Qin Yu enjoys his time in Xiahe Village.
Some time ago, he had been busy for three days with Qiao Ruifeng and Qiao Suiman planting the winter wheat. He had also become acquainted with Feng Jie, the wife of the Zheng family who owned the neighboring field. Feng Jie, who enjoyed lively company, had invited Qin Yu to visit her home for a chat when he had free time, and Qin Yu agreed.
On this day, he went up the mountain with Qiao Suiman to gather firewood. There weren’t many wild vegetables, and they only managed to dig up less than half a basket.
When they returned home, they heard a deafening cough coming from Li Hua’s room. When he went into the room, he saw that Li Hua’s face was pale and she was breathing heavily. Qin Yu was frightened and told Qiao Suiman to go to the fields to call Qiao Ruifeng back. They needed to take her to see a physician quickly.
Qiao Ruifeng rushed back and took the money pouch from his own room. Although it didn’t contain much, he couldn’t go empty-handed to see a physician.
He quickly carried Li Hua on his back to Physician Liu’s house. Physician Liu felt the pulse of the barely conscious Li Hua and shook his head. “Be prepared.”
Qin Yu froze in place, then slowly turned to look at Qiao Ruifeng. Qiao Ruifeng suppressed his emotions and said, “Understood. Thank you, Grandfather Liu.”
He then carried Li Hua back home.
After arriving home, Li Hua suddenly had a moment of clarity.[mfn]回光返照 huíguāngfǎnzhào (lit. returning light and reflecting) – The word originally refers to the brief glow caused by refraction at sunset, and is often used to describe the brief period of clarity or recovery of energy that occurs in critically ill patients before they die; terminal lucidity; dying flash[/mfn] Her clouded eyes swept around the room, fists clenching as she rasped harshly: “Call the village chief. I need to pass on the property deeds.”
Qin Yu lifted his head in surprise. Thinking of that father-in-law that he never met, his heart grew chaotic.
Qiao Suiman was witnessing such a situation for the first time, but he wasn’t timid. He said calmly, “Da-ge, I’ll go call the village chief. You stay home and don’t leave.”
Qiao Suiman is a ge’r and had never expected to inherit anything. But his brother is different. He has been taking care of all the big and small things in the family over the years. The house and land deeds should rightfully be passed to him.
As for Qiao Chengfu, he was probably drunk in some village or tavern in town.
Qin Yu frowned slightly, grabbed Qiao Suiman’s forearm, and said, “Xiao Man, I’ll go with you.”
“Alright.”
Qiao Suiman nodded, and he and Qin Yu left for the village chief’s house.
Qiao Ruifeng stood before Li Hua’s bed, a trace of gloom flashing in his eyes. He stared at Li Hua, he said, “If everything is handed to Father, it will all be squandered within three years. Xiao Man and I will not care whether he lives or dies by then.”
Li Hua gasped, “You unfilial son! He is your father!”
“Has he ever fulfilled his duties as a father?” Qiao Ruifeng sneered. “If everything is given to me, at least he will have a place to go when he is old and won’t starve on the streets.”
Li Hua patted her chest with her right hand, finally calming down somewhat. She pointed at Qiao Ruifeng and stammered, “You… you…”
Before she could finish her sentence, Qiao Suiman and Qin Yu returned with the village chief, accompanied by four of the village’s most senior elders.
“Are you preparing a will?” Yu Ping said immediately upon entering the room.
“Yes,” Qiao Ruifeng motioned towards Li Hua. “Grandmother wishes to pass on the deeds.”
Li Hua finally found her opportunity, instructing Qiao Suiman to retrieve the key from a crack in the ground nearby to open a wooden chest under the bed.
She clutched several deeds in her hand. These papers were decades old and very worn. Some of the land and house deeds didn’t even have names written on them. She stared fiercely at Qiao Ruifeng with her eyes full of anger.
Qiao Ruifeng did not back down, his gaze deep and cold.
Finally, Li Hua slumped onto the bed. “The deeds for this house, two mu of paddy field, and one mu of dry land are all here.”
Her eyes were unfocused as she murmured, “All, all to be given to Qiao Ruifeng. And the six mace of broken silver.”
“The wooden box next to it, no one is allowed to open it. It is to be left for… for my son.”
Yu Ping wrote on rough paper as he listened. Finally, he wrote down the names of Qiao Ruifeng and Li Hua, read it out to the elders, and then had Qiao Ruifeng press his fingerprint on them.
Seeing this, Qin Yu took the paper and pressed Li Hua’s fingerprint onto it as well.
Now, the several deeds belonged to Qiao Ruifeng.
Qiao Suiman breathed a deep sigh of relief. Good, good. With a house and land, there is hope for the future.
Li Hua fell asleep. Remembering what Physician Liu had said, Qiao Ruifeng invited Yu Ping and the elders out to the courtyard and said, “We saw Physician Liu. It will be within these two days.”
Yu Ping sighed. “Your father, how long has it been since he last returned?”
Qiao Ruifeng frowned and replied, “Over two months.”
“That scoundrel!” one of the elders cursed.
“Never mind him. Just prepare the paper money[mfn]纸钱 zhǐqián – also known as incense papers/joss papers, are papercrafts or sheets of paper made into burnt offerings common in Chinese ancestral worship; other papier-mâché items, are also burned or buried in various Asian funerals, “to ensure that the spirit of the deceased has sufficient means in the afterlife” (Wikipedia)[/mfn] and funeral clothes as soon as possible. Go to the neighboring village to buy a coffin. The carpenter there has one ready-made.”
As Yu Ping spoke, he remembered something else: “Choose the coffin carefully. You’ll need to prepare a meal for those who carry the coffin. Don’t spend all the money, save some for yourselves.”
“Alright, I understand. Thank you, Uncle Ping.” Qiao Ruifeng nodded in agreement. Yu Ping and the others didn’t stay long. They left after giving their instructions.
Qin Yu and Qiao Suiman kept watch in the room. Li Hua’s breath was getting weaker and weaker. After Qiao Ruifeng came in, he asked, “I overheard. The Zheng family has these things. I saw Feng-jie earlier at the physician’s house. She probably guessed most of it. I’ll go ask her to buy mourning clothes and paper money.”
“Alright,” Qiao Ruifeng agreed without hesitation and handed Qin Yu the small money pouch from his robe. “There are about two hundred wen here. Buy what’s needed.”
Qin Yu was slightly taken aback. These items were cheap in the countryside and wouldn’t cost that much, yet Qiao Ruifeng gave him the money without a second thought.
He nodded solemnly. “I understand.”
Qiao Suiman’s eyes darted around and pointed to a chest in the corner, whispering, “Da-ge, there’s a set of clothes in there. I’ve never seen Grandmother wear them.”
Qiao Ruifeng’s eyes flickered. He guessed that Li Hua knew that she didn’t have much time left and had prepared her burial clothes early. He nodded and said, “Alright. I’ll go buy the coffin. You stay home and lock the door.”
Qiao Suiman agreed. After Qin Yu and Qiao Ruifeng left, he closed the courtyard gate and returned to Li Hua’s room.
He didn’t have strong feelings toward Li Hua. From childhood, he was always beaten and scolded by her and Qiao Chengfu, sometimes starving, sometimes barely full. He only felt the warmth of family from Qiao Ruifeng and Qin Yu.
Qiao Suiman watched Li Hua quietly, past experiences surfacing in his mind. He lowered his gaze and gripped his right arm, where a scar remained from being struck with a fire poker by Li Hua for burning the porridge.
Li Hua is now old, and her strength to hit him is nowhere near what it once was. He can easily break free from her grasp now. She lies in bed, her life slowly fading away. Qiao Suiman thought, let it end here. In the next life, may they never meet again.
Qin Yu quickly bought the necessary items and returned. The villagers who saw the things in his hands along the way understood the situation, and no one stopped him to chat.
It wasn’t until dusk that Qiao Ruifeng returned home.
The carpenter will deliver the coffin tomorrow. The ready-made coffin was expensive, costing four mace of silver.
Qin Yu thought for a moment and said, “Xiao Man and I gathered some wild vegetables today. We’ll go dig for more tomorrow. We might also catch some loaches or eels in the paddy fields. We can also get a jin of meat from Butcher Wang. That should be enough.”
“Mn. I’ll go catch a few tomorrow and also ask a few families to help.” Qiao Ruifeng agreed.
They kept watch in Li Hua’s room. Qiao Suiman drowsily fell asleep with his head on the table, while Qiao Ruifeng checked Li Hua’s breath from time to time.
In the middle of the night, Li Hua stopped breathing.
With her passing, the matters the next day were simpler to handle. Qin Yu and Qiao Suiman searched several places, barely managing to find a basket of wild vegetables. When they returned home, Qin Yu asked Qiao Suiman to clean the vegetables while he went into the room to change Li Hua into her burial clothes.
Qiao Suiman is still young, so he should be more careful about matters of life and death. This is what Qin Yu heard from Zhou Shuifen.
Li Hua’s funeral was held on the third day after her passing. Some villagers, seeing they were just three young people managing everything, took pity and came to help voluntarily.
While the men carried the coffin up the mountain, Qin Yu, Qiao Suiman, Zhou Shuifen, and other women and fulangs cleaned up the main room and side room where Li Hua had lived. They stewed a bowl of meat, along with a bowl of stir-fried vegetables, a stack of vegetable pancakes, and a bowl of stewed loach.
Everyone ate and then left. Qiao Ruifeng cleaned the bowls and chopsticks, while Qin Yu returned the tables and chairs to their owners. They were busy for several days before everything was settled.
The side room Li Hua lived in was one she had partitioned off herself, claiming the feng shui was good. It made the originally spacious main room cramped. After washing up and lying down on the bed and weariness flooding his body, Qiao Ruifeng softly said: “We’ll find time to remove the door to the side room. Then we can eat in the main room and won’t have to eat in the courtyard in the freezing cold.”
Qin Yu did not oppose Qiao Ruifeng’s decision and replied softly, “Mn.”
Qiao Ruifeng turned on his side, quietly looking at Qin Yu. “You’ve only been here a short while and have already experienced this.”
Qin Yu smiled. “Here, even when busy, I know what I’m working for. It’s far better than before.”
“Really?” Qiao Ruifeng’s eyes lit up. “Then, do you like it here?”
“I like it,” Qin Yu said softly. “I, I like living with you.”
Qiao Ruifeng leaned close at once, unable to resist embracing Qin Yu. But as he lowered his head to kiss him, something suddenly crossed his mind. He froze, the light in his eyes dimming. He forced a smile and said, “That’s good. It’s late. Let’s sleep.”
Qin Yu’s face flushed red. The expected kiss didn’t come. He was stunned for a moment, his heart feeling sour and bitter.
After that night, a thin veil seemed to form between Qin Yu and Qiao Ruifeng.
Qin Yu didn’t understand. He liked Qiao Ruifeng and could also feel Qiao Ruifeng’s affection for him. However, for over a month now, Qiao Ruifeng had still not consummated their marriage.
Today, while in the fields, he encountered Feng Jie, who teasingly asked him about nighttime matters. He stammered and couldn’t say anything. Fortunately, Feng Jie assumed he was just too shy to speak and didn’t think further of it.
After returning home, Qin Yu kept thinking about this. Qiao Suiman noticed his absent-mindedness and asked, “Qin Yu-ge, are you thinking about something?”
Qin Yu looked into Qiao Suiman’s innocent large eyes and blushed instantly. Thinking all day about consummating the marriage with his husband, this was something he has no face to speak about.
Qin Yu brushed it off. After washing up, he lay side by side with Qiao Ruifeng as usual. He closed his eyes but couldn’t fall asleep.
After a long while, he noticed Qiao Ruifeng move, coming closer to hug him tightly.
Qin Yu froze. Usually, by the time he woke up, Qiao Ruifeng was already up. This was the first time he realized Qiao Ruifeng had these small habits. Thinking of the kiss that didn’t happen that night, Qin Yu felt his heart tighten again.
Gritting his teeth, he opened his eyes and turned over, just in time to meet Qiao Ruifeng’s gaze.
Qiao Ruifeng immediately let go. He swallowed and stammered, “You… you’re awake?”
Qin Yu pressed his lips together and said bluntly, “Since you like holding me, why did you stop that day?”
Qiao Ruifeng didn’t expect Qin Yu to be so direct. He lowered his head and struggled internally for a while before saying gloomily, “I heard that day, about the scholar from the Fang family. I was afraid you weren’t willing to be my fulang.”
The scholar from the Fang family?!!
Qin Yu recalled the chaotic situation that day. His older brother had indeed mentioned the Fang family. He was so angry he almost laughed, wishing he could go home and give his older brother a beating.
“That scholar is the village chief’s son. I’ve seen him a few times. When my family ordered me to cut grains, he scolded my older brother. My older brother is narrow-minded, but doesn’t dare curse him openly, so he could only vent his anger on me by making up unpleasant rumors.”
Qin Yu said word by word, “I know that scholar is kind-hearted, but other than that, I have nothing to do with him.”
Qiao Ruifeng was stunned, overwhelming joy surging in his eyes. He exclaimed in surprise, “Really?”
Qin Yu smiled helplessly. “Why would I lie to you? I said I… I like living with you. Whether you are a scholar or not has nothing to do with me. I only know that I am yours.”
As he spoke, Qin Yu embarrassedly lowered his head.
Overwhelming joy enveloped Qiao Ruifeng. He pressed Qin Yu beneath him and kissed his mouth several times.
“A-Yu,” Qiao Ruifeng held Qin Yu tightly, his voice slightly hoarse. “Are you willing to be my fulang?”
Qin Yu nodded gently. The next moment, Qiao Ruifeng sealed his words with a kiss. Qin Yu obediently wrapped his arms around Qiao Ruifeng’s neck.
Qin Yu trembled slightly but did not ask him to stop.
Qin Yu lay on the bed, his mind unable to think, as he stared blankly at the roof beams.
From now on, he is truly Qiao Ruifeng’s fulang.
Qiao Ruifeng fetched water, cleaned both their bodies, and contentedly held Qin Yu tight, muttering to himself, “A-Yu, A-Yu, I’m so happy.”
Qin Yu chuckled softly. “Me too.”
Qiao Ruifeng didn’t stay up too late and hugged Qin Yu contentedly. Qin Yu was tired and fell asleep quickly. Qiao Ruifeng kissed him on the forehead before closing his eyes.
If you enjoy my translations, consider buying me a milk tea 🥛🍵
Love this pair. Dreading the father’s return. Thank you