Chapter 12

After a whole night of rain, the sky was a clear, washed blue on the second morning, but the temperature was much lower than usual.

Tian Yao rubbed his hands together. It was time to plan for making winter clothes again. This was just how life went, wasn’t it? You’d be busy day after day, not even sure what with, and the days just slipped by like that.

This time, he actually slept until the same time Yu Nian woke up. Now the two of them, one seated and one standing, were washing up in the yard.

“Going out again today?” Yu Nian took the towel Tian Yao handed him and wiped his face.

“No, I’ll go see Liu Zhi in a bit.” Last time he went to Liu Zhi’s place, he’d heard a lot of noisy arguing coming from their house. He’d been busy these past few days too, and hadn’t gone to check on him. Today, he planned to go see him.

After he and Yu Nian finished breakfast, just as he was about to head out, Liu Zhi came to his door on his own. To avoid any impropriety, Yu Nian had Tian Yao carry him back into the room, leaving the two fulangs to talk in the yard.

“How come you have time to come today?” They sat at the low table in the yard, Tian Yao pouring him a cup of water.

“Things were so chaotic at home that day, I didn’t get to talk with you properly.” Liu Zhi took a big gulp. “Have you been doing alright lately? I heard Tian Liu came to your place to make trouble.”

Tian Yao nodded and told him about what happened yesterday. Liu Zhi had an explosive temper. He slapped a hand on the square table. “Utterly shameless! Who doesn’t know what scheme their family is plotting.”

“Never mind them. What was going on at your house that day?”

“Oh, it was my elder sister-in-law again, coming back to say that good-for-nothing husband of hers was fooling around outside again. She wanted Big Brother and my Chen Xu to back her up.”

Tian Yao thought for a moment. “This is the fifth time, right?”

“You said it. My in-laws said if she really can’t go on living like this, then get a mutual divorce. The family doesn’t begrudge her that extra mouth to feed. But no, she won’t. She causes a ruckus at her husband’s house, then comes back and stirs up her parents’ home. My mother-in-law has been suffering from headaches these past few days. I’ve been at home taking care of her, and only today could I spare some time to come see you.”

People surnamed Tian were the majority in Huailing Village, with a scattering of other surnames mixed in. Liu Zhi’s husband’s family was surnamed Chen. Chen Xu was the youngest son, with an elder sister and an elder brother above him. The elder sister, Chen Li, married into the neighboring village.

It should be mentioned that the Zhao Qing who had previously been introduced to Tian Yao—the one who tried to sneak into Tian Yao’s house in the middle of the night—was someone Chen Xu’s elder sister had acted as a go-between to introduce.

So later, when Liu Zhi lent Tian Yao half a string of cash for his wedding, the Chen family had no objections.

The two chatted for a while before Liu Zhi stood up. “I have good news for you.”

Tian Yao walked him to the gate.

“I’m pregnant.”

Tian Yao: !!!

“Congratulations!” He reached out to touch Liu Zhi’s belly, but it was still flat at the moment. There was no difference to feel.

“And you? When are you planning to have a child?” Liu Zhi looked at this courtyard of his. With an extra person and a dog, it still seemed somewhat empty. Perhaps next year, with a child, it would be better.

Tian Yao’s face reddened slightly, but he had always spoken openly with Liu Zhi. “My husband said three years, two kids. But I think one is enough. Don’t you think?”

Inside the room, Yu Nian heard their conversation clearly.

“Two is still better.” Liu Zhi smiled. “Aren’t you the one who loves liveliness the most?”

Mindful of Liu Zhi’s pregnancy and ignoring his refusal, Tian Yao walked him back home. From afar, he could already hear the quarreling again inside. This time, he didn’t wait outside but accompanied Liu Zhi into their house.

“Mother! He’s gotten even worse this time! He directly brought a woman home, saying he wants to marry her as an Equal Wife!” Chen Li’s shrill cries came from the room. “You can’t just ignore my situation!”

Liu Zhi and Tian Yao exchanged a glance. Liu Zhi sighed. “You head back.”

Tian Yao nodded, but he hadn’t expected that Chen Li inside the room would have such sharp ears. She heard their voices, threw open the door, and began pointing at Liu Zhi accusingly. “First thing in the morning, not at home tending to your in-laws but always out gallivanting, you—”

Before she could finish her words, she saw Tian Yao standing beside Liu Zhi, and her voice involuntarily dropped a notch.

She had personally witnessed the state Zhao Qing was beaten into. His face was swollen like a pig’s head, his arm was broken, and his leg was nearly crippled. After seeing him, she was plagued by nightmares for several days. Only when she was certain Tian Yao wasn’t going to come to her door seeking revenge did she slowly calm down.

Tian Yao put on a bright smile. “Elder Sister, do you need me to help go beat your husband up? I guarantee, after one good beating, he’ll definitely behave.”

Chen Li’s expression gradually twisted. “No… No need.”

Liu Zhi grabbed Tian Yao’s hand, pinching him fiercely to hold back laughter.

Tian Yao looked utterly innocent. “Sister, weren’t you asking Brother Chen and the others to back you up? I was thinking, why not just solve the problem once and for all? Do something about that brother-in-law of yours, and he won’t go chasing after women in the pleasure quarters anymore.”

Chen Li’s face was twitching. “No need, truly, no need.”

“I’m an expert at this. Don’t believe me? Go ask that Zhao Qing from your husband’s village—he knows best.”

Chen Li couldn’t take it anymore, shouted something towards the house, and hurriedly left.

Liu Zhi and Tian Yao exchanged another glance. Out of consideration for the elders inside the house, they ultimately couldn’t laugh too freely.

When Tian Yao went back, he recounted this incident like a dramatic opera to Yu Nian. Yu Nian just looked at him, his stare making Tian Yao’s back prickle.

Tian Yao reflected on himself. He had completely forgotten what he’d said in front of Liu Zhi this morning. Could it be that this matter was just too unconventional, and Yu Nian was unhappy?

Yu Nian sighed. He, on the other hand, remembered clearly what Tian Yao had said right at their own doorstep this morning about “three years, two kids.”

“After all, you are a ger. Don’t be so loose-tongued and unrestrained in your speech.”

Tian Yao: ???

He pouted. “If it weren’t for her introduction, no matchmaker would have come to my house. That bastard wouldn’t have sneaked into my home in the middle of the night, and I wouldn’t have beaten him half to death and ended up paying all my silver to his family. I was just talking with my mouth.”

After hearing his words, Yu Nian realized they were talking about two completely different things. He didn’t explain at this moment, but hearing Tian Yao mention this matter reminded him of the rumors he’d heard before.

“What exactly happened in that matter?”

Tian Yao spoke angrily, “After my mourning period ended, many people came to propose marriage. Seeing I was all alone, the threshold was nearly worn down. The last one to come was Zhao Qing.”

“He talked sweeter than honey. I also told the matchmaker I’d consider it. But then that very night, he secretly crept into my house, intending to assault me. I beat him half to death. His whole family came to my house, wailing and shouting, saying if I didn’t pay compensation, they’d report me to the authorities. So I paid the money.”

Yu Nian’s brow furrowed deeply—for what Tian Yao had endured, and for his own past readiness to believe rumors.

“In this matter, you were the victim. Why…”

Tian Yao sighed. “I’m a ger. At the time, they gave me two choices: one was to pay compensation, the other was to marry into their family. Of course, I didn’t want to marry a scoundrel like that. Later, with the village chiefs of both villages present, after negotiation between both sides, I paid the silver.”

“But I never imagined the Zhao family could be so shameless. They took my money and still went around everywhere spreading bad rumors about me.”

Yu Nian’s expression was very complicated. Thinking of how he, too, was one who had readily believed rumors, and connecting it to how well Tian Yao had treated him all this time, he felt even more guilty. “Why didn’t you clear your name?”

Tian Yao said indifferently, “Why should I go and clear my name? People who understand me won’t easily believe those things. People who believe those things won’t have any dealings with me. Why should I waste so much breath explaining it?”

Yu Nian looked at him, the impact on his heart immense. Here was a ger like this—so utterly sincere, open and honest. While he himself, judging Tian Yao through rumors, was the one who seemed most dark.

“I’m sorry.”

His sudden apology left Tian Yao baffled, but he still answered honestly, “It’s fine.”

Tian Yao carried him to the yard to set him down, covering his legs with a blanket. He then went to sort the firewood he’d collected earlier.

Some firewood hadn’t been brought into the house in time last night and was now damp. Tian Yao was moving it to a drier spot. The next couple of days should be sunny; sun-drying it was better than letting it all rot.

“Winter will be here soon. We need to get winter clothes. I originally wanted to build a kang this year, but we don’t have enough money, and it’s too late anyway. If we build a kang next summer, it’ll be cheaper.”

“Why?” In Yu Nian’s hands, he was sorting the herbs in the storage room. Previously, Tian Yao had just brought everything back in a jumble without sorting, and it was all mixed up. With nothing much else to do all day, Yu Nian had been slowly sorting them by category.

“Who has nothing better to do than build a kang in summer? They’d die of heat,” Tian Yao said. “In summer, kang builders don’t get much work, so naturally their prices drop.”

“Don’t you still have over a dozen taels of silver? Isn’t that enough?” Yu Nian asked.

“That silver is for your…” Tian Yao let it slip, hurriedly covering his mouth. “Anyway, I tried giving it to you last time and you wouldn’t take it. Don’t worry about where my money goes, alright?”

A faint smile touched Yu Nian’s lips. “Alright, I won’t pry.”

Only then did Tian Yao nod, satisfied. “Let’s eat hot pot today? I’ll harvest the vegetables from the field. With the weather cold, nothing will grow out there anymore. I also need to make a trip to town to buy winter storage supplies. Huailing Town is terribly cold come winter; we mostly just spend it in bed.”

After finishing, he looked at Yu Nian’s leg. “I wonder if winter will make your leg hard to endure. Once spring comes, shall we go get your leg treated?”

“It’s a good thing if I can still feel pain. If there’s no feeling at all, then it’s truly useless.”

“Pah, pah, pah, don’t jinx yourself. It will get better. Once spring comes, I’ll go out and find work. Somehow, I’ll earn the money to get your leg treated.” Tian Yao finished sorting the firewood, straightened up, and went to the vegetable patch on the other side.

The variety of vegetables in his garden wasn’t much—just a few cabbages. The radish tops were already withered and yellow, but the radishes beneath were white and plump. After harvesting, he leveled out this small patch of ground, then took some coins and went to Uncle Qi’s house in the village where they made tofu. He bought some tofu and tofu skin. He also went to the butcher’s place for a pound of meat and came back to slice it.

They still had some wild boar bones left from before. He’d cured them with coarse salt following Little Dad’s method and hung them in the kitchen. Now he washed them and put them into the pot. Soon, the soup in the pot turned a creamy white.

He rummaged through the storage room and found the hot pot their family used to use. Little Dad had loved eating this the most. Back then, even in summer, they’d eat hot pot while fanning themselves with palm-leaf fans. After they passed, Tian Yao, alone, had never touched this hot pot again.

The creamy-white pork bone soup was bubbling and gurgling. The tofu had cooked to a honeycomb texture, plump with broth inside. The slightly salty taste greatly whetted the appetite.

Tian Yao then mixed a dipping sauce for the two of them. Any dishes lacking a bit of saltiness tasted even better after a dip in the sauce.

“I made it following Little Dad’s method. Our family used to eat this often.” Tian Yao recalled that when he was little, Little Dad’s dipping bowl was always a bright patch of red. They never let him try it. After Little Dad passed away, he never saw that red stuff again.

“The flavor is excellent.” Yu Nian rather rarely praised his cooking.

“If you like it, we’ll eat it often.” Tian Yao chuckled. “Once spring comes, I’ll re-till the vegetable garden and plant more varieties. What do you prefer?”

“Coriander.”

Tian Yao’s face scrunched up like a bun. “No, that is absolutely not allowed!”