Two or Three Events in the Last Days 036
Chapter 36
The moment they heard that two-thirds of the stored grain would be taken away, both Wang Jiaqiang’s and Zhang Yanyan’s faces darkened. In Wang Jiaqiang’s opinion, if Wu Meili wanted her son, she could just take him. Wang Jiaqiang worked away from home year-round and only saw his son for a short time during the Lunar New Year. When he was in a good mood, he would tease the boy a little; when he was not, he would leave him to the two women in the family. He had never formed a particularly deep bond with his son.
As for Zhang Yanyan, the reason she had shamelessly followed Wang Jiaqiang back was that she valued his status as a villager. Rural people might look poor, but they owned farmland. When Wang Jiaqiang had rescued her, she had already gone two full days without food and had not even had a drink of water. She never wanted to experience that kind of hunger again. If Wu Meili took her son away, the family would have one less burden and one less mouth to feed, making life easier in the future. Unfortunately, the old lady of the family stubbornly refused to let the child go. Zhang Yanyan did not dare reveal her selfishness in front of everyone, so she instead persuaded Wang Jiaqiang that since his mother could not bear to part with the boy, they should keep him. As for the grain, they could just hand it over. In another month or two, the new harvest would be ready anyway.
Thus, the two sides reached an agreement. The child would remain with the Wang family, while Wu Meili would take away two-thirds of the family’s stored grain.
The Wu family knew exactly how much grain the Wang family had stored, since they had personally helped purchase it in the first place. However, fearing that Wang Jiaqiang might secretly hide some grain and later deny it, Liao Shufen immediately asked members of the eighth village to help transport the grain back. As payment, each helper would receive five jin of wheat.
Five jin of wheat had once been too little for anyone to care about. But now everyone wanted as much grain as possible. Since they had nothing better to do, those willing to help rode over on bicycles, tricycles, and whatever vehicles they had, while some even pushed wooden carts to assist.
When they left, both Wu Meili and Liao Shufen secretly breathed sighs of relief.
Wu Meili knew that, as a married daughter who had been driven out by her husband’s family, staying with her natal family for a few days was fine, but living there long-term would inevitably lead to conflict, especially since she knew exactly what kind of people her family members were. The more grain she possessed, the more secure her future would be. Liao Shufen, meanwhile, shared the same mindset as Zhang Yanyan. Having one less person to feed was a good thing. Though the boy was her grandson, he was still an outside* grandson.
*Different characters for grandson distinguish whether the grandson was from a married out daughter (married out, adds the word “outside” grandson) or from a son (that remains in the family)
Two or Three Events in the Last Days (TELD) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
After the Wu family returned to the village, Zhou Yu shared all the gossip she had gathered with Jing Lin and the others. She clicked her tongue twice and said, “That mother really was heartless.” The Wu family members were all selfish, so it came as no surprise that Wu Meili had traded her own son for grain. Calling it an act of desperation meant nothing to Zhou Yu. If it had been her, anyone who refused to return her son would never have known peace.
Since the matter had nothing to do with them, it was merely a brief episode. What really mattered was the news about the other villagers.
The city where many of the villagers had worked had always been chaotic, so things there had fallen apart even faster than elsewhere. Wang Jiaqiang and his group had traveled the same way Jing Lin’s group had, riding bicycles with food tied to the back. After less than two days on the road, they had run into fellow villagers. Many of them were not personally acquainted, but they had all seen each other before, so everyone had been delighted. Traveling together in a large group was much safer.
They had traveled together for several days. After the earthquake struck in the middle of the night, they had actually been thankful they had been camping outdoors, avoiding the danger of being buried beneath collapsing buildings. The following day, thick fog had rolled in. Though everyone had been frightened and anxious, they had comforted one another while slowly pressing onward through the mist. At that point, the entire group had still been together.
Then one day, after waking up in an abandoned inn, they had discovered that the world had completely changed. Humans had suddenly become tiny. A camel as tall as a two-story building had walked right past them, leaving everyone utterly dumbfounded.
The journey afterward had become extraordinarily difficult. The roads were full of pits, and grass taller than people surrounded them, making it impossible to continue riding their bicycles. Along the way, they encountered all sorts of bizarre animals and plants and had been chased into frantic escapes several times. Besides carefully avoiding those dangers, they had also run into two groups of highway robbers. However, because they numbered over thirty people, the robbers not only failed to steal anything, but instead ended up having their own previously looted goods seized by the group.
Then, before they had even finished celebrating their unexpected food harvest, they were caught completely off guard by enormous ants that suddenly emerged. The giant ants were incredibly fierce and numerous. In the ensuing panic, everyone scattered in different directions to escape, and many people became separated. Even those who eventually returned with Wang Jiaqiang were only a subset of their original group.
At that point, everyone could only comfort themselves. Since they had merely become separated along the way, and Wang Jiaqiang had managed to return safely, their own family members would surely return soon as well.
After staying busy for several days, Jing Lin finally had some free time before the autumn harvest began.
The vegetables planted in the backyard had begun sprouting. The lettuce was growing in a way that resembled lotus leaves, with its leaves spreading outward in a flat circle. Jing Lin plucked one scallion to examine it and found that what should have been hollow leaves had become solid inside, though the smell remained much the same as before. Both vegetables changed noticeably every day, but they grew much more slowly than the bokchoy, adding only about one finger’s length each day.
Two or Three Events in the Last Days (TELD) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
The autumn tomatoes and heaven-facing chili pepper, however, showed no changes.
At that moment, Jing Lin was pounding chili seeds.
After drying in the sun for several days, the chili seeds had become completely dry. He dry-roasted them in a pan, scooped them out, and placed them into a small stone mortar that had been washed clean and thoroughly dried before crushing them with a stone pestle.
The stone mortar was quite small. Jing Lin’s grandfather had commissioned an old stonemason to make it years ago, and the opening was just about the size of his palm. Every Lunar New Year, the family liked to pound roasted peanuts and brown sugar together in it to make sweet filling for tangyuan.
Even after dry-roasting, the chili seeds remained wonderfully fragrant. They had become crisp and shattered with just a few strikes. Jing Lin poured the crushed chili seed powder into a clean glass bottle for storage, filling less than half of a palm-high bottle. He even tasted a little. It was only mildly spicy, carrying a faint natural sweetness unique to chilies.
Knowing Jing Lin was heading out, Le Le was already waiting by the door. Croakie, who had been away from home for several days, had also returned. It was squatting beside Le Le with Duckie perched on its back.
Speaking of Croakie, it had become something of a celebrity over the past few days. Ever since it had been sent to Zhao Zhiwen’s and Yan Fei’s homes, mosquitoes had completely disappeared from both households. They had finally enjoyed several uninterrupted nights of sleep, while the rest of the village continued suffering mosquito bites every night. People emerged each day covered in itchy red welts. Meanwhile, the Zhao and Yan families, whose faces had previously been covered with bite marks, no longer had a single bump. Naturally, everyone began asking whether they possessed some secret mosquito-repelling method.
After asking Jing Lin’s permission and receiving both his and Croakie’s approval, the two families introduced Croakie to the rest of the villagers.
Most people initially thought they were joking. Why would anyone keep raising such a frightening toad instead of killing it? Taking it home sounded nearly impossible. But Zhao Shaoqian was the first to squeeze through the crowd. Without a word, he picked Croakie up and carried it home. The homemade mosquito repellent they had prepared earlier had barely worked and had long since run out. Recently, everyone in his family had been bitten so badly that they had started dreading nightfall itself. He trusted Jing Lin. If Jing Lin said the toad harmed no one and caught mosquitoes, then there was nothing to hesitate over. While everyone else was still hesitating, he would take it first.
Once one person made a move, everyone rushed to compete. Ma Chunzheng immediately chased after him, shouting loudly, “Anyone who wants Croakie had better line up! As soon as Croakie finishes at Shaoqian’s place, I’m taking it to my house!”
Next came Ma Rencong, following closely behind his nephew, and then the rest of the villagers, who had finally realized what was happening.
Strangely enough, once Croakie had visited a household, mosquitoes never appeared there again. After spending several days moving from house to house, Croakie had apparently been eating so well that Jing Lin felt it had become noticeably plumper.
They had agreed to visit the fish pond that day, so Jing Lin took Le Le, Duckie, and Croakie straight to Yan Fei’s house.
Two or Three Events in the Last Days (TELD) is translated by Betwixted Translations. The site you’re reading this chapter on stole our translation.
After their conversation in the fields that day, the distance between him and Yan Fei had indeed lessened. When Jing Lin arrived, Yan Fei was sparring with Yan Lu. Yan Lu possessed tremendous strength, but since she could never land a hit on Yan Fei, that strength alone accomplished little. The two of them exchanged blows enthusiastically in the rather cramped living room filled with tables and stools, while Zhou Feifei and Yan Ruifeng watched with great interest.
Seeing Jing Lin arrive, Yan Fei dodged Yan Lu’s punch and gestured for a pause.
Yan Fei wiped away his sweat with a towel and said, “It’s rare to have a day off, yet you still got up so early? We just finished cooking. Have you eaten?”
“We already ate before coming over,” Jing Lin replied. “I’ve gotten used to waking up before sunrise every morning to cultivate. I wake up naturally at that time now. After cultivating, I feel full of energy—far more refreshed than after sleeping.”
“Then sit down and wait a bit. I’m covered in sweat, so I’m going to take a shower.”
“Wait.” Jing Lin stopped Yan Fei before he left. “Could you spar with me for a bit?”
Yan Fei raised an eyebrow. “Sure.”
If he remembered correctly, Jing Lin had looked like someone who couldn’t fight at all back in Huangtai Town. Still, sparring a little with someone he liked wasn’t a problem. He could always go easy on him.
Thinking that, Yan Fei reached out toward Jing Lin.
The instant Yan Fei’s hand was about to touch him, Jing Lin knocked it aside. Looking at Yan Fei’s slightly surprised expression, he reminded him, “Take it seriously. Treat it like you’re sparring with Lu Lu.”
“Alright.”
Yan Fei immediately became serious. His previous move had looked casual, but before making it, he had already planned several follow-up options. If Jing Lin counterattacked, he had intended to change his move and grab Jing Lin’s wrist instead. Unexpectedly, Jing Lin had moved so quickly that even Yan Fei’s reactions had failed to keep pace.
From Jing Lin’s perspective, however, both Yan Fei and Yan Lu had seemed far too slow during their earlier sparring match. If he himself had been fast enough, he felt he could have countered twice before either of them completed a single move. Back in Huangtai Town, he had never possessed such keen observational ability. The dramatic improvement was undoubtedly thanks to the cultivation technique he had been practicing.
As Yan Fei and Jing Lin continued exchanging moves, Yan Lu, who had originally been watching casually, gradually began paying close attention. She knew her brother possessed exceptional martial arts talent. A professional martial arts coach had once wanted to take him away for specialized training, but Yan Fei had turned the offer down himself. Even so, his skills still rivaled many professional fighters. When he got serious, Yan Lu herself could never last more than ten minutes against him. Yet ten minutes had already passed, and Jing Lin still handled everything with ease. Throughout the entire exchange, Yan Fei had never even touched the corner of Jing Lin’s clothing. Instead, he had taken several clean hits from Jing Lin.
Although Jing Lin’s powers of observation had become astonishing, his body’s coordination still lagged behind his mind. His movements could not yet keep up with what he perceived. As Yan Fei gradually became more serious and his attacks increasingly unpredictable, Jing Lin’s body fell further and further behind the responses his mind was generating. In the end, Yan Fei slipped behind him and caught him in a rear chokehold, trapping him firmly in his embrace so that he could no longer move.
Yan Fei brushed a hand lightly across Jing Lin’s neck before letting him go. His eyes shone with undisguised admiration.
“You’re incredible. Once you’ve had more practice, I won’t be able to beat you anymore.”
He had never expected Jing Lin to be this outstanding. Yan Fei’s heart once again began racing uncontrollably.
Jing Lin’s physical condition had improved considerably lately, but after their sparring session, his stamina still could not quite keep up. He was breathing a little heavily.
He smiled awkwardly. “I’m still nowhere near your level.”
Yan Fei said, “I hadn’t thought about that before. How about this? Set aside a little time every day, and I’ll teach you hand-to-hand combat.” He genuinely wanted more opportunities to spend time alone with the person he liked, and he also sincerely wanted to teach Jing Lin.
Jing Lin had been hoping for exactly that. He nodded happily. “Then I’ll be troubling you.”
Yan Fei sighed helplessly. “What’s this about troubling me? You’re being too polite with me again.”
Afterward, Yan Fei and Yan Lu each went to take a shower, while Jing Lin stayed in the living room chatting with Zhou Feifei and Yan Ruifeng.
Zhou Feifei asked, “Ah Lin, have you ever thought about what kind of partner you’d like to have someday?”
Having spent so much time together, Jing Lin already knew Zhou Feifei hoped to arrange a marriage with the Zhao family, so he no longer assumed she was trying to introduce her own daughter to him.
“I haven’t really thought much about it,” he replied. “But at the very least, it has to be someone who doesn’t mind Le Le.”
Le Le was outside by the door playing with Duckie and Croakie and could not hear the conversation. Otherwise, Jing Lin generally disliked discussing such topics in front of him.
Zhou Feifei hurriedly agreed.
“That’s absolutely necessary. Anyone who doesn’t like our Le Le isn’t worth considering, don’t you think?”
Jing Lin simply smiled.
Zhou Feifei sighed. “I’m really worried about that rascal of mine.”
She wasn’t just putting on an act; she was genuinely worried.
Jing Lin comforted her. “Children will find their own happiness. Ah Fei is outstanding in every way. Aunt Fei, you really don’t need to worry so much about that.”
“How could I not worry?” Zhou Feifei replied. “It’s been so many years, and he’s never brought anyone home for me to meet. At this point, even if he brought home a man, I’d be perfectly happy!”
As she spoke, she discreetly observed Jing Lin’s expression.
Beside her, Yan Ruifeng nodded repeatedly in wholehearted agreement.
Jing Lin froze for a moment. Most parents would be furious if their son brought another man home. He had never expected Aunt Fei and Uncle Feng to be so open-minded.
Unable to tell whether Jing Lin had understood her implication or disliked what she had said, Zhou Feifei cautiously probed further.
“Speaking of which, Ah Lin… what do you think about two men being together?”
She also hoped to hint a little about her son’s situation.
Outside the back door, Yan Fei, who had just finished his shower and was drying his hair, suddenly stopped moving. Holding his breath, he listened intently.
Jing Lin had indeed understood the implication behind Zhou Feifei’s words. She would never have asked such a question without reason. The most likely explanation was that her son, Yan Fei, was attracted to men.
Words from the Translation Crew
Miiya: Two of two for the week.
Pinned note: Chapters 38-47 (except 45) are almost 3times in length, I’ll probably split them into two parts.
Translator: Miiya
Editor: MushroomKnight73
Proofreader: Yume
Avid BL reader, editor, and translator with 1 story completed (CLWP) and 1 story in progress (TELD). Support this translation with a Ko-fi. Three Ko-fis will add an extra chapter from the stockpile to the next weekly release.
