Chapter 16

Xie Ning smiled as he watched Jinian's handsome face draw closer and closer. Then warmth touched his forehead-Zhou Jinian had kissed him there...

Zhou Jinian straightened again, his expression softening as he watched for Ninglang's reaction.

Xie Ning's eyes widened. Once he realized what had happened, he shyly buried his face against Jinian's thigh and rubbed against it, trying to dispel the heat in his face and the tingling on his forehead.

Zhou Jinian stroked his long hair and asked softly, "Did you hate that?"

Xie Ning stopped moving but said nothing.

Zhou Jinian leaned closer, bringing his lips to Ninglang's ear. "Then, did you like it?"

Xie Ning felt his ears burn at once, his heart tingling. Inwardly, he said, I did.

When Ninglang still gave no answer, Zhou Jinian did not press him. He merely sat up straight, braced his hands behind himself, and deliberately swung his lower legs to tease Ninglang.

Xie Ning looked up in feigned anger, pouting as he glared at him. Perhaps to regain the upper hand, he said in what he considered a thoroughly commanding tone, "Lower your head!"

Hearing his soft tone, Zhou Jinian complied with his request, only for Xie Ning to plant a kiss on his forehead with a smacking sound.

"Did you like it?" Xie Ning demanded fiercely.

"Heh..." Zhou Jinian could not help chuckling. Before Ninglang's expression could change, he said, "I loved it."

Clinging to his lower legs, Xie Ning kicked his feet back and forth in the water, his lips pressed into a sweet smile. Growing bolder, he said, "Come into the water."

Zhou Jinian did as he asked. Despite his embarrassment, Xie Ning lunged forward to embrace him, pressing his face against Zhou Jinian's bare chest.

The water was cold, but Zhou Jinian was warm.

How could there be a little husband like Ninglang, so sweet and soft yet so strong-and his, at that? Contentedly, Zhou Jinian wrapped his arms around him and held him tightly.

There in the water, he warmed his little husband with his burning chest.

The husbands deliberately waited until dusk to descend the mountain. His father, Zhou Sanfeng, came over to help unload the bamboo basket. Removing the creeping fig vines coiled on top, he found fish beneath them-a dozen or more-and asked in surprise, "Where did you catch these?"

Zhou Jinian rolled his shoulders. "There's a pool halfway up the mountain. Ninglang went into the water and caught them. We'll sell them in town tomorrow."

Zhou Sanfeng looked at his son-in-law in surprise and murmured, "We truly are blessed..."

"Even if you can swim, you must be careful. Don't go into deep water, and don't linger in the water when you're alone, understand?" he also cautioned Xie Ning.

"Yes, yes, I know, Father."

Xie Ning happily caught the fish and transferred them into buckets, picking out the shrimp to boil and eat. For that matter, he had Grandmother Zhou to thank for being able to light a fire and cook separately in their own little courtyard.

Zhou Jinian went to fetch water while Xie Ning boiled the shrimp in plain water in the courtyard. When he returned from collecting their evening meal, he also brought a small dish of sauce. Dipping the fresh, tender shrimp in it, the family ate until their bellies were round and full.

Author's note: Thank you to the little angels who cast Overlord Tickets or watered me with nutrient solution between 2020-09-20 22:37:20 and 2020-09-21 23:06:53~

Thank you to the little angels who cast landmines: Mi Se Ye Ru Gou and sunnny, 1 each;

Thank you to the little angels who watered me with nutrient solution: sgz1221, 30 bottles; Yi Qie You Wei Fa Ru Meng Huan Pao Ying, 1 bottle;

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

Chapter 16

Early the next morning, at the rooster's first crow, Zhou Jinian got up, dressed, and went into the little courtyard by himself to decoct medicine for his dad.

Once Xie Ning woke, Zhou Jinian carried the fish on his back while Xie Ning carried two empty wooden buckets, and they left in the dark.

Zhou Jinian found the old man who had driven the ox cart last time and paid ten copper coins to borrow it. Passing the large well, he filled the wooden buckets with water and tipped the fish into them to keep them alive. He drove from the front, taking his little husband into town.

Fortunately, the ox knew the way itself, so Zhou Jinian picked it up easily, without any trouble.

Xie Ning took out a flatbread and tore it in half to share with Zhou Jinian, turning his head to look along the road as he ate.

Green trees clustered around the village, and green hills sloped beyond its outskirts. The road out of the village was broad, with layers of greenery on either side. Here and there, playful little white flowers peeked out, adding vibrant life to spring and summer.

The ox cart swayed along, finally passing through the town gates in broad daylight. They left the cart at the relay station and paid the fee. Then Zhou Jinian carried the two buckets of fish while Xie Ning shouldered the bamboo basket and held the cloth bag of books, and they walked toward the market together.

Thanks to their ox cart, there were still few vendors when they arrived. Zhou Jinian found a pork stall and settled beside it.

He certainly knew how to think: anyone who could afford pork would surely also be willing to spend money on fish. The surrounding vendors all cast curious looks their way. A tall, exceptionally handsome man leading a slight young fellow in a bamboo hat-they looked neither like farmers and craftsmen nor like merchants.

Xie Ning leaned close to Zhou Jinian and urged him in a very quiet voice, "Jinian, go to the bookshop first. I can watch things here."

"It's all right. We'll go together once we've sold everything." Zhou Jinian did not mind. More than his status as a scholar, he cared that if he left and Ninglang was bullied for his appearance, he would not be there to protect him.

Early in the morning, most of those coming and going through the market were vendors, bartering with one another while waiting for the townspeople to come out and shop.

Qingshui Town was a small place, after all. By the hour of the dragon, the market was still not crowded shoulder to shoulder, though people had begun coming out to browse.

With his hands behind his back, Zhou Jinian calmly accepted the gazes of passersby. Quite a few curious people used looking at the fish as an excuse to stare openly at him.

He neither called out nor drove them away. When someone asked the price, he answered readily, "The fish in the left bucket weigh about four or five jin, eighty wen apiece. The ones in the right bucket are a little smaller, sixty-five wen."

The neighboring butcher had just cut a jin of fatty pork and sold it for twenty wen. Fatty pork was expensive under the current dynasty, since it could be rendered into lard, which was needed at every meal, so he had set his prices on that basis.

Xie Ning had been crouching beside him, steadying the basket on his back. Now he stood up excitedly, hoping the person asking would buy a fish and give his fish stall its first sale.

But after hearing the price, the person turned and left, and three or five people drifted away from the crowd.

Xie Ning pouted. This business had cost him nothing; he could sell them cheaper. Don't go.