Toon Chapter 17

“Higher! Higher!”

Wang Daniu saw from afar a small figure being lifted by an adult, who was holding him around the waist. The fair, tender arms stretched upwards, reaching for the red persimmons on the tree.

The persimmon tree was planted about ten meters from Zhou Lingchun’s house, right next to the gravel path. It was late autumn now; the persimmon tree had shed all its leaves, leaving only dark, protruding branches with a few remaining fruits still hanging on them.

Those few orange-red fruits looked like large red lanterns, extremely festive.

Lian Sheng was wearing the new clothes Zhou Lingchun had taken him to the market to buy a few days ago. The cuffs and lapels were trimmed with lace, making them look exquisitely crafted. At this moment, he was pressing his feet against the thick tree trunk, excitedly craning his neck and using his hands to grasp the small branches, wishing he could climb the tree like a monkey in the next second.

He naturally couldn’t climb up, as his waist was firmly held by two large hands. Zhou Lingchun heard Lian Sheng ask to go higher, so he exerted force with his arms and lifted him up another section. But Lian Sheng was still just short of reaching, his hand fanning the fiery red persimmon a few times, his fingers about six or seven centimeters away from the fruit.

He twisted his head to look down.

Why wasn’t Zhou Lingchun lifting him higher?

It was impossible that he couldn’t lift him; his man could carry hundreds of catties of rice. What was he compared to that? This was clearly Zhou Lingchun doing it on purpose! Waiting for him to beg him.

Zhou Lingchun had a strong sense of male pride and felt it was shameful to let his wife ride on his neck outside. Lian Sheng secretly calculated that this man was not like this in bed—he would grab his legs and pull him onto his face. But once they were out of bed, the person changed!

So, he just thought it was embarrassing!

What was so embarrassing about being so big and strong?

If Lian Sheng were standing on the ground now, he would surely be stamping his foot in anger again.

He gripped the tree trunk with his palm, and the dry, peeling bark was scraped off in chunks, falling into Zhou Lingchun’s hair and bringing down a layer of dust that almost blinded Zhou Lingchun.

Lian Sheng said, “What’s wrong with lifting me higher? If you really can’t, just let go of my legs! I can climb the tree myself!”

Lian Sheng had been sick a few days ago and missed the main persimmon picking season. Now that he was better, only those few were left, and he had to hurry and pick them! Zhou Lingchun offered to pick them for him, but he refused, saying the ones he picked himself tasted sweeter.

Zhou Lingchun said, “It’s not safe.”

Zhou Lingchun was afraid that if he didn’t hold him steady, Lian Sheng would lose his balance and fall, let alone lifting Lian Sheng higher and placing him on the tree. He turned Lian Sheng around, holding him face-to-face, and was just about to soothe him when he heard the sound of someone approaching from behind.

A hint of familiarity flashed across Wang Daniu’s eyes. His dark face was full of simple honesty. “Lingchun, picking persimmons with your wife, are you?”

Zhou Lingchun turned around while holding Lian Sheng. Lian Sheng also straightened up, placing his palm on Zhou Lingchun’s head. The coarse, stiff hair pricked his palm. He looked quite innocent, blinking his eyes at Wang Daniu.

Zhou Lingchun replied concisely, “Yes.”

Wang Daniu stated his purpose: “Lingchun, come with me to the field and take a look at the new cultivator I bought. I don’t know what’s wrong with it; it won’t start.”

Hearing this, Lian Sheng twisted his body, wanting to get down. “I want to go too, I want to go too! When it’s fixed, let’s follow the road and go into the mountains.”

Zhou Lingchun felt Lian Sheng was too restless, as if he would fall off him the next second if he wasn’t careful. How long had it been since he recovered? He lowered his brow ridge, looking serious. “Don’t move around.”

With that, he used one hand to support Lian Sheng’s lower back, and only released his grip when Lian Sheng’s feet were firmly planted on the ground.

The pair of shoes Lian Sheng was wearing on the ground was brand new, embroidered with beautiful patterns. The white edges of the soles looked as if they had been vigorously scrubbed with toothpaste, not a speck of mud sticking to them.

Wang Daniu watched this ordinary scene, a mix of indescribable feelings churning in his heart. The flesh on his cheeks squeezed his small eyes as he scrutinized the couple, showing a bit of surprise, then a sense of ‘it should be so,’ followed by a touch of envy.

Men in the village all cared about face. Regardless of whether their wives were fierce or terrifying, outside they would definitely boast to the high heavens that they were the master of the house. The last time he saw Lian Sheng fall, he immediately scratched Lingchun like a little wildcat, and Lingchun didn’t get angry, but rather seemed to enjoy it.

Who in the village didn’t know that Zhou Lingchun had a beautiful wife who was spoiled rotten? Zhou Lingchun kept him hidden; if anyone met Lian Sheng outside, Zhou Lingchun was inevitably right there beside him.

A black string was tied around his slender, fair wrist, dangling a piece of red jade, transparent and bright, about the size of a coin. Wang Daniu knew it was Fish Startle Stone. He had bought two before for his own children to wear for protection against evil. Lian Sheng’s Fish Startle Stone was quite large, bigger than his children’s by a whole size.

The three of them then headed towards Wang Daniu’s field. Lian Sheng, like a child, liked to look around as he walked, and halfway there, he almost tripped. Zhou Lingchun’s face darkened halfway. Before he could open his mouth to scold him, Lian Sheng widened his eyes, indignant. “What is that expression supposed to mean?”

Zhou Lingchun silently squatted down, picked him up, and carried him on his back.

Wang Daniu walked beside them, signaling with his small eyes and whispering, “Quite a temper, eh?”

Lian Sheng had sharp ears and heard it. He secretly used his hand to pinch the muscle on Zhou Lingchun’s arm, but Zhou Lingchun’s muscle was too hard, so he switched to poking with his fingers. On his face, however, he maintained an expression of complete innocence.

A sting of pain, like a bee sting, hit Zhou Lingchun. He grimaced, then also lowered his voice and pretended, “Not much. He’s usually obedient.”

Wang Daniu gave him an expression that said, “You are beyond saving.”

When they arrived at Wang Daniu’s field, the cultivator was parked there. Zhou Lingchun squatted down to inspect it and found rope and straw wrapped around the gears.

“Too much debris got tangled up when you were cultivating before. You didn’t clean it, so it can’t turn.”

He casually snapped off a piece of grass from the ridge of the field and poked around the gears, removing some of the outer layers. There were still some inner layers wrapped around. He reached his hand in, his arm muscles flexing, the movement visible even through his clothes. Finally, he tore everything away cleanly with his hands.

After cleaning it, the engine started, and sure enough, the cultivator’s wheels began to turn.

“Oh, so that’s what it was.” Wang Daniu scratched his head, surprised that something was tangled underneath. “Thanks, Lingchun. I haven’t properly thanked you for helping me buy the cultivator last time. Why don’t you bring your wife over for dinner tonight? My wife is a great cook.”

Zhou Lingchun waved his hand. “No need. He’s still waiting to go up the mountain to pick things.”

Lian Sheng had originally planned to go into the mountains to pick wild fruits and look for bamboo shoots, but what he was wearing today wasn’t suitable, and his shoes were prone to slipping. After walking a few steps on the mountain path, he almost slipped, so he finally returned dejectedly to the persimmon tree by the roadside.

But he couldn’t reach the persimmons. Zhou Lingchun held his waist with a grip strong enough to crush a chicken, and the soft flesh around his waist hurt terribly whenever he moved while being held up.

Lian Sheng called him “husband” one moment and “good husband” the next, his fair, tender hands tugging at the fabric on Zhou Lingchun’s chest, his soft, jelly-like lips planting a kiss on the man’s face. He complained that the man’s strength was too great and was pinching his waist painfully, said the man was the most amazing in the world, and asked why he cared about the opinions of others in the village. He said if he thought it was embarrassing, he shouldn’t have married a wife, and if he was ashamed of him, why was he still with him… He kept nagging impatiently like this for about ten minutes.

He also whispered some shameless, intimate words, promising a reward later that night. In the end, Zhou Lingchun was the first to give in.

Zhou Lingchun bent down and squatted. Lian Sheng happily shouted “ride the big horse,” spread his legs, and sat on Zhou Lingchun’s shoulders, finally riding on Zhou Lingchun’s neck.

He held the man’s head with one hand, his legs firmly secured. As the man stood up, he saw a view he normally couldn’t, realizing how tall the wheat seedlings in the fields had grown.

The cool breeze ruffled the hair plastered against Lian Sheng’s cheeks.

The closest persimmon—bright red, soft, and sweet—was plucked by one hand. Lian Sheng eagerly pulled off the stem from the bottom of the fruit, peeled away the thin outer skin, and took a large bite. The sweet, syrupy juice spread between his lips and teeth.

“Delicious! I told you the ones I pick are sweeter.” Lian Sheng bent down and offered the half-eaten persimmon to Zhou Lingchun’s mouth. “Quick, try it.”

Seeing the juice dripping from Lian Sheng’s hand, Zhou Lingchun grabbed Lian Sheng’s wrist and licked the juice from the snowy white skin as instructed. The slightly rough tongue swept across the smooth skin, sending a momentary jolt of electricity. Lian Sheng blushed and called him a pervert, then stuffed the entire persimmon into the man’s mouth.

Soon, he was riding on the man’s neck again, picking the second persimmon, the third…

Juzi also came to join the fun, hooking his four paws onto the tree and easily climbing onto the trunk, then meowing curiously at Lian Sheng.

It only ended when his hands could hold no more, and all the reachable fruits on the tree were picked.

So, in that position, with one arm cradling several persimmons and the other arm carrying the cat, they headed home.

Ten meters down the road, with a plop, one of the red persimmons he was holding dropped and smashed onto the ground.

——————–

It was true that Zhou Lingchun had some inexplicable male pride, but it was quickly dissolved into nothing by Lian Sheng’s sweet talk…