Yun Qing counted up the morning's chores. He'd carried firewood, fed the chickens, and swept the courtyard. Apart from work in the fields, there wasn't really anything left.
Only then did Ye Zheng learn that Yun Qing normally worked in the fields at this hour, too. He'd stayed home these past few days only because he was worried there would be no one to look after Ye Zheng.
Feeling guilty for interrupting the other man's work, Ye Zheng hurriedly said that he was better and didn't need anyone to care for him. Yun Qing could go about his business without worrying about him.
Yun Qing smiled. “It's all right. We don't have much farmland, so we're not usually that busy. It's just that the grain is filling out right now, and the fields need watering several times a day.”
This reminded Ye Zheng of something in the original owner's memories. Although Xishan Village grew rice, unlike the paddy-grown rice of his former life, the villagers planted theirs in dry fields. Farmers had to water the crops repeatedly or depend on rainfall, so yields were low. A harvest of three hundred catties per one-sixth of an acre was considered an excellent year.
In an ordinary year, farmers could toil in the fields for twelve months and still harvest less than two hundred catties per one-sixth of an acre.
If someone could tell them that rice grew best in flooded paddies, saving them the repeated labor of watering it, and that ducks, fish, snails, or crabs could be raised in the water at the same time, it would probably help the farmers enormously.
But that was for another day. Grain was a farmer's lifeblood. He wasn't a famous agricultural expert. If he announced something like that out of nowhere, no one would believe him. They might even think he was trying to ruin their harvests.
Ye Zheng kept chattering about wanting to go out and help. After thinking for a moment, Yun Qing fetched a shoulder pole and two buckets. “In that case, come fetch water with me.”
“Sure!” Ye Zheng agreed immediately. Anything would do.
Xishan Village had three wells: one at the village entrance, one in the center, and one in the west. The western well was quite close to Ye Zheng's old house, making household water easy to obtain. But the Yun family's home stood at the mountain's foot, far from all three wells.
Fortunately, there was a river near the Yun home, formed by streams flowing down from the mountains.
Farther downstream it joined other rivers, but the section near the Yun family's house was fed purely by mountain streams. The water was clear enough to see the bottom, clean and full of little fish and shrimp.
Yun Qing had agreed to let Ye Zheng help, but in practice he didn't let him lift a finger. He flung a wooden bucket into the river, swirled it through the water, and pulled it up brimming with clear water.
He filled a second bucket the same way, quickly and effortlessly.
Ye Zheng tried lifting one. Between the water and the bucket's own weight, he couldn't even get it off the ground. He almost wrenched his slender waist.
Ye Zheng: “…”
Well. Yun Qing was incredible.
Yun Qing's lips twitched subtly, hovering between a smile and a straight face.
Ye Zheng said dejectedly, “You can laugh if you want. No need to hold it in. I know I'm useless right now.”
Yun Qing's stomach trembled a few times as he suppressed his laughter, then, considerately, he reached out and patted Ye Zheng's forehead in comfort.
Ye Zheng's moods came and went quickly. Before long, the little fish and shrimp swimming in the river distracted him completely.
“Huh?”
He stood watching the fish, then finally made out the dark cluster huddled near a patch of waterweed. His eyes widened instantly.
It was that!
Afraid Ye Zheng might lose his balance and fall in, Yun Qing hurried forward and steadied him by the waist.
Ye Zheng excitedly pointed toward the waterweed. “Qing, look! Spicy crayfish!”
Yun Qing's eyesight was excellent. He immediately spotted what had excited Ye Zheng. “You mean those river crayfish?”
Ye Zheng suddenly remembered that the crayfish which could make people gain three pounds merely by passing a late-night food stall in his previous life were an invasive species—the red swamp crayfish. They shouldn't exist in this era.
But he also remembered that, before the invasion of the red swamp crayfish, there had been four native species of freshwater crayfish, and their flesh was even more delicious.
Those four native species, however, required very clean water.
Modern society's heavy use of pesticides had damaged water systems and polluted the environment, causing native crayfish populations to decline. In some places, large-scale harvesting was forbidden in order to preserve biodiversity.
But this was ancient times! The land and water were still pristine, and the native crayfish reproduced in enormous numbers in clean waterways. They were everywhere.
Most importantly, the locals didn't have the habit of eating them. They thought these creatures, called river crayfish, looked frightening and smelled strongly of mud. Nobody liked eating them at all!
Sure enough, Yun Qing asked, “Do you want to play with the crayfish?”
The idea of eating them hadn't crossed his mind.
He'd also been curious about them as a child and had once caught a few, insisting that his mother cook them for him. She'd finally given in. But their indescribable taste had been so awful that Yun Qing's stomach still turned when he remembered it.
Although the crayfish tasted terrible, they were fierce and aggressive, which made them fun to play with. Village boys often caught a few to carry around and sometimes used them to frighten gers and girls. They were thoroughly obnoxious.
So when Ye Zheng's eyes sparkled at the sight of the crayfish, Yun Qing immediately assumed he wanted to catch some to play with.
He couldn't help finding it amusing. They were about to marry, but his little husband really was still a child in some ways.
Yun Qing was unexpectedly indulgent toward him.
Without waiting for Ye Zheng to beg again, he looked around, caught a fat caterpillar from a leaf, tied it to a piece of grass, and lowered it into the water. Before long, a foolish crayfish mistook it for a feast falling from Heaven, clamped down with its claws, and was pulled out by Yun Qing.
Holding the two large pincers firmly, Yun Qing told Ye Zheng to grip the creature by its back. “Careful of the claws. These things are fierce—”
Before he could finish, the impatient Ye Zheng snatched it away.
A country boy feared nothing!
Yun Qing laughed, thinking he'd been overprotective.
Although Ye Zheng looked like the pampered young master of some wealthy city family, he'd actually grown up in the village. Surely he could manage something as simple as holding a crayfish.
It was just that his face and physique were so misleading. They made people instinctively want to look after and protect him.
After studying it for a while, Ye Zheng quickly confirmed that it wasn't a red swamp crayfish. It was shorter and plumper, rather cuter in appearance, with a less pointed head but much sharper pincers.
His eyes darted mischievously. He turned back to Yun Qing, blinking those black-grape eyes imploringly. “Dear Qing, you're so capable. Let's catch lots more of these crayfish and take them home!”
Yun Qing had no idea what he wanted so many for. But when such a beautiful young man gazed at him with sparkling admiration, Yun Qing might have given him his life if he'd asked, let alone a few crayfish.
Besides, the crayfish were stupid, plentiful, and ridiculously easy to catch. It was no trouble at all!
So on the way home, one bucket contained fresh water and the other was half full of crayfish. Yun Qing carried both from his shoulder pole.
The weights of the two buckets were noticeably uneven, but Yun Qing walked steadily without the slightest difficulty. Not a drop of water spilled.
They met some elders from the village, who greeted him. “Oh, Qing! Been fetching water?”
Yun Qing addressed them politely and gave a quiet nod.
One of the older women turned her eyes toward Ye Zheng. “Young Zheng came along to fetch water, too? Well, you've really grown up and learned to—”
She couldn't bring herself to finish the words “take care of someone.” Yun Qing, a ger, was carrying both buckets, while Ye Zheng, a man, strolled along empty-handed. How was that taking care of anyone?
Still, the villagers understood the situation between Yun Qing and Ye Zheng. Yun Qing was a ger who resembled a man, immensely strong; Ye Zheng was a man who resembled a ger, soft and delicate. If only the two could have traded places!
Following his inherited memories, Ye Zheng greeted them. “Grandpa Li, Auntie Liu, Granny Wang.”
Then he said frankly, “I must look rather funny, Granny. My Qing knows I'm in poor health and won't let me do the slightest bit of work. That's how much he cares about me. I appreciate every bit of it!”
He said this with perfect ease and without the slightest embarrassment, almost seeming proud to be doted upon by a ger.
The aunts, grannies, and uncles were speechless.
After walking a few steps, Ye Zheng even turned around to call out, “When Qing and I hold our wedding feast, you must all come!”
Of course they would. There were only so many families in the village, and everyone knew everyone else. Unless there was a deep feud, villagers generally invited one another to weddings.
But hearing such an invitation from Ye Zheng was a rare sight.
In the past, you could have beaten him three times with a stick and still not got a word out of him. He barely spoke even when greeting people, and he let his brother and sister-in-law push him around without a single complaint. Everyone had assumed he was naturally taciturn or had become foolish from too much book learning. Apparently he could greet people warmly after all!
“He's grown up. Young Zheng has finally grown up,” one of the old men said, taking a few puffs from his pipe.
“Grown up? Nonsense!”
Auntie Liu pursed her lips. “Didn't you see what Qing was carrying in that bucket? Nothing but crayfish! He's practically a grown man and still wants to play with crayfish. My Gousheng stopped playing with those things at ten. And Qing, instead of stopping him, just indulges him! Neither of them has an ounce of sense. What sort of life will they have together?”
They'd spent half the day on that trip and brought home only a single bucket of water. Ye Zheng knew he'd held Yun Qing back. When Yun Qing emptied the water into the household jar and went out for another load, Ye Zheng sensibly didn't insist on going along.
Yun Qing assumed he was eager to play with the crayfish. He didn't say anything, merely cautioned him to be careful before leaving.
The moment Yun Qing was gone, Ye Zheng's eyes gleamed greedily as he stared at the crayfish fighting one another in the basin.
Heh, heh, heh! Spicy crayfish, here I come!
He found some rice straw in the kitchen, tied it into a little bundle, and held it like a makeshift brush. With quick, practiced movements, he picked up a crayfish from the basin, stretched out its body with his fingers, dipped the straw in water, and began scrubbing it clean.
He'd often done this while studying. Back then, he and the other boys in his dormitory had loved nothing better than secretly cooking crayfish together on weekends. Everyone helped out; it was delicious and saved money.
This body was weak, but preparing crayfish took technique rather than brute strength. By the time Yun Qing returned with another load of water, Ye Zheng had already washed a small pile of them and put them into a clay jar.
Yun Qing was occupied with fetching water and didn't pay much attention to exactly what Ye Zheng was doing. He glanced over, saw him apparently playing with the crayfish, and felt reassured enough to focus on his work.
Although these weren't the same species as the modern crayfish, they could be prepared the same way. First, scrub them clean. Then use scissors to cut away the feelers, gill plates, esophagus, and other unwanted parts around the head. Finally, grasp the middle section of the tail and pull out the intestinal tract. That finished one crayfish.
After several days of bland ancient food, Ye Zheng's mouth was desperate for flavor. Just imagining the delicious crayfish made his mouth water, and his hands grew more practiced as he worked.
By the time Yun Qing had filled the household water jar, Ye Zheng had finished preparing all the crayfish.
At last Yun Qing noticed what he was doing. Ye Zheng happened to look up, holding a jar of cleaned crayfish with an expression that plainly begged for praise.
“Ye Zheng, what are you doing?”
Yun Qing could see the prepared crayfish and all the discarded shells and other parts. He couldn't understand what the boy was planning.
“Qing, I'm going to make you something delicious!”
Ye Zheng shook the earthenware jar. There had to be at least two pounds of crayfish in it—enough for the whole family to enjoy at lunch!
When Yun Qing finally understood, he didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
He didn't want to discourage Ye Zheng, but there was an unfortunate truth he had to share. “Those crayfish aren't edible.”
“What? You can't eat them?” Ye Zheng was startled. “Why not? Are they poisonous?”
