LW chapter 39

 

Due to the large number of people at the temple fair in the neighboring village, as well as the large number of people from their own village, Zhou Yuan chose to take them to Huaiyuan Temple instead of the neighboring village. Huaiyuan Temple was also very popular on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

Qi Shuning sat next to Zhou Yuan. Although the two were completely incompatible, they could still talk to each other for some reason. Li Xin and Chen Qing didn’t care what they were talking about. He pulled Chen Qing aside, turned his back to them, and talked about his own matters.

“I married in a hurry. My parents just wrote to my grandparents. I think my uncle will be coming soon.” Li Xin said, “My uncle will definitely quarrel with my father.”

Chen Qing often envied Li Xin for having loving parents and grandparents who doted on him.

He had never seen any of his grandparents; it was as if Xiaodie didn’t have any family either. When Father left, their family fell apart.

“That’s great. They love you,” Chen Qing said.

“But with my mother here, there shouldn’t be a quarrel.” Li Xin smiled. His father was most afraid of his mother and always gave in to her.

“Maybe when you get married, your mother will come sit in the hall.” Li Xin smiled. He remembered that during the New Year, his mother had specifically asked Zhou Yuan and his family about their wedding plans.

Chen Qing only pressed his lips lightly.

Huaiyuan Temple also had a temple fair, one even livelier than the one in the neighboring village. When they arrived, Zhou Yuan wanted to leave them alone.

Qi Shuning pulled at Li Xin, who was angry, and said, “I want to go to the temple to worship Manjusri[mfn]Mañjuśrī is a very important figure in Buddhism. In Buddhism, Mañjuśrī is the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, often depicted holding a flaming sword (to cut through ignorance) in one hand and a lotus with a scripture (Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra) in the other. He represents transcendent wisdom and insight.[/mfn], but I don’t know how to get up the mountain. Take me there.”

Li Xin wanted to snap at him. He was already annoyed about having to bring him along on outings, and now there were so many things to deal with. However, when he saw his pitiful expression, he decided that the exam was more important. He glared at Zhou Yuan. “Hmph. So you’re going to kill the donkey after the mill is unloaded[mfn]“哼，卸磨杀驴是吧。” — is an idiom.Figuratively, it means abandoning or mistreating someone once they’re no longer useful, or using someone and then discarding them.[/mfn], huh?”

Zhou Yuan raised an eyebrow. No one here knew them anyway. He held Chen Qing’s wrist. “After all, you married a scholar, so you can use idioms.”

Li Xin was fuming, and Qi Shuning quickly pulled him away. “Don’t get angry. You’ll just tire yourself out climbing the mountain.”

As they walked away, Chen Qing watched their backs and looked at Zhou Yuan with slight disapproval. “Don’t always bicker with Li Xin.”

“Got it.” Zhou Yuan pulled him along. “Where do you want to go?”

Chen Qing shook his head. Zhou Yuan reached out to rub his forehead. “I still feel a little dizzy, like I was drunk last night. Did I lose my composure?”

Zhou Yuan decided to keep to himself everything Chen Qing had said while drunk. If he told Chen Qing, he might want to crawl into a crack in the ground.

“No, you were very quiet when you were drunk, so Aunt will just let you go back to sleep.”

Chen Qing felt relieved as long as he hadn’t lost his composure.

Since they had already been to the temple fair before and there was nothing new, they decided to go to the temple to worship.

“Wait until April. I’ll ask my godmother to propose the marriage. Then, we’ll set the date and get married when the time is right.” This was also Zhou Yuan’s first time at Huaiyuan Temple. Although there was a path up the mountain, it was steep and difficult to walk on.

Zhou Yuan walked beside Chen Qing, lowering his head to speak to him.

Chen Qing had been with him long enough that he no longer blushed when he heard a few words. “I’ll have to discuss it with Mother.”

Zhou Yuan nodded. He knew Chen Qing’s thoughts from last night, of course, and knew that the heavy stone on his chest was his guilt toward Meng Tao and Aunt Sun.

Only with Aunt Sun’s blessing could he ease that burden.

“Of course.” Zhou Yuan also respected Aunt Sun. She gave Chen Qing a stable life and promptly gave him a release letter after learning of Meng Tao’s death. Although she had no relatives or friends, she truly treated Chen Qing as her own son.

In the future, Zhou Yuan would be willing to call her “Mother.”

They soon climbed up to Huaiyuan Temple. They didn’t have the heart to worship the Buddha, but the mountain scenery was still worth seeing.

Chen Qing rarely had such leisurely moments. He walked along familiar paths and saw the monk selling amulets again. There were still many people at his stall.

Zhou Yuan glanced at the stall, then at Chen Qing. “Were there this many people last time?”

Chen Qing blinked. “Not bad. Maybe a little fewer.”

“Wait here.” Zhou Yuan said, pressing his shoulder, and quickly walked to the stall.

He was tall and sturdy, so he easily made his way to the front, paid, and returned.

He placed the amulet in Chen Qing’s palm. “Today is the first day of the New Year, and I hope Aqing will be safe in the future.”

Chen Qing’s nose stung. He placed the amulet on his chest and smiled at Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan ruffled his hair. “Let’s go.”

They ate vegetarian food at Huaiyuan Temple, just like last time. While eating, they ran into Li Xin and Qi Shuning again and went down the mountain with them.

It was almost dark when they returned to the village. They first dropped Li Xin and Qi Shuning off at their respective homes. As they got off the cart, they overheard the two discussing where to eat.

“Let’s go to my parents’ house to eat. I don’t want to do it again,” Li Xin’s voice sounded lazy.

“How can we go back to our parents’ house on the first day of the New Year?” Qi Shuning asked.
“Aren’t we going back to my mother’s house tomorrow?”

Li Xin replied, “Why don’t we just go today? Then we won’t have to wake up early tomorrow.” They had bought gifts to take to his mother’s house today, and Qi Shuning was carrying them.

Qi Shuning thought about it and agreed that it made sense. The two of them didn’t even open the door; instead, they changed direction and headed toward Blacksmith Li’s house. As they walked along the road, Li Xin looked at Qi Shuning’s back and realized that all the books he had read weren’t for nothing.

By the time Chen Qing arrived home, Aunt Sun had already returned and white smoke was curling out of the kitchen. He said something to Zhou Yuan and ran home.

“You were out playing until now?” Aunt Sun didn’t ask any more questions. “Have you eaten?”

Chen Qing shook his head. “Not yet. We went to the temple fair with Li Xin and the others.”

“I didn’t see you.” Aunt Sun was kneading dough.

“We went to Huaiyuan Temple.” Chen Qing washed his hands and took over her work.

Aunt Sun stepped aside and looked at Chen Qing’s clothes. “In the future, you should buy brighter clothes. You look good in them.”

Chen Qing quickly shook his head. “I have to work. I can’t wear bright clothes.”

“You knead the dough first. I’ll pick some pea shoots to make noodles and send a bowl to Zhou Yuan later.”

Chen Qing nodded.

The second day of the Lunar New Year is usually when people visit their parents, but Aunt Sun hadn’t gone back in a long time. Besides, she had a falling-out with them last year, so there was no need to visit on the second day of the New Year.

Not to mention, Chen Qing didn’t even have a parental home to return to.

So they all stayed home on the second day of the Lunar New Year. After the New Year, the weather improved, and the fog no longer lingered all day. In the afternoon, the warm sun hung high in the sky. Chen Qing and Aunt Sun took chairs out to the courtyard to sunbathe, a rare moment of leisure.

The villagers would start celebrating the New Year in earnest after today, but their home wasn’t lively at this time because Aunt Sun was a widow. Aside from Li Xin, no one else came to visit every year. Zhou Yuan was probably the only exception this year.

“Will the village chief celebrate his birthday this year?” Chen Qing yawned and asked.

“Of course. Isn’t it celebrated every year?” Aunt Sun rubbed her knee. “How else would I get gifts if I didn’t celebrate my birthday?”

Chen Qing rarely voiced his true feelings. “He celebrates his birthday every year. The banquet isn’t good, yet he still accepts so much gift money.”

This was an unspoken truth in Luohe Village. Every year on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, the village chief used his birthday as an excuse to invite everyone in the village to a banquet. However, the banquet was meager, and every household still had to give gifts.

In the past, when Aunt Sun went to deliver gifts, the village chief’s wife said that, since she was a widow, she wasn’t allowed to attend the banquet.

Fortunately, Chen Qing could go back then. He went with Li Xin. He didn’t eat much, but he still had to bring some food back for Aunt Sun. He was shy, but Li Xin was never afraid and always helped him.

“This year, the village chief is turning forty-five, so it should be a lively celebration.” Aunt Sun replied, “Same as before, just give something. Anyway, our family is poor; no one can say anything about us.” Chen Qing nodded. Looking at Aunt Sun’s knees, he thought: If there were a cat on her lap or a puppy at her feet, wouldn’t the house feel much livelier?

Sure enough, that afternoon, the village chief’s wife came with Zhang Ran, her youngest son’s husband. She said that the sixth day of the first lunar month would be celebrated as usual and invited them to their house.

Aunt Sun held Chen Qing’s hand. Before the village chief’s wife could speak, Aunt Sun said, “We’re still in mourning, and we’re afraid of offending the village chief. We won’t come and disturb you on the sixth day of the first lunar month.”

The look Zhang Ran gave Chen Qing made him feel strange. They clearly had no dealings with each other, yet whenever Zhang Ran looked at him, Chen Qing felt as if he had stolen something from him.

The village chief’s wife offered a few polite excuses before going to Zhou Yuan’s courtyard. Even from afar, Chen Qing could see the husband’s excitement. Unfortunately, they stood at Zhou Yuan’s door for quite a while, but no one came out.

Zhang Ran was disappointed because he thought he could visit today.

Aunt Sun noticed Chen Qing’s sour expression and thought he was still upset about the village chief’s family.

“Sometimes you have to speak politely.” She patted his shoulder. “You’ll need to learn this when you get married.”

Chen Qing lowered his head. “But I didn’t learn that before.”

“How can it be the same? I used to help you, but in the future, you’ll have your own family. Will you still need my help with everything?” Aunt Sun disapproved. Ah Qing was good at everything except being too soft-natured.

Chen Qing’s eyes widened. “Isn’t that possible?”

“You’re the one getting married, not your mother.” Aunt Sun smiled helplessly. “Do you think I should follow you when you get married?”

“What else?”

Aunt Sun wanted to crack open Chen Qing’s head to see what was going on in there. Even if she were his biological mother, it would be normal for him to think that way, but, to be frank, she and Chen Qing aren’t actually related. After she went to the village chief to write a divorce letter, she and Chen Qing were no longer related.

“Ah Qing, even if Zhou Yuan says he doesn’t mind, no man would truly be okay with that.” Aunt Sun could only try to persuade him: “Don’t say this in front of Zhou Yuan in the future.”

“Huh? But he respects you so much.” Chen Qing was confused.

“He only respects me because you call me Mother.” Aunt Sun took a deep breath. “Be good, and never think like that again. Anyway, our two families are close. You can come back to visit whenever you have time.”

Chen Qing said bitterly, “But Li Xin is married, yet they still went back to Uncle Li’s house on the first night of the New Year. Why can’t I go back?”

“Then it’s better not to get married.” Chen Qing said softly. Then, he looked up and met Zhou Yuan, who was coming in.

Chen Qing: …