While waiting, Qiao Yue leaned against the wall, feeling utterly bored. The lush ivy covered the courtyard walls, and he absentmindedly plucked a leaf, tearing it from the top down out of sheer boredom.
Just as he tore through the leaf’s veins, a voice suddenly sounded in his ear, “Ah Yue…”
The moment Qiao Yue heard the words “Ah Yue,” he shivered, goosebumps rising all over his body. “Sheng Ge, you should just call me Shan Zi. I can’t handle being called Ah Yue.”
He was just a rough guy, not deserving of such a refined name.
The elders called him Shan Zi, his brothers called him Yue Ge or Ge, and others secretly called him a lazy bum behind his back. He could accept all of these, but Qiao Xingsheng calling him “Ah Yue” just felt awkward.
Qiao Xingsheng stood tall and elegant, his wide sleeves hanging like a graceful young master, looking at him helplessly. “You, you’re already a grown man. Does calling you Shan Zi sound good?”
“What’s there to sound good or bad? It’s just a name. Don’t you have a nickname too…” Qiao Yue was impatient with anyone criticizing him and tossed the leaf to the ground.
Qiao Xingsheng: “…” It was precisely because he had a nickname that he didn’t want his classmates to accidentally hear his family call him “Gou Zi.” Does that sound good? How could he continue at the academy!
“Second Brother, is this okay?” Qiao Xingsheng looked at him with great tolerance.
Boring.
It was always like this over the years. He felt it was unfair, felt dissatisfied, wanted to make a fuss, wanted to argue, but every time it was like punching cotton.
Qiao Yue once again gave up and said, “Wang Ming from the Li Zheng’s family is getting married the day after tomorrow, and Grandpa wants you to take two days off and come back tomorrow.”
Seeing him relent, Qiao Xingsheng smiled with satisfaction.
“Did Grandpa really say that?”
He pondered for a moment, “Alright, I’ll go back tomorrow afternoon.”
“Okay, if there’s nothing else, I’ll head back first,” Qiao Yue said, planning to leave after finishing his business. “The Li Zheng’s ox cart is still waiting.”
Qiao Xingsheng followed him for a couple of steps, “Be careful on the road.”
“Okay, you go back inside.”
Qiao Yue waved his hand and strode forward without stopping. The sun was shining brightly, and Qingyun Academy was left far behind him.
Once Qiao Yue’s carefree and unrestrained figure was out of sight, the corners of Qiao Xingsheng’s mouth slowly fell. The sunlight filtered through the ivy above, casting dappled shadows on him.
At the agreed time, when Qiao Yue returned outside the city, besides the few people who came with him, there were two more women from the same village waiting to go back.
The whole cart of people was waiting for him.
As soon as Qiao Yue got on the ox cart, the Li Zheng lightly patted the ox’s rear, “Let’s go!”
The ox cart rumbled forward, leaving uneven tracks in the mud, and dust quietly settled over them.
Qiao Yue closed his eyes to rest on the ox cart, while the two women’s eyes kept darting back and forth over him.
“Ahem, Shan Zi, I heard your brother is coming back tomorrow. Is that true?”
Qiao Yue opened his eyes, “Who did you hear that from? It’s not true.”
“Uh…” The woman was left speechless, staring wide-eyed at Qiao Yue, her mouth moving as if she wanted to speak.
Qiao Yue quickly closed his eyes again.
If he continued the conversation, there would be no peace on this journey.
Sure enough, seeing him like this, the woman closed her mouth again.
After that, there was no more conversation, and the ox cart returned to Qingshan Village before sunset.
After getting off the cart, Qiao Yue was pulled aside by Wang Ming, who clearly had something to say.
“Just say what you need to say.” After a tiring afternoon, Qiao Yue was too exhausted to be patient.
Seeing his furrowed brow, Wang Ming looked around and lowered his voice, “About what I asked you last time, are you really not going to consider it?”
Qiao Yue thought for a while before remembering which time he was referring to and refused again, “Not considering it.”
His cousin didn’t know what kind of madness he was on, having taken a liking to Qiao Yue and insisting on him helping to make a match. Wang Ming had already asked once before, and at that time, Lin Ge’er had given up. Recently, for some reason, the thought had rekindled, and he kept pestering.
Unable to resist his cousin, he had agreed to help again.
“Alright, let’s just forget about it.” Wang Ming pinched his brow, wondering if Lin Ge’er would give up this time.
Qiao Yue nodded. He didn’t even know what Zhao Jia Ge’er looked like.
As the sun set, when Qiao Yue returned home, Zhou Shi came over to ask about her son’s situation. He picked a few things to say. Seeing that she couldn’t get much out of him, Zhou Shi left disappointed.
After dinner and a bath, Qiao Yue went back to his room early.
“Shan Zi, are you asleep?”
Xia He had just put Qiao Xiaoyuan, the little pig, to sleep and was walking over when he saw the oil lamp still lit in Qiao Yue’s room.
Qiao Yue got up from the bed and replied, “Not yet, Little Dad, come in.”
The wooden door creaked open and then closed. Xia He placed the oil lamp on the table, “Why the face? Did you have a conflict with someone?”
Qiao Yue’s bad mood was purely because he had just been unlucky with his card draws.
He had spent thirty coins and drawn three times.
All three were ordinary blue cards, two of which were bun cards, one big bun, one small bun, and the remaining one was ten pounds of grain seeds. Although he wasn’t into farming, ten pounds of grain seeds would only plant a little over an acre, not much use.
He really shouldn’t have been so optimistic.
Qiao Yue rubbed his cheeks, “It’s nothing, Little Dad, I’m just a bit tired.”
Hearing this, Xia He didn’t chat idly and relayed what Zhou Shi had asked him to inquire about. Before Qiao Yue could respond, he answered for him, “If you don’t want to, then don’t. Anyway, I heard that family thinks you’ve changed for the better, and if we go along with it, we’ll be seen as frauds.”
Qiao Yue had already intended to refuse, and hearing this, he couldn’t help but laugh. While pouring him some water, he complained, “Little Dad, is that how you talk about your own son?”
Xia He smiled, taking a sip from the teacup, “How can a father not know what his own son is like? If you had to get up early every day, it would probably kill you.”
Qiao Yue: “Even if it’s true, you shouldn’t say it out loud! Your son has some pride too.”
Xia He gave him a sidelong glance, as if to say, “With skin as thick as yours, you still care about pride?”
Qiao Yue: “…Little Dad!”
Seeing him annoyed, Xia He chuckled and returned to the main topic, “I know you’ll definitely refuse, so it’s fine.”
“Zhao family…” Qiao Yue pondered, asking him, “Isn’t the Zhao family the Li Zheng’s wife’s family?”
“You know?” Xia He’s eyes lit up. Could it be that he might become a grandpa next year?
Qiao Yue immediately interrupted his daydream.
“Stop dreaming, Little Dad,” Qiao Yue explained what Wang Ming had asked, “That’s all there is to it. I just thought it sounded familiar.”
Xia He: “I see…”
It seemed that the Ge’er really had taken a liking to their Shan Zi. As soon as he saw signs of “improvement,” he immediately convinced his family.
Xia He was quite satisfied with this Zhao Jia Ge’er, but unfortunately, the feeling wasn’t mutual. Their Shan Zi was just a blockhead who didn’t get it!
“Back then, your father and I were mutually attracted to each other, which is why we ended up together. If you have no interest in someone, then let it go. Forcing a relationship is pointless.”
Qiao Yue praised, “No wonder Dad always says you’re the most sensible person in our family, Little Dad. It’s true!”
Hearing this, Xia He was overjoyed.
“Did your dad really say that?”
“Yeah, he also said you’re resilient and kind-hearted… taught him a lot of things.”
Qiao Yue shared the secret conversations his father had with him, making Xia He beam with joy, “Your dad sure knows how to make people happy.”
In fact, before his father left, he had told Qiao Yue that Little Dad was kind-hearted and generous, often unaware of being taken advantage of, and that they should support each other as father and son.
“Do you think your dad would blame me?” After a moment of silence, Xia He continued, “If I hadn’t hidden my ability to reel silk back then, we could have earned more money, and your dad wouldn’t have had to serve in the military. He wouldn’t have gone and never returned.”
Ever since Qiao Lao Er went to war, Xia He had been filled with regret. This feeling peaked when he learned of Qiao Lao Er’s death. If only he hadn’t hidden it.
For the first time, Qiao Yue faced Little Dad’s inner thoughts directly, “No, Little Dad, why would you think that? Dad would never blame you. Dad loves you.”
Xia He lowered his head, his eyes vacant as he stared at the black smoke from the oil lamp, “If he knew I hid it, causing him to lose his life, he probably wouldn’t…”
“Dad knows!” Qiao Yue suddenly became agitated, “Dad knows, and I know too. Little Dad, we all know you were afraid of affecting Grandpa’s business, so you always said you only knew how to raise silkworms because you’re a Ge’er and didn’t know how to reel silk.”
Xia He’s Little Dad was a silk reeler from Huai, who had been kicked out after offending the workshop manager. After losing his job, his own brother sold him. It was then that Xia He met his Little Dad, and the two got married and had children, building a big house by raising silkworms and reeling silk.
Back then, the Xia and Qiao families were well-matched, so Qiao Laohan didn’t ask Xia He to bring his family’s skills over.
But later, as Qiao Xingsheng’s exam expenses grew, with a single book costing one or two taels of silver, sometimes more, even a mountain of gold and silver wasn’t enough.
The savings dwindled, and they sold a few acres of land. Qiao Laohan finally turned his attention to Xia He’s silk reeling skills.
If half of the money earned could go into their own pockets, or if half could support their son in private school, Xia He would grit his teeth and beg his parents, even if it meant being an unfilial son.
The problem was that most of the money he earned by working hard and offending his family didn’t end up in his own pocket, and Xia He was extremely unwilling.
But as the son-in-law of the Qiao family, he eventually gave in to the old couple’s pleas.
So, Xia He insisted that he only knew how to raise silkworms, selling the cocoons to his family, making both families happy.
“Besides, Dad secretly kept bees himself. How could he blame you? Dad knew everything and always covered for you. Do you remember?” Qiao Yue said.
Xia He thought he had hidden it well, but as his partner, how could Qiao Lao Er not know?
If Qiao Lao Er were truly an honest, dull, rule-abiding man, he wouldn’t have secretly started beekeeping in the mountains after realizing his father’s attitude. Unfortunately, just as he started making money from beekeeping, the draft came, and the cost to avoid military service was thirty taels.
Their family had saved eight or nine taels over the years, half of which came from beekeeping. The public fund couldn’t come up with that much money at once, and borrowing from others was impossible since every household had someone on the list. They were still short six or seven taels.
Qiao Laohan hesitated for a long time, considering selling land to raise the money.
Usually, land sold well, but with the draft, there were too many people selling land. Before he could act, Qiao Lao Er was taken away.
Xia He wiped away his tears, breaking into a smile, “I guess so.”
“Little Dad, do you like raising silkworms?” With Dad gone, Little Dad stopped raising silkworms.
Xia He thought for a moment, “Not this year.”
“Alright, when you raise silkworms, I’ll raise bees. Dad would be happy for us!”
“Mm.”
The next day, the sun was already high in the sky, and Qiao Yue was still asleep.
Because he and Xia He had a heart-to-heart talk last night, both father and son felt much more relaxed. Not only Qiao Yue, but even Xia He slept in.
“Great, I woke up just in time for breakfast. Looks like my timing is perfect!” Qiao Yue yawned lazily as he walked out, drawn by the smell of food.
Zhou Shi turned her head in shock: “…” No way, just when she was thinking of matchmaking, this lazy bum returned to his old ways so quickly, revealing his true colors!
Qiao Xiaoyuan was very happy about this: “Yeah, yeah, I think Big Brother, you came at just the right time too~”