SLH | Chapter 69

Liu Xiaomei Gets Entangled

After this incident, Song Tingzhu became even more cautious in his business dealings. Wang Xiang and Yang Shunwang were both reprimanded by Liu Sansheng, and now they check the food and drink every day before opening the business.

Half a month passed like this, and the people welcomed the Dragon Boat Festival.

The fifth day of the fifth month is the Double Fifth, and the first day of the fifth month is the Duan Yi. From Duan Yi, Lianxi Town gradually became lively. The streets and alleys were bustling with people selling peach branches and calamus leaves. People were hanging mugwort, wearing sachets, going to the lake to enjoy the lanterns, painting fans to give to friends. It was truly bustling with activity.

After the Dragon Boat Festival, the busy farming season began. The distillery finished its work in these two days. Song Tingzhu and his husband rarely went to town anymore, spending their days teaching the villagers who came to work.

Tian Le, who knew how to make wine stills, also became a little teacher for a while, gaining quite a bit of attention. Even outside the distillery, people called him “little teacher,” and he often woke up laughing in his sleep at night.

After finishing the teaching for the day, the couple had just entered the courtyard when Liu Meng came driving an ox cart into the alley.

“Second brother, brother-in-law.”

Liu Meng jumped off the ox cart, patted the ox’s head with a smile, and said, “It’s done. There are many people and much land in Liutang Village. Many people want to sell grain, and since it’s the season to plant sorghum, the villagers are very happy knowing we’re buying. They’re probably all going to town to buy seeds now.”

In Xunyang, which is in the north, they mostly grow wheat. Though sorghum has a short maturity period, it doesn’t sell for much, and few people buy it, so locals usually don’t plant it on a large scale. Now that someone is buying it, they’re overjoyed.

“The whole village, young and old, came out to the village entrance. It was like a festival.”

“What festival, thinking about a festival right after the Double Fifth?” Ruan Xiulian came out of the kitchen with dishes, “Why are you all standing at the courtyard gate? Wash your hands and get ready for dinner.”

“Okay, I’ll put the ox in the shed and come.”

Song Tingzhu stepped forward, “Mom, I’ll help you.”

“There’s still soup in the pot that hasn’t been served. Help mom serve it.”

“Got it.”

A moment later, the family of eight sat in the main room, eating dinner with laughter and conversation.

“We’ve secured several tens of thousands of catties of grain. Zhu Ge’er, do you and Hu Zi have enough money?” After eating, Ruan Xiulian asked her son-in-law.

Song Tingzhu replied, “Don’t worry, mom. But we can stop buying grain for now. There aren’t many sales channels at the moment, and if we expand too much, we might have some cash flow issues.”

Liu Meng said, “Alright, then I won’t go out to buy grain tomorrow.”

Song Tingzhu nodded and added, “The distillery will be officially operational in two days. We’ll need to rely on big brother and the two uncles to keep an eye on things.”

Liu Meng patted his chest, “No problem, leave it to me.”

After discussing business matters, the family went back to their rooms.

In the west room, Song Tingzhu stepped on his husband’s foot and whispered, “The wine stills we ordered are due for delivery. I’ll go to town with you to bring them back tomorrow.”

Liu Hu, wiping his feet, replied, “Alright.”

Song Tingzhu continued, “Granny Chen told me today she wants to work at the distillery. I couldn’t stop her, so I found her a light job.”

Liu Hu squatted down, held his wife’s ankle, and carefully wiped it dry, saying, “Granny Chen has been bedridden for half a year. She’s been restless.”

Song Tingzhu was used to his husband’s attentiveness, obediently letting him hold his foot. When Liu Hu returned after pouring out the foot-washing water, he leaned into his husband’s arms and whispered, “This morning, I went to Aunt Zhao’s house to find Le Ge’er. I happened to see Chen’s boy stopping Xiaomei and giving her a package. They talked for a bit, but I couldn’t hear from afar. Xiaomei seemed a bit angry.”

His brow furrowed slightly, “Xiaomei didn’t mention it to the family, so I didn’t ask. But I’m a bit worried. Xiaomei is at the age to be looking at marriage, but she’s clueless about love. What if someone takes advantage of her?”

Liu Hu stroked his wife’s hair and lowered his voice, “Xiaomei’s personality is like mom’s. She won’t be easily bullied. Plus, she’s smart. If someone really bullies her, she’ll find a way to come home and get me and big brother to back her up.”

“Yeah, since Xiaomei didn’t say anything, it should be fine.”

Song Tingzhu yawned, about to find a comfortable position to sleep, when his clothes were pulled by his husband. His ears turned red, and he bit his lip as his husband turned him over and pressed him into the bedding.

“We’re going to town tomorrow, so be gentle, husband.”

After saying this, his face was flushed.

Inside, the restrained breathing lasted for half an hour. Soon, Liu Hu was seen putting on clothes and going to the kitchen, bringing warm water to carefully wash his wife. The couple then embraced and fell asleep.

Before the hour of Mao, Song Tingzhu got dressed and got out of bed, walking a bit stiffly out of the room.

The family’s ox had been borrowed by the Tian family for plowing yesterday, so Liu Hu went to the Tian family early to bring it back. After feeding it, he came from the backyard and saw his wife drawing water by the well. He quickly took the bucket from her.

Song Tingzhu glanced at his husband, smiled, and asked, “Did you bring the ox back?”

“Brought it back. Aunt Zhao and Le Ge’er are also going to town. We’ll take them along when we leave.”

“Okay.”

After breakfast, the couple drove the ox cart to the Tian family. On the way, the four chatted and laughed. At the town entrance, they parted ways with the Tian family mother and son, first going to the tavern to chat with Third Uncle and Third Aunt, then to the market to buy rice, flour, grain, and oil. Afterward, they went to the craftsmen to bring back the ordered wine stills to the village.

As the ox cart turned into the village entrance, Song Tingzhu noticed two figures pulling at each other in the distance and frowned.

“Husband, is that Xiaomei up ahead?”

“It’s Xiaomei.” Liu Hu’s face darkened as he urged the ox to move faster.

Up ahead, two people were still arguing. Liu Xiaomei stepped back, saying, “Chen Tong, it’s you again. What do you want?”

The man called Chen Tong was about fifteen or sixteen, with hunched shoulders and a timid look. He was holding a small wooden box, stubbornly trying to give it to Liu Xiaomei.

“Nothing, I just want to give you a hairband.”

“I told you before, I won’t accept it. Besides, a hairband is a personal item for girls and young men. You can’t just give it away. You should take it back.”

Chen Tong persisted, “My mom said you’re the prettiest girl in the village. She told me to give you the hairband.”

After arguing for a while, Liu Xiaomei became impatient and said sharply, “I won’t take it. Stop following me. If I catch you following me and Xiaoman again, I’ll tell big brother and second brother to teach you a lesson!”

Chen Tong, timid as he was, lowered his head even more at these words, but he still wouldn’t step aside.

It was almost time for the women returning from the fields to pass by. If they saw her and Chen Tong pulling at each other at the village entrance, it would be hard to explain.

Liu Xiaomei was anxious and, in her panic, saw her second brother and sister-in-law, as if seeing a savior, she turned and ran towards them.

“Second brother, sister-in-law!”

The young girl’s face was full of panic. Song Tingzhu pulled her to his side, soothing her gently, “Don’t be afraid, your second brother is here.”

When he turned back, Chen Tong was nowhere to be seen.

With no one to catch, the matter had to be dropped. The three of them drove the ox cart back to the courtyard. When Ruan Xiulian heard that her daughter was being pestered by the Chen family’s boy, she immediately cursed.

“That Chen family! I know what they’re up to. I know that boy, he’s a man but softer than a girl or young man. Chen Tong wouldn’t do such a thing on his own; it must be that lazy Wang Dani behind this!”

“Doesn’t she look in the mirror to see her own reflection? Thinking of marrying my daughter, what a toad lusting after a swan!”

Outside the courtyard, two women passing by quickened their pace when they heard the cursing.

“Chen Dani is really dreaming. The Liu family is one of the richest in the village now. Lingzhi can choose any young man in the nearby villages. Chen Tong doesn’t stand a chance.”

“That’s not necessarily true. Ruan Xiulian only has one daughter, and her two older brothers have doted on her since she was a child. They probably wouldn’t want her to marry far away. I bet they’ll find someone in the village.”

The woman thought it made sense, but she couldn’t be sure others wouldn’t have a chance. After considering it, she parted ways with her companion and hurried home with her hoe.

Meanwhile, the Liu family discussed the opening of the distillery. The teaching was mostly done, and they had collected some old grain from last year, so they planned to brew some lower-grade sake for sale.

The family decided to start work the day after tomorrow and ended the discussion.

At night, the couple lay in bed talking when they suddenly heard the sound of rain outside.

Song Tingzhu sat up abruptly, “Husband, the herbs are still drying outside!”

“Don’t worry, wife.” Liu Hu pressed his shoulder, “I saw the sky getting cloudy while pouring water earlier, so I brought the herbs into the shed.”

Song Tingzhu relaxed, “That’s good.”

“It’s late, let’s sleep.”

Song Tingzhu nodded, leaning into the warm, solid embrace of his husband, listening to the raindrops outside, and fell asleep peacefully.

The light rain drizzled all night. The next morning, hearing the rain still outside, he felt a bit lazy. Resting his head on his husband’s shoulder, he rarely acted coy.

“I don’t want to get up today.”

Liu Hu wrapped his arm around his wife’s waist, kissing his hair, “Then sleep a bit more, I’ll stay with you.”

Song Tingzhu smiled, “Okay.”

There was work to be done today, so the couple didn’t linger long before getting dressed and leaving the courtyard.

At the distillery, they found everyone standing outside, looking puzzled.

“Why is everyone standing outside?” Song Tingzhu asked, confused.

One of the women pinched her nose and said, “Boss, don’t you smell it? It’s stinky inside.”

“The wine grains haven’t even started fermenting yet, how can it stink? Could it be that Liu old lady was right about some ghost haunting?”

“I heard Liu Cuie say she saw a white shadow in the distillery and smelled something foul. I thought she was just jealous, but now I really smell it!”

“I heard it too. My mom wanted me to quit and go home. But how can I? It’s hard to find a job that pays thirty copper coins a day. Not having money is scarier than ghosts!”

Hearing them mention Liu Cuie, Song Tingzhu had a suspicion. But this smell didn’t seem to come from the distillery. It seemed to be coming from the back mountain, and it smelled familiar.

He frowned, and the next moment, his husband explained, “It’s the smell of a rotting body.”