TTLJDFL Chapter 21

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Li Jin knew the villagers were just being polite. If he actually brought his whole family over for dinner, their household wouldn’t have enough food left.

Although rice was cheap in the village, costing only five coins per dou (a unit of measurement), one dou contained only ten sheng, which was about 12.5 jin (roughly 6 kg).

That was only enough to feed an adult man for ten days.

Of course, most farmworkers in ancient times didn’t eat rice for all three meals. They mainly had thin porridge—so thin that it was almost just water.

Why not eat porridge all the time? Because farmers needed energy for hard labor. If they were constantly half-starved, how could they support their families?

Walking with the others to the village entrance, Li Jin bid them farewell. Looking at his home in the distance, his steps became lighter.

He didn’t know that, at that moment, several young men were at his house.

Qin Muwen took out embroidered pouches and handkerchiefs from a basket, feeling a little embarrassed. "I should have brought these to you myself."

These three young men were the same ones who had previously helped him find work.

One of them replied casually, "Even if you had sent them to us, we’d still have to take them to town ourselves."

Qin Muwen felt even more apologetic.

"Thank you all."

But these pouches weren’t heavy. The group of young men usually took turns—one person to collect the work, another to deliver it to town.

Previously, Qin Muwen had desperately tried to earn money, struggling to walk long distances to town to deliver his embroidery work.

Eventually, when his belly became too big, he couldn’t even see his feet when he looked down.

That was when he finally told them he wouldn’t be taking on sewing work anymore.

The young man cared deeply about his unborn child, doing everything he could to protect it.

After the baby was safely born, these young men had come to his house, bringing the embroidered pouches.

Partly, they were curious about the changes in Li Jin. They had heard he had turned over a new leaf and wanted to see for themselves. The other reason was to check on how Qin Muwen was doing.

As fellow ge’er (a term for young men who could bear children), they had previously only pitied Qin Muwen.

They would say, "Poor Awen," but never actually helped him in any meaningful way.

It was as if watching him struggle in the mud made their own lives seem more fortunate.

But they never expected that after giving birth, everything would change.

That once-useless, violent Li Jin had turned his life around, personally pulling Qin Muwen out of the mud and carefully cleaning him off.

Today, the youngest one, Xiao An, wasn’t there.

Xiao An had always been the most delicate-looking among them. Even though he was only a concubine, his husband still liked to spend the night with him.

Xiao An was probably one of the few people who had genuinely cared about Qin Muwen.

Another young man, who had a thin face, suddenly spotted an oiled paper package on the small table by the bed. He rushed over and exclaimed, "What’s this? That useless fool Li Jin actually bought you sweet treats like sugar candy and preserved fruit?!"

That much money could have bought enough rice and flour to last a family ten days!

He thought he had married well, but just a few days ago, when his husband’s legitimate son cried for candied fruit, his husband not only refused to buy it but even hit the child.

And yet Li Jin bought sweets for Awen?

Qin Muwen hadn’t expected these young men, who were only casual acquaintances, to rummage through his things.

More importantly, they were now insulting his husband.

Although Qin Muwen had a gentle nature, that didn’t mean he would tolerate being bullied.

He took his things back and placed them on the table. His eyes turned slightly red at the corners, a sign that he was both upset and frustrated.

He had never argued with anyone before, so he didn’t know what to say.

But one thing he knew for sure—he couldn’t just stand by and let them insult Li Jin.

He didn't like these people.

"Hah, now that you've made it, you're so quick to cut ties with us."

Qin Muwen pressed his lips together tightly and took back all his embroidered pouches. "I'll deliver these embroidery works myself."

After a pause, he handed each of them two pouches. It took him two hours—four whole hours—to sew just six of them.

And he had stitched them all, one by one, while dragging his weak body, still recovering from childbirth.

"These are my thanks for the embroidery work you assigned me before."

One pouch was worth a single coin, so giving each of them two coins was already quite generous.

After doing this, he straightened up, looked at the three people, and said, "You slandered my husband. I have no interest in associating with you. From now on, do not step into my house again!"

The one who had previously rummaged through Li Jin's belongings was so furious that his chest heaved violently. He sneered, "You think you're something special just because you gave birth? Do you even know what kind of thing you gave birth to?

"Your firstborn is just a ge’er. Li Jin must be blind to treat you well. Why doesn’t he beat you every day like he used to?"

Qin Muwen's heart clenched tightly. H-He had also wanted his first child to be a boy.

Perhaps the Bodhisattva just didn’t hear his prayers.

The other two obviously sided with the ge’er standing next to them rather than Qin Muwen.

Seeing Qin Muwen's face turn pale, they wanted to say even more cutting words. Now that the pretense was torn apart, they didn’t care how much uglier it got.

At that moment, the courtyard gate swung open, and Li Jin's deep yet gentle voice sounded, "Wenwen, I'm back."

The three people choked on their words, unable to say a single thing.

Even though Li Jin had a better reputation these days, they hadn't forgotten how he used to beat Qin Muwen!

Back then, just a slight movement from Qin Muwen would reveal bruises on his wrists or neck—frightening to look at.

Li Jin stepped into the courtyard, set down his basket, and immediately noticed three unfamiliar ge’ers walking out of the house in a line.

They must be from the other side of the village.

As it was inappropriate for an outsider man to casually interact with ge’ers, Li Jin simply washed his hands, dried them off, and carried his copied manuscripts inside.

He didn’t even spare the three a glance, letting them leave on their own.

Inside, the young man was already lying in bed, facing the wall, pretending to be asleep.

Li Jin: "……" How silly could this little guy be?

If he had been chatting happily with those ge’ers just now, he would be all smiles, with his dimples showing adorably. Even the cinnabar mole at the tip of his brow would seem brighter.

But now, he was pretending to be asleep…

That could only mean he had been bullied and was holding it in, unwilling to say anything.

Today, Li Jin planned to make braised pork for the young man, so he hadn’t bought meat buns.

He carefully moved the newborn baby aside and then leaned down to whisper into the young man’s ear, "Asleep?"

The young man kept his eyes shut, afraid that if he made a sound, his voice would carry a sob.

He wasn’t weak.

Even with his frail body after childbirth, he had been cooking, doing housework, taking care of the baby, and even squeezing in time for embroidery. He didn’t feel tired at all.

Qin Muwen thought to himself, A’Jin is doing so well now. He works in the fields, gathers herbs in the mountains, studies in town, and even sleeps lightly at night to take care of the baby.

How could they call A’Jin useless?

Just then, Qin Muwen suddenly felt himself being lifted. He immediately opened his eyes.

Li Jin had wrapped him up in the blanket and picked him up in one go.

Qin Muwen had no idea how enticing his reddened eyes looked at that moment.

Li Jin said, "When Baozi cries, I hold him like this to soothe him. Now that Baozi’s big brother is crying, shouldn’t I do the same?"

Qin Muwen felt his entire body heat up.

At that moment, he couldn’t even think about the harsh words from earlier. All he could focus on was—Li Jin was being… being… ridiculous!

He was clearly Baozi’s father—how could he be his brother?!

Li Jin met the young man's round, indignant eyes and explained seriously, "At your age, calling you Baozi's big brother is just right."

The young man widened his eyes, looking as if he wanted to explain that Baozi had really come from his belly.

Li Jin rocked him slightly, just like he did when soothing Baozi, and asked, "Do you still feel sad?"

Qin Muwen dazed for a moment, realizing that he didn’t feel like crying at all anymore.

He obediently and honestly shook his head. "Not sad anymore."

Li Jin checked the time. The sun was setting. He placed Baozi in the inner part of the bed to prevent him from rolling off, then took the young man to the kitchen.

Beneath the chopping board was a treasure trove. Li Jin pulled out a small stool and had the young man sit down.

"I’m making braised pork for you. If you're still upset, just tell me what happened. Talk to me, and I’ll share the burden with you."

Li Jin thought to himself—someone with the young man’s personality wouldn’t provoke others on purpose.

But he also wasn’t the kind to swallow his grievances in silence. He simply thought many things weren’t worth arguing over, so he never took them to heart.

When others called him pitiful, he agreed, thinking he was indeed more pitiful than them. He accepted it calmly, without feeling sad.

After all, it was just the truth. There was no need to fight over it.

In other households, men farmed while the ge’ers embroidered. But in the young man’s case, he had to do both—working in the fields and sewing—just to support the useless man the original Li Jin had been.

Yet, the young man never complained.

When Li Jin first took the initiative to gather grass for their livestock, he had even tried to stop him.

And then, when Li Jin began treating him better—little by little—he handed over his whole-hearted trust without hesitation.

Someone like that… treated himself too lightly.

And yet, he didn’t resent the world. Instead, he lived each day earnestly, striving forward.

A young man like that was incredibly heartbreaking.

Li Jin fell silent. He took out the meat and began slicing it into small pieces.

His posture was upright and steady.

The young man couldn't tell if it was just his imagination, but he suddenly thought that Li Jin’s clothes seemed a little too tight.

As Li Jin raised his arm to cut the meat, Qin Muwen could clearly see the firm muscles bulging under his sleeves.

The first step of making braised pork is to put sugar and oil into a cold pan. Once the sugar melts, the pork is added and fried for a few minutes.

The young man listened to the sizzling sound from the pot and slowly recounted the events of the day.

He didn’t mention why he was upset, narrating the situation as if he were a detached observer watching a farce.

After all, a few words from those people wouldn’t harm him. He simply decided to avoid them in the future.

By the time the braised pork was ready, his story was already finished.

Just then, a careful knocking came from outside the door—two knocks, a pause, then two more.

At the same time, the baby woke up. The young man quickly went back to nurse him.

Li Jin opened the door and found four or five children standing outside. They were either wearing ill-fitting clothes or nothing at all.

The youngest child hid behind the older ones, too shy to speak.

One of them, who barely reached Li Jin’s waist, spoke softly, “Uncle Jin, did you make meat?”

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