RCAC chapter 7

When Qiao Shen woke up, it was already fully daylight. The half of the bed that Qi Shuo had slept on was no longer warm, so he probably got up a long time ago.

Qiao Shen closed his eyes and lingered in bed for a while longer, but eventually forced himself to get up and went out of the room.

Xiao Changle was sitting in the yard, with a group of chicks and ducklings gathered around him.

He wasn’t afraid either, holding a few pieces of wilted vegetable leaves given to him by his grandmother and throwing them on the ground. Wherever he threw, the chicks would run there to grab the food.

When the chickens moved, Xiao Changle chuckled, truly living up to his name, Changle.¹[常乐(Changle) means “Ever Joyful”]

Qiao Shen walked over, ignoring Xiao Changle’s gesture of wanting to be picked up, and just reached out to rub the soft little tuft of hair on his head, soothing him: “Daddy will brush his teeth, Changle, be a good boy and feed the chicks. When the chicks grow up, they’ll lay eggs for us to eat.”

After Qiao Shen finished brushing his teeth with a willow branch, Qi Shuo pushed open the courtyard door and came in. He had gone out for his morning exercise early, guessing that Qiao Shen would be waking up soon, so he hurried back.

“Why did Changle get up so early today?” Qiao Shen stretched and pulled his muscles.

“I got up in the morning to help him go to the bathroom, and he refused to lie down. When Dad carried him to the field to pick vegetables, he went along. He’ll probably only get tired around noon,” Qi Shuo said, washing his hands before going to the kitchen to bring the warmed breakfast out to Qiao Shen.

Taking advantage of the cool morning, the whole family went to work in the fields.

In the yard, Qi Shuo kept him company while Qiao Shen ate his breakfast porridge. On the table was also a plate of freshly sliced cured meat. Xiao Changle smelled the aroma and pouted, wanting some.

“The environment here is really nice. Being here makes food taste even better,” Qiao Shen tore the lean meat of the cured meat into small strips and fed it to Xiao Changle. Xiao Changle had another round of breakfast with his dad.

“You think it’s good?” Qi Shuo stopped what he was doing. Qiao Shen had always disliked this place before. Turning his head to look at Qiao Shen, he saw him smiling, as if he truly thought it was good.

“Mm, great. Look at our Changle, what an appetite. What are you doing here?”

Qiao Shen ruffled a handful of soft downy hair on hungry Xiao Changle’s head, then noticed the few small woven bamboo baskets piled by Qi Shuo’s hands and feet, and asked curiously.

“Going fishing.”

Qiao Shen became interested, so the family of three packed their gear and went down to catch fish.

When they reached the riverbank, Qiao Shen found a big rock and rolled up his pant leg. He helped Xiao Changle take off his pants, and his top barely covered his fair, tender bottom.

Qiao Shen sat cross-legged, holding Xiao Changle on his lap, circling him with his legs. The river was shallow, barely covering countless little stones, and their feet were soaking in the sun-warmed water.

Xiao Changle stomped his feet, making a curious sound with his small mouth: “Eh?”

“Mm,” Qiao Shen sighed contentedly. He had a healthy body gifted by heaven, a cute son in his arms, and a family member by his side. Raising a child together didn’t seem so bad.

Qi Shuo put away a fish basket and walked toward another spot, glancing up at Qiao Shen.

Sunlight gently fell on Qiao Shen, making his skin look even fairer. He tilted his head and looked at Xiao Changle with a gentle expression. His exposed calves had a gleaming whiteness, and his whole being radiated a light that drew people’s attention. This scene, like a painting, was deeply imprinted in Qi Shuo’s mind.

The family of three spent a whole morning by the river. At noon, with the sun scorching, the two of them packed up and took the child home.

When they got home, Qi’s mother steamed eggs for Xiao Changle and made pancakes for the adults. After eating, Xiao Changle sleepy, so Qi’s mother took him away for a nap.

After finishing his meal, Qi Shuo rolled up his sleeves and trouser legs, grabbed a bamboo hat, and put it on.

Qiao Shen asked curiously, “Where are you going again?”

“To the back mountain to cut some bì lì vines. They can help my mother’s back pain.”

To the mountain? So Qiao Shen decided not to take a nap either. He picked up a bamboo hat and a basket and followed him.

Qi Shuo looked up and down at Qiao Shen. Under Qiao Shen’s puzzled gaze, he squatted down to tighten Qiao Shen’s pant legs and tied them with a cloth rope, doing the same with the sleeves, before leading the way up to the back mountain.

The mountain was full of dense trees, blocking the sunlight, and walking slowly, it was cooler than in the courtyard. After walking some distance, Qi Shuo stopped to let Qiao Shen rest, while he picked up his basket and went to one side to dig for medicinal herbs.

Qiao Shen sat under the tree to rest for a while and looked around. There were no familiar trees here. In modern times, when his father was still healthy, he would take him and his mother on trips, but they rarely went into the mountains or forests. Therefore, Qiao Shen’s understanding of nature was mostly through the internet, Weibo, and some short video apps.

After resting enough, Qiao Shen walked over to Qi Shuo and saw him cutting a small green plant that grew like a vine. On the plant were some green fruits shaped like little lanterns, about the size of a baby’s fist.

Qiao Shen asked curiously, “What is this? What are we digging it for?”

“This is bì lì, the vine can treat back pain. Mother’s back has started hurting again recently.” Every time Qi Shuo returned to his hometown, he would get more bì lì vines for his mother.

“Bì lì?” Qiao Shen felt that the name of this plant was very familiar, but he couldn’t recall where he had heard it.

Qi Shuo picked the fruits off the bì lì vine and threw them away, then put the vine into his backpack. Looking at the dazed Qiao Shen, he said, “The fruit tastes sour and bitter; removing it saves some effort. Just throw it nearby, birds will peck at it.”

Qiao Shen picked up a branch of Bì lì fruit and tore it apart with both hands. Inside were tiny seeds, densely packed and resembling sesame seeds.

“Aren’t these grass jelly seeds?” Qiao Shen’s eyes sparkled as he stared at the pile of Bì lì fruit on the ground.

Qiao Shen’s mother had once bought grass jelly seeds on an online store. She wrapped them in gauze, soaked them in cold boiled water, then rubbed them by hand to extract a thick grass jelly liquid. After placing it in the refrigerator for a few hours, it would naturally set into crystal-clear grass jelly.

Grass jelly 

Grass jelly has the effect of clearing heat and detoxifying, and it is all-natural without needing any additives. So in the summer, Mother Qiao often buys liangfen seeds on Taobao to make grass jelly for the child. She scoops a big spoonful of grass jelly, adds brown sugar water, cuts some pineapple and watermelon, and sprinkles some raisins. Qiao Shen loves eating it very much.

Also, because Qiao Shen’s favorite fruit is lychee, he remembered the Bì lì fruit, which contains the character ‘li’, in his mind.

“Jackpot! Haha…” Qiao Shen put all the Bì lì fruits from the ground into his little basket.

“These fruits don’t taste good. I’ll take you to pick chestnuts.” Qi Shuo wanted to pull Qiao Shen up to go look for wild chestnuts.

“Are there still chestnuts on the mountain? Okay, I also want the Bì lì fruits; I can use them.” Qiao Shen shook off Qi Shuo’s large hand and continued picking the Bì lì fruits.

Seeing Qiao Shen’s excited expression, Qi Shuo no longer stopped him, quickly helping Qiao Shen finish picking the Bì lì fruits in a few steps, and then led him to the other side to find chestnut trees.

Carrying half a basket of Bì lì fruits on his back, Qiao Shen, in a cheerful mood, followed Qi Shuo down the mountain.

Qi Shuo’s basket was half-filled with wild chestnuts, with half a tangle of Bì lì vines on top.

The path down the mountain wasn’t very easy, so Qi Shuo held Qiao Shen’s hand with his big hand, helping him step over fallen tree roots along the path, never letting go. Qiao Shen was in a good mood, so he didn’t mind, and the two of them held hands all the way down the mountain.

When they got to the yard, they put down their things and went to the well to fetch water and wash their faces and hands. The icy well water washed away some of the heat. The two of them then went back to the yard, sat down, and drank tea.

Xiao Changle waddled over on his short little legs, mumbling: “Na na… moo…”

“Hmm? Grandmother took Changle to see the cows?” Since riding in the ox cart, Xiao Changle had been mooing from time to time.

“Hmm… hahahahaha…” Xiao Changle wrapped his tiny little hands around Daddy’s waist, happily bumping his big forehead against Qiao Shen, his little short legs kicking back and forth.

Qiao Shen played with Xiao Changle for a short while, then dug him out from his arms, poured him some water, and fed him. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Qi Shuo looking at him gently, and Qiao Shen pressed his lips together awkwardly.

In the evening, Qi’s mother steamed a big fish and fried a small fish until crispy to go with the men’s drinks. Knowing that her little grandson loved cured meat, she selected lean pieces to stir-fry a plate and also stir-fried some vegetables.

After dinner, Qi’s mother didn’t rest for a moment, busy with her eldest daughter-in-law arranging the things Qi Shuo and the others would take with them in the morning.

“Besides cabbage, tomatoes, and chili peppers, what else do you need?” Qi’s mother didn’t dare to pack too much; she knew the courtyard in the county town was small.

“That’s enough, mom. Just get some extra tomato seeds; Changle loves to eat them.” Tomatoes are rich in vitamin C, and he planned to let Changle eat one every day.

Early the next morning, the sky was just starting to lighten.

Qi’s mother got up early to make flatbreads, so the two of them could eat on the way. The big and small bundles of ingredients were carried by the two Qi brothers, while Qiao Shen held the still-sleeping Xiao Changle. With Qi’s mother’s reluctant gaze, they headed to the village entrance to meet up with Grandpa’s ox cart.

Since Grandpa had to deliver vegetables in the morning, the ox cart was not convenient for passengers. The two planned to walk ten li back to town.

Fortunately, all the big and small bags were on the cart, so they only had to carry a small pack and their son, which wasn’t too tiring.

The road leading to the Dong Town was lined with wildflowers and weeds. From a distance, it looked as if a thick wheat field surrounded the road. Amid the beauty of nature, Qiao Shen suddenly felt as if he were in the modern world of 2020, traveling with his family in good health.

The sky had fully brightened, and after Xiao Changle woke up, he got down from his father’s arms.

Qiao Shen gave him some cool boiled water to drink, then let him hold half a baked flatbread with his little hands, walking slowly while eating. The flatbread was freshly made in the morning, and even when it cooled, it was still soft.

The three of them walked and stopped, following behind the ox cart from a distance.

“Da-da… mm… hmm…” Xiao Changle was full and didn’t want to walk anymore. He clung to Qiao Shen’s pants and looked up, wanting to be picked up.

Qi Shuo scooped him up with one hand and placed him on his shoulders, letting Xiao Changle sit there.

Qiao Shen really didn’t have the courage to carry this little meatball for ten li, so he didn’t spoil him.

Luckily, little Changle was obedient; he didn’t mind that Daddy didn’t carry him. It was his first time seeing things from such a height, and he looked around excitedly, his little head spinning.

After walking ten miles for an hour, they finally returned to Qi Courtyard in Dong Town.​

Kotha: I couldn’t update this Friday and Saturday cause I had to do like 5 assignment in a week😭😭. Anyway I updated both chapters today🤗 If you like my translation consider supporting me on Kofi ☕

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  [常乐(Changle) means “Ever Joyful”]