Era-Ch31

Chapter 31: Watching the Stars with My Wife

Lin Heng and Xiulan found a flat stone by the mountain path to sit on and rest. The dog, Xiong Ba, lay at Lin Heng’s feet.

“Why are you sitting so far away? Are you afraid I’ll eat you?” Lin Heng glanced at his wife, reached out, and pulled her next to him, pressing her head onto his shoulder.

“What are you doing?” Xiulan looked at him.

“This is called watching the stars together. Don’t you feel something special?” Lin Heng said as he looked at the stars.

“No…”

“Then stay closer for a while.”

“How about now?”

“Now, it’s a little.”

“Then let’s keep watching for a bit longer.”

“Okay.”

Xiulan stared at the sky, not understanding what kind of strange ritual this was. However, with her head resting on Lin Heng’s shoulder, looking at the sparse stars, she gradually felt a warmth and a fluttering sensation in her chest.

“How strange…”

Xiulan murmured softly, wondering why looking at the stars made her heart race. She thought maybe it was because she rarely looked up while working.

Lin Heng smiled, gazing at his wife’s profile, and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. The sound of insects buzzing in the forest seemed oddly peaceful at this moment.

In his previous life, there were many things he wanted to do with his wife but never had the chance. This life, he would make up for every single one of them.

They stayed like this, watching the stars for about half an hour. Realizing it was getting late, Xiulan reluctantly pulled away from Lin Heng’s embrace.

“I’m afraid our daughter will wake up. We can watch it again next time.” She quickly walked ahead, saying this.

Lin Heng smiled, feeling incredibly content.

On the way back, the couple took a small path to continue catching cicadas.

“Honey, do you want this white cicada that has just shed its shell?” Xiulan asked, holding up a white cicada.

“Yes, the white ones taste the best,” Lin Heng said quickly.

There are three types of cicadas: the golden cicada that just came out of the ground and hasn’t shed its shell, the white cicada that has shed its shell but hasn’t hardened or dried yet, and the black cicada that has dried, hardened, and has its wings spread open. The black cicada is the least tasty and has the least nutrition. The golden and white cicadas are both delicious, and their protein content is exceptionally high—better than eating meat.

“Great, many of the golden cicadas have already shed their shells.” Xiulan continued as she caught more.

After about forty minutes, they returned home, and it was already past eleven at night. The family was asleep.

Xiulan shook the one-liter plastic bottle she was holding. “How should we handle this?”

“Pour it into a basin and give it to me,” Lin Heng said. He then noticed the small bag Xiulan was holding with cicada exoskeletons. “You’ve been collecting cicada exoskeletons?”

“Yes, they sell for a hundred yuan per kilogram, but it’s too difficult to collect. You can’t even gather half a kilogram in one summer.” Xiulan nodded. She instinctively collected anything that could bring in some extra income for the family.

“It’s fine. Just pick up whatever you can,” Lin Heng said, understanding how hard his wife had worked in the past.

Soon, they poured all the cicadas into a basin, and they could hear the faint scratching sounds. If they weren’t dealt with quickly, they would all shed their shells by morning.

The process was simple: dump them into a bag, throw it in a water bucket to drown them, and in a few minutes, they would all be dead. Then, drain the water, add some alcohol, sprinkle some salt to clean them, and let them dry. If they had a refrigerator, they could freeze them directly, but since they didn’t, this was the only method available.

“How about washing your feet?” Xiulan brought over the handmade cloth shoes she made for Lin Heng.

“Did you wash yours?” Lin Heng asked with a smile.

“No,” Xiulan instinctively felt something was off.

Hearing this, Lin Heng grabbed a stool, sat her down, and chuckled. “Then I’ll wash them for you. It’s a promise I made today. After all, I’m a man of my word.”

Xiulan hesitated, unwilling. “This is strange…”

“It’s nothing, and it’s just the two of us…”

Lin Heng squatted down, took off her shoes. Her feet were small, probably size 37, slender, with visible veins.

Her skin was soft, and touching it felt smooth.

Xiulan blushed, embarrassed by this unusual way of washing feet. Thankfully, no one else was around to see it.

After about ten minutes, Xiulan reluctantly put her shoes back on.

Lin Heng sighed, took a bath, and went to bed. He didn’t feel like doing anything more, as he was quite tired after the day’s activities.

However, Lin Heng noticed that his wife was tossing and turning and couldn’t sleep. He thought she might be sick and reached out to touch her forehead. “What’s wrong? Do you feel unwell?”

“I’m not sick. Just sleep,” Xiulan whispered.

Lin Heng didn’t think much of it at first, but after a while, noticing she was still awake, he became worried. “Did something bite you? Or did you fall?”

He was about to grab a flashlight to check on her. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing his wife. Small issues could easily turn into big ones if not addressed.

Xiulan grabbed his hand. “It’s not that. Don’t guess randomly.”

“Then I must check, or you tell me directly.” Lin Heng insisted firmly.

“I’ll tell you,” Xiulan spoke softly, almost like a whisper. “It’s… actually…”

Though Xiulan hesitated, Lin Heng suddenly had an epiphany and understood what was happening.

“Ugh…”

Lin Heng was about to tell her it was nothing, that he could take care of it. But before he could say anything, he was silenced…

His eyes widened. His wife was shy about saying it, but acted without hesitation.

Her boldness caught him off guard.

The size of the moment left him momentarily stunned. It seemed that she didn’t want him to speak, not giving him a chance to react.

Lin Heng didn’t expect that, out of nowhere, he’d end up having a late-night snack, and eventually, with a full stomach, he fell asleep.

The next morning, Lin Heng woke up early, feeling full of energy.

He chuckled when he saw his wife’s expression. “You were shy just now, but you didn’t hesitate when it came to action. You almost choked me.”

“Nothing happened last night. Don’t say anything nonsense!” Xiulan glared at him, giving a stern warning.

After that, she put on her shoes, took their daughter, and went outside.

“Ha ha ha!”

Lin Heng laughed as he got out of bed, walked outside, and his first task was to check his grass carp eggs in the wooden basin.

He leaned in and saw that some of the eggs were already wriggling. It wouldn’t be long before the grass carp fry would hatch.

“It looks like I’ll have to dig a pond today,” Lin Heng muttered to himself.

Once the eggs hatch, the one-and-a-half-meter wide basin wouldn’t be enough to hold them. A bigger pond was a must.

(End of chapter)