TTLJDFL Chapter 22

Previous | Table of Contents | Next

Li Jin chuckled. “Wait here.”

He had heard that in the village, people rarely cooked meat except during festivals.

What he didn’t know was that whenever someone cooked meat, children would show up at their doorstep to ask for a taste.

But these kids looked timid, as if they wouldn’t make a fuss if he refused.

Since he had bought two pounds of pork earlier—giving half a pound to Li Zhuzi—he had stewed a full pound this time.

He picked out five pieces, wrapped each in a washed lettuce leaf to prevent burns, and handed them out.

The oldest child imitated how people give New Year's greetings and said, “Wishing Uncle Jin great wealth!”

The youngest, a bare-bottomed toddler, mimicked him: “Great wealth!”

Li Jin laughed, sent them off, and went back to serve food for the young man.

Qin Muwen, inside, heard the children’s voices. At first, he didn’t realize why they had come.

Then he remembered how, during festivals, the village chief’s family stewed meat, and the children would ask for some just like this.

Li Jin placed the dish on the bedside table and handed Qin Muwen a pair of chopsticks.

“Eat the meat first. I’ll cook some vegetables.”

The young man, still nursing the baby, couldn’t move. “Ah Jin, let me cook—”

Li Jin ruffled his hair and said seriously, “I calculated your work time today. You’ve already spent enough time in the fields. Just rest. Cooking a couple of dishes is nothing.”

After a pause, he added, “Eat the meat while it’s hot. I’ll be right back.”

Although he had already comforted Qin Muwen, Li Jin wasn’t the type to simply let things slide when someone bullied his family.

He thought, with the young man’s personality, he wouldn’t have provoked anyone.

But he also wasn’t the type to swallow insults meekly. He probably just felt some things weren’t worth arguing about.

If people called him pitiful, he’d calmly accept it—because compared to others, he truly was.

Other families had men working the fields. But Qin Muwen had to do both fieldwork and embroidery while supporting the original Li Jin, a grown man acting like a child.

Yet he never complained.

Even when Li Jin started helping with farm work, he tried to stop him.

And as Li Jin treated him better, he gradually gave him his complete trust.

Such a person valued himself too lightly.

But instead of resenting his circumstances, he lived each day with quiet resilience.

That kind of strength made Li Jin’s heart ache.

Without another word, he focused on chopping vegetables.

From the kitchen doorway, Qin Muwen watched Li Jin’s straight posture.

For some reason, he felt that Li Jin’s clothes seemed a little tight. When Li Jin raised the knife, the muscles on his arms flexed noticeably.

—

Meanwhile, the five children who had gotten the meat took small bites, savoring each piece.

A villager saw them and called out, “Did your Uncle Daniu’s family cook meat again?”

One of the children replied, “No, Uncle Jin made it.”

At that moment, the child’s father happened to be passing by with a hoe on his shoulder.

Hearing this, the burly man immediately grabbed his son’s ear.

“How could you go begging for meat at Uncle Jin’s house?”

Everyone knew Li Jin’s family was poor. Lately, they had seen him eating only potatoes.

Besides, his wife was still in confinement. How could they trouble him like this?

Still, when the man thought about it, he realized Li Jin had generously shared the meat instead of refusing.

Li Jin really was kind-hearted.

But as an adult, he couldn’t just let this slide like a child.

After some thought, he said, “Fine, eat it. I’ll bring Uncle Jin some eggs to make up for it.”

Li Jin had changed a lot lately—fatherhood really made a man different.

—

Just as Li Jin finished his meal, a basket of eggs arrived at his door.

The burly man said, “Sorry about this. My kid was thoughtless. I know life isn’t easy for you right now. You finally got to eat some meat, and he brought others to share it…”

Li Jin declined, saying, “They were just kids offering good wishes—it’s only right to give them something for luck. I can’t accept these eggs.”

The man scratched his head.

“I heard from Uncle Dahe that you plan to build a desk. Do you have space in your house? After the wheat harvest, I’ll gather some men to build you an extra room for it. What do you think?”

Li Jin’s eyes brightened. He had been wondering how to get another room built.

This was perfect—like getting a pillow when you’re sleepy.

“Thank you! I’ll cook more braised pork for everyone when the time comes.”

The man quickly waved his hands. “No need! We all help each other out in this village. No one ever gives meat for housework.

Some thick porridge will be more than enough.”

They set the date for late June, right after the wheat harvest.

By then, all that remained was drying and storing the grain, which didn’t require much work from the men.

After returning home, Li Jin told Qin Muwen about the matter.

He said, “When the time comes, we’ll need to fix our roof and install an underfloor heating system. If we burn firewood in winter, it won’t be so cold.”

The young man looked at Li Jin, his dimples lingering at the corners of his lips.

The baby in his arms seemed to sense his father’s good mood and gave him a big smile.

Seeing this, Li Jin took the baby into his own arms.

The baby immediately withdrew his smile, his face filled with confusion—where did his sweet-smelling father go?

But he didn’t cry. After all, it was Li Jin who fed him at night, so he was still familiar with Li Jin’s scent.

Li Jin bounced him gently and said, “Baozi, give your father a smile.”

Baozi remained expressionless: "……" He couldn't understand a word.

Qin Muwen said, “He only smiles the moment he’s full. If you wait until I feed him again, he’ll definitely smile.”

Li Jin: “……”

Determined to wait for Baozi’s smile, Li Jin cut a sheet of bamboo paper, ground some ink, and began writing.

If the young man looked over, he would notice that what Li Jin was writing was actually a "petition."

Most of the content recorded the various things the young man had done since getting married.

The rest detailed the villagers’ scorn and exclusion of him.

—The young man’s efforts had not been met with the corresponding recognition.

By the time Li Jin grabbed his hoe and a bag of vegetable seeds to head out, he still hadn’t earned a smile from Baozi.

It seemed that Qin Muwen’s keen observation was spot on—Baozi only smiled when he was full.

It was now around six in the evening, with some time before nightfall. The sun had set, and it wasn’t as hot as midday, making it the perfect time to plant vegetable seeds.

Li Jin first paced around the field to measure the land, then carefully sowed the seeds at specific intervals.

Finally, he fetched water for irrigation.

By the time the sun had completely set, he had managed to plant about a third of the field.

Li Jin found that planting vegetables wasn’t difficult, but carrying water was exhausting. His shoulders hadn’t recovered since pulling that cart.

He could endure walking back and forth for two hours with a bamboo basket on his back, but hauling two full buckets of water was truly draining.

Still, he thought, the whole field would be planted in about three days, and afterward, he’d only need to water it regularly, which wouldn’t be as tiring.

By then, he would likely have gotten used to farm work.

Right now, his body was still too delicate.

After placing the water buckets back in the house, he took the dried petition and headed to the village chief’s house.

The village chief was sitting at his door, cleaning his tobacco pipe. When he saw Li Jin approaching, he smiled and said, “Li Jin, here to see me?”

Li Jin said, “Yes, I have a favor to ask of you.”

The village chief invited him inside and said, “If I remember correctly, you’ll be out of mourning in September. Is this about next year’s county-level scholar examination?”

For the county examination, candidates needed four villagers and one scholar to vouch for them before they could participate.

These guarantors had to vouch for the candidate’s identity and guarantee that they wouldn’t cheat.

If the candidate was caught violating the rules, the guarantors would also be held accountable.

In the past, no one in the village would have been willing to vouch for Li Jin.

But things were different now. If he asked, plenty of people would step forward to support him.

The village chief thought, since Li Jin had come to him first, he must be the one to vouch for him.

A reformed troublemaker was more valuable than gold!

Li Jin shook his head. “The registration for the exam is in January next year, and I will certainly need your help then.

But right now, I want to talk about my husband.”

The village chief thought to himself, "Li Jin sure dotes on his husband. He washes clothes by the river, works the fields himself, and even cooks for his spouse…”

He was curious about what Li Jin wanted to say.

Li Jin said, “I used to treat my husband poorly, but now I want to make it up to him.

But today, when I returned from the academy, I found three other ger bullying him to tears.

I realized that I can’t be the only one who sees his kindness—I hope the villagers can accept him too.”

The village chief had been mediating disputes for years, dealing with all sorts of trivial matters between neighbors.

Even when women fought, their husbands wouldn’t get involved.

Men found it both embarrassing and pointless, thinking women’s quarrels wouldn’t amount to much.

But here was Li Jin, taking the initiative to bring this up.

In a small village like this, people could be quite xenophobic. Li Jin’s idea was truly considerate toward his husband.

Li Jin continued, “Village Chief, I don’t want to put you in a difficult position. That’s why I brought this petition.

But I don’t have enough authority in the village, so I wanted to discuss this with you first…”

No matter how much Li Jin had improved, he was still a young man who hadn’t even reached the age of twenty.

Changing the villagers’ deep-seated prejudice against Qin Muwen would require the village chief’s influence.

Moreover, the content of the petition was clear—it even made the village chief uncomfortable.

He couldn’t believe that those ger, who were pitiful in their own right, could say such cruel and heartless words.

After a moment of thought, the village chief said, “I’ll keep this petition for now. Once you pass the scholar exam, I will help you resolve this matter. That way, everyone will be convinced.”

Becoming a scholar wasn’t easy. In the entire town, including eight surrounding villages, there were only three scholars.

The village chief’s words put some pressure on Li Jin, but they also showed his faith in him.

He, too, hoped that someone from their village would rise to success!

Li Jin stood up and bowed deeply. “Thank you, Village Chief.”

In truth, Li Jin simply wanted to seek justice for the young man.

The days ahead were still long, and the young man was not his caged canary, meant to stay indoors for life. To prevent him from being bullied again in the future, he had to make an example out of someone.

By the time Li Jin returned home, the house was already lit.

Seeing him enter, the young man slightly relaxed his previously tense back.

Li Jin gathered his change of clothes and went to bathe. When he returned, the baby was in the young man's arms, laughing happily.

The young man had timed it perfectly, feeding the baby just before Li Jin returned. "Now he'll smile at Daddy."

However, as soon as Li Jin took the baby in his arms, the little one’s face immediately went blank.

Li Jin: "…"

Qin Muwen: "???"

===

Tl notes:

Baozi is sooo cuteee!!!!!!

...............

Please support my ko-fi page...

Thank youuu❤️❤️❤️

Previous | Table of Contents | Next