Chapter 73

That day from the town, Zhang Yue ran back to his own home, the Zhang Family, in front of Xu Cheng. Soon after, however, he was directly taken back to the Xu Family by Xu Cheng.

Zhang Yue’s dad and daddy just watched everything happening there. Zhang Yue ran back in a hurry, followed by Xu Cheng closely. Then Zhang Yue was caught by Xu Cheng. Finally, Xu Cheng even took Zhang Yue away without even saying hello to Zhang Yue’s dad and daddy.

Zhang Yue had wanted to say something to his dad and daddy, but he didn’t have any chance to do so. His dad and daddy supposed that the couple had a quarrel and believed that it was not a big problem for a couple to have a little dispute, so they didn’t care much about them.

Zhang Yue understood that his life would not be easy after returning to the Xu Family, but what he didn’t expect was that Xu Cheng totally forgot their good old days and wanted to beat him to death.

Zhang Yue wanted to explain something, but he failed.

He was beaten to the ground and could not move at all. In the end, if it wasn’t for Xu Cheng’s fear of being charged with murder, he might have wanted to go on with the beating.

After Xu Cheng stopped his violence, he began to curse Zhang Yue, saying that he was cheap and shameless. In short, he blustered whatever was unpleasant. Zhang Yue could do nothing but lie on the ground. All the Xu Family members were at home, but no one came to stop Xu Cheng or to have a look at him, including his two kids.

Since then, Zhang Yue had been lying in bed, unable to move. However, no one in the family went to get a doctor for him. They would just offer him food to eat and water to drink every day to ensure that he would not die.

Xu Cheng even wanted to divorce Zhang Yue , but he was stopped by Xu Houcai, who thought that no matter what, Xu Hui and Xu Qiang were Zhang Yue’s children, and with their family’s current conditions, if Zhang Yue was divorced, Xu Cheng couldn’t marry another spouse.

Time flies and the eleventh lunar month would soon be over. Their chestnuts were almost sold out, so Xu Ran told Wu Mei and the others not to sell chestnuts on their market stalls anymore. Instead, they began to go up the mountains to cut down trees to make handcarts.

This winter, by cutting trees in the mountains, they could not only keep themselves warm, but also take the dried-up branches home for firewood.

However, Xu Ran didn’t take part in the tree cutting. He was studying and reviewing at home. There would be the Imperial Examinations in the early spring next year. Whether he could pass or not, he would like to have a try.

Fortunately, the fool’s brain was still loaded with a lot of knowledge, so Xu Ran didn’t need pay too much effort in the preparation.

The eighth of the 12th lunar month was the Laba Festival. Liu Tong bought the ingredients for cooking Laba congee early. On that day, he began to work in the kitchen early in the morning.

In this era, there was a tradition that on the Laba Festival, children would go from door to door to have Laba congee, so even the stingiest people would try to make the congee better.

Because children always said what they liked at will. They might express themselves anytime they were tasting the Laba congee. Thus, in order to gain a good reputation, every family had to work hard on the cooking of the congee.

Liu Tong’s cooking skill was not very good, but this time the congee he prepared was not bad. Xu Ran had recalled the eight treasure congee he used to eat before, and told Liu Tong about the ingredients of it. In the end, the congee Liu Tong cooked this year was very good. Sure enough, in the aspect of food, it was always extensive and profound.

Xu Ran even taught Tangtang and Guoguo to sing the children’s song of the Laba congee.

“Don’t be greedy, child, my child. It will be Spring Festival after the Laba Festival. We have been eating the Laba congee for days. It’s the 23rd. On the 23rd, the sugar gourd is sticky. The 24th is house cleaning day. On the 25th, we fry tofu; on the 26th, we cook white meat; on the 27th, we kill chickens for the Spring Festival; on the 28th, we leaven dough; on the 29th, we steam steamed buns; on the 30th, we have a lively night and on the first day of the new year, we twist and dance happily.

After learning the song, Tangtang and Guoguo began to sing around in the village and teach their friends as well.

In this way, children who came to ask for the Laba congee later would be able to sing this children’s song.

The village was really bustling today.

After the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, it would be the Spring Festival. However, the Xu Family didn’t prepare any new year goods, mainly because they couldn’t afford them. In the past, they had Liu Tong to support their family. This year, however, they really did not have any extra income.

Zhang Yue was still in bed. Elder Daddy Xu felt that it was really bad luck to have a patient in the family who was lying in bed like a dead man. So he had to squeeze out a little money to call for a doctor for Zhang Yue. It was  Doctor Liu in the village

After being beaten by Xu Cheng, Zhang Yue had not been treated at all. In addition, he caught a cold in such freezing winter days. Therefore, he could not recover for a while.

After listening to Doctor Liu’s diagnosis, Elderly Daddy Xu was very angry and drove Doctor Liu out of the door, “No, we won’t need you for him now. We won’t treat him. Isn’t he just a little bit sick? How can you say he’s  dying?”

‘He is indeed dying!’ Doctor Liu was not happy to hear what Elderly Daddy Xu said, but he just argued in his heart. He didn’t want to curse Zhang Yue to death.

However, although Elderly Daddy Xu expelled Doctor Liu, he still took his words to heart. No one wanted to have funeral affairs during the Spring Festival.

Thus, Elder Daddy Xu let Xu Cheng go to buy the cheapest medicine for Zhang Yue in the town. The prescription they followed was the one used by Liu Tong when Xu Ran got a cold. They put the medicine in the jar and kept cooking it repeatedly for Zhang Yue. Later, the medicine that had been cooked many times did not have any taste, but they still were not willing to pour the dregs.

Zhang Yue didn’t want to die. No matter what, he cooperated with the so-called treatment.

Elder Daddy Xu asked Xu Cheng to take good care of Zhang Yue. Although Xu Cheng was reluctant about it, he was not a child after all, and he knew what this matter meant.

At the end of the year, Zhang Yue finally got better and was able to get out of bed.

–

It was the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, and people ushered in the first snow of this winter. This snow came late, but it was a fierce one. The snowflakes were flying all over the sky, and soon the ground was a vast expanse of whiteness. And this was still the day time.

Feeling cold, Xu Ran lay in the bed and refused to get up. After Liu Tong got breakfast ready, he first took care of the two children, and then he went to wake Xu Ran up.

“Ran, get up. It’s time for breakfast.”

Xu Ran turned over with his back to him, “No. It’s cold outside.”

“It’s snowy. Of course it’s cold,” said Liu Tong with a smile.

“Ah! Is it snowing?” Xu Ran immediately sat up from the bed. He had not seen snow for a long time.

Liu Tong supposed that Xu Ran didn’t want to get up after hearing about the snow. However, he was so excited that he wanted to see the snow in a hurry.

“Get up. Have breakfast first, and then go to play!” persuaded Liu Tong.

Hearing this, Xu Ran felt as if Liu Tong was saying something to Tangtang and Guoguo. He couldn’t help but compressed his lips, but he didn’t say anything.

After Xu Ran went out, he found that it was really heavily snowing outside. He went around the yard and enjoyed the scenery of snow. Then he went to have breakfast.

While he was eating, Liu Tong told him, “Ran, I went to check the wheat we have just planted. Fortunately, we have covered them with the branches before. Otherwise, the newly grown seedlings must be crushed by the snow.”

Xu Ran nodded while eating, “Don’t worry. Don’t you know the saying that wheat should be covered with three layers, and in this way, we can sleep on steamed buns next year? It’s snowing hard this year. The wheat will surely grow well next year.”

“Where did you hear this saying?” Liu Tong asked him with a smile.

Xu Ran suddenly realized that there were not so many sayings here yet, so he had to lie that he read it in the book.

Because of the snow, they couldn’t go out. Xu Ran decided to go to Wu Mei’s house. They had had cut many trees back from the mountain. And Xu An had made several handcarts. Their style was much better than what he and Liu Tong made on the mountain.

These days, whenever Xu Ran was tired after reading books, he would rush to give Xu An a hand. Gradually, he also learned some simple carpentry.

Liu Tong also took their children to go with him. Apart from the Laba Festival, there were no other customs before the Spring Festival. Everyone was staying at home and playing.

…

Zhuo Mansion

The snowy day was Qin Shuwen’s favorite weather. In the morning, hearing Zhuo Yun say that it was snowing outside, Qin Shuwen endured his physical discomfort and insisted on getting up to see the snow.

As a result, when walking in the yard, he suddenly passed out and scared the hell out of Zhuo Yun.

Zhuo Yun quickly sent for the doctor. After the doctor took the pulse, he said to Zhuo Yun shortly, “Your spouse has been pregnant for a month. Why haven’t you controlled yourself? From today on, you can’t have sex for the first three months. As your spouse is not in good health, you have to take good care of him. ”

Zhuo Yun didn’t respond for a moment. He wondered why the doctor was so strange. How could he care about the issue whether they had sex or not?

It was the servant beside him who whispered a reminder behind Zhuo Yun, “Young master, the lord is expecting a baby.”

“Ah! Really? He is expecting a baby?” Zhuo Yun was amazed at the news.

Looking at the jumpy people, the doctor shook his head and felt helpless.

He believed that Zhuo Yun was unreliable, so he advised the butler some precautions, prescribed some medicine to protect the fetus, took the doctor’s fee and left.

Zhuo Yun didn’t care if the doctor had left. Hearing that Qin Shuwen was pregnant, he jumped up with joy, “I’m going to be a dad. I’m going to be a dad. I’ve got a baby. Shuwen, we’ve got a baby.”

As soon as Qin Shuwen woke up, he heard Zhuo Yun’s saying that he had a baby. He immediately understood what was going on. His reaction at that moment was that he wanted to pass out again.

However, Zhuo Yun, who had been watching him, naturally noticed that he had woken up and could not wait to share his joy with him,

“Shuwen, we have a baby. You have a baby in your belly. The doctor said it has been a month now.”

Under the quilt, Qin Shuwen’s hands quietly stroked his belly. There was a baby inside there and he was about to be born in nine months. That meant he would be free in nine months. However, compared with Zhuo Yun’s excitement, Qin Shuwen’s heart grew heavier and heavier.

At the moent, however, Zhuo Yun, who was immersed in the joy, didn’t notice Qin Shuwen’s reaction. He only thought he was as happy as he was.