CH 2

I will post until Chapter 3 today. After that, I will have a regular update schedule every Monday.

After causing such a big incident, Qiao Yuan dared not go out and face the gun1撞枪口 (zhuàng qiāng kǒu) – This phrase literally means “to hit the muzzle of a gun” and is used figuratively to mean to provoke or confront danger or conflict. right now. It was only his first day here and he still needed time to adjust and adapt. He claimed that he wasn’t feeling well and hid in his room, planning to wait until tomorrow to face the storm2迎接暴风雨 (yíng jiē bào fēng yǔ) – This phrase means to face or confront a storm or crisis.. 

In order to prevent Qiao Yuan from attempting suicide again, Yu Dameng had been keeping watch in the room for the past few days. Although tonight was the same as usual, Qiao Yuan was actually awake. Yu Dameng felt a bit embarrassed and kept procrastinating until everyone else in the house had gone to sleep before finally returning to his own new room.  

“There are no extra rooms in the house,” explained Yu Dameng dryly. 

Qiao Yuan was deeply influenced by modern thinking and thought that there’s nothing wrong with two men sleeping together. So, he boldly moved over and patted the spot next to him, inviting him, “Come up here.” 

Yu Dameng’s face flushed, he lowered his head and muttered, “I’ll sleep on the floor.” 

Qiao Yuan watched as Yu Dameng busied himself back and forth, and it took him a while to realize that he was now a ger and the two of them were not suitable to sleep on the same bed. But as he watched Yu Dameng silently make the bed and lie down with his back to him, he felt a sourness in his heart. He thought that Yu Dameng was truly innocent, with a good new marriage, but in the end, it had been messed up like this, and there was bitterness that could not be expressed. 

Qiao Yuan got out of bed under the bright moonlight and squatted down next to Yu Dameng’s floor bed. He reached out and poked Yu Dameng’s arm, which felt hard and good to the touch. Qiao Yuan felt uneasy and touched his nose before cautiously asking, “Yu Dameng, are you angry?” 

Yu Dameng snorted lightly, covered his head with a blanket, and didn’t answer. 

Qiao Yuan felt uneasy in his heart and apologized, “I’m sorry.” 

After a while, Yu Dameng slowly poked his head out from under the covers and honestly said, “I don’t blame you.” 

After speaking, he added angrily, “Anyway, you are my husband, so it is what it is3Literally 当一天，算一天 (dāng yī tiān, suàn yī tiān – to be one day, count as one day) – take it one day at a time, live for the moment. It implies a sense of resignation or acceptance of one’s current situation, and a willingness to make the best of it. I guess in this context, the phrase means that Dameng will tolerate what happened for now, but he is not happy about it.!” 

As if afraid that Qiao Yuan would hit him, he quickly pulled his head back under the covers. 

Qiao Yuan: “……” 

What nonsense! 

Perhaps it was because of the injuries over the past few days that caused him to sleep too much. At night, Qiao Yuan didn’t feel very sleepy. He went over the events of the day again and realized that he couldn’t go back to the modern world. His first impression of Yu Dameng was pretty good, and if they could fall in love with each other in the future, that would be the best. 

If it didn’t work out, he would leave with Yu Dameng. In this era, it was not easy for a ger to establish himself independently, but money had always been able to make things happen. Therefore, the most urgent task for him was to earn money first before he could establish himself in this completely unfamiliar era. 

He grew up with his elderly grandparents because his parents divorced early on and no one else cared for him in modern times. After his grandparents passed away, he worked at a relative’s restaurant to earn a living while attending school. He studied food science in college and was interested in gourmet food, so he learned a lot on his own, which came in handy in his work. 

Furthermore, he could also come up with some ideas to make money by exploring some things that were common in modern times but novel in ancient times. However, he would have to go out and see the world to know about them. The original had been confined to the village, and his knowledge and experience were limited to his memories. 

Thinking this and that, Qiao Yuan finally fell asleep in a daze. 

The next day, Qiao Yuan was awakened by the rustling sound of someone getting dressed. He was still groggy and not fully awake, so he stared blankly at Yu Dameng, who was changing clothes, in the same position he had just woken up in. 

Yu Dameng shuddered as if he felt someone was watching him. He turned around involuntarily and met eyes with Qiao Yuan. 

Looking like a pure maiden who had been defiled, he clutched his clothes to cover his body but not quite succeeding, blushing and unable to speak clearly, “You…you turn around!” 

Qiao Yuan instantly became clear-headed and turned his body awkwardly. How should he explain? He really didn’t mean to do it! He just woke up and was still in that position and didn’t react in time. 

However, the strong and sturdy physique of Yu Dameng was completely unforgettable in his mind. The broad shoulders and smooth muscle lines on his arms were quite… tempting… 

Yu Dameng changed his clothes much faster and then rushed out of the room as if escaping. 

Qiao Yuan awkwardly touched his nose, but also felt that Yu Dameng was quite cute. He quickly encouraged himself and got up, knowing that he had to face whatever challenges came his way. 

He already knew some information about the Yu family from his original memories, all of which were told to him by the matchmaker and his grandmother when he got betrothed. 

The ancestors of the Yu family were blacksmiths, and during the previous dynasty, craftsmen had a low social status. However, in the generation of Yu Dameng’s grandfather, they made a valuable item for a high-ranking official in the imperial court, which brought them a large fortune. Originally, they could have lived a comfortable life for several generations by just keeping this wealth and living a simple life. 

However, after Yu Dameng’s grandfather took over, he caused trouble, not only losing the family business, but also owing a lot of gambling debts. Fortunately, Yu Dameng’s father was capable, and over the years, the Yu family scrimped and saved to slowly pay off the gambling debts. Before the new year, they quietly acquired a shop in the county town, and now the Yu family’s iron workshop was opened in town. 

The Yu family has a total of six children, five sons and one ger. 

The eldest son was called Yu Xiangxue. When he was seventeen years old, he passed the Tongsheng4童生 (tóngshēng) – a title given to those who passed the county-level imperial examination in ancient China. It was the lowest level of the civil service examination system. examination, but unfortunately, his grandparents passed away one after another. According to the rules of Da Chu, he needed to observe filial piety for six years and could not participate in the imperial examinations. Therefore, he missed two imperial examinations in a row. He was now twenty-five years old and still a Tongsheng. He usually studies in a private school in the prefectural city and married a ger from the county town, but they do not have children yet. 

Yu Laoer5Literally means Old Two/Second. I will keep this as Yu Laoer because it could also be a nickname that they call the second oldest. was a small street vendor. He was 23 years old and married a widow from a neighboring village who had already been separated from her previous husband’s family. They have no contact with the Yu family on a daily basis. 

Yu Dameng was the third in the family ranking, 21 years old this year, three years older than Qiao Yuan. 

The fourth and fifth are twins, named Yu Shanwen and Yu Shanwu respectively. They are only ten years old this year, which was the age when even cats and dogs find them annoying6猫狗都嫌 (māo gǒu dōu xián) – even cats and dogs despise (them). This idiom is usually used to describe something that is extremely dirty or smelly. However, it can also be used to describe someone who is too rowdy or unruly.. 

The darling of the whole family, little ger Yu Liu7iterally means six, could be a nickname, could be his proper name, was six years old this year. 

Qiao Yuan roughly understood the situation and decided not to mention Yu Laoer at home in the future. 

Although he had the memories of his original body, Qiao Yuan was not very skilled in wearing the clothes and styling the hair of ancient people. It took him a long time and a lot of effort to tidy himself up. 

As soon as he left the room, he met his mother-in-law Lin Cuifen, who had also woken up early, in the hallway. Although it wasn’t him who had hung himself on the wedding night, he had to bear the consequences now that he was in this body. In ancient times, it was easy for mothers-in-law to discipline their daughters-in-law, with filial piety being the top priority, and daughters-in-law had no choice but to endure it. 

Qiao Yuan felt the pressure double, and with a forced smile, he called out, “Mother,” trying to please her. 

Lin Cuifen did not immediately respond to him but looked at him steadily for a while. Seeing that his expression was not as gloomy as before, she nodded and responded with a “Hmm.” 

Although his mother-in-law was somewhat cold towards him, putting himself in her shoes, Qiao Yuan could understand that a joyous occasion of a lively and happy family gathering almost turned into a funeral, which would make anyone unhappy. Besides, she had invited a doctor for the original at night, and he was afraid that this matter had already spread throughout Xianhe Village. It was already good enough that the mother-in-law did not take it out on him and only scolded him.  

After all, he was now living under someone else’s roof. Qiao Yuan thought for a moment and decided that he needed to perform well and increase his favorability.  

The original body moved in directly to the new house after getting married and then hung himself. Therefore, there is no memory of the appearance of the Yu family courtyard in the original body’s memory. 

Qiao Yuan looked around and roughly estimated the situation in his mind.  

On the north side is a hall used for dining and entertaining guests, and next to the hall should be the bedroom of Father and Mother Yu. His and Yu Dameng’s bedroom is on the east side, and there are two adjacent rooms, which should be occupied by the twins and ger. 

To the west are the kitchen and storage room. The yard is enclosed by a fence without walls. There was a very tall jujube tree full of fruit, and a shed. The vegetable garden, outhouse, pigsty, and chicken coop are all located behind the house. 

The courtyard was very clean and filled with a festive atmosphere, which Qiao Yuan liked. 

In the modern, fast-paced and stressful life, Qiao Yuan has been busy with his studies and work without rest. He has always dreamed of having a small courtyard where he can escape from the world and live a simple life with the person he loves, with just the basic necessities of life. 

It seems like a joke from heaven, the first half of the dream has already come true, but the second half… Qiao Yuan looked at Yu Dameng who was squatting by the water tank brushing his teeth, it doesn’t seem too far away, he shook his head and tried to control himself from overthinking. 

Yu Dameng was brushing his teeth with a willow branch, which Qiao Yuan, a modern person, found very novel and happily squatted beside Yu Dameng to watch for a long time. Yu Dameng felt uncomfortable being watched and was too angry to speak. 

Through the reflection in the water, Qiao Yuan could roughly see what this body looked like. It had a melon seed face8瓜子脸 (guāzǐliǎn) – melon-seed face (a type of oval-shaped face with a pointed chin), a small and delicate nose, almond-shaped eyes, and was surprisingly identical to his in modern times! However, it was too thin and delicate, as if it would fall over with a gust of wind, without any masculinity. Qiao Yuan took a glance at Yu Dameng’s sturdy and masculine physique, silently made a mental note to strengthen his physical exercise routine. 

Then he searched for his original memory and learned from Yu Dameng’s appearance, and also slowly rinsed his mouth with a willow twig. This thing was really difficult to use, and Qiao Yuan was not skilled at it, often poking his mouth. He thought he needed to find a way to create a modern toothbrush. 

Yu Dameng looked at him several times, hesitating to speak. In the end, he just sulkily muttered “I’m going to chop firewood” and left. 

Qiao Yuan stared at his gloomy back and wondered, “Is this big stupid bear9大笨熊 (dà bèn xióng) – big clumsy bear, a metaphorical term used to describe someone who is slow-witted or clumsy. still angry?” 

If you like my translation, a cup of coffee is very much appreciated. I will post a bonus chapter for every five kofis I receive.