Lost in thought, Lu Gu didn’t notice Shen Xuanqing quietly nuzzling and kissing his hair.
The scent of his soft, fragrant fulang filled Shen Xuanqing’s senses. They had been busy lately, restraining themselves in matters of intimacy. But today, they hadn’t worked too hard, and they’d even eaten meat and drank wine at noon.
The bed creaked lightly. Lu Gu kept his lips tightly shut, not daring to make a sound.
Early the next morning, Lu Gu was already by the river, tending to the calf and ducks.
The calf didn’t need to be led, it grazed and drank by itself, even rolling in the muddy banks until its coat was caked in dirt.
Horseflies were at their worst in summer, their bites painful enough to make the calf shudder. Coating itself in mud helped somewhat.
With the current heat, horseflies were more numerous than before, especially around noon near the river and paddy fields. So now, they let the calf out early in the morning to eat and drink its fill before bringing it back by midday.
Taking advantage of the cool weather, Lu Gu left the calf to its own and squatted by the river to gather snails, which he’d later smash to feed the chickens.
Dahui sniffed around nearby, while Guaizi dashed and leaped about wildly, sometimes even butting heads playfully with the calf.
Guaizi ran over again, rubbing and nuzzling his head against Lu Gu’s back. Lu Gu pushed the dog’s head away firmly, Guaizi was always running around the village getting dirty, and his clothes were freshly changed, even new this year and only worn twice. He didn’t want them soiled. “Stop rubbing on me. Go play by yourself.”
But the more Lu Gu pushed, the more Guaizi thought it was a game, stubbornly refusing to leave and playfully resisting his hand.
“You were lighter when you were small.” Lu Gu sighed and gave up, letting the dog nuzzle him. He recalled their visit to Uncle Jinhu’s house the other day to see the puppies. The big yellow dog had only given birth to four this time, so there were enough teats to go around. No fighting over food, all of them were being fed well.
True to its nature, Guaizi soon lost interest when Lu Gu stopped pushing him away. Hearing the calf’s moo, his ears perked up, and he dashed off again.
Lu Gu continued gathering snails by the river while keeping an eye on the ducks. When Wei Lanxiang arrived with a bamboo basket to gather grass to feed rabbits, he called out a greeting before heading back with his basket of snails to feed the chickens, unlike ducks, chickens needed the shells smashed open.
Entering through the back door, he saw Shen Xuanqing tidying up the ox pen. He turned and asked, “Is my back dirty? Guaizi rubbed his head all over me earlier, and the calf had been rolling in mud. They butted heads before.”
Shen Xuanqing paused, shovel in hand, and inspected him. “Nothing there. It’s clean.”
Relieved, Lu Gu went to feed the chickens.
With so much work at home and having just earned money from selling sheep a few days prior, Shen Xuanqing hadn’t gone up the mountain again. Besides, Ji Qiuyue’s due date was approaching, early August. And in just two more days, it would be the first day of the eighth month. His own nephew was about to be born, of course he’d wait.
Shen Yaoqing carried buckets of water to irrigate the vegetable patch. Tipping the last of the water out, he straightened up to rest, his thoughts inevitably drifting to the impending birth. His gaze grew distant, lost in thought.
Since Ji Qiuyue had been craving sour foods, the villagers all said it would be a big, fat boy. But until the baby was born, who could say? These past few days, he’d been both busy and tense.
Lu Gu, smashing snails with a stone, glanced over and saw his dazed expression. His eyes curved slightly in amusement. Big Brother had been like this a lot lately.
In the blink of an eye, it was the third day of the eighth month.
That afternoon, clouds covered the sun, bringing some relief from the heat. Lu Gu hadn’t eaten much at lunch. Waking from a nap, he noticed the overcast sky and felt a pang of hunger, so he went to the kitchen and grabbed half a steamed bun to eat.
Just as he took a bite, Shen Yaoqing came rushing out of his room in a fluster, stammering incoherently as he dashed into Wei Lanxiang’s room. “Mother! Mother! Come quick, her water broke! It broke!”
“Go get the midwife! Hurry!” Wei Lanxiang’s voice rose sharply.
In an instant, Lu Gu was so startled he nearly dropped his half-eaten bun. He wanted to go check on Ji Qiuyue, but Shen Yaoqing, standing in the doorway, slapped his thigh in realization before turning and bolting outside.
In his panic, he stumbled down the steps, even losing a shoe in his haste. He bent to pick it up, shoved it back on, and kept running.
Shen Xuanqing, who had slept in, shot upright in bed at the commotion.
Wei Lanxiang didn’t even bother fixing her hair. She hurried into the room with Lu Gu and Shen Yan. Ji Qiuyue sat on the edge of the bed, her pants and the floor damp. Pale with nerves, she wasn’t in pain yet, only her water had broken.
“How are you feeling?” Wei Lanxiang asked urgently before turning to Lu Gu. “Quick, go boil water. The midwife will need it when she arrives.”
Shen Xuanqing stood at the door, not entering. “I’ll do it,” he said.
He couldn’t help with much else, but boiling water was something he could manage.
“Boil a lot, use the big earthen pot too,” Wei Lanxiang called after him before instructing Lu Gu, “Go get the scissors and put them in the boiling water to sterilize.”
Lu Gu nodded hastily and rushed off to find the scissors.
“You, go get a few new cloths too,” Wei Lanxiang told Shen Yan.
The whole family was in a flurry of activity, but under Wei Lanxiang’s direction, their frantic movements never tipped into outright chaos.
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