring for a long time, they left. But when we were closing up, they came back and quietly asked me about the robbery that happened at your place last time.”
Qingyan looked at him in surprise and asked, “Why did they ask about that?”
Xiao Zhuang scratched his head.
“I don’t know either. At first, I thought they were just curious, but they didn’t seem very interested in the matter. They just kept asking me how much money my master brought back from the county office.”
Qingyan furrowed his brow and asked, “What did you tell them?”
“I really didn’t know anything about it,” Xiao Zhuang replied.
“I told them I didn’t know, but they started guessing randomly. At one point, they asked if I had a few copper coins, and then they shook their heads and said it couldn’t be so little if someone was facing execution. Then they asked if I had a hundred taels. They kept pestering me until I casually said it was a hundred taels, and only then did they leave.”
Hearing this, Qingyan became worried. There had been a theft at his house before, and he was quite sensitive about it. He wondered if someone was targeting his family again.
He hurriedly asked, “What do those two look like? Describe them to me.”
Xiao Zhuang thought for a moment and described them to him.
Qingyan listened attentively and vaguely felt something familiar. After a while, he remembered. The man and woman Xiao Zhuang described sounded very similar to the new relatives who had recently moved in with Liu’s family.
Could they be the same people?
Qingyan bit his lip, pondering. He couldn’t understand what these two people were up to.
According to Xiao Zhuang, those two only came to the shop after he had visited Liu’s house. They might have heard about the theft from Liu’s family or other villagers, prompting them to come and inquire.
But the whole situation seemed suspicious.
Who would come specifically to ask about a theft out of mere curiosity, especially when there were so many unresolved things at home?
Thinking it over and over, he couldn’t come up with an answer.
At that moment, a tall figure pushed a heavy cart of pig iron back from outside.
Qingyan quickly got up, took a cloth, and went over to wipe the sweat from Qiu Henian’s forehead.
Qiu Henian had a hard time pushing the cart all the way back. When he saw Qingyan, his expression remained unchanged, but there was a faint joy in his eyes.
Xiao Zhuang hurried over to help his master unload the cart. Qingyan returned to the house and heated up the dumplings he had left using the shop’s iron pot.
Once the work was done, Qiu Henian washed up and sat down to eat. Xiao Zhuang attentively poured him a bowl of strong alcohol.
Qiu Henian usually didn’t drink much, only occasionally with Liu Fa and the others. Drinking in the shop was mostly when he returned from getting supplies, the drink helping to relieve fatigue.
Curious, Qingyan picked up a bowl and took a sip. The fiery liquid spread from his mouth down his throat and into his stomach like a burning flame, painful and choking.
Qiu Henian quickly brought him water to drink. After finishing, Qingyan teared up. He stood up out of habit, intending to sit on the other’s thigh, but realized this wasn’t home and felt embarrassed, but Qiu Henian hugged him tightly before he could move.
“Someone’s here…” Qingyan mumbled, covering his face.
Qiu Henian slowly stroked his leg to comfort him, whispering softly in his ear, “No one’s here. Xiao Zhuang has sharp eyes. He just went out.”
Spoiler for the Next Chapter:
“Under the covers, the beautiful face was pale with a touch of red, eyes moist, lips rosy, with white traces still lingering.”
