Chapter 58
In a small place, there is nothing new. Even painting the walls in one’s own home can attract people.
Sister Yang came over for a visit, bringing a bunch of freshly picked baby bok choy from her own garden as a gift. “Old Zhao said you freshly painted your walls white, so I came to take a look.”
When the pebble path was finished, Sister Yang had come to look at it and even complimented it.
She said earnestly, “You should have tidied up the yard long ago. Once the home is tidied up, it really feels like living a proper life.”
She and Old Zhao both had eyes, and they had long noticed that the couple’s relationship had been improving lately.
According to Old Zhao, Yan… well, he is now full of energy and glowing every single day. When it’s cold, you apply a layer of wax… pfft, mixed up my words.
Anyway, those who didn’t know any better would think he had also received a raise.
But Sister Yang and Regimental Commander Zhao knew this was because the relationship between the Yan couple had improved.
The night before last, Regimental Commander Zhao brought a bottle of liquor to find Yan Lei for a drink and didn’t return home until very late. Remembering it yesterday, he said to Sister Yang, “I see that the one from The Yan Household is also quite diligent.”
“What happened?”
“She painted the walls.”
Sister Yang found it interesting. She didn’t have much to do today, so when she remembered this, she plucked a bunch of baby bok choy for Qiao Wei and came over to visit.
“This tidying up really makes a huge difference,” Sister Yang exclaimed. “I remember when you two got married, the Residential Compound hadn’t been built yet, and housing was tight. Yan was assigned the room on the west side, and he painted it stark white. He even painted the main room that both families shared.”
“At that time, both families each had an eight-immortal table. His was new, which made the Li family’s look worn out. He painted their set with new lacquer too. It all looked brand new.”
“He also used bucket after bucket of water to scrub the stepping stones of the latrine until they were spotlessly clean. He sprinkled a lot of medicinal powder to kill insects, too.”
“The woman from the Li family said to me, said… ahem, said it was really, really clean.”
Actually, what the family member from the other household living there had said was: “Isn’t it just marrying a city person? Why the pretense?”
Sister Yang had almost let it slip.
Qiao Wei actually quite enjoyed listening to the older women and sisters gossip about these trivial matters.
In her past life, it was because she felt it was a better way to experience the warmth of human life than lying in a hospital bed scrolling through her phone.
Now, it was because she didn’t even have a phone to scroll through, so gossip had become an important form of entertainment.
Sister Yang spoke very quickly with a bit of a rustic accent, but her descriptions were vivid. Listening to her, Qiao Wei could almost see how much passion and expectation Yan Lei had held for his marriage and spouse all those years ago.
Looking back on the past few years, she felt a little heartache.
Sister Yang looked through every room.
She looked at Yan Xiang’s room: “So clean.”
Then she looked at Qiao Wei and Yan Lei’s room and asked, “Why is the wardrobe placed here?”
Qiao Wei said, “It was moved when I was painting the walls. It was airing out yesterday. It’s dry now, so when Yan Lei comes back, I’ll have him move it back.”
Sister Yang said, “I’ll move it for you.”
This wardrobe was made of solid wood and was packed full of things. Qiao Wei couldn’t even budge it herself.
She hurriedly said, “No, no need. This is ver—”
Accompanied by a “zzz” friction sound, Sister Yang exerted strength with both arms and pushed the wardrobe back to its original position.
Qiao Wei: “—y… done?”
Sister Yang clapped her hands: “What did you say?”
“…” Qiao Wei, “Nothing. Sister-in-law, come have some water.”
“No, I won’t. I’m not thirsty.” Sister Yang waved her hand. “I’m asking you, how much white paint did you use for this?”
“Does Sister-in-law want to paint too?”
“I see how brand new this looks, it’s really nice. The walls in my house have been ruined by those energetic monkeys. When a guest comes over, it’s just not presentable.”
She had a large family, and she used to think doing this was too troublesome. But now, seeing that Qiao Wei could do it all by herself, she wondered why her family, with so many hands, couldn’t do it.
She felt that she had just been lazy.
Actually, it wasn’t laziness; Sister Yang had always been a very capable and efficient person. But there were too many people in her family, and in the past, too many chores had kept her tied up. There were too many daily necessities to take care of, so painting walls was never a priority.
But now that Lin Xixi was helping her, Sister Yang could be said to have been greatly liberated.
With time and energy, she naturally had the inclination.
It also just so happened that Regimental Commander Zhao had recently received a raise. People are happy when good things happen, so she thought, let’s get to it, let’s get to it~
Qiao Wei was now an expert at painting walls.
She estimated the approximate amount needed for Sister Yang and even wrote it down on a piece of paper for her.
Sister Yang took the paper and hurried back, full of energy.
Qiao Wei took the baby bok choy to a cool spot in the kitchen.
The baby bok choy she grew herself was truly fresh and tender. She didn’t know when the ones Yan Lei planted would be ready to eat. Just thinking about it, when it was time to cook, she could just go into the yard, pull two heads of greens, wash them, and throw them into the pot to stir-fry.
This was the life that so many corporate slaves working 996 in big cities dreamed of.
When Yan Lei returned, he didn’t expect the wardrobe to be back in its original place. He was a bit surprised: “You moved it back?”
“How could that be?” Qiao Wei said. “Sister-in-law Zhao came over and moved it.”
She said, “I told her not to move it, that it was heavy. But before I even finished the word ‘heavy’, she just went like this, and like this…”
Qiao Wei put one leg forward and one leg back, pushed her hands forward, and struck a pose: “Just like this!”
“And she pushed the wardrobe back.”
“I was stunned!”
Yan Lei laughed until he doubled over.
He thought Qiao Wei was really inexperienced in this regard: “What’s so surprising about that? Back in the countryside, women are all like that.”
In the countryside, when marrying a wife, they want one who is broad-shouldered, thick-waisted, and has round hips. This is the kind of daughter-in-law mothers-in-law like best. Why? Because she has strength and can work!
So when he wanted to marry Qiao Wei back then, his comrades all tried to persuade him otherwise.
Yan Lei said, “Sister-in-law Zhao’s strength is no less than a man’s. Women like her are common in the countryside. My mother… uh, uh, what are we eating tonight?”
He had been speaking happily and the words “my mother” slipped out, but fortunately he reacted quickly and changed the subject in time.
Qiao Wei’s expression remained normal, pretending she didn’t hear it, and said with a smile, “Sister-in-law Zhao brought me some vegetables. The ones grown at home are even fresher than those sold at the market. I’m going to go cook.”
She went out.
Yan Lei let out a breath.
He had been too relaxed in front of her lately, and he was actually speaking without thinking.
She didn’t like hearing about his family and their affairs.
Yan Lei sighed again.
During dinner, Qiao Wei glanced at Yan Lei, who was shoveling rice into his mouth.
She thought of the young man described by Sister Yang who had just been assigned a room and was preparing for his wedding.
A few years ago, he must have been just in his early twenties. The original host was seventeen or eighteen.
Too young, both of them were too young.
They both had their own expectations for the future, but they weren’t on the same track.
Qiao Wei sighed slightly.
Yan Lei looked up: “What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing.” Qiao Wei put some meat in his bowl, “Eat more.”
Her gaze was as gentle as water, filled with affection.
Yan Lei chewed the food, unable to taste it, only savoring the look in her eyes.
He always felt something trembling deep in his heart.
What was going on?
Was he sick? Why did he always have such strange feelings lately when looking at his wife?
He felt uncomfortable all over.
Yan Lei didn’t have any expectations for tonight either. Because according to Qiao Wei’s request, he still had to continue sleeping in Yan Xiang’s room tonight.
Sure enough, the night was spent in Yan Xiang’s room.
“Mom sleeps here, Dad sleeps here.”
Yan Xiang arranged it very well, placing himself in the middle… a bit closer to Mom, and a little, little, little bit further from Dad.
In the dim darkness, Yan Lei rested his head on his arms and glanced at Qiao Wei, who was holding their son and coaxing him.
Sigh.
He closed his eyes in boredom.
After a while, Yan Xiang’s breathing became even; he must have fallen asleep. Yan Lei heard rustling sounds in his ears; it must be Qiao Wei getting ready to sleep too.
He should sleep too.
But his lips were suddenly pecked lightly.
Yan Lei opened his eyes in surprise.
Qiao Wei sealed his lips with one finger: “Shh…”
She lowered her voice: “He finally fell asleep…”
Yan Lei blinked and looked at the child.
Qiao Wei smiled slightly, her fingertips gently caressing the man’s lips.
A heat like a raging flame ignited deep within his body.
Yan Lei bit her finger, like a wolf, but wary of the child, he dared not act rashly.
In the darkness, Qiao Wei chuckled softly and leaned over to press her lips against his.
…
Yan Xiang seemed to be woken up by some sound in his groggy state.
He turned over, trying hard to open his eyes.
A familiar large hand reached over and covered his eyes.
Another much smaller hand gently patted him and hummed softly.
It was a familiar voice and melody, and Yan Xiang relaxed and drifted back into dreamland.
Was it a mouse making noise? Strange.
Yan Xiang fell into a deep sleep…
Splash, Yan Lei scooped water to wash his face.
After drying the water droplets with a towel, he looked up to see the pink morning glow on the top edge of the courtyard wall.
The sun appeared, and the sunlight was pale gold.
It was Sunday, and he didn’t have to go to work; he felt refreshed.
Thinking back on last night, Yan Lei now felt he could understand the incompetent rulers of ancient times a little bit.
Every wise and heroic man probably has that one moment, that one woman, for whom you feel you could break all principles and overturn all your perceptions.
There will be a moment when you hold her waist and feel that dying at this very moment would be fine.
Yan Lei slapped his face a couple of times.
He went under the eaves, took down his military cap and put it on, and then glanced at the window of the east room.
There was still a partition inside, so of course, he couldn’t see anything.
Yan Lei went out.
Qiao Wei was woken up by the fragrance.
She was too sleepy.
Although it was indeed she who had initiated things with Yan Lei yesterday, she didn’t know what had gotten into him; he was too wild.
It was exhausting.
What smelled so good? Although Qiao Wei was very sleepy and wanted to keep sleeping, her stomach let out a rumble, and she woke up anyway.
She walked out of the house, bleary-eyed, and saw Yan Xiang looking dejected.
“Mom,” he said distressedly, “it burned, our work.”
Qiao Wei: “?”
Yan Lei heard the sound and came out of the kitchen, asking with a smile, “Did you tell him he could burn them? Those clay lumps of yours.”
Qiao Wei realized: “Those were burned?”
It had rained on Wednesday afternoon, and she and Yan Xiang had played with mud and molded some things. She had casually told Yan Xiang how to make pottery.
Yan Xiang said he also wanted to fire these “works” into pottery. Qiao Wei said that they had to air-dry for a few days before firing.
Yan Xiang waited until today, feeling they were dry enough. Qiao Wei hadn’t woken up yet, but Yan Lei was starting a fire, so Yan Xiang asked his dad to help him put the works into the stove to fire them.
As a result, it didn’t even take long; before Qiao Wei had even gotten up, they had all cracked.
Once Qiao Wei understood, she laughed.
“It doesn’t matter if they cracked,” she said. “It’s enough that Xiangxiang learned the process of firing pottery.”
“Why did they crack? Because we were just playing, not really making pottery.”
“Real pottery uses different clay; it’s not just digging up some mud from the yard like we did. Real pottery requires clay with good adhesiveness and needs to be kneaded repeatedly, like making dough. The more carefully it’s kneaded, the less likely it is to crack during firing.”
Yan Xiang sighed: “Is that so?”
Qiao Wei smiled and ruffled his hair: “We were just playing, it doesn’t matter. Learning the knowledge is enough. Hmm, what smells so good?”
Her hair wasn’t combed yet and was messy, and she sniffed the air. She looked like a little animal searching for food.
Yan Lei smiled: “Chicken stew.”
Qiao Wei was surprised and happy: “You bought a chicken?”
“I did.” Yan Lei was a bit puzzled, “Why don’t you usually buy any?”
“Killing a chicken involves so much blood, so I don’t want to buy them,” Qiao Wei said.
It wasn’t hypocrisy; it was just that Qiao Wei could see small animals, and she could eat small animals. But you couldn’t kill that small animal right in front of her just because she wanted to eat it.
Well, maybe it was hypocrisy.
Anyway, there were live chickens for sale at the morning market; Qiao Wei had asked about it later—you buy them and they kill them on the spot.
Every time Qiao Wei wanted to buy one, she would see those chickens looking so energetic and would back down.
Sigh.
Yan Lei shook his head with a smile: “How can you kill a chicken without seeing blood? If you think it’s dirty, just stay far away when it’s being killed.”
It smelled too good. Qiao Wei asked: “Can we eat it now?”
“It’s still early,” Yan Lei said. “This is for lunch; it needs to be stewed over low heat for the whole morning. Go wash your face and eat breakfast first.”
Qiao Wei went to the hand-pump well.
Yan Xiang ran over to get a water ladle to scoop water for her to wash her face—Mom liked using running water and didn’t like using a washbasin.
The cool groundwater splashed onto her face, and Qiao Wei felt refreshed.
