SLH | Chapter 46

I Can’t Outtalk You

As the hour of You was about to pass, Tian Tian finally pulled a cart of bricks into the Liu family courtyard. Liu Meng, who worked as a long-term laborer at Landlord Zhang’s house, also returned home. The three of them worked quickly, and in less than half an hour, they had the bed fixed and even built a wall. Though the space was a bit smaller, they no longer had to worry about smoke coming in. It was much better than just covering it with a curtain.

Ruan Xiulian was particularly pleased. Once Granny Chen moved out, she planned to let Xiaomei move in, so the little girl would have her own room.

“After all that work, you must be hungry. Go wash your hands and get ready for dinner,” she called out with a smile.

“Alright,” Tian Tian squatted by the well, sniffing the air. “Is that the smell of wine in the courtyard? I was so busy, I didn’t even notice.”

Liu Hu replied, “My wife brewed it.”

Tian Tian was stunned for a moment, turning his head in disbelief to look at the brother he had grown up with since they were in open-crotch pants.

“Are you showing off?”

“I’m not showing off. It’s just that my wife brewed it,” Liu Hu said, shaking his hands.

Tian Tian scratched his head, but somehow those words just sounded so annoying.

After having dinner at the Liu house, Tian Tian pulled his cart back home.

“Big brother, why didn’t you take me to Auntie’s house?”

As soon as he walked in, his younger brother Tian Le stopped him.

Tian Tian pushed his little brother aside, defending himself, “How could I not have called you? You were busy tidying up your pile of treasures in the room. I called several times, but no one answered.”

Tian Le pouted, “Then you should have come into the room to call me. I haven’t visited Brother-in-law since he got sick. Mom said not to disturb his rest, but I wanted to go with you to see him.”

“Then go. Mom is just worrying too much. Brother Hu’s husband is sick and can’t leave the house. Staying at home is boring. If you go, you can keep him company and chat.”

“Then tomorrow, big brother, you have to speak up for me and let Mom allow me to go to Auntie’s house.”

“Okay.”

Tian Tian put away the cart and smiled at his brother, “Once you’re married, it’s different. Brother Hu, who used to be so dumb, actually knows how to care for people now. At the dinner table, he was adding dishes and pouring soup for Brother Zhu, taking care of him meticulously.”

Tian Le thought his big brother wanted to get married, so he patted his brother’s shoulder and comforted him, “Don’t worry, big brother. You’ll definitely find a good sister-in-law in the future.”

“You little brat, now you’re teasing your big brother. Don’t you see how late it is? Go back to your room and sleep!”

Tian Tian chased his brother away and then muttered, “If I meet someone like the Cui family again, I’d rather stay single for life.”

Over at the Liu house, Liu Hu was about to take the brewed medicine to Granny Chen when Song Tingzhu saw and offered to do it himself.

Liu Hu, worried about his wife, stood behind the partition wall, waiting for him to come out.

Inside the room, Granny Chen saw Song Tingzhu enter and pulled a face, “Your health isn’t good, yet you dare to play hero and save people from a fire. I’m an old woman almost in the grave, and I’m in better shape than you.”

Song Tingzhu wasn’t angry. He smiled at Granny Chen and pointed to the medicine bowl on the table, speaking softly, “Granny, the medicine is ready.”

After drinking two doses of medicine and using the steaming method two or three times, his throat felt much better. Although he still couldn’t speak normally, he could at least make some sounds.

He placed the medicine bowl by the bedside, “Wait for it to cool down a bit before drinking.”

Granny Chen, seeing that he couldn’t even speak properly, got a bit angry, “Are you a fool? Yesterday, I told you to save yourself and run. Why did you have to drag along an old, annoying woman like me?”

“My grandfather died in a fire.”

Granny Chen was taken aback.

There was a wooden basin by the bed. Song Tingzhu bent down to wet a cloth and helped Granny Chen wipe her hands.

“I was ten years old that year, locked in the Song family mansion. I didn’t find out until three days later. The Song family hastily buried my grandfather, and I didn’t even get to see him one last time.”

He looked up at Granny Chen, “I didn’t leave yesterday because I didn’t want to have regrets like I did with my grandfather. And my mother taught me that saving a life is more meritorious than building a seven-story pagoda. If it were someone else, Tingzhu would have saved them just the same.”

Granny Chen frowned, “You’d risk your life for a stranger?”

Song Tingzhu twisted the cloth, “Of course I wouldn’t. I just overestimated myself at the time, thinking I could get Granny out.”

His mother had told him to be kind to others, but also to do so within his means. If he was like a clay Buddha crossing a river, he should first find a way to save himself before making other plans.

“Cough, cough…”

He had spoken quite a lot today, and his throat started to itch again.

Song Tingzhu coughed for a while, and when his throat felt better, he turned to see Granny Chen staring at him. Her attitude seemed to have softened a bit compared to before.

“Aren’t you going to buy clay? Have you agreed with the seller?”

“Not yet.”

Granny Chen drank the medicine and said, “Don’t waste your money. There’s plenty in the bamboo forest.”

Song Tingzhu paused, then realized, surprised, “Granny, are you agreeing to let us use the clay?”

“It’s not about selling or not. It’s just a bit of clay. If you need it, just dig some. Just remember not to disturb my old man’s peace.”

Song Tingzhu recalled what the grannies had said yesterday. Granny Chen lived far from the village on the back mountain for the sake of Old Chen.

He was curious but didn’t want to upset Granny Chen, so he didn’t ask further. He blew out the candle and left the room, seeing his husband waiting outside the door. A smile naturally appeared on his lips.

“Granny Chen is asleep. Let’s go to bed too.”

Liu Hu nodded.

Back in the west room, Song Tingzhu wanted to ask his husband if he knew about Old Chen’s story, but before he could speak, he was pulled into his husband’s embrace, who gently patted his hair to comfort him.

After waiting for a long time without a word, he couldn’t help but call out, “Husband?”

Song Tingzhu pulled away from his husband’s embrace and saw the heartache in his eyes. He knew it was because of his grandfather’s story.

He took his husband’s hand and sat on the bed.

“Husband, you don’t need to worry about me. The deceased are gone. It’s just that sometimes when I think of it, I feel a bit of regret.”

He smiled, “Grandfather has mother with him, and I have you, as well as father, mother, Xiaomei, big brother, big sister-in-law, and Xia Ge’er. I have all of you with me.”

Liu Hu held his wife’s hand tighter, his thick eyebrows furrowing.

“I wish you were more selfish so you wouldn’t keep getting hurt.”

Song Tingzhu half-jokingly said, “If I were someone who ignored others’ lives and was selfish, would you still like me? Wouldn’t you have sent me back to the Song family long ago?”

Liu Hu couldn’t find words to refute, his mouth tight, forgetting to speak in proper language, “I can’t outtalk you.”

Seeing this, Song Tingzhu laughed, leaning against his husband’s shoulder, softly saying, “Tingzhu promises husband never to act so recklessly again.”

Liu Hu’s brows relaxed, “After saying all that, your throat must be hurting again. You rest first. I’ll get a warm cloth.”

Song Tingzhu felt warmth in his heart, “Okay, thank you, husband.”

During the night, he didn’t know how many times his husband changed the cloth. The next morning, he woke up feeling much better, and speaking wasn’t as difficult as yesterday.

“Brother-in-law, you’re awake.” Liu Xiaomei knocked and entered, seeing Song Tingzhu already dressed. She said, “Mother made porridge. I was just about to call you for breakfast.”

The two of them went out of the room together. After washing up, Song Tingzhu sat in the main room but didn’t see his husband. He turned to Xiaomei and asked, “Where’s your second brother?”

“Second brother left early in the morning. He said he had something to do in town.”

Song Tingzhu nodded, but he was puzzled why his husband hadn’t mentioned going to town to him.

After breakfast, just as the sun was rising, Song Tingzhu went to the room to chat with Granny Chen for a while. Then he went to the courtyard to check on the wine fermentation. Seeing nothing unusual, he and Xiaomei went to the bamboo forest on the back mountain to dig some clay.

“Hey, isn’t that Brother Zhu and Xiaomei? Looking at this direction, they’re heading to the bamboo forest. Granny Chen treasures her bamboo forest. If she finds out, there’ll be trouble.”

“You don’t know, do you? The Liu family took Granny Chen home. Brother Zhu is now her lifesaver. What’s going into the bamboo forest? I bet the land will end up with the Liu family!”

“What? Will Granny Chen’s children agree?”

“What can they do if they don’t? The whole family lives in town. Whether Granny gives it or not, they wouldn’t know.”

Several women whispered among themselves.

Liu Xiaomei, carrying clay, looked straight at them. The women quickly walked away.

“Humph, talking behind backs is no skill. If they have the guts, say it to our faces.”

Song Tingzhu looked at the angry little girl and smiled, “Who said that there’s hardly a family in the village that hasn’t been gossiped about? Didn’t you tell me not to take it to heart? Why can’t you stay calm when it’s your turn?”

Liu Xiaomei said, “I just can’t stand them talking about you. If they talked about me, I wouldn’t be angry, but saying bad things about brother-in-law is not okay.”

Song Tingzhu asked, “Why is it not okay to talk about me?”

“Because you’re the kindest person I’ve ever met! You even risked your life to save Granny Chen yesterday. If it were me, I wouldn’t have dared to go in. People said the fire was huge. If your clothes caught fire, no one could save you.”

Liu Xiaomei tilted her head to look at him, “Weren’t you afraid, brother-in-law? What if… what if you couldn’t get out? What would my brother do?”

As she spoke, her eyes started to redden. The little girl rubbed her eyes, stubbornly looking at Song Tingzhu with rabbit-like eyes.

“I’m sorry for worrying you,” Song Tingzhu said, his heart aching. He gently promised, “No matter what happens in the future, I promise to prioritize my safety, okay?”

Liu Xiaomei nodded, her voice choked with tears, “I don’t want anything to happen to brother-in-law. Second brother definitely doesn’t want anything to happen either. Even though he doesn’t say it, he must feel guilty. If he had gone with you to Granny Chen’s house yesterday, you wouldn’t have had to risk going into the fire.”

Song Tingzhu didn’t realize Xiaomei had thought so much. He had always treated her as a child. However, a girl at fifteen comes of age, and Xiaomei would be thirteen after the New Year. In the prefectural city, she could already be looking for a match, let alone in Lianxi Town, where early marriages were common.

He took out a handkerchief to comfort her, realizing he couldn’t treat Xiaomei like a child anymore.

As noon approached, Liu Hu returned to the village from town.

He dropped his basket and strode towards the west room.

“Second brother, why are you in such a hurry?” Liu Xiaomei picked up the basket, looking confused.

“Wife, there’s a letter from the prefectural city!”

———————–

Author’s Note: Ah, I’m late. Punish myself with three cups! Glug, glug, glug!