Qiao Suiman gave Miao Lianhua and Lu Xuesong one hundred wen each. Both were astonished, and Lu Xuesong repeatedly refused, saying, “Xiao Man-ge, I can’t accept this. You and Da-ge already bought chickens and ducks for me.”
“Songzi, you’ve been the one managing the family’s land the most. Your Da-ge and I feel bad about it, so please accept this.” Qiao Suiman said with a smile.
Lu Dongqing directly took the string of copper coins and stuffed it into Lu Xuesong’s arms, saying, “Take it. You can buy more chickens and ducks later if you want.”
Miao Lianhua smiled so much that wrinkles appeared at the corners of her eyes. She patted Lu Xuesong’s arm and said, “Since they’re telling you to take it, just accept it.”
Then, she turned to Qiao Suiman and said, “As for mine, there’s no need. The household allowance you gave me earlier is still enough.”
“That won’t do. It’s different,” Qiao Suiman disagreed and, imitating Lu Dongqing, pressed the coins into Miao Lianhua’s hand.
Yesterday, she helped out a lot by collecting money and washing bowls. After dinner, she was clearly exhausted, but she still insisted on washing the dishes with him.
Qiao Suiman grew up without a mother, relying only on himself and Qiao Ruifeng to scrape by. Now that he was being genuinely cared for like this, he only wanted to earn more money so everyone could live a better life.
Miao Lianhua couldn’t refuse, so she had no choice but to accept it. Her heart softened, and she thought to herself that Xiao Man is truly an excellent son-in-law.
Once both had accepted the money, Qiao Suiman cheerfully followed Lu Dongqing to the backyard to check on the chickens and ducks. The two wooden pens were now surrounded by straw mats to block the wind. He lifted the flap of the chicken pen, where the chicks were pecking at their food inside. The pen was specially raised at the corners, with a wooden board placed underneath to catch the droppings, making it easier to clean.
“We have enough rice bran and wheat bran at home, plus the wild roots dug up from the mountain. They’ll have no problem getting through the winter,” Lu Dongqing said.
Qiao Suiman lowered the straw curtain and turned to him. “Mm, it’s a good thing we bought the grain and wheat to grind ourselves back then. Not only did it save money, but it also left plenty of feed for the chickens and ducks.”
The Lu family was busy for many days during the eighth and ninth months, but the poor soil yielded only a little over half of what others harvested, which was definitely not enough for a family of four.
Lu Dongqing had then bought one hundred jin each of unhusked rice and wheat from the village chief. The village chief’s family has plenty of land and sells their surplus to grain merchants in town every year. When villagers came to buy from him, it saved him a lot of trouble, so he was naturally happy to oblige. He even gave them an extra five jin of coarse rice as a wedding gift for Lu Dongqing and Qiao Suiman.
These grains yielded a good amount of bran and husks. Heijin no longer relied on them for food either, eating coarse steamed buns and vegetables at every meal instead. The leftovers were more than enough to feed the chickens and ducks.
After checking on the poultry, Qiao Suiman took two hundred and ten wen and headed home alone to find Qin Yu. Lu Dongqing still had a lot of work to do. A customer at the stall had taken a liking to his bamboo chairs and commissioned several to be ready by the next market day, so Qiao Suiman didn’t ask him to come along.
Familiar with the way, Heijin trotted alongside him. When they arrived home, Qiao Suiman knocked on the courtyard gate, and before long, Qiao Ruifeng came to open it.
Qiao Suiman looked around but didn’t see Qin Yu, so he asked in confusion, “Da-ge, where’s Qin Yu-ge?”
Qiao Ruifeng’s expression turned slightly awkward. “Ahem, he’s still in the room.”
“What’s wrong? Is he sick?” Qiao Suiman asked urgently, moving toward Qiao Ruifeng and Qin Yu’s room, only to be blocked by two small puppies.
The little yellow dogs barked in high-pitched yaps, not to chase him away but to play. Heijin, however, suddenly let out a fierce growl, scaring the two little puppies so much that they retreated one after another.
Qiao Suiman patted Heijin’s head. “What are you barking for? Don’t scare them.”
Even though the scolding was gentle, Heijin lowered its head in sullen displeasure, rubbing it against Qiao Suiman’s side with a soft “wuu-wuu” sound.
“You… are you really jealous of two puppies?!” Qiao Suiman was helpless. But Heijin was raised by him, and after following him to the Lu family that day, it hadn’t returned home. Now that it’s back, it had suddenly found two dogs occupying its territory, so it was only natural for it to be a little upset.
He crouched down to stroke Heijin’s fur, coaxing it gently, “We have chickens and ducks at home now, so we need a dog to guard the house. Since you weren’t around, we had to get other dogs. Right?”
Whether Heijin truly understood or not, it eventually stopped baring its teeth at the puppies. It even ran to the main hall to fetch the two hollow balls Lu Dongqing had made for it, earnestly teaching the puppies how to play.
“Xiao Man.”
Qin Yu emerged from the room just then, though his voice was oddly hoarse, his collar pulled up high, and his movements slightly stiff as he walked.
“Qin Yu-ge!”
He was fine yesterday, but now he is like this. Worried, Qiao Suiman asked, “Did you catch a cold?”
Qiao Ruifeng coughed lightly and said, “I’ll go feed the chickens and ducks. You two talk.”
With that, he glanced at Qin Yu, only to receive a glare in return, making him slink off to the backyard.
“What’s wrong with Da-ge? He’s acting so strange.”
“Don’t mind him,” Qin Yu said irritably.
Qiao Suiman instantly went quiet. It has been a long time since he’d seen Qin Yu-ge this angry. What on earth did his brother do?
But remembering his reason for coming, Qiao Suiman said, “We made over a tael yesterday. Here’s your share, two hundred and ten wen.”
“That much?!” Qin Yu exclaimed. “A lot of that came from Dongqing’s bamboo tubes, you…”
“Oh, we already split it up properly. Just take it.” Qiao Suiman insisted, pressing the money into Qin Yu’s hands before pulling him toward the main hall. It was cold in the courtyard.
Qin Yu walked a little awkwardly. Watching him, a sudden realization struck Qiao Suiman. His face instantly turned crimson, and he stammered, “Qin Yu-ge, did you and Da-ge last night…”
Qin Yu, who had just sat down, was also flushed with embarrassment. After returning yesterday and washing up, Qiao Ruifeng acted like he was possessed, dragging him into bed and insisting that he give birth to a baby quickly. He didn’t stop until well past midnight.
When he woke up today, he found marks all over his body, his limbs so sore he could barely move. Qiao Ruifeng had to bring breakfast into the room for him.
After resting for a while, he had forced himself up when he heard Qiao Suiman’s voice, but he didn’t expect to be seen through so easily.
Qin Yu coughed lightly, his gaze drifting to the side, unable to meet Qiao Suiman’s eyes.
Seeing Qin Yu flustered for once, Qiao Suiman couldn’t help but grin mischievously, only to get smacked for it. “What are you laughing at? Hmph, marriage has changed you, daring to tease me now! One of these days, I’ll ask Dongqing to teach you a lesson!”
“Qin Yu-ge!” Though he was now experienced in such matters, Qiao Suiman was still too shy to discuss them openly and tried to change the subject.
But Qin Yu wouldn’t let him off so easily. “You youngsters are full of energy, but you still need to take care of yourselves. Don’t overdo it. It’s not good to exhaust your health.”
Qiao Ruifeng wasn’t usually like this. Maybe seeing the adorable child Yangyang yesterday had made him so impatient.
Still, he and Meng Yan were the same age, yet Yangyang was already three years old, while he still hadn’t had any luck. Qin Yu sighed and lowered his head, and touched his stomach. He could only hope that with more effort, he would conceive soon.
Qiao Suiman knew what Qin Yu was worried about and comforted him, “The physician already said that as long as your health is good, it’ll happen eventually.”
After chatting a while longer, Qiao Suiman noticed Qin Yu was clearly uncomfortable sitting and didn’t linger, urging him to return to bed and rest.
Qiao Ruifeng saw Qiao Suiman out but couldn’t bring himself to meet his younger brother’s accusing gaze.
When Qiao Suiman returned home, Lu Dongqing was still sawing bamboo to prepare for making chairs, his face glistening with sweat. Qiao Suiman handed him a towel and brought him a bowl of hot water from the kitchen, saying, “Drink some water and take a break before continuing.”
Lu Dongqing chuckled and wiped the sweat off his face. “I’m not tired.”
Qiao Suiman smiled. “I’ll go ahead and make dinner.”
Days without market gatherings usually passed like this: cooking, cleaning, digging for wild vegetables in the mountains, drying them, and occasionally learning embroidery from Miao Lianhua. Before they knew it, the day was over.
That night, Qiao Suiman panted lightly on top of Lu Dongqing. Once he ran out of energy, he collapsed and lay still, letting Lu Dongqing take over. But remembering Qin Yu’s words, he didn’t let Lu Dongqing go on for too long. Once was enough to satisfy them.
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Thanks for the chapter! Big bro overdid it, lol