CH 64

Jul 26 2023

Sweet Moments during the Dragon Boat Festival

Feeling thoroughly satisfied, Yu Qingze lay back on the bed. He felt like a weight had been lifted off him, especially in terms of his mood, which had brightened considerably.

Once he caught his breath and regained his strength, he got up, put on his pants, opened the door, and cautiously peeked at the neighboring door. He listened carefully and heard nothing but silence. He figured that Chang Le must have fallen asleep. Holding an oil lamp, he stepped outside into the courtyard to clean up.

He poured a bucket of water into the wooden basin, washed his hands, wiped away the remnants from his abdomen and chest, emptied the water, poured in a fresh basin of water to wash his face, and then wiped his upper body clean. Finally, he returned to bed and went back to sleep.

Once he entered his room and closed the door, on the other side, Chang Le leaned against the back of his own door, finally letting out a sigh of relief and exhaling deeply.

He didn’t dare to turn on the light. Slowly, in the darkness, he made his way back to his own bed. He lay down gently, curling up on his side and clutching his chest. His heart was pounding heavily, almost jumping out of his chest. He touched his face, feeling the heat radiating from it, as if his face was about to burn.

He had been on the verge of falling asleep earlier when he heard a muffled groan from the next room, as if someone was enduring something. He was worried that Big Brother Yu might be feeling unwell or sick, so he quickly got up, put on his shoes, and was about to go and check on him.

However, as he reached the entrance of Big Brother Yu’s room, he heard rustling sounds from inside. He was about to knock on the door when he heard another groan, followed by a long sigh of relief…

Because he was standing at the door, he could hear a bit more clearly than if he were inside the room. At this moment, he suddenly had an eureka moment, as if something clicked in his mind, and he realized what that sound from Big Brother Yu meant.

Chang Le:…

In a panic, he hurried back to his own room, gently closing the door and leaning against it, not daring to breathe heavily.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

He listened as the door next door opened, heard Big Brother Yu walk out of the room, heard the sound of water being poured twice, and then heard him return to the room.

How did he happen to encounter this?

Chang Le felt both embarrassed and awkward. The sleepiness he had earlier was completely gone, and his eyes were wide open, unable to find any trace of drowsiness.

Unconsciously, his mind echoed with the sounds from when Big Brother Yu was… doing that. When he hadn’t realized what it was, it seemed like a sound of pain. But now that he knew what it was, it automatically transformed into moans that made his face blush and his heart race. He could even imagine the image of Big Brother Yu lying on the bed…

Oh my, Chang Le, you’re shameless!

He hadn’t experienced this kind of thing much himself. Throughout his life, he could probably count the number of times on one hand. One reason was embarrassment, and the other was that he was always busy with work. He was too tired at the end of the day to have much energy to think about such matters.

The first time he felt this desire, his mother had already passed away, and he was the only ger left in the family. There was no one to teach him. The first time he experienced an erection, which happened not because he needed to pee but because it wouldn’t go away, he was terrified, thinking that he might be sick. Fortunately, it subsided on its own after a while. He didn’t dare to talk to his grandfather about it, after all, it was such an intimate matter.

After that, he lived in constant fear for a long time.

It wasn’t until one time when Brother Chang’s mother took him to the mountains to chop firewood and on the way back, they happened to come across a pair of wild Mandarin ducks. Chang Le was stunned, and Brother Chang’s mother quickly pulled him away.

Later, when Brother Chang’s mother saw him constantly looking back, realizing that his mother might not have had time to teach him these things and that he didn’t understand, he asked Chang Le if he knew what they were doing.

Chang Le shook his head.

Brother Chang’s mother knew that there was no one in his family who could teach him, so he stopped and, treating him like his own son, taught him some knowledge. It was then that Chang Le learned that his erection wasn’t an illness but a sign of growing up.

Since he developed feelings for Big Brother Yu, there were times when Chang Le would think about it before going to sleep, but the content of his thoughts was still quite innocent. He would just imagine the way Yu Qingze kissed and hugged him. Mainly because he couldn’t imagine anything more explicit.

Now, because he had just heard Yu Qingze’s moan, his mind was filled with it and the scenes he had imagined. It made his heart race, and to his surprise, he noticed that Little Chang Le had become quite spirited without him realizing it.

Chang Le:…

He endured for a while, but in the end, he buried his face in the pillow and gripped onto Little Chang Le.

…

So, after Yu Qingze opened the door, fetched water, and closed the door, Chang Le quietly followed suit, opening the door, fetching water, and closing the door.

However, by that time, Yu Qingze was already sound asleep and didn’t hear a thing.

The next day, not long after the fifth watch drum sounded, Yu Qingze got up.

He had been up for a while when Chang Le also got up.

They met by the well.

“Brother Le, good morning. You can sleep a bit longer. It’s still early,” Yu Qingze said cheerfully now that he had a good night’s rest.

Chang Le shook his head. He had moved here precisely to wake up early and start working. Besides, he had actually slept quite well last night.

Thinking about last night, Chang Le lowered his head and quickly washed up, not daring to look at Yu Qingze.

Yu Qingze didn’t pay it any mind either. After finishing his ablutions, he went to the kitchen to work.

Outside, it was still dark, probably around four in the morning.

Two oil lamps were lit in the kitchen. Yu Qingze was kneading dough while Chang Le was cooking and steaming sticky rice and red beans. They both arranged firewood in the stoves and started preparing vegetables and stuffing for dumplings and shumai.

They were both busy with their respective tasks. Although there were no words exchanged, their movements were perfectly synchronized.

When Yu Qingze finished kneading the dough, Chang Le had finished preparing the dumpling filling. One of them rolled out the dumpling wrappers while the other started wrapping the dumplings, getting them ready first.

The dumplings were done, and the sticky rice and red beans had finished steaming. They took them off the stove. One person started making red bean paste while the other sautéed the stuffing for shumai and mixed it with the sticky rice…

They were busy until daybreak, and they had almost finished the first batch of dim sum needed for opening. They were already steaming on the stoves, with only a few side dishes and congee left to be prepared.

At this moment, Brother Chang and his mother also arrived. They had bought fresh spare ribs from the market on their way and joined in to help with the preparations.

After the word spread from the previous two days’ customers, Yu’s Snack Stall had transformed into Yu’s Snack Shop, and the two elderly gentlemen from the Cai and Zhao families had even come to participate in the opening, which quickly spread throughout the town.

That day, Yu Qingze noticed that there were noticeably more customers, many of whom were not ordinary people. Most likely, they had come to see for themselves after hearing the rumors, while others came specifically to taste the snacks he made.

On that day, Cai Chenxi and Cai Yunwei came running over again for breakfast, just like yesterday.

Some of the customers in the shop were surprised to see them being so familiar with Yu Qingze. After all, the Cai family had a prominent status, and Cai Chenxi had even passed the imperial examination. It was rare to see them interact with a snack shop owner so casually, disregarding their respective positions.

Then, Old Master Zhao came with his two grandsons and Steward Zhao. Yu Qingze personally greeted them and led them to a private booth to dine. When they left, Yu Qingze gave them the silver ear fungus that Grandpa Chang had brought, along with the instructions for making silver ear fungus soup.

Those who hadn’t seen the opening day now believed that the two prominent families indeed held Yu Qingze in high regard and treated him differently.

Everyone had their own thoughts and considerations.

Before closing time, the village chief and Dajian came to the snack shop.

Seeing their joyful expressions, Yu Qingze smiled and said, “It seems like there’s good news.”

The village chief nodded with a smile, “Yes, we sold all the rice beds today. We sold more than 80 of them. We used three carts and a cow-drawn cart to transport them. The ones we brought in the morning sold out before noon, so we went back and brought another batch, and they sold out too. If the rice beds weren’t so big, we could have brought them all at once.”

Yu Qingze chuckled, “Congratulations. There are still a few days until harvest, but I’m sure they will all sell out by then.”

The village chief nodded, unable to hide his joy, “It’s all thanks to you for telling us the method. The three city gates are indeed the best selling spots.”

“Hahaha, I just shared my thoughts. Come, have a seat and have some dim sum. You must be exhausted after a busy day.”

Saying that, Yu Qingze had a few plates of dim sum brought to them.

The rice beds sold well on the first day, and they fetched a good price. The village chief and his family finally felt relieved. After eating a steamed bun, the village chief said, “When I go back, I’ll have your rice bed delivered to you. Which style do you want?”

Yu Qingze pondered for a moment and replied, “Let’s go with the one I initially drew for you.” It looked simple, but it was the most efficient.

“Alright.”

After closing, Yu Qingze and the others had dinner. Jiabao went to take a bath first, while Yu Qingze and Chang Le tidied up. They soaked the red beans and seaweed, then the three of them sat down at a table and started learning arithmetic.

Yu Qingze took a wooden board and wrote a row of Arabic numerals on it. Below, he wrote the corresponding Chinese numerals. He then explained, “The arithmetic method I’m teaching you is based on these numbers. You need to memorize these ten digits first, and then I’ll teach you the rest.”

With that, Yu Qingze taught them the Arabic numerals one by one, starting from the units and then the tens, having them practice writing them. Grandpa Chang brought over the sandalwood tray that Chang Le used at home and another new one made by the village chief. Both Jiabao and Brother Le had one, and they began writing on them.

After half an hour of memorizing and writing, Yu Qingze started giving them dictation tests.

The three of them learned, wrote, and were tested simultaneously. In less than an hour, Jiabao and Brother Le had successfully memorized the ten Arabic numerals and knew how to write numbers in the tens place.

Jiabao learned faster than Brother Le because he knew more characters and had a better memory. Fortunately, Brother Le had also learned many characters with Chang Hao at home before, so he recognized the Chinese numerals and managed to keep up with Jiabao’s progress.

“It’s okay, Brother Le, you’re doing great!” After seeing Jiabao off, on their way back, Yu Qingze comforted Brother Le.

Brother Le nodded and gestured, “Test me now, and I’ll learn more.”

“Alright, then I’ll give you one off the top of my head. Seventy-eight.”

Chang Le raised his hand and wrote two numbers in the air.

“Correct. Fifty-three,” Yu Qingze walked to Chang Le’s left side, took his left hand, and continued.

Since they had become accustomed to holding hands, Chang Le didn’t think much of it and used his right hand to write two numbers.

“Correct…”

After going through the numbers, Yu Qingze gave him addition and subtraction problems to solve mentally.

The two of them happily made their way back home like this.

After returning home, they each freshened up and busied themselves for a while until it was time to sleep.

Just before Brother Le entered his room, Yu Qingze stopped him and spoke earnestly, “Brother Le, to strengthen our bond, starting from today, we’ll give each other a goodnight kiss every night.”

Chang Le blinked, a goodnight kiss?

Like the kind Grandma used to give him on his forehead before he went to sleep?

He also remembered that time when he was drunk, before he went to sleep, Big Brother Yu seemed to have kissed his forehead and then let him sleep.

Thinking of that, he nodded.

He also wanted to improve his relationship with Big Brother Yu, make it even better.

Seeing him nod, Yu Qingze curved his lips, placed the oil lamp they were holding on the windowsill, then he pulled Chang Le closer by his waist, cupped the back of his head with one hand, and lowered his head to kiss Chang Le’s lips.

Chang Le: …

Unexpectedly, a kiss on the forehead turned into a kiss on the lips, and Chang Le was a bit stunned, staring wide-eyed at Yu Qingze.

Yu Qingze sighed helplessly, pecked his lips once, and then gently released them, saying, “Brother Le, be good, close your eyes and open your mouth.”

Chang Le’s face turned red, and reflexively, he obediently closed his eyes and slightly opened his mouth.

Seeing this, Yu Qingze kissed him again. Worried about startling Chang Le, he was gentle in his movements, softly sucking and then tentatively exploring with his tongue, capturing the shy tip of Chang Le’s tongue, enticing it to dance together.

…

After the kiss, Chang Le tilted his head back, tremblingly opened his eyes, his eyes moist, his face unbelievably red. He seemed to be holding his breath, a mix of frustration and shyness.

Yu Qingze gently stroked his lips with his thumb and asked in a hoarse voice, “Did you like it?”

Chang Le stared at Yu Qingze, his gaze seemingly ignited by a fire, his voice like a hook that captured his very soul.

And the feeling of the kiss just now, it was so good.

So, this is what a kiss is like? He couldn’t remember the previous time when he was drunk, but it must have been like this, dizzying and sweet, as if soaking in warm water or stepping on cotton, soft and fluffy. He wanted nothing more than to collapse into Yu Qingze’s embrace and be held forever.

Blushing, he nodded gently.

This feeling made him feel close to Yu Qingze, and he liked it very much.

“Would you like more?” Yu Qingze leaned closer, their foreheads touching, their noses affectionately brushing against each other, and he asked in a soft voice.

Chang Le unconsciously nodded. Though feeling a bit shy, he wanted more.

In the next moment, Yu Qingze’s lips descended once again.

They both savored the wonderful taste of the kiss and became somewhat immersed in it.

Until Yu Qingze felt that if he continued kissing, he would lose control, he quickly released Chang Le. “Mmm, I really want to devour you right now.”

Yu Qingze let out a soft sigh, lightly nibbled on Chang Le’s ear, then let go and kissed his forehead, saying, “Go to sleep now. Goodnight.” He couldn’t delay Chang Le from going inside to sleep any longer, fearing that he wouldn’t be able to resist pushing Chang Le directly into his own room.

Chang Le had already sensed the change in Yu Qingze’s body a moment ago, and now upon hearing his words, he quickly took the oil lamp and entered the room.

His little Chang Le was also awake; he couldn’t let Big Brother Yu discover him…

Thandar: Did you two brush your teeth properly before doing all this?