Chapter 235: Finale

Disclaimer: 

1. This is an unofficial translation and no permission has been obtained from the author/ official publisher. It may be taken down if the author/official publisher requests. 

2. This is a fan work and the interpretation represents only the translator’s personal views without any input from the author. 

3. No permission has been granted to use, publish, upload and/or copy this translation to any other site except for Second Life Translations.

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One year later.

At the end of the ninth month, Shi Cheng was driving the horse carriage with Liu Xu’er. They were returning to Taohua village. The Hanzhong city store had received a piece of big business. Merchants from the Northeast had come by and seen the five fingered hand-warmers lined with rabbit fur. They really liked them and  wanted to bulk purchase them. The workshop had already made arrangements to carve out a special assembly line to meet their demand.

But Liu Xu’er was still worried that the supply of rabbit fur would be insufficient, so she wanted to head back to check on that situation.

As their carriage entered the village, people started to recognise Shi Cheng. This was mostly because their horse carriage was very eye-catching. Although Taohua Village was much more prosperous compared to before – in large part thanks to Liu Xu’er’s family – it was still very unusual for horse carriages to be used here. 

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Nkw Ubydtik’p nswavuyae bye clld nsxrzlvlzu aldshyvle yde ldzyatle. Mbl aycckvp bye vblka sod prlnkyz nswavuyae okvb y pwaaswdekdt oyzz xwnb vyzzla vbyd vbl sdl yaswde Nkw Ubydtik’p rlapsdyz alpkeldnl.&dcpr;

Nkw Ubydtik oyp lmrlnvkdt vblx, ps bl oyp yzalyeu oykvkdt yv vbl essa qsa vblx. Ebld bl pyo vbl nasoe sq rlsrzl pzsozu xshkdt shla, bl jdlo vbyv vblu olal blal. Tl oldv swv vs tallv vblx.&dcpr;

Ebld vblu tsv vs vbl essa, Fbk Ubldt pwrrsavle Nkw Dw’la esod vbl nyaakytl. Jsvb sq vblx pxkzle yde tallvle Nkw Ubydtik clqsal ldvlakdt vbl nswavuyae. Fsxl sq vbl oyaxla-blyavle hkzzytlap pvkzz nswzed’v clya vs zlyhl, ps vblu nyxl kdvs vbl nswavuyae yzsdt okvb vblx.&dcpr;

Akzzytlap olal yzz zkjl vbkp, ps Nkw Ubydtik ktdsale vblx yde fwpv wpblale Fbk Ubldt yde Nkw Dw’la kdvs vbl bswpl. Nkw Ubydtik’p okql oyp cwpu ralryakdt psxl vly. Ebld pbl pyo vblx ldvla vbl bswpl, pbl pxkzle yde pyke, “Fbk Ubldt, Dw’la, usw’al blal!”

The two of them greeted her back, then Liu Xu’er smiled and went over saying, “What are you doing? Don’t trouble yourself on our account. We are your juniors! Why are you preparing tea for us?”

“It’s nothing much! Since you are here, you should at least have some tea!” Liu Changqi smiled and said. Then he said to Shi Cheng, “I heard from your father-in-law! You need a dozen jin of rabbit fur this month. I’ve already made the preparations.”

Shi Cheng quickly asked, “It’s not a big problem is it? It’s because the merchants are from the Northeast. That region starts getting cold in the ninth month. By the 10th month, it is already winter there. They want to rush back before the end of the 10th month, otherwise, the snow would make travelling impossible. They’ve been pressing us rather urgently.”

Liu Changqi nodded his head, “It shouldn’t be a problem. I can rush it out in time. I will probably spend the next few days working on this. In a couple of days I can bring it to the workshop!”

The tea had already been brewed and Liu Xu’er and Zhao shi brought it over. It was only then that they all sat down together to chat. Liu Changqi could talk endlessly about rabbits – it was clear that he had grown very knowledgeable about them. 

As they had tea, they talked. They chatted for about an hour before Shi Cheng and Liu Xu’er got up to accompany Liu Changqi to the place he kept the rabbits. They saw that there were two levels of rabbit cages placed against the southern wall. They were kept very tidy and neat.

To the north was a large empty space, but on the empty space were two levels of wooden boards raised up on stilts to prevent dampness. In the middle of this was a large wooden platform. On top of the platform were some finely woven mats. This was where they would shear the rabbits. There was already a large batch of freshly sheared fur placed in the area for sunning. The fur had already been washed once, so it was all very clean and neat. 

After looking through everything, Liu Xu’er saw that they would have enough fur for the order and finally relaxed. 

They went back to the main house. Shi Cheng was still talking to Liu Changqi, so Liu Xu’er went to help her dashen with preparing the meal. Zhao shi had given Liu Changqi a son and daughter. The boy was already three, while the girl had just turned one. One was roaming around as they worked, the other was asleep on the kang.

Liu Xu’er and Zhao shi talked as they walked. It was obvious that her dabo’s family was doing very well. Zhao shi was a quiet person who was very easily content. She was very satisfied with her life. 

The two of them stayed to share a meal with Liu Changqi before heading back. However, before they could leave,  Liu Changqi asked them to wait. He ran to the rabbit’s courtyard and quickly came back with two dead roe deer!

He smiled and said “A hunter family in the village caught these in the hills. They wanted to skin it before selling it, but I found out about it first, so I just bought both of them as is! I wanted to prepare it before giving it to your dad and sishu. Since you are here, then I will be lazy and just send it back with you. I am too busy shearing rabbits, and don’t have the time to do this.”

Shi Cheng and Liu Xu’er were both stunned. Liu Xu’er quickly said, “This, this, this…. Dabo, why don’t you keep it for yourself…”

Liu Changqi smiled and said, “How can I prepare it?! I don’t have the time! Furthermore, I wouldn’t have bought it for myself to eat. Why would I? Every year, someone in the village manages to hunt some of these down, so I definitely would have the chance to enjoy this!”

Shi Cheng stroked his jaw. He smiled and said, “Then we won’t be courteous! Thanks!”

Liu Xu’er looked at him, stunned. She never thought he would agree like that! Shi Cheng grinned and came close to her, “Roasted roe deer meat is delicious! Let’s go back and roast some for ourselves.”

Liu Xu’er giggled and shook her head. 

Liu Changqi laughed heartily, “That’s right! It’s most delicious when roasted!” Then together with Shi Cheng, they tied the carcasses to the outside of the carriage.

After thanking Liu Changqi again, the two of them boarded the carriage and headed back to town. Shi Cheng smiled and asked Liu Xu’er, “Haven’t you had roe deer before?”

Liu Xu’er returned the question, “Have you?”

Shi Cheng smiled, “I actually have… There’s a restaurant in Hanzhong city. At the time, it was someone else’s treat. I wanted to bring some back for you to try, but there wasn’t any left after the meal….”

Liu Xu’er smiled. 

Shi Cheng drove the carriage. He twisted to look at her, “What are you smiling about?”

Caught off guard, Liu Xu’er smiled and said, “It’s nothing much… I am just so satisfied. Our lives right now make me feel content.”

Shi Cheng also smiled. He reached out to take her hand in his and brought it to his lips. Kissing them, he said, “This is enough to make you feel content? The way I see it, we are still a long way off – we can live even better. To begin with, we should have three or five children running around us, playing, before I can be satisfied.”

Liu Xu’er giggled and didn’t say anything. She just leaned against the carriage couch. Corners of her lips twitching upwards, she watched him. After a while, she leaned against his back and closed her eyes to rest. Shi Cheng straightened his back to support her. Occasionally he would glance at her as he drove the carriage back home. 

When they got to town, they brought one deer to Liu Changgeng’s home. Senzi had never seen an entire roe deer, so was genuinely stunned at the sight, but Liu Changgeng was overjoyed. He rolled his sleeves up and called for Liu Sen to help him with it. They would skin it and have roasted meat tonight!

Liu Xu’er told the servants to call for Liu Shu, Liu Lin and Liu Tao to come back and help him!

Shi Cheng brought the other deer to Liu Changshi’s home by himself. The instant he entered the lane, he heard clanging sounds. Sishu was expanding his home. It was a very big project – he would first renovate the neigbouring courtyard before opening up the courtyard wall and then renovating his current location. 

Most of the newly bought neighbouring courtyard would be converted into a flower garden. Because there weren’t many people living with sishu, they had enough courtyards for everyone. By converting the neighbouring unit into a garden, it would serve as a place for them to enjoy and amuse themselves. 

Shi Cheng’s carriage had already stopped at the door. Servants had immediately come forward to take hold of the horse as well as unload the carriage. By the time Shi Cheng had entered the courtyard, someone had gone to announce his arrival and Liu Changshi had come out to meet him. When he saw his servants carrying a roe deer in behind Shi Cheng, he jumped! Smiling, he called out, “Oh my! Where did you get that mighty fellow?!”

Shi Cheng smiled and said, “We went back to the village. Dabo gave it to me. There were two. There is a hunting family in the village that caught them and dabo bought them both. He told me to give my father-in-law one and sishu the other.”

He Ruyu had also received news of his arrival and had just come out. When she saw it, she, too, jumped. “This… how do we prepare it? This… It’s not been prepared…”

Liu Changshi ran out to give the roe deer a look. He smiled and said, “This fellow’s meat is delicious… But it’s really not easy to prepare. It hasn’t even been skinned!” He lifted his head and asked Shi Cheng, “How is your father-in-law preparing it?”

Shi Cheng smiled, “How else can he prepare it? He called all his sons back to help him skin it and prepare the meat.”

Liu Pu and Liu You had heard the commotion and had run out. Seeing Shi Cheng, they quickly greeted him before circling the dead deer and excitedly exclaiming over it. 

Liu Li had also come out, but he was still a bit timid. Still, he was rather young, so his curiosity outweighed his fear. Very soon, he joined Liu Pu and Liu You in running around the deer.

He Ruyu came over. Eyes wide, she looked at Liu Changshi, “Their father… We definitely cannot finish this on our own. Why don’t we give erge’s family half of this…. How many people do we have here? Erge has many more family members.”

Liu Changshi stroked his jaw and thought. Shi Cheng had delivered the deer and was about to go when Liu Changshi smiled and pulled him back, “Wait, wait…. About this, since the other side has already begun to deal with the first deer, why don’t they just help to prepare everything! We don’t need to divide it up, we will just all head over there to eat… We don’t have the space here anyway!”

Shi Cheng smiled, “That works as well.”

He Ruyu was giggling. She nudged Liu Changshi and he turned to look at her, “What… I will definitely help them! At the very most, we can eat less later!”

He Ruyu laughed even harder. She wanted to smack him, but Shi Cheng was still around, so she quickly stopped herself. 

Liu Changshi had already instructed his servants to put the deer back on the carriage. Liu Pu and Liu You didn’t understand. Panicked, they called out, and chased behind them. Even the more introverted Liu Li couldn’t resist calling out, “Didn’t they give it to us? Our… Is that ours?” And chased behind them.

Liu Changshi laughed. He turned and told He Ruyu to take her time to get ready. He himself left straightaway along with the children and Shi Cheng. They got onto the horse carriage and returned to Liu Changgeng’s home. 

By the time they got back, Liu Shu, Liu Lin and Liu Tao were already back. Liu Tao had gone to bring Xiuxiu over, so the entire house was as noisy and lively as it was during the New Year. The group of men had found a suitable place in the backyard kitchen. They had moved a large wooden table over and placed the two deer on them. Then they prepared to skin them.

The women were all busy preparing metal forks, metal skewers, wire meshes, silver basins etc in order to prepare to roast the meat. 

The other side had already started to prepare the deer. They had already divided up the meat – some chunks were washed, others were sliced up, still others were preserved. Everyone in the courtyard was busy with the preparation work. 

Liu Tao was again sent out to invite his parents over. It wouldn’t be good to leave them out of this. And if his parents were worried that they couldn’t get the rabbits sheared in time, they would just hire more people to help. If that still wasn’t enough, all of them would go down tomorrow to help with shearing the rabbits!

Liu Tao was naturally very happy. He brought Xiuxiu with him to bring his parents over. 

By the time it was dark, everyone in the family had gathered. Liu Changqi, his wife and two kids had also come over. They were divided into four or five different rooms. Each of the rooms had a stove, an entire set of metal forks, skewers and wire mesh. Each of the rooms also had alcohol warming. They would talk and drink. 

Liu Changgeng and his two brothers were naturally accompanying Old Man Liu in the main room, while in the left side rooms were He shi and her sisters-in-law with Liu Gao shi. 

Liu Shu’s generation didn’t bother segregating the males from the females. They were all in the same room, but because there were just too many people, there were two stoves in their area. Both stoves had wire meshes on them. The skewered meats were all in the basin. Everyone would help themselves by placing the meats on the wire mesh to roast. They had to roast it themselves – if their skewers got burnt, they couldn’t blame it on anyone else. Then there were another two or three platters of stewed bones. People could choose to gnaw on them if they wished. Next to that was an enormous bowl of soup and some green vegetables. 

Song Yao was heavily pregnant. She sat at the side, comfortably waiting as Liu Lin helped her roast meat. At her side was a full bowl of soup which she slowly sipped. 

Shao Rong was more elegant. She too was seated a distance away. In front of her was also a bowl, with some soup and vegetables. She also had a bowl filled with meat – Liu Shu would bring some to her when the meat was done. He would pull the roasted meat off the skewer with his chopsticks and place it in a bowl before passing it to her. As Shao Rong ate, she fed her son some soup to drink.

Xiuxiu and Liu Xu’er were both close by the stove, roasting their own meats. When it was done, they would directly eat them off the skewer. When Xiuxiu saw how Shao Rong was eating, she suggested, “Dasao, there’s no meaning in eating roasted meats the way you are. You need to bite it off the skewer!”

Everyone laughed. Liu Tao smiled and didn’t say anything. He saw a little handkerchief peeking out of Xiuxiu’s sleeve, so he took it and helped wipe her face of sauce.

Liu Xu’er sat at the stove, roasting two skewers of meat gracefully, face rosy. When she heard Xiuxiu’s words, she was the only one who seriously nodded and said, “What are you laughing about? Xiuxiu makes a lot of sense! Dasao, when eating roasted meats, you take a big bite and then a big gulp of alcohol! That’s  the life!” As she spoke, she saw that one of the skewers of meat was ready. So she picked it up and took a big bite. Turning, she called, “Wine!”

 Shi Cheng sat at her side. He was holding over a dozen skewers of meat and was meticulously roasting them. At his side was the jar of opened alcohol with a little bamboo ladle next to it. At the jar’s side was a little table with a very fine looking copper brazier currently warmed with some coal. On top of that was a copper pot filled with wine.

There was a similar set up next to Liu Shu and Liu Lin. Theirs too were filled with warm wine. When they had finished what was there, they would top their pots up from the main wine jar. 

When he heard Liu Xu’er’s call, Shi Chemg immediately left his skewers on top of the mesh and poured out his wine into a little porcelain wine cup. He checked to make sure it wasn’t too hot before sending it to Liu Xu’er’s lips. Liu Xu’er allowed him to feed it to her before continuing to eat her two sticks of meat. 

Shi Cheng’s skewers were all done, but more than half were sent over to Liu Xu’er’s mouth. When she was full, Shi Cheng would finally have the time to eat and drink. Liu Xu’er however, felt sorry for him. When she was mostly done, she didn’t try to move away from the heat but instead helped him roast some more meat. She roasted quite a few skewers for him and a couple for Senzi. 

Shao Rong was watching the two of them and laughing non-stop. Liu Shu again placed some meat into her bowl. He alternated between filling her bowl and looking at her before finally asking, “What are you smiling about?”

Shao Rong pointed at Liu Xu’er and Shi Cheng. She leaned over and said into Liu Shu’s ear, “Look at those two… Shi Cheng feeds his wife wine unhesitatingly! How old are they already, aren’t they anxious….”

Liu Shu pondered that for a second before understanding. He smiled and shook his head, “So long as her mother-in-law isn’t anxious, we don’t need to worry about them. It’s good to wait till one is older before giving birth..”

Shao Rong laughed and nudged him. Softly, she said, “Then I gave birth too early?”

Liu Shu smiled and responded quietly, “We aren’t the same, I am the eldest son!”

“Isn’t Shi Cheng the eldest son as well?!” Shao Rong immediately retorted. 

Liu Shu was caught. He laughed and said, “Are you full? You seem to have a lot of energy to bicker with me? I haven’t eaten… I’m not giving you anymore.” Then he turned to help himself roast more meat. 

Everyone sat and roasted the meat. They naturally would help Liu Pu, Liu Li and the rest of the little ones with the meat as well. The small ones couldn’t be trusted with those forks and skewers. What if they ran with it as they played? That would be too dangerous. As they helped the little ones roast, they would also roast one for Liu Sen. With this many people helping him, there was no need for Liu Sen to personally roast any of his meat. 

The children ran around inside and outside the house. Thankfully there were servants around to watch them, so they didn’t have to mind them. They just had to concentrate on their meals. The babies who still couldn’t walk slept in the eastern room’s kang. Occasionally a quarrel would break out, then in a while, another baby would start to coo and talk. The women were sometimes unable to resist having a look at them and laughing at their antics. 

That night, they stuffed themselves. Liu Changqi and his brothers had also had too much to drink. None of them left. They each just found some space on the kang and spent the night. 

The next day, Liu Changqi woke up with a shout, “Not good, not good!” Then he hurriedly brought his wife back to the village. There were rabbits to shear!

Liu Changshi, who had volunteered yesterday to help, washed up and prepared to head down to help out. There wasn’t much work for him to do in the fields at this time. 

The women folk slowly started to wake up. When they heard what he said, they quickly discussed the matter – why don’t they all go back to help! Although they could hire others, it was a bit late to look for outside help. In any case, they didn’t have much else they needed to do. 

After discussing the issue, the entire family decided to head back! They took the prepared deer as well as half of the preserved meat back. They would move everything to Taohua village and roast the meat there instead. 

The instant she thought of the wild vegetables growing in the village, Xiuxiu started to salivate. She discussed the situation with Liu Xu’er – could they fry some wild vegetables when they went back. Liu Xu’er remembered it had been a long time since she had had some, and started to crave it as well. 

So that morning, the entire family rushed to pack and returned to Taohua Village in four to five carriages. When they got to Liu Changqi’s place, they divided the work. Some were dispatched to catch the rabbits, others to shear, and still others to clean up the fur. 

Again, it was a very busy and lively scene, as everyone busied themselves. No one in the family was unfamiliar with the work except Song Yao who was born to an official’s family. But Song Yao was six months pregnant by now and unable to help out in any case. She sat a distance away and helped bring water and tea to those working. 

Many hands make light work. With the entire family along with their servants – there were at least 20 to 30 people helping out. When they moved together, they managed to completely shear several thousand rabbits within the day. Most of the fur was now drying in the shade. Some of the more dirty bits had been combed and left to the side. 

That night, everyone again had roasted meats and alcohol. Because quite a few of them were nostalgic for wild vegetables, they had sent people to pick some during the day. Then they washed and fried it for the family, satisfying their craving. 

That evening, they again slept where they could find the space. It was the third day before they all finally returned to their own homes. Although they had already had two meals of it, there was still a lot of meat left. The family decided to leave it with Liu Changgeng. As everyone was leaving, He shi had smiled and said, “I will preserve the rest of the meat. We can have it again during the New Year!”

The two days of feasting had taken its toll, causing Liu Xu’er’s stomach to feel uncomfortable. When they got home, she was queasy.

Shi Cheng was shocked. Although the two of them were very careful, current birth control methods were not nearly as effective as those in the modern day. If she were to have gotten pregnant… But that hadn’t been confirmed yet. He quickly called for the doctor to check her. Thankfully, she wasn’t pregnant. She had just eaten too much rich food. She needed to eat lightly these next two days to give her stomach some time to rest. 

On hearing that instruction, Shi Cheng instructed the kitchen to prepare soup – all types of soup – for her. 

Liu Xu’er had some pigeon soup the first day. The next day, when she saw the servant bring some soup in, she asked, “What soup is it today?”

Before the servant girl could reply, Shi Cheng had already dished some out, “Chicken soup! I ordered it.”

Liu Xu’er leaned against the cushions. Both exasperated and amused, she looked at him. “The doctor said that I had overeaten…. Cough. I was to eat lightly to give my stomach time to rest, but you ordered pigeon and chicken soup for me….. Don’t you think they are too oily?!”

Shi Cheng sat at the side of the bed and brought a spoon to her lips. He smiled and said, “Soup is very light…. There isn’t any fish or red meat in it, so isn’t this considered light? We can’t be too extreme – if it’s too light, it wouldn’t be good for your body either.”

So Liu Xu’er drank it obediently. She felt that the soup was actually rather delicious. Comfortably, she closed her eyes and savoured the taste. 

Shi Cheng knew from her expression that she liked the soup. He smiled and leaned in closer. Carefully he fed her another mouthful and softly said, “Xu’er?”

“Hmm?”

“In a while, would it be alright if we stop drinking alcohol?”

Liu Xu’er opened her eyes. She covered her mouth and smiled, “What do you want to say?”

Shi Cheng also smiled, “You should know.”

Liu Xu’er smiled and nodded her head, “Alright… I would expect that both dad and mum are starting to get worried. If we were to delay any longer, they might start to urge us.” Then she took another mouthful. 

Shi Cheng smiled. After feeding her all the soup, he placed the empty bowl beside her and sat at her side, holding her. Then he leaned down to kiss her…..

There was a sudden crack of thunder from outside. Very quickly, rain drops started beat down on the rooftop, “pipipapa”, it went. This was the Northwestern region’s rare autumn shower. It signalled a promise that this year and tomorrow, the earth would not be that dry and hot.

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Translator’s Note: And now the novel is finally complete! I can’t believe I really managed to finish this entire thing and I really need to thank everyone of you for supporting, commenting, liking and reading this. It’s quite a lonely journey to translate, so your presence really made a difference to me. After doing this, I have mad respect for all the translators out there who do longer/ more novels than I do!!

In any case, it’s finally time to say goodbye to all the characters… May they live on in our imaginations! 😊