Author Archives: Thingyan

Old Leftover

Chang Le froze for a moment, quickly lowered his head, and turned towards the kitchen. Yu Qingze also touched his nose and quickly averted his gaze.

At that moment, the courtyard gate swung open, and an old man rushed in with a burden basket on his back. He immediately asked, “Has Wen Li come again?!”

Upon hearing the old man’s voice, Chang Le stopped and turned around.

Seeing the old man, Chang Hao’s previously suppressed tears started flowing. He wiped his eyes forcefully and rushed over to hug the old man’s waist, complaining, “Grandfather, Uncle Wen was here earlier, talking about that widower from Majia Village again. He said his family is so good and wealthy, and they can even provide a dowry of ten taels of silver. That man is so old, if he’s really that good, why doesn’t Uncle Wen let him marry his own son? I heard that man can’t even see with his eyes anymore, and he just wants someone to take care of him and be his servant!”

Upon hearing this, the old man became angry as well. However, since Wen Li had already left and they couldn’t scold him anymore, and he didn’t want his two grandsons to be upset, he could only hold them and console them, saying, “Don’t pay attention to him! Xiao Le, don’t worry. With Grandfather here, he won’t even dare to think about it!”

Chang Le smiled at the assurance and nodded before entering the kitchen.

Chang Hao, the young boy, heard his grandfather’s promise, and after venting a bit and complaining, his emotions gradually calmed down. He secretly wiped away his tears on his grandfather’s clothes and then sheepishly let go of his grandfather, running back to continue harvesting the grain.

After comforting their two grandsons, the old man turned to Yu Qingze, who was standing at the door. Seeing that he had awakened, the old man immediately greeted him, “Hey, young man, you’re awake? How’s your body feeling?”

Witnessing the previous scene, Yu Qingze initially felt a bit embarrassed, but seeing the old man’s relaxed attitude, he smiled and said, “Grandfather, I’m fine. Thank you for your concern and for taking care of me.”

The old man put down his burden basket under the eaves and waved his hand cheerfully, saying, “No need to thank me. Who goes out and doesn’t encounter some minor difficulties?”

The life-saving favor was casually regarded as a minor difficulty encountered while being away from home. Yu Qingze admired the old man’s nonchalant attitude, but he couldn’t possibly think of it that way himself. So, he expressed his gratitude sincerely.

The old man waved his hand again and then bent down to take a look at Yu Qingze’s left foot, which had improved quite a bit. He casually said, “Speaking of which, you were lucky. We generally don’t go into the mountains after heavy rain due to slippery paths. It just so happened that day, Chang Le wanted to go up the mountain to pick mushrooms for some reason and discovered you.”

Pausing for a moment, the old man asked, “Why did you go up the mountain during such heavy rain?”

Yu Qingze knew that the old man was asking about his background, and he couldn’t reveal his true origins. So he recited the prepared explanation.

In essence, he was alone, originally from the northern region where the environment was harsh and life was difficult. Hearing from traders that the south was prosperous, he followed them to the south, hoping to settle down there. As soon as he arrived, his luggage was stolen, leaving him penniless. He then planned to hunt for some wild game in the mountains to sell for silver coins. However, he got trapped on the mountain by the heavy rain and accidentally got buried.

Upon hearing this, Grandfather Chang sighed with sympathy, understanding that Yu Qingze had nowhere to go at the moment. He kindly said, “You can rest and recuperate here. Once your injuries have healed, you can make proper plans. You’re still young, and there’s a long future ahead of you.”

Yu Qingze nodded repeatedly in agreement.

By the time Grandfather Chang and Chang Hao finished harvesting the grain, dinner was also ready.

Chang Hao seemed very excited. He washed his hands and eagerly pulled Yu Qingze to sit on a stool, then grabbed an empty bowl from the table and ran to serve the rice.

Freshly harvested rice!

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

“Smells delicious!”

“This little rascal has been looking forward to this day since the grain started ripening!” Grandfather Chang said, smiling at his grandson and Yu Qingze.

Yu Qingze also smiled and said, “I can understand.”

For dinner, they had stir-fried eggplant and fish. When Chang Le brought the dishes to the table, Chang Hao had already quickly scooped four bowls of rice. The translucent and plump grains of rice filled the room with a delightful fragrance. Chang Hao sniffed incessantly, his mouth watering uncontrollably.

But they couldn’t eat just yet.

Yu Qingze was still a bit confused, but then he saw Chang Le take another set of chopsticks, scoop a bowl of rice, topped it with the dishes, and placed it on the offering table. He also poured some wine into a small cup and placed it there. Chang Hao went to the kitchen, lit three incense sticks, paid respects to his parents, and then inserted them into the incense burner.

The two brothers silently finished paying their respects and returned to the dining table.

Chang Hao looked at his grandfather with sparkling eyes.

Grandfather Chang smiled and announced, “Let’s eat.” With that, he picked up his chopsticks and first served a generous portion of fish to Yu Qingze, then to Chang Le and Chang Hao. Only then did he start eating himself.

Once Grandfather Chang started eating, Chang Le and Chang Hao picked up their bowls and began to eat.

The four of them sat on their respective stools, enjoying the newly harvested rice with a joyful atmosphere, savoring the joy of the harvest.

For Yu Qingze, it was his first meal in this foreign world.

The rice was fragrant, but the taste of the dishes… well, let’s just say it was quite ordinary. The eggplant was boiled in water, and as for the fish, the fishy smell was still present. With Yu Qingze’s professional chef standards, he was certain that no seasoning had been added to remove the fishy smell.

It seemed that during his time here, while recovering from his injuries, he could take good care of their taste buds and stomachs. Yu Qingze silently thought in his heart that he would make repaying the kindness of Chang Le’s family his top priority.

After dinner, Yu Qingze chatted with Grandfather Chang and Chang Hao, finally clarifying his previous doubts.

In this world, there are no women, only men. Men are divided into “汉子” (hànzi) and “哥儿” (gēr), with the main distinguishing mark being a red birthmark on the brow. Men are usually tall and robust in physique, while gers are also men but comparatively weaker in terms of body size and strength. However, gers possess a special ability—they can give birth!

Chang Hao is a little man, while his brother Chang Le is a ger.

Yu Qingze finally understands what the middle-aged man meant when he said Chang Le was getting older. If we consider the role of “gers” equivalent to women on Earth, and calculate based on the normal marriage age range of 14-18 for ancient women, then at 22, Chang Le is considered a late bloomer.

However, in Yu Qingze’s view, 22 is just the age when one graduates from university, still young.

He deeply feels the magic of this world, especially for a gay man like him, it truly is a friendly and beautiful world.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Author’s note: Yu Qingze: To capture someone’s heart, you must first capture their stomach! Operation Wife Hunt begins!

Chang Hao: Go, go, throwing flowers~~

Old Leftover

Upon hearing Chang Hao mention “marriage,” Yu Qingze, who naturally preferred men, thought that this era might have a more open-minded and accepting attitude towards same-sex relationships. He hadn’t realized yet the differences in this world.

In Yu Qingze’s eyes, Chang Le was still so young and handsome. Even if he were to get married, it wouldn’t be to an old widower in his fifties or sixties. But judging by Chang Hao’s reaction, there seemed to be some hidden secrets that were not meant for outsiders to know.

“Hey, what do you, a little kid, understand? Don’t block my way, move aside. This is an adult matter, children shouldn’t get involved! Brother Le, come out quickly, I know you’re at home…” The middle-aged man scolded Chang Hao for a few moments and then shouted.

Yu Qingze, as an outsider, didn’t feel it was appropriate to continue watching this situation unfold. He stood up, intending to go back to his room. However, on the other side, Chang Hao was like an enraged little leopard, pushing the middle-aged man and trying to drive him out. His expression seemed as though he would bite at any moment.

Caught off guard, the middle-aged man took two steps back, growing irritated. He reached out and grabbed Chang Hao’s little arm.

Yu Qingze was stunned. Chang Hao’s reaction was too intense. Afraid that something might happen, he stood still, thinking he could lend a hand if needed.

Chang Le heard the commotion and hurriedly came forward to pull his younger brother away.

Chang Hao wanted to chase after the man, but Chang Le held him back, rendering him immobile. He could only glare fiercely at the middle-aged man with his angry round eyes.

“Oh, Chang Hao, this kid, is becoming more mischievous and unruly as he grows older! Brother Le, you too, you should manage and teach him properly. This lack of manners is unacceptable. How can things continue like this?” The middle-aged man scolded the two brothers while straightening his clothes.

Chang Le, feeling displeased that his beloved younger brother was being scolded, had a dark expression on his face. He furrowed his brows as he looked at the middle-aged man. Even without asking, he knew why the man had come.

Seeing Chang Le’s less-than-pleased expression, the middle-aged man chuckled and immediately changed his demeanor. Softly, he asked, “Brother Le, the person from Majia Village has sent someone to inquire again. How are you considering it? What do you mean?”

Chang Le shook his head blankly, gesturing refusal with his hand.

Seeing this, a hint of disdain flashed in the middle-aged man’s eyes, but he quickly covered it up, pretending to be patient and concerned. “Brother Le, it’s not just me saying this. You know your situation. If you can’t speak, that’s one thing, but your appearance is also a concern. The color of your cinnabar mole is so dim. How can a young man’s family agree to it? Which man wouldn’t want a handsome and fertile partner? Besides, you’re already twenty-two, soon to be twenty-three. Each year, you’re getting older. It’s not easy to find a man who would want you. Do you think it’s easy to find a suitable partner?”

After those impolite words were spoken, there was a moment of silence.

Chang Le lowered his head, not saying anything, while Chang Hao couldn’t help but tear up.

Although those words were all true, he couldn’t stand anyone saying anything negative about his brother. In his heart, no one’s brother could compare to his!

He jumped out from behind Chang Le, gritting his teeth and shouting, “My brother is the best! We don’t need you to meddle! Leave, hurry up! Get out!”

“Hey, you little brat, don’t tug at my clothes. I just had them fixed a few days ago! You two don’t know what’s good for you. That man from Majia Village may be a bit older, but he doesn’t have any children. His family conditions are good, and he lives in a tile-roofed house. He can even provide a dowry of ten taels of silver! To put it bluntly, how many more years can he live? Once he’s gone, won’t everything be yours? You’re foolish. Where else can you find such conditions…?”

“You leave! Go away!”

“…”

The quarreling continued over there, but Yu Qingze was somewhat astonished.

This man’s words were too harsh, and his thoughts were difficult to comprehend. He was openly exposing people’s scars and sensitive spots right in front of them, especially with an outsider like Yu Qingze present. It was truly difficult to feel favorably toward him.

In Yu Qingze’s opinion, not being able to speak might be inconvenient, but it didn’t mean one couldn’t live. As for appearance, it wasn’t such a big deal for men. Abilities and character were more important. Moreover, although Chang Le’s skin was a bit tanned, he was still handsome, and he didn’t… Yu Qingze paused and looked at Chang Le’s thick bangs…

Yu Qingze’s gaze swept across Chang Le’s bangs, feeling a bit puzzled. However, his focus quickly shifted to two other strange aspects in the middle-aged man’s words.

In ancient times, it was common for people to marry early, which Yu Qingze was aware of. However, what did he mean by “cinnabar mole” and “fertility”? Also, why did he switch between “man” and “gerr”? Based on the middle-aged man’s words, could Chang Le still have children? Was it because the color of his birthmark/cinnabar mole was dim, so he wasn’t considered fertile?

A man being able to have children?

Confused, Yu Qingze deeply felt that there might be something important about this world that he hadn’t figured out yet.

The middle-aged man left, grumbling all the way, and from afar, one could still hear him complaining about the lack of vision and discernment of the two brothers, Chang Le and Chang Hao.

The two brothers stood silently for a while. Then, Chang Le patted Chang Hao on the shoulder and gestured to him, seemingly comforting his younger brother.

Chang Hao looked up at his brother, wanting to say something but hesitated. However, in the next moment, he lowered his head and muttered, “Brother, I’m fine. I’ll go and collect the harvested grain.” After saying that, he quickly took a few steps and started picking up the dried rake to collect the grain.

The middle-aged man was the wife of the two brothers’ uncle, named Wen Li. Since Chang Le turned fifteen, he had been enthusiastic about introducing potential marriage prospects to Chang Le. However, every time he introduced someone, they were either widowers or had questionable character or physical defects. They were definitely not suitable matches.

Chang Le rejected every one of them. On one hand, his younger brother was still young, and on the other hand, their grandfather was in poor health and he couldn’t rest assured. Moreover, his own physical condition was also a significant obstacle. Chang Le was well aware that over the years, he hadn’t considered his own marriage anymore. He only wanted to take care of his grandfather and younger brother, and live a good life as a family.

That was his thinking, but Wen Li didn’t understand. He continued to search for those unsuitable matches.

At first, Chang Le thought Wen Li was doing it for his own good and was grateful to him. However, he and his brother accidentally overheard a conversation between Wen Li and their uncle, and that was when he realized Wen Li had ulterior motives.

Chang Le looked at his brother, sighed lightly, and prepared to go back to the kitchen to continue cooking. But as he turned his head, he met Yu Qingze’s gaze.

Chang Le: …

Yu Qingze: …

Now, it was truly awkward, as no one wanted others to witness their embarrassing moments.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Just as Xie Yu was about to speak, Xu Qing spoke up, “Brother Xie, can you introduce him? Although this person knows me, as you know, I rarely go out, and this young man has such ‘distinctive’ looks! I haven’t seen him before, otherwise, I wouldn’t easily forget!”

Hearing Xu Qing emphasizing the word “distinctive,” Zhonghua’s face turned extremely ugly. He hated it when others talked about his appearance!

Xie Yu understood Xu Qing’s intentions. He suppressed the displeasure caused by Zhonghua’s earlier words and cooperatively said, “Indeed, Zhonghua and I grew up together as childhood playmates. We are a few years older than you, so it’s understandable that you don’t remember.”

Zhonghua and Xie Yu were born in the same year. Zhonghua’s parents’ home was not far from Xie’s family. Since they were both gers, they often played together or did farm work. However, as they grew older, the gap between them grew larger.

Although Xie Yu was a rural child, he had the same refined and dignified appearance as the gers who grew up in the town. He carried a sense of sophistication and attracted the attention of unmarried young men in the village. They would try their best to please Xie Yu, thinking that if they were chosen by him, it would be a great fortune. So during Xie Yu’s marriageable years, the threshold of the Xie family was trampled by numerous suitors.

Zhonghua was also a big topic in the village, but in a different way. The older he got, the uglier he became, and when he and Xie Yu were still young, adults often praised Xie Yu specifically, saying how good he was in this and that. Gradually, Zhonghua started to keep his distance from Xie Yu because he felt that whenever he was with Xie Yu, he was always overshadowed.

Feeling Zhonghua deliberately distancing himself, Xie Yu was saddened for a while. Their relationship faded after that, but it didn’t end there. Xie Yu was good-looking, capable, and had a gentle temperament. Besides the secret admiration from unmarried young men, many other gers in the village were willing to spend time with him because they believed that by being around someone as outstanding as Xie Yu, they would also gradually become better. So Xie Yu’s social circle didn’t become as lonely and pitiful as Zhonghua had maliciously imagined.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

However, it was only after Zhonghua distanced himself from Xie Yu that he realized he only had Xie Yu as a friend. Because of his unattractive appearance, strange temperament, and often offensive remarks, no one wanted to stay with him. Zhonghua even secretly thanked Xu Qing because Xu Qing’s face had a condition that people referred to as “ugly ger.” Zhonghua always felt that although he wasn’t good-looking, at least he didn’t have that condition on his face.

But even so, the destinies of Xie Yu and Zhonghua took completely different paths. Xie Yu was sought after by families in the town and married off in a splendid manner, causing envy and resentment among unmarried young men in the village. They hid away, shedding tears in secret. As for Zhonghua, things were miserable. No one came to propose marriage, and the suitors chosen by the Zhong family were not to his liking. He believed that he could marry someone better than Xie Yu!

So, when Zhonghua reached the age of official marriage, he was paired with a hunchbacked man from Anle Village who had lost his partner. Zhonghua was almost dragged onto the donkey cart, crying and resisting fiercely. The hunchbacked man didn’t mind Zhonghua’s unattractive appearance; he only cared about having children and someone who could help with farming. After marrying him, Zhonghua gave birth to three children and worked in the fields every day, which made him look much older than his peers.

Yesterday, when Zhonghua went to town to sell eggs, he happened to overhear Ma Ama chatting with someone while buying vegetables. He heard that Xie Yu had been divorced by the Ma family and returned home. The feeling Zhonghua had at that moment was like being liberated after years of oppression. In a good mood, Zhonghua sold his precious eggs at a low price and finally enjoyed a good night’s sleep. Early the next morning, he hurried back from Anle Village, eager to see how wretched Xie Yu looked after being divorced.

However, to his surprise, Xie Yu was not the pitiful, wretched man he had imagined. Although he had a sickly appearance, his demeanor and aura were that of a beautiful person. As for the former “ugly ger” of the village, his face had been healed just as the rumors outside claimed. Zhonghua’s anticipation of a good show vanished completely.

“So, that’s how it is! I knew I couldn’t possibly forget someone like ‘Big Brother Zhong’ who has such ‘distinctive’ looks!” Xu Qing emphasized the words “Big Brother Zhong” and “distinctive” with a deadly clarity, intending to choke Zhonghua with his malicious intent.

Although Xie Yu didn’t agree with Xu Qing’s words, in Zhonghua’s eyes, Xie Yu was intentionally embarrassing him! Intentionally trying to make Xu Qing shiver in fear!

“You! All of you!” Zhonghua’s chest was heaving with anger. “Xie Yu, what do you have to boast about?! What right do you have to team up with ‘Ugly ger’ Xu Qing to mock me?! Yes, I’m not as good-looking as you! I married someone inferior to you! But at least I have three children! At least I can be a normal mother! And you? Pah!”

Xie Yu’s face, which had started to regain some color after drinking the spiritual spring water, turned pale and terrifying as Zhonghua’s words pierced his heart.

“Who told you that?! Explain it to me!” Just as Xie Ama, holding hot water and preparing to give it to Zhonghua, heard his vicious words, he slammed the bowl onto the ground. He stepped forward and grabbed Zhonghua, who had a frightened expression on his face. “My son is doing fine! Who are you to say such things about my child?! Even as his parents, we have never said anything like this about our little Yu!”

Uncle Xie, who was tending to the medicine on the stove, heard the commotion in the main room and rushed in as well. “What’s going on? What happened?!” Seeing the displeased expressions on his son’s face and wife’s face, and Zhonghua being held onto by Xie Ama, he didn’t need to think twice to know that Zhonghua must have said something he shouldn’t have!

“Get out!”

Xie Ama no longer cared about the etiquette of being an elder. He forcefully grabbed Zhonghua’s hand and dragged him towards the courtyard gate.

“What are you doing?! What kind of attitude is this?! No wonder Xie Yu was divorced and sent back home! No wonder the Ma family wants to marry someone else!”

“What?!” Everyone was stunned by these words. While Xie Ama was in disbelief, Zhonghua took advantage of his stunned state and forcefully pulled his hand back. It hurt so much!

Xie Yu pushed away Xu Qing, who was supporting him, step by step, slowly walking into the drizzling courtyard, looking at Zhonghua who was still rubbing his wrist.

“Say it again, Ma Fugui is marrying who?”

Zhonghua rubbed his wrist in pain and angrily shouted at Xie Yu, “Why haven’t you heard?! Ma Fugui is marrying a new person tomorrow! I thought you were so capable, but you can’t even keep hold of your own man!”

“Ah! Help! Murder!”

Xie Ama picked up a stool and threw it at Zhonghua, scaring him so much that he started hopping in panic. Xie Ama forcefully threw the screaming Zhonghua out, and he fell miserably, like a dog eating shit, as Xie Ama slammed the courtyard gate close.

“Brother Xie.”

Xu Qing gently tapped the umbrella on top of Xie Yu’s head and softly called his name. The drizzle had already dampened his hair, and his clothes were quite wet. His eyes were filled with pain and sorrow, just like when he heard the news from Zhonghua. He had just divorced Ma Fugui yesterday, and the day after tomorrow, Ma Fugui would be marrying someone new. In such a short time, the Ma family had already prepared everything. After all these years, what did he really mean to Ma Fugui?

“Brother Xie!”

“Xiao Yu!”

“Xiao Yu!”

Seeing Xie Yu sway slightly, Xu Qing felt that something was wrong. Then, Xie Yu began to collapse to the ground! Xu Qing desperately reached out to catch him, and the falling umbrella landed on the ground, splashing water droplets all around.

***

That person had come again.

Xie Yu looked through the slightly opened courtyard gate and saw the thin young man who had been frequently sitting across from his house for the past few months. He was tall but very skinny. He was the one who came to propose a few months ago. Because his family was in town, it caused quite a stir in the village. During this time, Xie Yu often asked himself privately how he even attracted someone from town to come and propose to him.

Xie Yu gently closed the courtyard gate, feeling somewhat helpless. He had never seen or spoken to Ma Fugui before he came to propose. It was his own mother who said Xie Yu had to agree and find it suitable before accepting the proposal. So for the past few months, Ma Fugui had been waiting at the door whenever he had the chance. As soon as Xie Yu stepped out, he would come forward and help him with various things, making Xie Yu feel uncomfortable. He couldn’t adapt to this sudden enthusiasm.

Xie Ama came out holding a basin of vegetables and saw his son in the courtyard with the gate tightly closed. “What’s wrong? Has that person come again?”

Xie Yu heard the teasing tone in Xie Ama’s voice and nodded helplessly. To be honest, he had never planned to get married and leave. Moreover, Xie Yu was the only son in the family. He had initially wanted to marry in a husband, but Xie Ama and Uncle Xie did not agree. They said they were not too old and could live on their own. Xie Yu was so outstanding, he should marry into a good family and not waste his prime years.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Translator’s rant: Pssssh, some people be like that, before they get what they want, they be acting all invested and crap like that Ma Fugui guy.

“Wait, you don’t know about this place? Then how did you end up in our back mountain?” Chang Hao blinked his round eyes and explained to Yu Qingze, “We’re in Niutou Village, which belongs to Tongshan County. Tongshan City is about twelve or thirteen miles away from here, not too far. It takes a little over half an hour to walk there.”

The boy’s response confirmed part of Yu Qingze’s speculation. He remained silent for a moment and then started conversing with him, coaxing more information.

By the time Chang Le arrived with the doctor, Yu Qingze had gathered quite a bit of information. He learned that this was a country called Dasheng, which had been established just fifteen years ago. Niutou Village had around forty to fifty households and was dominated by two prominent surnames, Yu and Chang. The parents of Chang Le, the two brothers who had saved him, had passed away when Chang Hao was only two years old, leaving them with their grandfather behind.

Chang Hao was still young and only had knowledge of his village and some distant places like Tongshan City, Yunzhou above it, and the capital city, Jingcheng. Beyond that, he had no knowledge.

Yu Qingze wasn’t in a hurry. He could gather more information later. For now, the most important thing was evidently how to explain his identity to the Chang brothers.

An unidentified stranger, regardless of the era, always raised concerns.

After the doctor examined him and confirmed that Yu Qingze was fine, he advised him to rest for a few days and left.

Yu Qingze’s mind was still spinning with possible explanations, but the brothers didn’t ask him where he came from or what he was doing here. Chang Le saw off the doctor and went to cook, not returning, while Chang Hao was sent away by his brother to attend to something else.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Yu Qingze breathed a sigh of relief and decided to go outside for a look. On the floor, there were a pair of wooden clogs and a pair of straw shoes. He felt a warm sensation in his heart, thinking that the hosts didn’t know his preferences and had prepared both.

He put on the straw shoes and slowly made his way to the door. His left foot was twisted badly, and the entire top of his foot was swollen, making it impossible to exert any force. He could only walk slowly on tiptoes.

Just as he reached the entrance, Chang Hao came back with a forked tree branch and hurriedly exclaimed, “Hey, Big Brother Yu, why are you out? Here’s a wooden crutch my brother just made.”

Yu Qingze accepted the makeshift wooden crutch and thanked him with a smile, saying, “Thank you, you went through the trouble.”

Chang’s house wasn’t large. In the middle was the main hall, with two rooms on the east side and a kitchen on the west side. Behind the kitchen were the pigsty and bathing area.

Yu Qingze exited his room into the main hall. Against the north wall of the hall, there was an altar table with two memorial tablets placed on it, accompanied by a clay incense burner. When he looked at the characters on the tablets, he was pleasantly surprised to find that the writing here was the same as the writing in his world, albeit some of it in traditional forms.

Along one wall was a square table with four wooden stools. On the other wall, there was a pile of rice, still containing bits of straw, indicating that it had just been harvested and hadn’t been dried or stored yet. In the corner of the wall, there was a partially woven straw mat and some strips of bamboo.

Everything was simple and easy to understand at a glance.

On the other side was the kitchen, from where the crackling sound of firewood burning could be heard. Yu Qingze made his way over, and Chang Le was behind the stove, cooking. He saw Chang Le casually snap a dry tree branch, which was as thick as his arm, into two pieces with a loud snap.

“…,” Yu Qingze’s mouth hung open as he stared at Chang Le’s thin arms, then looked down at his own, speechless. That’s some strength.

After a moment of bewilderment, Yu Qingze saw Chang Le looking over. He leaned against the door frame, raised the wooden crutch in his hand, and smiled as he expressed his gratitude, “Chang Le, thank you.”

Chang Le shyly smiled in response, waving his hand to indicate that there was no need to thank him, and then he gestured towards the outside.

“My brother wants you to sit outside. It’s smoky in the kitchen,” Chang Hao timely translated.

Yu Qingze understood and didn’t want to trouble the two brothers any further, so he went outside and sat down by the door.

Outside was a small courtyard enclosed by a fence. On the right side of the courtyard, there was a thatched shed filled with a lot of firewood. The courtyard had already been cleaned up, and several large straw mats were placed on the ground. They were used to dry golden rice, arranged in small, rippling waves using a sun rake. On the other side, there were two racks, where clothes and a fishing net were being dried.

After Yu Qingze sat down, Chang Hao picked up the sun rake from under the eaves and began to gather the rice. As he gathered the rice, he said to Yu Qingze, “My brother says we’re having freshly harvested rice for dinner today. I can already smell the fragrance of the new rice! Ah, it smells so good!”

Chang Hao tilted his head back and took a deep sniff, thoroughly enjoying the moment.

It was already dusk, and the sun was gradually setting, casting an orange hue that colored everything. The young boy’s face, lifted towards the slanting sun, glowed with an incredible radiance, exuding a sense of wonder, hope, and happiness.

It was tranquil.

That was the only thought in Yu Qingze’s mind as he looked at everything before him.

“Is the rice in the house all harvested?” Yu Qingze moved closer and picked up a broom nearby, ready to help sweep the rice. Chang Hao quickly stopped him.

“Eh, Big Brother Yu, please sit down. I’ll do it. It’ll be done in a moment.” The boy took the broom from Yu Qingze’s hand, not allowing any refusal, and helped him onto a stool. He rolled up his sleeves and pants, deftly gathering the rice from the straw mats while still answering Yu Qingze’s question.

“Not yet, it will take a few more days. We have three acres of land, and we just finished harvesting one plot. After the harvest, we still need to transplant the seedlings. We have to finish it before the beginning of autumn. We finished early today, but we’ll be busy again tomorrow.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

“Hehe, it’s not hard. After harvesting the rice, we can have rice to eat and won’t go hungry.” The boy’s face was filled with a satisfied expression, full of anticipation.

“Where is your grandfather?” Yu Qingze asked.

“Grandfather went to the mountain to gather medicinal herbs. The herbs for your ankle and the medicinal drink you had are all gathered by grandfather,” Chang Hao replied.

The two of them chatted casually.

As they were talking, a middle-aged man with slightly flamboyant clothing and a dark red birthmark on his forehead pushed open the courtyard gate and walked straight in. He noticed Yu Qingze and paused for a moment before smiling and saying, “Oh, the young man is awake?”

Yu Qingze didn’t recognize the man, so he could only smile and nod, discreetly observing the man’s peculiar attire.

However, as soon as Chang Hao saw this man, he immediately stopped what he was doing, cautiously watching the middle-aged man. His joyful expression from earlier instantly turned cold, a hint of annoyance flashed in his eyes, and he frowned, calling out, “Uncle.”

The middle-aged man acknowledged the greeting and asked, “Is your brother home? Brother Le, Brother Le…” Without waiting for Chang Hao’s response, the middle-aged man continued towards the kitchen on his own.

Seeing this, Chang Hao dropped the sun rake and quickly rushed in front of the middle-aged man, blocking his way with both hands, and shouted loudly, “My brother is not home, he went to cut pig grass! Uncle, you should go back!”

“You, child, why are you talking like this? I’m looking for Brother Le for something. Don’t block my way.”

“I’m telling you my brother is not here! He’s not going to marry that old widower in his fifties or sixties! If that person really wants to marry, why don’t you just marry him!”

“…”

Yu Qingze: “…” Marry? What’s going on?

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The author has something to say:

Yu Qingze: As soon as I appeared on the stage, my wife was targeted, can you write something better!

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Thingyan: I’m picking up another farming/ger novel while working on The ugly ger’s farming story. Actually, I have been working on this novel for awhile even before the ugly ger, just feeling lazy to put them up on the website.

This one is going to be more food-centered and have some business management elements. Hope you’ll like it ☺️

After lunch, the light rain outside continued to fall steadily without any sign of stopping. “I’m going to visit Xie Ama’s house to express my gratitude. What about you?” Xu Qing took an umbrella and prepared to go to the village. “I’m going to discuss the design of the wooden cabinet with Wei Er at his house. Let’s go together.” Li Changfeng didn’t open his own umbrella and instead shared one with Xu Qing, walking shoulder to shoulder. When they arrived at the entrance of Xie’s house, Li Changfeng reluctantly opened his own umbrella and bid farewell to Xu Qing.

The Xie family had also just finished their lunch. Uncle Xie was in the kitchen making medicine for Xie Yu, and Xie Ama opened the courtyard gate for Xu Qing. “Come in quickly. Your Brother Xie is in the main hall!” Following Xie Ama into the main hall, Xu Qing saw Xie Yu sitting there. There was no denying that Xie Yu was truly a refined and elegant man. Compared to Xie Ama, there was an added sense of tranquility in Xie Yu, perhaps due to his long-term illness, which gave him a strangely beautiful aura. Xu Qing felt like he didn’t want to wash his eyes anymore. This was a living embodiment of a mature and handsome man.

It had been a long time since Xie Yu had seen Xu Qing. Xu Qing’s face, as described by Xie Ama, had indeed completely recovered, and he looked more spirited than before, without the previous gloominess.

“Is Brother Xie feeling better?” Xu Qing sat next to Xie Yu, closely examining his face, which still showed signs of illness but exuded a vibrant charm. Xie Yu nodded with a smile that fascinated Xu Qing. “Thanks to the pickled vegetables you brought, not only did it whet my appetite, but my body also feels much better.” His voice was so pleasant to listen to!

“No kidding! Look, today Brother Xie even got out of bed and had a meal with us!” Xie Ama’s spirits improved along with Xie Yu’s recovery. As long as his son’s health improved, nothing could be too difficult to handle!

“It’s nothing. As long as Brother Xie can eat it, I’ll bring it to you every day!” Xu Qing’s eager expression amused both Xie Ama and Xie Yu. They say that some people instantly click when they meet, and it couldn’t be more appropriate for Xu Qing and Xie Yu. Xie Yu had never had much contact with the original body, so he had never had a heartfelt conversation like today. As they talked, the two of them became more and more in sync, and a faint blush appeared on Xie Yu’s pale face.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

“Brother Xie, you look really handsome!” Xu Qing gazed at Xie Yu’s face and couldn’t help but blurt out the compliment. In his eyes, a beautiful man was a beautiful man, no matter what.

“Ah,” Xie Yu didn’t expect Xu Qing to say such things to him. He was a bit surprised and a bit shy. Over the years, no one had ever praised him so directly. Even during the time when Ma Fugui pursued him, he had never heard such straightforward words. But as soon as he thought of Ma Fugui, the smile on Xie Yu’s face faded away. A day of husbandly affection is worth a hundred days, after all, they had been living together for so many years, but now… sigh, it’s also because of his own body’s condition.

Seeing the expression on Xie Yu’s face, Xie Ama knew what he was thinking. He gave Xu Qing a signal with her eyes, “You two continue chatting. I’ll go check if the old man has finished making the medicine.” Their son was thoughtful and filial, keeping all the things that troubled him in his heart without letting them or his elderly partner worry. But little did he know that his behavior worried the Xie couple even more. Seeing that Xu Qing and Xie Yu got along well, Xie Ama felt relieved. He hoped that Xie Yu could have a good conversation with Xu Qing about the things he didn’t want to talk about, as they were close in age and could communicate well.

“They’re all very worried about you, Brother Xie. You have to recover quickly,” Xu Qing looked at Xie Yu as he gently stated the facts he had observed. “I know, but I’m just so weak. I make them worry for me,” Xie Yu’s eyes turned slightly red. Somehow, in front of Xu Qing, he didn’t want to put up any defenses anymore. He wanted to confide in him.

“It’s not your fault at all. You’re so good and kind. I think it’s more like the Ma family’s fault for having a black heart!” Xu Qing was filled with anger at the thought of such a good person like Xie Yu being abandoned for such a ridiculous reason.

“It’s not as good as you say,” as he watched Xu Qing getting indignant on his behalf, Xie Yu suddenly felt that the matter wasn’t that significant. Even if he would never have children in his lifetime, he could only say that he and the child were not destined to be together. Because of this incident, he saw through a person who used to be his pillow companion. He felt that fate had given him another path.

Seeing the melancholy in Xie Yu’s eyes gradually dissipating, Xu Qing knew that he had come to some realization. “It’s a bit cold today. I’ll go find Xie Ama and get some hot water for you to drink.” Seeing that the water in front of Xie Yu was no longer steaming, Xu Qing immediately volunteered to serve the handsome man.

“What’s wrong?” Xie Ama and uncle were in the kitchen when they saw Xu Qing entering. They thought something had happened, so they hurriedly asked. Xu Qing waved his hand casually, “Nothing, I just noticed that Brother Xie’s water had cooled down, so I came in to change it to something hot. It’ll be more comfortable for him to drink.” Uncle Xie quickly took the bowl from Xu Qing’s hand and replaced it with freshly boiled water. “Thank you, Xu Qing. Please talk to our Brother Xie more. He keeps everything to himself, and that’s not a good thing.”

Xu Qing nodded, holding the bowl and walking out of the kitchen, out of the sight of Xie’s couple. After that, he dropped a few drops of Spiritual Spring water into the bowl. Although the weak and sickly handsome man was pleasing to the eye, Xu Qing hoped to see the real, down-to-earth Xie Yu.

“Thank you for your trouble, Brother Qing,” Xie Yu took the bowl and expressed his gratitude. His health wasn’t very good either. Originally, when Xu Qing came to his house, he should have been the one to offer tea and pour water for Xu Qing. But instead, he ended up inconveniencing the guest by asking him to pour water for himself.

“It’s nothing. I’ll come often in the future. Don’t find me annoying. It’s cold today, so have a sip and warm up your body,” Xu Qing said. Seeing Xie Yu sipping the water slowly, Xu Qing also felt relieved. After drinking water mixed with Spiritual Spring water, Xie Yu’s body would improve in a few days. As for the matter of Xie Ama mentioning the difficulty of conceiving, it would need further consideration. Xu Qing didn’t know if Spiritual Spring water could help Xie Yu in this aspect.

“Knock, knock! Knock, knock!”

“Coming! Coming!” Uncle Xie asked Xu Qing, who was standing at the entrance of the living room, to go inside. He himself braved the drizzle and opened the door. Outside the door stood a guy who was about the same age as Xie Yu. He was thin, with slightly yellowish skin, and had a sharp and wily look. In the aesthetic standards of this world, his appearance could be considered truly “ugly”! But Xu Qing’s previous “ugly” appearance was acquired, while this person’s, tsk tsk, was congenital!

“Is it Zhonghua? When did you come back? Come on in,” Uncle Xie greeted Zhonghua as he entered the courtyard. “Uncle Xie, I heard that Xie Yu came back, so I specifically came back from Anle Village to see him!” Zhonghua’s voice matched his name, a bit… unpleasant. When he spoke, it was coarse and rough, instinctively grating on one’s ears. And his voice was high-pitched, making it even more unpleasant.

“He’s back. He’s in the living room! Xiao Yu, Zhonghua is here!”

Hearing Uncle Xie calling out the person’s name loudly, Xu Qing couldn’t help but let out a suppressed chuckle. “Zhonghua? Like planting flowers?”

Xie Yu hadn’t thought that Zhonghua’s name could be such, so he couldn’t help but laugh along. “What’s so funny? You’re laughing so happily. Zhonghua, come in and have a seat. I’ll get you some hot water.” Xie Ama led Zhonghua into the living room and heard Xu Qing and Xie Yu’s laughter. His heart was warmed. Sure enough, Xu Qing was a joyful person! Look, how happy his son was laughing.

“Xie Yu, it’s been years since we last saw each other,” Zhonghua looked at the increasingly rosy-faced Xie Yu due to his laughter, feeling a stifling sensation in his heart. After all these years, Xie Yu still looked the same as when they were unmarried, while he himself had been toiling away in the fields, exposed to wind and sun, and couldn’t compare to him.

Xie Yu pulled Xu Qing to sit beside him and smiled politely at Zhonghua. “Yes, come, have a seat. This is Xu Qing. You haven’t seen him in years either.” Xie Yu was not pleased with Zhonghua’s disregard for Xu Qing’s presence and his lack of enthusiasm towards him. Both Xie Yu and Xie Ama had one thing in common: they protected their loved ones.

“Hello,” Xu Qing didn’t pay much attention, but it was clear that this person’s eyes were fixed on Xie Yu as if he wanted to devour him. It was evident that he wasn’t someone easy to get along with.

“It has been many years since I last saw him. It’s the same person with a face full of pimples! His reputation is so widespread, of course, I’ve heard of him,” Zhonghua looked at Xu Qing’s flawless and cured fair complexion, and his jealousy grew like a sprouting seed. He couldn’t believe that even the ugliest person in the village had transformed like this. That meant his own appearance was the most…!!

“Zhonghua! Do you have any business with me coming here?” Xie Yu felt provoked by Zhonghua’s tone towards Xu Qing, and his anger welled up. He questioned Zhonghua with a firm tone.

Zhonghua realized that his tone was too much, but upon hearing Xie Yu’s dismissive attitude, he felt even more discontented. They were all grown up now, and he had been married for so many years. Why did Xie Yu still use that condescending tone from their childhood? However, when he thought about the news he had received, Zhonghua felt that Xie Yu was much more pitiable than himself. His tone also contained a hint of schadenfreude.

“Just look at what you’re saying. After all, we grew up in the same village. Haven’t you heard that you’ve been divorced and came back home? I came to see you, didn’t I?”

Upon hearing this, Xu Qing knew that this “flower planter” was indeed up to no good. It turned out that he had purposely come to add insult to injury!

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Thingyan: So far, our protagonists really haven’t done much farming but more of harvesting ‘seeds’. I even changed the title now, you’re all welcome ^__^

This chapter contains mature content. Read at your own discretion.

The rain was getting heavier and heavier in the afternoon. Farmers who were working in the fields earlier in the day no longer could be seen. Everyone was hiding inside and taking advantage of the rare free time.

Li Changfeng and Xu Qing enjoyed a pleasant afternoon together. They didn’t do anything crazy like yesterday, but this peacefulness was disrupted after dinner.

Li Changfeng moved the already dried bathtub into the bathroom, and Xu Qing excitedly circled the large bathtub that could fit his entire body, “It’s so big! Finally, I can take a good bath!” Li Changfeng said with a meaningful smile, “I’ve already boiled the water. I’ll go bring it over.” Xu Qing immediately returned to the room and brought a change of clothes after hearing Li Changfeng was bringing the hot water. If you’re not reading this on hololonovels, the ending will be missing.

Li Changfeng filled the tub with two buckets of hot water and one bucket of cold water until it was filled by half. “You go in first. I’ll bring some more hot water just in case it cools down.” Xu Qing nodded and awaited Li Changfeng to go out. When the door was closed, he took off his clothes, and felt the cold wind. It was a little chilly this afternoon!

Xu Qing stepped into the tub with excitement after a quick rinse outside. “So comfortable…” Xu Qing was engulfed in hot water. He was at a loss for words to describe his feeling at the moment. The tub was huge. The water had just reached his shoulders, even if he sat with his legs slightly bent; the height was just perfect.

“I’m coming in to add more hot water for you!” Li Changfeng knocked on the door. After receiving Xu Qing’s response, he came in with two large wooden barrels and then locked the door.

“What are you doing?!”

As soon as Xu Qing heard the sound of locking the door, he turned to look at Li Changfeng vigilantly. Li Changfeng looked at Xu Qing innocently, “I also want to take a bath, don’t worry. I’ll wash outside first. You continue soaking.” Hearing that Li Changfeng was going to wash outside, the sense of crisis in his heart eased. Xu Qing was too inattentive to hear the word “first” in the sentence.

Xu Qing stared at Li Changfeng, who was touching and rubbing his skin, “weren’t you going to wash outside?!” It is fine for him to sit in the bath tub alone, but as soon as Li Changfeng came in, he has to wrap his legs around Li Changfeng’s waist and sit on his lap. The water level that was Xu Qing’s shoulders rose to his neck.

“Yes, I will wash outside first!” Li Changfeng said, flashing his white teeth at Xu Qing. He turned Xu Qing’s body with his big hands under the water, Xu Qing’s back was now against Li Changfeng’s broad chest and his butt on the man’s crotch.

Li Changfeng pressed against Xu Qing from behind, his body hot and his breathing heavy. The temperature of the water was not low, but Xu Qing was getting hotter, especially the restless object against his ass. “Come, I’ll wipe your back, don’t move!” Holding the body that wanted to struggle, Li Changfeng said the words that made Xu Qing calm down instantly.

Li Changfeng took the loofah for the bath, and he really obediently picked up the warm water to scrub Xu Qing’s body. Although his rough palms were hot, his movements were gentle as he kneaded Xu Qing’s shoulders, “is the strength appropriate?” With his eyes closed, Xu Qing nodded contentedly, but he did not dare to relax his vigilance; the thing below was quite energetic.

Despite the dim light from the oil lamp and the darkening sky outside the window, Xu Qing’s pale back was perfectly visible in Li Changfeng’s eyes, pure but with an enticing attraction. Li Changfeng felt that the water was a little cold, so he directly lifted the hot water bucket placed on the tall stool and slowly poured it in the tub without standing up. Suddenly, Xu Qing felt that his whole body was surrounded by heat again.

Li Changfeng looked at Xu Qing’s face red from the steam, his eyes darkened and his body shifted ready for battle. Xu Qing was unaware of the man’s reactions as he closed his eyes enjoying the bath, otherwise he would have fled long ago.

“Is it too hot? But if the water is mixed with more cold water, it will cool down quickly.” Li Changfeng put his chin on Xu Qing’s shoulder and spoke in his ear, causing Xu Qing to shiver. He chuckled, “don’t talk so close, you’re making my ear itchy!” Xu Qing giggled as Li Changfeng squeezed his body under the water, causing his butt to wiggle slightly on Li Changfeng’s lap.

Soon, the bath water overflowed on the floor. Xu Qing’s cheeks were flushed by Li Changfeng’s tossing. The water that had previously reached Xu Qing’s neck had now barely reached his chest, making him feel cold, so he instinctively leaned on the heat source behind. Li Changfeng had been waiting for this moment, and he immediately extended out his claws to catch Xu Qing into his arms.

He bit Xu Qing’s round and white earlobe and hummed, “Is it cold? I’m cold too. Good, I’ll help you warm up!” As he spoke, he bit on Xu Qing’s neck lightly, leaving a little trace. Xu Qing knew that he could not escape the disaster, so he simply acted first by reaching his hand behind and grabbing Li Changfeng’s, causing the big wolf to gnaw on his scarred neck even more enthusiastically. Li Changfeng’s one hand grabbed Xu Qing’s chin, while the other reached into the water to hold Xu Qing, who was also reacting.

Xu Qing couldn’t stand Li Changfeng’s suffocating kiss, but once Li Changfeng left him, he felt a little unsatisfied, so he took the initiative to lean up and was swallowed whole by Li Changfeng. An ambiguous silver thread entangled between the two of them in the air.

Feeling that Xu Qing’s shoulders were a little cold, Li Changfeng kissed Xu Qing, grabbed the hands under the water, turned the person in his hands around to face him, and sit him on his thighs. Xu Qing exhaled comfortably.

Li Changfeng slowly traced Xu Qing’s waist with his hands. His one hand hugged Xu Qing, and the other hand covered what Xu Qing was holding under the water, moving up and down. Xu Qing could only gasp, with his head raised, as Li Changfeng’s big tongue licked his collarbone all the way down, lingering around, looking for the target.

Xu Qing was attacked by Li Changfeng up and down, and under the caressing, he erupted first. Li Changfeng naturally felt the enthusiasm of his wife. He let go of the two red beans that had been sucked and licked by himself, kissed the absent-minded person, and let go of wrapped the hands of the two under the water.

One hand slightly raised Xu Qing’s buttocks, and the other hand held Xu Qing’s waist, pointing his member that was ready to enter Xu Qing’s secret place and slowly sank in.

Xu Qing was fascinated by the warmth from Li Changfeng and wrapped his hands around Li Changfeng’s neck. He began to rock his body on his own, surprising Li Changfeng with his initiative.

He lightly held Xu Qing’s waist and enjoyed the service. “Hmmm …” Li Changfeng let out a comfortable sound, Xu Qing on his body had already followed the most primitive instinct, and began to slowly fiddle his waist. He wanted more … more!!!

Xu Qing hugged Li Changfeng’s neck fervently, urging silently. Li Changfeng then increased the strength of his hand, gradually speeding up the slow movement. Xu Qing was pounded repeatedly by Li Changfeng, sending forth broken fragments of whimpers, “Changfeng …!”

He forcefully spread Xu Qing’s buttocks apart, his hands firmly gripping both cheeks. The repeated penetration caused Xu Qing’s legs to tense up, “…don’t…” Xu Qing’s messy black silk draped all over his porcelain-white body, and he was no longer slightly cold, but was dripping with sweat from their mutual comfort.

The sound of water splashing against the tub had formed a rhythm. Xu Qing still had some rationality, but he could only wiggle his body absentmindedly to meet the force of the man below at the moment. The gasping sounds grew louder as the collision between the legs became more intense, but it was all buried deep in the night, leaving just the reflection of the two bodies swaying up and down on the window.

When the two moved the battlefield to the big bed, Xu Qing could no longer make a sound. He was too tired, his mind just wanted to rest, but his body was still catering to Li Changfeng’s attacks from behind, “wife, just a little longer!”

Only ghosts would believe it! Xu Qing shed tears silently in his heart, why did he choose such an evil beast with such a strong fighting power!

When Li Changfeng woke up early in the morning, Xu Qing was hugging him like a silkworm cocoon. Li Changfeng kissed Xu Qing’s red face adoringly. He was distressed and helpless when he saw the blue and black under his wife’s eyes.  He lost his self-control when it comes to Xu Qing.

After gently pulling Xu Qing away from him, Li Changfeng quietly took the clothes and went outside to put them on. He didn’t want to disturb Xu Qing’s sleep.

It’s still raining lightly today, although it’s not as heavy as yesterday, you still have to wear a poncho when you go out.

After Li Changfeng poured the rice into the pot, he placed a lid on top. Then he put on a rain coat and went out, carrying a basket, to the side of the house to cut pigweed.

The porridge in the pot was ready when he returned. He fed the chicks after preparing the pigweed and feeding it to the piglet. Afterwards, Li Changfeng washed his hands, scooped up the porridge in the pot, and set it aside. When he went back to the room, he found Xu Qing still blissfully asleep, so he pulled the slid quilt and covered his wife. After watching this peaceful scene quietly for a while, Li Changfeng got up and left. It seemed that Xu Qing would sleep until noon today. Thank you for reading on hololonovels.com

Sure enough, when Xu Qing woke up, it was indeed noon. When Li Changfeng saw Xu Qing standing at the kitchen door, he had just finished making lunch, “Awake? Just in time for lunch!” Xu Qing pouted, and thought that he was lucky Li Changfeng was married in, otherwise, if he married out to the Li family and got up at this hour every day, he would get scolded by the in-laws.

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Translator: Maybe I should change the title to The Ugly Ger’s Plowing Story … *Sigh

In front of the phone, Shen Cheng could clearly see a blast-like object rushing towards Zai Zai!

What is that?

Judging from the direction, the fleeting blast came from upstairs. However, before Zai Zai went up the stairs, the map upstairs was still pitch black. Shen Cheng’s heart tightened as she worried about Zai Zai’s situation. He was facing an invisible enemy. What was happening upstairs?

In that instant, Li Weilan felt a sharp pain, like a needle prick.

The pain was very clear, as if warning him not to take another step forward.

Li Weilan almost instantly predicted the situation in his mind. He might have encountered a physic mutant beast.

The rumors about Walmart were true! There were indeed high-level mutant beasts lurking here. Moreover, this mutant beast could command people and cause them to kill each other.

The mutant’s attack lasted only a few seconds, more like a silent warning, but it did not attack directly.

If it were someone else, they would probably hesitate to retreat after considering what they had collected on the first floor. But Li Weilan stood in front of the elevator to the second floor, only hesitating for a moment before making up his mind to step forward. In his hand was the weapon given to him by the mysterious person, which gave him a sense of security and confidence.

“…” Zai Zai, you are really brave. Although Shen Cheng knew that the game routine would surely make Zai Zai move forward instead of retreating, she still felt a little suffocated in her heart, especially when Li Weilan stepped onto the second floor, and she could finally see it clearly.

This Walmart seemed to have four floors. The third and fourth floors were still pitch black. The second floor used to be where fresh food was stored, but after the power plant was destroyed and the electricity disappeared, the fresh food had completely spoiled, causing a mess on the ground. The part left in the freezer emitted a disgusting smell.

Shen Cheng tried to follow the footsteps of the cub and placed her hand on the screen. The system prompts that popped up were very consistent:

[Rotten Pork]

[Rotten Chicken]

[Rotten Beef]

[Rotten Apples]

Looking at those blobs of things, it was impossible to tell what they originally looked like.

Although the cub’s face still looked cute and lovely, a debuff suddenly appeared above his head. “-1, -1, -1…” The red blood kept appearing, and his HP dropped bit by bit. Although he didn’t show any abnormal behavior, Shen Cheng knew that the cub was not as calm as he appeared.

What’s going on?

What is this debuff?

If it was a rapid blood loss, it could have been an attack from a boss monster, but Shen Cheng panned the camera around and didn’t find any trace of a boss. She looked closely at the cub’s face and saw that he was suppressing something with all his might: his throat was rolling, and he seemed to be trying not to vomit! And his nostrils only took a breath after a while. Was it because it was so stinky?

The cub didn’t say anything, but Shen Cheng felt sorry for him. How stinky could it be to make him repeatedly suppress his urge to vomit?

She might not be able to help with other things, but looking at her cub’s slightly pale face, Shen Cheng checked the system store: if she remembered correctly, there was a relatively cheap small item that was within her budget.

Found it!

Shen Cheng’s eyes lit up.

She had found a small item in the system store that only cost three gold coins. Though it was equivalent to three dollars in RMB, she didn’t mind spending it since she could earn 40 gold coins a day from farming. Even when she wasn’t online, her virtual child had earned her some money, and she was happy to spend it on her child.

Meanwhile, Li Weilan struggled to move forward through the decaying flesh and bones. The stench was so overpowering that it overwhelmed all his senses. Li Weilan didn’t know that the smell of rotting meat could be so strong.

He furrowed his brow and felt his mind become cloudy, as if he had forgotten everything he had learned before. He trudged through the muddy, greasy mess, even though he, a man of iron will, couldn’t help but wonder if he should turn back. Was this nauseating, “squishy” sound that greeted him with each step worth the unknown reward that lay ahead? It made him want to retreat.

But the next moment, the smell disappeared.

In its place was the faint scent of cedar, like the fresh air after the first snowfall. It was neither putrid nor nauseating. The smell that had made him feel so sick disappeared suddenly, just as it had appeared.

However, the decaying flesh beneath his feet remained the same. The filthy darkness around him remained the same. The only thing that had changed was his sense of smell.

Li Weilan was stunned.

His nostrils even fluttered with self-doubt, and he sniffed twice more before confirming that the scent was indeed gone.

What was going on?

Was his sense of smell malfunctioning?

Li Weilan lifted his hand as if trying to catch something, staring blankly at the empty air in front of him, his gaze becoming unfocused.

“Could it be that the mysterious person has wind abilities? Top-level wind abilities could possibly achieve this, completely replacing the one-meter square of air around him, like wrapping it up in an air balloon, isolating it from all air exchange with the outside world. But this would require an unbelievable amount of energy consumption to isolate the air. Was it worth it just for his comfort? Is that person crazy?”

Li Weilan was stunned, not sure whether to be grateful or to think that the person went to too much trouble for him. He pursed his lips and ultimately swallowed the sentence, “I’m not that delicate.”

Shen Cheng, looking at the debuff that had finally stopped draining on her phone, saw the little one’s face return to its normal color. She smiled with satisfaction, glad that she had bought the “portable air purifier” for three gold coins in the store, which had a hidden function.

She didn’t expect the air purifier to work so well. She had originally thought that it didn’t matter to waste three gold coins, but seeing her child’s relaxed expression and restored calm, she couldn’t help feeling happy as a mother.

Suddenly, Li Weilan realized what had been bothering him earlier. Near Walmart, there were no zombies or even animals and birds. The silence was so noticeable that the creature in the supermarket liked to eat rotting flesh, perhaps even using zombies as food. If that was the case, why were there so many rotting meats on this floor? Was the creature being picky about what it ate?

Even if it was picky at first, as the number of zombies decreased, and the food available became scarcer, it wouldn’t have much room for pickiness, would it? If the mutant beast wanted to survive and evolve, it would have to eat, and this one was no exception. As Li Weilan thought about this, a hint of something strange seemed to seep through the pungent smell.

Li Weilan remained calm and covered his nose with one hand, tightly gripping the handle of the “Thunder” with the other. But unlike before, he no longer forcibly suppressed the movement of his throat and, after a moment of self-hypnosis, he heard a “gag…”

The screen in front also witnessed this scene.

Shen Cheng was stunned for a moment, doubting herself: “Didn’t I just see the little one getting better? The debuff is gone, why is he vomiting again?”

She opened her inventory and checked: Everything seems fine, the portable air purifier still has more than three hours left!

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Is cub still feeling sick? Could it be that this item is really useless?

Stupid game, give me my money back!

Almost jumping up, she criticized the game for having a bug, while poking Li Weilan’s face with her hand and sighed softly: “My cub’s life is so difficult, so pitiful, wuwuwu.”

As if Li Weilan couldn’t bear it anymore and bent down to vomit, the bloody and messy mud on the ground suddenly seemed to have self-awareness and swiftly merged into a huge thorn flower, splashing a green gas in front of Li Weilan with a “swoosh” sound!

Although he couldn’t smell the gas, Li Weilan’s face turned green. He stumbled and suddenly fell down with a “thud.”

“!!!!” My cub is such an acting genius!

Watching her cub perform these fake actions smoothly, Shen Cheng’s face twisted slightly: she felt her knee hurt a little, what’s going on?

The acting genius couldn’t get up after falling down. The ground of the second floor shook slightly, and at this moment, Shen Cheng finally saw the whole second floor moving slowly, revealing the monstrous true form of the monster: it was actually a huge tree.

This giant tree has countless forked branches. Just now, the thorn flower joyfully picked up Li Weilan, and went straight up to the fifth floor where its core resides.

The speed of going up is comparable to taking an elevator. Shen Cheng, though realizing that her little rascal is just acting, doesn’t know what he wants to do, so she just watches this plot rushing along, passing several resource points without doing anything, afraid of alerting the Boss and finding out that her little rascal is just pretending to be unconscious.

Li Weilan’s head droops as if really knocked out, not moving at all.

A few minutes later, the thorn flower loosened its grip and threw him into a room.

“Teacher…” a young voice trembled nearby.

“Another one,” said another elderly voice. Shen Cheng heard him sigh deeply and say, “I don’t know how much more evil that thing will create, sigh.”

“Teacher, we can live one more day…” the young person said.

“Shut up!” The old man’s voice sounded a little angry as he scolded the young person next to him. “We are all humans. When rabbits die, foxes mourn. How can you say that? Although living one more day may increase our chances of survival, how can we be happy about it?”

The young person fell silent.

Shen Cheng carefully listened to the sound outside, then opened her eyes, just in time to meet the shocked gaze of the young man.

“Teacher, he’s awake!”

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When Li Weilan was hit in the face by the fallen Thunder, he was driving alone.

The journey from Noah’s base to Walmart took about two hours by car, and Li Weilan set out alone. He didn’t plan to directly confront the mutated beasts rumored to be in Walmart. He only planned to explore the situation there first. After all, as a space-type ability user, he was not proficient in close combat. He used to be the “human transportation” in his team, eating and taking less, but in the current Noah’s base, he was not willing to repeat the same mistakes. If, as Xiao Chu said, there was indeed a large amount of supplies in Walmart, he would leave a large part for the base, but he planned to first sweep some items that ensured quality of life into his own space.

The person who saved him had not appeared again, and although Li Weilan still had concerns about the mutation of space, he was more hopeful about his own independence.

Who knew a weapon would fall from the sky and hit him in the head, without any warning or indication of who threw it.

The originally steady steering wheel in Li Weilan’s hand turned crooked. With a long “creak,” the tires left long tracks in the mud, and the car tilted. It was just a little bit away from running into the stinky ditch beside it.

Li Weilan quickly applied the brake to stop the car. When the long knife fell from the sky just now, the scabbard hit him directly in the face, causing him to see stars and take a while to recover.

The knife lay quietly on his knee, as if it were meant to be there.

This fall knocked Li Weilan unconscious.

Even in the calm eyes of someone who remained composed in the face of great changes in life, there was a slight ripple: five days may not be long, but after the apocalypse, the fate of humanity became unpredictable. Those who are alive today may become the excrement of some mutated beast tomorrow.

When the person who rescued him from the cross suddenly disappeared for five days, Li Weilan actually had the thought that the person might be dead or would never appear again.

But living in Noah Base and looking at the newly-formed underground steel city, Li Weilan knew in a subtle way that the person would definitely reappear.

This investment was too big.

It made him feel so special and important.

And such an investment would not be easily abandoned.

However, now that he was hit in the face by a sudden weapon, even Li Weilan, who had always remained calm, had a momentary hesitation in his heart: Did this person really want to invest in him? Then why did he use this method to approach him when it was supposed to be a gesture of goodwill?

He rubbed his forehead, which was still a little sore, strongly suspecting that the other party saw his desire for the person to come out and meet him, and then hit him in the face, telling him to get lost with this idea.

He pulled out the knife from its sheath.

The blade was deeply engraved with the word “Thunder”, and it flickered like an electric dragon on the dark black blade before disappearing into the handle that he held.

Li Weilan’s pupils contracted slightly, and he reached his hand near the blade. The edge was thin and sharp. As soon as his hand approached, he felt a chill emanating from the blade. However, when his hand got closer to the blade, he could still feel a slight tingling sensation, indicating that a powerful thunder-type skill was sealed within the blade. This was quite in line with the name of the knife.

Among the various abilities, the least common were the spatial, physic, and relatively mutated thunder and ice types. With a weapon sealed with a high-damage thunder-type skill, his killing power would almost instantly increase by a level.

Li Weilan’s hand stopped on the hilt.

There were three beautifully carved characters on it.

“Li Weilan”.

That person knew his name!

This weapon was definitely made for him!

It was a powerful and deadly weapon, imbued with extraordinary abilities.

In this chaotic world, such a valuable and expertly crafted weapon was not something an ordinary craftsman could create.

Even the high-ranking ability users at the previous base couldn’t name anyone who possessed such a weapon, Li Weilan closed his eyes and thought.

This weapon…

His heart thumped with excitement. No man could resist the allure of such a supreme cold weapon, and Li Weilan was no exception.

Was the person giving him a gift to curry favor?

It didn’t seem necessary, did it?

Then… were they worried about his safety on this trip, and had specifically given him a weapon for protection?

On the blade that could clearly reflect his face, Li Weilan saw his own expression.

Weakness, hesitation…

With a clang, he sheathed the sword and placed it next to his seat, tightly pursing his lips.

Not far ahead, the Walmart sign stood alone, and the distant sunset cast a bloody glow on the few characters, reflecting a scene of age and decay.

When Shen Cheng logged back into the game, she saw this scene: her cub was already outside of Walmart, and the map interface had disappeared.

Looking down at the knife in his hand, for some reason, she didn’t feel completely happy about the expression on her cub’s face.

Could it be that in this game, as long as she doesn’t spend enough money on in-game purchases and her weapons aren’t bought with real money, cub will never be completely satisfied?

Or is it because this weapon, which is itself imbued with lightning, is not quite suitable for my cub? So he accepted it reluctantly…

Shen Cheng was uneasy, but then she saw her cub draw out the knife and look at it, and she didn’t know what he was thinking as he lowered his head and then put it back.

After a while, he suddenly exhaled deeply on the car window and wrote something on it.

Through the mist on the glass, Shen Cheng strained her eyes and finally saw the three words written on the glass, which were “Thank you.”

“Ah ah ah!” Shen Cheng almost turned into a screaming chicken.

Her cub was really warm-hearted!

The anger that she had been filled with by her landlord before was instantly erased by the three words that her character had written down so seriously and carefully. Shen Cheng held her face with joy for a while, but before she could fully enjoy the sweet feeling, a new mission popped up on the system:

[Daily Mission 1: Explore Walmart Supermarket and uncover the truth about it. Completion: 0%]

Shen Cheng’s spirit was lifted: the exciting and thrilling moment had arrived!

Li Weilan parked the car behind a giant tree outside of Walmart Supermarket.

The original scenery of this world has changed. Now there are towering trees and lush greenery everywhere.

Outside the Walmart supermarket, there is a tall forest. Just looking at the height of the trees, they must be at least a hundred years old. Some trees even grow straight out of the windows and roof of the supermarket. It’s as if the entire supermarket has been infiltrated and enveloped by these towering trees. However, unlike other places, there are no zombies here.

The cub stopped at the entrance.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Shen Cheng was a little worried: to be honest, this place looks quite eerie.

It’s not the greenery that’s the main point of concern, but the fact that the lights in the supermarket are still flickering on and off. Electricity should have long disappeared from this world. How could these lights still be lit?

The flickering lights occasionally shine brightly, illuminating the entire supermarket like daylight, and then suddenly go dark again. This atmosphere is really eerie no matter how you look at it.

Perhaps because the cub hasn’t entered the supermarket yet, Shen Cheng can only see the first floor of the supermarket. She scanned the area and saw that there were still many goods on the shelves, albeit in disarray. However, she didn’t see any signs of monsters.

Shen Cheng thought for a moment and tried to pick up one of the goods on the shelf. As soon as she touched them, the system immediately popped up an error message:

【Character is too far away, unable to carry】

Li Weilan had already quietly circled the supermarket. He also sensed the strange and eerie atmosphere of the supermarket.

The most strange thing is that there are no zombies near or inside the supermarket. Even insects and animals cannot be seen.

He looked around and opened a small door quietly, then walked in without making a sound. The door closed behind him, shutting out the sunlight, and the scene inside the Walmart store came into his view.

It was clear that someone had been on the first floor of Walmart. Most of the items on display were clothes, and several shelves near the entrance had been turned over, leaving only a few pieces of clothing left on the racks.

Li Weilan’s ears perked up. He was listening carefully for any sound and walked quietly inside. Suddenly, the dark first floor lit up.

Shen Cheng laughed in front of the screen. The little character on the screen was obviously scared, his eyes widened and three exclamation marks floated above his head. The movement that was once stealthy also froze instantly. She had been staring at the screen and noticed the pattern: the entire supermarket would light up for about a second every thirty seconds or so. But she knew that the cub didn’t know!

Obviously, the cub was scared! For a mother, seeing her cub occasionally lose his calm and cool demeanor, she still thought that such a cub was cute.

If the usual handsome face made people want to lick the screen, then when he was scared, it made people want to comfort him and hold him in their arms and kiss his little chubby face.

She laughed for a while, but the little character was extremely serious. Suddenly, he flashed behind a shelf, his ears trembling slightly and his eyes squinting. Two seconds later, the lights suddenly went out again.

The entire supermarket fell back into darkness, and it seemed like Zaizai finally understood what was happening.

As Li Weilan looked around, Shen Cheng had already tried tapping the shelves around him. This time, unlike before, the items on the shelves could be taken!

The first floor of Walmart had probably been ransacked by the people who had come before, leaving very few things behind.

This floor used to mainly sell clothes, with women’s clothing as the main focus. However, there weren’t many practical clothes for the apocalypse that were both convenient for movement and durable enough to withstand sweat.

From Shen Cheng’s perspective as a mother, most of the products here were not suitable for her own child because they weren’t aesthetically pleasing enough.

As for the clothes her child wore, she was responsible. After all, coordinating outfits for her child was also one of this old mother’s hobbies.

But in this era, these things were all non-renewable resources, and if this batch was missed, who knows if there would be another.

Since that’s the case, when exploring, she decided to take all of these things and give them to the other people in the base, and see if she could raise some friendliness from other characters for her own child in the base.

Shen Cheng thought it was a good idea, so she basically swept up anything she saw. Soon, Li Weilan noticed that something was wrong.

It was his space, and he knew what was in it.

But the person, who gave him such an expensive weapon without even showing their face and even gave him a whole base without any conditions, actually was so down-to-earth that they wouldn’t even let a piece of ordinary clothing go by taking it all?

There was no need to doubt, they would take everything.

Not even a scrap of cloth would be left.

If it weren’t for the fact that his space was already large enough after the ability upgrade, he would have been able to go back to the base to sleep after disposing of the “trash” on this level.

Li Weilan couldn’t help but smile wryly in this tense atmosphere of battle because of the mysterious person’s down-to-earth behavior of sweeping, and he relaxed for a moment.

He originally planned to come quietly and investigate first, but since the mysterious person who came with him wanted to make a big fuss and not even leave a piece of cloth behind, it seemed that being low-key and secretive was unlikely.

If there are indeed monsters in this supermarket, and they are familiar with every inch of it, then they must have been alerted by now.

In that case, Li Weilan gave up his original plan and prepared for battle.

He would pause for a moment in front of every shelf until every item was stored neatly in his space. Only then did he move forward and soon he saw the escalator leading to the second floor.

It was almost at this moment that he suddenly felt a sharp pain, like a needle piercing straight into his mind!

Shen Cheng saw cub on the screen suddenly stop.

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This chapter sadly does not contain mature content. Read at your own discretion.

That night, Xu Qing didn’t want Li Changfeng to bother him anymore. He had finally slept peacefully for one night, and now…

Xu Qing sat in the main hall, watching the rainwater continuously flowing down from the eaves. It was raining heavily today! Li Changfeng had gone to the fields after breakfast. This rain was good for the fields that hadn’t been cultivated much before, but it posed some risks for the already cultivated ones. To prevent the fields from being damaged by waterlogging, Li Changfeng wore a raincoat and braved the rain in the fields.

The seedlings behind the house were already covered to protect them from the rain. Heavy rain could easily damage the seedlings. The little chicks had also been moved into their coop, and Li Changfeng had prepared food for the piglet yesterday. At the moment, Xu Qing had nothing to do and had been sitting here watching the rain for almost half an hour!

Xu Qing was bored and could only watch the rain. But Zeng Ama was not bored at all. He loved rainy days the most. It was the perfect time for gossip! “As the head of the household, I’m going to visit Sun Ama’s house. I’ll be back to cook at noon!” Zeng Ama said to the old man Zeng who was working on woodcraft, then took an umbrella and headed towards Sun Ama’s house with a twisting gait.

Sun Ama and his husband had two sons, the elder one was twenty-one and the younger one was eighteen, both unmarried. One reason was that the family was a bit tight on money, and the other was that neither of the sons had good character. One liked to boast but didn’t do anything, while the other had many ideas but never succeeded in anything. This made the villagers and even outsiders look down on them. That’s why the marriage proposal from Sun Ama’s family to Xu Qing had been unsuccessful the last time, which naturally made Sun Ama feel somewhat uncomfortable.

“Sun family, open the door. I’ve come to have a chat with you!” Zeng Ama’s loud voice echoed into Sun’s house, but only Sun Ama was inside, sewing shoe soles. The men in the family had all gone out to visit neighbors.

Upon hearing the knock on the door, Sun Ama put aside the half-finished shoe sole and patted off the remaining fabric scraps on his body. He quickly walked out of the main hall and opened the door for the waiting Zeng Ama. “I knew you would come. I haven’t even left the house.”

After entering the main hall, Zeng Ama put away his umbrella and sat down with Sun Ama. He took one of the shoe soles that Sun Ama had already sewn and said, “Why are you still sewing these things? I buy them now. It saves time and effort! Plus, they’re cheap, just a few coins!”

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Sun Ama forcefully suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. He gritted his teeth and said, “My husband loves the shoe soles I sew. They are sturdy and durable!”

Zeng Ama didn’t want to dwell on this matter either since he didn’t come to discuss shoe soles. He nudged Sun Ama, who was still sewing, with his hand. “You know what I came to talk about, right?” Sun Ama didn’t lift his head and threaded the needle through the thick shoe sole. “If you don’t say it, how would I know what you’ll be talking about?”

Zeng Ama didn’t like being ignored, but he felt uncomfortable with something on his mind. If he didn’t let it out, he would be restless. “Very few people in the village know about this, but who am I? Let me tell you, that family from the end of the village, the one who married into town, he came back yesterday!”

“So what if he came back? Isn’t it allowed for him to come back and visit his family?” Sun Ama thought it was such a trivial matter. Such a small thing didn’t seem worth so many people knowing about it!

Zeng Ama enjoyed hearing others feign ignorance. It made him feel like his information-gathering skills were getting better and better. “This time it’s different from when he came back before,” he leaned closer to Sun Ama. “I heard he got separated!”

“Ah!” Sun Ama was startled by the voice in his ear, and the needle pierced his finger, causing him to shake his hand in pain. “Look at your reaction!” Zeng Ama felt a sense of accomplishment.

“Separated?! Where did you hear that?” Now Sun Ama stopped sewing the shoe sole and anxiously questioned Zeng Ama.

“Don’t rush, don’t rush. I also just heard it, haven’t had a chance to investigate the details yet!” Every time he wanted to visit the Xie family, no one would accompany him. Xie Ama didn’t usually interact with him either. Going alone made him nervous. That person wasn’t as gentle as he appeared on the surface!

“If Xie Yu really came back after the separation, then he is considered single now!” Although he was older than Sun Ama’s two sons, Xie Yu was still a ger, right?

Zeng Ama smirked, “He is now single indeed, but I guess no one dared to take him.”

“Why do you say that?” Was there more to this story?

“Brother Xie still doesn’t have any children until now! The separation is probably related to this!” Zeng Ama analyzed the situation for Sun Ama with an expression and tone that could rival an investigator.

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The rain outside was getting heavier, and the water from the eaves almost formed a straight line. Uncle Xie didn’t go out; he sat in the main hall smoking dry tobacco. Xie Ama came out of Brother Xie’s room, holding an empty medicine bowl. Uncle Xie stood up and looked at the bowl, grinning happily. “Finished drinking?”

Xie Ama smiled and pursed his lips. “Finished drinking. I feel much better now. And let me tell you, the pickled vegetables that Brother Qing gave us are perfect for Xiao Yu’s appetite. Not only can he have a bowl of porridge now, but he’s also been more diligent in taking his medicine than before.”

Uncle Xie took the bowl from Xie Ama’s hand. “Then go to Brother Qing’s house today and thank him properly. If they have extra pickled vegetables, buy a few jars and bring them back. Our son’s happiness is more important than anything else!”

Xie Ama glared at him. “You don’t have to tell me. I know. You stay at home, Xiao Yu has taken his medicine and gone to sleep. Don’t make a ruckus in the house and disturb him. I won’t spare you if that happens!”

Xu Qing was cooking lunch. They had been eating boiled fish slices for the past few days, but today Xu Qing was planning to steam the fish. Ever since Xu Qing started cooking fish, Li Changfeng would catch a few and keep them in a bucket filled with water. Even if they weren’t eaten immediately, they wouldn’t die right away. Xu Qing picked two relatively large grass carp. Li Changfeng had a big appetite.

After stunning the fish with a knife, Xu Qing scraped off the scales and cut open the belly, removing all the innards. “It’s a pity we don’t have a dog or a cat at home.” After disposing of the innards, Xu Qing carefully removed the gallbladder. When cooking fish, it was important not to break the gallbladder; otherwise, the whole fish would be ruined. After preparing the fish, Xu Qing stuffed ginger, scallions, and a few peppercorns into the belly. Then he rubbed some salt on the surface of the fish and poured a little leftover rice wine from their wedding day over it. He let it marinate for fifteen minutes.

After finishing these preparations, Xu Qing was about to start a fire when he heard Xie Ama’s voice at the courtyard gate. “Brother Qing, are you home? I’m coming in!” Since it was raining, Li Changfeng only closed the courtyard gate but didn’t lock it. “I’m here! Come in, Xie Ama!” Xu Qing took the umbrella from Xie Ama and stored it neatly on the wall under the eaves. Then he welcomed Xie Ama into the kitchen.

“Preparing lunch?” As soon as he entered the kitchen, Xie Ama saw the two marinated fish on the stove.

“Yes, on rainy days, there’s nothing else to do, so I started preparing lunch early.” After Xu Qing fetched a clean stool for Xie Ama to sit on, he sat in front of the stove, lit the fire, and added water to a pot, covering it with a lid. He was waiting for the water to boil so that Li Changfeng could have hot water when he returned.

“Changfeng went to the field, right? I came over to thank you for the pickled vegetables you gave us yesterday. You don’t know, yesterday at noon, your brother Yu had a whole bowl of porridge with the pickled vegetables. It’s a lot more than he used to eat!” Xie Ama was delighted that their son had eaten something, and his face looked much brighter than yesterday.

“It’s nothing to thank me for. I still have another jar here. Take it back with you and follow my instructions to make more. It’ll be convenient for him to eat that way.” Because Li Changfeng loved to eat them, Xu Qing had prepared several jars of pickled vegetables. The one Xie Ama took was from the first batch he made.

“No need to tell me the instructions. This stuff looks good. You can sell it in the market. It might bring in some extra income. Here, take this money as a token of appreciation and buy another jar. With the one you gave us and the additional jar, it’ll be enough for Xiao Yu to eat for a while.” Xie Ama felt that Xu Qing had come up with this on his own, and he couldn’t just take the recipe so easily. They were a newlywed couple, and there were many expenses to consider. He included some persuasion in his words.

“It’s not some precious recipe. Just take it and make it. Don’t give me any money. If Brother Yu likes what I cook, then let him eat to his heart’s content. Once he recovers, everything will be fine. Xie Ama, don’t embarrass me by offering money. Otherwise, I won’t feel comfortable coming to your house anymore!” Xu Qing couldn’t accept money. Not to mention Xie Ama, even Uncle Xie had been so kind to him. Xu Qing felt bad for not being able to help with Brother Yu’s matter. It was already embarrassing enough; he couldn’t ask for money.

“Nonsense! How can a newlywed couple get by without money? Listen to me and do as I say!” Xie Ama thought that Xu Qing was still too young. When a couple gets married, there are expenses everywhere—food, firewood, oil, salt—every aspect requires money. If they have a child in the future, the expenses will only increase.

Xu Qing scooped some boiling water from the pot to drink and poured the rest into a bucket, covering it with a clean wooden lid to keep it warm and slow down the cooling process. “Then you can forget about the recipe, but don’t give me the money for the pickled vegetables. Otherwise, I won’t make them for you.”

“Okay, okay, you cunning guy!” Xie Ama knew exactly what Xu Qing meant, so he reluctantly accepted his goodwill. He thought that in the future, if there was anything Xu Qing’s family needed, he would help them as much as he could.

“Why are you boiling water again?” Xie Ama looked at Xu Qing in confusion as he added more water to the pot.

“I’m going to steam the fish today! Here, watch me do it, and then you can go back and try making it for Brother Yu. It’s steamed fish, so it won’t be a problem for him to eat.” Xu Qing explained the method of marinating the fish and went through the steps with Xie Ama. If there was anything Xie Ama didn’t understand, he made sure to explain it clearly.

Once the water in the pot started to bubble slightly, Xu Qing placed four clean, long wooden sticks in a cross shape on the surface of the water. Then he tightly wrapped the steamer with a clean piece of gauze to seal it. After the water came to a full boil, Xu Qing carefully placed the marinated fish onto the steamer using a plate and covered the pot with a lid. “Steam it for about fifteen minutes after the water is fully boiling. It will be ready then. Steaming it for too long will affect the texture.”

Xu Qing explained the timing to Xie Ama, who listened attentively, afraid of missing any details and ending up with something that didn’t taste good.

When the fish was ready, Xu Qing sprinkled a small amount of finely chopped green onion on top. A plate of fragrant steamed fish was ready to be served.

“Smells good, doesn’t it?”

Xie Ama nodded repeatedly. “Not only does it look good, but it also smells amazing. It’s completely different from boiled fish slices! Xu Qing, you’re really talented! Li Changfeng is lucky to have found you!”

“That’s right. Being able to marry such a wife is the fortune I’ve accumulated over several lifetimes!” Li Changfeng had just returned home and heard Xie Ama praising his wife. As soon as he caught a whiff of the fragrance coming from the kitchen, he knew his wife had cooked something delicious.

He gestured for Li Changfeng to take the hot water in the bucket and clean himself up, paying no attention to his proud expression. “Xie Ama, stay for dinner. I’ll quickly heat up a couple more dishes, and then we can eat.”

Xie Ama hurriedly shook his head. “In the past, I wouldn’t hesitate to accept your offer, but today, I have to go back and take care of Xiao Yu. You know how bad your uncle’s cooking skills are. He even struggles to cook for himself!”

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