A new tool had become popular in Luohe Village. By carving a few more grooves onto a washboard, you could use it to strip corn kernels. It was super handy! After all, everyone had a piece of wood lying around the house.
Aunt Liu first discovered this trick when she visited Chen Qing’s house. After showing it to a few people around the village, everyone soon knew about it.
The villagers started praising Zhou Yuan even more, saying that he was kindhearted, skilled, and a good farmer. In short, Zhou Yuan was good at everything.
When the farming season slowed down, Aunt Hua came to visit Zhou Yuan again. This time, Zhou Yuan didn’t refuse her; he just told her that there was someone he wanted to propose to. Once he received a reply, he would ask her to help with the formal proposal.
News that Zhou Yuan was about to get married spread through the village, but it didn’t seem to be much of a secret. Everyone had already noticed the sparks flying between him and Li Xin, the blacksmith’s ger. It was only a matter of time before the two of them got married.
Chen Qing let out a sigh of relief when he heard the news. Just then, Li Xin came over to ask if he wanted to pick mushrooms with him.
Thanks to the tool that Zhou Yuan had given them, Chen Qing’s family harvested their corn faster than anyone else in the village. After drying it, they were ready to store it. Since they had finished early, it was just the two of them who went up the mountain.
“You didn’t bring Niu Niu today?” Chen Qing asked as they climbed the mountain. He found it odd because Li Xin usually brought Niu Niu along, especially since his mother wasn’t in good health.
“Oh, she’s playing with Qi Shuning.”
Chen Qing stopped asking after that.
The mountain near Luohe Village didn’t look big, but once you entered, it seemed endless. Technically, the best time to forage for mushrooms was after it rained, but it hadn’t rained in days. Nevertheless, Li Xin couldn’t sit still and insisted on going, so Chen Qing accompanied him.
Before leaving, Chen Qing told Aunt Sun that he might not return for a whole day, so she packed him food and water just in case.
Both of them carried backpacks. Although it was a blazing hot day, the dense, shaded mountain forest brought some cool relief.
Chen Qing followed behind as Li Xin talked nonstop. “The other day, I told my father that I wanted to learn how to be a blacksmith.”
Chen Qing stumbled in surprise and had to grab a tree trunk to steady himself. “Huh? You?” A blacksmith? No way! How can a ger become a blacksmith?”
Li Xin stomped his foot. “Why do you sound just like my father?”
Chen Qing cleared his throat and tugged on Li Xin’s sleeve. “Look at Uncle Li’s build, and then look at yours.”
Li Xin halfheartedly flexed his arm—it wasn’t convincing at all. He looked down and muttered, “My dad has always wanted a son to carry on his craft, but Niu Niu’s still too young. By the time he grows up, Dad’ll be too old, so he’s trying to find me a strong husband.”
Chen Qing nodded thoughtfully. “So Uncle Li wants to train your future husband to be a blacksmith, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Then Zhou Yuan’s build is pretty ideal for that.”
Li Xin jumped in shock. “What nonsense are you spouting? What does Zhou Yuan have to do with this?!”
“Huh?” Chen Qing blinked in confusion. “You don’t need to be shy with me. You’re getting married soon.”
“Ughhhhhh!” Li Xin nearly passed out. “What are you even saying?!” There’s nothing going on between us. Don’t try to set us up!”
“Huh?” Chen Qing was baffled. “You two talk all the time. He’s so attentive to you. Didn’t he tell Aunt Hua that he wants to propose to you?”
Li Xin shouted, “No, no, no! That’s all nonsense!”
He’d wanted to explain Zhou Yuan’s situation to Chen Qing, but it felt inappropriate to bring it up himself. Knowing Chen Qing’s personality, he didn’t want to scare him off. In the end, he declared, “I swear, I absolutely won’t marry Zhou Yuan. I don’t like guys like him. I like slender guys, okay?”
Chen Qing scratched his head, unsure what had gone wrong.
They didn’t talk about it anymore. They went deeper into the mountains, and Li Xin eventually found the place he remembered from a few years back. Sure enough, there were several clusters of hazel mushrooms.
Li Xin happily picked them and covered one side with dry leaves. “Don’t let anyone else find these.”
They had picked quite a bit along the way, but they were getting farther from home. Chen Qing glanced up at the sky. “We should head back.”
Their backpacks were almost full anyway. They sat on a large rock, shared a piece of cake, and started heading back down.
But just then, the weather shifted. A strong wind picked up in the mountains. Chen Qing grabbed Li Xin. “We need to hurry.”
A mountain storm was coming. The wind howled through the forest, rattling the branches. Li Xin nodded, and the two of them helped each other move faster.
Chen Qing frowned. There was corn drying at home, and his mother wouldn’t be able to gather it all by herself. It would take them at least another hour to get down. What if the corn got soaked and started sprouting?
Seeing the worry on Chen Qing’s face, Li Xin said nothing, but they both picked up the pace. Not long after, it started to pour. Within seconds, they were drenched. Thankfully, they had leaves to cover the mushrooms, which kept them from spoiling.
The rain got heavier. The mountain paths became slippery and steep. One wrong step and you’d fall. Chen Qing and Li Xin trudged along, half-blinded by the rain and wind. Eventually, Chen Qing dragged Li Xin into a nearby cave.
“This is awful.” Li Xin wiped his face. “Why is the rain so heavy? Is it not going to stop?”
Chen Qing shook his head. “Summer rain comes on fast, but doesn’t last long.”
True to his word, the rain stopped after about half an hour. They rushed home again. However, the mountain path was muddy and treacherous after the storm, so the journey back took even longer.
They were exhausted but didn’t dare rest. If they didn’t make it down before dark, they’d have to spend the night there. Chen Qing could manage it—he was a widower—but Li Xin was unmarried. If he didn’t come home, the village gossips would destroy him.
“We’ve got to get down the mountain fast,” said Chen Qing.
Li Xin nodded, but he felt like his backpack weighed a ton. He took a deep breath and leaned on Chen Qing.
Chen Qing could feel Li Xin’s breath growing heavier and warmer against his forehead.
“Li Xin?”
“Mhm?”
“Are you feeling okay?”
“I think I’m coming down with something…” Li Xin exhaled. “Ugh, I’m so useless. Should we just stay up here for the night?”
Chen Qing steadied him. “No way. If you don’t go home tonight, the whole village will be talking about it tomorrow.”
Li Xin muttered, “Fine,” and fell silent. He tried to keep walking, but he was already relying on Chen Qing for half of his strength. Chen Qing had to support him, so he didn’t see the ground clearly. He stepped on air and felt a sharp pain in his ankle.
Li Xin panicked when he saw Chen Qing fall. “What’s wrong?!”
“I think I twisted my ankle.” Chen Qing glanced at the mushrooms scattered on the ground. “Pick those up. It’s getting dark. We need to get off this mountain.”
Li Xin gathered the mushrooms and helped Chen Qing up. However, he was too top-heavy, and they tumbled together like a rolling ball. Lying on the ground, they looked at each other and burst out laughing.
“Maybe we should just camp out here,” Li Xin muttered, pressing his forehead.
Chen Qing obviously didn’t agree. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to stand up. The sky was already dark. As he held onto a tree to catch his breath, he spotted a figure in the distance.
Even from far away, he could tell it was Zhou Yuan.
When Chen Qing turned his head, Zhou Yuan turned his too. Their eyes met.
Zhou Yuan quickly approached. His gaze passed over Li Xin briefly, then locked onto Chen Qing. “Are you okay?”
Li Xin scowled.
Chen Qing shook his head. “I’m fine. Why are you here?”
He thought Zhou Yuan had come for Li Xin, and he calmed down a bit after asking.
Li Xin huffed. “Fine? You twisted your ankle and can’t walk.”
Zhou Yuan squatted down to check his foot, but Chen Qing quickly hid it behind his back. “It’s just a sprain. I’ll be fine.”
Zhou Yuan noticed the pile of mushrooms beside them. “It was Aunt Sun. She said the two of you went into the mountains and didn’t come back. She asked me to come find you.”
Actually, Aunt Sun had asked him to find Li Xin. Chen Qing had just tagged along.
“Can we go down now?” Li Xin asked weakly.
“Alright.” Zhou Yuan helped Chen Qing up and took the backpack, slinging it over his chest. Then, he hoisted Chen Qing onto his back.
Suddenly feeling dizzy, Chen Qing found himself riding piggyback on Zhou Yuan before he knew it.
Zhou Yuan glanced at Li Xin, grabbed his backpack with one hand, and rested the other on Chen Qing’s knee. “Hold tight. Let’s go.”
Instinctively, Chen Qing wrapped his arms around Zhou Yuan’s neck. But when he caught sight of Li Xin from the corner of his eye, he loosened his grip as if he’d touched fire. Unfortunately, Zhou Yuan had already started walking, and Chen Qing nearly fell off. He clung on tight again.
Li Xin followed behind, a grin creeping onto his face. Suddenly, his headache disappeared, his limbs felt light, and he could keep up with Zhou Yuan.
By the time they reached the base of the mountain, it was completely dark. No one saw them return. Aunt Sun was shocked to see Zhou Yuan carrying Chen Qing. “What happened?!”
Li Xin leaned against the door, exhausted. “Auntie…”
“Oh, don’t be so shy. I have hot water boiling. Go take a bath first.”
Li Xin shook his head. “I’ll just wash my face. My parents must be worried sick.”
Aunt Sun went to the kitchen and returned with ginger soup. “You three, drink this right now.”
Zhou Yuan didn’t take Chen Qing to his room, but rather placed him in the main hall. The three of them sat down with steaming bowls of ginger soup.
Just as they finished drinking, they heard footsteps outside. It was Li Xin’s father, the blacksmith.
“Dad!”
Li Xin ran over, only to find Qi Shuning following behind. They were both drenched and looked like they had been searching for a long time.
Li Xin pursed his lips. Seeing Qi Shuning’s pale face, he thought, “She’ll definitely get sick if she stays out in the rain like this.” If she got sick, he’d be the one to make her medicine.
Aunt Sun handed them both the remaining ginger soup.
After they drank it, Blacksmith Li carried Li Xin home on his back while Qi Shuning followed behind, carrying Li Xin’s backpack.
