Chapter 57: Little Sticky Rice Cakes
However, Yu Qingyan had no intention of entering the house at all.
He stood at the doorway with a smile, handing over the basket in his hand, saying, “There’s still work at home, so I won’t come in to sit. These are the things Liu Xiang left at the shop yesterday. I brought them back on my way back from the shop.”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Ju was momentarily stunned but quickly reacted. Her eyes rolled, and she put her hands behind her back, refusing to take the basket.
With a cold smile, she said sarcastically, “Xiang’er has already told us that these aren’t things left at the shop. They were sent by him…”
Just then, Qingyan suddenly interrupted, calling out loudly, “Liu Family’s Sister-in-law,” cutting off Zhang Ju’s unfinished words.
Zhang Ju wasn’t very pleased. Her expression tightened, and her mouth twisted as she said, “I was saying, Yu Qingyan, you really can’t control your…”
“Liu Family’s Sister-in-law!”
Qingyan raised his voice again, interrupting her once more. However, he still wore a smile on his face, appearing as if he had a good temper and liked chatting.
Neighbors around had already started peeking over, and Qingyan glanced around.
Zhang Ju noticed this and turned to look as well, but she didn’t feel the need to avoid them. Instead, she showed a determined look. The more people there were, the louder and more public the scene needed to be, so that it
wouldn’t end well for Qingyan no matter how he tried to interfere.
She was just about to raise her voice to bring up yesterday’s matter when Qingyan spoke first, not loudly or softly, saying, “Yesterday when Liu Xiang came to the shop, my husband wasn’t there. He had gone to help at our third brother’s place. Only the apprentice was in the shop. He’s young and inexperienced. When a customer left something behind, he didn’t know how to return it. Liu Family’s Sister-in-law, sorry about this. I hope everything is still there.”
Zhang Ju’s anger instantly deflated. Her face flushed red, unable to respond.
She stammered, “What… why wasn’t he there? But no, Xiang’er clearly told me…”
Qingyan raised an eyebrow slightly but continued to smile, his tone becoming more serious.
“Liu Family’s Sister-in-law, the neighbors are all watching. You must be careful with your words.”
Zhang Ju frowned, her eyes full of defiance.
Qingyan continued, “The apprentice in the shop is only sixteen, with many siblings at home. Even though their family’s conditions aren’t good, his parents and older siblings spoil him. He’s an honest kid. Today, he even asked me if he should come here to clarify things with Liu Xiang. Liu Family’s Sister-in-law, if you think it’s necessary, shall I call him over?”
On the surface, Qingyan was talking about the incident of something being left in the shop, but his words had deeper implications. Zhang Ju quickly realized this, and cold sweat almost broke out on her forehead.
Could it be that Liu Xiang had really misunderstood yesterday?
No wonder when he came back and talked about the blacksmith’s behavior, it was different from what she had seen herself. He wasn’t as composed and indifferent.
If this was indeed the case and she made a big deal out of it, for the sake of reputation, Liu Xiang would have to marry that poor apprentice.
She and Liu Youfu had hoped to leverage Liu Xiang’s potential to live a comfortable life in the future.
Even if the blacksmith affair didn’t work out in the end, they could still find a suitable match in the town or county. If she married that apprentice, all hope would be lost.
Thinking of this, Zhang Ju’s head buzzed, and she quickly said, “No need, no need. The basket is fine. Just give it to me.”
Qingyan handed over the basket, and Zhang Ju hurriedly took it.
Qingyan smiled and said loudly, “Take another look. There really are quite a few things inside, right?”
Zhang Ju replied decisively, “Quite a few!”
Qingyan then asked, “Yesterday, did Liu Xiang go to the shop to get iron tools?”
Zhang Ju nodded without hesitation, “Yes, our iron pot was leaking, so I asked him to go to the blacksmith shop to patch it up.”
Qingyan nodded and said with a smile, “Alright, everything’s clear now. I won’t delay you from your work any longer. Liu Family’s Sister-in-law, Liu Family Elder Brother, I’ll head back first.”
“Alright,” Zhang Ju hurriedly responded.
Liu Youfu also smiled and said, “Come over to our house when you have time.”
Qingyan smiled, turned around, and left. After walking a while, he heard Zhang Ju yelling loudly, “Who let their chicken into our yard? It doesn’t lay eggs and just takes up a nest!”
Qingyan stopped in his tracks, hesitating whether to turn back.
At that moment, a neighbor nearby interjected, scolding, “Who’s shameless enough to throw their stinky garbage everywhere? You think everyone is stupid?”
Zhang Ju’s voice broke into a shrill, “Who are you talking about? Which eye of yours saw me throwing it?”
The neighbor sneered, “It wasn’t you, it was the dog.”
“You… I’ll shut your mouth!”
“Come on, watch me slap you, shameless thing!”
Qingyan hadn’t been in the village for long, and he had already seen Zhang Ju arguing with neighbors like this. Hearing the two about to fight, Qingyan shook his head and left.
Back home, he still had some time. Qingyan fed the chickens and collected five or six eggs from the coop. They must have been laid recently, as the eggshells were still warm.
After returning to the house, he placed the eggs in a basket specifically for storing them. He roughly counted and found there were thirty to forty eggs accumulated.
Qingyan took good care of the chickens, often going out to dig wild vegetables to mix with bean cakes for them. Occasionally, he would take them to the riverbank to eat bugs. When the weather turned cold and there were no more wild vegetables, he would pick leftover grains from the fields to feed them.
The eggs laid were bright red with deep yellow yolks, almost like they were about to drip with oil. They were delicious whether boiled or fried.
Qingyan washed and chopped the last head of sour cabbage given by Aunt Li. This year’s sour cabbage had almost been eaten up.
These days, he needed to discuss with Qiu Henian about going to town to buy some autumn vegetables. Aunt Li had already agreed to teach him how to pickle sour cabbage together.
The dough he had prepared earlier was also ready to be kneaded for a while.
A few days ago, he brewed another jar of fatty oil. The leftover oil dregs were scooped out by him and mixed with sour cabbage. Once the seasoning was added, the flavor bloomed without needing extra soybean oil; it was fragrant enough.
Qingyan steamed a large pot of pork fat and sour cabbage filling buns, fried five eggs with scallions, and made a large plate of celery and potato shreds, packing them into a food basket. He carried the heavy basket to the blacksmith shop.
Upon arriving at the shop, the master and apprentice were busy and hadn’t eaten yet.
Seeing the master’s wife arrive with a food basket, Xiao Zhuang’s eyes lit up. He hurriedly ran out to take it.
But he had just made a mistake and didn’t dare to appear too excited. His facial expression twisted—half of his face showed happiness while the other half contorted as he struggled to contain it.
This amused Qingyan, who asked, “Are you happy or not?”
Xiao Zhuang scratched his head sheepishly and said, “I dare not be happy.”
Qingyan couldn’t help but laugh, giving Xiao Zhuang’s head a gentle tap, much like what Qiu Henian usually did.
He said, “Go wash your hands and set the table. Let’s eat.”
When Qingyan entered the shop, Qiu Henian was almost done with his work. He put down the hammer in his hand, threw on his robe, and went to wash his hands.
As he washed, he kept an eye on Qingyan.
Qingyan knew he was being watched but ignored him, not speaking to him either. He and Xiao Zhuang brought out the food together and set it on the table.
There were only two stools in the shop. Xiao Zhuang hurriedly ran out to borrow a stool from the neighboring shop.
Qiu Henian walked up beside Qingyan, glancing at him with the corner of his eye, and helped bring out the dishes.
Seeing that Qingyan still ignored him, Qiu Henian lightly coughed and asked, “So, everything went smoothly?”
Qingyan turned his head to look at him, then stared at his unbuttoned shirt, revealing the muscles of his chest.
Despite this distraction, he spoke firmly, “Don’t think that just because you’re showing off your bare chest to me, I’ll soften up. Let me tell you, I’m angry!”
Qiu Henian helplessly stroked his temples and glanced outside.
Seeing no one around, he asked, “Can I still get a kiss after making you angry?”
Qingyan raised his head defiantly and said, “Fine.”
He then tiptoed and kissed Qiu Henian on the lips before resuming his anger.
Xiao Zhuang returned with the stool, and the three of them sat around the table to eat. He ate together with his master and mistress, not daring to pick out the best parts, but constantly reaching for the plate of potato shreds.
Qiu Henian scooped some fried eggs into Qingyan’s bowl and also served Xiao Zhuang. He didn’t eat much of the eggs himself.
After a while, there was one piece of egg left on the plate. Qingyan picked it up with his chopsticks and put it in Qiu Henian’s bowl. Qiu Henian glanced at him, smiled at the corner of his mouth, and lowered his head to eat the egg.
The buns with sour cabbage and pork fat filling were sour, salty, and fragrant. They were so delicious that the large pot of buns was finished, and Xiao Zhuang’s belly bulged.
After dinner, they cleaned up and washed the dishes together, finishing quickly. Qingyan then left with the food basket.
However, he didn’t stay away for even an hour before he sneaked back.
Without doing anything, he sat at the shop door soaking up the sun. When someone passed by, he greeted them.
When it was time to prepare dinner, Qingyan got up, patted his robe, said goodbye, and went home again.
Qiu Henian put down what he was doing, walked to the door of the shop, and watched Qingyan’s figure disappear around the corner.
In the evening, Qiu Henian returned home, and they had dinner together.
Qiu Henian asked, “Are you going to the shop again tomorrow?”
Qingyan nodded, “Yes.”
After dinner and cleaning up, Qingyan turned around and was immediately embraced by Qiu Henian.
“Are you planning to watch over me at the shop every day?”
Qiu Henian lowered his head and looked at Qingyan, his gaze soft as he asked softly.
Qingyan’s eyes reddened, and he lowered his head for a moment before saying, “You don’t know how scared I was. If it had been you at the shop yesterday, things wouldn’t have been resolved so easily today.”
Qiu Henian held him tightly around the waist, sighed softly, kissed him on the forehead, and said, “Qingyan, don’t be afraid. Even if it had been me yesterday, I wouldn’t let you down.”
Qingyan nodded firmly, “I believe you.”
Saying that, he buried his face in Qiu Henian’s neck.
After a while, Qiu Henian asked again, “Are you still going to the shop tomorrow?”
Qingyan hesitated for a moment before saying decisively, “I will.”
Qiu Henian burst into laughter and said, “If you want to go, then go.”
He raised his hand and gently pinched Qingyan’s cheek, affectionately saying, “Little Sticky Rice Cake.”
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Spoiler for the Next Chapter:
Qiu Henian said, “Someone called my name over and over, telling me to go and not to look back. Many voices, some familiar, some unfamiliar.”
