BYBOTE Chapter 24: A Blanket

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After some small talk, Luo Fei returned home with the chicks. At home, he immediately went to work on "plucking the hair" of the big rooster. (Of course, this "plucking hair" referred to getting the rooster’s feathers to prepare for cooking, not anything inappropriate.) He needed to save on expenses, as they had very little money left.

He had spent most of the money on necessities like food, cooking ingredients, and dishes. While he originally thought of keeping track of expenses with Xie Yanqing, he realized that since they both ate together, it felt unfair to make Xie Yanqing pay. So, he ended up buying everything himself. However, with little money left, he needed some extra cash.

"Hey, I’m almost out of money. Can you advance some of my wages?" Luo Fei casually asked Xie Yanqing while nudging him.

Xie Yanqing, who had been busy with farming, hadn’t remembered to give him any wages yet. Hearing this, he immediately fetched a money pouch and handed it over. "I should’ve given it to you earlier. I’ve been so focused on increasing the yields in the fields that I forgot."

Luo Fei opened the pouch and was stunned. "So much?!" Inside was not only a large amount of copper coins but also some silver. It looked like about two to three taels of silver. Surprised, Luo Fei looked at Xie Yanqing. "This is too much! You just need to leave some for living expenses. Once the garden produces more vegetables, our costs will go down."

Xie Yanqing explained, "This isn’t all the money we have, but it’s enough for now. Besides, I still have around ten taels of silver. I want to keep that in case of emergencies. But remember, we should aim to be self-sufficient this year."

Luo Fei nodded, "Don’t worry. I won’t spend it recklessly." He felt a little overwhelmed. The silver was worth more than a whole year’s worth of expenses for a farming household! If he were in Xie Yanqing’s shoes, he wouldn’t have been this generous.

Xie Yanqing smiled. "I’ve never doubted my judgment. And I don’t doubt you." He ruffled Luo Fei's hair. "By the way, didn’t Aunt Pang say not to let the chicks touch the ground? We can’t use the chicken coop outside for now, so we’ll need a temporary spot for them."

"I know!" Luo Fei replied. "Han Xu said the cabinet will be finished tomorrow. I was thinking, maybe we can clear the old cabinet this afternoon, and we can put it down flat. It’ll make a perfect home for the chicks!"

"Sounds good," Xie Yanqing said. "You clear the plates off the cabinet, and I’ll prepare the tools."

After Luo Fei moved the plates off the cabinet, Xie Yanqing carefully took it outside, cut the sections to turn the "four-room" into one big room, and smoothed the rough edges to avoid any injuries to the chicks. After that, he cleaned it and brought it back inside.

However, the height of the cabinet wasn’t enough—only about thirty centimeters—and the chicks would likely be able to hop out after a couple of days. So, Xie Yanqing borrowed two bundles of straw from the neighbor and used it to weave a barrier around the cabinet.

When Luo Fei saw how well it worked, he couldn’t help but praise, "You’re amazing! This will definitely work."

Xie Yanqing smiled, "Alright, you can keep an eye on them. I’ll go check on the cornfield before it gets too hot."

"Is it urgent? If not, let's get up early tomorrow and handle it. It's already this time; you should rest a bit."

"Well... okay, I guess I can take the day off today." Since starting work, he hadn't had a single day to relax, and now he really did feel a bit tired.

"Then sleep for a while, I'll go prepare some food."

"Can I use your pillow?" asked Xie Yanqing.

"Of course." Luo Fei climbed up onto the bed, took his own pillow, and placed it on the bed, patting it. "Sleep well!"

"If I had known you would agree so quickly, I should have asked you to let me use your leg as a pillow for a bit." Xie Yanqing said, looking a bit regretful. "Is it too late to ask now?"

"Stop being so vain! Just sleep!" Luo Fei said playfully, but before he could leave, Xie Yanqing grabbed him. With a faint smile, Xie Yanqing gave him a gentle peck on the lips.

Luo Fei’s face immediately turned red. He glared at Xie Yanqing, clenched his fist, and made a mock threatening gesture as if to say, "If you kiss me again, I’ll punch you!" Then, covering his mouth, he ran off.

Xie Yanqing watched him, licking his lips lightly before lying back down on the bed.

Luo Fei thought Xie Yanqing might come after him again, but soon, he heard the sound of snoring from the bedroom. It seemed that Xie Yanqing was truly exhausted.

Xie Yanqing worked so hard. Even in modern times, farming was exhausting, let alone in this era, where there were no modern tools, and everything relied on manual labor. But Xie Yanqing never complained and did everything well.

If this were Xie Yu, it could be said he was used to it. But Xie Yanqing had lived many years in the modern world with an easy life. To be able to endure this kind of hardship here—it was something that Luo Fei admired from the bottom of his heart, though he never said it out loud.

"Erbao! Are you home? Come out and take a look!" Suddenly, he heard Han Xu's voice outside.

"Shh! Quiet!" Luo Fei made a shushing gesture and went out. "Big Tiger is asleep. It's rare for him to rest in the middle of the day." Luo Fei welcomed them into the yard. "Didn't you say you'd come tomorrow? Why are you here today?"

"My carpenter brother had something come up, and he needs to leave after dinner, so we came early to bring the things over." Han Xu wiped the sweat off his forehead. "It's so hot! Erbao, can you get me some water to drink."

"Sure, sit down and take a break." Luo Fei moved some small stools for them, then went to fetch two bowls of water. "Why so many? You said you’d make one kang table and one cabinet, but there’s also a low-back chair and a nice little wooden cabinet with compartments inside. Looks really practical."

"Your Big Tiger said the stools were too high, and your second treasure was complaining about how sore his waist was after sitting on them to wash clothes, so he had to make you a low-back chair. As for your sewing and fabric stuff, you cherish them, so it's safer to have a special little cabinet to store them. Otherwise, they’ll get dusty if left outside, and you’ll worry about needles getting mixed up with your clothes in the wardrobe." Han Xu teased, "He’s spoiled you so much, I’m getting goosebumps!"

"Jealous, huh?" Luo Fei smiled sweetly as he patted Han Xu's shoulder, thanked Chen Huazhang, and then helped the two of them carry the cabinet inside.

They tried to be quiet so as not to wake Xie Yanqing, and he was still sound asleep. Han Xu and Chen Huazhang helped place all the new furniture, and even after everything was set, Xie Yanqing didn't wake up.

"Let’s leave it for today, Erbao." Han Xu said. "We won't stay for dinner. My carpenter brother needs to leave soon, and I need to help him pack up."

"That’s right," Chen Huazhang agreed. "It’s not a big deal. We’ll make the rest when we have better wood."

"Thank you so much." Luo Fei had planned to buy some meat tomorrow and cook a nice meal for them, but he hadn’t prepared anything today, so he couldn’t make a proper feast. He decided to just thank them casually. "Wait a moment." He went to get the pouch he had embroidered for Han Xu. "Here, take this. I'll give you something better when you get married."

"Wow! It’s beautiful, so beautiful!" Han Xu exclaimed, holding the pouch. "I’ll use it on my wedding day!"

"Then it’s up to you." Luo Fei smiled. "But don’t expect anything else."

"No need to give me anything more. Go back and look after your Big Tiger." Han Xu said. "Bye!"

Luo Fei stood by the door for a while, watching them walk away before closing the gate. He clapped the dust off his clothes and started preparing dinner. When he went back inside, Xie Yanqing was still asleep. He wondered for a moment before testing Xie Yanqing’s forehead with his hand.

Xie Yanqing slowly opened his eyes, and it took him a moment to focus. His voice was hoarse, as though he hadn’t had water for a long time: "What time is it?"

Luo Fei quickly withdrew his hand. "It’s late, the sky is already dark. Aren’t you going to get up and eat something?"

Xie Yanqing placed his hand on his forehead and closed his eyes again. "Give me a moment."

Luo Fei nodded and went out to get the food. When he brought it in, Xie Yanqing smiled and raised his hand to stroke Luo Fei's face. "Hmm."

Xie Yanqing was probably too tired, as he didn’t eat much. Luo Fei took the bowl outside, and when he returned, he found Xie Yanqing sitting on the bed, staring into space.

"What are you thinking about?" Luo Fei sat next to him.

"Nothing." Xie Yanqing suddenly smiled.

"Nothing, and yet you’re smiling?" Luo Fei grumbled as he lay on the bed and pulled the blanket over. As he spread it out, he finally realized what Xie Yanqing had been thinking. It turned out he was smiling because they were going to sleep so close together that night!

Since the chicks had to sleep on the kang, the cabinet couldn't be moved out. It took up a lot of space on the bed, making it even smaller than before.

When Luo Fei laid out the quilt, he tried to make the best use of the space, but there was still some leftover fabric, and the two beds were now positioned very close to each other.

Luo Fei estimated that the space they had left to sleep on was no more than one and a half meters wide.

Xie Yanqing stretched out his hand and could easily touch Luo Fei. So, when they finished washing up and lay down on the bed, Xie Yanqing’s hand couldn't resist reaching over to hold Luo Fei’s hand. He gently scratched his palm with his fingertips, savoring the rare moment of tenderness.

Luo Fei felt a tingling in his palm, but when he tried to pull away, he couldn’t escape. Xie Yanqing wasn’t forcing him, but it was enough to make Luo Fei unable to break free.

Luo Fei had no choice but to shout, "Stop fooling around! It’s time to sleep!"

Xie Yanqing chuckled softly. "You sleep. I’m not tired yet."

Luo Fei thought, You’re not tired, but I am!

Actually, he wasn’t very tired either. He felt a little strange, a bit hot, as if something was agitating him. The air even seemed to have a tense and restless quality.

Luo Fei could hear Xie Yanqing’s breathing growing heavier. Although Xie Yanqing didn’t move around, he could still sense a certain desire and restlessness from his body.

Xie Yanqing’s palm started to sweat, and soon, Luo Fei’s hand was soaked too. Luo Fei felt increasingly hot, so he pushed the blanket aside a bit.

The two blankets they used were prepared before marriage. They were fine at the time, but now, they felt uncomfortably warm.

“It seems a bit hot. How about I grab the spare duvet and use it as a cooler blanket?” Luo Fei muttered to himself.

“That works.” Xi Yanqing loosened his grip.

Luo Fei fumbled in the dark to find the duvet, splitting it between them.

Xi Yanqing pushed the large quilt aside, creating a tighter space, moving closer to Luo Fei. After a while, Xi Yanqing said, “Two layers of fabric feels a bit thin, maybe we should fold them together and cover ourselves with four layers?”

Luo Fei didn’t respond.

Xi Yanqing then got up, spread his duvet on top of Luo Fei’s, and then crawled into Luo Fei’s bed.

The two hot bodies finally came together in the same quilt, and Xi Yanqing couldn’t resist gently caressing Luo Fei’s cheek…

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