Author Archives: Thingyan

“They can feed ducks and chickens all they want! It’s none of our business.” Chen Qi didn’t want to argue too much with Chen Ama and the others, so he took his wife, who was standing by the side silently, back to the room.

When they were in the room, Chen Qi looked at his wife who was sitting on the bed without saying a word. After thinking about it, he said with ease, “Don’t think too much, it will be fine after a while. It’s just a matter of time.”

Chen Qi’s wife continued to sit there quietly, neither speaking nor answering. His face was expressionless, and one couldn’t tell what he was thinking. Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com. Chen Qi didn’t think much about it, even though he was still so angry after hearing what Chen Ama said, “Don’t think too much, I will never marry another ger anyway.” He walked over and gently hugged his wife, “I will never let you down.”

Who knew that the next day, Chen Qi’s wife was gone. Nothing was missing in their room, but the person did not come back until it was dark. It was already later in the afternoon when Chen Qi came back, looking anxious. His lips were about to crack; he had searched all the places to look but couldn’t find his wife. In the end, he went to Anle Village hoping his wife would be there.

“Who knew that my father-in-law would not allow me to see my wife and said that since his son is being disliked, he would leave our Chen family! How could he think of separating?!” Chen Qi said to Li Changfeng with a sigh.

After listening to Chen Qi’s words, Li Changfeng felt that the old Chen couple did not handle the situation properly, but it was the Chen family’s own affairs and not appropriate for him to comment too much. The only thing he could do was to accompany Chen Qi to drink.

After parting with Chen Qi, it was almost dark. Li Changfeng thought about Xu Qing and the child who were waiting at home, he drove the cart home in silence.

By the time he got home, Xu Qing had already brought the food to the dinner table.

“You’re right on time every time, the meal has just been served and you’re back.”

Xu Qing put Tuantuan aside and looked at Li Changfeng who had washed his hands and sat down.

Li Changfeng gave a flattering smile, “Don’t you know that my wife’s cooking is delicious. Of course I have to come back early.”

Xu Qing heard the smell of wine coming from Li Changfeng’s body and thought that he had been drinking with Wang Lei, “Did you really drink Wang Lei’s apology wine?”

“No, I met Chen Qi.” While chewing a delicious meal, Li Changfeng told Xu Qing about meeting Chen Qi on the street and the situation at the Chen family.

“It’s not really my concern though. After all, it was his Ama’s idea. So I just accompanied him to drink some wine and let him talk things off his chest. It worked for him; he seemed to feel better.” Regardless, he didn’t care much about others’ affairs.

After listening, Xu Qing instantly understood the reason why Chen Qi’s wife left. The in-laws already found someone who was willing to be the second wife of his own man. How could he have any face to stay in that house any longer?

“Eat quickly, take a hot bath afterwards, and wash off the smell of alcohol on your body, or I won’t give you a hug.”

Li Changfeng nodded again and again. While he was eating, he did not forget to add vegetables to Xu Qing’s bowl.

“By the way, speaking of Wang Lei,” Li Changfeng suddenly thought of what Wang Lei said to him today, “He said that in the future, we can go to his store to buy goods for the base price.”

Xu Qing already ate dinner and was feeding Tuantuan fruit powder. “What did you say?” He didn’t think Li Changfeng would agree.

“Of course I didn’t agree. I’m not like others.” There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Besides, it would be a loss for the Wang family. Li Changfeng could not go and ruthlessly kill his newly-married brother’s family.

“Also, if relatives are involved in business, it is easy to create conflicts. It is better to act separately and peacefully.” Xu Qing did not know how many times he had heard of relatives who turned against each other because of business, and naturally he did not want Li Changfeng to go down that route.

The two had a warm dinner, and after washing, they talked for a while before hugging each other, feeling each other’s body temperature, and gradually falling into dreamland.

***

There was a saying that when the spring was over, summer wouldn’t be far behind. The seedlings were sown in the ground, corn was planted in the fields, and the weather was getting warmer.

In a blink of an eye, it was May. The apricots and peaches in the mountains were ripening early, especially the wild cherries that fell off a tree. Although the fruit was small, it had a lot of volume!

Not only did the children like to pick these wild fruits, Xu Qing was also moved when he saw it. When he was a child in the orphanage, he had no money to buy food. What the little kids in the orphanage looked forward to the most was the wild cherry tree in the yard. Not only were the flowers beautiful when they bloomed, the fruit was also the delicacy they looked forward to. So, Xu Qing had a different feeling for this wild cherry.

Li Changfeng walked out with Tuantuan, who was almost half a year old, and watched Xu Qing cleaning the wild cherries that Li Changfeng picked up for him this morning.

“It’s good to eat less of this stuff. It gets a little bitter the more you eat,” Li Changfeng didn’t eat less of this when he was a child. Tuantuan stretched his neck hard and looked at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing lowered his head to wash the red cherries, and when he heard Li Changfeng’s words, he shook his head with a smile.

Few people know that cherries were high in iron, ranking first among all kinds of fruits. Regular consumption of cherries could supplement the body’s demand for iron and promote the regeneration of hemoglobin, which could not only prevent iron-deficiency anemia, but also enhance physical fitness and strengthen the brain. Also, drinking cherry juice for children could prevent infection, and cherry pits had the effect of sweating and detoxifying.

Moreover, the wild cherries were versatile and could be used to make cherry wine. The imperial court stipulated that ordinary people could not use grain to make wine, but there was no rule that wild fruits could not be used to make wine.

“Have you ever had fruit wine?”

Xu Qing looked at Li Changfeng and said with a smile. This man was an expert compared to him in drinking wine.

“Fruit wine?” Although Li Changfeng usually pretended to be a pig and eats a tiger, he was not stupid. Looking at the cherries that Xu Qing was cleaning, he immediately understood, “Use these to brew wine?!”

“Ah!” Tuantuan in Li Changfeng’s arms mumbled a few inhuman words very timely.

Xu Qing was satisfied to see Li Changfeng’s surprised look. He put the washed wild cherries aside, stood up, and said proudly, “Let me show you two sirs!”

After he finished speaking, he went to the warehouse and found a few small jars, which were used to store pickled vegetables. They were stored in the warehouse when not in use.

Li Changfeng knew that his wife could definitely surprise people when he made a move. He immediately put Tuantuan in the cart made for him, and rushed over to help Xu clean the jars. At this time, Xiaobao walked slowly to the front of the cart and laid down lazily.

After washing the hands and the jars thoroughly, Xu Qing pounded the washed cherries until juices flowed out, put them in the jar, added sugar inside, and let Li Changfeng try some.

“It’s as simple as that. After two or three days, the skin slag would float up and form a cap, taste the juice then and when you find the sweetness decreased and the wine flavor became more prominent, it means the wine was being brewed properly and the initial process went without error.”

Although Li Changfeng felt that it was a bit too crude to make wine in this way, he still followed every step that Xu Qing said obediently.

Xu Qing became more and more energetic. Seeing that Li Changfeng alone was enough to finish the remaining cherries, he carried the basket on his back, took the knife and bamboo pole and prepared to go out.

“I’ll go out and bring back some more. Finish these cherries at home. You’ll thank me in a few days.”

Li Changfeng looked at what Xu Qing was holding, “Okay, then be careful not to fall off the tree.”

After hearing this, Xu Qing took a deep breath, “Don’t underestimate the Lord!” Thinking that he was the first to climb up when picking cherries in the orphanage back then!

After he finished speaking, he rushed to the back mountain not far away.

There was a large area of ​​wild cherry trees on the back mountain, and it was also relatively safe on the periphery of the mountain. Although there were not many wild fruit trees there, it was enough for the villagers to pick some. When Xu Qing got there, there were already more than a dozen little children chatting excitedly under a wild cherry tree.

“Gǒu zi is the strongest. You go up the tree.”

“Gou dan is the tallest here. You catch the fruits.”

“Da Niu has the most flexible body. You follow behind Gou Zi.”

Xu Qing looked at the child who was arranging everyone. It was the child who came to their house to notify the ancestral hall meeting when Luo Jiao’s incident was revealed.

(T/N: Luo Jiao is the one who cheated on his husband, seduced our ML, and got kicked out of the village).

Xu Qing looked at the group of children who were listening to the child’s words without a hint of dissatisfaction on their faces. Those who climbed the tree were plucking and dropping the fruits onto the ground, and those who did not climb the tree obediently carried the basket and picked up the fruit that fell on the ground.

The little leader was about to climb the tree when he heard another kid, who saw Xu Qing standing nearby for a long time, said, “Someone is watching us.”

“Hey, aren’t you the elder brother from the back mountain?” The little leader had eaten the snacks given by Li Changfeng and Xu Qing before. He and his younger brother especially liked to eat the pickled vegetables sold at the Xu family store. So, when he saw Xu Qing, he naturally wanted to say hello.

“Yeah, I’m here to join in the fun, you guys are at this tree, I’ll go over there.” Xu Qing knew that with him there, the children probably wouldn’t be able to play very much, so he offered to move to a different tree. Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com. As soon as he finished saying this, he saw a few children looking relieved.

While Xu Qing thought it was funny, he also felt that children were indeed children with everything written on their faces. However, he didn’t know that in Li Changfeng’s eyes, he was also like a child.

The little leader looked back at his companions who were waiting for him and nodded, “Okay, when we’re done, I’ll come help you!” The little adult leader patted his chest as if he were a big man and spoke to Xu Qing.

Facing such a cute and kind little kid, Xu Qing naturally wouldn’t refuse his kindness, “Alright, then I’ll thank you first.”

Sure enough, seeing that Xu Qing was not refusing, the little boy’s eyes almost cracked with laughter, and he waved at Xu Qing and returned to the group of children.

Xu Qing didn’t stay any longer. He looked around at the other cherry trees in the area. He chose the one that was more to his liking. He put the large basket down, took out a smaller one, and carried it on his back. He then climbed up the tree in three or two moves. With a flick of the rope in his hand, the bamboo pole was hooked easily, and the branches full of fruits were pulled by the force of his hand.

He took out the basket and put the fruits inside. It didn’t take long for the basket to be filled. Xu Qing climbed down the tree and poured the cherries in the small basket into the large basket covered with large leaves.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Thingyan: Yeah, the hell with sharing a husband. I’d leave too and go get myself a younger, fresh little meat hehe

“That’s right. The three customers who just left, they saved one copper per pound by buying from us, which is ten coppers for ten pounds of goods.” Thinking like this, Xu Qing also let go of this matter. This was a long-term business. Customers could easily tell which store was better for them to shop at.

Li Changfeng evoked a smile, lowered his head, and blew on the doll that had already been made. He then gently patted off the remaining wood particles.

Sure enough, until Xu Qing and Li Changfeng finished planting the fields, there were still a lot of people who came to their store to buy things, causing the inventory at home to become low very quickly. They had to go to the town to restock.

Before Li Changfeng went to the town, guests came to the house.

Xu Qing poured hot tea for Wang Lei and Li Xiao’er, and said with a smile, “Drink some hot tea.”

Wang Lei quickly and respectfully took it, repeatedly saying thanks, “Thank you second brother-in-law.” Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com. Wang Lei heard Li Xiao’er mention this second brother-in-law many times that he was nice to him. So, of course his tone was naturally respectful.

Xu Qing was surprised by Wang Lei’s attitude towards him, but he didn’t ask any question. He turned and sat beside Li Changfeng. Tuantuan had already fallen asleep on the bed, allowing Xu Qing to rest for a while.

Li Changfeng looked at the couple, who had just been newly married, looking visibly joyful. Li Xiao’er’s face was rosy, and Wang Lei was full of energy. It seemed that both of them had a good life after marriage.

“Have you been back to the Li’s house?”

Hearing Li Changfeng’s question, Wang Lei hurriedly put down the tea and said nervously: “We have, second brother, last time at the shop I was so ignorant and didn’t even recognize you. It’s my fault. I’ll be more careful next time. When there is time, this younger brother will invite second brother to drink and apologize!”

Li Xiao’er sat aside, snickering secretly in his heart. On the second day of the wedding, Wang Lei told him about the second brother shopping in his store. At that time, Want Lei really didn’t know that it was his own brother-in-law. Just thinking that if the second brother was unhappy during their meeting while he was unaware, Wang Lei felt that the gain outweighed the loss, and he immediately admitted his mistake and corrected his attitude.

Li Xiao’er knew in his heart that Li Changfeng went to Wang Lei’s store on purpose to help him see if this person was worth entrusting, but he didn’t point out this matter with Wang Lei, sometimes somethings should be left unsaid.

Li Xiao’er looked at Xu Qing on the opposite side, thinking of the money pouch that Xu Qing gave him when he got married, he didn’t know how to express his feelings. It was a full ten taels of silver! He was already this age, but the most amount he had ever seen was only 5 taels of silver. This was a big gift. Li Xiao’er did not know how to repay Li Changfeng and Xu Qing.

Thinking of the chubby Tuantuan, Li Xiao’er’s heart softened. He couldn’t repay the adults, he would just repay Tuantuan instead.

After listening to Wang Lei’s words, Li Changfeng waved his hand casually, “What’s the matter, since you’ve already married my brother, you’re now also my brother. You don’t say polite words between brothers. If you really want to do something, then just treat my brother well.”

Wang Lei nodded again and again, “of course, that’s natural. By the way, second brother, I saw your grocery store. You are so smart. This is a very good business idea.”

As soon as he entered the gate of Xu’s house, Wang Lei noticed the grocery store with the windows open. He was quite surprised. Easy to say, but no one had ever thought of opening a store in the village.

Li Xiao’er also praised: “That is, second brother, second brother-in-law, you guys are so good, you can think of something like this.”

Li Changfeng heard Wang Lei and Li Xiao’er’s praise, and his face showed a little pride, “I didn’t think of this, it’s your second brother-in-law’s idea, right, wife?”

Xu Qing turned to look at the man with three different faces, and his little mischievous heart began to growl inside: Today, I got this compliment. First of all, I would like to thank Great China! Without the many trips to the supermarket to buy instant noodles every day, there would be no grocery store today!

Xu Qing couldn’t help but laugh inwardly of his own thoughts, “Cough, well, it’s not that impressive. It’s just not many people thought of this idea. You guys must be hungry. I’ll go cook now.” He changed the subject, turned around, and slipped into the kitchen.

“Second brother-in-law, let me help you!”

Li Xiao’er had a lot of things in his heart that he wanted to say to Xu Qing. Seeing Xu Qing leaving, he immediately got up and followed.

As soon as the two left, Li Changfeng and Wang Lei were the only ones left in the main room. Especially in the face of a stuffy jar, Li Changfeng, Wang Lei, who was usually a good talker, felt a lot of pressure.

Li Changfeng usually let Xu Qing do the talking, and he basically spoke very few words. Now he just looked silently at Wang Lei who was fidgeting, which made Wang Lei sitting on the opposite chair feel more and more that he was doing something wrong and the second brother of his wife still had opinions of him.

Thinking of this, Wang Lei thought hard to regain the image he had in Li Changfeng’s heart. He figured giving insights on Li Changfeng’s grocery store would be able to turn the tides and said, “Second brother, what do you think about this?”

***

Xu Qing and Li Xiao’er were preparing lunch in the kitchen. While prepping, Xu Qing said to Li Xiao’er who was helping: “How is it?”

Li Xiao’er naturally knew what Xu Qing was asking. He thought about Wang Lei’s care for him these days. He was very gentle, always taking into account his feelings. The old Wang couple was not people who made things difficult for others. Of course, his life was more comfortable than when he was in the Li’s house.

“It’s good, he is very good to me, so is his family.” Li Xiao’er responded with a slightly shy voice.

Xu Qing also felt a little embarrassed to ask this question. It made him look like a woman who specializds in inquiring about other people’s affairs, but Li Xiao’er was not someone else, he was the only Li family member who cared about his own man. There were some things Li Changfeng couldn’t ask in person as a man to a ger, so Xu Qing took on the task.

“That’s good, that’s good, come on, let’s start cooking. I won’t starve you anymore.” Xu Qing laughed and started to make lunch with Li Xiao’er.

During lunch, Tuantuan woke up and joined the dinning table, eating the fruit powder made by Xu Qing. It was a lively lunch.

Not long after the meal, Li Xiao’er and Wang Lei prepared to leave. Since Li Changfeng still had to shop in the town to restock, they left together.

Xu Qing walked around the yard with Tuan Tuan for a few laps. After digesting the food, he remembered the spiritual spring in the space. Xu Qing looked at Tuan Tuan in his arms, closed the courtyard door, and heated a pot of the spiritual spring water to bath Tuan Tuan.

Tuantuan especially liked to splash in the water. Xu Qing just put him in the basin, he kicked his legs happily, and kept saying things Xu Qing couldn’t understand, expressing his emotions excitedly.

“Be good, don’t move too much.”

The fat boy twisted so hard, Xu Qing didn’t dare to exert force for fear of hurting Tuan Tuan. The bath that could have been done in a quarter of an hour was just washed away by Tuan Tuan for half an hour.

During this period, Xu Qing added some hot water to the bath basin from time to time, otherwise, with Tuantuan tossing around like this, he might catch a cold!

After taking a shower and playing for so long, Tuan Tuan fell asleep again. Xu Qing only then breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly did the laundry of their family of three.

***

Li Changfeng finished shopping and was about to drive the donkey cart home when he saw Chen Qi with a haggard face coming towards him.

“What’s with that look?”

Chen Qi was worried at the moment. When suddenly he heard a familiar voice coming from the front, he hurriedly raised his head, and what caught his eye was Li Changfeng’s tall and straight body, “Changfeng!”

Chen Qi also hadn’t seen Li Changfeng for a long time. The last time he saw Li Changfeng was before Chen Hong got married.

“Where have you been, you kid? I didn’t even get to see you when your little brother got married.”

After all, they were like brothers who grew up together. When Li Changfeng saw Chen Qi’s tired face, he immediately asked with concern.

At this moment, Chen Qi didn’t have any thoughts to make fun of Li Changfeng for actually saying words of concern to him. He was not doing well now, actually he was doing very bad.

After Chen Hong got married, there were only four people left in the family – the old man, Chen Ama, Chen Qi, and his wife. The lively Chen family quieted down after Chen Hong left. The person who livened the atmosphere was gone, and the family was no longer as cheerful as before. This made Chen Ama to begin thinking about his grandchildren.

Chen Qi’s wife had not given birth after getting married for so many years. Although Chen Ama really wanted grandchildren, there was nothing he could do. Besides, no fault could be found in Chen Qi’s wife, except that he couldn’t have children.

So Chen Ama, who was crazy about having grandchildren, came up with a trick. Since Chen Qi didn’t want to leave his wife, then he would find another little wife for Chen Qi. This person could give birth grandchildren for him, and Chen Qi would not have to separate from his wife. Was it not killing two birds with one stone?

So Chen Ama discussed with the old man Chen, and they secretly found a ger they were very pleased with. They asked the matchmaker to go to that ger’s house to check the situation. When they learned that the ger’s family was also interested, the old Chen couple called Chen Qi and Chen Qi’s wife, who had no knowledge of the matter, together and talked about it.

Chen Qi’s wife’s face was pale. After hearing that the ger was actually for the intention of giving birth, Chen Qi’s wife looked at Chen Qi unhappily.

At this time, Chen Qi was making a fuss with Chen Ama. He felt ridiculous when he heard it, “Isn’t it a crime to ruin someone’s life for the sake of a grandchild?”

Chen Ama’s face swayed, “Why is it ruining someone’s life! Their family also want this marriage to happen. It’s not that we would discard him after he gives birth to a child.”

The old man Chen was also smoking a cigar beside Chen Ama, his face was hesitant.

Chen Qi was about to laugh angrily, “Why do I have to marry someone else when I already have a wife just so they could give birth? Why do I have to learn from others and marry a little ger to toss around?!” In this dynasty, there were more gers than men. Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com. Therefore, as long as the family was relatively well-off, whether it was a peasant family or a well-to-do family, there could be several wives in the family.

“Isn’t it because he has been married for so many years and has never given birth! Us two old bones, even after both you siblings are married, we still have no grandchildren! Look at Tao Ama’s family, they have two grandchildren. The older one can already help his Ama feed the chickens!”

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Thingyan: I don’t understand. If they want children so bad, why don’t they just make one by themselves? At what age do gers reach menopause?

“I’m not alone now, I have Tuantuan to accompany me,” Xu Qing retorted. If Li Changfeng said this before, he might not be able to respond, but now it’s different, he has a lovely child with him.

Li Changfeng was severely choked. After Xu Qing coaxed Tuan Tuan to sleep, he jumped up and ate Xu Qing cleanly. During their session, he forced Xu Qing to say that he was wrong several times before he agreed to let him go.

***

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, it is Li Changfeng’s birthday. They won’t make too many extravagant things to celebrate for just two people, a few fresh and delicious dishes are considered good.

Xu Qing wanted to eat hot pot. In such a cold day, it would be unbearable not to eat hot pot. Cook the selected vegetables and meat together, a bit similar to boiled meat slices, but it was also very suitable for Xu Qing and Li Changfeng’s appetite, all the dishes were almost licked clean, and it was a lot easier to wash the dinnerware.

After having lunch and resting for a while, Xu Qing wanted to go to Xie Ama’s place to hang out. It’s not a problem to stay at home every day but it’s good to go out sometimes. Unexpectedly, when the two of them were ready to leave and opened the courtyard door talking and laughing, they found that outside the courtyard door, eldest Li was about to knock on the door.

“Big brother?”

Xu Qing and Li Changfeng looked at each other, it seemed that they couldn’t go out anymore.

Eldest Li came to persuade Li Changfeng. Originally, the Li family thought that Li Changfeng was angry with Li Laosan, and that’s why he said in a fit that he wouldn’t come to pay New Year’s greetings.

Who knew that after waiting for several days, the Li family really didn’t see Li Changfeng and Xu Qing coming to the door. Li Ama was thinking about Tuan Tuan, and his face was dark at home. He said that the old man Li was so old, and he didn’t even know how to handle his own children. Naturally, old man Li didn’t want to lose face to coax Li Changfeng, not to mention sending Li Laosan to apologize. It just so happened that Li Xiao’er was preparing to marry soon, so the old Li couple had to ask eldest Li to be the middleman.

“Come, big brother, have some hot tea.”

Xu Qing poured a cup of hot tea, handed it to eldest Li, and sat beside Li Changfeng with Tuantuan.

Eldest Li felt the heat coming from the wall, and he simply praised, “this thing is really good.” Li’s house doesn’t have such heating system. Li Ama didn’t want to spend money to build it, otherwise it would have been done a long time ago since Li Changfeng and Xu Qing told them how to build it.

“What’s the matter. Go back and build one yourself, it isn’t much trouble. Nobody would be unhappy afterwards,” Li Changfeng said with his arms across his chest, sitting a little lazily.

Eldest Li touched his forehead embarrassedly, “don’t you know your third brother. He is a scholar, and he always thinks more than the rest of us.” Although he also felt that Li Laosan was a little too much raising the tuition fee so high.

Li Changfeng shook his head, “I was thoughtless. What he said made sense. I can’t deny it. I’m no longer a part of the Li family. I married out as a recruited husband. If I keep thinking about helping the natal family, even if my wife isn’t unhappy with it, it doesn’t look good in the eyes of outsiders. I didn’t think about it at the beginning, but luckily the third brother reminded me. I have to thank him for reminding me before it’s too late!”

After speaking, he turned to Xu Qing, who was sitting on the side holding the small one without saying a word, “wife, am I right?”

Xu Qing resisted the urge to roll his eyes and returned a smile, “it’s true, outsiders don’t understand the situation of our family, and what they would have been saying wouldn’t sound good, like we were meddling in the Li family affairs for the family property, calling us white-eyed wolves, and such. If it wasn’t for the reminder from the third brother, we would still be scolded without knowing what’s going on or what caused people to talk about us this way.”

Li Changfeng and Xu Qing took turns in the battle, which made eldest Li, who had a very honest temperament, felt more and more that the two were right, and so was the third brother, and there was nothing wrong with what was said.

Thinking that both parties were right, eldest Li breathed a sigh of relief. He had already did what he was instructed, so eldest Li, who thought he had completed the task, drank a few sips of hot tea and rushed home.

Xu Qing and Li Changfeng were no longer interested in going out. “By the way, the pickled vegetables I made can also be sold at the shop,” Xu Qing remembered several large jars of pickled vegetables that the two of them couldn’t finish, and the cost could be said to be zero. The sale will completely be pure profit!

“I listen to you, but what do you think we shall use to sell it in?” Li Changfeng felt that it was not worthwhile to buy small jars just to sell pickled vegetables in it.

“That’s no problem, you make some small wooden barrels, pierce two small holes on them, and weave a thin rope as a handle!”

Listening to Xu Qing’s words, Li Changfeng reacted abruptly, isn’t his wife very smart?! “My wife is amazing!”

What a butt smoocher! Xu Qing simply didn’t want to give Li Changfeng a good face anymore.

Speaking of pickled vegetables, Li Changfeng suddenly thought of the fermented bean curd, “By the way, fermented bean curd can also be sold!”

Xu Qing’s eyes lit up, and he patted his thigh, “Isn’t that right, that thing is better than pickled vegetables! And it only needs to be wrapped in a few clean leaves! Okay, let’s put it out for sale together!”

The couple here chatted very happily, but eldest Li who arrived home over there is scolded and drenched in sweat.

“You just came back like this?! You didn’t ask whether they will come to pay New Year’s greetings? Do they still care about us old parents?! Why did you just come back? Tell me, what do you think you are doing!” Old Man Li was about to be angered to death by the wooden fish head in front of him! How could such a fool be born!

Eldest Li kept his head down without uttering a word. He felt very uncomfortable. The second brother had already married out the door. When he proposed to support their Li family, it was not only out of fear of others speaking ill but also because he was filial. Now here he is, almost drowned in spit. Does he have to go back there again?

“Without the second brother, can’t I and the third brother support you both? ” Eldest Li said in a low voice.

“What?!”

Old man Li couldn’t believe that this was what his honest eldest son said, “You say it again!”

“Eldest, what are you saying? Quickly admit your mistake to your father.” Li Ama saw that the situation was not right, and immediately persuaded eldest Li to admit his mistake.

But today’s eldest Li is determined, “I said, the third brother and I can support you, don’t worry about the second brother, he doesn’t have it easy.”

“You bastard…you … you…,” Old Man Li angrily looked around to find something to hit eldest Li, but there was nothing in the main room except a stool. The furious Old Man Li picked up the stool and threw it at eldest Li. “I’ll kill you idiot son of a bitch!”

“My God, what are you doing! Eldest, go back to your room and stay there!” Seeing this situation, Li Ama immediately yelled at eldest Li to leave the main room. Eldest Li looked at the stool that almost hit him on the head, feeling aggrieved, turned around and left.

Eldest Li’s wife and two children were in the room and when they saw Eldest Li entering the door, they immediately surrounded him, “Head of the house,” Eldest Li’s wife touched his husband’s face and whispered.

Eldest Li embraced the two children and his wife in his arms and sighed after a long time.

***

The Lantern Festival is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. This is also the New Year, which means that the days of the first lunar month will also come to an end today. After today, the farmers will be busy working in the fields for the new harvest. The last drought caused them off guard. This time they decided to plant the fields as early as possible, in case there was an accident, it wouldn’t be too big of a threat.

Celebrating Lantern Festival is a custom back in China, but in this dynasty, people would just eat meatballs. If it is a well off family, there will be meatballs. If it is a poor family, they will be vegetable meatballs. Some people who are not in good health can only eat pills!

Xu Qing cooked a pot of vegetables and meatballs mixed with leafy veggies, coupled with fermented bean curd and rice, it can be considered a good meal on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

“What are you doing?!” Xu Qing turned his back to grab a pair of chopsticks but saw Li Changfeng chop up the meatballs and pick them up to feed Tuantuan.

Li Changfeng looked at Xu Qing with a guilty conscience, “isn’t it just a little bit meat? I want Tuantuan to eat something good on the last day of the first month.”

Xu Qing sat down and didn’t listen to Li Changfeng’s nonsense, “You said the same yesterday and the day before yesterday!”

Li Changfeng touched his nose and withdrew the minced meat that was about to be fed into Tuan Tuan’s mouth. Tuan Tuan, it’s not that Father didn’t give you a good meal, it was your Ama that didn’t want to!

Xu Qing was afraid that Li Changfeng wouldn’t listen, “you don’t know, there are many people who carelessly cause harm to children just because they don’t know how to feed their children and give so much meat.”

Li Changfeng was eating delicious meatballs, and humbly asked Xu Qing, who was talking endlessly, “Who did this? From which village? I might as well learn from them!”

Xu Qing was stunned by these words. He was taking about what happened in his previous world. How could he know which villager did this or what! ! Xu Qing, who was swept away, was suddenly unhappy, “so you’re saying that you will do this again in the future!?”

Li Changfeng hurriedly shook his head, “no, no, I won’t feed Tuantuan so much until he grows some teeth!” He’s just gonna feed a little less.

“It should be like that,” Xu Qing nodded with satisfaction. “Let’s eat, by the way, don’t go to the field tomorrow, the snow still hasn’t melted completely. It could be dangerous and hurt your body.” He doesn’t know why, the winter in this world seems to be much longer than it was in his previous life. It’s the fifteenth day, and the ground is still covered with snow, although it’s not snowing anymore.

“Alright, then I’ll go to town to buy the seeds first, and I’ll bring some salt and candy back on the way.”

Not to mention the family’s business is really good, the children now all know that there are candies in their shop. Those from well-off families would drag the adults over to buy sweets.

After dinner, Xu Qing began to make shoes for Li Changfeng. It was almost spring, and it’s the best time to wear his handmade shoes. Li Changfeng carved a wooden doll on the side, which was one of the wedding gifts for Li Xiao’er.

Tuantuan fluttered in amusement on the side. Although Xu Qing and Li Changfeng didn’t speak, the room was still full of warmth and didn’t seem deserted at all.

On February 2, the dragon raised its head; the weather was getting warmer, the sky began to clear, and snowflakes no longer fell on the world. On such a good day, Li Xiao’er got married.

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Thingyan: Is it just me coz I don’t think there was anything wrong with what Eldest Li said about supporting the old parents. Why did the old man Li so mad? I feel like he’s getting grumpier these days. Is it the hormones?

“We used a lot of things at home during the New Year. I’ll go to the town to buy some salt, candy, snacks and so on. When I come back, I’ll make sure that the villagers will know of our grocery shop.” Li Changfeng was so excited that he was ready to change his clothes and go to town.

Just when he was about to pull the donkey cart, Xu Qing stopped him: “By the way, when it comes to candy, why don’t you go to Wang’s shop and see that kid who wants to marry our brother.”

Li Changfeng’s heart moved, isn’t that a good excuse to meet that guy, “Okay, then I’ll take a look. Be careful by yourself at home.”

Xu Qing said angrily: “What do you mean by myself, I have Tuantuan here too.”

Li Changfeng grinned, pulled the donkey cart out of the courtyard gate, and headed for the town.

Li Changfeng wandered around town for a few laps, and after finding the Wang family candy shop mentioned by Li Xiao’er, he stepped in.

The business of the candy store is very good. Wang Lei can’t manage it alone, so he asked his father old man Wang to help. This New Year, many people are buying candy, Li Changfeng looked around inside the store and found Wang Lei who was packing candies for a middle aged ger.

He didn’t rush forward to talk, but stood aside and quietly listened to what Wang Lei said.

“Lin Ama, a total of forty-seven coppers. Since it’s the New Year, I will give you an auspicious number, you can just give me forty-six coppers, and by the way, I will take this opportunity to wish you to have good health and safety for many years to come!” Wang Lei said and laughed, his sweet mouth made Lin Ama to be in a good mood, so he happily gave 46 coppers and went out with candies.

Wang Lei smiled and went to deal with the next customer. He was still smiling, and paying homage to the other person for the New Year, but what he said was not superficial, which made people feel comfortable and not feeling disgusted.

After listening for a while, Li Changfeng felt that this man was smart with his mouth and fast on his feet, and his way of doing business was admirable. Soon, after the flow of people in the store decreased, Li Changfeng walked directly to Wang Lei, “Brother, how much is a pound of candy?”

Wang Lei gave Li Changfeng a New Year’s gift and said with a smile, “It’s all twelve coppers a pound, and the price is fair. How many do you want?”

Li Changfeng thought about it for a while. He was afraid that if he buys too little, only to find the products here sold out later when he was to restock, so he decided to buy more, “I want this many, how much will it be?”

Li Changfeng stretched out five fingers and shook it in front of Wang Lei.

Wang Lei is also somewhat knowledgeable, so naturally he doesn’t think Li Changfeng wants five pounds, “You want five kilograms?”

Li Changfeng nodded, and when Old Man Wang heard it, he felt excited: this is a big order! But he didn’t speak out rashly. He was confident that his son knew how to do business.

Li Changfeng originally wanted five hundred kilograms, but he was afraid that he would not be able to sell it at home after buying that many, so he nodded along with Wang Lei’s words, “Five kilograms first, if there is a chance, I may ask for more.” It also depends on how well he sells these to the villagers.

Wang Lei nodded, “Then I’ll give you nine coppers a pound. I wish you and your family a long and happy life!”

Li Changfeng smiled upon hearing this, this wish, he liked it! “Thank you! Then, please give me two taels of silver worth!”

“Good! Please wait, we’ll find a sturdy and easy-to-use bag for you to carry back.” Wang Lei and old man Wang started packing the candies Li Changfeng ordered.

Looking at Wang Lei’s quick work, Li Changfeng was satisfied with this person in his heart. If Wang Lei dared to treat little brother badly, Li Changfeng also had a way to deal with him! Do not forget what happened to Ma Fugui.

Ma Fugui, who was suffocating in the grocery store at this time, sneezed, “which little widow is thinking about me again?!” Ma Fugui rubbed his nose, thinking of the Gao family widow he met last night, his heart warmed. The fat and ugly ger at home made him lose his appetite in bed, but he had to force himself. It made him nauseous, but fortunately there were good dishes waiting for him outside.

Thinking like this, Ma Fugui was secretly excited, but the next moment he became depressed again. If he hadn’t divorced Xie Yu, he wouldn’t have ended up like this, alas!

***

When Li Changfeng returned home, he placed the candy, salt, and seasonings he bought in the grocery shop. “There are more than 200 catties of candy. I paid nine coppers per pound. These are usually sold for twelve coppers a pound. We can sell for fourteen coppers. The villagers’ donkey cart ride to and from the town costs six coppers, so it’s not a loss for them.”

Xu Qing nodded; the other retailers would also add two or three coppers in the final selling price anyway. After organizing the goods, Li Changfeng went to the village to find someone who wrote couplets for the villagers to write a small signboard, and came back and hung it on the window of the grocery store.

Afterwards, he deliberately went to Wei’s house, Wu’s house, and other places for a walk. At the end of his trip, the whole village became aware that Li Changfeng and Xu Qing had opened a small grocery store selling some trivial things. You can start buying now, and the price is only two coppers more expensive than in town. If you go to town by the donkey cart, it costs three coppers, not to mention a waste of time making this trip. So, as soon as Xu Qing and Li Changfeng finished sorting everything out, villagers began to show up.

“Whoa, there’s candy! My relatives are coming in the afternoon. They will bring their children! Give me two kilograms of candy!” The person who spoke was Mei Ama, who lives next to Lizheng’s house. His son lives in town. As a part-time worker, pay is decent, and life is good.

Xu Qing nodded immediately, weighed the order quickly, and put a handful of candy in the hand of the two-year-old child brought by Mei Ama, but Mei Ama quickly declined. Xu Qing said with a smile, “You are our shop’s first customer. It’s not much to patronize our guests, so please accept it.”

Mei Ama grinned happily hearing this, handed the money to Xu Qing, took the child, picked up the package of candies, and left contentedly. On the way, he met the villagers who were walking to Xu’s house, and he even mentioned his experience at the shop, which made the villagers even more curious.

With the first one, there is the second one. Just one afternoon, and there are only more than fifty kilograms of candy left, and the other goods also sold very well, there are only half left. Xu Qing smiled with joy, the first day of business went so smoothly!

In the evening, the two of them counted the money. After deducting the cost, they earned five hundred coppers, which is half a tael of silver. Li Changfeng decided to go to town tomorrow to pull a big load back, and the price could be cut a little more.

“By the way, you met that Wang Lei, how is he?” Xu Qing recalled this serious matter about the little brother Li, and asked Li Changfeng who was teasing Tuantuan.

Li Changfeng pinched the tip of Tuantuan’s nose, thinking of Wang Lei whom he met earlier, “he seems like a good guy, doing things swiftly, nimble, and very thoughtful. I think he is quite acceptable.”

“But what I saw was him as a businessman. How he is when not doing business, that I’m not sure. Shall I let him come over and then come to a conclusion?” Li Changfeng made a rare joke, and Xu Qing, who was in a great mood, didn’t know what to say.

“Actually, I wouldn’t mind if you do, right, Tuantuan?” Xu Qing hugged Tuantuan and poked hi small forehead. Li Changfeng smiled indulgently, and whispered in Xu Qing’s ear, “Aren’t you afraid of staying in the empty room by yourself?”

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Thingyan: there might be some confusion between kilogram and pound. That’s how it was in the raws and I’m confused as well 🥲

Xu Qing was smart. He immediately looked at Li Changfeng, who was beside him with an unpleasant face, and smiled embarrassingly, “Hey, Changfeng, are you hungry?”

Li Changfeng raised his eyebrows, looking at Xu Qing’s fair skin that was exposed under the clothes, and replied, “I’m always hungry.”

After hearing this, Xu Qing’s face became hot, and he hurriedly looked at Xie Yu and Xie Ama. When he saw that they were teasing Tuan Tuan, he felt a little more relaxed. His hand under his sleeve slowly stretched out, went around from behind Li Changfeng’s waist, and pinched the other’s firm and elastic flesh gently, signaling Li Changfeng to not be too brazen in front of others. Li Changfeng took it without a change in expression.

“Yo hey, little fat puppy!” Hearing Xie Ama’s laugh, Xu Qing quickly took the blank-faced Tuan Tuan, put him on his lap, and opened the diaper.

“This child, you didn’t get it on you, right?” Xu Qing asked embarrassedly, it’s really not good to be covered with poop on a New Year’s Eve.

“No, I just felt that he was trembling and exerting some force, so I knew he was popping!” Xie Ama was also very experienced with children, so Tuantuan’s actions could not be hidden from him.

Li Changfeng gave Xu Qing a new diaper. He then went and brought back a bucket of hot water, wiped Tuantuan’s buttocks, and took the soiled diaper to wash.

Xu Qing wiped Tuantuan’s butt dry while listening to Xie Ama’s child rearing lecture. Xie Yu was also curious, “Ama, you know a lot.”

“That’s right, it seems that I can learn more from you in the future about things that Changfeng and I don’t understand.” Xu Qing wiped Tuantuan, and after changing, he kissed the little boy’s face and looked at Xie Ama.

When Xie Ama talked about raising a child, he became a chatterbox, and the words kept pouring out. Fortunately, the audience was all people who already has a child or was about to have one.

Xie Ama and Xie Yu left when it was time to start preparing dinner. The ingredients were all prepped already, so it didn’t take long for Li Changfeng and Xu Qing to cook. Just in a quarter of an hour, the food was already on the table.

Li Changfeng put a piece of bacon into Xu Qing’s bowl, and after seeing him eat it, he said, “tomorrow, let’s go to worship our parents, alright?”

Xu Qing chewed the bacon for a while, looked at Li Changfeng with a serious face, and said calmly: “Okay, listen to you.”

***

Early the next morning, after breakfast, Li Changfeng and Xu Qing took the food, cannons, and candles for the offering. With Tuantuan sitting on Li Changfeng’s back, the couple locked the courtyard door and walked to the left side of the house. The graves of Father Xu and Xu Ama are ten minutes away from home.

The two graves are covered in snow, and from a distance, they look like two large steamed buns lying on the ground. Xu Qing and Li Changfeng placed the things they brought, and lighted white candles and hanged cannons on a nearby tree.

“Father, Ama,” and the original Xu Qing, “I brought my husband and our child to see you. I’m sorry for being unfilial, it took so long to visit you.” Xu Qing squatted down and burned paper money on the grave. The snow was not too much, but the weather was quite chilly. The residue that burned to ashes was frozen into cold blocks after a while.

Xu Qing has been in this world for a year. During this time, he has gone from being uneasy and alert to having peace of mind and accepting the reality of transmigration. The cruelty of apocalypse had made Xu Qing cold-blooded, but that was because he was used to seeing ruthlessness of people and the violence nature of the end of days. This new world gave Xu Qing the sunshine and a new life, so he slowly recovered his true self. Originally, he was only a college student when the apocalypse arrived.

He didn’t know what happened to the others in the orphanage, whether they were still alive in that cruel and cold-blooded world, or in other word, dead. Thinking of this, Xu Qing couldn’t help but sigh.

At that moment, he was hugged by a pair of big hands. The voice of his innocent-looking man, who was actually black and aloof on the inside, was in his ears: “Tuantuan and I are here.”

Xu Qing leaned on Li Changfeng’s body relaxedly. There was nothing negative to say about how well this man treat him. What else could he be dissatisfied with?

Tuantuan was quietly blowing bubbles, and Li Changfeng was gently stroking Xu Qing’s shoulders. The family of three and the falling white snowflakes, the scenery was both beautiful and tranquil.

***

For other families, the first day of the first month is a busy day, but for Xu Qing and Li Changfeng, it is a day to stay at home, tease the baby, and enjoy *the day of the stove.

(T/N: googled what it meant and found that the day of the stove was simply people burning fire in a stove, gathering around, converse, eat food, etc.)

Li Changfeng has made it clear to Li family that he would not be visiting them on New Year’s Eve this year, so there is no need to go. In addition, Xu Qing has no relatives here, and no one is coming or visiting. As a result, the couple got to enjoy this day leisurely.

Being idle, Xu Qing started thinking about what to do after the new year, “we don’t have an elderly person at home, so we can only take care of this child. We will start farming in spring. After planting the land, there is nothing to do, but we can’t just sit back and eat.”

Xu Qing told Li Changfeng about his ideas, “I want to open a grocery store at home, what do you think?” There is no other shop like this in the village now. If the villagers are out of oil, rice, salt tea, or the children at home want to eat snacks, adults have to go to town to buy them. Some people just dragged on for more than a month before they went to town to buy what they lacked.

Li Changfeng thought about it and felt that it was a good idea, “Then let’s use the study room for Tuantuan as the shop.”

Xu Qing shook his head, “No, that room is too small. Besides, it will have to be cleared out for Tuantuan when he grows up.”

Li Changfeng laughed and said, “How can you be so smart but silly sometimes, maybe when the child grows up, our house will be renovated again, and his room will be replaced with a bigger and better one. At that time, I’m afraid that the child would not need this little study.”

Xu Qing was dumbfounded. Not to mention what Li Changfeng said is true, who can tell whether they would still live in this house a few years later, “You’re right, I’ll listen to you. I’ll go and clean up the place. As for the supply, salt, and some cooking condiments, we can go to the town and buy them in large quantities. I can make some snacks and sell at the shop too.”

So Xu Qing and Li Changfeng transformed the study prepared for Tuantuan into a small grocery store. Li Changfeng also built three large shelves, which can store and display the goods. The small window of the grocery store facing the courtyard door has also been changed to a larger one, so that when customers come to shop, they can see the products inside easily and conduct business directly through the window.

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Translator: Finally a proper business. Li Changfeng making the wooden toys is good and all, but I think it’s too taxing.

Thank you my readers for being so supportive and writing comments. I owe you guys replies ☺️

After speaking, he drove the donkey cart away without looking back. Old man Li chased to the gate of the courtyard, only to see the wheel marks in the snow, “Second child! Second child! Come back for me!”

“This little bastard! Third child, why are you standing still, you still don’t chase and apologize your second brother?!” Old Man Li was so angry that he grabbed Li Laosan, who was probing his head at the door of the main room, and roared.

“What’s the matter, what are you yelling for? Old man, what are you doing!” Li Ama asked when he heard the movement from the kitchen.

“If it’s not because of the good son you gave birth to! None of the kids give me a peace of mind!” Old man Li stomped his feet fiercely and went out angrily. He had to go stop Li Changfeng.

“What is this, did I give birth all on my own, how would they be born without you!” Li Ama touched his nose inexplicably.

Li Changfeng drove the donkey cart and soon arrived at Lizheng’s house. After talking for awhile, he left and went home. When Old Man Li and the others arrived, the person they were looking for was long gone, and he was ridiculed by Lizheng, who even said that old man Li didn’t recognize his own child, which was really cruel.

This time, Old Man Li felt not only distressed but also his head hurt!

***

Xu Qing was cooking dinner. Tuantuan was asleep at the moment, which just happened to allow Xu Qing to be able to do things with peace of mind for a while. As soon as the dishes were brought to the table, Li Changfeng came back with his body covered with wind and snow.

“I knew you would look like this. Go, the bath room has hot water prepared for you, go wash, and I’ll go see the child.”

Li Changfeng bowed his head and kissed Xu Qing on the forehead, “I have such a wonderful wife.”

“Smart mouth,” Xu Qing said with a smile, stretched out his hand, and patted the snow off of Li Changfeng’s body, then went to the room to pick up Tuantuan. The little dumpling should be awake by now.

After dinner, they wiped Tuantuan’s body and then the two went to bed.

Tuantuan slept in the crib next to the big bed. He babbled when he was alone. He didn’t cry. He just pulled the little quilt around.

“So you don’t have to go pay respect on the New Year day?” Xu Qing came to a conclusion after hearing Li Changfeng talk about what happened this afternoon.

“No, I don’t. You should be happy that we don’t have to go to New Year’s greetings, at least for this year.” Li Changfeng said with his arms around Xu Qing. There would be many people at the Li’s house, loud and crowded. Not just that, Xu Qing, who had just given birth not too long ago, and the young child traveling on a day of cold and snow, what if they get sick?

“You have a big heart, so you’re just going to let Tuantuan take after my surname?” Xu Qing lay on Li Changfeng’s chest, kissed his stubble, and asked with a smile.

Li Changfeng touched Xu Qing’s waist and said with deep eyes, “I was originally the recruited husband.”

Xu Qing grabbed Li Changfeng’s big hand that kept going down and asked inexplicably, “What are you doing?”

Li Changfeng pushed Xu Qing back on the bed, bit his ear and said softly and charmingly, “Make love to you.”

Xu Qing felt hot after hearing this. They seldom made out these days. Either they were disturbed by the crying of the child, or he was too sleepy and had no intention to do it at all. Even if Li Changfeng had intentions, Xu Qing often ignored him.

“The child hasn’t slept yet!”

Xu Qing stopped Li Changfeng from lowering his head. Li Changfeng mumbled without raising his head, “he’s already asleep.”

Xu Qing didn’t believe it, so Li Changfeng had to pull him up and let him see for himself. Xu Qing saw that Tuantuan was really asleep.

“Do you believe it now?” Li Changfeng pushed Xu Qing down on the bed again and turned him over. After not doing it for a long time, both of them were a little anxious. After a while, Xu Qing lay naked under Li Changfeng’s body, his eyes were all blurry, and he could only follow his body’s sensations and the movements of the man on top.

Mature content begins

Xu Qing put his hands on Li Changfeng’s shoulder, his legs naturally wrapped around the man’s strong waist, while his back was caressed by the big hands.

After Li Changfeng had done enough foreplay and felt Xu Qing’s high enthusiasm and his body was ready, he calmly entered Xu Qing, started to move. He buried his head and kissed Xu Qing passionately at the same time.

Li Changfeng’s dexterous tongue rolled over Xu Qing’s, constantly attacking Xu Qing’s oral cavity, feeling the most intimate and harmonious kiss between the two. Xu Qing’s body was trembling because of Li Changfeng’s actions.

Xu Qing couldn’t stand the long-lasting and intense kisses. He felt that he was about to suffocate, but his waist kept undulating with Li Changfeng’s violent movements. Li Changfeng naturally knew his wife. After he felt it was enough, he fulfilled Xu Qing’s wish and withdrew, causing Xu Qing to gasp for the hard-won fresh and slightly cold air.

Li Changfeng felt his whole body was worn out at this moment. His head tilted backwards and his body taut.

The layers of white snow outside the window brightened the entire black night. Nonetheless, everything else became unclear. Was it the touch of Li Changfeng or was it not? While the two bodies intimately entwined, they also brought about a harmony between the two people’s heart and soul.

Mature content ends

The next day, Xu Qing slept until early in the morning before getting up. Tuantuan had already finished having his fruit powder. The little limbs stretched out on the stroller. The candy and snacks placed on the large table by the courtyard gate were only a few left. It was prepared for the village children when they came to the Xi family house to pay New Year’s greetings. After saying auspicious words, the children would grab candies and other goods prepared. The event granted a lot of fun for them.

Xu Qing felt a little hungry since he woke up. When he entered the kitchen, Li Changfeng had just finished killing the New Year chicken and he was about to pluck the feathers. Seeing Xu Qing walking over in an awkward posture, he asked, “it still hurts?”

Xu Qing shook his head, “It’s not the pain, it’s the soreness. Anyway, thank you for your hard work. I saw that all the snacks and candies in the main room were prepared well. The children already came and grabbed a bunch.”

“What thanking me! Come, I prepared porridge for you in the pot, eat it first. My hands are dirty, you can help yourself.” Li Changfeng cleaned the intestines of the chicken and gave it to Xiaobao who was squatting beside him.

Xu Qing picked up the porridge, blew the hot air, and drank it slowly, suddenly feeling much more comfortable in his stomach. “By the way, have you posted the couplet yet?”

“Not yet, I’ll post it in a while,” Li Changfeng picked up the kitchen knife, and with a few strokes, he butchered a whole chicken into small pieces.

“I can do it. You wash your hands well with hot water, or Tuan Tuan will dislike the smell on your hands.”

Although there were only Xu Qing and Li Changfeng in the family, the dishes were not few. Chicken, duck, pork, some tofu, and side dishes almost filled the entire table.

As soon as lunchtime arrived, Li Changfeng hung a cannon at the gate of the courtyard, and the family stood at the entrance of the main room, watching the snowflakes falling all over the sky and listening to the thunderous sound of the cannon. Xu Qing and Li Changfeng looked at each other and smiled. This was their first year and the first gathering event for a family of three.

When eating lunch, Li Changfeng deliberately put a small piece of fat into Tuan Tuan’s mouth. Now that Tuan Tuan has eaten his first meat, he can continue to be fed some minced meat if everything worked well.

After lunch, it was time for the villagers to walk around to greet others. Li Changfeng and Xu Qing were reluctant to take Tuantuan out, so they prepared some snacks and waited for others to come over.

At the beginning, only the children came, and gradually the adults in the village also came to visit. Xu Qing and Li Changfeng also warmly entertained them. They talked about what to plant next year and when it would be best to plant. Some people also talked about Li Changfeng. When it comes to baby cribs, Xu Qing also took the opportunity to lower the price a bit and offered discounts during the Chinese New Year, which provoked several people with young children at home to order the goods on the spot, and some even ordered for their relatives.

Later in the afternoon, fewer people came to Xu Qing’s house. Xie Ama and Xie Yu also came to visit at this time. Since the old doctor Lin was gone, Lin Fangliang felt that it wasn’t good to celebrate Chinese New Year at home, so he and Xie Yu went back to Xie’s house instead.

Xie Yu was now nearly four months pregnant. After so many days of nourishing, his body has improved a lot, and he has gained some weight. He looked elegant and handsome.

“Come here, I came to see my lovely Tuantuan.” Xie Yu was wearing a purple robe. When he looked down at Tuantuan, the delicate blue silk fell on his shoulders. With his back facing the courtyard door, a snow-white scene appeared, making Xu Qing stunned for a long time, what a beautiful man!

The beautiful man hugged Tuantuan, gently coaxed, and teased him, looking gentler and more seductive, which made Xu Qing feel restless in his heart. If he had a camera, he would have photographed it long ago! What a pity! Pity!

“Have you seen enough?”

Just when Xu Qing looked obsessed, a gloomy voice suddenly came from his ears.

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Translator: Thank you to my readers who commented kind words. You guys motivate me 🥲

“Tomorrow is New Year’s Day. You can think about your wedding with peace of mind. I will look over this matter. Since you chose to live together, you must live well, but don’t act like a child.” Li Changfeng felt that Xu Qing’s words made sense. Although Ma Fugui was also a businessman, he was not good at doing things, his mind was slow, and he was not as flexible as Wang Lei according to the words from Li Xiao’er’s mouth, but no matter how good this person is, he (Li Changfeng) will only know after seeing him in person.

Li Xiao’er nodded obediently and sat for a while before going home without staying for the meals.

“There is a lot of work at home, and I also ran out of my busy schedule.” Li Xiao’er gave Li Changfeng a look as soon as he finished saying this.

“I know, it’s New Year’s Day tomorrow, so I’m also busy here. You just had to run out at a time like this. Let’s go, I’ll take you back.”

Li Xiao’er stuck out his tongue, and after kissing Tuantuan again, he followed Li Changfeng away.

When Li Xiao’er and Li Changfeng were on the road, Li Changfeng thought about it and then asked, “Nothing happened at home during this time, right?”

Li Xiao’er tugged at the clothes draped over his body, and after a while, he said, “The school opened by the third brother is going out of business.”

Hearing this, Li Changfeng didn’t ask too many questions.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com. After heaving a long sigh, he accelerated the speed of the donkey cart to hurry on the road. Although the snow was not big today, it was better not to delay for too long. It would be bad if you caught a cold.

After arriving at the Li family, Li Changfeng didn’t want to leave immediately, so he tied the donkey cart and followed Li Xiao’er inside. When he arrived the front yard, before he could even enter the main room, he heard some voices.

“That person is deliberately going against me! Taking advantage of the time I was preparing for the exam, what a white-eyed wolf!” It was the roar of Li Laosan.

Li Xiao’er tugged his own clothes as if he was used to it, nodded to Li Changfeng, then entered his own room, and closed the door.

Li Changfeng looked at the smokeless kitchen and listened to the sound from the main room. He paused for a while, then made a decision and entered the main room where the sound came from.

“People are sending their children to Zhou Wen instead these days,” Li Ama had an unhappy look on his face. Seeing Li Changfeng entered the door, he said, “second child is here.” Everyone in the room greeted Li Changfeng who calmly sat down next to eldest Li and listened quietly without saying a word.

After Li Laosan saw Li Changfeng come in, he didn’t speak anymore, even though his face was still full of anger.

Suddenly the scene in the house was a little embarrassing, old man Li looked at Li Ama and said, “why don’t you take your sons’ wives and the children to the kitchen to prepare tomorrow’s New Year’s meal?” Li Ama nodded and took the people with him. The children and the others all left the main room, and only the old man Li and his three sons were left inside.

Old Man Li looked at Li Changfeng. There was no smile on his face which showed years of hardship. “You just came, and I don’t know you if you already knew that your younger brother has already agreed a marriage with the Wang family in the town. The date is chosen. On the second day of the second month, you have to remember. You can’t miss it.”

After saying that, he looked at Li Laosan who was sitting next to him, “just now, we were talking about the school that your third brother opened a few days ago, which was intercepted by the Zhou family’s son Zhou Wen, and the school can’t continue to open anymore.”

Li Laosan’s face darkened, but he didn’t speak in the end. Eldest Li’s face was that of pity. All the while, Li Changfeng listened quietly, and didn’t say anything, causing the old Li not knowing how to continue the one-sided conversation.

“Cough, Changfeng, what do think of this situation? It’s for your own brother, give us an idea.” Old man Li couldn’t compete with Li Changfeng’s calmness, and he was the first to speak.

Li Changfeng patted the dust on his body and said nonchalantly, “Why don’t the villagers want to send their children to the third brother?”

As soon as these words came out, eldest Li, who was sitting beside Li Changfeng, looked a little embarrassed, and Li Laosan still didn’t speak, so Old Man Li had to continue: “This is no longer the time of drought when parents can just give whatever they have to send their children to school. Now that everyone’s life is getting better, your third brother decided to increase the tuition fee, but this group of people took their children away and send them to Zhou Wen who also opened his own school.”

“How much did the third brother ask for the tuition fee?”

Old Man Li’s face froze, and he turned his head to Li Laosan, who had been silent for a while, “Stupid! Tell him!”

Li Laosan waved his hand impatiently, “Five taels of silver a year, I didn’t set the price randomly. If you want to find a master like me, even if you have money, you might not be able to find one!”

Li Changfeng sneered, “But as far as I know, the tuition fee in Anle Village is only one or two taels a year, and yours is more than double.”

Li Laosan felt extremely uncomfortable when he heard Li Changfeng’s words, “Who is your brother! Which side are you on!”

“I’m not taking anyone’s side. Father, how much does Zhou Wen ask for?” Li Changfeng turned his head and asked Old Man Li without even glancing at Li Laosan.

Old man Li’s face was not very good, obviously like what Li Laosan said, he felt that Li Changfeng’s elbows were turned out, so he didn’t speak. Eldest Li’s face darkened, and he whispered, “one or two taels a year, if you don’t have money, you can also pay with food.”

(T/N: elbows were turned out = being on the side of outsiders).

“How can he compare with me!” Li Laosan stood up and slapped the table with dissatisfaction. Li Changfeng was too lazy to listen, so he also stood up and walked in front of Li Laosan, looking directly at him, “Why can’t he compare with you?!”

Li Laosan looked at the expressionless Li Changfeng in front of him and felt a little scared. Last time because of Li Xiao’er, he was beaten by Li Changfeng and couldn’t get out of bed for two days. Thinking of his sufferings during that time, Li Laosan answered obediently but unhappily, “he also participated in the imperial exam I took!”

Li Changfeng was stunned by Li Laosan’s words, “you think you’re very good, don’t you?! Let me tell you. Zhou Wen’s attitude towards education is much stronger than yours! I don’t even have the face to say that I am from the Li family. This is all because of you!”

Li Laosan was hurt by what Li Changfeng said. When eldest Li saw that Li Laosan was in a bad mood, he immediately ran over to hold him down. “Don’t block me,” Li Laosan pushed Eldest Li away and stared at Li Changfeng angrily, “Oh, do you still think you are from the Li family? Let me tell you, since you entered the Xu family’s door, you are no longer a part of our Li family!”

“The third son!”

“Third brother!”

Old man Li and Eldest Li’s reprimands sounded at the same time. Li Laosan’s face froze slightly. He then realized what he said was too much, but he was too prideful, and refused to take back what he said. He just stood there staring at Li Changfeng stubbornly.

“Second son, the third only said out of anger, don’t mind him,” Old Man Li came over to smooth things out, and eldest Li also echoed, “That’s right, don’t be on the same level as him.”

Unexpectedly, Li Changfeng still had no expression. He just looked at the sky outside and said goodbye to Old Man Li, “It’s getting late, so I won’t stay any longer.”

Old man Li didn’t know what to say, so he nodded, “Go back, there is a child at home, so you have to return early and take care of him. You live in the back mountain, and the wild animals are very active during this time of the year.” He didn’t think that what he said was nothing wrong, but isn’t this cursing Li Changfeng’s family to have an accident!?

Eldest Li listened awkwardly and hurriedly corrected, “father didn’t mean that.” Li Changfeng waved his hand, “I know.”

After speaking, he stepped out of the main room, took a few steps, stopped again, and turned to look at the three people in the room.

“I think what the third brother said is very true. Since I have entered the Xu family’s door, I can no longer intervene in the Li family’s affairs so casually. So, let me take the liberty to say that my Xu family will be celebrating the new year by ourselves tomorrow. I’ll be very busy, so I won’t be here to greet you all. Anyway, since I’m part of the Xu family, this obligation is no longer valid, right? I’ll have to go and greet Li Zheng, so, goodbye.”

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Translator: Hi my lovely readers, many things (nothing bad though) happened in the last few months. I was too busy to focus on translating. I’m still busy and won’t be able to update often in the next few months. I’ll do what I can though :’)

Thank you so much, Nessa Nessa, for their kofi donation. Really appreciate you (づ๑•ᴗ•๑)づ♡

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You are the best in my heart

Chang Le shook his head. He had only heard Yu Qingze talked about his grandfather once, and he just said it casually at that time. He had never heard him talk about other relatives. Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com. However, Chang Le could only think there was something that made brother Yu sad and that was why he never mentioned it to anyone.

Yu Qingze took Chang Le’s hand, leaned against the wall, sorted out his thoughts, and said slowly in a way that Chang Le could understand: “My parents knew each other since they were young. It was natural for them to get married when they grew up. At that time, the family was very poor, but they were very loving and diligent. They worked hard to do business together, and the family situation gradually improved.”

“In the first few years, they were busy with business, so they didn’t have children. Later, when the family had money, they gave birth to me. After a year of rest, my mother went back to business. The money earned by the family became more and more. We bought a big house and hired helpers. It stands to reason that the family should be happy, right?”

Chang Le nodded. With a husband, a son, a rich family, and a house, there was no need to worry about making a living. This was already a very good and happy life.

He thought so, but obviously there was a ‘but’ after it.

“According to my grandfather, when I was two years old, my parents suddenly began to quarrel all day long. Not only did they quarreled, but sometimes the two of them even started fighting. After it had been going on for a year, my father gradually stopped coming home, and my mother stopped doing business and washed his face in tears all day long. Later I found out that there was a problem in the relationship between my father and my mother. My father went outside to be with someone else who gave him a son, only half a year younger than me.”

Chang Le’s eyes widened, Big Brother Yu’s father was like this…

“You also think my father was a scum, don’t you?” Yu Qingze asked sideways.

Chang Le nodded, the word ‘scum’ was really too apt to describe it.

Yu Qingze looked at the angry eyes on Chang Le’s face, his heart was slightly warm. He clenched his hand tightly, and then continued: “M mother found out about this. That’s why they started quarreling. *She was not willing to let the outsiders People bring their children into the house and become a member of the Yu family, so even if she has given up on my father, she was still unwilling to divorce my father.”

*(T/N: in Chinese, he or she is a gender neutral term. So, even though Yu Qingze oppa here is speaking about his mother, it wasn’t weird for a world where there was no women.)

“Later, my mother became depressed and suffered from a serious illness. She passed away when I was five years old. And less than half a year after her death, my father married the mistress outside. So, I had a new mother and a younger brother. But the new mother and the younger brother doesn’t like me. I lived with them for more than two years and had a hard time. When I was eight years old, my grandfather learned that I was not doing well, so he took me back to our hometown to live with him.”

Yu Qingze looked into the distance and fell into the memory lane.

In fact, it was a bloody story of a scumbag who cheated on the original wife after getting rich, and then married the mistress, who then forced the son of the original wife to leave the house.

When Yu Qingze thought back on his family now, he felt it was like a third-rate soap opera.

Yu Qingze didn’t remember much about his mother. At that time, he was too young, and he only remembered that his mother cried all day, and then she was hospitalized. As for the stepmother and stepbrother, Yu Qingze told Chang Le very lightly. In fact, the woman pretended to be a loving mother in front of his father. As soon as his father left, she beat and scolded him.

In fact, in his opinion, there was no need for the woman to act like this, because his father didn’t care about him at all. Otherwise, how could he not find out his son’s abnormality? Like not even a little bit?

Because he didn’t care.

In the early years, because of his parents’ affairs, his grandfather lived in his hometown all by himself. Later, when he saw his grandson by chance and only then he found out that the child was being abused. Grandpa didn’t listen to his father and took the grandson back to live with him.

When Yu Qingze was 16 years old, his grandfather passed away. His scumbag who only visited a few times came when his grandfather passed away. At the funeral, because of the woman’s provocation, the two father and son had a big fight. Afterwards, their relationship pretty much severed and they didn’t meet much.

Yu Qingze also didn’t have any feelings for that scumbag. Later, when he was a freshman, when he encountered a military recruitment, he enlisted directly. In the army, he studied the school’s courses through distance learning, and after returning from the army, he completed the remaining credits in one year and graduated one year ahead of schedule.

After graduation, through a comrade-in-arms relationship, he took a famous chef as his teacher and began to learn cooking. The master had a strong relationship with his comrades-in-arms, and he didn’t hide his secrets, he taught Yu Qingze all his skills.

But it was not easy to tell all these to Brother Le, so he simply said that his grandfather passed away, and later he didn’t have any contact with his scumbag father, and he began living by himself.

Chang Le looked at Yu Qingze’s profile and felt sore in his heart. It turned out that Big Brother Yu had such a bad life when he was a child. He didn’t have a good time himself when he was young, but his father loved him very much, but Big Brother Yu didn’t have the same experience. Fortunately, he still had a grandfather who loved him.

“So, Brother Le, since I was a child, I have always wanted to have a warm and harmonious family, a family who loves each other. With a loving husband and a filial son, I would be very happy.”

It was only later that he discovered his sexuality. He knew he couldn’t have biological children, but he still had the desire to find a lover to form a harmonious family. He even thought that he could adopt a child in the future, and the filial piety of father and son could still be realized.

Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.

Yu Qingze turned his head, looked at Chang Le, held his hand, and asked, “Brother Le, what do you think? Would you like to build a home like this with me?”

Chang Le was stunned for a moment. Would he like it? Of course he would.

But……

The husband who is kind and the son who is filial, can he fulfill the wish of Big Brother Yu?

Chang Le struggled for a while, then pulled out his hand, and gestured slowly and earnestly.

Chang Le: Brother Yu, you deserve a better ger.

Yu Qingze knew that he was thinking. He held Chang Le’s shoulders with both hands and said solemnly, “Brother Le, in my heart, you are the best ger! There is no one else!”

“In my heart, you are the best ger!”

In a word, Chang Le felt that his heart had been slammed, and all the honey was gurgling inside, and there were many small flowers blooming, filling his heart with sweetness, powerful , and fragrant.

This was the best love story he had ever heard. Bouts of happiness and emotions made him want to indulge in it.

Chang Le gestured: Really?

Yu Qingze raised his hand to cover Chang Le’s brows, these eyes were shining with moving light, like stars, so beautiful that he wanted to kiss this person in front of him.

However, now was not the time to scare him. Yu Qingze told himself not to be impatient, not to frighten this timid little turtle away.

“Of course it’s true. Brother Le, you don’t know how good you are, so don’t demean yourself, okay?” Yu Qingze said softly.

Chang Le pursed his lips and didn’t answer. He didn’t know how to answer this question because he knew he couldn’t do it.

Since reaching the marriageable age, he had been beaten and denied too many times. Now, even if others didn’t remind him of his physical flaws, he knew he was not a suitable marriage partner at all.

Seeing this, Yu Qingze put on a serious face, pretended to be sad, and asked, “Don’t you believe what I said? Don’t you believe in my vision?”

Chang Le immediately shook his head, of course he believed what Brother Yu said. He gestured: Believe.

Yu Qingze felt a little emotional and said, “Then I said you are the best ger, why don’t you believe it?”

Chang Le was stunned for a moment, feeling that he had been led into a pit by Big Brother Yu. He didn’t know how to answer because no matter how he answered, it would be not what brother Yu would want to hear.

After a while, he gestured: I believe in your vision, but I don’t believe in myself.

Yu Qingze sighed inwardly, knowing that this little turtle had been shrinking its head for a long time and to make him stand up again, he had to take it slow.

He said, “It’s okay, I’ll make you believe it. Let’s not worry, take your time.”

Chang Le looked at him suspiciously.

Yu Qingze continued, “Brother Le, you haven’t answered my question just now.”

What was the question again? Chang Le thought about it for a while, and then he remembered that Yu Qingze asked him if he would like to build a happy and harmonious family with him.

Thinking of this, Chang Le fell silent. Although Big Brother Yu liked him, and he himself had secretly liked Big Brother Yu for a long time, could he make Big Brother Yu happy?

He was very uncertain about this question. Even if there was no problem with communication between the two and Big Brother Yu didn’t care about his scars, but, about the child…

He touched the dark red mole between his eyebrows and lowered his head sadly.

He hoped that Brother Yu could have his own children, and he hoped that Brother Yu could realize his wish since he was a child – to enjoy a happy and harmonious family with a loving husband and a son.

He may not be able to make it happen.

Seeing Chang Le bowing his head again, Yu Qingze couldn’t bear to persecute him any more. Today’s progress was enough. He raised Chang Le’s head and said, “Brother Le, don’t worry about giving me an answer just yet. You can think about it slowly, and tell me when you’re ready, but don’t make me wait too long, okay?”

Chang Le nodded and breathed a sigh of relief.

However……

“But, now that I’m asking you this question, please give me an answer today.” Yu Qingze said again seriously.

Today’s primary goal was to confess and make sure if Chang Le liked him too.

This goal had not been completed yet.

The previous question was really not in a hurry, it was just a question that naturally arises in that situation. Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com. At present, it was definitely impossible for Chang Le to overcome his inferiority complex and agree to his marriage proposal.

But it was still possible to let Chang Le face his feelings first.

Although from the previous interactions, Yu Qingze already had a nine-tenths confidence that Chang Le liked himself too and not Da He. Still, he wanted to see Chang Le admit it himself.

This was important.

What was this question? Chang Le looked at Yu Qingze suspiciously.

Yu Qingze stared at Chang Le, and asked with anticipation and anxiety, “Brother Le, do you like me?”

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Thingyan [Translator ordinaire]: Yu oppa, saranghae 🤭🤭🤭

Ps. I am bombarded with heavy course load and work these days. Updates are a lot slower than it used to be. After end of September, I’ll be able to get back to the usual faster updates 🥲