TTLJDFL chapter 21

Li Jin knew that the villagers were just being polite. If he actually brought his whole family to eat, that family wouldn’t have enough to eat.

Even though rice was cheap in the village, only five wen per dou.

But one dou of rice is only ten liters, twelve and a half jin, a little over six kilograms.

Just enough for an adult man to eat for about ten days.

Of course, back then, farm households usually only ate rice occasionally at noon. At other times, they ate thin porridge, as the name suggests, very, very thin rice porridge.

As for why we don’t eat just thin porridge three times a day, that’s because the folks at home still have physical work to do. If we never get enough to eat, how could we put in the effort to support our families?

A few of them walked to the village entrance together. Li Jin said goodbye to them, and looking at his home not far away, his steps felt a bit lighter.

He didn’t know that several ger’ers were still at home at that moment. Qin Muwen took the pouch and handkerchief out of the basket and awkwardly said, “I should have come to find you once I finished sewing.”

Those three ger’ers were the ones who came last time to help the young man pick up jobs. Among them, one responded calmly upon hearing Qin Muwen speak: “Anyway, even if you send them to us, we still have to deliver them to the town ourselves.”

Qin Muwen felt even more embarrassed. “Thank you, all of you.”

However, pouches like these were not heavy, and the ger’ers who took jobs would take turns, sending one person to pick them up and another to deliver them.

Previously, the boy, in order to earn money, would even drag his not-so-heavy body along, walking and stopping for quite a while, to the town to deliver sewing work.

Later, his belly became so large that when he stood on the ground and looked down, he couldn’t see his own feet. Only then did he tell these people that he hadn’t been doing sewing work lately.

The boy valued the child in his belly very much and was determined to protect his child at all costs.

After successfully giving birth, a few ger’ers ate the egg pancakes made by Li Jin before delivering these pouches to the young man.

On one hand, they had heard that Li Jin had changed a lot recently and wanted to have a look; on the other hand, they wanted to see how well the young man was doing.

As ger’ers, they used to interact with Qin Muwen with a sense of pity.

They would say ‘poor Awen,’ but they would not show any extra care for him in actions or in food.

It’s as if, watching the young man struggle in the mud, they felt that their own lives were quite happy.

But they never even dreamed that the young man had merely given birth to a child. And yet, Li Jin unexpectedly turned over a new leaf, personally lifting him out of the mud and carefully helping him wash away all the filth.

Today, the ger’er called Xiao An (Chapter Three) didn’t come. He was the youngest, with a delicate appearance. Although he was a concubine, the men in his family still quite liked staying at his place.

Xiao An might be one of the few who could sincerely treat gers well.

Another ger with a small, skinny face saw the oil-paper packages on the low bedside table. He walked over in a few quick steps and said, “What’s this? Li Jin, that good-for-nothing who only knows how to hit people, actually bought you candies and sweets like this!”

That money could buy enough rice and flour for the whole family to eat for ten days!

He thought the person he married was already pretty decent, but a few days ago, when the kid from the main wife was crying and wanting some sweets, his husband not only refused to buy any, he even hit the kid.

Li Jin actually bought candies and preserved fruits for Awen!

Qin Muwen never expected that these gers, whom he usually had very little contact with and only interacted with for assigning sewing work, would look through his belongings.

Moreover, even more importantly, they spoke harshly and insulted his husband.

Although Qin Muwen has a soft personality, it doesn’t mean he would silently endure being bullied.

He took his things back, put them on the table, and when he was angry and felt wronged, the corners of his eyes had a flush of red. He had never fought with anyone before, and after taking his things back, he actually didn’t know how to speak for a moment. But Qin Muwen thought to himself, he absolutely couldn’t let these people slander A Jin. He didn’t like these people.

“Hah, now that you’ve made it big, you want to distance yourself from us so quickly?”

Qin Muwen pressed his lips tightly and took back all of his pouches: “I will deliver these sewing tasks myself.”

After a pause, he distributed two pouches to each person. It would take him two ‘shichen,’ that is, four hours, to sew six of them.

Moreover, he was still recovering from childbirth, yet he stitched each one painstakingly.

“These are tokens of gratitude for the sewing tasks you previously assigned to me.”

A small purse had just a penny, but he gave each of these three people two pennies, already considered generous.

After doing all this, he straightened up and looked at the three of them, saying, “You slander my husband, I refuse to associate with you, and don’t ever set foot in my house again!”

The young man who had casually rummaged through Li Jin’s things earlier was so angry that his chest heaved continuously, angrily saying, “Just because you’ve given birth to a child, you think you’ve become precious, huh? Have you even looked at what kind of thing you’ve given birth to?

The first child is a ger. Li Jin really must have been blind to treat you well. Why doesn’t he beat you every day like before?”

Qin Muwen’s heart suddenly twisted. He, he also wanted the first child to be a boy. Maybe Guanyin didn’t hear his prayer. The other two people were obviously supporting the boy by their side, not Qin Muwen.

Seeing Qin Muwen’s face turn pale, they wanted to say more sarcastic words. Since their own faces were already torn, they didn’t care about tearing more.

At that moment, the courtyard gate was pushed open, and Li Jin’s clear, slightly magnetic voice sounded: “Wenwen, I’m back.”

The three of them were momentarily stuck in their throats, not daring to utter a word. Although Li Jin’s reputation had improved recently, one must not forget how he had treated Qin Muwen in the past!

Previously, whenever Qin Muwen made a move, bruises would appear on his wrists or neck, truly horrifying.

Li Jin entered the yard, and just as he set down his backpack, he saw three gers streaming out from the inner room.

All of them looked unfamiliar, probably living on the other side of the village.

As an outsider, it wasn’t appropriate for Li Jin to casually chat with the gers, so he cleaned his hands, dried them, and carried back the scrolls he copied today.

He didn’t linger to look at them and let them leave.

After he entered the house, the young boy was already lying on the bed, facing the wall, pretending to be asleep.

Li Jin: “……..” How naive is this kid.

A few gers had just gone out, and if they got along well, the young man would definitely be happy, with two cute dimples appearing at the corners of his lips, and even the cinnabar mole at the edge of his brow seeming more attractive.

But now he actually pretended to be asleep…

He must have been bullied, yet he is still holding back from saying anything.

Li Jin planned to make braised pork for the young man today, so he didn’t buy meat buns.

He moved the newborn cub, only a few days old, aside, then leaned down himself and whispered into the boy’s ear, “Are you asleep?”

The boy kept his eyes closed, not daring to make a sound, for he feared that once he opened his mouth, a sob would slip out.

He was not so weak; alone, he managed his frail body to cook, do housework, take care of the child, and even find time to do sewing, without feeling the least bit tired.

Qin Muwen thought, Ah Jin is doing so well now—cutting grass in the fields during the day, going up the mountains to gather herbs, going to town to study, and still waking lightly at night to take care of the child. Who are those people to call Ah Jin a loser?

Just then, Qin Muwen suddenly felt a lightness over his body, and he quickly opened his eyes. It turned out that Li Jin had scooped him up with the quilt wrapped around him.

Qin Muwen had no idea how attractive the rosy tint at the corners of his eyes looked at this moment.

Li Jin said, “When Baozi cried, I just held him like this to comfort him. Now that Baozi’s older brother is crying, do I have to comfort him the same way too?”

Qin Muwen could only feel all the blood rushing to his head. At this moment, he had no mind to care about what those people had just said; he just felt that Li Jin was really, really… being ridiculous.

He’s clearly Baozi’s father, not his older brother!

Li Jin looked at the boy and seriously explained, “At your age, being Baozi’s older brother works just fine.”

The boy’s eyes went wide, and he looked like he really wanted to explain that Baozi actually came out of his own stomach.

Li Jin shook the boy a few times like he was shaking Baozi and said, “Still upset now?”

The young boy blinked for a moment and then realized that he didn’t feel like crying at all anymore.

He shook his head obediently and honestly, “Not sad anymore.”

Then, seeing that the sun was already high, Li Jin put the boazi on the inner side of bed to prevent him from falling off.

He himself took the boy to the kitchen.
The space under the cutting board was like a treasure chest; Li Jin rummaged through it and pulled out a stool, letting the boy sit on one side.

“I’m here to cook braised pork for you. If you’re still feeling down, just tell me what just happened. Say it out loud, and I’ll help you shoulder the burden.”

Li Jin thought, with a young guy’s personality, he wouldn’t go out of his way to make enemies.

But he probably isn’t a timid little pushover either; he just feels that many things aren’t worth arguing about, so he doesn’t let them bother him.

Others said he was pitiable, and he indeed felt pitiable compared to them, yet he remained open and calm, feeling no sadness at all. After all, this was the truth and required no dispute.

In other households, men would farm the land, but for the young man, he had to manage both farming and needlework, while also taking care of the original owner, this giant baby.

Yet the young man not only voiced no complaints, but even, when Li Jin came over to cut the grass, wanted to stop Li Jin.

Then, when Li Jin was gradually, little by little, being good to him, he gave him his full trust. Such a person sees himself as insignificant. Yet he does not complain about the world; on the contrary, he lives every day actively and diligently. Such a young man makes people feel extremely heartache.

Li Jin no longer spoke and took out the meat to start cutting it into small pieces.

He stood straight as a rod. The boy wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that the clothes Li Jin was wearing now seemed a bit tight. When Li Jin picked up the knife, he could see the muscles bulging on his arms.

The first step for braised pork is to put sugar in a cold pan, add oil, wait for the sugar to melt, then put the meat in and fry it for a few minutes. The boy listened to the sizzling sound in the pan and slowly recounted everything that had happened today.

He didn’t say why he was angry, just like a detached onlooker watching a farce.

Because he realized that a few words from those people wouldn’t hurt him, he just needed to interact with them less in the future.

By the time the braised pork was ready, the boy’s story had long been told.

Outside the door came a cautious knock—two knocks, then a pause.

Just as the baozi woke up, the boy hurried back to feed the baby.

Li Jin went to open the door and saw four or five kids standing in front of his house, some wearing clothes that didn’t fit, and some completely naked.

When they saw Li Jin, the youngest child didn’t dare to speak and hid behind the older ones.

One of the kids, who was barely as tall as Li Jin’s waist, whispered, “Uncle Jin, did you make any meat?”​

Kotha : Bonus Chapter cause I had some free time,,🙂 Should I increase my upload frequency?? 🫠🫠