LW chapter 36

 

On the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, Li Xin got married.

Although Chen Qing had said he wouldn’t attend, Li Tiejiang and Zhang Yin came on the 25th to deliver the invitation and ask them to come. They also invited Chen Qing to stay at their home that night and talk to Li Xin.

That night, Chen Qing finished the housework and told Aunt Sun he was going out. However, when he passed by Zhou Yuan’s house, he ran into Zhou Yuan coming out.

“Out this late?” Zhou Yuan glanced at him.

He had been very busy these past two days. The Li Tiejiang family didn’t treat him like an outsider. Zhou Yuan rarely experienced such lively moments, so he helped set up tables, buy vegetables, and complete other tasks.

Chen Qing replied in a low voice, “Li Xin asked me to sleep with him tonight.”

Zhou Yuan hummed. “Let’s go. I’ll go with you.”

Chen Qing looked up at him. “Do you have something to do?”

Zhou Yuan nodded. “Go talk to them about tomorrow’s process.”

It got dark early in the winter. Chen Qing didn’t bring a lamp and walked slowly. Since Zhou Yuan’s legs were longer, he had to stop and wait for Chen Qing after walking ahead.

Since it got dark early, the villagers also went to sleep early. At this time, almost no sound could be heard outside except for the occasional barking dog.

“This is my first time attending such a joyful event. It’s really lively, ” Zhou Yuan said. Zhou Yuan said.

Chen Qing looked at Zhou Yuan’s tall back and felt that he seemed a little lonely at that moment.

He quickened his pace slightly. As they walked down the narrow path, Chen Qing looked around and gently took Zhou Yuan’s hand.

Zhou Yuan smiled in the darkness, interlocking their fingers.

When they arrived at the door, Chen Qing pulled his hand away.

Li Xin was waiting in the courtyard. When he saw Chen Qing, he pulled him into the room. The courtyard was already full of items, leaving hardly any space to walk.

Zhou Yuan was talking with Li the blacksmith in the yard. When he saw Chen Qing go inside, he said, “I’ll come in the morning.”

After thinking for a moment, Li the blacksmith said, “Why don’t you go straight to Shuning’s tomorrow morning? He doesn’t have any brothers or friends. It doesn’t seem right for him to come pick up the bride alone.”

Zhou Yuan nodded. “Then I’ll call a few more people to make it livelier.”

Li the blacksmith agreed, then remembered something: “I saw a few cracks in your knife. Bring it to me when you have time, and I’ll sharpen it for you.”

After all, Zhou Yuan carried the knife with him everywhere he went, and he was still fond of it. He would occasionally take it out to wipe the dust off.

“Thank you, godfather.”

Li the Blacksmith patted his shoulder. “We’re all family. It should be like this. Don’t you want to learn blacksmithing from me?”

Zhou Yuan shook his head. “I’m really afraid of the heat.”

Li the Blacksmith stopped persuading him and asked him to go back and rest early.

Inside the room, Li Xin didn’t look like a man waiting to get married. There was an oil lamp in the room. Their house also had a floor heater. The room was warm. Chen Qing leaned against the bed and stared at Li Xin.

Li Xin looked at him. “Why are you staring at me?”

Chen Qing shook his head. “I just feel like you don’t seem to be getting married tomorrow at all.”

Li Xin laughed. “I really don’t feel that way because I’m not leaving home after I get married. I’ll still live the same life as before.”

“And Qi Shuning isn’t a bad person. Except for being a scholarly type who likes to argue, there’s nothing wrong with him.”

Chen Qing looked at him. “What happened lately? I remember you didn’t like him before.”

“Now that I know him, I don’t find him that annoying.” Li Xin pushed Chen Qing inside.

Zhang Yin was wearing a robe and holding a small booklet.

“Come here. Mother wants to tell you something.”

Chen Qing shrank to the side of the bed. After all, this was supposed to be a nighttime talk between mother and son. Unexpectedly, however, Zhang Yin waved at him and said, “Aqing, come here and listen, too.”

“Huh?”

Zhang Yin spread a small booklet on the bed. Under the light of the oil lamp, Chen Qing saw what was drawn in the booklet. He only glanced at it, and it was as if something had exploded in his head. The shock made his hands and feet numb and his ears ring.

Li Xin was different from him. Li Xin was very interested. He exclaimed, “Mom! You really have this!”

Zhang Yin patted his head and said, “You don’t seem like a ger. Your grandmother gave this to me when I got married. It’s perfect for you. Look at it today, and you won’t be confused tomorrow.”

Li Xin leaned closer and said, “That means you still have more. Show me.”

Zhang Yin slapped him and said, “Shameless.”

After slapping him, Zhang Yin turned and coughed twice. Li Xin immediately became anxious. Zhang Yin comforted him: “It’s okay. Just my throat is a little itchy. Don’t worry.”

Relieved, Li Xin talked more about the booklet.

However, he didn’t let Chen Qing go. “Ah Qing, don’t be shy. You’ll get married soon. Your mother will definitely tell you when the time comes. If you read it now, you won’t be embarrassed when the time comes.”

Li Xin lifted his head and looked into Zhang Yin’s eyes. The two of them stared at Chen Qing and saw him blushing.

Li Xin laughed, “Oh, what will our Ah Qing do in the future?”

Chen Qing buried his head in the quilt. Zhang Yin spoke with Li Xin for a while, then told them to go to sleep early.

Zhang Yin left Li Xin’s room, took out a handkerchief, covered her mouth, held in her cough, and saw a little red on the white handkerchief.

She clutched the handkerchief and went to the kitchen, where water was still boiling. She threw the handkerchief into the fire and felt relieved when she saw it burn completely.

Looking at the flickering candlelight in Li Xin’s room, she took a deep breath and decided to wait until Li Xin was married.

Li Xin wanted to tell Chen Qing that he wasn’t doing anything wrong. Finally, Chen Qing poured out what he had just seen. Then, he heard Li Xin say: “Ah Qing, do you think it will hurt?”

Chen Qing turned over and ignored him.

Li Xin got closer again. “I saw in the picture that there’s even that kind of position. Can people really do that? They all frowned like this.”

Chen Qing couldn’t take it anymore. He turned over, covered Li Xin’s mouth, and said in a trembling voice: “Don’t talk. That’s embarrassing.”

Li Xin whimpered. Chen Qing let go of his hand and looked at him. “Don’t say that.”

Li Xin nodded.

The room fell silent.
“Ah Qing, I’ve decided that after I get married, I’m going to learn blacksmithing from my father.”

Chen Qing exclaimed.

“I thought you were joking!” He turned to look at him. “Blacksmithing is very tiring, and your arms and legs are so thin. Uncle Li definitely won’t let you do it.”

“I’m already married. How can he control me?” Li Xin didn’t care.

The room fell silent again. Then, Li Xin spoke up: “My mother doesn’t want me to become like her. She said, ‘The sky is so wide. Why should women and ger only be confined to the courtyard?’”

No one had ever told Chen Qing these things. It was hard enough for him to live a stable life, so he never thought about doing something just for his own enjoyment, not for money.

“Do you like blacksmithing?” Chen Qing turned to him.

“I don’t know. I’ll know after I try it.” Li Xin closed his eyes and asked, “What do you want to do in the future?”

Chen Qing stared at the dark ceiling. “As for me, I used to think that having a family would be nice.”

Li Xin reached out and ruffled his hair. “That’s nice, too.”

The winter sky was still dark, and Chen Qing gradually got used to the bed. He felt like he had just fallen asleep when the next second, the room lit up. He opened his eyes drowsily, pushed Li Xin’s hand away from his face, and lifted Li Xin’s leg off of him.

He wondered why he was so tired from sleeping last night. It was as if he had carried hundreds of kilograms of corn up a mountain; he was so exhausted that he was gasping for air.

Li Xin also woke up, but he was too lazy to move. In Luohe Village, the tradition was to hold the wedding ceremony at dusk.

Li Xin didn’t have to get up too early today. However, by dawn, the courtyard was noisy.

Li Xin naturally couldn’t sleep and yawned. Chen Qing followed him and saw a few villagers coming to deliver gifts.

They saw Chen Qing behind Li Xin and their expressions changed slightly. Li Xin noticed this and stood beside Chen Qing to block their view.

The morning passed quickly. Near noon, Li Xin was in the house wearing wedding clothes and pressed by Zhang Yin on an embroidered stool.

Chen Qing worked outside and could occasionally hear Li Xin’s painful cries from inside. Chen Qing smiled. Soon, someone asked him to deliver something, so he rushed over.

His first wedding was not so lucky. He stayed at the village chief’s house, and his red clothes didn’t fit. No one told stories about the wedding chamber. If it weren’t for the money that Aunt Sun gave his family, the village chief’s wife would never have allowed Chen Qing to stay.

After Li Xin finished his makeup and Chen Qing finished working, he went into the room to see Li Xin. Li Xin, who was originally dashing and graceful, looked shy in his red wedding dress.

“You look really beautiful,” Chen Qing said sincerely.

Zhang Yin’s eyes were slightly red. They must have said something intimate earlier. Zhang Yin stood next to Chen Qing. “It was all done by Aqing. The mandarin ducks and lotuses he embroidered look alive.”

Chen Qing was a bit shy. “It’s not that good. Li Xin is the beautiful one.”

After a while, lively sounds came from outside. The banquet was about to begin. At noon, people who knew each other gathered at Li Xin’s house for a meal. At night, they would go to Qi Shuning’s house for dinner and the ceremony.

Chen Qing didn’t go out. He stayed in his room with Li Xin and ate with him.

After all, Li the blacksmith came from a wealthy family, and the banquet was first-class. Despite being held outside in winter, the dishes weren’t greasy or unappetizing.

By the time they finished eating, it was almost dusk.

When the auspicious time arrived, they heard music outside. Qi Shuning had come to fetch the bride.

Chen Qing went to see Li Xin, who had no expression on his face, as if he were just a friend visiting home.

According to custom, there was a door-blocking ritual in Luohe Village.

Many of their former playmates had married and moved away, so their new spouses and in-laws were only acquaintances. Those helping to block the door were Meng Qi’s new wife, Wang Xuemei, and Li Xin’s younger brother, Niu Niu.

Li Xin wanted Chen Qing to come with him. He knew that the blacksmith had prepared many red envelopes for Qi Shuning, to be distributed during the bride-fetching ceremony. Naturally, he couldn’t forget Chen Qing when it came to making money.

However, Chen Qing said he wouldn’t go. After all, his presence beside Li Xin today had already drawn a lot of attention.

“No, you have to help me block him a little longer.” Li Xin hugged his arm and said, “I’m getting married today. You have to meet all my demands.”

Chen Qing had no choice but to stand with Meng Qi’s wife. Wang Xue had a round face, and when she smiled, her canines showed, making her seem approachable.

Qi Shuning was a scholar, but most villagers were illiterate, so the urgent steps of makeup poetry and walking poems were omitted.

Next to him were the tall Zhou Yuan, the muscular Meng Shuanzi, and the clever Meng Qi.

When Meng Qi saw his wife blocking the door, he laughed three times. Before anyone could react, he picked her up and carried her away.

Meng Shuanzi easily picked up Niu Niu. In the end, only Chen Qing was left alone.

Zhou Yuan smiled at Chen Qing and asked, “Do you want to move aside yourself, or do you want to end up like them?”