RMCF: Chapter 62

 

Chapter 62

“When is he going to wake up!”

Zhang Fangyuan paced back and forth to the room, checking time and again. Every time he went in, Xu He was still asleep. Fortunately, his fever had subsided, but he just wouldn't wake up. It was no wonder Zhang Fangyuan was anxious. Xu He rarely slept in, and even when he did, he was at least conscious. This sleep was like being dead to the world. If the doctor hadn't already come, Zhang Fangyuan would have been hopping mad.

The rain had lasted all night. Around noon, the dark clouds finally dispersed. The air outside was heavy with the smell of rain. The river had risen overnight, flooding two fields near its banks. Swarms of winged ants emerged from the floodwaters, their transparent wings too wet to fly, crawling everywhere. 

The strong winds and heavy rain had damaged many houses and sheds in the village—either the rear eaves had collapsed, or the roofs were leaking, turning houses into drippy, waterlogged caverns.

In short, the whole village had been in chaos since early morning, everyone either repairing their homes or rushing out in conical hats to check on their rice paddies and crop fields. Zhang Fangyuan himself had ridden his horse to town at dawn; when the villagers saw him pass, they assumed his place had been damaged too.

He should have gone to check on his uncles' families to see if they'd been affected, but his heart was tied to Xu He. He didn't want to go anywhere. 

Not only that—when people came to call on him, he refused to budge.

“Don't worry. The doctor said he's fine. He should wake up soon.”

Xu He vaguely heard voices outside. His throat was painfully dry, as if on the verge of smoking. He opened his mouth instinctively, thinking a couple of breaths might help, but it was still uncomfortable. He couldn't open his eyes yet. Frowning, he murmured, “Water.”

Hearing the clink of ceramic bowls, he finally opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a tall figure sitting beside him, chest heaving rapidly, as if he'd just rushed in from outside.

Zhang Fangyuan was holding a bowl of herbal medicine, a spoonful ready to feed him. But hearing Xu He's request, he quickly turned to fetch some porridge instead. In his haste, he nearly knocked over both of the bowls.

Flustered, he hurriedly cleaned up the mess. After a moment, he extended a spoonful over, only to realize Xu He was still lying down—impossible to feed that way. He set the bowl down, carefully supported Xu He's waist, and helped him sit up, propping him against the headboard.

Xu He laughed weakly. “How can you be so clumsy?”

But when the words came out, he noticed his own voice was hoarse beyond recognition. 

Seeing he could speak, Zhang Fangyuan breathed a long sigh of relief. He picked up the bowl again, scooped up some thin porridge—mostly soup with a few grains of rice—and brought it to Xu He's lips. “Open up. You've been asleep since last night, almost a full day and half the morning.”

Xu He took a mouthful, then frowned. “How did this happen?”

Zhang Fangyuan's lips suddenly curled up in a smile he couldn't suppress, the corners of his eyes crinkling. He looked like a big, silly, grinning fool. 

“This morning, I got up to go set up the stall, when I saw your face was flushed. When I touched you, you were burning up. I hurried to call a doctor over.”

So that was why he'd felt so groggy. He really had been sick with a fever. Now his whole body felt like he'd been fished out of water—weak all over, his limbs powerless. 

Looking at Zhang Fangyuan's expression, Xu He's voice came out a bit muffled, as if getting sick was his own fault for not listening and staying in the cold. “I'm like this, and you're laughing.” 

Zhang Fangyuan not only wanted to laugh, but also lean in and kiss Xu He twice over. “The doctor came and took your pulse. You had a fever, yes... and you're pregnant.”

Xu He froze, even his eating motion halted. He asked in disbelief, “What did the doctor say?”

“He said you're pregnant! More than a month along!”

Zhang Fangyuan revealed his white canine teeth, patiently repeating himself, his face beaming.

“How can that be? Could he be mistaken?”

“I called a doctor from Shencao Hall. You think he can't detect a pregnancy pulse? It's because you've been overworking and worrying too much lately, not paying enough attention to your body, that you got sick.”

Zhang Shiyue came in to check on Xu He, a smile in her eyes. “That's right. A ger’s pregnancy is harder to detect than a woman's. Your symptoms weren't strong, so you probably didn't think of it.”

Xu He belatedly placed a hand on his still-flat belly. It had gotten a bit softer, but he'd been gaining weight all over—his face, his body—so he hadn't thought much of it. But now that he considered it, there had been some signs: he'd often felt tightness in his chest and general discomfort. 

Zhang Fangyuan watched him lower his head to look at his stomach, eyes darting around as if lost in thought. He set down the rice bowl and picked up the medicine. “You need to drink this. It's what the doctor prescribed today. Rest well for a couple of days and recover.”

“But the tea stall…” He noticed Zhang Shiyue had returned.

“What's more important—your health and the child, or business? The tea stall is fine, but the village is a mess. Let's close for a day.” Zhang Fangyuan took charge, his whole heart focused on his wife and child. 

Xu He supposed that made sense. He was feeling weak, and the first three months of pregnancy were precarious. He couldn't afford to be careless; he needed to take good care of himself.

It felt miraculous. Yesterday he'd felt unwell and gone to bed early, and now he'd woken up to such good news. His mind was still reeling as Zhang Fangyuan helped him lie back down.

Zhang Fangyuan carefully covered Xu He with a thin blanket. The air was still a bit chilly after the rain.

“My heart can rest now that you're awake. The heavy rain last night has caused damage everywhere. I need to go check on Fourth Uncle. You rest in the house.”

Xu He obediently nodded.

Zhang Fangyuan stepped outside. The after storm chaos that would normally have been depressing, seemed pleasant today. The air after the rain felt especially cool. 

He looked at the golden osmanthus tree in the yard, that had been battered by wind and rain all night. Many of its blossoms had been beaten down, but few leaves had fallen. He crouched down to add some loose soil and placed two eggshells from the kitchen on top. “Grow well. By the time my little one can run, it’ll be just right to swing from you and shake down the osmanthus.”*

*this one sentence confused me a little so here’s what I’ve learnt: apparently shaking osmanthus trees in autumn to collect the blossoms is a common domestic or village activity (since osmanthus flowers are harvested for many things), and children are often the ones who climb or hang on branches to do the shaking.

“How are things at your place? Any damage or leaks?”

When Zhang Fangyuan reached Zhang Shicheng's house, he saw his fourth uncle up on the roof from a distance. A tree branch broken by lightning had been blown onto the roof, poking two holes in the thatch. Water had been leaking all night.

At first, they'd used a basin to catch the leak, but rain was so heavy it filled quickly. They switched to a bucket later, and barely made it until dawn. 

It wasn't just Zhang Shicheng's house—many families in the village were in the same situation. Zhang Fangyuan's own bedroom had held up fine; when they built it, he'd made sure to reinforce that room. Otherwise, they wouldn't have slept well either. The main hall and side rooms had leaked, but not too badly. He had fixed them in the morning.

Zhang Fangyuan shook his head, hands behind his back.

“What are you grinning about? Do you know how many crops were ruined? I've seen several families run past in tears. If you act like that, people will say you're gloating because you didn't plant any crops.”

“Is it that obvious?” Zhang Fangyuan rubbed his face. "We may not have planted much grain, but we do have vegetables. Second Aunt went to check this morning—our scallions were all beaten flat.”

“Your loss is nothing compared to others'.”

Zhang Fangyuan climbed onto the roof to help his frowning fourth uncle, unable to hold back. “There's good news at home.”

“What good news could there be?”

Zhang Fangyuan didn't answer, just kept smiling. Zhang Shicheng paused his work, looked at the big goof for a moment, then extended a finger toward him. “I’ve got it!”

“Hm?”

“Good, good, good! That's truly good news!” Zhang Shicheng caught on and smiled broadly. “Tomorrow—no, not tomorrow. Later this afternoon, go to your parents' grave and burn some incense. Your parents, looking down from heaven, will finally be at ease.” 

The whole village seemed like corn soaked in rainwater and not yet dried—all musty and gloomy. Only Zhang Fangyuan was cheerful. 

Instead of going to town to run his stall, he took a bucket and fishing net to the riverbank where waters have risen high after the storm. 

It was easy to catch fish in a flooded river. If the rain hadn't destroyed crops and houses, there’d have been many people fishing. But now, Zhang Fangyuan had it all to himself, carrying buckets of fish home one after another.

Not content with that, he bought old hens from around the village and let them roam in his yard. Every mealtime, the smell of meat wafted from his door—savory bone broth one day, tofu and crucian carp the next... 

Villagers couldn't figure out what windfall this household had received. But some sharp-eyed women and fulang guessed immediately: there must be a baby on the way.

After being pampered at home for a couple of days, Xu He's illness was completely gone. Eating well every day, he felt himself puffing up. 

The day he finally recovered fully, he shooed Zhang Fangyuan off to buy livestock and finally managed to get out of the house. But his mother arrived as if on cue. 

“Oh my, look at all these old hens in the yard! You must have spent a lot of money. Do they even lay eggs? Men just don't know how to pick.”

Liu Xianglan's attention was caught by the clucking hens filling the yard as soon as she entered. She pursed her lips and teased them for a bit, then tossed the hen she'd brought into the yard. “This is one you raised when you still lived at home. Now I’ll leave it here for you. It'll be just right for your confinement period after the baby is born.”

There was also a basket of eggs.

Xu He's brow twitched. Even a miser sometimes plucks their own feathers. This was unprecedented—it seemed his aunt's words had finally sunk in.

“Give this basket of eggs to Second Sister. I saw she's lost a lot of weight recently.” He kept the chicken.

Liu Xianglan sat cross-legged in the Zhang household. This was her first visit since Xu He's wedding. “Alright. The Fei family got a stipend from the government, but they were counting on those few acres of good land for grain, and the storm destroyed most of it.”

“Ah, if your Second Sister had a baby in her belly like you do, she wouldn't have to work so hard. But Fei Lian only comes home two or three times a month, and besides…” A frail scholar didn't seem particularly capable. 

With that, she sighed again.

Xu He didn't have much to say. These things depended on fate; worrying wouldn't speed them up.

Liu Xianglan chattered on. First she told him to make Zhang Fangyuan save money—buying so much stuff for a pregnancy, careful the baby might grow too big and be hard to deliver. Then she said he should make Zhang Shiyue work more, since she was eating and living there for free, she ought to do more. 

Xu He's ears were buzzing. “We're having fish for lunch. I'm about to cook. The butcher should be back soon. Mother, would you like to stay and eat?”

Liu Xianglan was quite tempted by the first part, but at the mention of Zhang Fangyuan's return, she said, “Forget it. I need to go cook for your father. There's a lot of work at home. I heard your butcher husband caught a lot of fish. Let me take one back for your father.”

 

***

 

T/N

weee it's a happy event, congrats to our lovelies~

ヾ( ˃ᴗ˂ )◞ • *✰ 

who guessed it? 

 

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