Chapter 58: Wheel of Fate
The next day, Qingyan indeed followed Qiu Henian to the blacksmith shop. He kept himself busy as well, realizing that the year-end was approaching, and it was time to collect some overdue accounts and calculate the year-end profits.
He took out the shop’s account books and meticulously recorded and balanced the accounts. Qingyan’s calligraphy had become quite impressive; it resembled Qiu Henian’s handwriting a lot, but the corners of the folds and the size of the characters were still slightly different from Qiu Henian’s.
By mid-morning, the accounts were nearly balanced. Qingyan put away the account book and planned to go home to cook.
Just then, Xiao Zhuang came over and sat beside him, whispering, “Master, that family has come again.”
At these words, Qingyan glanced at him and followed his gaze. Outside the door, Zhang Ju, Liu Youfu, and Liu Xiang were standing together, peering into the shop from a distance.
Qingyan’s expression immediately darkened.
They had actually come!
He turned to look at Qiu Henian, who had also noticed the situation outside. However, Qiu Henian only glanced briefly, then seemed to ignore them and continued with his work, his expression turning colder.
Qingyan pursed his lips and whispered to Xiao Zhuang, “Go out and ask them what they need, be friendly.”
“Huh?” Xiao Zhuang hesitated.
This kid wasn’t stupid; he had figured out that something was wrong with Liu Xiang these past few days and didn’t want to approach him now.
Qingyan gave him a meaningful look.
“Come back, and I’ll give you two wen to buy sugar-coated haws.”
Xiao Zhuang’s face lit up upon hearing this. He jumped up and headed towards the family outside.
As soon as Xiao Zhuang went out, Liu Xiang grabbed his mother’s arm and stomped his feet, crying and turning away.
Zhang Ju scolded him, her expression equally unpleasant, glaring at Xiao Zhuang as if she wanted to kill him.
Qingyan turned his back to the door, pretending to be busy flipping through the account book in his hand. He listened to the intermittent commotion outside. Before long, the family left, and Xiao Zhuang returned.
Qingyan placed two wen in his palm and asked, “What did they say just now?”
Xiao Zhuang glanced at his master, saw his silent approval, and dared to tuck the two wen into his sleeve.
He said, “They kept asking me why I was alone in the shop that day and why I deliberately lied to Liu Xiang. I didn’t lie to him at all. He came up to me inexplicably. After I explained, Liu Xiang cried a lot, and then the man and woman pulled him away, grumbling as they left.”
Qingyan gritted his teeth, feeling quite angry.
He hadn’t expected this family to go to such lengths, boldly coming to confirm things like this.
Qiu Henian put down what he was doing and walked over, saying, “Xiao Zhuang, in the future, if you see this family again, just pretend not to know them.”
Xiao Zhuang quickly nodded.
“Okay.”
Qingyan sighed and said, “I hope they calm down after this.”
Qiu Henian raised his hand, wanting to touch Qingyan’s forehead, but thinking that Xiao Zhuang was right there, he instead placed his hand on Qingyan’s shoulder and gently squeezed it comfortingly.
In the following days, Qingyan remained uneasy. Most of the time, he stayed in the shop, causing Xiao Zhuang to grow even fatter from eating. His face turned pale and started to droop.
Even exercising with the hammer every day under his master’s guidance didn’t seem to help.
Fortunately, the family didn’t come again these days, and Qingyan felt slightly relieved.
Two days later, the shop closed for a day. Qiu Henian and San Yao exchanged shifts with the cart, and both families, along with Aunt Li, went to town. The weather was getting colder, and it was time to store autumn vegetables.
In the northern winter, fresh vegetables were too expensive for ordinary families to afford. By late autumn, when the temperature dropped, it was time to buy a large quantity of long-lasting vegetables to store and slowly consume throughout the winter.
The three families bought similar items: potatoes, Chinese cabbage, radishes, and scallions. Qingyan bought slightly fewer potatoes because there were still plenty of sweet potatoes at home.
He also bought some pickled sakura and mustard knots. Qiu Henian made extremely sour pickles every autumn, so these were for him.
With less than two months until the New Year, Qingyan also bought dried goods such as vermicelli, dried mushrooms, and wood ears that could be stored for a long time before prices rose.
They spent nearly half a day comparing prices and visiting different shops.
At noon, they bought some vegetarian pies from a street vendor and had them with warm egg soup sold by the roadside.
When they returned to the village, they unloaded the cart one household at a time. Finally, they unloaded everything at Aunt Li’s house. Qiu Henian and Qingyan cleaned the cart before putting it away in the warehouse.
After resting at home for a while, Qingyan went to the outside kitchen to prepare dinner, while Qiu Henian went to the yard to check the weather. Then he chopped the scallions and leaned them against the wall and brought out mats to lay on the ground. He also set up the big Chinese cabbage.
If the weather stayed nice tomorrow, he could dry the vegetables they had bought.
However, the chicks couldn’t be let out for these two days. Qiu Henian told Qingyan, and he surrounded the chicken coop with fishing nets, fixing them on both sides of the coop with two sticks inserted into the ground to form a square area.
Because the fishing net was high enough, the chicks had room to move around without flying out.
The remaining potatoes and radishes were directly placed in the warehouse. The temperature wasn’t too low yet, so they wouldn’t freeze for the time being. These days, Qiu Henian planned to find someone to dig a cellar behind the house so that the vegetables could be stored better.
He also thought that before the weather got too cold, he would buy a few baskets of apples for Qingyan to put in the cellar, allowing him to eat one every day and prevent his mouth from cracking again like before.
While Qingyan was busy cooking in the outer kitchen, he watched over the pot of porridge simmering and pondered that he needed to buy Qiu Henian two pairs of the thickest cotton shoes in the next few days. It would be best to custom-order them from the shop with mink fur lining, so he could alternate between the two pairs.
The price would certainly not be cheap, but Qiu Henian had suffered frostbite on his feet before. Although he had recovered last winter, they had to be especially cautious in recent years to prevent a recurrence for true recovery.
Moreover, they would definitely need to go up the mountain before the New Year, and during extended outdoor activities, ordinary cotton shoes wouldn’t suffice.
For dinner, they had porridge and steamed buns. Qingyan stir-fried dried green peppers with tofu skin, stewed oil soybeans he had bought today with a small piece of fatty pork, and added some meaty oil for flavor enhancement.
The oil soybeans now weren’t as tender as they were in summer, but the plump beans, once stewed, burst with oil, making them both fragrant and delicious.
After dinner, Qingyan washed the dishes while Qiu Henian boiled hot water and poured it into a basin for him. He also poured a bit into a bucket and washed the pickled sakura and mustard knots clean.
Sakura just needed their roots removed, so not much handling was required, while mustard knots needed peeling and cutting into strips.
Once everything was prepared, Qiu Henian sprinkled a generous amount of coarse salt over them to draw out the moisture from the vegetables.
Qingyan finished washing the dishes and sat nearby, resting his chin on his hands as he watched Qiu Henian work.
Qiu Henian noticed his gaze and smiled at him when he glanced over.
Qingyan’s eyes sparkled as he said, “You’re different from when I first met you. You smile more now.”
Qiu Henian’s hands paused briefly, and he instinctively wanted to touch his own lips.
Remembering they were covered in salt, he quickly withdrew them. It was rare for him to be this clumsy. Seeing Qingyan’s amusement, he couldn’t help but smile too.
After a while, when the moisture had been drawn out, Qiu Henian lifted the bucket and poured out the water, added more coarse salt, then lifted the pickling jar and poured in a large amount of vinegar.
The sour scent immediately filled the air, and Qingyan waved his hand to fan the air in front of him.
Qiu Henian sealed the jar, and only then did Qingyan dare to take a deep breath.
“Is that it?” Qingyan asked.
Qiu Henian nodded, “It’ll be ready to eat in three or four days.”
Qingyan watched as Qiu Henian moved the jar to a corner where it wouldn’t easily be disturbed, lost in thought.
Qiu Henian asked him, “What are you thinking about?”
Qingyan snapped out of his reverie. This unique way of pickling vegetables reminded him of the lost memories of the other party.
He said, “Uncle Qin was kidnapped in the county years ago. Although it’s been several years now, it’s not too long ago. It’s a busy downtown area, and with some effort, it may not be impossible to find clues about those bandits.”
At his words, Qiu Henian was stunned for a moment. Qingyan patiently waited for him.
After a while, he whispered, “I’ve been having strange dreams lately.”
Qingyan felt that these strange dreams of his were likely related to his past memories. However, he didn’t think these dream elements were actual memories but rather symbolic or imagery from the past.
He asked, “What do you dream about?”
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.”
Qingyan furrowed his brows slightly. Qiu Henian had already lowered his gaze, concealing his expression.
He said calmly, “They tell me not to look back,” he paused, “and I don’t want to look back either.”
Qingyan nodded without saying anything.
In his line of sight, the words beside Qiu Henian’s face had changed again. The vertically written “Unknown Identity” had become even more blurred, and below it, a faintly discernible “Central” character was visible.
Although Qiu Henian had decided not to look back, Qingyan knew that the wheel of fate was already rolling forward with a deafening rumble, dragging both himself and Qiu Henian along, unable to stop its advance.
Spoiler for the Next Chapter:
Due to this movement, the collar of his undergarment shifted aside, revealing a bit of the red strap of his finely embroidered chestband.
