Chapter 38
"Zhao Ger, so you're here!" Zhou Ger shot Ma Wen a glance, hinting meaningfully: "Next time, don’t fetch water at this hour. It’s crowded during lunch and dinner, have you forgotten what happened with Liu Laizi?"
Ma Wen halted his steps.
A few aunties carrying baskets to dig wild vegetables passed by, and Zhao Ger lowered his voice: "What did you want to talk to me about?"
"Nothing," Zhou Ger glanced back—Ma Wen was still staring blankly in their direction. He clicked his tongue in annoyance. "What were you talking about with him just now? Was he bothering you again?"
Zhou Ger knew full well what Ma Wen felt for Zhao Ger. Without waiting for a reply, he continued, "Don’t get too close to him from now on. If people see you, they’ll gossip about you again."
The villagers loved to gossip. If a ger or a girl got a little too close to someone, they could spin seven or eight different versions of rumors.
And especially since Ma Wen was Zhao Ger’s 'former husband'—ever since Ma Wen returned, the villagers had been watching him closely!
If he stayed around Zhao Ger, they villagers would speculate: were they still entangled? Had old flames rekindled? Would Zhao Ger abandon his new love and return to his old one?
"I know," Zhao Ger said.
"I’m just worried you might be careless," Zhou Ger followed Zhao Ger toward his house. "Fang Zichen isn’t in the village, so there are things he doesn’t understand. You should give him a heads-up about Ma Wen. Just now, Ma Wen was pulling at you, and quite a few people saw it. I’m afraid rumors will spread later. If Fang Zichen hears them, he might be upset with you."
Zhao Ger nodded. "Mm, I understand."
As they entered the courtyard, a soft cooing sound came from behind the house. Zhou Ger, curious, saw Guaizai walking out holding an egg.
"Uncle Zhou!" Guaizai called out sweetly.
Liuliu was a few months older than Guaizai. To be honest, if Liuliu weren’t his own son, Zhou Ger might have liked Guaizai even more.
Zhou Ger always felt Guaizai was different from the other village children—though he couldn’t quite pinpoint how. Despite being thin and not dressed particularly well, Guaizai’s face was exquisitely beautiful. When he was just a few days old, a midwife in the village happened to see him and exclaimed that in all her years of delivering babies, she had never seen such a beautiful child—even more lovely than the girls in town.
Zhao Ger was dirt poor, so she had no reason to flatter him.
Many people had been present at the time, and it was clear her words weren’t empty praise but genuine admiration.
As Guaizai grew older, he only became more handsome—big eyes, a soft, milky voice, utterly endearing.
Zhou Ger treated him almost as well as he did Liuliu.
"Where’d you get the egg?" he asked.
"The chicken laid it," Guaizai pointed toward the back of the house.
Zhou Ger patted his head and smiled. "Is that so? Then later, have your daddy cook it for you, okay?"
Guaizai clutched the egg and, without hesitation, said, "I want to save it for Father to eat."
Zhou Ger froze for a moment before murmuring, "Our Guaizai is so filial."
Guaizai grinned, seeming a little shy, then scampered into the kitchen to put the egg away.
Zhou Ger went to check the back of the house. A small straw shed leaned against the corner of the wall, inside of which sat an old hen.
"When did your family buy a chicken?" he called out.
"The village chief gave it to us," Zhao Ger walked over. "Husband said we should keep it for eggs. Oh, right—do you know who in the village sells eggs?"
"I do. You want to buy some?"
"Yes," Zhao Ger said. "Husband told me to buy some eggs to eat."
Fang Zichen had left him some silver in the morning, telling him to buy what he needed. If the village didn’t have it, he’d bring some back from town.
Zhou Ger said, "Uncle He’s family has some."
He meant He Dalang.
"How many do you want to buy?"
Eggs didn’t keep well in summer. Though Fang Zichen had told him to fry two every day for himself and the child, Zhao Ger thought that if they were going to eat, all three of them should eat together.
"Let’s buy twenty for now," Zhao Ger said. "We can buy more after we finish these."
Zhou Ger choked on his own saliva, coughing until his face turned red.
Twenty to start with—and for now?!
He had assumed they’d just buy two or three as a treat!
Villagers were frugal, they usually didn’t eat eggs themselves, saving them to sell in town.
When the market was good, they could sell for one copper coin per egg, when it wasn’t, three eggs for two copper coins. Not exactly cheap.
Twenty eggs—in his household, that would last half a year.
After Liu Xiaowen was conscripted, Aunt Liu’s family had fallen into hardship. Even before he left, their situation hadn’t been great, but at least it wasn’t as tight as now. They could barely afford meat once a month. During the farming off-season, Liu Xiaowen would take odd jobs for extra income, but now, Zhou Ger was the only one supporting the family.
Liu Dali was a typical farmer—honest, dull-witted, and not particularly sharp. Aside from his physical strength and knowing how to work the fields, he wasn’t much use for anything else.
Zhou Ger asked tentatively, "Do you have the money?"
"I do," Zhao Ger said.
Fang Zichen left most of his earnings with him.
"Fang Zichen lets you manage the money?" Seeing Zhao Ger nod, Zhou Ger was stunned. They had only been together for a little over a month, and Fang Zichen already entrusted him with their finances?!
In the village, He Dalang’s family was indeed relatively better off. They kept four hens, which laid eggs daily, and by now, they had nearly a full basket saved up.
Zhao Ger got along well with He Dalang’s fulang, Uncle Liu.
The moment Uncle Liu saw Guaizai, his face lit up. He beckoned the child over, picked him up, and planted two kisses on his cheeks.
"My sweet little darling, Uncle Liu hasn’t seen you in so long! Did you miss me?"
"I do," Guaizai smiled with eyes curved into crescents and also kissed him on the cheek.
Uncle Liu, his face crinkling with laughter, led Zhao Ger inside. After teasing Guaizai for a bit, he grabbed a handful of freshly dug peanuts from the field and stuffed them into the child's pocket, letting him play on his own.
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