ABPUBALC - Chapter 18

 Chapter 18: Glutinous Rice Cakes

After many days of dreary rain, a sunny day finally arrived. The kids in the village started to knock on doors, looking for friends to play with.

The adults carried stools and sat at the entrance of their homes, chatting in twos and threes.

When Lin Xing awoke in the morning, the place beside him was already empty. He rubbed his sore waist as he got out of bed and went to wash up.

The sun had come out, and he decided to hang the quilt outside in the yard to sunbathe.

After all this rain, the rooms are starting to get damp. Some sun might make the bedding more comfortable tonight.

“Sigh...”

Lin Xing could not help but shake his head as he glanced at the bedding piled in a heap in the cupboard that had yet to be washed.

These days, Ge and he had been tossing around two or three times every evening. If he continued like this, it would only be a matter of time before he wouldn’t be able to take it.

“Why aren’t you sleeping a little longer?”

As Gu Qiming returned from feeding the chickens in the backyard, he saw Lin Xing in the courtyard folding up the bedding and couldn’t help but frown.

“After so many days, the sun has finally shown itself. If we don’t take this opportunity to air out the bedding, it will become damp.”

Lin Xing straightened his blanket, patted it with his hand, then turned around and went into the kitchen.

He woke up early today, planning to steam some sticky rice to make fried glutinous rice cakes to eat.

These days, we’ve only been eating steamed buns, so it’s the perfect time to switch things up a bit.

The cleaned sticky rice is laid flat in a bamboo steamer. After steaming and cooling, it can be used to make sticky rice cakes.

Gu Qiming did not have a fondness for sweets, so Lin Xing specially made two different flavors of cakes for him.

Half of the cooled glutinous rice was mixed with the green onion sauce and salt for seasoning, while the other half was mixed with the malt sugar and kneaded evenly. Lin Xing flipped the mixture back and forth and kneaded it into a cake.

Gu Qiming sat in front of the stove fueling the fire, a whole bunch of plump grapes in his other hand.

The grapes in the yard were getting ripe in abundance. Gu Qiming casually picked a bunch and took a bite. They were quite sweet.

“Xiao Lin? Are you home?”

Before he could finish kneading the sticky rice cake in his hands, Auntie Zhang’s voice already reached him from outside the main gate. Her tone was urgent, as if something pressing had occurred.

Gu Qiming and Lin Xing exchanged a glance, hastily standing up and heading towards the door.

As soon as the door was opened, Auntie Zhang was seen cradling Lin Fu at the doorway, waiting.

“Auntie, please come in and have a seat. We’re still in the midst of preparing dinner,” Lin Xing said as he embraced A’Fu into his arms. His already sore arm immediately felt the strain; holding the little tyke was no easy feat.

Auntie Zhang watched the two of them walk out of the kitchen together and, knowing that the newlyweds were in their honeymoon phase, she raised her eyebrows and said, “A few days ago, Da Niu and his wife sent a message to the village, saying they’re coming back today. The family is planning to go to the town to pick them up, and since CuiCui is pregnant, they’ll take the opportunity to have the doctor take a look at her.”

“The road is too muddy to pull a cart, so I’ll leave Lin Fu with you for half a day today. I’ll come back to pick him up in the evening.”

So that was the situation?

Lin Xing naturally was pleased to agree, responding readily, “Certainly, I happen to have no pressing matters to attend to today, so you can rest assured leaving A’Fu in my care.”

Auntie Zhang chatted leisurely with the young couple for quite some time. Before leaving, she affectionately pinched A’Fu’s cheeks, admonishing him to be obedient and well-behaved.

After Zhang left, Gu Qiming planned to take A’Fu back from Lin Xing. Unexpectedly, the little one turned his head away and refused to look at him, causing Gu Qiming to scratch his nose awkwardly.

Lin Xing couldn’t help teasing him, “You have such a fierce face even when looking at a child. It would be strange if A’Fu wasn’t afraid of you.”

Gu Qiming was helpless; it wasn’t his fault that his face didn’t reflect his teddy bear insides.

As Lin Xing spoke, he rubbed A’Fu’s head again, saying, “It’s alright, A’Fu, he’s not a bad person, Uncle Gu wants to hug you because he likes you.”

Lin Fu timidly turned to look at Lin Xing, cautiously reaching out and gesturing towards Gu Qiming for a hug.

“What a good boy!”

Gu Qiming immediately took the child from him and carried the little one into the kitchen with one arm.

Breakfast wasn’t ready yet, so Gu Qiming had Lin Fu sit on his lap, handing him a few washed grapes to feed himself with.

Lin Xing fried sticky rice cakes and said to Gu Qiming, “I’ve been thinking about it for days. Er Niu’s family doesn’t lack anything, so why don’t I embroider some bellybands[e/n: duduo, bellyband, embroidered undergarment that covers the belly, img source] and send them over? It just so happens there is some good fabric at home.”

Gu Qiming naturally had no objections. He was unsure what would make a suitable gift, believing that anything intended for a baby couldn’t possibly be a mistake. Thus, he decided to follow Lin Xing’s lead in this matter.

Freshly fried glutinous rice cakes were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Lin Xing deliberately fished out a sweet cake that he had fried earlier for Lin Fu.

The little guy loved sweets. He opened wide to take a huge bite of the sesame seed cake, greasing his mouth.

The second pot was the salty one, and the cakes were deliberately filled with bits of peanuts. The two didn’t bother going to the main hall. Instead, they sat in the kitchen with Lin Fu, finishing their breakfast there.

Feeling parched, he took a sip of water and popped a few grapes into his mouth. Gu Qiming tasted sticky rice cakes for the first time, finding them incredibly novel. He ended up eating several in one go, unable to resist their allure.

Lin Fu was certainly the most satisfied. Lin Xing had added plenty of malt sugar and the entire cake was both fragrant and sweet, which was very much to the child’s liking.

Lin Xing rubbed his bulging little stomach and asked with a smile, “Are the sticky rice cakes that Uncle Lin made delicious?”

“En...”

The child bobbed his head up and down, a cake still cradled between his teeth as he mumbled in reply: “Tasty...”

It really tasted nice. His little belly was already bulging, yet he still didn’t want to stop. He looked longingly at the glutinous rice cakes on the stove, wanting to eat more.

Lin Xing naturally wouldn’t allow him to eat anymore. Children who overeat are prone to indigestion, and their stomachs will not feel well for half a day at that time.

He didn’t finish steaming all the sticky rice, leaving half of it to make pounded sticky rice cakes in the afternoon.

After the meal, Lin Xing ladled the oil remaining in the pot into an earthenware jar and began bustling about with the day’s chores. There were still many tasks that needed completing after several rainy days.

He had wanted to wash and dry the bedding, but Gu Qiming would not let him do it and set up a stool in the courtyard to scrub it himself.

After spending so much time together, Lin Xing had grown accustomed to Gu Qiming personally cooking and doing laundry.

In the village, none of the men would personally prepare meals or wash clothes—such chores were tasks for the maidservants and women.

Even when his father was still around, he would sit and wait to eat when he came home from work in town, and it was out of the question to think that he’d do the washing himself.

Lin Xing took A’Fu to the backyard for a walk to help his digestion, then played with him for a while longer. By the time they came back, Gu Qiming had already laid out the bedding.

Lin Xing plucked the ripe grapes from the yard, washed them, put them in a bowl, and then found some wooden toys for him, and let Lin Fu play in the main hall by himself.

He didn’t cause a fuss, he sat there obediently, and every so often he would lift his head to glance at what the two in the courtyard were doing.

Although Lin Fu could be mischievous at times, the farming family was busy on a daily basis, leaving little spare time to attend to a child. Most of the time, Lin Fu would sit in the courtyard playing by himself. He neither cried nor fussed, behaving quite obediently.

Moreover, today there were also the toys that Uncle Lin had made, and he merrily played by himself.

Lin Xing rolled up his sleeves to process the fish in the water tank. Gu Qiming had caught the fish, and one had already turned belly up today. Last night, he had caught two and used them to make a small pot of fish soup. Don’t be fooled by the small size of the carp, for they make a delicious fish soup. The milky white broth is not the least bit fishy.

He planned to use the remaining oil at the bottom of the pot to make some douban fish[e/n: Fish with Spicy Bean Sauce] at noon, so it wouldn’t go to waste.

Gu Qiming rested in the garden for a while. Seeing Lin Fu amusing himself, he walked over and wrapped a palm behind Lin Xing’s neck before pecking him lightly on the lips.

Lin Xing had raised his hands to tie his hair into a bun out of the way to handle the crucian carp more conveniently. That slender section of neck swayed in front of him. The sight was so scorching hot it made his eyes sting.

Being pecked, Lin Xing was so frightened that his heart leaped into his throat. He turned to see Lin Fu playing with his head down, then he relaxed.

Gu Qiming was still gently caressing his nape. Holding smelly fish, Lin Xing couldn’t push him away. He could only lower his voice and say, “There’s still a child at home.”

If he were seen by others, wouldn’t he be a terrible influence on children?

How could Brother Gu act so brazen regardless of the time of day?

Gu Qiming did not mind, after all, what could a little child understand?

But he kept these words to himself, or else Lin Xing would surely have gotten angry.

“He’s enjoying himself so much; he doesn’t have time to fret over us, why fear?”

Lin Xing was helpless. His neck itched where he was being grabbed, so he could only continue handling the fish to distract himself.

The processed fish was set in a basin to marinate. Lin Xing’s hands were fishy, so he took some soapnut powder and rubbed them several times before returning to the house.

Gu Qiming had long since cleaned the courtyard and fed the chickens and ducks. There were children at home, so he didn’t want to chop wood. Now that he didn’t have to worry about making a living all day, Lin Xing actually didn’t know what to do for a while.

Back when he was alone, he had little free time, especially after it rained. As a result, he would often be in the mountains, tending to the suddenly abundant wild vegetables.

After they married, Gu Qiming was eager to do all the work himself and wouldn’t allow him to go up the mountain, otherwise he would clamor and pester him again.

People accustomed to being busy often find it unsettling to suddenly have idle time on their hands.

He carried out a winnowing basket, sat down, and planned to start embroidering some bellybands. This item was simple to make; by embroidering some simple patterns, he could have them ready for Auntie Zhang to take back by evening.

The cloth he used to make his belly band was left over from making his wedding outfit before they got married. The cotton felt smooth and soft against his skin, and it didn’t rub at all.

The newborn child, delicate in form, would be dressed just right in such a fabric.

“Shall we go up the mountain tomorrow?”

Gu Qiming was currently sitting on a low stool to play games with Lin Fu. Since marriage, he hadn’t been hunting in the mountains. It was about time he went again.

Utterly disinclined to work, he sighed and said quietly, “I will go into the mountains tomorrow. Will you come along?”

Anyway, there was nothing going on at home, so it wouldn’t hurt to go with him. “Alright, there’s nothing I need to do at home anyway.”

This is a good time to go up the mountain and pick some mushrooms. Gu Qiming really enjoyed the stewed mushroom soup from the last two days. The harvested mushrooms can be dried and sold in town for a good price, but they also can be kept for later this year. They should last until winter.

“Then it’s settled. We’ll go together after we’ve eaten tomorrow.” They had only been married for a few days, and he didn’t want to leave his husband’s side for even a day.

Raindrops continued to drip down from the trees outdoors, each forming a small pit on the ground as it hit. Cicadas began to emerge from the soil and cry out at the top of their lungs.

“A’Fu, look who’s back!”

Lin Fu had just woken up. He was watching Gu Qiming picking grapes in the yard when he heard his father’s voice. He immediately jumped down and dashed towards the door.

“Daddy!”

Lin Fu suddenly dove into Big Niu’s arms, his little arms wrapped tightly around his daddy’s neck.

Da Niu, hugging his son, kissed Lin Fu on the cheek and said, “Good A’Fu, did you miss your father?”

“Thinking...” Lin Fu was pricked painfully by his father’s beard and quietly retreated a little.

Lin Xing came out carrying a basket. He passed Gu Qiming a basket of freshly picked grapes that he had just plucked. “Big Brother Niu, there’re plenty of ripe grapes at home that the both of us can’t finish eating. You can take some home.”

“The top is an embroidered bellyband. I don’t have much to offer since Sister-in-law is expecting, so I embroidered some bellybands,”

The couple specially cut a basketful of grapes for Da Niu to take home. Lin Xing also packed up the sewn bellyband and put it into the basket.

Er Niu took the basket, saying, “What’s the use in gifts? We have everything we need at home. But this dudou is pretty good. It’s getting late; I’ll take my leave now. My family’s waiting on me.”

Dinner was late today, so no dinner was made in the evening. Gu Qiming fed the chickens and ducks in the backyard, and then went to bed to continue recounting the Liaozhai stories while embracing Lin Xing.

From that day on, Lin Xing grew increasingly fascinated as he listened to the stories. Gu Qiming told him a bedtime story almost every night.

“Where were we last time?”

“Speaking of Xiao Qian, she was captured by the Black Mountain Demon...”

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