Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Zhong Yizhu had been busy all day. Although he claimed to be only a little tired, as soon as he lay down, he soon fell asleep.

Now, being by Pei Mu's side was the most comforting thing. Since Pei Mu made no move, he didn't bother thinking about the whole consummation thing. He reached over and tugged at the corner of Pei Mu's clothes, then closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Pei Mu slowly removed his hand from Zhong Yizhu's eyes.

Zhong Yizhu looked so peaceful when he slept, his breaths soft and shallow, his long lashes resting against his cheeks. Pei Mu held back, then leaned in and lightly licked Zhong Yizhu's lips.

Pei Mu had always thought of himself as having few desires.

During wartime, that went without saying. After returning to the village, he spent his days running around in the mountains and hardly ever took care of his own needs. He didn't care about such things, nor about beautiful women or handsome young men. He couldn't even understand the soldiers in the camp who gathered to talk dirty, watching their hungry, excited faces like they were no better than animals in heat.

But now, he too was acting this lustful.

Pei Mu frowned and closed his eyes, spending the night lost in erotic dreams he couldn't talk about.

The next day, after waking up, Zhong Yizhu looked in the mirror. Seeing that the puffiness from crying the night before last had completely faded, he told Pei Mu and cheerfully set off to visit his mother.

Pei Mu lingered in the yard for a moment, then picked up his bow and arrows and headed into the mountains.

He couldn't bring himself to ask Wang Pingan about it. He could have made a special trip to town, but since they were planning to go to Songyun County for the Qiqiao Festival (Chinese Valentine's Day) in a few days, it really wasn't worth the time.

Before, without much thought, he had sold all the furs he had collected. But now things were different.

He needed to gather as many furs as possible before winter came, so he could make a cloak for Zhong Yizhu. Zhong Yizhu was sensitive to cold. Even though autumn hadn't yet arrived, his hands and feet were already icy. Winter would surely be even harder to bear. The winters in the village were probably not as warm as in the county seat, so he had to get ready early.

Meanwhile, Zhong Yizhu walked briskly into the Zhong family's old house, carrying two fish.

The fish had been brought back by Pei Mu the day before, still alive in a bucket. Sun Yunniang was drying cloth in the yard and smiled as soon as she saw him.

"Why are you bouncing around like that? Did something good happen? Come on, tell your mother."

Zhong Yizhu shook the fish. "Some kid I didn't recognize made a face at me on the way here. I told him a ghost would come get him tonight, and he ran home crying!"

Sun Yunniang laughed and shook her head. She took the fish from him and said with mock reproach, "Next time, don't bring anything. There's only me here to eat—how much can I really eat? If you keep doing this, people will talk."

"I'm not afraid of that," Zhong Yizhu mumbled.

Sun Yunniang sighed softly. "Though your situation with the Pei family is special—you have no mother-in-law to boss you around—if you keep acting like this, Pei Mu might get upset. Listen to your mother, don't let small things cause discord between you and your husband."

Zhong Yizhu said, "We won't. Pei Mu is happy to respect you, Mom. He tied these fish up so I could bring them. I couldn't catch them myself."

"That's true… Well, fine, I won't meddle in you and your husband's business. You know what you're doing. What do you want to do with these fish? I'll cook them for you in a bit. Pei Mu went up the mountain, right? Take some back for him when you go—he can heat it up for dinner."

"Then he's in for a treat. I'll thank you on his behalf, Mom."

Sun Yunniang found a basin, filled it with water, and put the fish in. She was smiling with her eyes.

It wasn't just because Zhu Ge'er was so sweet-talking. She had seen how Pei Mu had protected Zhu Ge'er when those two cousins from the third branch of the family had come to cause trouble. Since Zhu Ge'er got married, she had been worried, but now she finally felt some peace of mind.

After putting the fish away, Sun Yunniang came out of the kitchen and saw her son looking at her with bright eyes. "Mom, guess where I went the day before yesterday?"

Sun Yunniang had heard from villagers yesterday that Pei Mu had killed a deer and splurged on an oxcart to take it to Songyun County to sell. Even so, seeing Zhong Yizhu's eager expression, she played along. "Where did you go?"

Zhong Yizhu glanced at the open courtyard gate, lowered his voice, but his eyes still sparkled.

"I went to Songyun County. I made incense pellets and sold every single one, Mom. Aren't I amazing?"

Sun Yunniang's smile froze. After a moment, she repeated, "You made incense pellets to sell?"

Zhong Yizhu nodded. "Mm. When we went to Chuiliu Town market last time, I saw the incense pellets there were really poorly made. I thought maybe I could make my own to sell. Pei Mu said Songyun County was more bustling than Chuiliu Town and the pellets would sell better, so he took me there."

Speaking of the incense pellet business, Zhong Yizhu's tone became confident and sure.

"Mom, my incense pellets sold well, and the sachets I sold alongside them also sold fast. My craftsmanship isn't as good as yours. If you're willing to embroider some sachets and pouches, I'm sure they'd be very popular. I've already made new incense pellets. We plan to set up a stall on Qiqiao Festival day. I can guarantee that however many sachets you make, I can sell them all."

"The profit from selling them ourselves would be much higher than taking on embroidery commissions. Mom, would you consider it?"

Sun Yunniang, however, was completely dazed. Even though she didn't know much about business, she knew that not just anyone could sell incense pellets. She grabbed Zhong Yizhu's arm, trying to keep her quivering voice steady.

"Zhu Ge'er, tell me—how many incense pellets did you make, and how much did you sell?"

Zhong Yizhu answered his mother truthfully. "I made eighty-nine pellets in total, and I sold all of them." There was one more he had made specially for Pei Mu, which he didn't count.

Sun Yunniang was stunned for a long while before she said, "Our Zhu Ge'er is really amazing…"

She had never been involved in the family business, nor had she known that their doted-upon son had such ability. If Zhong Yizhu had been a regular son (instead of a xiaoge'er), his talents would never have been so overlooked.

When they had decided to have a son-in-law marry into the family for Zhu Ge'er, their plan had been to give the young couple a shop for the husband to manage, while their son would just live a life of leisure. Now she couldn't help wondering if they had been wrong from the start.

Sun Yunniang murmured, "If your father had handed the business over to you…"

The smile on Zhong Yizhu's face faltered. He was silent for a moment, then smiled again. "Let's not talk about that, Mom. Let's focus on the present."

Both of them knew that, with Old Mrs. Zhong and Old Man Zhong interfering, this was almost impossible.

Besides, back when everything was going smoothly, had Sun Yunniang ever thought of letting her son take over the family business? Not to mention the gossip and criticism he would face for being out in public, when negotiating with others, everyone else would be men (or adult males). A young man in such a setting would inevitably face discrimination and scorn. She had seen Zhong Laoer's hard work over the years and wouldn't want her son to endure that hardship.

If not for the recent upheaval, Sun Yunniang might even have stopped her son from selling incense pellets of his own accord.

How could a simple "if" change the outcome now?

"Alright." Sun Yunniang smoothed Zhong Yizhu's hair, feeling both bitter and proud. "Tomorrow I'll buy fabric and start making sachets. Zhu Ge'er, help me decide on the patterns. I'll listen to you."

Zhong Yizhu agreed with a smile and thought for a moment before saying:

"Most of my incense pellet customers are women or young men. You could embroider seasonal flowers—like peach blossoms or peaches, which would go well with peach-scented incense pellets. I'll write down the scents I've made this time for you, Mom, so you can match them correctly. Also, on Qiqiao Festival, there will be loving couples out shopping, so you could also embroider lotus flowers and osmanthus seeds."

Sun Yunniang's eyes lit up at his words. She praised him generously. "Our Zhu Ge'er truly has a clever mind. I've got it figured out. But won't I make any sachets for men?"

Zhong Yizhu shook his head. "Mom, you're only one person—you can only make so many. Naturally, we should focus on the most valuable and best-selling items. The sachets are just an extra. I'll give you all the money from selling them, and don't even think about giving any of it back to me. If this work tires you out, I won't let you do it anymore."

Sun Yunniang naturally agreed.

Zhong Yizhu had lunch at the old house and arranged to go to town with his mother the next day. Then he used a basket to carry a bowl of braised fish and happily headed home—an extra dish for Pei Mu's dinner.

On the way back, he ran into the same kid who had made faces at him in the morning. Earlier, the brat had been taunting him, calling him "Jinx's husband," but now he quickly hid in his yard.

"Zhang Gou Dan, why are you running? You lost to me—don't try to weasel out!"

Another boy chased him into the yard, and soon the sound of adult scolding came from inside, as if someone had knocked over a bamboo tray of vegetables drying in the sun.

By the time he reached the yard at the foot of the mountain, Zhong Yizhu first checked on the incense pellets. It was still early, so he remembered the vegetable seeds Chen Xiaorong had brought him yesterday and went to fetch the hoe from the house, heading to the backyard.

Chen Xiaorong had been worried he wouldn't know how, so he had taught him the method. Zhong Yizhu followed his example, finding it not too difficult but tiring.

He didn't know how to use his strength, and the hoe felt clumsy and heavy in his hands. After working for a short while, his hands began to hurt. Zhong Yizhu wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the half-planted row he'd been fighting with. He felt even more deeply how hard life was for those who worked the land.

He rested for a while, found two cloths to wrap around his hands, and continued working. As he worked, he gradually got the hang of it and moved a bit faster.

Once all the vegetable seeds were planted, Zhong Yizhu smiled with satisfaction. He was about to fetch water from the vat by the kitchen to water them when, as he carried the water to the backyard, he heard a knock at the door.

Zhong Yizhu was working in the backyard, and the front gate was bolted.

"Zhu Ge'er?" came Pei Mu's voice from outside. Zhong Yizhu's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly put down the water to open the door. He hadn't expected Pei Mu to be back so early today.

Pei Mu carried firewood on his back. Today he hadn't been lucky with his catch, so thinking the weather was getting cooler, he had simply gone to gather two bundles of firewood.

When the courtyard gate opened, Zhong Yizhu saw him carrying firewood taller than a person and quickly stepped aside. Pei Mu's gaze, however, stayed fixed on him.

After unloading the firewood in the yard, Pei Mu came over and took his wrist. "What were you doing? How did you get covered in dirt?"

Zhong Yizhu looked at him with a smile. "I planted the vegetable garden in the backyard. I was just about to water it."

Pei Mu, frowning, looked down at his hands. He unwrapped the cloths around Zhong Yizhu's hands, and Zhong Yizhu inhaled sharply, instinctively pulling his hands back.

Pei Mu saw the blisters rubbed raw at the base of his fingers. He leaned in and gently blew on them, but when he looked up, Zhong Yizhu had already averted his eyes, daring not to look. Pei Mu felt both pained and amused. "You weren't afraid of the pain when you were doing it, so why can't you even look at it now?"

Zhong Yizhu murmured in reply, "I didn't know I'd get blisters. I thought it was just my skin hurting."

Pei Mu unwrapped the cloth from his other hand. Fortunately, his left hand hadn't taken much abuse—it was only reddened, with no blisters.

Pei Mu fetched water to clean his hands, then carefully applied medicinal powder. The powder stung, and Zhong Yizhu endured it without crying out, though tears welled in his eyes.

Zhong Yizhu had turned his head to the side. When Pei Mu told him to open his mouth, he turned back to ask what was up, only to have a sweet and sour fruit popped into his mouth.

The fruit was juicy—a flavor he had never tasted before. It slid down his throat with a gentle swallow.

Zhong Yizhu's eyes widened as he looked at Pei Mu. Pei Mu popped another fruit into his mouth before he could ask what it was.

Pei Mu set a small pouch of fruit in front of him. "Wild berries from the mountains. You never had these before?"

Zhong Yizhu shook his head, grabbed another berry, and popped it in his mouth. Then he picked one and held it to Pei Mu's lips.

Pei Mu turned his head to take it, then blew gently on Zhong Yizhu's wound. Zhong Yizhu pulled his hand back, the wet feeling still on his fingers. He grabbed another fruit and stuffed it into his mouth, but his ears were turning red.

Pei Mu naturally took over whatever chores were left. He efficiently watered the plants, tidied up the firewood, and then went into the kitchen to cook.

Since Pei Mu had come back early that day, they had dinner earlier than usual. At the table, Pei Mu mentioned that he would need to go deep into the mountains for the next few days. Zhong Yizhu paused with his chopsticks and looked over.

Pei Mu picked a piece of fish belly and placed it in his bowl, explaining, "There's not much farm work lately, and some villagers have been hunting at the edge of the woods. With more people around, it's harder to catch prey, so I'll have to go deeper into the mountains."

Maybe because they had confessed their feelings, Zhong Yizhu felt especially reluctant to part this time. But he didn't want Pei Mu to worry about him in return, so he simply nodded as before.

"I understand. Be careful."

These days, they always sat close together while eating. Pei Mu reached over and squeezed his free hand. "Don't worry. With you here, I'll make sure to come back safely no matter what. If you get bored at home, go stay with your mother for a couple of days. I'll come pick you up when I'm back."

"Okay." Zhong Yizhu held onto his fingers, holding onto a bit of comfort.

After dinner, Pei Mu washed the dishes and then heated up hot water for Zhong Yizhu.

Zhong Yizhu was covered in dust and sweat from the day—he absolutely had to bathe before he could sleep at all.

Pei Mu adjusted the water temperature for him. Seeing how hard it was for him to do anything one-handed, he blurted out without thinking, "Want me to help you wash?" Startled, Zhong Yizhu darted out of the room in an instant.

Pei Mu stared at the kitchen door, now firmly shut, pursed his lips, and realized his own ears were bright red too.

Neither of them noticed that, because of Pei Mu's sudden question, Zhong Yizhu's movements had been a bit shaky. Among the clean clothes he was carrying, a pair of underclothes had slipped back into the chest.