– Wife Said…

Qin Mian didn’t mention who the other small basket was for.

“I understand. Rest assured, Little Young Master.” Xile washed his hands in the basin, picked up two baskets, and left quickly.

When the sun was setting, all the cherries were finished. Qin Mian settled the wages for the helpers. After they left, he picked up the remaining basket of cherries and pointed to the three or four jin of cherries specially reserved as he said to Aunt Fu, “Aunt Fu. This is for you, Uncle Fu, and Xile to have.”

“Many thanks, Little Young Master.” Aunt Fu was used to the little young master’s generosity, and her respect for Qin Mian was the same as before.

Qin Mian waved his hand and went out with his basket. Out of the gate of the courtyard, he took a glance at the mountain forest in the distance.

On the evening of early summer, the villagers came out of their homes and gathered in twos and threes to enjoy the cool air and chat while waiting for the dinner to be cooked.

Upon seeing Qin Mian, they all greeted him in a friendly way.

“Lei Tie’s wife, where are you going this late?”

Qin Mian said with a smile, “Going to send some cherries to my parents.”

“So much.” The villagers cheerfully said, “You and your Lei Tie are truly filial to your parents!”

“Hah-hah,” Qin Mian only laughed.

“I heard that your cherries are not only big but also sweet. It’s a pity that you don’t sell them. Otherwise, we’d like to buy some. Hehe, our children talked about it every day a few days ago,” said an aunt regretfully.

Qin Mian said apologetically, “It’s the first time for A-Tie and I planted fruit trees. We didn’t expect that those fruit trees grew better than others, fortunately. That’s why we want to sell them at the wine house and make more money. However, it won’t be the case for next year. Next year, we’ll only keep part of it for cherry juice and cherry jam, and sell the rest. Aunties and uncles can buy them if you want to.”

The few villagers were very delighted.

“Good, that’s a deal.”

Zhao Shi was collecting the laundry in the yard when she saw Qin Mian come in with a basket of cherries. She could care less for the laundry and rushed to welcome him with a face full of smiles. Her tone was cordial, “Eldest Sister-in-law, you are here. It’s heavy, isn’t it? I’ll carry it.”

This basket of cherries weighed at least 8 to 9 Jin. It’s not light. Qin Mian let her grab the basket.

“Father, mother! Eldest Sister-in-law is here!”

Zhao Shi shouted toward the house. She grabbed three to four cherries, put them into her mouth, and called out vaguely, “Dabao, Xiaobao! Where the hell are you?”

Qin Mian shook his head and walked into the central room.

Lei Daqiang and Du Shi smiled at Qin Mian when they saw the basket in Zhao Shi’s hand.

Lei Daqiang said, “Eldest’s wife, come in and sit down.”

“Eldest Sister-in-law.” Lei Xiangyi, Lei Xiangli, and Lei Chuntao appeared one after another.

Lei Xiangren ran to Zhao Shi’s side and grabbed a bunch of cherries before Du Shi grabbed the basket. He greeted Qin Mian, “Eldest Sister-in-law.”

Qin Mian nodded without a word.

“Father, I want to eat!” Lei Dabao stood on tiptoe and grabbed the cherries from Lei Xiangren’s hand. He didn’t even notice his snivel ran down to his mouth.

Qin Mian quickly averted his eyes. It seemed that his impression of Lei Dabao was someone who always had a running nose.

“Mother. Mother, I want to eat too.” Lei Erbao was too young to reach Lei Xiangren’s hand and so he grabbed Zhao Shi’s dress.Wei Shi showed a befitting shallow smile to Qin Mian, “Eldest’s wife, thank you for remembering us.”

“As it should be,” Qin Mian said politely.

“It’s sweet,” Lei Daqiang nodded while eating and soon spat out a few pits.

Du Shi first grabbed some and put them on a plate. Everyone knew that this was what she wanted to leave to Lei Xiangzhi.

“These are not enough for our big family. Eldest’s wife, I’ll go back with you to pick more later,” Du Shi said as she ate.

Qin Mian said, “Mother, the cherries on the tree are all picked and made into cherry juice and cherry jam to be sent to the wine house to sell.”

Lei Daqiang frowned, “You–”

Qin Mian stood up and said, “Father and mother, it’s getting late. I have to go back to cook. I’m leaving.”

Du Shi snorted and said nothing as she looked at the cherry’s portion.

When she didn’t see the shadow of Qian Shi and Lei Xinxin, she sneered and glanced at Lei Xiangyi coldly, “Since the third daughter-in-law is not feeling well, let her rest. Everyone comes here to eat. This thing can’t last long.”

Lei Xiangren bit the cherry in his mouth and looked at Lei Xiangyi with gloat.

Lei Xiangyi said nothing. Since he had proposed to separate from the family, Du Shi and Lei Daqiang had been much colder toward him, and even more dissatisfied with Qian Shi. However, he didn’t regret it. This was the price for him to separate from the family.

When Qin Mian had walked halfway, he suddenly recalled that he didn’t see Qian Shi and Lei Xinxin today. He had some doubts, but he didn’t think much about it as he rushed home. He didn’t know where Lei Tie was now. It was the first time that he and Lei Tie separated since they were officially together. Although he knew that nothing would happen to Lei Tie, he still worried about him.

Lei Tie, who was a few hundreds of 1 away, passed through a forest. There was a four-cornered ancient pavilion near the edge of the forest and a pond not far away.

The four-cornered pavilion was surrounded by long wooden chairs, and in the middle was a worn-out stone table and four stone benches. The pavilion was quite old. A finger long crack was found on the stone table and a corner was missing at one end of a long wooden chair.

Lei Tie had been on the road continuously and didn’t care at all about missing a lodging because he wanted to go early and return soon. He looked up at the western sky filled with sunset glow and stopped his horse before landing on the ground. After leading the horse to drink water, he tied the horse to the tree and walked into the ancient pavilion.

Looking at his new clothes, he couldn’t help but touch it. His wife made it for him with a manual sewing machine. The top was a white slanting long robe with the length stopped at the butt, and the sleeves were loose and not tight, giving a cool and cozy feeling. The bottom was a pair of bound-feet trousers of the same color that made his body slenderer. The fabric of the clothes was just an ordinary cotton cloth. The black shallow boots on his feet were also cloth boots, but they fit him well. His wife said that when they went out to have fun, they shouldn’t wear too well to avoid being watched by robbers and thieves. Although he was not afraid of thieves and rascals, the fewer complications the better.

This was the first time he wore a white outer garment. He thought that he would not get used to it, but he liked it very much.

His hand then reached to his neck. There was a black rope hanging from his neck. Hanging on the rope was a sheep-fat white jade Guanyin2. His wife also bought this for him.

Feeling a little hungry, Lei Tie went to the black horse that was grazing leisurely and took off the pouch on the girdle of the horse’s back. Inside the pouch was a bamboo tube as long as a calf, two relatively small and slightly shorter bamboo tubes, a water bag, a small net bag containing six honey peaches, and a wine gourd. They were all placed on the stone bench.

He sat on the stone bench, opened the big bamboo tube, and poured out a pancake which was almost as thick as the palm of his hand. He took a bite and could see several layers of delicious minced meat sandwiched in the pancake. He chewed slowly. When the pancake was finished, he opened one of the small bamboo tubes and appreciatively sipped the thick soup. The scene of Qin Mian packing his bags came to his mind.

Would his wife be in the space at this time?

“Clip-clop clip-clop—” Horse’s hooves sounded in the distance. Three fast horses, carrying bulging baggage, drew closer and closer.

On the leading horse, a youngster in his early twenties wearing a duanda garment called out to the others on the two horses, “Eldest Brother, Second Brother! I know there is a four-cornered pavilion not far ahead! Let’s spend the night there tonight!”

Following closely behind him, a rough-faced big man swung his whip with a crisp sound and said in loud voice, “Good! —”

The last man was also very young, about 25 or 26 years old. His hair was very long and only a hairband tied in the middle. He squinted and said, “There seems to be someone there.”

“Even if there is a person, what are we afraid of?” The youngster said indifferently and urged the horse forward, “The pavilion is not his home.”

In a moment, the three horses reached the four-cornered pavilion.

“”

Lei Tie was eating the second piece of pancake and didn’t even lift his eyelids.

The three men did not go in immediately upon seeing Lei Tie’s indifference and silent appearance that seemed not easy to communicate with.

When the rough-faced big man saw that there were red peaches on the bench, a scallion soup in the small bamboo tube, and also the pancake bitten by the white-clothed man, he couldn’t help swallowing his saliva. He whispered to the long-haired man, “Old Two, the man also went out on a trip, but look at how good his rations are. Shall we buy some from him?”

“Drop it.” The long-haired man was very helpless and lowered his voice, “Eldest Brother, look at his clothes. Although it’s made of cotton, it’s well-cut. The style is a novelty and the needlework is fine. The jade Guanyin on his neck is made of sheep-fat white jade. His pancake is also unusual. We’ve never seen such a pancake since we’ve traveled all over the country. Lastly, let’s look at the honey peaches—the peaches in Qingtian Prefecture are not ripe yet, right? His peaches may have come from the south. It’s very expensive. Can ordinary people afford it? I think the man is a wealthy and respectable person. It’s better not to make trouble with him.”

The youngster also approached them and whispered with suspicion, “Wealthy and respectable person? Unlikely, right? Does a rich person make cups out of bamboo tubes?”

Lei Tie’s eyes fell on the bamboo tube. The bamboo tube was not worth money, but his wife said that the bamboo wares had the functions of eliminating thirst, clearing the lung, and resolving phlegm and diuresis. Using bamboo wares regularly was good for health.

“What do you know?” The long-haired man slapped him on the head. “Bamboo has a medicinal effect. The bamboo wares are good for health. This is called ‘low-key fastidiousness’, understand?”

The rough-faced man touched his stomach in disappointment. “Forget it. I’m hungry too. Old Three, take out the ration quickly.”

The three men tied their horses, went into the pavilion, and sat down on the stone bench opposite Lei Tie.

The youngster fished out a small cloth bag from his baggage and took out a few dried pancakes; one for each.

Three pairs of eyes uncontrollably flew to the meat pancake and the soup in the bamboo tube in Lei Tie’s hands. It smelled too good!

Lei Tie ate the last bite of the pancake and finished the soup. Except for the unopened small bamboo tube, all of his other things were put into the pouch. Then, he took out a rolled bean pancake from the small bamboo tube and went to the black horse to feed it.

The youngster curled his lips. He went closer to the long-haired man’s ear, “Second Brother! I think I understand what is called ‘low-key fastidious’! His horse eats bean pancake that tastes better than our pancakes.”

The long-haired man amusedly said, “Eat yours. Don’t worry about such things when you’re out on a trip. When we arrived at our destination, let Eldest Brother treat you to eat delicious food.”

The rough-faced big man nodded, “That’s a must.”

When Lei Tie turned around after feeding the horse, the three men discovered the scar on his other cheek. They looked away rigidly and were glad they didn’t provoke him just now. A person with such a long scar on his face must have had some dangerous experience.

Lei Tie wiped his hands clean and walked around the pavilion. His wife said that taking a walk after eating could prolong life until ninety-nine.

The three men used their peripheral vision to see Lei Tie walk around the pavilion. Their nerve stretched so tightly.

When Lei Tie went on the second lap, he still didn’t look at them. They suddenly realized that he was just taking a walk.

After walking for about half an hour, Lei Tie returned to the four-cornered pavilion. He lay down on the stone bench he had sat in before and closed his eyes. His wife said that keeping early hours made the body double in strength.

Note:

Footnotes1 li is approx. 500 mthe Bodhisattva of Compassion or Goddess of Mercy