7 Life After Marriage

After breakfast, Qin Jin and Ye Miao went to the neighboring courtyard. They borrowed two hundred wen from Wang Xiuqin, then slung their woven baskets over their backs and headed to the county town.

The day was overcast, heavy clouds obscuring the sun overhead, yet there wasn’t a trace of wind. By the time they reached the town, both were already sweating.

They visited several shops and gathered all the items they needed.

Once home, Qin Jin soaked the peas first.

They had bought ten jin of peas today, but they couldn’t rush the process, so he only soaked five jin at a time.

Five jin of peas would yield ten jin of pea cakes, double the four or five jin they had managed before.

Afterward, the two took small hoes to weed the backyard.

The previous owner had been lazy—no vegetables planted, no chickens raised—and the entire good patch of land was overrun with weeds.

As a man who cultivated flowers, Qin Jin felt a pang of pain at the waste.

He had been busy working in the fields and selling pea cakes, with no time to tend the garden. Now newly married and with help at hand, it was time to reclaim the land.

Earlier, he and Ye Miao had bought seeds for cucumbers, pumpkins, and chili peppers. Though the season was a bit late, with careful tending, they could enjoy fresh vegetables in a few months.

For now, if they wanted vegetables, they had to pick from the old courtyard or dig for wild plants.

In June, many wild greens had passed their prime, but there were so many kinds scattered across the hills that, with careful selection, they could still find the good ones.

Just as they finished pulling the weeds, a sudden downpour rumbled in. Both were pleased—it meant they wouldn’t have to water the crops themselves.

The rain came swiftly and heavily but lasted only an hour. Afterward, they sowed the vegetable seeds.

After lunch, Qin Jin went back to the fields to weed. The freshly rained-on soil was soft, making some weeds too stubborn for the hoe to easily uproot.

Ye Miao wanted to join him, but Qin Jin refused without hesitation—delicate hands like his shouldn’t get calloused from work. Instead, he assigned Ye Miao tasks of gathering firewood and digging wild vegetables.

Ye Miao accepted gladly. After Qin Jin left, he took a rope and went out.

Qin Jin first went next door to speak with his father. Their houses were close, and there was no strict tradition requiring him to wait three days before returning to his natal home.

He mainly wanted to put his father’s mind at ease.

As for the five hundred wen debt, Qin Jin understood it was meant for his good.

His father now gathered firewood daily, earning a few wen each day. The kitchen still had a few jin of millet and cornmeal, so they wouldn’t go hungry for a few days.

On the first day of marriage, Qin Jin didn’t want to openly send support to his natal family, planning to discuss the food money with Ye Miao after a few days.

But he mustn’t tell his father this plan.

After chatting about how considerate Qin Jin was toward him, Ye Miao went with his father to collect firewood in the mountains.

By evening, Qin Jin returned home, dripping with sweat.

Ye Miao was sitting in the courtyard sorting wild vegetables. Seeing him enter, he stood to fetch water for him.

“Come wash up,” Ye Miao said. “Dinner’s almost ready.”

Qin Jin sat down on a bench. Ye Miao quickly brought a wooden basin, and Qin Jin washed his hands and face.

When he finished, Ye Miao had moved a small wooden dining table from the kitchen and was arranging the dishes.

There was thick pumpkin porridge simmered until creamy, with a few red dates floating inside—“jujube osmanthus,” a symbolic gift from their wedding day.

In the bread basket lay more than ten plump, glossy vegetable buns, and on a plate, chili-fried purslane, with some leftover pork cracklings from rendered lard.

The pumpkins had been a gift from Huang Chunlan yesterday. Her family grew many pumpkins and couldn’t finish them all, so besides twenty wen gift money, she sent three big pumpkins.

“Come eat, the pumpkin porridge has cooled a while, so it won’t burn your mouth,” Ye Miao smiled softly as he stood by the table.

Qin Jin smiled too. “Alright.”

Sitting down, he first took a few sips of the porridge to quench his dry throat, then picked up his chopsticks to sample the purslane.

Purslane turns slightly sour once it flowers, but cooked with chili, it became a deliciously spicy and sour treat that whetted the appetite.

“Tasty,” he said, looking at Ye Miao.

Ye Miao’s eyes sparkled. “Glad you like it. I’ll make more tomorrow. Hmm… maybe I’ll dry some purslane, so we can eat it even in winter.”

Qin Jin nodded. “Good idea.”

Fresh vegetables in winter were limited to radishes and cabbage; having another flavor was a blessing.

After dinner, as dusk settled, the two washed up and went straight to bed.

They had to get up in the middle of the night to make pea cakes, so they needed to sleep early.

After blowing out the candle, the room fell silent. Qin Jin lay stiffly as the night before, eyes wide open. He didn’t want to force intimacy to build their relationship.

Besides, if they were intimate every night, what if Ye Miao got pregnant?

He was only seventeen, still a minor.

Qin Jin himself wasn’t even fond of him yet; a child now would only complicate their bond.

He wasn’t ready to like children yet...

But if he didn’t explain, even if Ye Miao didn’t silently wipe away tears tonight, he’d still lie awake troubled.

Thinking this, Qin Jin spoke softly, “Miao’er?”

Ye Miao was a bit sleepy but forced his eyes open; he didn’t want to sleep.

Though Qin Jin had been unpleasant the night before, he had felt happy inside, his body comfortable. He wanted to get closer to Qin Jin, believing that more closeness would grow affection.

Just as he was thinking how to take the initiative, Qin Jin called him, and he quickly responded.

“Not crying, right?” Qin Jin asked, turning over and pulling Ye Miao into his arms.

He reached up to touch Ye Miao’s face.

Ye Miao opened his eyes wide.

He hadn’t cried.

He was not a crybaby; after ten years old, he never cried—even when Zhao Dafu came to bind him, he didn’t shed a tear!

Because crying was useless—it wouldn’t ease the toil nor bring money.

Yet inexplicably, he always shed tears in front of Qin Jin, unable to control it.

This man… was he annoyed?

He pressed his lips, feeling heavy inside.

How could he reverse this impression?

Qin Jin carefully touched Ye Miao’s delicate face; no tears, but he wasn’t convinced.

He hugged him tighter and asked, “Miao’er, do you like children?”

“Hm?”

Why such a sudden question?

Before Ye Miao could ponder, Qin Jin said, “We owe debt now. Let’s have children after we pay it off, alright?”

“I’m afraid if we do it too much, you might get pregnant.”

Ye Miao’s face flushed, and he instinctively shrank closer into Qin Jin’s chest, unconsciously clutching the front of his shirt.

Was that the reason?

But they hadn’t done it that many times.

Blushing, he quietly said, “Alright, I’ll listen to you.”

“Then go to sleep. We have to get up early to make pea cakes tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Ye Miao answered quickly.

He felt a little regretful.

No more using intimacy to build affection…

But if Ye Miao got pregnant, he wouldn’t be able to do much work. The family was in debt; Qin Jin worried about his father. Now was truly no time for pregnancy.

Thinking this, Qin Jin suppressed his regrets and succumbed to sleep.

Listening to Ye Miao’s steady breathing, he finally relaxed and drifted off.

At the hour of the Ox, around 1 a.m., the two, bleary-eyed, rose to make the pea cakes.

Ye Miao was in a good mood because he had woken up safely in Qin Jin’s arms. Though it was pitch dark and he couldn’t see Qin Jin’s face, it didn’t stop him from feeling secretly delighted.

It meant Qin Jin wasn’t annoyed with him, wouldn’t push him away while he slept.

Following Qin Jin’s light footsteps, they arrived at the kitchen and lit the oil lamp. Ye Miao sat seriously by the stove, beginning to cook the peas.

Qin Jin was teaching him how to make pea cakes—this was their livelihood as a couple!

Soaked peas cooked quickly, saving time and fuel. After cooking, the peas were poured into a basin and mashed with a rolling pin since they had no blender—only this rudimentary method.

Qin Jin demonstrated, then handed the rolling pin to Ye Miao, who imitated him, gently pounding the peas.

His strength was just right, and soon there were no more pea grains visible.

Next, Qin Jin brought a piece of coarse cloth to strain out the pea skins.

The skins affected texture, but the grain shop sold only peas with skins, so this step had to be done themselves.

Removing the skins completed the two most technical steps.

Ye Miao looked at the mashed peas in the basin in amazement, not expecting peas could turn into a paste.

“Can all beans be mashed like this?” he asked.

“Hmm… probably not. When we have time, we can try them one by one,” Qin Jin said thoughtfully.

He hadn’t expected Ye Miao to ask.

But that was fine—it would help him try making other pastries.

Green beans could make mung bean cakes; red beans could make bean paste, both delicious.

He then took some candied dates bought yesterday from the cupboard and placed one on the board, pressing it to Ye Miao’s lips. “Taste it.”

“No need, I’m not a child,” Ye Miao shook his head.

Candied dates were expensive and meant for business.

“Don’t worry about one more,” Qin Jin insisted, pushing the date to his lips. “If you taste it, it can’t go in the cakes.”

“...” Ye Miao had no choice but to open his mouth and eat it.

The date was thick and sweet, sweet enough to make him want to smile secretly.

He fought to keep a straight face, lest he laugh out loud.

Pea cakes needed to solidify their shape. After finishing the preliminary work, Qin Jin went back to bed for a nap while Ye Miao started making breakfast.

Dawn was approaching. They were making more pea cakes today. Qin Jin had to go set up a stall at the county gate after breakfast, so Ye Miao had to hurry with the meal, then go back to sleep.

Qin Jin opened his stall early, catching the busiest time by the city gate. He no longer offered samples; the grand opening sale was over.

Still, he already had returning customers.

One was the owner of a bun stall, who was willing to spend a few wen to treat his grandson.

At one wen per piece, the pea cakes weren’t expensive, so sales went faster than Qin Jin expected, and they sold out before noon.

Out of ten jin of pea cakes, they kept half a jin at home. The remaining nine and a half jin were all sold, no giveaways or samples.

Total earnings: one hundred forty-three wen.

When Qin Jin returned home, Ye Miao had lunch ready, waiting for him.

He placed the heavy money pouch before Ye Miao, who couldn’t help but hold it with both hands, weighing it.

So many copper coins! It would take him several days of embroidery work to earn this much.

Besides, the half jin of pea cakes left at home was also sold.

That morning, Zhang’s son-in-law from the east village, who sold tofu, came and bought the half jin.

Zhang’s family ran a small tofu business and, like the bun stall owner, was willing to spend money.

All ten jin of pea cakes sold today had earned seventy wen.

Seventy wen a day meant two taels of silver per month.

This year, they could definitely repay their debts.

Qin Jin chuckled at Ye Miao’s money-hungry expression. He went inside to get a small box that previously held copper coins and poured the coins from the pouch inside.

The clinking sound was pleasant to hear.

“From now on, all the money we earn goes here. Take whatever you want whenever you want.”

“Take whatever I want?” Ye Miao was surprised.

“Of course. We’re husbands, and you’ve worked too.”

Ye Miao was speechless.

Then a smile spread across his face: “Great!”

He had thought Qin Jin would keep the money himself since he had to buy peas and sugar for the cakes daily. Besides, he didn’t intend to manage the money and Qin Jin didn’t like him, so he wouldn’t ask to manage it.

Besides, Qin Jin was now diligent and capable and wouldn’t squander money.

Yet who would have expected Qin Jin to say such a thing?

His heart felt sweeter than when he ate the candied date at dawn.

In the following days, the two stuck to their routine of making and selling pea cakes. Sometimes sales were brisk, sometimes slow, but they always sold out by day's end.

The small coin box grew heavy.

Ye Miao counted the coins several times daily and often hugged the box, shaking it gently to hear the delightful clinking.

Life after marriage was far better than he had imagined. He was as happy as a mouse that had stolen lamp oil.

One noon, Ye Miao skipped his nap, slung the woven basket over his back, and went digging for wild vegetables.

He had been drying wild greens these days, not much each day, but accumulated over time.

The river by Wuligou Village was originally a ditch; later, the government widened it, turning it into a river.

Near the river flourished wild grasses and vegetables. With his small hoe, he quickly filled his basket.

Just as he was about to head home, a sarcastic voice came from behind, “Oh, so poor you come digging wild vegetables now?”

“Tsk, some people are born poor and deserve to marry a good-for-nothing.”

Ye Miao’s face scrunched. He turned to see the source.

A somewhat plump woman stood by the riverbank, holding a basket full of clothes, smirking coldly at him.

He recognized her—Zhao Dafu’s wife, his aunt Zhang Xiaohua.

He had heard that on the day he married Qin Jin, Zhang Xiaohua felt ashamed and went back to her natal home.

She must have just returned, unaware of the pea cake business.

Yet she dared call Qin Jin a good-for-nothing!

How hateful.