Chapter 39 Mountain Home Hearth 39

Chapter 39: The Hearth Fires of a Mountain Home 39

Night fell, and the entire village was enveloped in a deep, silent darkness. The moonlight, cold as frost, inched its way across the fields, thatched eaves, village paths, and mountain ridges, casting a pale, thin veil over everything that sent chills down the spine just to look at it.

After dinner, everyone washed up and returned to their respective rooms.

Qin Rongshi entered his room and was taking off his outer clothes to sleep when he heard a knock at his door just as he turned back the covers.

He pulled his clothes back on and walked over to open the door, only to find Liu Guyu huddled outside, rubbing his arms and shivering.

"Whew! It's so cold, let me in!"

As the door opened, Liu Guyu hunched his shoulders, uttered these words, and without waiting for Qin Rongshi's response, squeezed past him and slipped inside.

The Qin family's courtyard was quite spacious, and each room was a good size, but the family was poor. The room contained only a wooden plank bed and a cabinet, with no other furniture, which made it feel rather empty.

When Qin Rongshi's father was still around, Qin Rongshi's room had been furnished with a lot more items—a table, chairs, a desk, and even a low shelf against the wall filled with his books.

Unfortunately, after Qin Rongshi's father had an accident, the family sold everything they could to cover his medical bills. Books, ink, and brushes were the most valuable and were among the first to go.

Seeing Liu Guyu barging in so abruptly, Qin Rongshi was stunned for a moment before snapping out of it and turning to look at him.

Liu Guyu had just taken a bath and changed into clean sleep clothes. His face was flushed from the steam, and his skin glowed with a healthy redness.

He hadn't dared wash his hair at night, afraid that sleeping with wet hair would make him sick, but the ends were still slightly damp, and he carried a faint dampness about him. His dark hair was now loose and cascaded down his back, softening his features.

Qin Rongshi found himself looking into a pair of moist eyes, and he quickly averted his own, an odd flush rising to his cheeks.

His face burned bright red, and it took him a long while to stammer out words, as if he found it hard to speak.

"What are you doing coming into my room so late at night!"

Liu Guyu widened his eyes, displeased. "Why can't I? What, are you hiding money in here?!"

His eyes were round and bright, even more vivid when wide open; they sparkled brighter than the stars outside the window, enough to captivate anyone.

Qin Rongshi, flustered, averted his gaze, his earlobes completely red, and after a long pause, he stammered, "I'm a man, and you're my brother-in-law. How can you come to my room at night!"

Liu Guyu was amused by his words.

It wasn't that Liu Guyu lacked propriety; it was just that he had lived as a man for over twenty years. Even though he now knew he was a *ge'er* (a marriageable man), he still didn't really identify with it... especially since Qin Rongshi was so young! In his previous life, he would have been just a middle school student!

He patted Qin Rongshi's shoulder and said, "Save your panic, I'll do the panicking for both of us."

Qin Rongshi: "?"

What kind of weird thing was he saying now?!

Qin Rongshi's face flushed red, and he couldn't bring himself to look up and meet his eyes.

But soon, Liu Guyu spoke again.

He said, "I noticed you've got raw blisters on your hands. Did you hurt yourself while building the smoke-curing pit?"

Qin Rongshi's heart skipped a beat, and he glanced sideways at Liu Guyu, only then realizing he hadn't come empty-handed.

Liu Guyu was holding a small chipped bowl containing a brownish-green, thick ointment.

This was a simple ointment for minor injuries, made by Qin Banban herself.

Living in the village, they often got scraped or cut—whether from a kitchen knife, sharp thorns while gathering firewood, or carrying heavy loads that chafed the shoulders... For minor wounds, this ointment worked well.

The blisters on Qin Rongshi's palms were minor; he thought they'd heal on their own in a couple of days without treatment. He hadn't expected Liu Guyu to notice.

Qin Rongshi was stunned and stammered, "It's... it's just a small injury. No need for ointment."

Liu Guyu pouted and shook the hand holding the medicine bowl, muttering unhappily, "I already brought it!"

With that, he guided Qin Rongshi to sit down, then knelt by the bed and turned over Qin Rongshi's hands. As he applied the ointment, he half-teased, half-admonished, "So many rules, you little stickler... Here, these are hands meant for writing. You should take good care of them."

Liu Guyu lowered his head, a few slightly damp strands of hair swaying, and a drop of water from the tips fell onto Qin Rongshi's face. It was cool, jolting Qin Rongshi fully awake.

"All done. Rest early; we have to go to the market tomorrow."

After applying the medicine, Liu Guyu stood up to leave.

Qin Rongshi didn't dare look up at him, keeping his eyes fixed on the hem of Liu Guyu's clothes.

This person seemed perpetually cheerful, even walking with a light, bouncing step, making his clothes sway along.

He lowered his gaze, his voice deep and hoarse: "Brother-in-law, you should go to sleep too."

Liu Guyu didn't notice anything amiss. He murmured "Mm-hmm," blew out the candle, and left the room, thoughtfully closing the door behind him.

Only after he left did Qin Rongshi look up, wiping away a trace of moisture from the tip of his nose.

Damp, carrying the fresh scent of bath beans, like the fragrance of the most vibrant spring flowers and plants.

It made his heart flutter.

*

The next day, Liu Guyu slept well and didn't get up until the sky was bright.

He was the last to rise, but no one minded. Cui Lanfang even asked if he had slept soundly.

Liu Guyu took a sip of vegetable porridge and bit into a buckwheat steamed bun. He nodded first, then said in surprise, "Hey, Mom, this bun doesn't taste like yours!"

Qin Rongshi, sitting across from him, paused slightly but said nothing.

Cui Lanfang laughed. "Your tongue is sharp! You can even tell that! Breakfast today was made by Erlang. I don't know what got into him—he woke up so early. When I got up, the buns were already steaming!"

Not only had he cooked the porridge and steamed the buns, but she also found clothes hung out in the yard—Erlang had woken up and washed all the laundry!

Banban nodded beside her and praised, "Second Brother's steamed buns are delicious too!"

In truth, they were just ordinary buckwheat steamed buns—not particularly good, but not bad either. Still, they couldn't compare to Liu Guyu's cooking.

But Second Brother was her own brother; she had to encourage him!

Qin Rongshi, at the center of the conversation, still didn't look up or even glance at Liu Guyu. He just muttered, "Hurry up and eat. We have to go to the town market after this."

After the meal, they quickly washed the dishes and set out with baskets on their backs.

Since they were going to the town market, Cui Lanfang and Banban dressed neatly and practically.

Cui Lanfang wrapped her hair with a gray-blue cloth and secured her low bun with a wooden hairpin. Qin Banban wore the osmanthus hairpin bought at the temple fair and carried the small crossbody bag gifted by Xie Family Cloth Shop, her face beaming with joy.

Liu Guyu and Qin Rongshi often went to town to set up stalls, so they were used to going out and dressed as usual.

Today was the last big market before the New Year. Families stocking up on holiday supplies all chose today to go to the market. Even the ox-carts for hire weren't limited to Second Uncle Zhang alone.

The four of them had only been standing at the village entrance for fifteen minutes when they soon spotted an oxcart approaching from the direction of Xiahe Village. Seeing that there were still empty seats, they quickly waved to stop it.

They boarded the cart and found empty spots to sit.

Apart from the driver, there were already three riders on the cart—all around Cui Lanfang's age: one man and two women. With their group joining, the cart was now fully packed with eight people.

The three riders were chatting animatedly.

One of the men said, "Hey, have you all heard? The eldest son of the Qi family has divorced his man! I heard it's because he can't have children!"

A round-faced woman asked in surprise, "What? The Qi family's eldest son? Qi Shan? Divorced? Is it because his man couldn't bear children?"

The man widened his eyes and quickly corrected, "Ugh, no! Not his man! It's Qi Shan! Qi Shan can't have children!"

Another tall, thin woman chimed in, muttering, "I heard it's because Qi Shan is... well, incapable? You know... down there... he's useless?!"

...

Hearing this, Cui Lanfang instinctively covered Banban's ears, her face flushing with embarrassment.

The man noticed and glared at the woman, scolding, "When will you learn to watch your mouth? Blabbering about everything without a care! Can't you see there's a young girl in the cart?"

The woman, caught up in the excitement, hadn't noticed until reminded. She blushed, lightly slapped her own mouth, and apologized awkwardly, "Oh, dear sister! I'm sorry! So sorry! Look at this filthy mouth of mine!"

Cui Lanfang felt even more awkward and offered a weak smile.

Meanwhile, the round-faced woman kept glancing at Liu Guyu and the others. She shifted closer and asked curiously, "You're from Shanghe Village, right? I remember the Qi family's eldest son's man was from your village!"

Liu Guyu gave a sly laugh and corrected, "Ex-man, ex-man."

The round-faced woman chuckled along, "Ah, yes, yes, ex-man, ex-man... I heard his ex-man is from your village? Have you heard any news? The village is all saying it's because Qi Shan can't have children! Is it true or not?"

Liu Guyu's eyes widened and he immediately launched into the story.

"It's *him* who can't have children! How could it be fake?!"

He scooted closer as if they were old friends and jumped into the conversation.

"Auntie (a respectful term for an older woman), you and Qi Shan's mother are from the same village—don't you know what that family is like? If it were really our village's Zhu Geer who was at fault, would his mother have kept quiet? Would she have agreed to the divorce?"

"Ah, that day she even came to our village to cause a scene! The whole village found out! Go ask around—everyone in Shanghe Village knows that Qi Shan has health problems and can't have children!"

"Anyway, no one would dare marry a man like that! People in our village even say that when matchmaking for girls or boys, we must steer clear of anyone from the Qi family!"

Liu Guyu spoke with such conviction and without a hint of guilt.

It didn't sound made up!

The three riders from Xiahe Village—the man and the two women—were completely convinced. One of them even wondered, "Qi Shan is no good, but his family has a second son, right? Not even twenty, still unmarried!"

Unaware of the awful behavior of the two Qi brothers, they thought that while Qi Shan was incapable, Qi Shu might be fine.

But then they saw Liu Guyu purse his lips, shaking his head with disdain.

"They're blood brothers! If the older one can't have children, who knows if the younger one has the same problems?! Who would dare marry their daughter or son into that family?"

"If it turns out their son is the infertile one, but the bride gets blamed and abused by the mother-in-law for not having children—what kind of life would that be?"

Hearing this, they had even more to say!

"That makes sense! That Qi family woman is really strange—she often bullied Zhu Geer! I often heard her screaming when I passed by!"

"And also... I heard the Qi family likes to seek concoctions for having children from blind fortune-tellers! Aren't they afraid of ruining someone's health?"

"Ah, hearing all this, their family really isn't safe to marry into!"

By the end, even the middle-aged cart driver turned to glance back and said, "Hey! Speaking of which, my wife's family is from another village! Her niece is currently being matched with the Qi family's second son! I’ll have to go back and warn them—such a family is not to get involved with!"

Having accomplished his mission, Liu Guyu returned to sit beside Cui Lanfang, smiling triumphantly before closing his eyes and nodding off.

He hadn't been particularly tired, but the steady rocking motion of the oxcart made him drowsy.

Cui Lanfang thought this young man was cunning and sharp, which amused her.

Only when Liu Guyu started nodding off did Qin Rongshi dare to steal glances at him, a faint smile hidden in his eyes.

As for Qin Banban, she had her ears covered by her mother the entire time and was totally confused about what they were talking about or why they were laughing. She tilted her head, with a confused look, glancing from one person to another, and finally grinned blankly along with them.