CH 96

“It’s not as serious as you guys make it out to be. I know my own body, don’t worry,” Xu Qing reassured them.

Xu Qing felt like a fragile doll after hearing the concerns from Xie Yu and Li Changfeng.

While they were talking, they heard an old man’s voice coming from the kitchen.

“Oh, there are guests in the house?”

Xu Qing felt like it would be better to go back home in this case.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

“It’s my grandfather. He’s 80 years old this year. My father brought him over to join the festivities,” Xie Yu said with a smile.

Living to 80 in this era was definitely a sign of good fortune. Xu Qing felt that they should show respect to the elderly man.

Li Changfeng also agreed. Now that Xu Qing was pregnant, it was a good time to pay respects to the elderly and get some blessings.

“Then let’s go and pay our respects as juniors,” Li Changfeng said first.

“Alright, let’s go. Although my grandfather is old, he’s still in good shape. We can also let him touch Tuan Tuan’s head and give some blessings,” Xie Yu said, showing his understanding of Li Changfeng’s intentions.

Xie Yu picked up Tuan Tuan and went into the kitchen with Li Changfeng and Xu Qing.

The old Xie couple were preparing lunch, with various types of dishes, which naturally required some effort.

The elderly man wore a red longevity gown, with head full of white hair. He was a small and thin figure with a slightly hunched back, and his face was full of wrinkles left by time. Seeing Tuan Tuan in Xie Yu’s arms, he grinned with his toothless mouth, “This child is lucky.”

“That’s right. Just look at Tuan Tuan’s sturdy appearance. He’s a good child. Father, you don’t know, Tuan Tuan’s full month celebration was a great success!” Xie Ama heard the old man praise Tuan Tuan and immediately spoke up.

It was of course pleasing to hear the elderly praise one’s own child. Li Changfeng and Xu Qing also smiled and exchanged pleasantries.

“My grandfather is good at physiognomy. What he says is always accurate,” Xie Yu said to Xu Qing and Li Changfeng.

“Not bad, not bad. The child’s father is also a good one,” Xu Qing and Li Changfeng made a gesture of respect to the elderly man, who also smiled in response.

However, the old man was somewhat surprised when he saw Xu Qing’s face.

“This child, your face does not indicate a man with a husband and a child,” the old man’s puzzled words made Xu Qing startled, and everyone else also felt perplexed. Xu Qing was a married man with a child, so how could the old man say such a thing?

But Xu Qing understood. The original Xu Qing had already left this world before he arrived. Wasn’t that a life without a husband and a child?

The old man’s next sentence, however, made Li Changfeng furious.

“Child, although I don’t understand why your fate has changed, you must be very careful this year. Your forehead is dark, and you may have a life-threatening illness,” the old man walked over to Xu Qing with his cane, swaying as he spoke.

“What are you talking about? My wife is fine! How could there be any life-threatening illness?” Li Changfeng grabbed the old man’s collar emotionally, almost lifting him up.

The Xie couple hurriedly put down their work and came to rescue the old man from Li Changfeng’s grip.

Xu Qing also hurriedly held back Li Changfeng. “Changfeng!” Tuan Tuan was crying in Xie Yu’s arms, frightened by Li Changfeng’s outburst.

Li Changfeng’s face turned red, his eyes full of anger. His bottom line was his child and Xu Qing. If anything happened to them, he didn’t know what he would do.

The old man was relieved after being soothed by Xie Ama, and he didn’t get angry at Li Changfeng’s beast-like appearance. Instead, he smiled and said, “Don’t get agitated. Although your wife has a narrow escape, he has his own protection, and besides, you are his origin.”

“Sorry, sorry. He’s a little emotional. Xie Ama, Uncle Xie, we’ll visit you another day,” Xu Qing apologized, knowing that Li Changfeng’s emotions wouldn’t calm down quickly. He took Tuan Tuan, who was crying, and put him in Li Changfeng’s arms. As soon as Li Changfeng heard Tuan Tuan’s cries from his arms, his expression immediately eased.

“I apologize,” Li Changfeng deeply bowed to the old man.

The old man gently supported Li Changfeng.

“You care about your family, there’s nothing to apologize for.” In the past, he also treated his wife as his heart and soul, not letting anyone touch him.

After leaving Xie’s house, Li Changfeng gently patted Tuan Tuan, who immediately stopped crying and extended his small arms to hug Li Changfeng’s big head. He pouted and kissed Li Changfeng’s cheek in a cute manner, then leaned his head on his father’s chest and stopped moving.

Xu Qing looked at the two father and son in front of him and remembered the old man’s words. His heart was also complicated. Only he knew how much of the old man’s words were actually true.

After that day, Li Changfeng would take Xu Qing with him wherever he went, always paying attention to him. He was afraid that something bad might happen to him. Tuan Tuan would often cry out loudly if he didn’t see Xu Qing for even a moment. Xu Qing felt both helpless and warm about this.

****

In the middle of the night, everything was quiet. Occasionally a child’s snoring sound could be heard. Looking closer, there was a child about one-year-old sleeping in a small bed. On the large bed beside him. There were two lean figures leaning against each other intimately, one strong and one elegant.

Suddenly, the strong man gasped in shock, obviously awakened from a dream. His face was full of cold sweat. He quickly looked at the person next to him and was relieved to see that he was okay. He leaned over to kiss the sleeping person’s cheek gently.

Li Changfeng sat up slowly, wiped the cold sweat off his face. He had another nightmare. Since hearing those words from the old man that day, he would occasionally have some nightmares, dreaming that something had happened to Xu Qing and their child in his womb. Sometimes, even Tuan Tuan…

Li Changfeng frowned, feeling anxious. These days, he had been having consecutive nightmares, and he was afraid it was not a good sign. He needed to be even more careful.

Now it was May, and Xu Qing was already seven months pregnant. Tuan Tuan was also almost one and a half years old. He could run a few steps with the village children, but he still couldn’t speak clearly. Sometimes he would say a lot of words, but you wouldn’t understand what he meant.

“Oh, are you tidying up the house again?”

A clear voice interrupted, followed by a pregnant ger entering the grocery store. It was second brother Wei’s wife. He was three months pregnant, which made second brother Wei very happy. This person had a straightforward personality.

Xu Qing stopped his work and looked at the second brother Wei’s wife. “I’m not allowed to go out. Sitting all day is making me stiff. I need to move around.”

Second brother Wei’s wife immediately agreed, “Exactly! My husband is the same way. I came out because we ran out of pickled vegetables at home, and he asked me to come and buy some.”

“Oh, I see. Can I get two large jars of pickled vegetables? “Second brother Wei’s wife said as he handed over the silver coins to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing took the money and said, “Two large jars? They’re quite heavy, and not easy to carry.”

“No problem. My husband is outside talking to your husband. He hasn’t come in yet.” Li Changfeng was busy in the nearby field.

“Okay, then I’ll carry one jar to the door for you. It will be less work for you,” Xu Qing said, giving a jar of pickles to second brother Wei’s wife and carrying one himself.

“I could actually carry it all myself, but I’m afraid your husband will get upset again.” Second brother Wei’s wife said with a teasing tone.

Everyone in the village knew that Li Changfeng was very caring of Xu Qing, and some villagers would joke about it when they came to the shop.

“Hey, don’t come and join in the fun. Just go.” Xu Qing said, carrying the jar to the courtyard gate.

Second brother Wei was already waiting outside. “I knew you would help him carry it. Hurry up and give them to me. Let’s go!”

“Take care,” Xu Qing said, waving his hand. He looked up at the sky. It was pitch black, and it looked like it was going to rain.

“Tuan Tuan, don’t play with mud in the yard. Come over here, let Ama wash your hands.” Xu Qing called to Tuan Tuan, who was playing in the yard, to come over and wash his dirty paws.

“No, I’ll west myself. It’s my tummy.” Tuan Tuan said, turning his back and speaking cautiously.

Xu Qing sighed and said, “Okay, fine. You can wash them yourself. But remember, it’s ‘wash,’ not ‘west.'”

“I remember. West.” Tuan Tuan responded obediently.

Xu Qing shook his head and said, “Okay then, go ahead and wash. I’ll get you some water.”

“I’ll do it. You go inside. It’s starting to rain.” Li Changfeng put down the hoe and asked Xu Qing to go inside while he washed his hands.

“Father! You’re back! Same!” Tuan Tuan exclaimed happily when he saw Li Changfeng.

Tuan Tuan’s eyes shone as he looked at Li Changfeng’s muddy hands, and he excitedly stretched out his chubby hand covered in mud.

“Puff!”

Xu Qing couldn’t help but spray out the water in his mouth. “Tuan Tuan, what did you say! It’s ‘是你看’ (shi ni kan), not ‘是你靠’ (shi ni kao)!”

(T/N: The original Chinese sentence contains wordplay where “看” (kan) meaning “look” and “靠” (kao) meaning “lean on” have similar pronunciations. The child misheard and used the wrong word.)

“Father,” Tuan Tuan was not affected at all, still looking at Li Changfeng.

“Um, it’s the same,” Li Changfeng said. After cleaning Tuan Tuan’s hands, he used the remaining water to wash his own hands. Tuan Tuan happily wagged his little body and went back to the house.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

After pouring out the dirty water, Li Changfeng looked at the sky. It was drizzling just now, but now the raindrops were getting bigger. “Wife, I’ll go take a walk in the field. This rain seems to be getting heavy. I want to keep an eye on the crops.”

“Take an umbrella, or you’ll be soaking wet again.” Xu Qing took the umbrella hanging on the wall and handed it to Li Changfeng.

After receiving the umbrella, Li Changfeng quickly left the house. The rain wouldn’t wait for anyone.

“Tuan Tuan! Don’t use your hands to catch the water from the eaves!” After checking on the pigs, Xu Qing came back and found that the little brat was not listening to his advice again, with his chubby butt sticking out and his claws outstretched to catch the water from the eaves. But he still had a happy expression on his face.

“The rain came down so hard in such a short time. Come on, let’s go to the kitchen with Ama and boil some bath water for your father when he comes back, he must be soaking wet.” To prevent Tuan Tuan from going to catch water again, Xu Qing brought him to the kitchen. Although Tuan Tuan was a bit mischievous, he knew his limits and obediently sat in front of the stove. Sometimes when Xu Qing couldn’t reach the firewood, Tuan Tuan would twist his body and hand it over to him. He was becoming more and more helpful.

Thingyan: When the old man said something about Li Changfeng being Xu Qing’s origin, I have no idea what it means. Like, I googled and dissected the original Chinese raws word by word but still have no idea ( >_< ”)