RCAC chapter 3

Qiao Shen boiled another pot of water to take a bath. Although the weather was hot, his cold hadn’t fully healed yet, and Xiao Changle couldn’t bathe in cold water either, so every time they bathed, they had to use hot water.

Even though it was evening, the summer sun set late, and the air was still very dry and hot. Qiao Shen simply mixed the warm water in a basin, the wooden tub was heavy, so he had Qi Shuo help carry it under the willow tree. Qiao Shen scooped up Xiao Changle, stripped him naked, and put him in the wooden tub to bathe.

Even in the heat, the ancients dressed their whole bodies tightly, so Xiao Changle’s skin was fair and tender, just a bit thin from long-term malnutrition.

Qiao Shen gently wiped Xiao Changle’s whole body with a cloth. Xiao Changle wasn’t used to bathing and, getting wet, jumped into the lap of the crouching Qiao Shen, kicking the bathwater with his little short legs.

Wrapping the completely naked Xiao Changle in a cotton cloth, he walked into the house, and Qiao Shen was almost soaked from head to toe.

After changing Xiao Changle’s clothes, Qiao Shen quickly put him back into the wooden basket in front of Qi Shuo, then turned around to adjust the water temperature for himself and went to the upstairs room to bath.

The kitchen was filled with the aroma of stewed meat, and Xiao Changle couldn’t sit still smelling it. He cried out ‘Ah ah,’ stretching his little arms toward Qi Shuo, wanting to be taken to see what smelled so delicious!

Qi Shuo looked at his son’s restless little body, washed his hands, picked up Xiao Changle, and took him to the kitchen to have a look.

He wasn’t sure if he could lift the pot lid, so he added some firewood and kept the stew simmering on low heat. The kitchen was filled with the aroma of braised meat, and even Qi Shuo, who wasn’t particularly fond of food, felt a little tempted.

After adding the firewood, Qi Shuo hurriedly left the kitchen holding Xiao Changle and played with him, letting him grab at the drooping willow branches. Meanwhile, Qiao Shen finished his bath and stepped out of the room with wet hair.

Qi Shuo covered Xiao Changle’s mouth, not allowing him to eat the willow branches. Seeing Qiao Shen walk toward the kitchen, he said, “Just added some firewood, afraid the fire will go out.”

Qiao Shen hummed in response, looked at the fire, lifted the lid, and poked the meat with chopsticks, not planning to add more firewood. He figured it would be ready to eat once the fire went out.

Walking back to the yard, Qiao Shen thought for a moment and then spoke, “I’d better boil water for you to wash with, don’t want you to catch a cold from washing with cold water.”

Qi Shuo handed Xiao Changle, who had a little temper, to Qiao Shen. When he tried to prevent him from eating willow branches, Xiao Changle twisted and turned, refusing to be held by his father.

“What does ‘catch a cold’ mean? It’s unnecessary; cold water is for relieving summer heat.” He is a boy, and generally boys have strong yang energy and a warm body.

“It’s a cold symptom, then you should go quickly; it will get cold after the sun sets,” Qiao Shen said, supporting Xiao Changle and helping him stand on the stone table.

Xiao Changle smacked his lips and snuggled into Qiao Shen’s arms, nibbling him all over, leaving Qiao Shen’s neck wet with saliva—he was hungry again.

“Our Changle is hungry, you see, it’s time to eat. Come, repeat after daddy: want… to… eat.”

“Mm… da-da… qi… qiqi…”

“Daddy.”

“Dada!”

“Daddy.”

“Da… dia.”

Qiao Shen sighed. At two years old, he still couldn’t say ‘daddy.’ Sigh…

Well, it’s okay. We’ll take it slowly.

Holding Xiao Changle , he went into the kitchen to scoop up two braised eggs, then carried the bowl to the stone table in the courtyard and sat down. He peeled the eggs, let them cool, and fed them to Xiao Changle .

The flavorful braised eggs whetted Xiao Changle’s appetite, and he ate both eggs cleanly. After finishing, he tugged at Qiao Shen, wanting to go back into the kitchen.

The kitchen fire was lit again, and sweet potatoes and corn were steamed. Qiao Shen did not want Xiao Changle to go in, so he held his soft, delicate little body, gave him a cup of water, comforted him, and then took him to watch the ants on the tree.

After Qi Shuo finished bathing, Qiao Shen placed Xiao Changle right under Qi Shuo’s watchful eyes, then turned to enter the kitchen, slicing the braised lotus root and meat, and brought them out together with the steamed potatoes and corn.
The aroma of the braised dishes on the stone table made Xiao Changle extremely excited. Standing in his father’s arms, his little body bounced up and down, stomping on his father’s thighs as if he couldn’t wait to dive into the bowl.

Qiao Shen peeled a small bowl of corn, mixed it with the shredded braised meat, and let Xiao Changle eat it himself with a wooden spoon.

The braised meat was full of flavor, soaked up all the broth, perfectly cooked without being sticky; the meat was tender but not mushy. The mouthfuls were rich with fat aroma. Even Qi Shuo, who had already eaten two bowls of noodles, ended up eating more.

Qiao Shen, not caring about appearances, chomped on a pig’s trotter. Seeing Qi Shuo and Xiao Changle eating so happily, his confidence in his cooking shot up instantly. Looks like he really did have something he could show off. He could even earn money to fatten up Xiao Changle with this.

After eating his fill, it was already dark. The night air had dropped a few degrees. Qiao Shen poured the remaining braised meat along with the broth into a clay pot. The low night temperature meant it wouldn’t spoil, but it had to be eaten by tomorrow.

After tidying up the kitchen and locking the courtyard gate with the latch, Qiao Shen went back to his room. The most awkward moment of the day was always this one.

Luckily, Xiao Changle was sleeping with them, and maybe because his body hadn’t fully recovered, Qi Shuo hadn’t made any inappropriate moves.

Because of his mother’s influence, Qiao Shen had a certain longing for family and a sense of responsibility, but he still couldn’t accept lying down with another man and doing anything.

The room had an oil lamp lit, Qi Shuo was sitting at a big wooden table carving small objects, and Xiao Changle was crawling around on the bed.

Qiao Shen pretended to cough a couple of times, signaling that he wasn’t fully well, and nervously sat on the bed to touch Xiao Changle’s forehead.

His hand felt all sweaty, and it had only been a short while; Xiao Changle was already sweating from the heat. Qiao Shen simply stripped Xiao Changle down completely and, after thinking for a moment, opened the wardrobe and took out the clothes from Xiao Changle’s infant days.

These clothes were already too small, but children grow quickly. They hadn’t been worn many times, and the material was still good. So he washed them clean and put them away, thinking that someday when he returned to the village, he could bring them back, as there were still a few little babies in the family in the village who would need them.

Qiao Shen went to get a pair of scissors and cut up the clothes that were too small, planning to make a handmade diaper for Xiao Changle to wear. On such a hot day, if Xiao Changle kept wearing normal clothes, he’d surely get prickly heat.

Qi Shuo watched Qiao Shen cutting up the small clothes that Xiao Changle no longer used, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

Thinking about Qiao Shen’s strange behavior over the past few days, he realized that in the end, it was always about making Xiao Changle comfortable, so he didn’t speak up to stop him.

Soon, Qiao Shen, following the design of modern diapers, made a cotton diaper for Xiao Changle. He put the little diaper on him, leaving it just a bit loose, but not enough to fall off.

Seeing the leftover fabric, Qiao Shen also made a simple little bellyband for Xiao Changle sewing two strings from the scrap cloth. Now he didn’t have to worry about Xiao Changle’s belly button getting cold.

Looking at his own work, Qiao Shen couldn’t help but laugh out loud happily. Qi Shuo, watching Qiao Shen’s smiling face, paused his actions. Seeing Qiao Shen like this made him feel joy for the first time.

After tidying up, Qiao Shen, wearing only his undergarments, lay on the inner side of the bed holding Xiao Changle. Beds in ancient times were like kangs—wide and large.

Xiao Changle, except for bath time, hadn’t shown this much of his skin. He sat next to Qiao Shen lying down, looking down and pinching the skin on his own thigh with his pinky.

Looking at the little cotton string tied on Xiao Changle’s back, and the thin, soft flesh covering Xiao Changle’s back—which was still a bit skinny—Qiao Shen scooped up Xiao Changle and let him lie on his chest. Xiao Changle’s hands rested softly on Qiao Shen’s shoulders, gradually calming down…

The sky had completely turned dark, and it was silent all around. The oil lamp wasn’t bright enough, so Qi Shuo put away the tool in his hands and got ready to sleep.

After tidying up, he put out the oil lamp. Qi Shuo adjusted to the darkness and, by the moonlight, looked at Qiao Shen, who was already sound asleep. Since Qiao Shen woke up after falling into the water, he seemed like a different person—more energetic, and he often held Xiao Changle. Before, Qiao Shen even found holding a child tiring.

Xiao Changle, as a baby, was like Qi Shuo—not fussy and very easy to take care of, so Qiao Shen paid even less attention to him.

But in recent days, Xiao Changle had become increasingly clingy to Qiao Shen, and Qiao Shen didn’t seem to mind, showering him with love and care.

This is great, Qi Shuo comforted himself. He just needs to work hard to earn money; his husband is just a bit lazy, right?

As long as he keeps loving the child like this, he can provide for them. Qi Shuo gently picked Xiao Changle up from Qiao Shen, placed him by his side, and lay down to sleep.

Qiao Shen felt less weight on him, comfortably changed his position, and while lying on his side, unconsciously lifted his leg and placed it on Qi Shuo’s thigh, his arms wrapped around Xiao Changle, unconsciously nuzzling a bit. Qi Shuo glanced at Qiao Shen, who was sleeping soundly, and closed his eyes, gradually drifting into dreamland as well.​

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