Chapter 050
Author: Feast of Masks
Raws: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=3185016
Translated by Pill Bug
Edited by Gumihou
After that explosive incident, Zhao’er could not clearly recall what happened in the immediate aftermath.
She vaguely remembered blurting out, “I’m going pick some vegetables in the vegetable garden. After collecting the vegetables, I will fetch some firewood from the woodshed. To cook with. Because we need fire to cook with.”
After that unnecessarily loud announcement, she hurried off. A short while later, there were some vague thumping noises from the woodshed and the scream of a man in great pain.
Since Zhao’er had already run off, Xue Tingxiang no longer had any reason to stick around the woodshed. He thought about going after Zhao’er but in the end, made his way to the kitchen.
There, he found Zhou’shi and Sun’shi busy making the midday meal. He stood outside the window and called out, “Third Aunt, Fourth Aunt, Zhao’er has gone to the back to help pick vegetables.”
Zhou’shi and Sun’shi were both bustling about energetically in the kitchen. Neither of them knew what was happening in the back garden. Sun’shi laughed and said cheerfully, “Your Third Aunt and I can take care of things here. There’s no need for Zhao’er to help.”
She was in the middle of speaking when two people came running in from the back of the house. Because there was no one in the courtyard, no one noticed them. No one, that is, aside from Xue Tingxiang, who was keeping an eye on this pair of wild mandarin ducks [1].
Afterwards, Xue Tingxiang returned to his room, while Zhao’er, in a rare display of enthusiasm, helped prepare the midday meal.
With guests in the house, the meal had to be special. Not only did the dishes have to be more presentable, but the portions had to be generous as well. For this one meal, the number of dishes also doubled.
From start to finish, Zhao’er never showed her face, staying busy in the kitchen the entire time. It was only after the Zhao family had left and everything had been tidied up did Zhao’er finally emerged from the kitchen.
She didn’t take a break, but instead busied herself with bathing Hei’zi. Ever since Hei’zi was a pup, it had always been Zhao’er who bathed it—indoors during cold weather and in the river when the weather was warm.
Zhao’er boiled a large bucket of hot water, took Hei’zi to the vegetable patch, and spent a whole hour scrubbing and rinsing the dog before finally returning to the house.
By the time she entered their room, she had regained her composure and was chatting idly with Xue Tingxiang as though nothing untoward had happened. She was even wearing a smile!
Xue Tingxiang could only look on helplessly at this apparently indifferent Zhao’er.
Still, when night fell, Xue Tingxiang noticed Zhao’er had set up her bedding just a little farther away from his. Before the ‘incident’, she would never have done this.
However, seeing her stoic expression, he decided not to say anything. The two of them set up their bedding on the heated kang and laid down in an attempt to sleep.
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That night, Zhao’er dreamed.
The dream was bizarre. It was about her little man, who had grown up to become a refined and scholarly gentleman. For one thing, he was much taller with broader shoulders and had filled out enough that she could no longer see his ribs. Instead of being bulky, he was lean and muscular.
What was that?
How did she know he had a lean and muscular body?
That’s because she could see it with her own eyes, ah.
Because the little man had no clothes on.
Her clothes were gone too.
On top of that, there was a sense of helplessness as she felt herself being pressed into the kang bed by the little man and was being rocked back and forth over and over again. The scene reminded her of the one she had witnessed earlier—a woman with her blouse half-open, hair in disarray, pinned against a stack of firewood. Everything about her appeared neat and proper aside from the rucked-up skirt and two pale, slender legs dangling in mid-air…
Zhao’er felt suffocated. Something bore down on her, both hot and heavy, yet no matter how she tried, she couldn’t push it away. Half-conscious, she dreamed she had fallen into the water, with waves crashing over her body again and again. The currents tossed her high into the sky one moment, only to hurl her into the depths the next.
Strangely, she wasn’t afraid, just overwhelmingly sleepy…
When Zhao’er woke up, the rays of dawn were already seeping into the room, but her body felt heavy and sluggish despite the deep sleep.
Her body felt heavy and achy, and bloated with water. However, it did not feel like she had to go to the toilet, the water was just… there, under her skin. The room was silent and Xue Tingxiang looked like he was still sleeping. When she tried to turn over, the pain caused her to gasp.
Under the quilt, Zhao’er reached up to touch her chest. Her breasts felt swollen and sore to the touch.
This wasn’t the first time Zhao’er had experienced this. A few years ago, the two soft mounds on her chest would inexplicably ache. They would hurt with each step she took, even more so when lightly touched. Later, things improved slightly after she had bound them up tightly with cloth.
Eventually, the pain subsided with time.
However, each time the pain came, the two mounds on her chest would grow a size bigger.
Were they getting bigger again?
Zhao’er pulled the quilt over her head and secretly lifted her belly band to take a look. For some reason, she suddenly thought of Zhao Jinrui indulging himself on Xue Cui’e’s soft mounds just the day before.
Before this, she was aware that when a woman gave birth, milk would come out to feed the child. However, she never thought that men would feed themselves on the milk and indulge with such fervour too…
Suddenly, someone’s voice echoed inside her head—
“I am not a child anymore. We can get married next year and do what Zhao Jinrui is doing with Little Aunt.”
Did her little man also want to suckle on her milk too? Is that why he said that? Then, she suddenly thought of the dream. In that dream, he had sucked and devoured her so greedily that it left her swollen and red, to the point that-
Heavens ah, how could she be thinking about such things?!
Zhao’er flipped over again, squeezing the quilt tightly over her face until she nearly suffocated, before finally peeking out a bit.
Outside, the rooster crowed. Zhao’er did not have to look at the sky to know that it was time to get up.
She was just thinking about this when a sudden movement by the bed distracted her.
In the calm and quiet of early morning, when everything felt peaceful and harmonious, the rapid swishing of Heizi’s tail was particularly loud. He had clearly heard her wake up.
“Cough, you’re awake?” she called out to Xue Tingxiang. “It’s time to get up, you should get up early to have breakfast before leaving for the academy.”
A faint mumble answered her. However, that was it. Zhao’er was about to call him again when Xue Tingxiang suddenly said, “Zhao’er, get me a pair of pants.”
The kang cabinet was on Zhao’er’s side.
Zhao’er immediately sat up. “What kind of pants? Outer ones?”
“Underpants.”
“Underpants? Didn’t you just change them yesterday?”
“I asked you to get them, so just get them.”
He sounded oddly impatient, so Zhao’er didn’t press further. She pulled a pair of pants from the cabinet and tossed them to him before pulling an outer garment for herself and hopping off the kang.
In a few swift movements, she had gotten dressed and hadn’t even glanced at him.
“Get up. I’ll go make breakfast.”
It was only after the door closed behind her that Xue Tingxiang finally sat up on the kang.
After dressing up, he started tidying his bedding, but for some reason, he tossed the things back down again. After that, he pushed the door open and stepped out.
The eastern sky was just starting to brighten with the pale glow of dawn, the air still carried a slight chill, and farmyard felt quiet and peaceful.
Faint sounds came from the kitchen. He gave that direction a glance before grabbing his toothbrush and a basin to wash up.
The tranquil morning soon gave way to a bustling day as the Xue family members woke up one after another. The clatter of water being drawn, the squeak of doors opening, the clucking of chickens as well as the hum of other noises filled the air.
Zhao’er quickly prepared breakfast, which she ate with Xue Tingxiang. She was just washing up the dishes when Gao Sheng arrived with the mule cart.
“Elder Sis Zhao’er, is Tingxiang ready?”
Gao Sheng had gotten up much earlier and arrived at the Xue Family house with a cartload of vegetables. With Xue Qinghuai busy outside, they had made arrangements for Gao Sheng to collect Xue Tingxiang on his way to town.
“Yes, he’s ready. What about, Sheng’zi? Have you eaten yet? If not, I can make you something.”
“No need, I’ve had something much earlier. No need for Elder Sis Zhao’er to trouble yourself.”
While they were chatting, Xue Tingxiang already came out with his book bag and a pre-packed bundle. Usually, Zhao’er would say a few parting words to Xue Tingxiang, but on this day, she said nothing at all.
Instead, it was Xue Tingxiang who took the initiative to speak, “Shall I be off then?”
Zhao’er nodded.
He glanced at her once more before climbing onto the mule cart. Gao Sheng said his goodbyes to Zhao’er and drove the cart away.
As she watched the cart disappear into the distance, Zhao’er stood dazed in place for a long while. It wasn’t until she saw villagers coming down the road from afar that she seemed to awaken from a dream.
She shook her head and returned to the second branch’s room.
The kang bed was a mess. She fluffed up the two pillows and set them aside before starting on Xue Tingxiang’s bedding. As she straightened them out, a pair of underpants fell out. It was the pair that Xue Tingxiang had changed out earlier.
It was the very pair Xue Tingxiang had changed out of earlier.
She looked down at the neatly folded pair of pants, a contrast to the hastily rolled-up bedding.
“How is this dirty? Why did he want to change them?” Zhao’er muttered as she shook out the pants. That was when an odd smell hit her nose. It was not the smell of urine or other body odour she was used to. Just as she was about to set it aside, her hand brushed against a damp spot.
Curious, she unfolded it further and noticed that it was centred at the crotch area. The damp spot was also a little sticky…
That was when realisation hit her like a hammer.
She couldn’t recall exactly where she’d heard it, but she knew that one of the signs a boy was growing up was when he dirtied his pants.
When a boy dirtied his pants, it meant he was thinking about… about… women!
Thinking about women? Dirtying his pants!?
So, the little man was thinking about women?!
Just which woman is he thinking about?
That was when the voice echoed in her head again.
“I am not a child anymore. We can get married next year and do what Zhao Jinrui is doing with Little Aunt.”
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The progression of Xue Cui’e’s belly would not wait for anyone, therefore, the wedding was scheduled to be held on the 20th of the following month.
With less than a month to prepare for the wedding clothes and dowry, the entirety of the Xue family was so busy that people and horses were flipped everywhere.
The priority was the dowry. Old Zhao wanted to have two cabinets made for Xue Cui’e, but there wasn’t enough time, and buying ready-made cabinets from town would be too expensive. For the sake of getting these cabinets made, Xue Qinghuai and Xue Qingbai were forced to rush around gathering wood and other necessary details to get them made.
Zhao’er’s mule cart was also requisitioned for the wedding planning. Fortunately, Zhao’er managed to make enough money during the early days of the business to purchase another mule cart. The second mule cart was used by Gao Sheng to collect vegetables and sell them in town, otherwise, who knows how much her business would have suffered?
Indeed, the cart was lent to the family, but Zhao’er made it clear to Old Zhao and Xue Cui’e that they could only use it in the afternoons.
This earned her plenty of complaints from Zhao and Xue Cui’e, but Zhao’er had always ignored them.
As the days bustled on, time slowly slipped by. During this period, Xue Tingxiang returned home twice, but unlike before, Zhao’er no longer made it her priority to be at home to greet him. She was always busy outside doing something.
Still, her business was not completely fabricated. With Gao Sheng joining the workforce, their business expanded all the way to Anyang town. Moreover, since the business was still in its infancy, she felt that she had to keep a close eye on it.
Lately, she had also been toying with the idea of buying land. She had looked around but couldn’t make up her mind. Land prices were too high, and with the little amount of silver she had, she could hardly afford a few mu. The land she had in mind required a considerably larger amount.
One day, as she was returning home, her path took her past the end of the village. As she meandered on the road, Zhao’er’s eyes swept over the mountains situated at the back of the village. Suddenly, her eyes lit up.
Over the next couple of days, she appeared anxious yet excited. She also started taking Heizi to explore the back mountains for unknown reasons. Then, for Xue Tingxiang’s next day of rest, she bought a lot of ingredients and even gave their shared room a thorough cleaning.
Zhao’er was generally a tidy person who could not stand the sight of dirt and or mess, but she had been so busy lately that she had not tidied their little room for some time now. Thus, when Xue Tingxiang returned home that day, it was to a spotless and sparkling house with that person beaming brightly at him.
Xue Tingxiang knew Zhao’er well enough to guess that she must want something from him.
Sure enough, Zhao’er brought up the matter during dinner.
“You want to buy that little mountain slope at the back?”
The so-called ‘mountain slope’ was really just a series of little hills behind the village, with the actual mountain looming much further back. Still, the villagers of Yuqing Village had always liked calling it the back mountain.
The spot Zhao’er had her eyes on was a small slope situated across the Xue and Zheng ancestral graves. It was also next to the dirt path that connected the edge of the village to the main road. Moreover, because of its gentle slope, villagers had been harvesting firewood from this hill for many years. Presently, there were only a few scattered trees left. The land was covered in rotting tree stumps, overgrown brambles and weeds, having been abandoned for a long time.
“I’ve been thinking. We cannot rely on others for fresh vegetables all the time. Our fellow villagers needed to eat after all, and money can’t be eaten. Moreover, the variety of vegetables is too limited. There are too many common vegetables and not enough of what the buyers want. Collecting what the villagers have is fine if we want to remain a small-scale business, but we would need a more reliable supply of vegetables if we want to do large-scale business. That’s why I think it’s better to get our hands on a piece of land and plant the vegetables we want to sell.”
“So you want to buy the back hill?”
Zhao’er nodded, not hiding her plans as she continued, “I don’t have much silver in hand right now, so I can’t buy more than a few mu of land. No one passes by this back hill anyway and villagers collecting firewood don’t like this place since brambles don’t burn well. It’s just being abandoned here because it’s practically worthless. However, once I can buy it and start cultivating vegetables here… Anyway, vegetables aren’t as fussy as grains; prepare some soil, toss some seeds, and they’ll grow. The only issue is negotiating with the village head.”
“You want me to speak with Zheng Lizheng?”
“I’d like to go myself, but I’m an outsider and a woman. Zheng Lizheng might not take me seriously. But you’re different.”
“How am I different?”
Zhao’er’s eyes flickered, and suddenly she clammed up like a mute person with their mouth sawn off.
“How am I different, exactly?”
Zhao’er still didn’t answer. Xue Tingxiang stopped looking at her, picked up his chopsticks and resumed eating. Only after he had eaten half a bowl of rice did Zhao’er, with her face flushed, say, “Anyway, you have to go; if you don’t want to go, you still have to go.”
He raised an eyebrow and gave her a sidelong glance.
She slapped the kang table and shouted, “You’re the only man in the family. If you don’t go, who will?”
Xue Tingxiang put down his bowl, leaned in close, and looked at her. “So, you’re finally willing to admit that I’m your man?”
[Gumihou: Ah, this guy…]
Pill Bug TL Notes:
野鸳鸯 Wild Mandarin Ducks, a Chinese idiom for “illicit couple” or “unorthodox couple”. Duck sex is wild, pretty rapey, and might look quite gay…
Gumihou: Lololol!!!
https://nypost.com/2017/05/06/dont-be-fooled-ducks-are-sadistic-raping-monsters/
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