Chapter 002: "Husband" has returned
Xue Liang Ping cries for a while longer before accepting other's advice to move.
Madam Sun laughs out, "Father, you see, sister-in-law is shocked speechless with joy!"
From the side, Madam Sheng shoots a stern look, glaring at Madam Sun.
Madam Sun being skittish, takes a step back in fear. Holding her tongue.
Only at this moment did Xue Liang Ping see Xia Yue Chu, immediately pointing to the young man who is sitting on the chair, "Yue Chu, you look, Da Zhuang is back!"
Xia Yue Chu looks at Xue Zhuang*, his clothing is tattered and torn, his face is unshaved and appears wretched. But still, his miserable state did not obscure his muscular body and handsome face.
Xue Liang Ping wipes his face, and turns to his son "Da Zhuang, this is Yue Chu. Before you left for the military, our families engaged the both of you. The Xia family are strict in principles, you were gone so many years without news, but they did not break the engagement. Yue Chu came to our family three years already, been waiting for you since!"
Xia Yue Chu is bewildered. Isn't she supposed to be a widow, she thought she can stay here in peace and then take her time to plan on how she was going to get back the control of her life. But it hasn't even been a month, why did a person who has been missing all these years come back just like that?
Many thoughts concerning her future plannings are racing through her mind and she is in a daze, merely staring blankly at Xue Zhuang who is sitting on the chair.
At the same, Xue Zhuang looks up in surprise.
What kind of eyes are these?
Xia Yue Chu cannot help but shiver.
Certainly, he is someone who has been on the battlefield. His eyes glint as if they had been baptized by the blood and cruelty from war, they are intimidating to the core.
With a single glance, it feels like she has been figured out from head to toes.
But when she prepares herself for a second look, what she saw and what she felt just now was gone, disappeared without a trace. What's left in his eyes look humble and sincere, as if it was all a whisp of her imagination.
Xue Liang Ping notices how quiet both of them are, and he begins to become anxious. "Yue Chu, its real that Da Zhuang is back. Just that it has been many years, he grew in height and weight and face shape, but you can still see that his features is the same as the past. And, and you look, his back there is a birthmark, it's the same. I saw it just now…"
While blabbering, he reaches to pull down the collar of Xue Zhuang's clothes, almost trying to prove to Xia Yue Chu on the spot.
Xue Zhuang holds onto his collar tightly, awkwardly in his own defense. "Father, there is a lot of people around…"
Xue Liang Ping then realizes that the yard is full of people, girls of various ages. He let goes of his hand to protect their modesty.
Xue Zhuang pulls forth a younger man who is standing behind him to everybody's attention and introduces him. "Father, this is my good brother, he saved my life. He took care of me on the way home. If not for him, I'm afraid that I wouldn't even make it back."
Qin Zheng appears to be around sixteen or seventeen of age. He is quiet and is standing as straight as a ruler. Anyone can tell that he is extremely tired, it is obvious that they must have had a tough time on this journey.
But his eyes show that he is still on his guard, like a fearful cub that lost his mother's protection.
"Good child, all thanks to you, you are the benefactor of the Xue family!" Xue Liang Ping shakes Zheng's hand immediately and piles him up with praises and thanks.
"Sir, its quite cold outside, why don't we go in first." Qin Zheng looks worriedly over at Xue Zhuang. "Big brother's health hasn't fully recovered."
"Right, right, I was stunned silly, still talking here in the yard." Xue Liang Ping points to the room on the west wing where Xia Yue Chu is staying. To the crowd of neighbours from the village, he invites them as well, "everybody can come in too."
Now, this is the low peak season of harvest time where the villagers are mostly idle and do not have much to do. Nonetheless, they are not bored enough to follow others back into their homes for the sake of entertainment.
The crowd begins to disperse, Qin Zheng returns to his position behind Xue Zheng and pushes the chair he is sitting on in the direction of the room.
Xia Yue Chu realises then that Xue Zhuang wasn't sitting on a chair at all but a wooden wheelchair with wooden wheels.
She discreetly takes a few peeks at Xue Zhuang's legs, as it turns out, he has a disability.
Xia Yue Chu opens the creaky door and lifts the woolen portiere out of the way as Qin Zheng pushes the person in.
Madam Sheng and the rest return to their respective rooms and only Xue Liang Ping follows them, together with Qin Zheng, assisting Xue Zhuang in moving onto the brick bed. After which commencing his speech of heart pouring concerns in the form of inconsequential nag.
When Xia Yue Chu hears the drum rolling from Qin Zheng's stomach, she is instantly reminded of the hunger which she supressed earlier. Her appetite becomes blatant.
"Have yet to take lunch? The rest of the family has probably finished their meals, I'll make you something to eat."
"Don't be troubled, we have some rations left." Qin Zheng retrieves a few dry and hard millet cakes from his cloth pouch and places them on the bed desk. "Can Sis- Sister-in-law** give us two bowls of boiled water, it will do."
The way Qin Zheng addresses this sister-in-law so stiffly nearly made him bite his own tongue.
Xue Liang Ping is not having it. "What is this, you are home, how can continue eating this dry and tasteless dough, what is there to trouble or not to trouble. At least eat something warm."
After saying that, Xue Liang Ping left swiftly and came back with two eggs in his hands. He gives them to Xia Yue Chu, "make something for them with this first, I'll go to the butchery, buy some meat and buy some vegetables. Tonight the whole family should have a good meal together, also to celebrate Da Zhuang coming home."
Again, after declaring that, Xue Liang Ping left swiftly and subsequently, a chain of curses from Madam Sheng can be heard faintly, it is coming from the main room.
"You want money from me? I got no money, how long was it when we last tasted meat, if you are so capable why not you butcher off my flesh to eat!"
Qin Zheng frowns as he sees that there is only a small bundle of sprouts in the basin. He unconsciously exposes his displeasure. Being in the army for so long, they have survived on wild plants and tree barks. The sight of them chokes him.
"Sister-in-law, do we have any white cabbage and potato, I can make a soup with those."
Xia Yue Chu understands what he is thinking, and she did not say much. She goes to the cellar, takes what he asked for, washes the cabbages and peels the potatoes before giving to him.
Qin Zheng can barely cook. But in comparison to wild plants, even plain soup will be a better.
He does not know anything about stir fry or fragrance release, putting the roughly chopped cabbage and potato directly into the wok, adding a pinch of salt and covering the lid. After that he has nothing else to do, so he watches how Xia Yue Chu cooks.
Xia Yue Chu is quick with her hands, she cleans up the little root vegetables, and ladles water to wash them twice. With a firm grip, she flings the excess water off and places them onto a tray basket.
Next, she takes out a big ceramic bowl and gently cracks the egg along the rim. The egg separates from its shell, the silky-smooth egg white wraps around the yellow yolk and falters to the base of the bowl.
The people here raise chickens in their own homes. They roam freely hunting for food, and they would be fed daily with grains or food scraps mixed into their feed, every egg that these chickens lay are premium organic home-grown eggs.
The egg whites are thick and clear, and the egg yolks are round and big. This vibrant yellow will entice anyone who looks at it.
Xia Yue Chu pinches some salt into the bowl, with the soft motions of her wrist, the chopsticks stir within the bowl speedily. Soon enough, the eggs are well beaten eggs.
After that, she takes the sprouts which she set aside, and runs her knife through it, cutting them up. The initial messy bunch of garlic sprouts is now chopped.
She did not mince them thoroughly, once chopped them roughly. She clumps them up and clanks the knife under, the little chopped garlics sprouts are added into the big ceramic bowl of well beaten eggs.
The golden hued soybean oil spreads thinly at the base, the garlic sprouts egg batter is added into the mix, a moment of wait forms the omelette shape, then the spatula stirs and everything breaks, soon enough, it is out of the wok and onto a plate.
Stir fried golden eggs ornamented with jade-like tender sprouts, it is certainly most pleasing to the eyes. Furthermore, the fragrance that the dish exudes draws out an appetite.
Qin Zheng stares with widen eyes, and his stomach cannot stop protesting. He has never seen wild greens being cooked in this manner, it smells so good that he might drool any moment.
In such a situation as this, he has overcome all clumsiness and cannot help but exclaims. "Sister-in-law, the dish you make looks so appetizing!"
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Translator Notes:
*Xue Zhuang is his formal name. Da Zhuang is what people around him calls him by.
**Qin Zheng calls Xia Yue Chu by her legal relationship with Xue Zhuang. So he is calling her "Brother's wife". In context, "sister-in-law" holds the same meaning, even though Qin Zheng and Xue Zhuang are not siblings by law.
Translated by Yellow. Aug 2022.