ABPUBALC - Chapter 13

 Chapter 13: Fragrant Spicy Crab

The following day, Lin Xing woke up early in the morning and carried a bamboo basket to purchase eggs from the village.

Every household in the village raised chickens, and one could easily collect several eggs a day. Lin Xing set his buying price at two wen for three eggs, and even the villagers who disliked him could not refuse such a deal.

After all, this is genuine silver! What’s wrong with putting aside personal matters when selling some simple eggs?

“What’s this? Just three eggs for two whole wen!”

In the morning, before the day’s labor came to an end: The women had just finished delivering food to the people in the fields, and were taking advantage of this brief respite to gather in groups of two or three, chatting about the harvest at home.

Upon hearing that Lin Xing was willing to use copper coins to buy their eggs, and that three eggs could be exchanged for two coins, quite a few people became interested.

“If the aunties are worried, I can wait here. When the time comes, we can all count the eggs and exchange them for money together. Today’s collection wasn’t much; I’ll only take thirty eggs.”

“Well, that’s great! You wait here, auntie will go back and get it for you.”

“I’ll go too. I’ve collected some today, all fresh eggs.”

Lin Xing put down the basket and waited under the tree. The tree provided ample shade. He picked up a willow branch and weaved a willow ring.

After Lin Xing left early in the morning, Gu Qiming had his breakfast and then started chopping firewood in the courtyard. He had brought back a lot of wood from the mountain a few days ago, which had been left piled up in the yard untouched. Now that he had some free time, it was the perfect opportunity to chop and tidy them all up.

The man in the courtyard was dressed in a short shirt, soaked with sweat on his back due to the hot weather, his outlined back muscles broad and beautifully defined.

As the motion of chopping wood continued, the muscles in his arms tensed relentlessly, with the bulging veins appearing almost ferocious. His short shirt kept getting pulled up, faintly revealing a set of tight, well-defined abs with clear contours.

Lin Xing had just returned when he saw such a scene, a blush involuntarily spreading up his neck. He forced himself to look away and said softly to the person in the courtyard, “I’m back.”

“Welcome back. Please, take a seat and rest for a while.” Gu Qiming saw him return and, with a smile, took the basket from his hands.

“I saw that the green crabs in the tank have all turned belly up, so let’s not wait any longer to eat them.” Lin Xing hadn’t planned to keep them for much longer anyway, and had already started imagining how they would be cooked. “Alright, today I’ll steam some rice and stir-fry the river prawn and crabs together for us to eat.”

Not only should the crabs be dealt with[e/n word vomit about crabs: raws say 青蟹, 青(qing) can be green / blue / black .... prev chapters I said blue, crab research shows ’‘green’ (greenish brown) variety are smaller and more likely, another bought of research says... Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) : crabs that are typically greenish-brown in color, which could be described as “青” (qīng) in Chinese, rather than crabs with a more vivid green coloration.... so just... forgive me if you see the crabs changing color... canIjustCallthemCrabs] , but many of the vegetables at home also need to be harvested.

Lin Xing carefully placed the eggs aside, then picked all the cucumbers in the yard, while also gathering quite a few chili peppers to pickle.

He washed the cucumbers and chili peppers thoroughly in the yard, cut off the heads and tails of the cucumbers, and then sliced them in half down the middle. Carefully, he arranged them in a jar, sprinkled salt over the top, poured in green sauce and vinegar, and added a layer of finely chopped fresh ginger and garlic. Lastly, he poured enough clear water into the jar to cover the cucumbers, completing the process.

These pickled cucumbers [e/n: yknow what else is tasty? Pickled tiny potatoes... be careful tho, they’ll probably all dissapear before the 5 day mark...] are delicious and crunchy. After letting them sit for three to five days, they’re ready to be enjoyed. 

Making spicy pickled peppers is even simpler. Wash the green and red peppers, chop them finely, sprinkle with salt, pack them into a jar, and seal it tightly.

After finishing a light meal, the two of them went back to the yard and turned over the rice grains once more. With the weather being so hot, the grains had almost dried out completely.

In the comfortable monotony of finishing all the chores at home, the whole morning seemed to just pass them by.

Gu Qiming splashed his face with water and then moved a rattan chair to sit in the courtyard. He took Lin Xing’s hand and gently kneaded it in his own.

“When will the officials come to collect the grain tax?” “In past years, they always came at the beginning of August.” By that time, the second crop of rice would have already been planted, and the town would directly send officials to collect the grain.

Lin Xing’s hand was clasped by Gu Qiming, filling him with a sensation that was both awkward and joyful.

His own hands were calloused, not soft at all, and they feel even less smooth than Gu Qiming’s.

Gu Qiming was gently massaging his fingers, unaware of his distressed emotional state, only feeling an increasing fondness for those hands no matter how he looked at them.

The fingers were slender and well-defined, a whole size smaller than his own, fitting perfectly in the palm of his hand.

Lin still wasn’t quite accustomed to being so close to someone. After a slight struggle, he said, “I should go cook. It’s almost time for lunch.”

Only then did Gu Qiming reluctantly let the person go.

Naturally, the noon meal was sumptuous. Not only did Lin Xing prepare shrimp and green crab, but he also soaked some black fungus and made a cucumber and black fungus dish.

Gu Ge seemed to enjoy spicy flavors, and Lin Xing had heard from folks in town that the restaurants prepare crabs by first deep-frying them before stir-frying. This method makes the dish more fragrant than simply stir-frying alone. With rolled up sleeves, Lin Xing set out to start cooking.

First he poured a small amount of vegetable oil into the pot. Lin Xing had already coated the halved green crabs with a thin layer of batter before gently lowering them into the oil, ensuring that the oil wouldn’t splatter everywhere.

Wait until the green crabs and prawn turn slightly red in the oil pan; then they can be taken out and set aside. Next, heat the pan over medium heat and stir-fry the scallions, ginger, and garlic until golden brown. Midway through, add the fried prawn and crab, spoon in a scoop of dried chili pepper, and a pot of fragrant spicy crab is ready to be served.

A full bowl of river delicacies, with a bright red glow underneath from the oil, is enough to make someone’s mouth water even in the summer.

Gu Qiming truly indulged himself this meal; his chopsticks never once rested. The cold tossed jelly ear mushrooms with chicken feet were delicious, appetizing and crisply refreshing. The steamed white rice was neither too moist nor too dry, just perfect upon tasting, with the fragrance of rice mixing with the freshness of shrimp and crab, indescribably delicious.

While eating, Gu Qiming noticed that Lin Xing would briefly look up at him from time to time, then quickly lower his head again. Gu wondered if there was something on his face. He reached up and touched his face, but didn’t feel anything wrong with it.

He looked up and saw Lin Xing staring at him again, and he began to tease him with a mischievous smile, “Why do you keep staring at me? Is it because your husband is too handsome that you can’t bear to look away?”

Lin Xing: …

His face flushed thoroughly. Gu Qiming felt that it was even redder than the cooked crab on the table, and he couldn’t help but smile, “Your face is so red, could it be that I really guessed it right?”

For the first time, Lin Xing realized how frivolous this person’s words were.

“No... not really. Tomorrow’s the Qixi Festival, [Also known as the Chinese Valentine’s Day, is a traditional festival celebrated on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, often associated with romantic love and the legend of the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl] and the town always has floating lanterns every year around this time. Do you want to go see them?”

So that’s how it is.

Gu Qiming understood; His shy little wife [e/n: wife... husband... on one hand I always find it cute when characters call their SO wife, but now that I’m typing it out- ah, shush, you rotten brain] wanted to invite him to watch the floating lanterns but felt embarrassed to ask. No wonder it felt like he had something on his mind.

“Go! Of course I’ll go!”

Gu Qiming slapped the table down, frightening Lin Xing, who was seated right next to him.

“Since I happen to be quite free for the next few days, I might as well go to town tomorrow to unwind a little.”

Gu Qiming immediately agreed. Of course, how could he not go? This was a terrific opportunity to go one a certified one-on-one date with his wife!

Unexpectedly, this world also celebrates the Qixi Festival. Gu Qiming didn’t expect this, and began to consider that it wouldn’t be implausible to guess that they would celebrate the Spring Festival in winter.

“In that case, let’s gather the grain early tomorrow morning and depart at dusk.” “Sounds like a plan. We’ll arrive just in time to see the lanterns.”

Every year, during the Qixi Festival, the shops in the town would hang up lanterns, and there would be an endless stream of song and dance performances, along with beautifully decorated flower boats. Every time this festival rolled around, Lin Xing would stay in town for the entire night.

He simply lacked the leisure to roam about. On that day, many families in the town would set aside their work to take their children out for a stroll, and the villager women would bring their daughters to enjoy the festivities. He, on the other hand, brought along the wooden hairpins and jewelry he had made to set up a stall on the street. By the end of the night, he could earn a pretty penny.

As a child, his parents would take him to see the festival lanterns every year. Nestled in his father’s embrace, he would gaze with wide eyes at the beautiful street lanterns. During each visit, his mother would always buy him tanghulu, which was both sour and sweet.

When Lin Xing was young, he would pester his mother to buy him cloud cakes, never stopping his chatter all night until he couldn’t fit another bite into his stomach, only then willing to cease.

Exhausted from playing, he simply nestled into his father’s shoulder and fell asleep, without a care in the world, free from all considerations.

Lost in thought, Lin Xing didn’t notice that Gu Qiming’s gaze had been fixed on him all this time. In his deep eyes, there was an undeniable gentleness, along with a desire that even Gu Qiming himself hadn’t realized.

After finishing their meal, Lin Xing got up to wash the dishes. He then thought that ever since Gu Qiming arrived, there had never been any leftovers; every meal had been eaten cleanly. Brother Gu truly wasn’t picky, or perhaps, he was just too polite to be picky.

The chickens and ducks in the backyard were clucking and quacking non-stop. Gu Qiming went out to the backyard with some food to feed the chickens, and while he was at it, he tidied up the chicken coop.

These little chicks, not even a month old, lack energy due to the heat, preferring to nestle in cool places without moving much. They drink water quickly, requiring the two of them to refill their water once every day.

The duckling was still quite young, so Lin Xing made a slightly larger shallow wooden basin and filled it with water to serve as a bathtub.

Lin Xing took great care of the chicks, meticulously laying dry straw in their nest and even constructing a canopy above it, ensuring they wouldn’t get drenched in the rain.

Knowing that he would go to the town the next day, Gu Qiming specifically took out the silver taels from the cabinet to count them before going to sleep that night. He hadn’t earned much from hunting in the mountains these days. Excluding what he initially made from selling that sika deer, he had a little over two silver taels in total. But earning more than two silver taels in half a month was already far better than what most people in the village could achieve.

The sika deer had been sold for a total of twenty-five taels of silver. After spending money on supplies and giving some to Lin Xing, his savings were a total of twenty taels of silver. When the Lin family came to cause trouble, he had taken out another six taels, so now his total savings amounted to only a little over fourteen taels.[e/n: you might think this simple math wouldn’t take me 10 minutes to check.... but oh, you overestimate me]

Regarding the fifty taels for selling the cart blueprints, it was intended for purchasing land. In the countryside, land is the eternal resource. In order to secure their future, he absolutely must not touch those funds at the moment.

Moreover, design plans can only be sold once. If you try to sell the same design more than once, you risk inviting disaster. A tall tree catches the wind... [树大招风 shù dà zhāo fēng : lit. a tall tree attracts the wind (idiom) / fig. A famous or rich person attracts criticism] It’s an easy lesson to understand. Therefore, Gu Qiming decided he would stick to hunting and farming, and strive to keep a low profile.

“Whew...”

Gu Qiming let out a sigh. His wedding was next month. Rounding up, He only had twenty silver taels left, and hosting a banquet at the village would cost a lot. He still needed to buy many new items.

He currently still lives with Lin Xing, using the old belongings left by Lin Xing’s parents. His intention in marrying Lin Xing is to give him a good life, not to have Lin Xing share a life of hardship and struggling with himself.

Lin Xing had already endured a life of hardship in his early years. Gu Qiming had arrived too late to make amends for the past, so all he could do was find ways to ensure that the latter half of his life would be filled with happiness.

There should be about a month or so until the wedding, he had to make the most of this time to earn more silver.

Gu Qiming counted out the copper coins inside. There were a total of one thousand three hundred copper coins – enough for him to use when he went to town tomorrow. He put the remaining loose silver back in the wardrobe before lying down to sleep.

The next day was the day of the Qixi Festival, Gu Qiming woke up early and tidied up properly.

His hair had grown long as of late, just long enough to gather it into a topknot at the back of his head. Gu Qiming gazed at his reflection in the water and smiled; he was quite pleased with himself.

After tidying up and entering the kitchen, seeing Lin Xing again left him momentarily stunned.

Lin Xing was already tall and slender, but today he was wearing a long robe that made him look even more graceful and elegant. Gu Qiming felt that he could wrap his arms around that slender waist with just one hand.

His long hair was simply tied at the back into a high ponytail, giving him an efficient and refreshing appearance that made people want to steal a few extra glances at him.

When Lin Xing saw him approaching, he looked up and their eyes met, both catching a glimpse of laughter in each other’s gaze.

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