Apr 23 2022

This chapter sadly does not contain mature content. Read at your own discretion.

At night, Xu Qing didn’t allow Li Changfeng to toss anymore and finally slept beautifully all night.

After breakfast, Li Changfeng headed to the fields, and Xu Qing sat alone in the hall, watching the rain fall continually from the eaves. Thank you for reading on hololonovels.com

It rained heavily today, which is wonderful for the fields that have not yet been planted, but it is a little worrisome for those that have already been planted. It could drown the seedlings.

As for the seedlings behind the house, they have been covered up with the rain protection materials. The seedlings would be easily damaged if there is too much rain. The chicks were already driven into the chicken coop, and Li Changfeng prepared the piglet’s food the day before yesterday. There was nothing else for Xu Qing to do so, he just sat in place quietly, watching the rain.

While Xu Qing was bored and could only watch the rain, Zeng Ama was the opposite – he likes rainy days the most as it is a good time for people to gossip. “Old man, I’m going to Sun’s house for a walk and will return at noon to cook.” He spoke to the Zeng family head, who was doing woodwork, before taking the umbrella and twisting his way to Sun Ama’s residence.

Sun Ama is the mother of two children. The older son is twenty-one years old, while the younger one is eighteen. They are both men, and not yet married. One reason is that the family is struggling financially, but the other reason is that the two sons are unprincipled. They liked to brag, but they don’t actually work hard and have no success. This makes the gers in the village to look down on them, and the people outside the village do not like them, so their marriage is delayed till now. The last time, Sun Ama asked the matchmaker to propose Xu Qing for his sons, but it did not go well, making him a little unhappy.

“Sun family, open the door. I came to chat!” When Zeng Ama’s loud voice entered the Sun’s house, only Sun Ama was home; he was repairing the soles of the shoes. All the men in the family went out to the field.

When he heard a knock on the door, Zeng Ama tossed the shoes aside, fixed the wrinkles on his clothes, and walked out of the hall quickly. He opened the door for Zeng Ama, who had been waiting, “I knew you were coming. That’s why I didn’t leave the house.

Zeng Ama sat down beside Sun Ama after entering the hall, laid the wet umbrella aside, and picked up the sole of the shoe that the other had just put down, “Why are you still fixing this thing? Just buy a new pair. Save time and effort. They’re cheap! Only a few coppers!”

Sun Ama strongly resisted the urge to roll his eyes, and almost gritted his teeth, “my husband loves these, they’re strong and durable!”

Zeng Ama didn’t bother with this matter anymore. In any case, he didn’t come to inspect the shoe soles. “Do you know what happened recently?” he said, gesturing with his hands towards Sun Ama, who lowered his head to pick up the shoes. Sun Ama didn’t raise his head. “If you don’t tell me, how would I know,” he spoke as he threaded the needle through the thick sole. Thank you for reading on hololonovels.com

Zeng Ama didn’t like the other person’s nonchalant attitude, but he has something in his heart that he feels uncomfortable if he doesn’t pour it out, “The villagers know very little about this, but who am I! I tell you, the Xie family at the edge of the village, ah, their son was the one who married into the town, he came back yesterday!”

“What’s the matter with him coming back, is he not allowed to come back and visit his natal family?” Sun Ama thought at first it was some big news. Turns out it’s such a small matter unworthy of people to know!

Zeng Ama enjoys seeing other people’s clueless expressions. He felt that he seemed to be growing better at acquiring first-hand information, “this is not the same as just simply visiting his family.” He leaned close to Sun Ama, “I heard it was because he got divorced.”

“Hiss!” Sun Ama, who was scared by the sound in his ear, pierced his own finger with the needle. He threw his hand painfully. “Look at your reaction!” Zeng Ama felt full of accomplishment in his heart.

“Really?! Where did you hear it?” Sun Ama no longer paid attention to the shoes and asked Zeng Ama eagerly.

“Of course, it’s real. I just recently heard it, but I haven’t been had a chance to find out the reason behind.” Every time he wanted to visit the Xie’s house, no one would welcome him, so he and Xie Ama didn’t have much contact. People might appear nice and gentle, but they might not necessarily be as such.

“If Xie Yu really got divorced and came back, wouldn’t that make him single again?” Although Xie Yu is a little older than his two sons, the other is still a ger, isn’t he?

Zeng Ama rolled his eyes and said, “even if he is single, I wouldn’t dare propose a marriage.”

“Why is that?” Is there an inside story?

“Xie Yu hasn’t had a child until now. The divorce might probably be because of this.” Zeng Ama, a seasoned gossiper, evaluated the inside story for Sun Ama. His demeanor and tone of speaking suggested that his analysis was more accurate than investigating the truth.

The rain outside is getting heavier, and the water from the eaves is almost forming a line. Uncle Xie smoked a ciger in the corridor, while Xie Ama came out of Xie Yu’s room with the empty medicine bowl. “Did he finish it?” Uncle Xie grinned as he stood up and peered at the medicine bowl.

Xie Ama also grinned and pursed his lips, “his spirit seemed to improve after taking the medicine, and the kimchi brother Qing gave increased Xiao Yu’s appetite. He not only downed a bowl of porridge but also drank all of the medicine obediently.”

“Then you go to brother Qing’s house today and thank him,” Uncle Xie said, taking the bowl from Xie Ama’s hand. “You can buy a few jars back if he still has some more. Our Xiao Yu seems to really like it.”

Xie Ama glared at him, “Do I need you to tell me that! I know what to do. You stay at home and watch Xiao Yu. He drank the medicine and fell asleep. Also, don’t play ping-pong at home, if the noise wakes up Xiao Yu, I won’t spare you!”

Xu Qing was cooking lunch. He’s been eating boiled fish fillets these days, so he was going to make steamed fish today. Since the first time Xu Qing cooked fish, Li Changfeng would catch a few and put them in a bucket every day, even if Xu Qing wasn’t going to cook fish that day. The fish would not die immediately anyway. Thank you for reading on hololonovels.com

Because Li Changfeng has a big appetite, Xu Qing chose two relatively fat grass carps.

After knocking the fish out with a knife, Xu Qing first scraped the scales and cut the belly open, and then removed all the internal organs. “It’s a pity we don’t have a dog or cat at home.” When removing the guts, it is important to not break the gall, otherwise, the whole fish would have to be thrown away.

After the fish was prepped, Xu Qing stuffed the prepared ginger, green onions, and some peppercorns into the belly of the fish. Then he rubbed a generous amount of salt on the surface of the fish, poured some rice wine left over from the wedding day, and marinated for a quarter of an hour.

Xu Qing was about to lit the stove when he heard Xie Ama’s voice from the courtyard door, “Brother Qing, are you at home? It’s Xie Ama.”

Because it was raining, Li Changfeng locked the courtyard door before he went out. “I’m home. Xie Ama, come in!” Xu Qing took the umbrella from Xie Ama’s hand, hung it on the wall, and welcomed Xie Ama into the kitchen.

“Cooking lunch?” As soon as he entered the kitchen, Xie Ama saw two marinated fish on the stove.

“Yes, I have nothing to do on rainy days, so I was preparing lunch a little early.” After Xu Qing set a clean stool for Xie Ama to sit, he squatted in front of the stove and burned the fire, then placed a pot of water on the stove and covered it with a lid. When Li Changfeng comes back, it would be comfortable for him to wash with hot water in this weather.

“So, Changfeng went to the field, eh? I came here to thank you for the kimchi you gave yesterday. You don’t know, your brother Xiao Yu ate a whole bowl of porridge with kimchi at noon yesterday.” Xie Yu would usually only have half a bowl of porridge. Xie Ama was so happy that his son ate well, and his face was much brighter than the past few days.

“What is there to thank for, I still have a lot more here. You can bring some back first. I’ll tell you how to make it, and later, you can make it yourself. Kimchi is so convenient to eat.” Xu Qing was not stingy. He still had plenty of kimchi he made that day.

“You don’t have to give me the recipe. I think this thing is good. You can sell it at the market. Maybe it will increase your income. I just want to buy a little bit from you to eat at home. This type of food is just perfect for this rainy day.” Xie Ama thought it was something Xu Qing has come up with by himself. He couldn’t accept such a recipe to be given away cheaply. The two of them just got married and have a lot of places to spend the money, so he denied the recipe with some persuasion. 

“This is not a precious recipe. Just take it and make it at home. Give me however much you want, and since brother Xiaoyu likes it, just bring some more for him. Health is the most important, everything else is secondary. So, please don’t talk money with me. Otherwise, how could I come and bother you guys later?”

Xu Qing was unwilling to accept money from Xie Ama. The Xie family is so kind to him. They always help him with this and that. He wasn’t thick-skinned enough to ask them for money. Thank you for reading on hololonovels.com

“Nonsense! How could people live without money? Listen to me, and take the money!” Xie Ama thought that this brother Qing was still too young. He has two people in the family now. How could he buy rice, oil, or salt without money? Money has to be saved for the future; once they have children, there will only be more expenses.

Xu Qing scooped up some of the boiling water in the pot to drink later, poured the rest into the bucket, and covered it with a clean wooden lid to keep warm. “Then if you don’t want the recipe, just pickle like always. But don’t give me your money, or I won’t give you kimchi.”

“You … you’re slick!” Xie Ama had no choice but to accept this kindness. He decided to help Xu Qing and his family more in the future as much as he can.

“What are you doing with boiling water again?” Xie Ama watched as Xu Qing poured some water into the pot.

“I’m going to make steamed fish today! Come, watch me make it. Later you can cook it for Brother Xiaoyu. This is steamed, and it would be easy on his stomach.” Xu Qing then explained the method of marinating the fish. Xie Ama listened carefully. When he didn’t understand something, Xu Qing would patiently explain again.

When the water in the pot began to bubble, Xu Qing lined four washed long wooden blocks in the pot neatly and then wrapped the pot tightly with a clean cloth.

After the water had fully boiled, Xu Qing placed the two marinated fish in the pot and covered it with a plate.

“It will be ready after burning a few more firewood and steaming for a quarter of an hour. It’ll taste much better after steaming for a long time.”

Xu Qing highlighted the importance of timing to Xie Ama, who listened intently for fear of missing something important and ruining the dish later.

Xu Qing put a little chopped green onion over the fish while stirring the pot, and the aroma of steamed fish wafted out.

“Fragrant?”

Xie Ama nodded repeatedly, “not only it looks wonderful, but it also smells delicious. It’s different from boiled fish fillets. Brother Qing, you are really capable! Li Changfeng got a treasure!”

“It’s true. It is my blessing to marry such a wife!” Li Changfeng just came back and overheard Xie Ama boasting his wife. He knew his wife was cooking something amazing again as soon as he smelt the appetizing fragrance coming from the kitchen. Thank you for reading on hololonovels.com

Xu Qing urged Li Changfeng, who was beaming with pride, to wipe his body with hot water from the bucket. “Xie Ama, why don’t you stay and have lunch with us? I’m gonna make two more dishes.”

Xie Ama hurriedly shook his head, “If I was not polite before, but today I have to go back to look after your brother Xiaoyu. You also know your Uncle Xie’s cooking skills. He would have made something even he himself would have difficulty swallowing!”