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After the three members of the Lin family took a bath, they put on the new clothes that had just been hand-sewn by Ger Yan. The fabric came from the red cloth they’d purchased from Duji Cloth Shop. They put on their new, red clothes for the new years, which was both festive and joyful. Zhao Liniang received the clothes Ger Yan made for her and said in surprise, “I’ve never seen this style before.”
The women in Jade Creek Village usually dressed in simple coarse cloth. The fabric was casually sewn with needles and threads, without any skills to make the clothes. But Ger Yan made her an unusual outfit. The corners of the clothes were beautiful, and the collar also had an unusual style. Ger Yan made a total of three sets of clothes, one for each member of the Lin family. Each set looked different.
Lin Lixuan was curious. He didn’t know his little Ger had such ability. “Ger Yan, where did you learn this from?”
Ji Yan smiled softly, but he was a little embarrassed as he said, “When you bought me clothes last time, I looked at the edges and corners of the clothes and learned to stitch this style by myself… I also saw a lot of ready-to-wear clothes at Duji Cloth Shop that day and silently remembered their style and tried replicating it when I came home. Lin-dage, does it look good?”
Being able to apply from watching and drawing inferences, Ger Yan really was amazing. Lin Lixuan looked at Ger Yan with a soft expression and said, “It looks great.” After sorting out his clothes, he looked even more handsome in his new clothes. Ger Yan blushed and helped him tie his belt. Lin Lixuan couldn’t help but wrap his hands around him and kissed his eyebrows. Ger Yan changed into his red clothes as well. He tied up his beautiful hair with a red belt. His eyes were shining, and he looked like peach petals dripping with water droplets after the spring rain.
“Look at you two dressed in red. It looks like your wedding robes. In front of you two, I’m embarrassed to wear my clothes.” Zhao Liniang came over to call them for new year’s dinner.
This year, the Lin family’s new years dinner wasn’t simple. There was chicken, duck, fish, and dumplings… They didn’t have much money in the past, so Zhao Liniang was very happy. She went to warm a pot of wine. It was home-brewed wine. Since Old Man Lin loved to drink, Zhao Liniang specially learned how to make wine from someone in the village. Every year, they would brew their own wine. Although Old Man Lin had been gone for a while, Zhao Liniang still brewed several jars of wine each year out of habit.
The wooden table was newly made by the carpenter. The bottom of the table was hollowed with a place for a charcoal fire under the table. It was covered by a moon-white cotton table cover. The table cover was thick and stuffed with cotton, so all the heat from the charcoal fire was locked at the bottom of the table. They sat beside the table and put their hands and legs under it for warmth and comfort.
Zhao Liniang sat at the head of the table while Ger Yan and Lin Lixuan sat across from each other. Zhao Liniang poured the first bowl of wine and toasted Old Man Lin. She added vegetables into a porcelain bowl for him as well and served him three sticks of incense. She muttered, “Old Man Lin, it’s new year’s eve again. Our family’s luck has changed this year. Our son… Look at the table of food and wine. You should rest at peace…”
Zhao Liniang sat back in place and motioned for the other two to start eating. She took a bite of fish, then glanced at Ger Yan and said with satisfaction, “Ger Yan, you really are our lucky star.” Ever since Ger Yan entered their family, their lives had gotten better.
Ger Yan lowered his head to eat the vegetables. When he suddenly heard Zhao Liniang say this, his face turned so red he couldn’t speak. He never knew how to deal with other people’s praises, so he bowed his head silently.
“Mother, don’t praise him so much. Ger Yan is shy…” Lin Lixuan wanted to rub the little hairs on his head, but unfortunately, the two were too far apart. The atmosphere at the table was warm and intimate. He now had family and a lover, which were things he’d never dare wish for in the past.
Zhao Liniang rolled her eyes at him. “Ger Yan didn’t complain, so why are you? A good child should be praised more. Our Ger is amazing! Your mother had good foresight by finding you such a good husband.”
Ger Yan couldn’t help but smile, “Thank you, Mother.”
“Ger Yan, did you hear? My mother said that just to boast about her good foresight…”
Zhao Liniang glared at him angrily and said, “Just look. Not a single good word comes out of your mouth…”
“I was wrong,” Lin Lixuan admitted his mistakes. “Mother, you do have good foresight. Ger Yan really is our family’s little lucky star. Speaking of which, the one who gained the most is me.” After he finished speaking, he drank his wine triumphantly.
The other two laughed.
After eating and cleaning up, Lin Lixuan and Ger Yan returned to their room. Their room was cleaned again. All the things that couldn’t be used or weren’t needed were thrown away by Lin Lixuan. It was much more spacious and tidy than before. New window paper were also put up with the word 福 pasted on it upside down.
The night outside the widow was perfect. The vast sky was extremely clear. There were close, far, and dim stars all over the sky. A candle was lit inside the room. Ger Yan sat on the wooden bed. The dim light showed his crimson cheeks, all because he drank a few glasses of wine and didn’t have a strong alcohol tolerance. He hadn’t drank much since he was a child. He drank two glasses today. He wasn’t drunk, but his entire body felt light.
He was dressed in a red cotton robe, looking like he was in wedding clothes. His red headband behind his ears hung down his sideburns and fell on his shoulders.
After closing the wooden window, Lin Lixuan walked to Ger Yan’s side. The other part turned his head and looked at him with a smirk. The candle’s flame flickered and swayed. He pushed his delicate Shuang’er onto the bed and took off his shoes with one hand before covering him with his own body. His face was close to Ger Yan’s ear as he gently nibbled on his earlobe. “Ger Yan, are you scared?”
Although it was Ger Yan who took the initiative to ask for intimacy last time, Lin Lixuan knew this sillyhead didn’t really understand anything. Ger Yan was sometimes innocent—but also very bold.
Ger Yan’s eyes were misty as he shook his head. His hair band fell off, and his messy hair scattered on the sheets. There was a thick quilt under the sheets. Lin Lixuan caressed his face. Ger Yan didn’t resist as he let the other party take off his shoes, undo his clothes, and peel off the inner lining.
The person he liked was in front of him and smooth like a shelled egg. Lin Lixuan took a deep breath and pulled the curtain attached to the wooden bed. The silhouette of the two black figures kept moving inside the curtains. The wooden bed squeaked and swayed. The pea sized candle flame on the table didn’t go out until it burned out at dawn.
Early next morning, it was the first day of the new year. Zhao Liniang got up very early and first went to add firewood. He boiled a pot of boiling water, put the premade buns into a pot and covered it with the lid to steam them. He ate one of them. Zhao Liniang got millet and tofu dregs to feed the chicken and ducks before walking into the yard. She saw Lin Lixuan washing his face by the well.
He looked satisfied as he stretched his neck and body. How could Zhao Liniang, who was clear on these things, not know what was going on? She had gotten up in the middle of the night last night and passed by their room. Through the doors and windows, she could hear Ger Yan’s sobs and quiet begging. They’d fooled around till so late, Ger Yan’s voice was probably hoarse by now.
Usually, Xuan’Er was the last one to get up.
Now, the large stone in Zhao Liniang’s heart finally settled. She knew that ever since the day they’d gotten married, nothing had happened between the two of them. Since they lived under the same roof, Zhao Liniang was clear on this face. She couldn’t speak out loud about this, but she had many speculations regarding it.
At first, she thought because her son had only regained his clarity, so he was uncomfortable around his husband, who had suddenly appeared. As a mother, she could understand. You couldn’t just put two people together and say they were married. Not to mention, her son had liked a different women three years ago and had even tried to commit suicide by jumping in the river because of her. Because of this matter—Zhao Liniang didn’t dare ask him about it, for fear that her son would fall into madness again and do something stupid.
She let the two children get along first, and if Xuan’Er really didn’t like him, then she should find someone else for him to marry. Zhao Liniang watched the two of them, and while they really were estranged in the beginning, later on, they obviously got along like a couple who had fallen in love. However, why didn’t they engage in those matters at night…this question really depressed her.
She had no choice but to secretly launch an attack and say good things about Ger Yan in front of her son. Was being a mother ever easy?
Zhao Liniang also doubted whether her child had difficulties in that matter—thinking back on those matters, she wanted to laugh just thinking about it. Sigh. She was old now and couldn’t understand the affairs of these young people.
Inside the room, Ger Yan had just opened his eyes in a daze. His waist was sore, as if he felt like there were a pair of slender hands pressing against him. Although he drank some wine last night, he was still sober, just a little muddled. His memory from last night reappeared in his mind. It had obviously hurt so much his first time, and he thought it would hurt every single time and he’d have to endure it, but last night, it hadn’t hurt at all. Lin-dage was very gentle. Ger Yan’s face turned even redder.
It didn’t hurt. On the contrary—it felt very good. It was a little uncomfortable, no, a lot uncomfortable…but in the end, he felt something even more unbearable than pain. He’d refused, but the other party continued.
“What are you thinking about? Are you reminiscing?” Lin Lixuan, who had already gotten dressed, washed up, and had breakfast had returned.
