Chapter 5: Why Didn’t You Attend the Provincial Examination?
Qingyan had seen coal and wood-burning stoves before, but he didn’t realize how difficult it was to control the heat with them.
With a gas stove, you just twist the knob to adjust the flame. But with coal, it either wouldn’t catch fire or would burn too fiercely, making him break out in a sweat from the frustration.
He also didn’t expect the soy sauce at home to be so salty. He thought he hadn’t added much, but it ended up being too much. Combined with the sauerkraut that was already salted during pickling, the dish turned out overly salty. After tasting it, he found it tasted almost like eating pure pickles.
Originally, Qingyan planned to set the dish aside and eat it himself while making another batch. However, he still couldn’t get the hang of the stove. If he tried cooking again, it would probably burn.
So, he decided to just let it be.
Earlier, Aunt Li had praised Qiu Henian so much for this meal. Qingyan suspected that before coming in to eat, Qiu Henian had high expectations for the meal. This made Qingyan feel especially guilty when he saw the other silently eating large mouthfuls of the overly salty food.
After the meal, Qingyan quickly tried to make up for it by insisting on washing the dishes. Seeing Qingyan so determined, Qiu Henian didn’t interfere and instead washed his hands and went into the inner room.
Once Qingyan had cleaned up and wiped the stove, he washed his hands and followed into the inner room.
The sky outside was already completely dark, but the moon had risen, allowing them to see each other’s silhouettes inside the house.
Seeing him come in, Qiu Henian, who had been staring out the window in deep thought, came back to his senses. He got up from the table, lit the oil lamp, and handed the bundle he had brought back to Qingyan.
Turning his face slightly to hide half of his cheek, he said softly, “Open it and see.”
Hearing this, Qingyan took the bundle. Finding it rather heavy, he glanced at Qiu Henian again before placing the bundle on the bed and sitting on the edge to open it slowly.
By the dim light of the oil lamp on the table, he saw neatly folded new robes inside the bundle.
At the top was a beautiful sky-blue jacket. Qingyan picked it up and admired its lovely color for a while before setting it aside. Underneath, he found a vest, a coat, even undergarments, and long socks. At the very bottom were a pair of cotton boots and a pair of cloth shoes.
As he looked through the clothes, Qingyan’s eyes grew misty. He tried on the jacket and the cloth shoes, finding that they fit perfectly.
He walked over to the tall figure sitting by the table and asked, “Do I look good?”
Qiu Henian, still with his face turned to the side and eyes on the floor, gave a low “Hmm” in response.
Qiu Henian had noticed that Qingyan didn’t bring any clothes with him and had gone out to buy these new clothes for him today.
Qingyan’s guilt over ruining the meal vanished instantly.
He even found the courage to question Qiu Henian, pouting, “You didn’t even look at me. How do you know if it looks good?”
Qiu Henian continued to avert his face, but Qingyan noticed his eyes shift from the floor to the window.
After a brief silence, he said in a low voice, “I looked.”
Qingyan realized he must have been watched while trying on the clothes and shoes earlier. He smiled, pursing his lips.
Qiu Henian moved a trunk from another bedroom, letting Qingyan store his new clothes. Once they finished organizing, it was still early.
The people here were used to going to bed at sunset and waking at dawn. There was little entertainment in the evening, and oil for lamps cost money, which they were saving since they had only recently been able to afford enough food.
However, Qiu Henian didn’t insist Qingyan go to bed early. Instead, he carried the oil lamp and took him to the next bedroom.
There, on an Eight Immortals table in the center of the room, he showed Qingyan a set of writing tools, saying, “The matchmaker said you’ve studied. You can use these.”
Qingyan nodded, feeling grateful but also nervous. He could write with a modern pen, but his brush calligraphy was rusty since he had only practiced it in elementary school.
Just as Qingyan feared Qiu Henian might ask him to demonstrate his writing skills, the other man turned his face slightly and asked, “The matchmaker said you passed the county and prefectural exams and should have taken the provincial exam this year. Why didn’t you go?”
Clearly, Qiu Henian didn’t know the truth.
Qingyan lowered his eyes and replied, “I’m a ger. Even if I passed the provincial or even the metropolitan exam, the court wouldn’t really use me. At best, I’d get a marginal position. I found it pointless and gave up.”
Hearing this, Qiu Henian turned to look at him. The oil lamp illuminated half of his face, making it appear warm and jade-like, while the other half remained hidden in darkness.
He studied Qingyan for a long moment before saying, “What a pity.”
Qingyan kept his head down, afraid his expression might betray him.
Qiu Henian assumed Qingyan was saddened by the topic and changed the subject.
“There’s a bookstore in town. If you want any books, let me know, and I’ll get them for you next time I go.”
Qingyan was outwardly pleased but inwardly troubled. He wanted to read, but he wasn’t sure if he could recognize the characters in this world.
Before bed, Qingyan followed Qiu Henian’s example, using cotton cloth and salt to clean his teeth, washing his face, and soaking his feet in freshly heated water. Once the bed was prepared, they were ready to sleep.
As the oil lamp was extinguished, Qingyan lay on the inner side of the bed, watching the tall figure draw the curtains around the bed by the light of the moon.
After the man lay down beside him and pulled up the quilt, Qingyan propped himself up on his elbow.
Qiu Henian asked, “Do you need to use the bathroom? Should I light the lamp?”
Qingyan shook his head, climbed over the man’s legs, and got out of bed. He rushed to the kitchen, poured a bowl of water from the kettle, and carefully brought it back to the inner room, setting it on the table.
Returning to the bed, he stood there and, in a small voice, said, “I put water on the table. It’s easier for you to drink if you get thirsty at night.”
Qiu Henian gave a soft “Hmm,” then bent his legs to let Qingyan climb back into bed.
Lying down, Qingyan turned to face him and, in a low, guilty voice, said, “The food was too salty tonight, and you ate so much of it. I’m afraid it might have been too much….”
He thought he heard a low chuckle but wasn’t sure. After a few seconds, he felt the man adjust his quilt. In the quiet night, Qiu Henian’s deep, magnetic voice sounded like a soft sigh.
He said, “Sleep.”
Those two words felt almost magical. Qingyan slowly closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of the bed, the comfort of the man’s body heat beside him, and the soothing rhythm of his breathing. He soon drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Qingyan woke up early, not sleeping in as he usually would.
In the past, Qingyan would stay up late playing on his phone, checking WeChat messages, watching fast-paced but meaningless short videos, and browsing shopping sites until the early hours.
He hadn’t slept so well in a long time, and when he woke up, he felt refreshed and his body comfortable. More importantly, his bottom didn’t hurt as much.
Last night, he had worried that if Qiu Henian wanted to do it again, he would have to fight him off with all his might. Another round might leave him bedridden. Thankfully, Qiu Henian hadn’t shown any such intentions.
Qiu Henian was up before him, already making breakfast in the outer room. Qingyan quickly got dressed, tidied himself, and hurried out to help, silently learning how to start the stove.
Overnight, the fire in the stove had burned out, leaving only residual warmth. Qiu Henian used a poker to remove the burnt-out coal, shoveled the ashes into the pit below the stove, and covered it with an iron grate. Then he carefully layered wood and coal in the stove, placing kindling at the mouth.
He seemed to slow his actions deliberately, especially when using the flint, almost step by step.
Qingyan felt a bit embarrassed but watched intently.
This morning, instead of frying dishes, Qiu Henian dug out a piece of frozen tofu and a chunk of pork belly from the snow pile in the yard. He tore the cabbage into pieces and added soaked vermicelli, cooking a pot of pork and cabbage soup. The main dish was a ring of cornmeal pancakes stuck to the edge of the pot.
Qingyan didn’t rush to help this time. He mainly observed how Qiu Henian controlled the fire, noticing that adding crushed coal to suppress the fire and poking it to allow air to reach the larger coal pieces when a bigger flame was needed. Suddenly, it all made sense to him.
During breakfast, each had a large bowl of soup and a hot cornmeal pancake. Qingyan also got two extra eggs, making this a hearty meal.
Qingyan took a bite of the pancake; it wasn’t extremely fragrant, but the side stuck to the pot was slightly charred and had absorbed the oil from the soup, making it especially tasty with a hint of the natural sweetness of cornmeal.
The soup was delicious too. Qingyan especially liked the vermicelli, which was cooked just right—smooth and hot. The frozen tofu was tasty as well, but he had to be careful not to burn his tongue as each bite released a burst of flavorful broth. The cabbage was cooked to perfection, soft and melting in the mouth.
After finishing breakfast, Qingyan felt warm and comfortable, with every pore feeling nourished.
They cleaned up the dishes together and tidied up the kitchen. When they were done, Qiu Henian poured some hot water into the washbasin, added some cold water to adjust the temperature, and soaked a clean towel in it. He wrung it out and came over to Qingyan.
Qingyan was sitting on the bed’s edge, waiting for his turn to wash up, when he saw Qiu Henian standing before him with his face turned to the side.
From his angle, he could see Qiu Henian’s Adam’s apple move as the man spoke in a low voice, “Tilt your head up, I’ll wash your face for you.”
Qingyan was momentarily stunned before quickly realizing that Qiu Henian remembered his offhand request from yesterday when he was acting coy.
Smiling with his lips pressed together, Qingyan tilted his head up, revealing his clean, tender face, and obediently said, “Thank you, husband!”
Spoiler for the Next Chapter:
“You two are already husband and wife. Your lives are tied together. What can’t you talk about?”
