FMT 34

Chapter 34 Promise

After drinking the medicine and rinsing his mouth, Liandan lay back down on the bed.

By then the coal in the stove had nearly burned out, and the room was no longer as hot as before. Chen Shuangning pulled a blanket over him, then went next door to carry Xiaodan back, carefully laying the child beside him.

Whoosh, the oil lamp went out. The hoarse voice said slowly, “Sleep.”

Liandan was exhausted. He lightly held the child’s small hand beside him and closed his eyes. But he did not fall asleep right away. His ears still caught every sound in the room.

He could not hear Chen Shuangning’s footsteps, but he felt the man was still inside. After a while he heard a faint sound of coughing, but it quickly fell silent again.

….

The next day, Liandan lay in bed the whole day, only getting up near evening.

On the clothesline in the courtyard hung the bedding taken down the night before, along with some changed clothes.

His own inner clothes had been washed clean and were drying on the stove wall. He glanced at them, felt something stir in his heart, and suddenly dared not look again.

Carrying Xiaodan, he added firewood into the stove. Then he heard voices from the courtyard.

Aunt Wu’s voice came from the yard next door. “Liandan has been waiting day and night. He’s finally gotten you back.”

Liandan heard it clearly. His face flushed red and his heartbeat quickened. He wanted to step outside and say something, but after hesitating, the moment passed.

Outside, the hoarse male voice replied something, but Liandan did not catch it clearly.

Aunt Wu’s voice was loud. She asked, “I heard Liandan said you found work outside. How long can you stay this time?”

Liandan paused in the middle of lifting a pot lid. This time, he clearly heard the young man’s reply from outside.

“Six days. I can stay six more days before I have to leave.”

Aunt Wu sighed. “That’s not many days at home at all. There’s only a month and a half until New Year. Can you come back a bit earlier before then?”

“Mm,” the man said after thinking, “I’ll try.”

Hearing this, Liandan’s face dimmed.

….

At dinner, Liandan reheated the red date cake he had steamed the day before. Chen Shuangning ladled porridge into a bowl, placed it in front of Liandan, and seemed about to head inside.

“You…” Liandan spoke hesitantly.

Chen Shuangning’s steps stopped. He turned back to look at him.

Liandan bit his lip. “Aren’t you eating?”

Chen Shuangning’s gaze stayed a moment on his lowered lashes, then swept quickly across the food on the table.

Liandan had always measured carefully, making just enough to eat. But the food on the table was clearly more than what he and the child could finish.

Chen Shuangning’s eyes returned to Liandan’s face. Since Madam Chen’s passing, Liandan had never again called him to eat together as before.

Chen Shuangning lowered his eyelids. His lips moved. “You steamed the date cake?”

Liandan nodded. Chen Shuangning walked to the table, sat down, and said, “It smells very good. I’ll try some.”

Liandan looked a little pleased. He quickly stood and placed a steaming piece of date cake into his bowl with chopsticks.

Apart from Xiaodan waving his little wooden spoon and calling “ah ah,” the two of them ate in silence.

….

The next day, Tang Hua heard that Chen Shuangning had returned, so he came with Li Fu to visit.

The Li family owned more land. Li Fu spent all year farming, under sun and wind in summer and autumn. His face was tanned, and even after spending so long idling in winter, he had not lightened much.

He looked very ordinary, and his build was not particularly strong, but he was tall, had a good temper, was steady and dependable, and his parents were easygoing. Back when he was unmarried, in the village he was considered a good match in the eyes of the girls and ge’er.

Tang Hua, like Liandan, was not from this village. When he came of age, matchmakers also came to his home to propose, but he rejected them all.

In the villages within ten li, people were closely connected. When they sat and talked, it was common to find ties like “my relative is your neighbor.”

Tang Hua heard that the son of the old Li family in Kaoshan Village was good. He was bold, and secretly went to the village to take a look at Li Fu.

At the time, Li Fu was working in the fields. Tang Hua pretended to pass by and asked him for a drink of water.

He found him indeed decent and set his mind on him.

When he went home, his parents gave the matchmaker some gifts. After a few visits back and forth, Li Fu saw Tang Hua and liked him too, and so the marriage was settled.

Tang Hua’s judgment had been right. Since marrying Li Fu, they had always been loving.

This time, the two came visiting with Xiao Hua in their arms. Li Fu also carried a bundle of scallions wrapped in a cotton mat. His parents had grown them in a basin indoors.

Fresh vegetables were rare in winter, and Liandan was delighted. Tang Hua and Liandan sat on the bed edge, talking while watching the children.

Li Fu and Chen Shuangning sat by the window drinking tea.

Chen Shuangning spoke little, but Li Fu was good at talking. He spoke from the autumn harvest to the two children playing on the bed, then mentioned the young people in the village going to town to do day labor.

When this came up, Tang Hua brightened and said to Chen Shuangning, “Right, a few days ago I mentioned to Liandan that with New Year coming, why don’t we go to town together to buy festival goods. We can stroll around too. Liandan has never been to town.”

Liandan let out an “Ah” and stammered, “No… I don’t need to…”

Of course he still remembered this matter. Many in the village had gone to town to work or to stroll. He had never had the chance, so he was curious too.

More importantly, his older sister Lianye’s home was near the town. He wanted to see her.

But he felt embarrassed to trouble Chen Shuangning. If he went only with Tang Hua and his husband, it would not be proper. So he had to give up.

Tang Hua held Liandan’s hand and, ignoring his refusal, said to Chen Shuangning, “Don’t listen to him. He really wants to go, he’s just too shy to say it.”

Chen Shuangning looked at Liandan’s flushed face, lowered his gaze, and replied, “These few days are fine. You decide the time.”

“Then it’s settled.” Tang Hua was instantly overjoyed. He turned to his husband. “When we get back, go next door and borrow the cart. Tomorrow we’ll go.”

Tang Hua lightly poked Liandan’s thin chest and laughed. “Is that alright with you?”

Liandan hurriedly lifted his eyes to glance at Chen Shuangning by the window, then nodded.