T.N: It’s the start of a beautiful new week (not, it’s raining here), and I’ve been bothered by the nastiest headache for the past couple of days(╥﹏╥) I hope this chapter finds everyone good and excited, sorry for any possible mistakes, as I wasn’t really in the mood to edit. Happy reading!
When Zhou Guodong saw his son coming back, he put the pack of cigarettes in his pocket and introduced them: “Xu Shen, this is the partner of your eldest brother-in-law, Lin Xuehua. They will get married next week. Would you and Xiao Hui come back for the wedding?”
“I can’t make this decision alone. I will discuss it with Zhou Ding’s sister later, and then decide.”
Lin Xuehua felt sour for a moment, thinking that such a fine man listened to Zhou Hui’s words.
“Hahaha, that’s good!” Zhou Guodong was happy that his son-in-law and daughter had a good relationship. It would be great if his daughter was the master of the household. He greeted them: “Let’s go into the house.”
It was almost dinner time, so Zhou Qiang said to his fiancée: “Xuehua, you go and help our mother cook.”
Lin Xuehua nodded and went to the kitchen to have a look. Zhou Hui’s second brother was also there, washing a big pig’s leg, and making her greedy.
“Zhou Ding, are we having pork chops for lunch? Can we finish such a big piece?”
Zhou Qiang was right. This brother-in-law was both rich and generous. Such a big piece of meat costs a lot of money, and he was willing to buy it. Lin Xuehua also thought it was better to eat it in two meals… Just add more dry vegetables to absorb the fat and juices.
Shu Ran knew the thoughts of his future sister-in-law, so he commented: “There are so many people in our family, how could we not finish it?”
Otherwise, the second he turns his back, any leftover meat would be taken directly to Lin Xuehua’s house… Zhou Qiang, a mellow and henpecked man, didn’t care about the life and death of his own family.
The pig leg was cooked in two ways. Steamed with taro, and stewed with dry vegetables. The meat was still sizzling in the pot, making all the little kids salivate. Not to mention the children, even the adults were greedy while smelling the fragrance.
The wheels in Lin Xuehua’s head were turning fast. She would have come with her parents if she had known about the pig leg. Now it was too late and she was afraid it would look bad if she left. She turned around and muttered to Zhou Qiang: “My parents haven’t met your brother-in-law yet… We will all be relatives in the future, so why not take this opportunity to let them meet?”
Zhou Qiang immediately understood and turned to his father: “Dad, how about I go call Xuehua’s parents over so they can get to know my brother-in-law?”
Zhou Guodong was not a fool, so he said: “It’s almost time to eat, why are you shouting? Call them after!”
Zhou Qiang: “…”
When Shu Ran heard this, he rolled his eyes. This sister-in-law was all about taking advantage of others, eager to drag anything good to her own family. Fortunately, Zhou Guodong was still somewhat sober. He could keep Zhou Qiang in check for a while.
The dishes were served, and everyone in the room was eating with enthusiasm.
Only Shu Ran and Xu Shen were calm, only eating a few pieces. They could always go back home and eat if they were hungry. Looking at all the famished children, Shu Ran really didn’t want to lift his chopsticks and fight with them…
Putting down his bowl, Shu Ran asked Xu Shen in a low voice: “Do you eat sugar cane? If you like it, I’ll go chop some.”
He remembered there were stalks of black sugar cane planted by Zhou Hui in the vegetable garden.
“Do you want to eat it? I’ll cut it.” Xu Shen went to the kitchen to get a knife and took his wife out of the house. There was no one around, so he immediately hugged his slender waist and kissed him twice, as if charging his batteries.
“Hello?!” Shu Ran didn’t expect to get attacked, so he hurriedly looked around.
“There’s no one. I’ve looked.” Xu Shen smiled, thinking he hadn’t touched his wife in a long time. It was uncomfortable, and his palms were itching.
“It’s not good. Please pay attention!” Shu Ran lectured him.
Out in the open and underneath the blue sky, Shu Ran didn’t pay him any attention. His mind was fully on the sugar cane. The pig’s leg was too oily, and he couldn’t stand it.
“You don’t eat meat. No wonder you’re so thin.” Xu Shen picked a good sugar cane, chopped it down with his knife, and cut off its tail. Such a heavy and big stalk of sugar cane was like a toy in his hands, extremely obedient.
“It’s too greasy.” Back in the 80s’, all animals were raised naturally, without any additives. The pork sold in the market was fat, with no lean meat.
“Beef is lean, but you still don’t like it.” Xu Shen said. He carefully peeled off a section of the sugar cane, and cut it in small sections, offering them to Shu Ran. “Be careful when you eat. Don’t hurt your mouth.”
“Oh.” Shu Ran took the piece and put it in his mouth. It was sweet and delicious. After finishing, he thought he took it for granted, so he said: “Thank you, Brother Shen!”
Xu Shen paused, then reached over and hooked his arm around Shu Ran’s neck, squinting his eyes in an unhappy mood: “Who are you saying thank you to? Do we still need to thank each other?” Shu Ran… Did he want to piss him off?!
“Oh, then let’s not talk about it.” With such a bad reaction, Shu Ran realized he had said the wrong thing. Forget it…
“It’s so annoying.” Xu Shen stared at him for a while and let him go, with “depression” written all over his face.
“Brother Shen, don’t be angry. I won’t say it again.” Shu Ran shook Xu Shen’s arm and gave him a bite of his own sugar cane: “Here, try it. It’s sweet.”
Xu Shen looked at the sugar cane that was handed over, thinking he was really easy to coax. After taking a bite, he also cut a piece for himself.
His knife skills were so superb, that Shu Ran was stunned for a moment. He wanted to learn but knew he could never reach his level. Xu Shen’s hand strength was already way out of his reach.
“Why is your brother so stupid?” Xu Shen sat on the field, eating sugar cane and chatting with Shu Ran.
“He’s the eldest son.” Shu Ran smiled and continued: “My parents have been counting on him since he was a child. It’s their spiritual sustenance. In the future, they’ll rely on him in old age.” Over time, Zhou Qiang developed a selfish and arrogant personality, with the desire to dominate everyone in the family.
The lack of education was a big problem, especially in a family with a lot of children. Shu Ran thought deeply about it…
“Rely on him? Are you sure?” If Shu Ran’s parents really ended up at Zhou Qiang’s mercy, they would be so pitiful. A couple of weak and old people, getting bullied by their daughter-in-law.
Even Xu Shen could see the problem. It was that obvious, even for a stranger who didn’t have a lot of contact with them.
“Otherwise, should they rely on me?” Shu Ran never had that idea. In the future, he could at best send them some money, with no emotional support. The same went for his younger brothers and sisters. Help them with everything that was in his power, but there was no need to develop an emotional bond. That was his principle.
The only exception was Zhou Hui, as his life-saver.
“I have no parents of my own. If you want to take care of them in the future, it’s up to you.” Xu Shen said, thinking it was nothing difficult. Just add a pair of chopsticks to their table…
“It’s still early now. Let’s talk about it later.” Shu Ran spit out the sugar cane residue, and asked suddenly: “Brother Shen, what would happen if your parents came back for you? Have you ever thought about it?”
Shu Ran was not very clear about the specific situation of Xu Shen’s parents. He only knew that his biological father would want to recognize him in the future. Back then, he didn’t know that the female educated youth he was dating had become pregnant with his child. Twenty years later, she contacted him and confessed to giving birth to a son and abandoning him in the village after his return to the city.
“I never thought about it.” Xu Shen continued. “They never came back in the past twenty years, so what’s the use of coming now? They were as good as dead a long time ago.”
Shu Ran clicked his tongue. So cruel. It turned out this was Xu Shen’s attitude toward his biological parents.
“Maybe there was a misunderstanding. For example, the man never found out about your existence… Once he knows, I’m sure he will want you back…”
Shu Ran’s words were interrupted.
“This is a made-up story. Things don’t happen like that in reality.” Xu Shen rubbed Shu Ran’s head. His wife was simple and naive. “People only care about their own interests. If he wants to recognize me, it’s only because it’s profitable. Do you understand?”
When Shu Ran thought about it, there was no way to refute it. He didn’t know the situation. Maybe the man only wanted to recognize Xu Shen because he had no other descendants left. In short, it wasn’t just because of a pure father-son relationship…
He was indeed too naive.
“Well, you are doing good now, and it’s wonderful.” Shu Ran put away his ideas and said: “Live your life well. It doesn’t matter if he’s still alive or not.”
Xu Shen put his arm around Shu Ran’s shoulder and cheerfully said: “We should live our life well. I will give you a good life in the future. Trust me.”
Shu Ran didn’t want to listen to him, but what else could he do? He could only ignore it: “The current days are quite good.”
Xu Shen looked at him lovingly: “That’s because you haven’t seen much of the world and don’t know there are better days ahead.”
“…” Shu Ran was not happy. He has not seen much of the world?! What was Xu Shen dreaming about and talking in his sleep…
“Yes, you have seen a lot of the world. You are so amazing!”
“Don’t be angry, I was wrong!” Xu Shen said immediately.
Not long after, several children came to the vegetable garden to look for them. They all followed Xu Shen, calling him “brother-in-law” one by one. Xu Shen peeled the remaining sugar cane for them to eat.
Seeing this group of dirty children with patched-up clothes, made Xu Shen remember his own childhood. He was once a child just like that, but with a much harder life.
He was once chased and beaten for a piece of sugar cane.
He once received a lot of nasty glares for a single bowl of rice.
Those who have never experienced it would never know what it’s like to be a beggar.
Shu Ran asked him what if his parents came back. Xu Shen often fantasized about that when he was a child. When he was beaten so hard he had to question his own survival, huge disappointment came hand in hand with that dream. Later, as he got older and more sensible, he simply stopped thinking about it.
The most difficult times were over. Xu Shen could never completely trust anyone he met after that. It wasn’t that he deliberately wanted to stay away from people. It was just his instincts.
“Brother Shen, let’s go back.” Shu Ran patted the grass from his buttocks and took the group of children with him.
…………
The family suddenly lost two laborers. Zhou Qiang was not happy. Seeing them coming back, he asked: “Dingzi, are you working now? If not, come back for a couple of days and help with the farm work. We are too busy!”
He has to do all the hard work at home, while Zhou Ding and Zhou Hui are busy getting lazy in the county town.
Xu Shen frowned. He wasn’t fond of Zhou Qiang to begin with, but now he really rubbed him wrong. He asked Zhou Guodong: “Father-in-law, are you really so busy?”
Zhou Guodong quickly answered: “No, no, we’re not that busy yet.” However, he smoked a cigarette and noticed his daughter-in-law was not there… He quickly glanced at Zhou Qiang: “You say you are busy, but still have time to go and work for the Lin family?”
Shu Ran was not surprised by Zhou Qiang’s tricks this time. He wanted him to come back home and work for others.
Zhou Qiang was disgusting and also made others feel disgusted. “Brother, I see now, you are also busy in town. There’s too much work to do at home, so I can’t come and help you. But if you want, you can take Xuehua’s brothers with you. We are all relatives, I’m sure they’ll give you face and come work for you.”
Zhou Qiang dared not say anything about him working for others, but instead tried to stuff Lin Xuehua’s brothers down their throats…
Xu Shen thought to himself: “What a useless coward!” His parents, brothers, and sisters were already living like this, but he was full of compassion for other people’s families…
“Huh.” Zhou Guodong was unhappy when his son didn’t answer his question, but he was still the eldest son… The family’s only pillar of support… It was better to not say anything.
After drinking a few sips of tea, Shu Ran said it was time to go back to the city. Hu Jinhua felt sorry for her second son. She heard he was now living with Xu Shen, depending on his generosity. She packed some rice and oil and moved them to the car, with Zhou Guodong’s approval.
When Lin Xuehua saw this scene, her heart started bleeding. In her mind, all those things belonged to her, as the wife of the eldest son.
“Isn’t it more convenient to buy rice and oil in the city? Why get them from home?!” Of course, she only dared to whisper to Zhou Qiang.
“Take a good look at it.” Zhou Qiang said sourly. “Now that Dingzi has a city job, my parents started fawning over him. And me? I’m just an honest and humble farming son…”
But he didn’t dare say it too loud. In the future, he also wanted to go and find a job in the city. He needed to rely on his brother and brother-in-law, so it was better to not anger them.
“Then let your brother take care of your parents in old age.” Lin Xuehua commented.
Zhou Qiang fell silent. He couldn’t pretend to not know that the entire family’s resources were saved for him.
…………
In the afternoon, it was easy to fall asleep while driving. Shu Ran chatted with Xu Shen from time to time, keeping his attention engaged. “Shall we drive the car back to Brother Fan later? Or can we take it to our home?”
Xu Shen glanced at Shu Ran and smiled. Shu Ran said “our home”. This little thing was enough to keep him secretly happy for a while. “Ah, just drive back to our house. If Jiang Fan needs the car tomorrow, he can come and get it.”
“Oh, Brother Fan is really rich. He doesn’t even care for this car…” Shu Ran didn’t really want to inquire. It was just pure chatting.
“Don’t envy him. I’ll get one for you to drive later.”
“I’m not envious…” Shu Ran continued casually: “I’m not that kind of materialistic boy.”
Xu Shen smiled sullenly. “Yes. I already know that. Have to beg you to let me buy something good.”
No matter how much money he made in the past two years, and how good his life has been, Xu Shen wasn’t happy. It was only after Shu Ran came into his life that his little two-story courtyard house finally felt like home. It was working outside every day and coming back home to his wife that truly made him happy.
When they returned, it was already four o’clock, still early for dinner. Shu Ran said with concern: “You are tired from driving all day. Why don’t you go upstairs and get some sleep? I’ll call you when dinner is ready.”
“Well, you’re not tired?” Xu Shen hoped Shu Ran would come with him. They hadn’t been alone all day, and he was now panicking.
“I have to cook with my sister, otherwise she might write the word “lazy” on my forehead and parade me around town.”
“Don’t exaggerate!” Zhou Hui passed by and heard her brother talking crap about her, so she commented angrily: “If you’re tired, go up and lie down for a bit. I’m not your boss, why should I care about you?”
Xu Shen smiled. “Did you hear that? Thank your sister quickly, and let’s go up.” He almost begged Shu Ran to come with him.
Intimacy was inevitable when they were alone. Shu Ran went to the bathroom to wash his face and get rid of the sweat on his body. Knowing that he liked being clean, Xu Shen also went to wash after him. The old car didn’t have air conditioning, so it was hot all the way back. Xu Shen’s shirt was soaked with sweat. After taking it off, he began to wash it in a basin of cold water, and drops of water splashed on his eyebrows.
After pushing the hair on his forehead back, Xu Shen caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror. His young face was sharp and angular, and his once unruly eyebrows became a little gentler after getting married.
Shu Ran wore one of Xu Shen’s shirts, waiting for him in front of the electric fan. The wind pushed the shirt back, outlining the shape of his lean body. There were visible traces of intimacy left on his body, adding some contrast to his youthfulness.
And this contrast was fatally attractive.
As soon as Xu Shen walked in and saw Shu Ran wearing his own clothes, his throat felt itchy. Not only his throat but his entire body was electrified.
Shu Ran also glanced at Xu Shen, who was only wearing a pair of trousers. The waistband was hanging dangerously low, but it wasn’t intentional. He just didn’t wear a belt when coming out of the bathroom. Unlike those greasy men with forcefully sexy personas, Xu Shen looked quite manly dressed like that.
“What’s wrong?” Xu Shen looked down at his pants. He forgot to bring a change of clothes just now, and this pair was already dirty.
“I forgot to take clean clothes with me. I’ll change right now.” Xu Shen went to look in his closet.
“I can bring them to you next time.” Shu Ran was appreciating the beautiful scenery, expressing his gratitude.
“Okay.” Xu Shen nodded. “After our sister gets married in the future, I’ll call you if I’m too lazy to move.”
“…” Xu Shen was obviously looking forward to Zhou Hui getting married, but Shu Ran was worried. He sighed in his heart, thinking that coming out was so difficult. It was difficult back in 2022, wouldn’t it be even more difficult in 1983?!
Xu Shen took off his trousers and put on a clean pair of shorts. He sat down next to Shu Ran to enjoy the cold wind and said softly: “It’s a bit crowded… Why don’t you sit on my lap?”
The moment Shu Ran was hugged, he immediately felt the heavy presence, throbbing vigorously under his buttocks.
