Chapter 8

Holding his bowl of mixed-grain rice, Xie Ning ate with relish. After all, aside from Zhou Jinian's immediate family, everyone in the Zhou household was a stranger to him. Not being allowed to eat with them actually put him more at ease.

Seeing how much Xie Ning liked meat, Zhou Jinian spoke up for once. "Eat some more. Our family isn't well-off, so we don't often have meat. I'm going to town tomorrow. What would you like to eat? I'll buy it for you."

When Xie Ning's mother was still alive, she had said those very words to him every time she went to town, and he would always stamp his feet impatiently, clamoring for sweets.

"Dragon's beard candy," Xie Ning blurted out.

Zhou Jinian raised an eyebrow. "Why not meat? I have enough silver."

"I'll eat meat when there is some. When there isn't, I can make it with eggplants. I want dragon's beard candy. When my mother was alive, she bought it for me every time she went to town." After their trip up the mountain that day, Xie Ning already regarded Zhou Jinian as a close older brother.

Watching the young man before him visibly grow downcast, Zhou Jinian knew he was missing his mother and changed the subject. "How do you make meat out of eggplants?"

"You haven't tried it either? My mother invented it. Buy me dragon's beard candy when you go to town tomorrow, and I'll steam dried eggplant for you at home."

"All right."

The eggplants in the fields had just ripened that month and had all been harvested and stacked in the cellar. They were nothing rare; farming households had plenty.

With their agreement settled, Xie Ning happily gathered up the bowls and chopsticks to wash. He made his way into the kitchen in the dark, where Lin Jin took them from his hands. "Perfect timing. I'll wash these along with the rest. Go help Dad bring in the clothes."

"All right." His reply rang out brightly. With a task to do, Xie Ning left cheerfully.

Lin Jin smiled and shook his head. He was still just a young lad, with such a cheerful disposition. That was good.

That night, Zhou Jinian went to the trouble of fetching another full tub of water, and Xie Ning climbed into it as though it were only natural.

Neither his father nor his elder brother had told him about marriage or the wedding night. Madam Xie Sun, after all, was not related to Xie Ning by blood, nor were they close, so she certainly would not have told him about bedroom matters.

And so Xie Ning spent another comfortable night sleeping in the bathtub.

Zhou Jinian lay with his eyes closed, listening to the occasional splash from the bathtub. As he thought about the strange experience he had shared with Ninglang that day, his mind was filled with Xie Ning's smiling face, his little husband with those sparkling eyes.

It seemed that soaking in water all night only allowed Ninglang to move freely for half a day. He pondered how he would care for Ninglang in winter.

Author's note: The nonvenomous white snake is only a fictional setting. It hasn't been researched and comes with no guarantees, so please don't take it seriously. If you encounter snakes, don't provoke them or eat them. Staying safe matters most! Thank you to the little angels who sent me Overlord Tickets or watered me with nutrient solution between 2020-09-13 18:00:46 and 2020-09-13 18:14:35~

Thanks to the little angel who watered me with nutrient solution: Meng JiujiujiuI, 5 bottles;

Thank you so much for all your support. I'll keep working hard!

Chapter 8

"Cluck, cluck-cluck..."

Before dawn, the village roosters began to crow. Great Well Village was still shrouded in a thin black veil, waiting for the rising sun to lift the gloom.

He was going to town that day, so Zhou Jinian got up and dressed briskly, without dawdling. In the past, he had risen even earlier to attend court. Once the hour of the tiger had passed, he had to leave his residence for court.

Before leaving, he checked on the person in the water. Ninglang had curled up at the bottom of the bathtub again, lying on his side like a newborn baby. Knowing he could breathe underwater, Zhou Jinian was not worried.

Out in the little courtyard, Zhou Jinian shouldered his bamboo basket. Just before he left, he ran into his dad, whose hair was still loose.

Lin Jin said, "Dad still got up too late. How can you go without breakfast? I'll make you a pancake. Eat before you set off."

Zhou Jinian was no longer the immature, rash youth he had been at eighteen. With both his fathers alive and the family living together, he could always keenly discern the love and care his elders had for him as their son in everything they said.

In this life, he would no longer take his family's care for granted or rush to chase fame and fortune. He only wanted his family to live in peace and stability, with ample food and clothing.

Of course, he still had to take the imperial examinations. There was no denying that passing them could bring prosperity to a family.

"I brought some pancakes left over from yesterday's trip up the mountain. They'll be enough." Zhou Jinian told his dad, "Go back to sleep for a while, Dad. I'll head out now. Once the sun rises, the journey will be hot and tiring."

"All right, then I'll see you to the gate." Reassured, Lin Jin gathered his hair into a knot and followed his son. As they passed the inner courtyard, every room's door was shut. The family was still asleep.

"Go back, Dad. Ninglang took a fall yesterday."

Lin Jin interrupted, "I know. Let him wake up on his own. Off you go. Be careful on the road and come back early."

Only after watching Zhou Jinian walk into the distance did Lin Jin close the courtyard gate and return to his room. Though he did not work in the fields, with such a large courtyard and so many people, cooking, washing clothes, and tidying the courtyard kept him busy every day.

The work he did was simply the sort people easily overlooked, but he never stopped. His lower back grew more sore and tired by the day.

Lin Jin sighed and returned to bed to rest his eyes beside his man.

Xie Ning was startled awake by a dream. Once again, he had dreamed of playing in the lotus pond. Just as he was about to stretch out and swim up a storm, he found he could not straighten his legs, and his frustration jolted him awake.

He was the only one left in the room. After dressing, he went to the little courtyard first. Seeing a basket covered with a quilt, he went over and lifted it to find the akebia fruit he had picked yesterday.

Farmers liked to cover wild fruit that was not quite ripe with quilts to ripen it.

"They'll probably need another three to five days under there. There's porridge left for you on the table. Eat first."

Still squatting, Xie Ning turned his head and called to Lin Jin, "Dad!"

"Yes?" Lin Jin answered, coming into the little courtyard to fetch a wooden basin.

"Dad, I'm going to steam dried eggplant for Jinian today." Xie Ning followed right on his heels.

"All right. Once you've had breakfast, I'll help you."

Xie Ning nodded, then remembered that his dad had his back to him and could not see it, so he spoke again. "Mm, I'll need eggplants."

He followed Lin Jin all the way through the room, until Lin Jin was about to enter the inner courtyard. The fourth branch's room was directly opposite, so only then did Xie Ning stop following him and turn back to the little courtyard to wash up and have his thin porridge.