BYBOTE Chapter 31: Gently Untying the Zongzi String

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At first, Luo Fei had no idea that one of the sachets he made had ended up in Zhang Yangfan’s hands. After returning home, he was too busy counting his money. Though he couldn’t help feeling a bit annoyed that Boss Li made so much while he earned so little, it was still far better than he had expected. At least he didn’t have unsold stock and even made a profit—wasn’t that good enough?

Contentment brings happiness, right?

The next day, Luo Fei went to find Han Xu to split the money, but Han Xu wasn’t there. Han Xu’s grandmother wasn’t feeling well and had been missing her grandson, so both Han Xu and Han Yang had gone to visit her. According to Han Xu’s mother, they probably wouldn’t be back until after the Dragon Boat Festival. Luo Fei thought to himself, well, that’s that—he would have to wait until they returned.

Early in the morning, before the sun had fully risen, Xi Yanqing once again carried his small shovel and hoe up the mountain. Meanwhile, Luo Fei stayed home, busy feeding the chickens and ducks. The five ducks had been sent over by his mother’s family a few days ago. It seemed that Li Yuehua was still thinking about the money her son had spent on buying chicks, so she brought some ducks over in return.

After feeding the chickens and ducks and finishing the washing, Luo Fei went to the backyard and saw that the Solanum nigrum plants Xi Yanqing had planted for him were blooming. The flowers had tiny white petals with a delicate yellow core in the middle, as if they would scatter with just a light touch. Luo Fei had never seen these flowers before, so he curiously touched them for a long time.

He decided to embroider He Tian Tian (Solanum nigrum) flowers today! As for where to embroider them… hehe…

T/N:

Actually, when he had chosen fabric at Boss Li’s cloth shop, he had already picked some off-white pure cotton cloth. He planned to use them to make underwear.

Ancient people didn’t wear underwear, but in comparison, Luo Fei still felt more comfortable having them. He hadn’t had the means before, but now that he did, he decided to make two pairs for each person in the household.

Luo Fei went back inside, but instead of cutting the fabric for the underwear, he took out the sachets he had prepared for his family. He had already embroidered everyone’s sachets, except for Luo Yi’s, which was missing the final step—filling it with fragrant herbs and sewing it shut.

Luo Fei carefully held open the sachet and slowly filled it with the herbs. Just then, someone called from outside, "Second Brother, are you home?"

It was Luo Ru.

Luo Fei quickly responded, "I’m in the house, come in!"

Luo Ru walked in and plopped down on the heated brick bed. "Second Brother, what are you making now?"

"Sachets for everyone. Tomorrow is the Dragon Boat Festival, so it’s nice to wear them for the occasion. Plus, the weather is getting warmer, and there are more mosquitoes. Wearing these will help keep them away."

"Wow, this looks amazing! Is this one for Dad?" Luo Ru pointed at the sachet in Luo Fei’s hand.

"This is for Sibao. The others are already finished, just find the one that matches the zodiac sign. By the way, why are you here at this time?" It was almost noon, and Luo Ru usually wouldn’t come over without a reason.

"Tomorrow is the festival, and we need to make zongzi. I told Mom you wanted meat zongzi, so she bought the meat. But she doesn’t know how to make them, so she sent me to ask for your help."

T/N: zongzi-sticky or glutinous rice which is wrapped in bamboo leaves, then steamed or boiled.

"Alright, I’ll finish this up and head over. It won’t take long."

"Okay, I’ll go back and help Mom prepare the bamboo leaves. Second Brother, can I take my sachet now?" Her sachet had a small snake embroidered on it. Luo Fei had used pink and white threads to create a raised effect, making the snake look almost lifelike.

T/N:

"Why even ask? It’s yours! Take it if you like," Luo Fei laughed. "When you get home, start by cutting the meat into chunks—the same size as for red-braised pork. Make sure there’s a balance of fat and lean meat."

"Got it!" Luo Ru happily hung the sachet around her neck and left. She had always known her second brother was skilled at embroidery, but she hadn’t expected it to be this impressive. Wearing this sachet outside, others were bound to be envious!

Luo Ru was certain that someone would ask about her sachet when they saw it. However, she hadn’t expected the first person to ask to be Jiang Baining.

Jiang Baining was carrying a sewing kit, seemingly on his way home from his mother’s place. They met head-on, and Luo Ru, seeing him, was about to walk away, but Jiang Bai Ning stopped her. "Luo Ru, wait a moment!"

Luo Ru kept her distance. "What do you want?"

"Where did you buy that sachet?"

If it were just an ordinary sachet, Jiang Bai Ning wouldn’t have asked. But this one looked eerily familiar! Even the size was exactly like the ones he had seen recently!

Luo Ru assumed Jiang Bai Ning wanted to buy one too. Proudly touching her sachet, she said, "My second brother made it for me. Why? Do you want to buy one?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Baining’s face instantly darkened with rage. He said nothing, turned around, and stormed back home.

When he had asked Zhang Yangfan before, Zhang Yangfan had said that the sachet was bought in town. But how could it be such a coincidence? Clearly, he had been lied to!

Zhang Yangfan had been admiring his new sachet these past few days. Holding it, he often thought of Luo Fei’s embroidery skills. Luo Fei had always been talented, but he rarely made such things. Zhang Yangfan recalled that, a month before his marriage to Jiang Baining, Luo Fei had mentioned wanting to make him a sachet for the Dragon Boat Festival. Now, of course, that was impossible. But holding this one, he couldn’t help wondering—if Luo Fei had made one for him, would it have been better?

Jiang Baining was already furious. When he entered the house and saw Zhang Yangfan holding the sachet so fondly, it was like adding fuel to the fire! Without thinking, he rushed over, snatched the sachet, threw it on the ground, and stomped on it multiple times. "I’ll make you look at it! I’ll make you look at it!"

"Jiang Baining, are you crazy?!" Zhang Yangfan shot up from his seat and shoved Jiang Bai Ning aside. He picked up the sachet, now dirtied from being stepped on, and felt a pang of distress. His voice grew colder. "Why did you do that?!"

"You pushed me over a sachet?" Jiang Baining steadied himself. "Isn’t it just a cheap trinket made by that little vixen Luo Fei? You treasure it like it’s gold! Do you even care about me?!"

"Who told you Luo Fei made this? I bought it in town!" Zhang Yangfan thought Jiang Baining was becoming increasingly unreasonable.

"Still lying to me? I saw it with my own eyes! Luo Ru had the exact same one around her neck, and she said Luo Fei made it!"

"You—! I don’t have time for this!" Zhang Yangfan grabbed the sachet and stormed out, heading straight for the door.

As he stepped outside, he ran into his cousin Zhang Sheng, who took one look at Jiang Bai Ning and smirked. "You two arguing again?"

"Hmph! Ask him yourself!" Zhang Yangfan glared at Jiang Baining before walking out.

Zhang Sheng watched Zhang Yangfan leave and then turned to Jiang Baining with a playful grin. "Did he upset you again?"

Jiang Baining avoided his gaze. "Why are you here?"

"I was thinking about you. Couldn’t focus on work, so I came to see you," Zhang Sheng said boldly.

Jiang Baining’s face flushed with panic. "Don’t talk nonsense! You should go back."

But Zhang Sheng wouldn’t let the opportunity slip by. Maybe it was uncontrollable desire, or maybe he had endured too long—he suddenly pulled Jiang Baining into an embrace from behind…

Luo Fei finished the last sachet and was about to head out when he noticed someone lingering outside his house. At first, he didn’t think much of it, but when he opened the door, he was stunned—it was Zhang Yangfan! Normally, he would avoid Zhang Yangfan like the plague, but then he noticed the sachet in Zhang Yangfan’s hand.

Wasn’t that the one he made?! How did it end up with Zhang Yangfan?!

Zhang Yangfan wanted to ask the same thing. Seeing no one around, he asked, "Erbao, did you make this?"

Luo Fei frowned. "Where did you get it?"

This was beyond irritating!

Zhang Yangfan, realizing Luo Fei hadn’t denied it outright, felt that fate had brought this sachet to him, and he was delighted. But instead of showing it, he put on a concerned expression. "So it really was you… I knew only your hands could craft something this delicate. But that Xi Yanqing is awful—making you sell embroidery! If it were me, I’d never let you suffer like this."

Luo Fei didn’t want to talk to him about this. Besides, if people saw him meeting Zhang Yangfan while Xi Yanqing wasn’t around, who knew what kind of rumors would spread? But leaving the sachet in Zhang Yangfan’s hands was truly disgusting.

That bastard!

Luo Fei pointed at the sachet and declared, “Whoever takes this sachet will have bad luck! Fail every exam! Fail every exam! Fail every exam! And another thing! Don’t compare yourself to my Qing-ge. You? You’re nowhere near his level!”

Aunt Zhou from next door happened to come out just in time to hear Luo Fei’s words. She chuckled and asked, “Erbao, heading out?”

Luo Fei replied, “Yeah, Aunt Zhou, I’m going to my mother’s place to make zongzi. Who would’ve thought I’d run into a beast the moment I stepped outside? I tried speaking human language, but he doesn’t seem to understand, so I had to repeat the important parts three times. I’ll have to eat an extra two zongzi at my mother’s place to get rid of the bad luck!”

Zhang Yangfan had originally wanted to tell Luo Fei that once he passed the upcoming autumn imperial exam with flying colors, he would make it up to him. But after hearing Luo Fei curse him, he was so enraged that his neck almost twisted.

Aunt Zhou’s family had never had a good impression of the Zhangs. However, ordinary folks still had some reservations about offending a scholar—after all, one day, he might suddenly rise to prominence, and that wasn’t someone a commoner could afford to offend.

But Luo Fei didn’t care about that. He said whatever he wanted. And his words had struck Zhang Yangfan right where it hurt. Zhang Yangfan wasn’t afraid of anything except failing his exams. If he didn’t pass this time, it would mean another three years of waiting. How many three-year cycles could a person afford to waste? When it came to the official career path, the younger one succeeded, the better. Given his background, he was already at a disadvantage compared to many of his classmates. He couldn’t afford to fail again and become a laughingstock.

In a fit of anger, Zhang Yangfan threw the sachet away. Luo Fei, seeing this, didn’t care whether Zhang Yangfan had spent time and effort making it. He stomped on it mercilessly, grinding it into the dirt.

That evening, when Xi Yanqing returned home, Luo Fei told him about the incident. After hearing it, Xi Yanqing smirked and said, “I didn’t blame you, so why are you so eager to explain? Are you afraid I’ll get jealous?”

Luo Fei knew he shouldn’t be, but he still felt like he needed to explain. Why? He didn’t want Xi Yanqing to know. Instead, he stuffed a horn-shaped zongzi into Xi Yanqing’s mouth. “Just eat your zongzi!”

The zongzi was still wrapped in its leaves, and Xi Yanqing bit the sharp tip, using it to poke Luo Fei.

Luo Fei immediately felt both ticklish and a little sore. Just as he was about to dodge, Xi Yanqing brought the tip of the zongzi to his lips instead.

“What are you doing?” Luo Fei asked.

“Bite it,” Xi Yanqing mumbled around the zongzi. “I’ll show you something fun.”

Luo Fei couldn’t understand what was so fun about biting a zongzi, but his curiosity got the better of him, and he bit down on the pointed end. And then—this bastard! Xi Yanqing actually started untying the zongzi’s string with his teeth!

Several times, Xi Yanqing’s breath brushed against Luo Fei’s face. He didn’t use his hands at all; the entire process was done with his lips and teeth. And by the time he finished, Luo Fei felt like he was about to overheat!

It wasn’t just that Xi Yanqing’s breath had landed on his face—it felt like it had landed directly on his heart!

Once the zongzi was unwrapped, they split it in half and ate it together. Then, they kissed.

Meanwhile, compared to their sweetness, the Zhang household was in chaos.

Because Jiang Baining had suffered a miscarriage.

The visiting doctor said it was due to fright.

T/N: Please give support on my ko-fi page, it's a big help, thank you🌰🌰🌰