Back to the Countryside

Chapter 26 : Town (鎮上)

He Zhen was not alone when he came over the next day, Qian followed him, when she saw He Ling, who opened the door for them, she rolled her eyes, giving him scornful glance and grunted 'Humph!" coldly.

"Cousin!" He Zhen, who was wrapped up with only one pair of eyes showing, called out to him softly, looking very well behaved.

He Ling was not used to him looking like this, and did not know how to get along with them, so he only said, "Xiang gong is setting up the carriage, you guys can come in first and sit down!"

Yesterday he was home alone and didn't dare to let them in, but today with Qi Yue around, he wasn't afraid.

Bringing the two people into the hall and sitting down, He Ling poured them a cup of tea and set out a plate of pastry.

"Now you're really like the ger of a wealthy family! Serving tea and pastry, with a lot of spare money yet you don't know how to subsidy and help (financially) the family!" Qian picked up a piece of pastry and took a bite, her heart couldn't stop souring, this wide door courtyard, fine food, she could only take a look and taste it now but He Ling was enjoying it every day!

He Ling pursed his lips and didn't say anything, after all, he couldn't argue with her, so he might as well keep quiet.

        "Mother, don't say it like that, Cousin is not that kind of person who doesn't care about his family!" He Zhen reached out one of his hand and patted Qian's arm, his words seeming to speak for He Ling.

        "Humph, if he wasn't that kind of person, how could he did not care about your illness!" As Qian said this, she gave He Ling a somewhat meaningful glance.

        He Zhen also followed suit and looked at him hesitantly, saying, "Cousin must have his own difficulties!"

        Qian slapped the table with 'Pa' sound, "What kind of difficulties could there be? He just has a good life for himself and doesn't care about us,these poor relatives,  I've endure so much hardships*(含辛茹苦) to bring him up!"

(含辛茹苦 : to suffer every possible torment (idiom); bitter hardship / to bear one's cross)

He Ling had some understanding in his heart, these two people, 'one sings first, and the other responds'*( 一唱一和) , they wanted to force him to help with the consultation fee, right? He took a deep breath and said, "I'll go and see if my husband (xiang gong) has finished!"

[ 一唱一和 : originally described the two being emotionally connected / Now it is also likened to two people cooperate and echo each other. ]

        Not bothering to look at their faces, He Ling went straight out of the house and saw  Qi Yue pulling the carriage out of the backyard.

        Seeing that he did not look well, Qi Yue looked at the door of the house and said, "What? Did they bully you again?"

        "No!" Seeing him, the boredom in He Ling's heart dispersed a little, "Can we go now?"

        While he was still at home, he thought those two wouldn't dare to do anything excessively, so Qi Yue didn't ask any more questions, "Hn. (We) can go now!"

[Tl notes: if you realize it, Qi Yue always spoke very short sentence or phrase, his wording also very polite]

        When He Ling entered the house to summon the others, Qian was obviously annoyed with him, her face was drawn long and she didn't even look at him, pulling He Zhen and going out.

Since he was a child, he had been suffered to the worst of Qian's temper so naturally, he did not take this to heart.

        Qi Yue had already pulled the carriage up to the gate, and when she saw him, Qian gave him a good look, and He Zhen also called out "Big brother Qi! "

        He Ling came out of the house, turned around and locked the gate, made sure there was nothing wrong, then walked over and said, "Let's go!"

        "He's going too?" Qian, who was about to get into the carriage, gave him a reluctant look.

        Qi Yue reached out to take He Ling's shoulders and said, "Naturally, when you go for medical consultation, I'll take my husband (Fu Lang) walking around the town, there's nothing wrong with that, right?"

        Qian was left speechless so she could only get on the carriage with hatred.

He Zhen lowered his eyes, hiding the full jealousy and hatred*(嫉恨) that filled his eyes, and followed her into the carriage.

[嫉恨: to hate out of jealousy / to resent]

        Qi Yue looked down at He Ling and asked, "Are you going to sit beside me in the carriage?" (Tl: Actually Qi Yue asked him to sit with him in the shafts(车辕) of the carriage)

        There was naturally room in the carriage, and it was natural that Qi Yue would ask this as a sign of his consideration, which He Ling understood in his heart, and he smiled and nodded, "Hn!"

        Seeing his nice smile, Qi Yue lowered his head and gave him a kiss on the corner of his lips, then helped the man onto the carriage and jumped on after him, flicking the reins and letting Mu Yan walk.

        When people in the village saw him sitting side by side with He Ling on the cart, they asked him if he was taking his husband (Fu Lang) to the town to play, and Qi Yue smiled in response.

        The people were muttering in their hearts, Aren't they a good couple? Who said that Qi Yue likes He Zhen? It's just a nonsense rumour!

He Ling could not remember the last time he went to town. He only vaguely remembered that it was the Lantern Festival, when his father's health was not so bad, and he bought him a lotus flower lantern and held him in his arms, looking at the beautiful lanterns, (at that time) his eyes filled with emotions that made people want to shed tears when they looked at them.

        At that time he did not understand, but now when he looks back, he seems to understand that his father was (actually) missing his mother ......

        The moment he died, his father never stopped thinking about his mother, and even at a young age, he could feel that the moment he closed his eyes, he was actually very happy!

        "What are you thinking about?"
Noticing his distraction, Qi Yue opened his mouth and asked.

        He Ling looked back and shook his head gently, wanting to say nothing, but then he stopped and asked, "If one day I am no longer with you, will you miss me?"

Not expecting him to ask such a question, Qi Yue curled his lips and smiled, "Where else do you want to go if you're not with me?"

        "I mean if!" He Ling emphasised.

        "There are no ifs!" Qi Yue's face was gentle, but his tone was strong, "I will hold on to you tightly, so you will not allowed to  go anywhere but beside me!"

        He Ling froze, but he looked down and laughed, and in a moment he raised his head, his beautiful face so beautiful that one could not take his eyes off it, "I will not go anywhere but beside you!"

        Qi Yue leaned over and pressed his lips on his forehead, after quite a long time, he stepped back a little, his voice was low and suppressed, "Ah Ling, I (almost) can't hold back any longer!"

After they arrived in the town, Qi Yue was searching for a place that specialized in watching over the carriage then put it away. Looking at Qian and He Zhen who had got off the carriage, he asked, "Are you going to look for a clinic yourselves?"

        They looked at each other and He Zhen said in a soft voice, "Mother and I are not familiar with the town, do you know any clinic?"

        Qi Yue pondered for a moment and said, "I do know one!"

        "Then I'll trouble Big brother Qi to take us there!" Seemingly afraid that he would refuse, He Zhen did not ask, but directly requested him to lead the way.

        Qi Yue didn't say whether to lead or not, but put his eyes on He Ling, "How is it?"

        He Zhen's gaze flickered once and returned to normal, following suit and looking at He Ling with pleading eyes.

"Let's take them there first!" He Ling didn't look at He Zhen, he just smiled at Qi Yue, they didn't need that much time, it was just a matter of walking a few more steps.

        Qi Yue nodded and took his hand and walked ahead, not caring whether the two people behind them followed or not.

        There were many small stalls on both sides of the town, selling food and rare objects, and when they saw pedestrians passing by, the stallholders would smile and introduce themselves to them, the whole street was bustling with people, very lively!

        Qi Yue saw that He Ling kept turning his head and looking around, curious about everything, he smiled and said, "If you like what you see, buy it! Do not always thinking of trying to save some of my money!"

        He Ling, who was looking around, heard his flirtatious words,suddenly his cheeks reddened , the beauty that reflected in his face, dazzling a man who was passing him!

Qi Yue glanced at that man indifferently, then tugged He Ling towards him and walked away.

        The man's body was chilled and shivered, rubbing his arm and leaving in a hurry. Can't look, can't look, even if the ger looks good, he is still someone's Fu Lang, the other party already take it easy by only glance coldly at him.

        Qian's twitched her's mouth and thinks it was not worthwhile, "Really is a 'Hu mei zi'!"

(Hu Mei zi basically mean seducing fox )
        He Zhen lowered his head and stared at the road beneath his feet, not responding, but only he knew that the pain and itch in his body seemed to spread to his heart!

        "Fried Dumpling*(麻團) ! Soft and fragrant sesame dumpling! One only two wen! Very cheap and delicious!"

(麻團* :Fried Glutinous Rice Balls with Sesame, i called it 'onde-onde' )

        The sound of hawking from a distance reached Qi Yue's ears, he looked up and saw that there was a stall selling sesame dumplings in front of him. He could already smell the sweet smell of the sesame dumplings, and thought that his ger would like to eat it so he dragged He Ling over to the stall.

The seller, who was busy while hawking, felt someone coming and smiled as he looked up to greet them. Oh hey! At first glance, these husband and wife were really handsome, one was excellent and the other one was charming and elegant. It was the first time he had seen such a good-looking couple. They were such a perfect match!

        "Please give me one!" When Qi Yue saw how beautifully the sesame dumplings were fried, he took out two copper coins from his purse and threw them directly into the wooden box on the stall where the money was kept.

        "Okay, okay!" The peddler looked back and nimbly pulled out a piece of greasy paper, picked the fattest and prettiest one and wrapped it up and handed it over, "These are the best (to eat) while it still hot!"

        Qi Yue thanked him and took the sesame dumpling wrapped in oil paper to He Ling, "Try it, be careful it's hot!"

        He Ling took it and looked at it carefully, the golden ball was still covered with sesame seeds, he lowered his head and took a bite, the outside was crispy and the inside was soft and sticky, there was also a sweet taste of bean paste, his eyes lit up and he brought it to Qi Yue's mouth, "Delicious, you want to try it?"

Qi Yue took a bite from his hand, and the taste was really good, "Hn, delicious!"

        The two people who looked like they were out of touch with each other were standing on the side of the street, sharing their food, and some people even saw how good they were eating and couldn't help but come up and buy one to try. This made the vendor very happy!

Qian looked at the two and couldn't help but clear her throat and cough a few times to remind them that there were people there, so they shouldn't just eat for themselves and not know how to show their respect to her as an elder!

Qi Yue was helping He Ling wipe off the sesame seeds that had stuck to the corners of her lips when he heard her coughing and looked sideways at her, "If your throat is not feeling well, when you get to the doctor's clinic, you should let the doctor take care of it as well, don't you let yourself get any ailment."

The words choked Qian's cough in the back of her throat, and she was about to open her mouth to curse, but He Zhen tugged her back, so she let out a cold snort of indignation and didn't get angry again!

He Zhen is increasingly disdainful with his mother, she is so concerned about the small benefits, whenever she opened her mouth, she is always trying to offend people. If he annoys Qi Yue, he will be out of luck!

        Qi Yue was in no hurry to go to the doctor's office, he took He Ling for a stroll, treating the two people behind him as if they didn't exist.

        Qian's was only a little angry, but He Zhen was suffering, as the weather was getting warmer and his body started to sweat after walking around for a long time, and his already itchy wound was obviously torturous!

        He gritted his teeth and endured the pain in his body, vowing over and over again that when he stood beside Qi Yue in the future, he would make He Ling suffer twice as much!

        He Ling was holding the gadgets (small toys) that Qi Yue had just bought for him, he looked back at He Zhen who was not in very good condition, sighed lightly and tugged on Qi Yue's sleeve, "Xiang Gong, let's go to the doctor first!"

        Qi Yue stopped walking and looked at him, his eyes swept over the two people behind him, knowing that his husband's heart had gone soft, so he said, "It's not far ahead!"

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Translator: This chapter is actually quite romantic except for the thirdwheel.