TTLJDFL Chapter 30

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The young man hadn’t expected Li Jin to summarize and elevate the meaning of his words so directly.

But he wasn’t the type to beat around the bush. He always spoke his mind.

So, Qin Muwen nodded right in front of Li Jin. “Yes.”

—I care about you.

Li Jin put down the pumpkin, feeling that the strange thought he had suppressed earlier was rising again.

But after being single for twenty-nine years, he really didn’t understand what it meant to be moved.

In the past, when others confessed to him, he could calmly reject them without any inner turmoil.

But with this young man, he found himself wanting to see him smile, wanting to talk to him more.

He even wanted to hear him say, “I care about you.”

—

In the end, they made pumpkin buns together. Li Jin washed the pumpkin, peeled and diced it, and mixed the filling with soy sauce, salt, and sesame oil.

The young man was in charge of kneading the dough, rolling it, and shaping the buns with eight perfect pleats.

Li Jin had made buns and dumplings before. When he was studying abroad, a group of Chinese students would gather to make dumplings and steam buns during the New Year.

But he had to admit, his skill barely reached the level of making sure the buns didn’t fall apart.

Unlike the young man, who effortlessly cradled the dough in one hand, pinched the edges with the other, and after a few twists, produced a delicate little bun.

Each bun had precisely eight pleats, no more, no less.

Li Jin dusted his hands with some flour and tried to imitate him.

Unfortunately, making buns was a skill that couldn’t be learned just by watching.

His first attempt was placed on the cutting board beside the young man’s row of beautifully crafted buns—like a misshapen, lumpy reject among works of art.

Li Jin pondered for a moment and commented, “That last one looks pretty ugly. Probably not a good bun.”

It was the first time the young man had seen Li Jin fail at something. His dimples deepened as he smiled, eyes filled with amusement.

Li Jin wanted to practice making another one, but just then, a voice shouted from outside the door, “Li Jin! We’ve found someone to help you build your house!”

Li Jin wiped his hands clean and opened the door to see two familiar faces standing outside.

They were men he often saw when he worked in the fields.

He greeted them, “Er Niu-ge, Da Zhuang-ge, come in.”

Li Erniu and Li Daniu were distantly related, and since they were close in age, their names were given in a matching style.

It was also Li Erniu’s son who had brought his friends over to Li Jin’s house last time, asking for meat.

Feeling guilty about that, Erniu wanted to do something to help Li Jin.

Since the harvest season was over and he had no farm work to do, lending a hand was a good way to strengthen their neighborhood bonds.

Li Erniu said, “We originally planned to come on the second day of next week, but I finished my farm work yesterday, so I brought Da Zhuang over today to see if you need anything else besides repairing the house.”

Li Jin didn’t hesitate. After all, if he didn’t fix the roof now, he’d be the one suffering when it rained.

He said, “My bedroom and kitchen roofs are both leaking. Luckily, it hasn’t rained recently, or my house would be in serious trouble.”

Li Dazhuang was a straightforward guy. He laughed, “Last year, Li Zhuzi saw your house leaking and your bed getting soaked. He asked me to fix your roof, but you refused no matter what. You were way too stubborn about saving face.

I figured, what’s more practical—face, or a house that doesn’t leak? If Erniu hadn’t asked me this time, I might not have come again.”

Li Jin understood the village way of speaking—when they praised you, they had to first criticize you a little to highlight the contrast.

What Da Zhuang really meant was that Li Jin had finally grown into a responsible man who took care of his household.

Li Jin replied, “I was young and foolish back then. I finally understand my mistake now.”

Da Zhuang saw that Li Jin had indeed matured into a dependable figure.

Without saying more, he set up his ladder and quickly climbed onto the roof.

Erniu called up to him, “How’s the roof?”

When Da Zhuang came down, he frowned. “The small holes can be patched, but the big ones will still leak when it rains heavily, even if we cover them with straw.”

Li Jin had expected this. He asked, “Is there any way to fix it so it’ll last a few years?”

Erniu said, “You’re not thinking of replacing the whole thing with tiles, are you?”

Li Jin asked about the cost of tiles, then sighed. “I don’t have enough money to replace everything. I was thinking of using tiles for the worst spots, so when the rainy season comes, at least the house won’t flood.”

Da Zhuang went to inspect the kitchen roof and calculated the materials needed.

“The mud for patching houses is collected from the mountain. We can each carry two baskets. I have some extra wheat straw we can mix in, so we’ll have enough to repair the roof.”

Li Jin immediately agreed.

Erniu added, “As for tiles, you can buy a basketful in town. It’s best to order two carts of fired clay bricks too. If they arrive tomorrow, we can start fixing your house right away.”

Li Jin knew nothing about construction, so he simply followed the villagers’ advice and went with them to collect soil from the mountain.

Even though his body had toughened up from farming, carrying two baskets of soil still left him exhausted, his eyes wide and veins bulging on his forehead.

Li Erniu and Li Dazhuang quickly told him not to fill each basket so full and redistributed some of the load.

Their own baskets were already full, and now with Li Jin’s share added, the soil was piled up like little mountains.

Li Jin knew this wasn’t the time to show off, so he quickly thanked the two of them.

"Li Jin, you’re already doing great. When we were your age, we couldn’t even carry two full baskets of soil."

Li Jin picked up the carrying pole again, so exhausted that he could barely speak.

He focused entirely on moving forward and didn’t notice the shock and admiration in Li Erniu and Li Dazhuang’s eyes.

"Sure, we used to carry this much soil when we were eighteen, but Li Jin is different—he didn’t grow up doing farm work like we did."

"Li Jin was spoiled by Aunt Li. Now that she’s gone, it’s like he grew up overnight."

Li Dazhuang not only agreed with Li Erniu’s words but also added, "And he’s still studying! If he passes the imperial exam and becomes a scholar, our whole village will benefit."

"He has to manage his studies, farming, and supporting his family all at once. Honestly, I really respect him!"

At first, carrying so much soil made Li Jin’s legs tremble, but after walking for a while, he gradually got used to it.

Still, he was too exhausted to pay attention to the conversation behind him.

He had worn coarse linen clothes for this task, but he hadn’t expected the soil to be so thick and heavy—it really felt like his shoulders were about to be rubbed raw.

When the three of them finally arrived at Li Jin’s house and set the bamboo baskets against the wall, Li Jin straightened up and let out a long breath.

The young man had already arranged the freshly steamed buns on a wooden board in the courtyard.

He poured warm water for the three of them and set out stools. "Come rest for a bit."

Because they respected Li Jin, Li Dazhuang and Li Erniu found themselves treating the young man with more warmth as well.

"Your wife… is really considerate."

"Yeah, he really is."

Their words sounded a bit awkward. Though their village wasn’t wealthy, the village chief had planned well, ensuring that every household had land and a home.

Most of the men were family-oriented, and families from neighboring villages were happy to marry off their daughters here. As a result, there weren’t many "ge’er" (effeminate or male wives) in the village.

After all, in this era, the social hierarchy for food distribution was men first, women second, and ge’er last.

Other than Li Jin, no one in the village would consider taking a ge’er as their legal spouse.

The two men didn’t actually dislike Qin Muwen, but they had never praised a ge’er like this before, so it felt a bit unfamiliar.

They thought the conversation would end there, but to their surprise, Li Jin, instead of resting, walked straight to Qin Muwen’s side.

"You didn’t take a nap again today?"

Li Erniu and Li Dazhuang: "???" Wake up, brother! Since when can a wife be this pampered?

Li Jin sent the young man back inside before turning to the two of them and apologizing, "My spouse really is considerate, which is why I need to pay more attention to his health. I hope you don’t mind."

The two men: "…" It’s not about minding—it’s just shocking!

After eating and resting, Li Dazhuang started mixing wheat straw, soil, and water with a shovel.

The soil from the mountains was naturally sticky, but adding wheat straw made it even more durable.

That afternoon, they patched up the small holes in Li Jin’s roof. Once he bought the tiles the next day, the house would be properly repaired.

At the end of the day, Li Jin gave each of them ten copper pennies as payment.

In town, a full day’s work without meals paid around 25 to 30 coins.

Since they had only worked for an afternoon and had been fed, ten coins was a fair amount.

At first, the two men didn’t want to accept it, but Li Jin insisted, saying he’d feel guilty otherwise.

In the end, they took the money.

After that, Li Jin carried a pound of pork ribs to Li Zhuzi’s house—he wanted to borrow Li Zhuzi’s ox cart the next day.

Li Jin knew he wouldn’t be able to carry a basket of roof tiles all the way back from town on his own.

Roof tiles were denser than soil; since they were fired in a kiln, the materials were packed tightly together.

Li Daniu immediately agreed.

"That works out perfectly. I have to deliver firewood tomorrow, so I’ll wait for you on the main street, and we can go to the tile kiln together."

Li Jin didn’t know the way to the tile kiln—it was near town, but having Li Zhuzi accompany him would definitely be more convenient.

Afterward, he watered his vegetable garden, practiced calligraphy, bathed, and did some push-ups. By the time he went to bed, it was already late.

Usually, the young man would watch Li Jin practice calligraphy until he drifted off to sleep.

But tonight, he took out a needle and thread, sewing two wide, thick fabric straps under the lamplight.

By the time Li Jin finished writing, the young man had already finished sewing. He quietly placed the straps back in the basket, pretending he hadn’t done anything.

Li Jin didn’t suspect anything. After his bath, he went straight to bed.

The next morning, when he picked up his backpack, he realized that the rough ropes that had been digging into his shoulders had been replaced with padded straps.

With the wide and thick shoulder straps, the backpack was much more comfortable to carry.

Li Jin guessed that the young man must have sewn them while he was bathing.

Holding the straps in his hands, he looked at the young man’s innocent face, pretending as if nothing had happened.

Suddenly, he stepped forward and placed a kiss on the young man’s forehead.

It was just a simple goodbye kiss, like what brothers might do.

Li Jin said, "I’m heading out now. I’m going to buy tiles and baked bricks, so I’ll be back later."

The young man stood there, stunned. He only snapped out of it after Li Jin had walked far away.

He wanted to run after him to watch his departing figure.

But right at that moment, the little bun (baby) in the house started crying, so Qin Muwen had to go back and feed him.

Once the baby was full and asleep, Qin Muwen remained in the same posture, still in a daze.

The dimples on his cheeks were sweet and deep.

Just like the pumpkin bun he had secretly eaten yesterday while Li Jin and the others were out carrying soil.

Tl Notes:

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