Chapter 202
By noon, when it was warm, the family was busy - some washing their hair, others bathing in their rooms. Lu Gu split firewood and boiled water, while Ji Qiuyue looked after the two children. Everyone had their own tasks.
By the time the smoke from the firewood in the kitchen had dissipated, Shen Xuanqing and the other three were already sitting in the yard, basking in the sun to dry their hair as quickly as possible.
"Honestly, after washing up, it feels like I’ve shed two catties. I'm so much lighter and cooler now," Wei Lanxiang said as she combed her damp hair. With the rice seedlings planted, a major task was finally done.
"My hair feels the same," Shen Yan chimed in with a smile. Having changed into clean clothes, she found her long hair dampening her back, so she gathered it over her shoulder and tilted her head, wiping it again with a cloth draped over the chair.
Lu Gu, now free, sat in the shade of the eaves with little Lingjun in his arms. The midday sun was harsh, and the child sometimes struggled to keep his eyes open under its glare.
"Your hair’s gotten long," he remarked, looking at Shen Xuanqing, who sat in the sunlight ahead.
"Mm, it has," Shen Xuanqing replied, glancing down at his wet hair. He got up, fetched scissors from the sewing basket on the main hall's table, and returned to trim it himself, cutting it shorter.
Hair couldn’t be carelessly cut or shaved off, but tidying it up was fine to prevent it from becoming unmanageable. Country folk usually trimmed their own hair, men tied theirs up and wrapped it in cloth, so even if the cut wasn’t perfect, it wouldn’t show.
"Done?" Shen Yaoqing asked, extending a hand for the scissors.
Shen Xuanqing handed them over. After sitting in the sun a while longer, his hair dried noticeably, feeling lighter. Freshly bathed from head to toe, he combed and tied his hair. Once done, the heat of the sun made him shift his chair back to sit beside Lu Gu.
"Here, let Dad hold you," he said, taking little Lingjun. He wanted to kiss the child’s chubby cheeks but remembered he hadn’t shaved in days and held back, settling for playfully lifting the little shuang'er instead.
Lingjun giggled with delight each time he was raised high.
Zhao’er, who had been dragging a wooden rake around the yard, dropped it at the sound of his little brother’s laughter and toddled over, arms outstretched. "Up! Up!"
Before Shen Xuanqing could respond, Shen Yaoqing, who was tying his hair, chuckled and said, "Come here, Dad will lift you. Don’t always fight with your brother, you little jealous thing."
Zhao’er happily waddled to his father and burst into giggles as he was hoisted overhead.
Shen Xuanqing had been staying in town lately, returning home only for a night at most. This rare stretch of days back had him missing Lu Gu and the child. After the busy past few days, he now held Lingjun without letting go, it had been a while since he’d doted on his little shuang'er like this.
At the butcher’s shop in town, work could be hectic, but once things slowed, there wasn’t much to do - wiping tables, sweeping the yard, sharpening knives. Yan Shi would sometimes come by to wash his clothes in her free time, but she had her own household chores, and he didn’t want to burden her too much, so he often washed them himself.
Used to the spacious countryside, he found the shop cramped. He didn’t mind the small space, but sometimes it felt too low and narrow. Chatting with his master and the neighbors was fine, but when left alone minding the shop with nothing to do and no one to talk to, he grew restless. To pass the time, he’d sharpen every knife in the shop until they gleamed.
Now, back home holding his little shuang'er and eating his fulang's cooking, the thought grew stronger - he wanted to bring Lu Gu and Lingjun to Jixing Town.
This idea had lingered for a while, but the shop had only one room, and the backyard was too small for drying clothes or bedding. The makeshift stove under a thatched awning made daily life inconvenient compared to home.
Their house, no matter what, was spacious, especially the new house. Bringing Lu Gu and the child there would only make them feel stifled.
Lingjun’s little white baby teeth showed when he laughed, his eyes crinkling sweetly. Shen Xuanqing couldn’t resist planting a soft kiss on his cheek.
"Alright, alright, Dad’s arms are sore," Shen Yaoqing said, putting down his chubby son and pinching Zhao’er’s plump cheeks playfully.
Seeing him pinch repeatedly, Ji Qiuyue swatted his hand away, glaring. "You’ll burst his drool pouch! If he grows up slobbering, it’ll be your fault!"
Locals often said a child’s "drool pouch" shouldn’t be pinched, or they’d drool even as adults.
Struck hard on the back of his hand, Shen Yaoqing withdrew it sheepishly, not daring to pinch again.
The family rested until mid-afternoon. Shen Xuanqing, Shen Yaoqing, and Wei Lanxiang went to the new house to feed the livestock. The calf had worked hard plowing the fields before transplanting rice seedlings, so these days, it was left to rest and eat.
Shen Yan drove the ducks and geese to the river for a swim. Zhao’er wanted to follow, so Ji Qiuyue took him along to keep her sister-in-law company.
After Lingjun had his milk fruit, Lu Gu noticed him rubbing his eyes - a sign he was sleepy, so he carried him inside to soothe him to sleep. Just as Lingjun drifted off, Guaizi, who had been guarding the new house, trotted back. Not finding Lu Gu in the yard, the dog headed straight indoors.
Lu Gu closed the bedroom door and stepped out with Guaizi. "Hungry?" he asked with a smile.
Peeking into the yard and seeing no one else home, he went to the kitchen and grabbed a small handful of shelled peanuts for the dog.
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