RCAC chapter 2

At noon, the sun was shining brightly, and the courtyard of the Qi family was filled with the overlapping sounds of birds chirping and people pounding wooden tools.

Qi Shuo wiped the sweat off his face and walked over to the stone table to pour a glass of water. That morning, Qiao Shen had roasted the barley until it was golden brown, then poured in clear water, boiled it, and let it cool—specifically to help Qi Shuo beat the heat. Neither of them had the habit of drinking tea.

Back in modern times, Qiao Shen’s mother especially liked experimenting with delicious dishes in the kitchen to take care of Qiao Shen and his father. In the summer, she’d make barley tea to help them cool down, and seeing her do this so often, Qiao Shen had learned quite a bit too.

After finishing his works, Qiao Shen went to take a nap; his body was still weak, and he got sleepy at set times. Qi Shuo, on the other hand, continued working. In recent days, he had accumulated a pile of work while taking care of Qiao Shen, so he didn’t dare to stop for a moment.

In his sleep, Qiao Shen felt something pressing on his chest and lungs, as if he had returned to lying in the intensive care unit, where the doctor was performing CPR on him. Qiao Shen increasingly felt it was difficult to breathe…

Xiao Changle sat on Daddy’s chest, his tiny bottom wiggling, his little hands clasping his feet, looking innocently at the startled Qiao Shen.

Qiao Shen wiped his face, exhaled, and picked up Xiao Changle to get out of the room. “Are you treating me like a trampoline? Daddy’s gonna be crushed by you, you know that, you little troublemaker?”

Sitting in the yard, the wind rustled through the willows. Qiao Shen held Xiao Changle while enjoying the natural fan of the breeze, watching the busy Qi Shuo, and couldn’t help feeling a bit ashamed. Over here, he had been eating and sleeping well without doing anything, so he tried to make conversation with Qi Shuo to be friendly.

“Shuo ge, you’re amazing. I just took a nap, and you’ve already finished everything?”

Qi Shuo glanced at his husband and pressed his lips together: “It’s not finished yet. This is the final step; it will only be considered complete once it’s polished smooth. I’ll deliver it to the bookstore in the afternoon. I steamed some sweet potatoes in the kitchen, eat a bit if you’re hungry. I’ll be back to cook dinner, it’ll be in time.”

People here generally have two meals a day, one in the morning and one in the evening. At noon, they either eat the leftover breakfast or simply skip the meal. Only wealthy families would specifically prepare lunch.

“Going out? Since Xiao Changle can’t sleep from the heat, I also want to take him out for a walk and cool off a bit.”

Actually, it was Qiao Shen who wanted to go out for a stroll. This dynasty never appeared in the history books he had read, so he was quite curious.

Hearing Qiao Shen address us and saying it was for the sake of his son, Qi Shuo felt a little moved. While speeding up what he was doing, he responded, “Alright, after we drop this off, we can stop by Fuman Lou for dinner. You haven’t been there for a long time.”

After finishing the last step, Qiao Shen watched Qi Shuo load the bookshelf onto the cart. The nearly 1.9-meter-tall man lifted the large bookshelf with ease. Qiao Shen sighed with envy. Take it slow, he thought; heaven has already given him a healthy body, so he just needs to exercise gradually.

Once they tidied up and locked the courtyard door, Qiao Shen carried Xiao Changle, and Qi Shuo pulled the cart. The young couple walked side by side toward the busiest street in Dongshoulan Town.

Dongshulan Town, abbreviated as Dong Town, is the place where villagers from ten li¹[li (里) is a traditional Chinese unit of distance, now standardized at 500 meters, though it varied by dynasty.] and eight villages gather to trade. At this time, the sun is high in the sky, there are not many peoples on the street, and the shops all have their doors wide open, selling a complete range of goods, with the occasional stall set up in front of a shop.

Qi Shuo pulled the bookshelf to the bookstore’s backyard to deliver it. After finishing the delivery, he left the cart in the bookstore’s backyard, agreeing to pick it up after the meal. The bookstore owner often interacted with Qi Shuo; sometimes when a cabinet or chair had a chipped corner, as long as it could be repaired, Qi Shuo would help fix it without hesitation and wouldn’t charge any money. The bookstore owner was very grateful.

As soon as he left the bookstore, he saw Qiao Shen holding Xiao Changle while buying sugar figurines. Xiao Changle was at the age when he couldn’t be held easily, and he didn’t want to be carried even if he couldn’t walk steadily. Earlier, when Qi Shuo was in a hurry delivering goods, he couldn’t hold him, and now he could finally put him down on the ground.

Watching his own husband gently hold Xiao Changle and look at him with such affection as he touched this and that, Qi Shuo couldn’t help but feel a bit soft inside.

“Are you done?” Qiao Shen hurriedly asked as he saw Qi Shuo approaching.

“Mm… are you hungry?”

“Let’s walk around for a bit, not hungry yet. Let him finish his little sugar figurine first.” Xiao Changle couldn’t stand still in one spot anymore; holding the sugar figurine, he waddled forward with soft, unsteady steps.

Qi Shuo walked beside Qiao Shen, protecting him to prevent pedestrians from bumping into him. The two of them leisurely strolled along, matching Xiao Changle’s slow little steps.

Qiao Shen looked at the bustling street and thought to himself that the Great Zhou was indeed peaceful and prosperous. Although it didn’t have the conveniences of modern high-tech, the villagers in every street and alley were self-sufficient. Food, drinks, daily necessities, and entertainment—though not advanced, everything was at least complete. People lived contentedly, and their faces were full of smiles.

While they were strolling around, Xiao Changle couldn’t walk anymore and clung to Qiao Shen’s leg, trying to crawl into his arms. Qiao Shen had already digested his morning porridge, so he picked up Xiao Changle and started looking for something to eat.

“Let’s have a bowl of noodles. It’s hot, and I have no appetite for anything else. I just want something with broth,” Qiao Shen said, holding Xiao Changle and pointing to a noodle stall ahead. The stall was quite busy, and the rich aroma of the pork bone broth could be smelled from afar.

“No need to hold back, eat whatever you want.”

Earlier, Qiao Shen had fallen into the water, and the medical expenses had cost quite a bit. Now that Qiao Shen had woken up, he wasn’t as pampered as before, and Qi Shuo also wanted to reward his husband. A meal at the restaurant wouldn’t cost that much anyway—they could always earn it back.

“I really don’t have an appetite. I haven’t even finished the pastries you bought this morning. Next time, don’t buy any.” Qiao Shen still shook his head and led the way toward the noodle stall.

He thought to himself that Qi Shuo really was a good man, working so hard just to provide a good life for his husband. Because of original Qiao Shen memories, Qiao Shen also knew that the two of them actually had little affection for each other; Qi Shuo was driven solely by the responsibility of being the head of the household.

Thinking of this, Qiao Shen was a bit moved. The head of the Qiao family, Qiao’s father, if he hadn’t inherited the family’s genetic cancer, Qiao Shen could be considered the happiest second-generation wealthy heir in the world. His father was strong and caring for the family, and his mother devoted herself entirely to loving her husband and children.

But the hateful hereditary cancer forced Qiao Shen to lie in bed all day, reading books, watching shows, and most of all, enjoying watching other people’s daily life with their babies on short video apps. Thinking of this, he silently said to his innate self: Qiao Shen, you didn’t appreciate it, I’ll cherish it.

They sat down and ordered two bowls of beef noodles. Seeing Qi Shuo’s big build, Qiao Shen figured he must have quite an appetite, so he ordered an extra bowl and asked the shop to make it with clear broth and softer noodles.

This noodle stall was really good, without the heavy modern seasonings. But the rich aroma of the bone broth, mixed with sesame oil, soy sauce, salt, and sprinkled with scallions, instantly whetted Qiao Shen’s appetite.

Qiao Shen shared a bowl of plain noodles with Xiao Changle. Right now, his stomach was like Xiao Changle’s. He ate little in one meal, but had many meals throughout the day. As long as his son wasn’t hungry, Qi Shuo would indulge him.

Qi Shuo quickly finished two bowls of noodles. Over on Qiao Shen’s side, he finished feeding Xiao Changle, but once his belly was full, Xiao Changle couldn’t sit still. Every time he tried to feed him, he would spit it out. Seeing Xiao Changle start to waste food, Qi Shuo reached out to pick him up and rubbed his round little tummy, deciding not to feed him anymore.

With that taken care of, Qiao Shen could eat in peace and finished his bowl of noodles. One bowl down, he was about 80% full, but he didn’t plan to eat any more since his stomach couldn’t handle it. The two of them paid the bill and got ready to head home.

Passing by the oil and salt shop, Qiao Shen went in to buy some sauces and braising spices. He told Qi Shuo that he wanted to make some braised dishes when he got home. Qi Shuo asked what ingredients Qiao Shen needed and then led him to buy everything.

There were many types of ingredients, and quite a bit of meat too. Qi Shuo didn’t even bat an eye while paying. After picking up all the supplies, Xiao Changle sat on the cart, surrounded by the ingredients his dad had bought. His father pulled the cart, Qiao Shen stayed close to support him, and the three of them returned to the courtyard.

Qi Shuo filled the water tank and returned to the yard to work on the wood. Xiao Changle was placed in the basket in front of him, which was lined with soft cloth by Qiao Shen. Xiao Changle grabbed the small wooden toy his father made, twisting it here and there, and the wood made a cracking sound. Hearing this sound, Xiao Changle giggled happily. Qi Shuo listened to Xiao Changle’s soft, tender laughter and smiled slightly at the corner of his mouth while continuing his carpentry work.

In the kitchen, Qiao Shen blanched the pork belly, pig trotters, and pork ribs before taking them out. When Qiao Shen’s mother used to make it, she used cooking wine and had a variety of seasonings, but due to limited conditions, Qiao Shen recalled his mother’s method and started a new pot. He added boiling water, then put in ginger, scallion paste, bay leaves, star anise, cinnamon, and a little wine. Once the water boiled, Qiao Shen added the meat to simmer over low heat, and also washed and added lotus root and eggs.

It’s a pity that people here don’t eat pig offal much. Maybe he went too late; next time he will go earlier to see if he can buy pig intestines and pig lungs. Qiao Shen loves eating these braised dishes the most, and his mother, who is skilled at cooking, has really spoiled his taste buds.

• 1
  [li (里) is a traditional Chinese unit of distance, now standardized at 500 meters, though it varied by dynasty.]