On the way back from the market, Meng Wan insisted on pushing the cart, saying, “You chat with Aunt Liu, I’ll push the cart and leave the stuff in.” He still subconsciously acted like a man, a habit he had cultivated since childhood, and even after coming here, he was still like that in his subconscious.
Chang Jinhua couldn’t persuade him otherwise, so she had to let go. She had just bought some cloth at the market and was holding it in her arms while talking to Aunt Song Liu. Man Ge’er followed Meng Wan’s back.
”Oh, it’s snowing!” Man Ge exclaimed.
Meng Wan looked up, and a small, six-petaled white snowflake drifted down onto his cheek. He reached out to catch it, and another snowflake melted in his hand.
The sky grew increasingly gloomy, and a misty fog enveloped everything.
Aunt Song, who was talking to Chang Jinhua in front, turned to remind the two younger people behind her, “Hurry up, it’s going to get heavier soon.”
Just as she said, the snowflakes fell heavier and heavier. The group hurried on their way, and by the time they reached their doorstep, the snow on the ground was already a fingertip deep.
Although the cotton-padded coat was warm, it wasn’t resistant to wind and snow, and Meng Wan’s shoulders and sleeves were soaked through. He unloaded the cart and pushed it into the thatched shed in the yard. Chang Jinhua took the things that were placed on top, and the two of them ran into the house.
”It’s snowing!” Chang Jinhua said with a sigh, patting her cotton-padded coat.
A timely snowfall promises a good harvest. If it doesn’t snow in winter, people will worry. They don’t understand the underlying principles, but they know that if the fields are covered with snow in a given year, the harvest will be much better the following year.
This was the first time Meng Wan had ever seen such heavy snow in his past and present lives. After helping Chang Jinhua tidy up her things, he sat at the door watching the snow. For a moment, he thought that this might not be so bad. He could live out the rest of his life peacefully, taking care of Chang Jinhua like his own mother and treating Song Tingzhou like his brother…
Forget it. It would be weird for a brother to get married, but he’s really not familiar with his boyfriend!
Meng Wan’s thoughts became chaotic again.
”Wan-ge’er, come in and see the fabric your aunt bought for you.”
Upon hearing this, Meng Wan closed the door and entered the house, saying, “I’m here.”
Chang Jinhua spent some money today, buying two bolts of cloth, one apricot yellow and the other bright red. Although they were both coarse cloth, they still cost her more than three hundred coins.
”Don’t I already have clothes? Why are you buying me more?”
The cloth was wrapped in oil paper, and only then did Meng Wan realize that Chang Jinhua had bought it for him.
Chang Jinhua held up the apricot-yellow fabric to his body and said, “You and Dalang will be engaged after the Little New Year. Our family has many relatives, but our blood relatives are only Uncle Tingzhou[1]Tingzhou’s uncle jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_2996185_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_2996185_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); and two aunts who have married elsewhere. Although we don’t invite outsiders to the engagement, it is still a big event. You only have this one cotton-padded jacket, so you should at least have a more presentable one made.”
Chang Jinhua took out the red cloth again, saying, “The wedding dress and the bridal quilt should be embroidered by now, since there’s nothing else to do in the winter.”
Meng Wan was stunned. “You want me to embroider?”
Chang Jinhua glared at him. “I made you a dress. Go and learn from Man Ge’er how to embroider a couple of stitches on it. What kind of newlywed couple doesn’t sew their own wedding clothes?”
Meng Wan breathed a sigh of relief; it turned out he wasn’t supposed to make the whole thing himself.
When Song Tingzhou returned in the evening, he was covered in snow, which was already ankle-deep.
”Why didn’t you stay in town tonight? Why did you come back so late? The roads are covered in snow, making it even harder to see the road.”
Chang Jinhua used a feather duster to brush the snow off Song Tingzhou, complaining that he didn’t know his own strength.
Nowadays, the country roads are difficult to walk on. Unlike modern cement roads that are bright and clear, there are many forks in the road, and there are ditches on both sides. When it snows at night, the ground is covered in a silvery white, and you can easily fall into a ditch if you are not careful.
In the countryside, it’s common to hear gossip about a drunkard from a certain village who fell into a ditch while traveling at night.
Song Tingzhou remained silent. He lived in the dormitory of the private school in the town. In fact, it was just an empty side room in the private school. There were two wooden beds squeezed into the small room. Only he and another classmate who lived further away lived there. There was a stove covered with yellow mud. When it was cold, they would collect some firewood to burn for warmth.
The snow is heavy tonight, and since he no longer lives in the dormitory, two other people have already squeezed in for him.
Besides—he himself wanted to go home.
Song Tingzhou’s gaze swept past the doorway. The boy was busy in the kitchen, the firelight casting a warm yellow glow on his cheeks.
Meng Wan took the food out of the pot, washed the pot clean, and filled it with hot water. “Cousin, the water will be almost ready after we finish eating.”
He turned around and met Song Tingzhou’s gaze.
“Thank you.”
Meng Wan lowered his head. “You’re welcome.”
He tried his best, but still felt that Song Tingzhou was more suitable to be his father than his husband. His serious and solemn expression instantly reminded him of the dean of students when he lived in the dormitory in high school.
Chang Jinhua’s pickled cabbage was ready to eat. Meng Wan stewed a bowl of pickled cabbage, and there were also seven or eight big pork bones that he bought at the market. He picked out two of them, broke them, and put them on the fire pit to stew since he got back. Now the aroma was so strong that it could be smelled even further than braised pork.
A bowl of brown rice was served, and the three of them sat down at the table to eat.
Meng Wan served three bowls of milky white bone broth. “People from my hometown say this is very nourishing. We should buy more of it in winter; we can also use it to stew radishes and sauerkraut.”
Chang Jinhua took a sip of soup. “I gave you a few copper coins so you could buy some trinklets, not these unwanted bones.”
She’s just that kind of stubborn person; even if she secretly appreciates Meng Wan’s frugality and family values, she won’t say it outright.
Song Tingzhou sipped the rich, flavorful soup, his gaze falling on the wooden stick behind Meng Wan’s head, his brows furrowing slightly.
After dinner, he stopped Meng Wan and asked, “If you encounter any unfamiliar words while reading, ask me, okay?”
Meng Wan said shyly, “Yes, but it won’t interfere with your reading, will it?”
”It won’t delay me.”
Chang Jinhua looked at the two of them, then snatched the bowl and chopsticks from Meng Wan’s hands. “While Dalang has some free time, ask him more questions. I’ll wash the bowls and chopsticks. There are only two bowls; you don’t need to wash them.”
Since she had already said that, Meng Wan had no choice but to wash his hands and follow Song Tingzhou into the house. The door to the small house was open, and Chang Jinhua could be seen cleaning up the dishes in the kitchen.
Song Tingzhou took a book out of his book box and handed it to Meng Wan. Meng Wan took it and found that the book was made by him by cutting out paper. It was very thick. When he opened it, the words on it were slightly larger than those on ordinary books. The first few words were simple and commonly used characters, and they became more and more complicated as they went on. All of them were in Song Tingzhou’s own handwriting, which Meng Wan recognized.
”You wrote this especially for me?” Meng Wan’s expression was complicated. This book was so thick, with at least two hundred pages and nearly ten thousand words. Some of the more complicated parts even had annotations. It certainly couldn’t have been made overnight.
Song Tingzhou simply responded with a “hmm,” seemingly absent-minded. Only after the kitchen fell silent and Chang Jinhua entered the main room to make the bed did he resume rummaging through the book box.
Meng Wan watched his movements while holding the book. He saw him rummage through the book box and pull out a money bag. He opened the bag, took out two pieces of silver and gave them to Meng Wan. He had at least three taels of silver.
Meng Wan hurriedly put his hands and the book behind his back, looking nervous, and said, “Why are you giving this to me? I don’t want it.”
“I’ll use it to spend at the market on weekdays.” Song Tingzhou said without changing his expression, showing no guilt whatsoever about secretly hoarding his pocket money.
He kept it a secret from Chang Jinhua because he was afraid she would see him giving money to Meng Wan and would have a problem with him. After all, no matter how much Chang Jinhua pityed Meng Wan, he was still two levels below her own son.
Meng Wan shook his head vigorously, “I have plenty of food and clothing. Aunt Song even bought me a piece of cloth to make clothes today. Take it back quickly, I won’t take it.”
His attitude was extremely firm, and he kept his voice low, clearly afraid that Chang Jinhua would see him.
Song Tingzhou withdrew his hand, and the two pieces of silver felt burning hot in his grasp.
Seeing that he had taken back the silver, Meng Wan breathed a sigh of relief, picked up his books, and left. Before leaving, he hesitated for a long time, but still said, “I know that this silver is what you have painstakingly saved by copying books, and I am very grateful that you are giving me silver. Although the family still has some money left, ten or eight taels more than other families, you need to pass the imperial examination to make a living. This is just the beginning. There will be many more places to spend money in the future, so don’t give me money indiscriminately.”
Song Tingzhou instantly dispelled the gloom he had just felt, as if Meng Wan’s words had transformed into a warm current flowing into his heart. He felt incredibly comforted.
”I understand. I will study even harder and live up to your and Mother’s expectations.”
Meng Wan felt there was something strange about those words, but he didn’t want to think about it too much, so he ran to the main room in a flash.
”He’s almost engaged, and he’s still so immature.”
Chang Jinhua sat on the kang (a heated brick bed) and said to him, holding the apricot-yellow cloth in one hand and gesturing with it, but in the end she couldn’t bear to cut it with scissors.
”Forget it, I’ll ask your sixth aunt to help me stretch it out tomorrow. I’m not as accurate as her.”
Meng Wan lay in bed reading. When he didn’t understand something, he would use his fingers to gesture on the pillow. The pillow in the countryside was not the hard, ceramic vase-like pillow that he had when he first arrived at the mansion. Instead, it was filled with rice husks and other materials. It was quite solid, but overall it was a soft pillow, so at least it wouldn’t cause him to bump his head.
Books are indeed a great way to induce sleep, especially dry books that are just about recognizing words and have no storyline.
Meng Wan fell into a deep sleep in no time. When Chang Jinhua saw that there was no more sound of turning pages behind the curtain, she also got off the kang (a heated brick bed) with the cloth in her arms.
The door outside creaked open, and Chang Jinhua pushed it open to see her son, wearing an outer robe, carrying out the dirty water he had used for bathing.
”Dalang, pour water again first thing tomorrow morning, be careful not to catch a cold.”
Song Tingzhou replied, “It’s alright, Mother. I’ll take it to the backyard; otherwise, it might freeze overnight if I leave it in the kitchen.”
Chang Jinhua was already used to her son having his own ideas about everything, so she stood in the kitchen waiting for Song Tingzhou to come back after pouring the water.
”Mother, is there something you need? It’s cold in the kitchen, let’s go inside and talk.”
Song Tingzhou realized that his mother had something to say.
Chang Jinhua followed him into the small house, leaned against the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and said to her son, “These past few months, thanks to Wan-ge’er teaching me how to make tofu, the family has saved up a few taels of silver from our small business. I was thinking that since you two are getting married after the New Year, how about we build a side room for you to live in? Like the old Tian family next door, they have two side rooms for their two sons. Since you’re the only one in our family, I can live in the side room. After you get married, you can live in the main house, and we can keep the small room for storing miscellaneous items, and then clean it up for the children later.” As Chang Jinhua spoke, her eyes drooped, and her tone was full of anticipation, as if she could already imagine the grand scene of a house full of children and grandchildren in the future.
Song Tingzhou hadn’t expected her to say that. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Let’s not build the house for now. We’ll talk about everything after this provincial examination.”
Chang Jinhua didn’t ask any more questions. After leaving her son’s room, she sighed. Her eldest son still wanted to take the exam, but could he really pass? Although she always talked about her eldest son passing the imperial examination and becoming a scholar when she was out in front of the villagers and at home with Meng Wan, she had actually experienced disappointment time and time again over the years, and only a tiny bit of hope remained.
The next morning, Song Tingzhou got up early as usual to grind tofu, heated up the dishes from the previous night, and drank some soy milk. Chang Jinhua did not carry the tofu to the door.
”It’s getting cold now, so let’s sell the tofu at home. Otherwise it will freeze if we take it out.”
What she said made sense, but Meng Wan was thinking: Frozen tofu is delicious too.
He held up a shallow, flat basket. “Auntie, please save a piece of tofu today.”
Chang Jinhua was willing to give him a handful of money, and she was never stingy with homemade tofu. She scooped a piece of tofu for him and put it on the table. Chang Jinhua asked, “Why don’t you use a bowl?”
Meng Wan took a knife and cut the tofu on the flat basket into small square pieces, covered them with a large bowl and placed them on a stone in the yard. “We’ll freeze this piece and use it to stew sauerkraut tonight.”
Chang Jinhua thought he was just being silly. “How can perfectly good tofu taste good when it’s frozen? Fine, do whatever you want. Just remember to tell your sixth aunt to come over and help me with the tailoring when she’s free.”
Meng Wan picked up his small basket and walked out, saying, “Okay.”
He probably had a talent for making shoes, mainly because he was willing to put in a lot of effort. His hands were blistered three or four times, but he finally finished sewing the soles of Song Tingzhou’s shoes. The rest of the uppers were much easier to handle, since a grown man doesn’t need to embroider.
Farmers typically eat two meals a day in winter, but in spring and autumn, when they are busy working in the fields and don’t go home for lunch, they ask their families to bring them two cornbreads.
He spent half a day making shoes with Man Ge at Aunt Song’s house. When he figured that Chang Jinhua’s tofu was almost sold out, he went home with Aunt Song.
The two houses were not far apart, both near the village entrance. Aunt Song’s house was right at the village entrance. As Aunt Song and I came out of her house, we saw Zhang Xiaoyu pulling a young man along the country road, whispering to each other about something.
”Second Aunt, what are you doing?!”
Meng Wan’s loud shout scared Zhang Xiaoyu, who was already timid, half to death.
”You brat, why are you shouting so loudly? Are you trying to call back my soul?” Seeing that it was Meng Wan, Zhang Xiaoyu was even more furious, rolling his eyes one after another.
Meng Wan wasn’t annoyed at all. He squinted his eyes and said with ill intent, “Does my second uncle know that you’re chatting and laughing with a stranger?”
Zhang Xiaoyu immediately jumped away from the young man, “What nonsense are you talking about? This is my nephew!”
The man quickly explained, “Brother Wan, you’ve misunderstood. Your second aunt is my third aunt, so you should call me cousin.”
How did he know my name?
Meng Wan frowned slightly but didn’t call out to anyone.
What a joke! He’s got too many brothers, isn’t he?
The man had been staring at him intently ever since he appeared. When he remained silent, the man smiled shyly and said, “I’m from Yangshu Village, and I’m related to Mange’er. I even came to see him off at his wedding.”
Upon hearing this, Aunt Song Liu remembered, “Oh, I know, you’re Man Ge’er’s cousin! Why didn’t you come in and sit down? I’ll ask Man Ge’er to come out and see you.”
”No need, Auntie.”
The man rubbed his hands together. “I’ve come to see my third aunt today, and I’ll visit him again when I have time.”
He was carrying a bag wrapped tightly in oil paper, mostly food. How could he possibly deliver a gift to both families? It was probably something they bought specifically for Zhang Xiaoyu. Wouldn’t she be putting them in a difficult position by calling out to them like that?
Aunt Song Liu knew how to be considerate, so she said in a friendly manner, “Then next time, Wan-ge’er, let’s go. My shoes are almost wet in this snow.”
Meng Wan had only been disgusted by Zhang Xiaoyu a few times, so he came here specifically to scare him. Having achieved his goal, he had no intention of staying any longer.
References[+]