A Good Country Wife

Frying the tea leaves sounds simple enough: kill-green, rolling, and drying. Lin Yue had seen her grandfather do it and had even helped knead the tea leaves after the kill-green process, so she was quite familiar with the procedure for making tea. However, to fry a good batch of tea experience was especially crucial. In pursuit of perfection, Lin Yue divided the tea leaves into many batches to fry, slowly accumulating experience. As time went by, the quality of the tea leaves she fried improved, with those consisting of a single bud and leaf saved for the last batch.

Lin Yue didn’t trust this delicate task to anyone else either. Zhao Erhu had offered to help several times but was turned away by Lin Yue each time. By the time she finished preparing all the tea leaves, Lin Yue was so exhausted that she skipped washing up and collapsed into bed, falling asleep instantly. Zhao Erhu shook his head; this girl took everything she did so seriously and earnestly. Seeing how tired she was, he didn’t wake her up but instead got some hot water from the kitchen and gave Lin Yue a simple wipe down.

"You stubborn girl, always causing people to worry," Zhao Erhu gently kissed Lin Yue’s forehead, his face soft as he looked at her sleeping soundly, his voice filled with indulgence and doting.

Lin Yue had been extremely tired from the previous day and therefore slept in late the next morning, oblivious to when Zhao Erhu had gotten up. She was in a half-dream state when she vaguely heard someone shouting, "It’s a boy, a boy! Zhao Xinglin’s wife gave birth to a big fat baby boy, weighing eight pounds and six ounces—such a blessing indeed." It turned out the great-uncle had received the news and sent someone to bring the good tidings to Zhao Erhu’s house.

At first, Lin Yue thought she was dreaming and continued to sleep soundly, until Zhao Erhu roused her from the bed, "Niuniu, wake up quickly. Brother Xinglin’s wife has given birth to a big fat baby boy, and we must go congratulate them together in the city. Great-uncle is waiting to go with us, so we can’t delay any longer."

"It’s a boy? That’s truly great news. Isn’t that what Brother Xinglin has been hoping for? He’s finally gotten his wish. We must hurry!" It was only then that Lin Yue fully awoke, realizing that Zhao Xinglin’s wife had given birth. She suddenly sat up, got ready in a flash, and took out a red cloth-wrapped gift. Remembering the pheasants she had brought back from the mountains yesterday and not having enough time to stew them, she decided to bring them directly to Zhao Xinglin’s house.

The couple took their offerings and hurried to the great-uncle’s house in their ox cart. The great-uncle had already tidied up and locked his door, waiting by the roadside.

"Hurry up, Erhuzi, you’ve got to drive faster. This old man is eager to see his great-grandson," said the great-uncle. He’s usually a very steady and composed person, but he seemed somewhat impatient now, probably because he was too excited.

Poor heavens, finally, their branch of the family had descendants. Xinglin’s parents would find peace in the afterlife as well. Zhao Xinglin had often invited the great-uncle to live in the city, but the latter was reluctant; it was only during last year’s New Year that he stayed in the city for a while before returning to the village. Yet today, he packed up his belongings in a hurry as if planning to move to the city permanently to take care of his grandson.

Upon arriving at Zhao Xinglin’s house, the atmosphere was filled with joy. Zhao Xinglin was cheerfully handing out candy to the congratulating neighbors at his doorstep. Seeing his great-uncle, he immediately said, "Old man, my wife gave birth to an eight-pound six-ounce big fat boy! I, Zhao Xinglin, finally have a son, and our Zhao Family’s third branch has a future now!" Clearly, both grandfather and grandson shared the same joy.