Toon Chapter 9

9

The sound of water splashed.

Aunt Sun, wearing an apron, was drawing well water outside the kitchen to wash vegetables, planning to invite her son-in-law over for dinner that afternoon. It was already mid-August, and the early corn planted in the fields was ripe; it was time to harvest. If her son-in-law ate well, he would be ready to help her pick the corn cobs the next day.

While washing the vegetables, her peripheral vision caught sight of Zhou Lingchun on the road, and she straightened her back. Zhou Lingchun was carrying a large sack of corn cobs on his shoulder, his arm muscles taut, his steps steady.

Look at how strong he is. Everyone eats the same grains, so how did Lingchun manage to grow so tall and robust? Aunt Sun thought.

“Lingchun, how many sacks did you pick today?” Aunt Sun called out to Zhou Lingchun.

Zhou Lingchun was preoccupied with thoughts of home. Called to a halt by Aunt Sun, he stopped and said, “Not many. I went out late this morning, maybe seven or eight sacks.”

“Did Shengsheng bother you again?”

“No.”

Aunt Sun asked again, “Why are you carrying it yourself? Didn’t you use the cart?”

“I’ll haul it all together this afternoon.”

Aunt Sun offered to keep Zhou Lingchun for dinner, but he refused, saying someone was waiting for him at home.

With a thud, Zhou Lingchun dropped the corn cobs from his shoulder onto the ground. He pulled up his shirt to wipe the sweat from his face. Grandma moved over with a small stool, intending to start shucking, but Zhou Lingchun stopped her. “No need, I already shucked them in the field.”

Grandma said, “Next time, bring back two sacks. I can sit here and help you shuck when I’m idle.”

“No need, you rest at home.” Zhou Lingchun glanced toward the house. Hearing no movement of anyone coming out, he asked, “Where is Shengsheng? Did he go to the field to find me?”

Grandma didn’t hear clearly, so Zhou Lingchun asked again loudly near her ear. Only then did she seem to remember and replied, “He took Wangcai to let the ducklings out.”

Letting out the ducks. Zhou Lingchun frowned and turned to walk toward the back of the house. There was a path behind the house leading to a pond. He figured that was where they were. The water in the pond wasn’t deep, but there were still plenty of snakes and insects.

The closer he got, the more he heard faint sobbing.

Zhou Lingchun immediately broke into a run.

Liansheng was sitting on the ground, hugging a small duck and crying softly. Zhou Lingchun rushed over and knelt directly on the ground. Seeing the tear-streaked face, he knew something was wrong. “What happened? Did a bug bite you?”

The moment Liansheng saw Zhou Lingchun, he cried even louder, unable to speak a single word. Like a child who had been hit and found their parent, he seemed ready to cry his eyes out.

Zhou Lingchun wiped his hand on his clothes a few times and used his fingers to wipe the tears from Liansheng’s face. The tears were round and quickly soaked his hand. Wangcai was lying next to Liansheng, its dark eyes meeting the man’s gaze. It wagged its tail, seemingly unsure of what to do.

Zhou Lingchun looked down and finally noticed the duck Liansheng was holding.

“What’s wrong with the duck?”

Liansheng took out the still-soft duck from his arms, crying brokenly, “The duck… died. I just turned my head for a second, and a weasel darted out and snatched the duckling… I, I ran to chase it, and Wangcai heard the noise and chased it too. It dropped the duckling, but the duckling stopped breathing shortly after I picked it up.”

Having said that, Liansheng seemed unable to bear it anymore and buried his face in Zhou Lingchun’s shoulder, sobbing loudly.

They had originally bought two. Liansheng loved watching the ducklings play during the day. Whenever a duckling peeped, he would grab a handful of feed from the bag and give it to them. One duckling had literally overeaten and died, lying belly-up on the straw.

That night, Liansheng hid in Zhou Lingchun’s arms, wiping tears, and wouldn’t let the man sleep, demanding that Zhou Lingchun find a solution. Zhou Lingchun said, “Don’t cry. I’ll go to town and buy another one tomorrow.”

Liansheng refused, saying he only wanted the original duckling, but the duckling was dead, and no vet could save it. Zhou Lingchun comforted him, saying at least they still had one left.

Under Liansheng’s careful feeding, the remaining duckling had grown to be several fingers longer than Liansheng’s hand. It ran with quick steps, its yellow down turning white, and pin feathers starting to sprout on its belly.

Every night, Liansheng would talk to the man about his duck, saying that duckling would surely grow into the biggest, whitest duck in the entire village.

But now, it had kicked its legs and died in Liansheng’s arms.

If it had lived a little longer, its feathers would have grown in completely, and it would have been close to what Liansheng had described.

Zhou Lingchun went back to fetch a shovel and dug a large hole next to where the first duckling was buried. Liansheng, with tears still streaming, placed the stiffening duck into the pit. The man worked the shovel quickly, and the ground was soon leveled.

Before leaving, Liansheng suddenly said he wanted to kowtow to the duckling in the ground. As he spoke, he started to lean down toward the earth.

In the village, there was a belief in divine miracles. Besides parents and elders, and the few deities they worshipped, one couldn’t just kowtow randomly. Zhou Lingchun rarely believed in such things, but he was quick to grab Liansheng and pull him up, saying, “Don’t be ridiculous, you can’t kowtow!”

Liansheng said, “Why? They died because of me. What’s wrong with kowtowing?”

Zhou Lingchun said, “There is no why.”

Liansheng could only follow the man home dejectedly. He had originally wanted to drag Zhou Lingchun to kowtow with him.

At the dinner table, Grandma learned about the incident and said, “Shengsheng, don’t cry, don’t cry. How about Lingchun buys you a few more?”

Liansheng shook his head, saying he didn’t want any.

During the afternoon nap, the two lay in bed. Liansheng was facing away from Zhou Lingchun, wiping tears. Zhou Lingchun couldn’t sleep either. He reached out and placed his hand on Liansheng’s shoulder, turning him over. Liansheng’s eyelids were red and nearly swollen. If he kept crying like this, he might go blind.

Zhou Lingchun wasn’t actually sad that the duck died. They were livestock meant for food. When Grandma was still healthy, she raised dozens of them, selling some and slaughtering others. If they cried every time one died, their eyes would have long gone blind. Moreover, ever since Liansheng got the ducklings, he had been focused on them, even checking on them before going to sleep.

Before, Liansheng had always focused on Zhou Lingchun.

He couldn’t understand why Liansheng was crying so much over two ducklings. He usually pampered and comforted Liansheng, never daring to let him shed a single tear of sadness, yet now, because of two ducklings, Liansheng seemed to have shed years’ worth of tears.

The man’s heart sank, and his expression darkened slightly. His tone became serious. “Stop crying.”

Liansheng stopped sobbing, widening his eyes, which were pooled with water. “You dare to yell at me…”

Zhou Lingchun immediately realized his mistake and instantly softened his expression. He reached out and patted Liansheng’s back, his voice gentle. “I didn’t yell.” He comforted him, “If they died, they died. Ducks don’t live long. If you really like them, I’ll buy you ten or eight. A few are bound to survive in the end.”

Liansheng immediately pushed the man’s chest, his voice choked with tears. “I told you I don’t want any! I won’t raise them anymore! They were them, and they won’t be the same as any ducks raised later!”

Zhou Lingchun said, “Alright, alright, no more raising them. How about something easier to keep? A cat? Didn’t you like Aunt Sun’s cat? Her cat had kittens. I’ll bring one back for you.”

Liansheng shook his head. After a while, he felt better and changed his mind, saying he wanted a beautiful cat. He leaned against the man’s chest. They held each other, not minding the heat. Just as the man was about to fall asleep, Liansheng suddenly said, “If I died, would you just move on with someone else?”

Zhou Lingchun opened his eyes, his face stern. “What nonsense are you talking about?”

Liansheng was startled for a moment, but quickly pinched the flesh on the man’s arm. “Did you eat gunpowder? Yelling at me again…”

Zhou Lingchun flipped over and pressed down on Liansheng, his demeanor intense. “Don’t say things about dying again. If you say it next time, you’ll get a beating.”

Liansheng whispered, “You wouldn’t dare!”

Zhou Lingchun lay back down next to Liansheng, covering his eyes and holding him close. “Rest.”

Liansheng removed the man’s hand. His waist was encircled by the man’s powerful arm. He pushed the man’s chest, unable to break free. His face flushed red, and he refused to rest. “Would you really dare to hit me?”

Zhou Lingchun didn’t speak, keeping his eyes closed and remaining still.

Liansheng wouldn’t let him sleep, using his fair fingers to prop open the man’s eyelids. “If you really dare to hit me, just wait for Grandma to teach you a lesson.”

Zhou Lingchun grasped Liansheng’s wrist, brought it to his lips, and pecked it. He said, “Try me. I’ll beat you in bed, and you won’t be able to get up for three days.”

Liansheng remembered the last time, when he had stayed in bed for a whole day, and the stuff in his xue couldn’t be washed out completely. If he couldn’t get out of bed for three days, he might actually die in bed. Realizing the seriousness of the matter, he quieted down.

He mumbled softly, “I won’t say it, I won’t say it…”

The man only rested for an hour. When he woke up, Liansheng was still awake, chewing on candy, lying belly-down on the bed with his butt sticking up, reading a book. A few strands of hair fell loosely around his face. Zhou Lingchun took a hair tie from the drawer and tied Liansheng’s hair up, revealing his clean white ears. The tie was tight, making Liansheng yelp in pain.

Zhou Lingchun grinned, teasing Liansheng for being tender-skinned. He kissed the man’s lips, tasting the sweetness, and instructed, “I’m going back to the fields. Eat less candy at home. Wash the fruit from the trees before you eat it.”

Liansheng immediately climbed off the bed, ready to put on his shoes. “I want to go too.”

“No. The sun is too strong in the fields. You’ll get tanned.” Zhou Lingchun stopped him.

Zhou Lingchun had cleared two mu of land near the foot of the mountain last year and planted corn. When the corn was ripe, he had to pick it quickly. If it rained heavily, the cobs in the field would sprout, and he wouldn’t get a good price. Therefore, the man was often busy day and night over the next few days, returning late and leaving early, even cutting back on their nighttime activities.

Liansheng was bored at home without the ducklings and missed Zhou Lingchun, but the man was too busy to spend time with him. He wasn’t afraid of getting tanned, and seeing the man so busy made his heart ache. He just wanted Zhou Lingchun to finish this busy period quickly. Since Zhou Lingchun wouldn’t let him help pick the corn, he occasionally brought the man water to drink.

That day, the sun was fierce. Grandma had brewed mung bean soup. Liansheng filled a jar and went to deliver it to the man.

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Hehe, I’m back! Next chapter, the setting changes to the cornfield. After the cornfield, let’s change the season~