MFBOWSBTMT Chapter 115

Not long ago, Li Hua said that she wanted to find a match for him. Qiao Ruifeng was originally unwilling. Their family was already struggling, so why make someone else suffer along with them? But Li Hua wouldn’t listen to him. In her eyes, ensuring her son will have bloodline is the most important thing. After searching for many days, she finally heard that the Qin family from a distant village wanted to sell their son.

 

She immediately had Qiao Ruifeng carry her to the Qin family. After bargaining for a long time, they bought Qin Yu for one tael of silver. Qiao Ruifeng didn’t want to listen to their arguments, so he went somewhere else. From a distance, he saw a tall, thin ge’r wielding a hoe. He’s silently and skillfully grabbing the grain, cutting it down, and placing it to the side.

 

It wasn’t uncommon for ge’rs in the village to work in the fields. Xiao Man also goes to the fields with him every day. But it was rare to see a ge’r working alone. Qiao Ruifeng heard passersby pointing at that person and saying that his family was full of lazy good-for-nothings. With so many men in the household, he was the only one working like a slave.[mfn]当牛做马 dāng niú zuò mǎ – Idiom meaning “to work like an ox or horse,” i.e., to work extremely hard, like a beast of burden.[/mfn]

 

He wasn’t interested in listening to other people’s family matters and was about to leave when he heard a familiar name from those people’s mouths.

 

Qin Yu.

 

He remembered that the ge’r that Li Hua wanted to buy was named exactly that.

 

Qiao Ruifeng turned and stared at Qin Yu. All things considered, this was only their second time meeting. No, the first time, he was the only one who saw Qin Yu, and Qin Yu didn’t even look at him.

 

He knew Qin Yu had a hard life in his original family. After returning that day, he often thought of Qin Yu. Until today, when Li Hua took out the silver, he rushed to the distant village to bring Qin Yu back.

 

Qin Yu was tired after a long day of walking. The pain in his knees made him frown even in his sleep.

 

Qiao Ruifeng quietly reached out, took Qin Yu’s hand, and smoothed his furrowed brow before closing his eyes and slowly falling asleep.

 

The next day, by the time Qin Yu woke up, Qiao Ruifeng had already gone out. The sky outside was bright. He was surprised that he woke up so late and quickly got up, put on his outer clothes, and went out.

 

Li Hua went out for some reason, and Qiao Suiman was sweeping the courtyard.

 

The younger brothers in his own family were about the same age and always only knew how to play after eating, being gluttonous and lazy. In contrast, Qin Yu was very fond of Qiao Suiman and said repeatedly, “Xiao Man, let me do it.”

 

Qiao Suiman pursed his lips. “It’s all right, Qin Yu-ge. It’s almost done.”

 

“Where’s your Da-ge?”

 

“He went to the fields.”

 

After answering, Qiao Suiman continued, “Qin Yu-ge, I’m going to pick wild vegetables on the front of the mountain later. Do you want to come?”

 

“Sure,” Qin Yu agreed.

 

He washed his face, cleaned his teeth with a willow twig, then carried a bamboo basket and went with Qiao Suiman toward the mountain.

 

Along the way, Qiao Suiman told him many things about the village. Qin Yu listened and memorized them. Since he planned to settle down here in the future, it would be good to know more.

 

“Qin Yu-ge, let’s go further up ahead to look. Lots of people come here, so there aren’t many vegetables left.”

 

Qiao Suiman pointed to the dense woods ahead.

 

“Alright, take me to have a look.”

 

It was late autumn, and the vegetation was sparse. They searched several places before finding just half a basket of wild vegetables. Seeing that it was almost noon, they didn’t go further in and instead turned back home.

 

Li Hua had not yet returned. There was also no brown rice in the kitchen, making it hard to cook a meal. Fortunately, they just dug up quite a lot of wild cassava. Once washed and steamed, it could fill their stomachs.

 

Cassava is coarse and tasteless, but to Qiao Suiman and Qiao Ruifeng, it is a good thing that has helped them through many days. They had figured out which places on the mountain have plenty of cassava. Sometimes they even dig them up and roast them over a fire.

 

The house wasn’t short of firewood or water. They boiled water in the pot and boiled the wild vegetables. When the vegetables were cooked, Qin Yu took them out along with the soup.

 

Then Qin Yu set a steaming rack over the pot, added more water underneath, and slowly steamed the cassava.

 

The cassava was almost steamed when Qiao Ruifeng came back, carrying a fish basket in his hand. He walked into the kitchen with a smile on his face. His eyes unexpectedly met Qin Yu’s.

 

Qiao Ruifeng chuckled shyly. “A– A-Yu.”

 

Then he waved his hand toward Qiao Suiman. “Caught two loaches. We’ll stew them later.”

 

Qiao Suiman’s eyes lit up as he nodded repeatedly. “Okay.”

 

Qin Yu also smiled, his eyes curving.

 

A-Yu.

 

No one has ever called him that before.

 

Each of them had a bowl of wild vegetable soup and ate the steaming cassava bite by bite. The warm soup filled their stomachs, dispelling the chill from having been in the mountains for half a day.

 

After Qin Yu finished drinking the soup, he cleaned up the kitchen neatly, then looked around the house.

 

Apart from two fruit trees in the backyard, the rest of the space was very empty. After some thought, he said quietly to Qiao Ruifeng, “Does the family next door sell vegetable seeds?”

 

Qiao Ruifeng paused before replying, “Yes, do you want to buy some?”

 

Qin Yu swallowed hard. It was only his second day here, and he was already giving opinions about the yard. He didn’t know if Qiao Ruifeng would dislike it. Steeling himself, he said, “I see there’s a lot of empty space at home. If we could grow vegetables and gourds, it would be good whether we eat them ourselves or sell them.”

 

Qiao Ruifeng lowered his gaze and said gently, “What do you think would be good to plant?”

 

“Winter is coming soon, so radishes and cabbage are easier to grow. Ginger and garlic would work too.”

 

“Alright, I’ll ask Aunt Shuifen later. Do you want to come with me?”

 

“Okay, okay.”

 

Qin Yu’s face flushed slightly. He turned and went to the yard to wash clothes, leaving Qiao Ruifeng standing there with a foolish grin.

 

Qiao Suiman was cleaning the remaining wild vegetables, which included a few mushrooms. After shaking off the mud, Qiao Suiman quickly hid the wild vegetables and two loaches in the room before Li Hua returned.

 

The clothes from yesterday were washed and hung on the hemp rope in the yard. Qin Yu was wondering what to do next when he saw Li Hua returning in hurried steps.

 

“Grandmother,” Qin Yu called.

 

Li Hua glanced at him sideways, snorted, and said sharply, “What are you lazing around for? Have you watered the fruit trees in the backyard?”

 

Qin Yu was yelled at and was stunned for a moment before he reacted, “I’ll go right now.”

 

Li Hua continued to grumble behind him, “One after another, all you know how to do is eat for free!”

 

“Man-ge’r, why aren’t you cooking? Do you want to starve me to death?”

 

Qiao Suiman came out of the house and pouted. “There’s no rice.”

 

“You wretched child, you found something to eat yourself and didn’t leave any for me.”

 

As she spoke, Li Hua grabbed Qiao Suiman’s arm and twisted it.

 

Qiao Suiman immediately broke free and ran behind Qiao Ruifeng. Qiao Ruifeng said in a deep voice, “If you don’t take out the rice, how can we cook?”

 

Li Hua glared at them fiercely, unlocked her room, and brought out a small half-bowl of rough rice. “Hurry up and cook it, then bring it to me.”

 

Qin Yu heard this in the backyard and sighed. Shortly after, Qiao Ruifeng also came to the backyard and explained quietly, “She’s like this with everyone. Don’t take it to heart.”

 

Qin Yu nodded. “Let’s talk about the vegetable seeds another day.”

 

Watering the fruit trees didn’t take much effort. Qiao Ruifeng didn’t stay in the backyard the whole time and returned to the front to chop wood. Qiao Suiman quickly cooked the porridge, and Qiao Ruifeng took it and brought it into Li Hua’s room.

 

He put it down and was about to leave when Li Hua suddenly grabbed his arm. Qiao Ruifeng frowned slightly. “Is there something else?”

 

“Hmph, it’s about Man-ge’r.”

 

Li Hua snorted. “I’ve been asking around for a while. There’s a young master in town who wants to find a concubine. The girls in town aren’t easy to handle, so he wants to find someone from the countryside with good looks. That boy is going to be lucky once he latches onto a young master. He won’t have to worry about food and drink!”

 

Qiao Ruifeng shook off her hand angrily. “You want Xiao Man to be a concubine? He’s only twelve!”

 

“Unless I die, don’t even think about this!”

 

“How dare you defy me! If I didn’t spend money to buy you a fulang, would I need to search everywhere?”

 

“We both farm the land, but you keep all the food in your hands. If we were to calculate it as a long-term worker over the year, we would have paid off that one tael of silver! This matter is out of the question!”

 

“Fine! Your wings have hardened, and you dare to argue with your grandmother now!” Li Hua’s chest heaved. “Get out!”

 

Qiao Ruifeng left without looking back, slamming the door shut as he exited the room.

 

Qin Yu heard the noise and ran over. Qiao Suiman was biting his lip hard, his eyes filled with intense resentment.

 

“Xiao Man, don’t worry. Ge won’t let you jump into a pit of fire,”[mfn]进火坑 (jìn huǒ kēng) – Idiom meaning “to jump into a pit of fire,” i.e., to enter a situation of extreme suffering or danger[/mfn] Qiao Ruifeng said in a low voice.

 

Then he said to Qin Yu, “If I’m not around, keep an eye on Xiao Man. Don’t let him be taken away alone.”

 

Qin Yu only heard bits and pieces of what happened. He frowned and nodded. “Okay, I understand.”

 

The autumn rain fell without warning. It’s been some days since Qin Yu came to Xiahe Village, and he still hadn’t seen Qiao Chengfu. Recently, life had been much better than before in his own home.

 

On rainy days, Qiao Ruifeng doesn’t go to town for work. The work in the fields wasn’t heavy, and winter wheat wouldn’t be planted for a while yet. The two of them wove bamboo baskets in the main room. Though not as fine as those made by bamboo craftsmen, they were enough for household use.

 

The new injury on his knee became more noticeable in the cold, damp rainy weather. Qin Yu’s face turned pale from the pain. Qiao Ruifeng noticed and asked nervously, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

 

“No,” Qin Yu gritted her teeth and said, “It’s nothing.”

 

“Qin Yu-ge, how can this be nothing!”

 

Even Qiao Suiman could tell something was wrong. Qiao Ruifeng said sternly, “If you’re in pain, just say it. We’re family now, why are you trying to hide it?”

 

During this time, Qiao Ruifeng had always spoken gently. Suddenly hearing his stern tone, even if it was out of concern, Qin Yu felt a little aggrieved for some reason. He pursed his lips and said quietly, “I said it’s nothing, so it’s nothing.”

 

Qiao Ruifeng was taken aback. He lowered his head to collect himself and didn’t speak further.

 

Qiao Suiman sensed the awkward atmosphere, but he was still young and didn’t understand, so he quietly continued his work.

 

Outwardly, Qin Yu and Qiao Ruifeng acted the same as before, but both knew something between them had shifted. Neither of them broke the silence.

 

Two days passed like this. On a night of pouring rain, after Qiao Ruifeng washed up, he gently whispered to Qin Yu, who was lying in bed. He said in a low, gentle voice, “I shouldn’t have scolded you that day. Come, put on this medicinal ointment.”

 

As he spoke, he took out a black medicinal ointment from his sleeve.

 

Qin Yu was pretending to sleep with his eyes closed but opened them in surprise upon hearing this. “What medicinal ointment?”

 

“I noticed your knees are not in good condition.”

 

Qiao Ruifeng continued, “I got it from the village physician. It’ll make you much more comfortable.”

 

Qin Yu sat up in a hurry. “No need, I can bear it. It’ll pass soon. Hurry and return it to the physician. This must have cost several wen!”

 

Qiao Ruifeng chuckled. “Physician Liu’s medicine can’t be returned. If you don’t use it, it’ll be wasted.”

 

Qin Yu had no choice but to relent. Fortunately, Qiao Ruifeng only bought two ointment. “Don’t buy any more in the future. It only hurts badly on rainy days, it doesn’t affect my work normally.”

 

Qiao Ruifeng’s smile stiffened. He took a deep breath and said, “A-Yu, I said I brought you back to be my fulang, not to trick you. I didn’t buy you back to be a slave. The deed of sale was only to avoid future entanglements with your family.”

 

Tears welled up in Qin Yu’s eyes, and he nodded hurriedly. “I- I understand.”

 

“Good, I’ll apply it for you.”

 

Qiao Ruifeng bent down and pulled up Qin Yu’s trouser leg. Then, remembering something, he smiled and said, “Xiao Man noticed something was off between us and secretly told me not to be harsh with you.”

 

Qin Yu’s eyes curved, his heart feeling warm and full. His eyes reddened, and he sniffled. “Why are you all so good to me?”

 

Qiao Ruifeng applied the medicinal pointment, raised his head, and gently wiped away the tears from Qin Yu’s eyes. “We’ll be living our days together from now on. Isn’t this how it should be?”

 

Qin Yu nodded with a smile. “Mn!!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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