Chapter 140: Expressing Gratitude Through Acts of Love

“Let’s go, let’s go up and take a look.”

After glancing at Xiongba, Lin Heng climbed ashore and walked upstream.

“Awo~”

Xiongba shook off the water in a spot farther from Lin Heng, then trotted to catch up.

“Help!”

Lin Heng had walked about a hundred meters when he reached a place where women often washed clothes, and saw the person calling for help.

Jin Hai was sitting on the edge of the water with a snake biting his ankle. The cries for help came from his sister, Jin Yan.

“Lin Heng, help! Help my brother, he’s been bitten by a water snake!” Jin Yan immediately cried out in panic as soon as she saw Lin Heng. Her face was full of worry—she was terrified of snakes and didn’t dare to get close.

Jin Hai, a man, was pale and trembling, too scared to look at his foot.

“The water snake isn’t poisonous. Why are you so scared?” Lin Heng glanced at Jin Hai. This guy was usually very bold, but now he was this scared of a snake.

“Not… poisonous??” Jin Hai froze for a moment, looking at the snake on his foot, but his body was still limp.

Jin Yan was also stunned. She had been crying uncontrollably, and now Lin Heng was telling her that the water snake wasn’t poisonous?

“What’s going on?” Yang Zhaotao, who had been working in the fields, ran over.

“Just take a look for yourself.” Lin Heng smiled.

Freshwater water snakes live by catching fish. Their fancy patterns scare people, and there are rumors that they are venomous. He had checked for himself before and confirmed they had no venomous fangs.

Yang Zhaotao took a look, then smiled, “What’s there to be afraid of? This thing isn’t poisonous.”

He walked over and said with a laugh, “You’ve pressed the water snake down; it can’t let go now.”

“Xiongba, let’s go.” Lin Heng smiled, turned around, and started walking back with Hongzao, who had almost dried off.

Soon, Jin Hai and Jin Yan appeared behind them. Lin Heng glanced over, and Jin Hai immediately lowered his head.

How embarrassing. From now on, he wouldn’t be able to act tough in front of Lin Heng.

“Lin Heng, thank you!” Jin Yan ran over and said.

Her clothes were soaked, looking a bit pitiful.

“I didn’t really help, no need to thank me.” Lin Heng waved his hand.

After saying that, he walked away. Back home, he led Hongzao to the newly built horse pen, where he had laid some straw and chopped horse grass and corn leaves.

Xiulan had spent the whole day at home playing with Xiaoxia because her period had started, and Lin Heng didn’t want her to overexert herself.

“Did you give Hongzao and Xiongba their baths?” Xiulan asked when she saw him.

“I’m done, but the hot water’s gone. Let me go heat some more,” Lin Heng nodded, took the kettle, and poured the remaining hot water into a cup for his wife.

“Why didn’t you add brown sugar? Did we run out?” Lin Heng looked at the cup of Hongzao tea curiously.

“I thought we had some, but it’s gone. It’s no big deal.” Xiulan gently shook her head.

Lin Heng smiled and said, “No worries, the sweet stalks are getting old. I’ll make some brown sugar for you.”

The sweet stalks were a type of sorghum used for making liquor here, similar to the sugarcane grown in the south. The stalks themselves were sweet, and they ate them like sugarcane.

“Make it yourself?” Xiulan was a little surprised.

“It’s quick. Just stay at home and wait for me,” Lin Heng said, then grabbed a machete and ran out.

He went to his own sweet stalk field, chose ten stalks that had turned red at the top, which weighed about 40-50 pounds.

After bringing them home, he stripped off the leaves to feed the horse. Xiulan came over and watched curiously, “We don’t have the tools for this, how are you going to make brown sugar?”

“No tools? Just use whatever we have,” Lin Heng smiled slightly. He peeled the sweet stalks to reveal the sugary core, which was the part they used to eat when they were young.

Once all the stalks were prepared, he found a stone mortar and began crushing the sweet stalks little by little.

Families that frequently make brown sugar have sugar mills and beds, similar to the apparatus used to press noodles, which make the process much easier using leverage.

But even without those, as long as you can crush the stalks and extract the juice, it’s doable.

He poured the mashed stalks and juice onto a tofu cloth and squeezed out a murky, greenish-brown syrup.

After finishing, Lin Heng felt it wasn’t enough, so he chopped another fifteen stalks. After an hour of work, he had crushed enough to fill two large basins with around 20 pounds of concentrated sweet stalk juice.

From 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM, Lin Heng finally cleaned the pot, poured the sweet stalk juice into it, and began to cook it down.

He let the sweet stalk juice simmer while he went out to cut two bamboo poles, then sawed ten bamboo tubes to store the brown sugar.

In fact, he could have gone to the village and bought some brown sugar; he had the money for it.

But he just wanted to make it for his wife by hand—no other reason.

Xiulan silently watched while also tending to their daughter. She quietly observed Lin Heng as he worked.

Lin Heng stacked dry oak firewood under the pot, and the flames quickly blazed. The sweet stalk juice in the pot bubbled, changing from a murky light green to a dark red, with foam rising to the top that needed to be skimmed off.

As it continued to boil and the water evaporated, Lin Heng kept stirring the remaining dark red liquid with chopsticks. At first, large bubbles formed, then soon turned into dense, small ones.

At this point, most of the water had evaporated. Lin Heng dipped a bit of the syrup into cold water, and when it hardened, he knew the syrup had reached the right consistency.

He then spooned the syrup into the bamboo tubes, filling each one just partially, not completely.

Once the syrup started thickening and couldn’t be scooped out easily, Lin Heng added hot water to dilute it into syrup again.

Next, he added two handfuls of rice, a few pitted Hongzao, and two dendrobium orchids, preparing to cook them into a slow porridge.

Once the brown sugar was ready, Lin Heng placed the bamboo tubes in water to cool, then began cleaning up the mess he had made in the process.

By the time he came back out, Xiulan had already finished cleaning up. Lin Heng then fed the sweet stalk remnants to the badger in its pen.

Only when everything was finished did he have a chance to sit down and rest.

“Why go through all this trouble?” Xiulan handed him a towel and said helplessly.

Lin Heng wiped his sweat away and laughed heartily. “What’s the big deal? I actually feel pretty fulfilled. The main thing is I wanted you to see my skills.”

Saying this, he got up again to change the cold water in the bamboo tubes. After a few more rounds, the brown sugar had completely solidified.

Xiulan felt warmth in her heart as she watched Lin Heng busy himself in front of her. If it weren’t for the relatives visiting, she really would have wanted to hug him and thank him properly.

“All done!” Lin Heng brought the bamboo tubes to the table, split them open with a knife, and removed a beautiful piece of brown sugar.

Ten bamboo tubes, ten pieces of brown sugar, and when Lin Heng weighed it, it turned out to be only one jin and one tael, which was really a low yield.

“Here, wife, this is for you!”

Lin Heng placed the brown sugar into a wooden bowl and handed it to his wife with a smile.

“Thank you, hubby!”

Xiulan blinked at him, her eyes as clear as water, full of endless tenderness.

She picked up a small piece of brown sugar and popped it into her mouth. Not only was the brown sugar sweet, but her heart was also sweetened by this man.

“Mommy, I want some too!”

It seemed that Xiaoxia, tired from playing with Jinbao, noticed her mother eating and quickly ran over, put on her shoes, and hugged her mother’s leg, looking up at her.

“This is the brown sugar your dad made for me. You can only have a little bit.” Xiulan glanced at her and gave her some brown sugar crumbs.

“It’s sweet.”

Xiaoxia wanted more, her big eyes looking at Lin Heng full of pleading.

Lin Heng shrugged, “I’ve already given it to your mom.”

“Mommy~”

Xiaoxia pouted and clung to her mother, while Lin Heng stirred the porridge in the pot, which was almost done.

The light red porridge filled the air with a sweet fragrance, tempting anyone nearby to eat.

He lowered the heat, ladled the porridge into one large and one small bowl, took two spoons, and placed them on the table.

“Eat up, I made this myself.” Lin Heng said with a smile.

Xiulan scooped a spoonful, blew on it, and tasted it. She smiled, even sweeter than the porridge, and said with a wink, “It’s really sweet, delicious.”

“Daddy, feed me.” Xiaoxia, who hadn’t wanted any at first, now crawled onto Lin Heng’s lap after hearing it was sweet.

Lin Heng shook his head, but he had no choice but to feed her. During this, Xiulan also fed him a couple of spoonfuls.

Not long after finishing the meal, the dishes at his older brother’s house were ready. Lin Heng took his wife and daughter over.

The meal at his older brother’s house wasn’t quite as good as what they had yesterday, but it was still much better than most other families in the village.

There were no matsutake mushrooms or black truffles, but there was fried creek grouper and stir-fried yellow eel, along with broom mushrooms stir-fried with meat, which Lin Heng loved.

The fried creek grouper was incredibly fragrant and crispy. They quickly ate a whole plate between the two of them.

The past few days had been relaxed with little to do, so they chatted and ate, enjoying the leisure.

“Lin Heng, when are you and Xiulan going back to her family?” Lin Heng’s father asked after taking a sip of wine.

“Probably August 14th. We’ll stay for a day and come back on the 16th. I plan to make a wooden cart and have the horse pull it, so we can take our time getting there.” Lin Heng answered, taking a bite of the mushrooms.

His mother looked at him and said, “This is your first time going back with Xiulan, so you should bring more gifts. Have you bought everything?”

In this time when there were no cars, the distance between the two counties was quite far, and after getting married, it was hard to return.

Lin Heng nodded. “I’ve bought everything. I got a set of clothes and shoes for both of them, a bottle of three-grain liquor, a box of mooncakes, and two packs of white sugar.”

These gifts were quite substantial, amounting to about fifty yuan. In this era, even a pack of white sugar was considered a heavy gift. It was unimaginable to give this much, even in the city when meeting a father-in-law for the first time.

“That should be plenty,” his mother nodded. She even thought it might be too much.

“You don’t have to rush to come back once you’re there. Spend more time with Xiulan at her family home. Your mother and I can take care of the animals here,” Lin Heng’s father added.

His older brother, Lin Yue, also said, “Yes, take your time with Xiulan. No need to worry about the house.”

“Okay.” Lin Heng nodded in agreement.

Then his mother pulled Xiulan aside and said a few heartfelt words. When Lin Heng and Xiulan got married, the ceremony was done rather hastily. Xiulan didn’t even want a bracelet or ring, let alone a full wedding set.

Xiulan smiled and responded. There was nothing to say about the past, and she was happy with Lin Heng.

That evening, Lin Heng’s older brother made sauerkraut noodles, though they weren’t too sour or salty. But once the broom mushrooms and meat were added, they tasted much better. Lin Heng ate a bowl and a half.

After dinner, Lin Heng took his wife and daughter home, made Xiulan a hot foot soak, and refilled the kettle to make sure she had hot water if she wanted some later.

After putting their daughter to sleep, Xiulan soon fell asleep as well.

Lin Heng looked at his wife, who was peacefully asleep. Xiulan seemed to be in good health. In her previous life, after giving birth to their second and third sons, she didn’t properly rest, which led to some health issues later on.

He covered her with the blanket and lay down to sleep.

The next morning, Lin Heng woke up to find Xiulan had snuggled up to him, her small face resting on his shoulder.

He didn’t move, just stared at the ceiling, reflecting on life while waiting for her to wake up.

Half an hour later, Xiulan slowly woke up. Seeing Lin Heng, she gave him a gentle smile and asked, “How long have you been awake?”

Lin Heng shook his head. “Not long.”

“I don’t believe you.” Xiulan snuggled into his arms, feeling a bit cold in her belly.

“Sleep a little longer. I’ll get up and cook for you,” Lin Heng said as he turned to adjust her hair and gently stroked her face.

“Let me hold you for a bit longer before I get up.” Xiulan whispered.

Lin Heng reluctantly nodded. Holding his beautiful wife, after eating so much yellow eel these past couple of days, it was a bit hard to bear.

Xiulan seemed to realize this as well. After a while, she let go.

Lin Heng got up, poured Xiulan a cup of brown sugar water, washed his face with cold water, and went to the bathroom.

When he returned to the kitchen to cook, he saw Jinbao happily eating something. Upon closer inspection, it was a mouse.

“Pretty impressive!” Lin Heng chuckled and went to the front yard to pick a few eggplants and some string beans.

For breakfast, he planned a simple meal. He made dry-fried string beans, braised eggplant, and a yellow flower egg soup. He didn’t bother with any complicated dishes, as the mushrooms had already been dried and he wouldn’t need to stir-fry them.

“Today’s meal is pretty good!” When Xiulan woke up and saw the table full of dishes, she praised him.

She picked up her chopsticks and took a bite of the braised eggplant, instantly loving it even more. “This braised eggplant is really delicious!”

“I knew you’d like the sweet and sour flavor,” Lin Heng said with a smile. He could eat anything, but he preferred spicy and sour dishes.

Lin Heng first fed Xiaoxia, who loved the egg yolk and chrysanthemum soup with black truffle. After drinking a small bowl, she wanted more.

After finishing the meal, Xiulan smiled and said, “I feel like your cooking is even better than mine.”

“Well, if you ever don’t want to cook, just leave it to me,” Lin Heng replied with a grin.

“Okay!” Xiulan nodded, sipping the sweet red sugar water.

After the meal, Lin Heng washed the dishes and went to the back mountain to move some firewood from the horse pen and stack it under the eaves.

Lin’s father and older brother had gone up the mountain to gather Schisandra, but Lin Heng stayed home to take care of Xiulan. He waited for them to return with some, like they were preparing for a night market.

After stacking the firewood, Lin Heng fed the livestock, cleaned out the horse manure from the pen and piled it up for composting, fed the chickens and ducks, gathered some pigweed, and picked lotus seeds from the lotus pond.

For lunch, he made eight-treasure porridge with dates, lotus seeds, dendrobium, pumpkin, tender corn, dried sweet potatoes, and brown sugar.

Once cooked, the porridge smelled incredibly fragrant and sweet. Xiaoxia even ate two big bowls.

On the 11th day of the 8th lunar month, Xiulan’s relatives gradually left, and Lin’s father and brother were no longer able to gather Schisandra, so they all returned.

Lin Heng went with them to Red Maple Mountain to continue building the wooden house. They set up the frame in one day, and on the 12th, they started nailing the wooden planks for the walls.

They nailed a ring of wooden planks horizontally for the walls, and the roof was also made of wooden planks tightly nailed together. Finally, they added a waterproof gray tarp.

Once the wooden planks were all in place, they marked the door and window positions, used a diesel saw to cut along the lines, and reinforced the door and window frames. The small square house was now structurally complete.

“It actually looks pretty good,” Lin Heng said with a smile. Although the wood wasn’t very smooth, it still looked nice.

Since they were using wet wood, they wouldn’t apply tung oil or paint yet. They planned to wait two months for the wood to dry and then buy some good waterproof paint in the city to coat it in dark brown.

“You know, this wooden house actually feels better than a mud house, though I’m worried it might not be very fire-safe,” Lin’s father chuckled.

“Do we need to do any interior decoration?” Lin Yue asked, looking at Lin Heng.

“No need, I’m planning to go back to Xiulan’s family tomorrow. We’ll finish the rest after we come back,” Lin Heng shook his head.

For now, this was enough. The rest could be done later at a leisurely pace.

The overall frame of the house was up, providing shelter from the wind and rain, but the interior still needed an extra layer of wooden planks, and they planned to add fireproof cotton or foam boards between the layers for insulation. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be suitable to live in during the winter.

As for furniture and the construction around the house, these things would be done step by step. There was no rush.

Just like building a cabin in the wild, taking it slow would eventually get the job done.

If they hired a bunch of people to finish everything at once, it wouldn’t be as enjoyable.

Lin Yue slapped his forehead and said, “Oh right, I forgot today is already the 13th of August!”

“And the rest, I’ll just handle it little by little; it’s not that troublesome,” Lin Heng said with a smile.

“Then let’s head back, it’s getting late,” Lin’s father nodded.

With tools in hand, the three of them left Red Maple Mountain and headed back.

Lin Heng glanced at the twenty acres of land below the mountain. The two acres of wheat fields had been turned into two ponds. The disinfection was complete, and the ponds were now filled with water, looking like two small mirrors from a distance.

The acre of peanuts had already been harvested, leaving soybeans, red beans, and corn, all of which would be ready to harvest soon.

Once all the crops were harvested, Lin Heng planned to continue digging the fish ponds.

Back home, Lin Heng grabbed a towel and went to the river with his older brother to take a bath. They soaked for a while and swam a few laps, feeling incredibly refreshed.

When Lin Heng returned to the house, Xiulan smiled and said, “The meal is ready. See if it tastes better than what you made.”

“Of course, my wife’s cooking is the best,” Lin Heng grinned.

After the meal, they relaxed for a bit. Xiaoxia then started asking for a story.

“Alright, alright, I’ll read you a story,” Lin Heng said, picking her up and putting her on the bed.

After reading stories for a long time, he finally got her to sleep, then pulled the translucent mosquito net down over her. Lin Heng went to wash his feet and got into bed.

Xiulan, who had already finished washing up and got into bed, gently leaned against him. Her long, beautiful legs were clad in the white stockings Lin Heng liked.

“Wife!” Lin Heng was pleasantly surprised.

“Don’t talk,” Xiulan hugged his neck and kissed him.

The man who had taken such good care of her for these past few days deserved her passionate gratitude.

Xiulan expressed her deep love for him in the way Lin Heng liked the most.

…

…

On the morning of the 14th of August, Lin Heng’s family woke up early.

Although Lin Heng was a bit tired from the night before, he had to wake up early today. Green Water County was farther than Taibai City, and the horse-drawn cart would take at least half a day to get there.

There was no choice; the road was bad, and they were still using a horse-drawn cart, which couldn’t compare to a car.

Lin Heng didn’t change his clothes. He first made a large bowl of corn porridge to feed the horse.

While the horse was drinking, Lin Heng looked it over. It had been two days since its last wash, and it was getting a bit dirty.

“It’s really hard to take care of,” Lin Heng shook his head. After the horse finished drinking, he led it to the front yard and washed it off.

Mainly, its back legs were dirty, but cleaning them only took a little effort.

After getting the horse cleaned up, Lin Heng’s father and older brother arrived.

“You take the horse to the road; we’ll handle the cart,” Lin’s father said.

“Okay,” Lin Heng nodded.

He led the horse out onto the road, while his older brother added air to the wheels and installed them under the wooden cart. Then, he and Lin’s father pushed it out.

This was their own wooden cart. For convenience, they had modified it over the past few days by raising the cart bed by 50 centimeters and laying a straw mat inside. They had also added a few handrails to the cart bed.

After pushing the wooden cart onto the road, Lin Heng and the other two started harnessing the horse and adjusting the reins. This kind of thing was common in the countryside, and even if they didn’t have one, they could still make it themselves.

This journey was going to be a long one, so Lin Heng made sure to take good care of Hongzao, making protective arrangements to prevent any damage to its body.

Once the harnessing was complete, they tested it, and Lin Heng then went back to the house to wash his hair and change clothes.

Xiulan and Xiaoxia were already dressed. Xiulan was wearing the summer outfit he bought for her, but she had swapped the floral skirt for blue bell-bottom pants, still carrying a very mature vibe.

Xiaoxia was dressed neatly as well, looking like a little fairy.

“Just wear this set,” Lin Heng said after washing his hair. Xiulan had already prepared the clothes for Xiaoxia.

A white short-sleeved T-shirt, black pants, and a pair of sneakers—simple yet stylish.

In addition, Xiulan had packed a set of spare clothes for each of them.

“Alright, let’s go.” She looked at Lin Heng, nodded with satisfaction, and smiled.

“Okay.” Lin Heng picked up Xiaoxia, who was still half-asleep, as it was only 5:30 in the morning and the sky had just begun to lighten.

Xiulan followed behind, carrying large and small bags.

“Woof woof~”

Xiongba, realizing Lin Heng and Xiulan were about to leave for a long trip, dragged its chain over to rub against them, wanting to join.

“Stay home and guard the house, it’s too far for you,” Lin Heng said, petting its head before turning to leave.

They had already arranged with his parents the day before to come over regularly to feed the animals.

Lin Heng laid a cloth over the straw mat and helped his wife into the cart. Once she settled her things, he placed their daughter inside as well.

“Why are you bringing the bow and dagger?” Lin’s father asked, stunned when he saw the weapons.

“The road is unsafe, and it might come in handy if we encounter wild chickens or something,” Lin Heng chuckled, saying that one should always carry something for self-defense when traveling.

“Alright, just stay safe and enjoy yourselves. Don’t rush back,” Lin’s father said, looking at Xiulan.

“Got it, Dad. We’ll be going now,” Xiulan said with a smile and a nod.

“We’re off,” Lin Heng said, cracking the whip to get Hongzao moving. The cart immediately started rolling.

The morning was still cool, so Lin Heng urged the horse to move faster.

By noon, if the sun was too hot, they would have to find some shade to take shelter from it.

But with their speed, they should be able to reach their destination before noon.

The distance from here to Green Water County was over 80 kilometers. At a minimum speed of 1.2 kilometers per hour, Hongzao would need around four to five hours to get there, assuming there were no unforeseen delays, like a road collapse.

Xiulan held Xiaoxia in her arms, gazing at the scenery along the way. After leaving Huangtan Town, she realized the road was unfamiliar to her, as it had been years since she had traveled this way.

She had five siblings: her eldest brother, second sister, third brother, fourth brother, and herself, the youngest.

Her parents were much older than Lin Heng’s, now in their fifties.

Apart from her parents, the ones who had treated her the best were her eldest brother and third brother. Her second sister, for some unknown reason, had never liked her, often bullying her. Her fourth brother’s treatment of her was just average.

When she left, her eldest brother had just gotten married, and her sister-in-law didn’t like her. She wanted her to get married quickly so she wouldn’t be a burden.

Her second sister had gotten married early, even before her eldest brother. She wasn’t sure whether her third or fourth brothers were married now.

She didn’t know the current situation at home, and she felt a bit uneasy, which made her silent for most of the journey.

However, seeing the man ahead, driving the cart, made her heart feel warm again. No matter what the situation at home was, she had him to rely on.

Lin Heng, focused on driving the horse, occasionally chatted with Xiulan. He didn’t have many thoughts on his mind.

(End of Chapter)