Chapter 8: Bathing
After sweeping Aunt Li’s courtyard and being rewarded with a handful of roasted melon seeds, Qingyan cracked and ate the large and fragrant kernels, feeling much better.
The matter of returning to his ancestral home was resolved, and there was still ample time to deal with Yang Huai’s affair. He would be cautious not to intersect with the other party, perhaps that would leave room for maneuvering. Having been ill for a while, he started to feel resigned; being anxious now wouldn’t help.
For lunch, Qingyan made something simple for himself. After eating, he took a short nap and then went to Blacksmith Wang’s house to practice recognizing and writing characters.
He brought over “Records of Mountains and Rivers” and, based on the context and his memory of what Qiu Henian had read, slowly recognized each character one by one. He initially focused on recognizing characters, so when he grew tired, he practiced writing, meticulously forming each stroke. Not only did he aim to write the characters correctly, but he also tried to make them look as neat as possible.
At this time, calligraphy was a basic skill for scholars. Almost every one of them wrote beautifully, and Qingyan’s handwriting would likely expose his identity if shown to others.
Time passed quickly while he focused. When Qingyan felt exhausted and stopped. It was already time to prepare dinner.
He dried the used paper and carefully folded it, hiding it at the bottom of his robe box. Ideally, he should burn it, but paper was expensive, usable even on the backside, and the gaps between words could also be utilized. Qingyan was reluctant to part with it.
After tidying up and washing his hands, he began to think about what to cook for dinner.
For the main dish, he planned to make cornbread. Yesterday, when Qiu Henian brought back the tangyuan, he also went to Old Zhang’s tofu shop and got a large piece of tofu. There were also eggs at home that could be fried with some chopped green onions, giving it a particularly savory taste.
Two big men needed more than one dish, so he decided to stir-fry some shredded potatoes as well.
With the plan set, Qingyan started to wash the vegetables, only to realize that there wasn’t much water left in the water tub.
Qiu Henian had told him that the water at home came from the village well in the middle of the village. If there wasn’t enough water, Qingyan was supposed to tell him, and he would go fetch it.
However, Qingyan, a young man who considered himself quite strong, didn’t see the need to wait for someone else to fetch water. He put on the new sky-blue padded jacket, found a carrying pole in the courtyard’s storeroom, and clumsily hooked two water buckets onto it. With the pole on his shoulder, he set out.
This was Qingyan’s first time wandering around the village. The sun was about to set, and the temperature had already started to drop. The breath he exhaled turned into white mist.
It was dinner time, and smoke rose from many chimneys. There were children dressed warmly, their noses running, playing in groups of three or five. There were also people passing by, fetching water, and three or four elderly men and women gathered together, waiting for their children to call them back for dinner while chatting.
From afar, Qingyan could see the group of people looking in his direction, ceasing their chatter as he approached. As he passed by them, he felt their gazes piercing him like needles.
Qingyan ignored them and continued walking towards the well. Not far away, he heard someone from the group behind him whisper, “Isn’t that the new son-in-law of the Wang family?”
Another person responded, “Yes, it’s him. I saw him in town a couple of years ago, but he seems taller now and even more good-looking.”
“Look at that young face, so fair and tender. Even the village chief’s second daughter looks less fresh. That slim waist of his, I’ve seen brothers from ten miles around, none could compare.”
“Hey, that’s not nonsense.”
The man lowered his voice and said, “Mrs. Wang, their matchmaker, drank too much at my house two days ago and spilled the beans. At least this much was spent to marry him into Old Wang’s house.”
He seemed to gesture something with his hands, and others murmured in admiration.
“Such a handsome young man, and I heard he’s educated too. Even if they paid so much, the old Yu family in town wouldn’t easily let go!”
“Hey, you don’t know this. This lad’s own mother passed away long ago, and his stepmother doesn’t care for him. She’s been hoping for him to marry out. Yesterday was supposed to be the day to return to the ancestral home. I heard someone came early in the morning and told them not to go back, clearly not valuing the Old Wang family.”
“How could anyone not value them? This blacksmith’s shop makes more than us farmers who toil the fields, but compared to a scholar, that’s low-class. Moreover, Old Wang’s son has such a face, it’s truly frighteningly ugly. If you woke up suddenly in the middle of the night and saw him, you’d probably faint. If he had a child, right after it was born and saw this ugly father, it would probably scare them to death!”
“You’re too harsh!” someone scolded, but quickly laughed, saying, “But what you’re saying is true.”
The crowd burst into laughter.
Even though they were speaking quietly, their words were clearly audible to passersby, showing they didn’t care to hide anything.
Qingyan bit his lip, stayed silent, and went to the water well to fetch water.
There was residual snow on the ground in winter, compacted firmly by the tread of passing shoes, making it slippery. The well’s mouth was frozen over with a thick layer of ice from repeated splashing.
Qingyan had seen such wells at tourist spots and on TV before. He clumsily tied the water buckets to the rope, then slowly lowered them into the well using the windlass. When he felt the buckets had become heavy with water, he began to wind them back up. Soon, the buckets surfaced.
He carefully gripped the handle with one hand and held onto the bucket with the other to lift it out. It took some effort, but he managed to retrieve the bucket.
If he wasn’t careful during this process, it was easy to slip on the frozen ice at the well’s edge and fall into the icy well, which would be disastrous.
He filled another bucket the same way, shouldered his carrying pole, and steadily made his way back.
When he passed by the group of chatting people again, they fell silent, watching him with amused expressions.
Setting down the water buckets, Qingyan rubbed his shoulder and pretended to catch his breath, joking with them, “Grandfathers, grandmothers, haven’t eaten yet?”
Although it was unexpected for him to suddenly greet them, they all nodded and smiled, saying, “Not yet, food’s cooking at home, heading back soon to eat.”
Qingyan nodded, continuing casually, “We haven’t eaten either. This pork elbow just won’t soften. I’ve burned two stoves of coal, and the meat is just starting to tenderize.”
The people exchanged glances, and an old lady chimed in, “Yes, yes, the elbow must be stewed till it’s tender.”
Qingyan gave her a thumbs-up, praising, “You know your stuff, I first melt rock sugar in hot oil. When the sugar turns slightly red, I add the whole pork elbow, so the skin gets a sugary glaze. When it’s oiled and shiny, I sprinkle in Sichuan peppercorns and star anise. Ginger slices and scallion pieces mustn’t be missed. After sautéing them until soft, the aroma of the spices emerges. Then, I add hot water…”
He raised a finger, his expression serious, “it must be hot water, because cold water will tighten the meat, making it less tender when stewed.”
“After adding the hot water, simmer over low heat. When it boils, I pour in some soy sauce and salt, cover the pot, and let it stew. The steam starts billowing around the pot lid, and the meat aroma fills the house!”
Qingyan sniffed as if he could smell it, “It would be so fragrant by then!”
“Gulp”
Someone couldn’t help but swallow saliva.
Qingyan lifted his hand, pretending to hold a plate, “When this elbow is stewed to perfection, the skin is so tender it practically melts in your mouth. The lean meat inside is soaked in juices, neither dry nor tough. Take a big bite and the meat skin just dissolves, oily and aromatic. Absorb the meat juices, chew the tender lean meat, rich in texture and layers. That taste, let’s not mention how delicious it is!”
“Gulp”
“Gulp”
Now almost everyone was secretly swallowing saliva.
Qingyan smiled faintly, rubbed his frozen-red hands, lifted the water bucket again, and smiled, “The elbow at home should be done soon, and Henian should be back soon. I wonder what goodies he’s bringing back this time. I told him, I can’t wear all those robes he buys…”
He added politely, “Everyone, grandfathers, grandmothers, I’ll go back first. You can continue chatting.”
Ignoring their reaction, Qingyan carried his carrying pole and headed home.
After filling the tub with water at home, Qingyan went to clear the snow, looking at the two pork elbows lying quietly inside. In the end, he couldn’t bear to take them out to cook, just took a small piece of lean meat, diced it, and stir-fried it with tofu and eggs.
Dinner was ready, but Qiu Henian hadn’t returned yet. Qingyan pushed the cornbread on the edge of the pot aside, put in two dishes, covered the pot to keep them warm with the residual heat.
After that, he sat by the stove, lost in thought.
The words those people just said were too harsh, and Qingyan was very angry. However, he didn’t argue with them; after all, the blacksmith’s shop mainly did business with villagers, and they also had to live in the village. It wouldn’t be good to sour their relationship too much.
He also understood that those people might not have had any bad intentions; they were probably just jealous because the smithy definitely made more money than ordinary families like theirs.
But hearing them talk about Qiu Henian like that still made Qingyan feel very uncomfortable.
“Ah,” Qingyan sighed softly.
By the time Qiu Henian returned, it was already pitch dark outside.
They ate in the outer room lit by an oil lamp.
Qiu Henian said, “I’ve accumulated quite a bit of work these past few days, so I might be coming back around this time for a while. You can eat first, no need to wait for me.”
Qingyan shook his head, “I had a few bites while cooking, not hungry.”
After eating, Qiu Henian went to the warehouse to fetch firewood and returned, preparing to boil water.
Despite it being a deep winter, once the stove in the shop was lit, it got quite warm inside, inevitably causing sweat, especially with the coal ash and dust. By the end of the day, his clothes were dirty.
Knowing he wanted to bathe, Qingyan swiftly cleaned the large pot and prepared the water.
Qiu Henian sat by the stove, adding firewood to the furnace, while Qingyan helped by operating the bellows nearby.
With the fire burning brightly, it didn’t take long for the water in the pot to start bubbling, gurgling and sizzling.
Qiu Henian got up and brought out the bathing tub. Together, they cleaned it and placed it in the inner room.
By then, the water in the large pot had boiled. Qingyan scooped the hot water into the bucket, and Qiu Henian carried the bucket into the inner room, pouring bucket after bucket into the tub, mixing it with cold water until it was ready.
Seeing this, Qingyan took Qiu Henian’s change of clothes and placed them by the bed. After hesitating for a moment, he prepared to go to Blacksmith Wang’s room and wait, but Qiu Henian called out to him, “Qingyan, you go ahead and wash first, I’ll go after you.”
Qingyan paused, then turned to look at him.
Indeed, firewood wasn’t easy to come by, and coal wasn’t cheap either. It wasn’t convenient to burn water for a bath, so they naturally had to make the most of it.
Even though he thought this way, Qingyan’s cheeks still reddened slightly.
He hesitated for a moment, whispering softly, “You go ahead and wash first, I’ll go after you.”
Qiu Henian’s response was a gentle push on his shoulder, saying, “I’m dirty.”
With that, he left the inner room, closing the door without giving Qingyan time to continue hesitating.
Qingyan did want to bathe. He felt his hair had already gotten oily.
Originally having short hair, it unexpectedly grew long once he came here, and Qingyan still wasn’t used to it.
There was still activity outside, with Qiu Henian adding firewood to the stove. Bathing in this weather required heating up the room, or else catching a cold would be easy.
Qingyan undressed, let down his hair, and stepped into the bathing tub.
The hot water made every pore of his body comfortable. He sighed softly, keeping an ear on the sounds outside.
As he bathed, Qingyan couldn’t help but think, what if Qiu Henian suddenly opened the door now?
Though he knew Qiu Henian didn’t mean to, just thinking about it made Qingyan start to take it seriously. As the busy footsteps outside approached the door, Qingyan’s heart clenched nervously, as if something was about to happen.
After a few instances like this, Qingyan lightly slapped his cheek, scolding himself silently, “Full and warm, yet I’m imagining things. If he really comes in, I’ll be so scared!”
He was afraid the water would cool while Qiu Henian bathed, so once he rinsed off the soap, he hurried out. Using a cloth to wrap up his hair and quickly drying off his body, he put on undergarments and threw on a robe before calling the men from the outer room to come in.
As soon as the door opened, a wave of steam mixed with the scent of soap and body wafted out.
Qiu Henian turned to look at him, his gaze briefly assessing Qingyan, “Done bathing?”
Qingyan suddenly felt a bit embarrassed, not daring to look at him directly.
He nodded and said, “You go in and wash, I’ll tend to the fire.”
Qiu Henian replied, “No need to tend. I just added coal ashes to stoke the fire. It’s warm enough inside.”
Qingyan quickly glanced up at him, “Then I’ll go to the neighboring room…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Qiu Henian had already grasped his arm, leading him towards the inner room, saying, “It’s cold outside the outer room, and there’s no oil lamp in the other room. Since you’ve just finished bathing, don’t go out.”
After imagining countless times that someone might surprise him while bathing, did it end up turning out to be the opposite?!
Spoiler for the Next Chapter:
After glancing several times, Qingyan quickly turned his head and faced the inside of the bed, feeling his nose itching.
