Xiaochen

 

Jing Yi understood that Jing Feng was afraid of treating others unfairly. The Dan family were all honest people, and they had built a good relationship over time, especially after the help they received from the Lin family’s eldest daughter.

 

“Don’t worry, this deal is his credit, and I definitely won’t shortchange him. We’ll recalculate the profits of the store. The goods made by Brother Dan will remain the same, and I’ll just allocate a portion of my profits to you. The profits from the artisans you found will be split between the three of us, with you getting the majority, and Brother Dan and I getting a smaller share,” Jing Yi said nonchalantly. The profit from the lantern shop was not a big deal for him, and he had initially wanted to help them, and later, to train Jing Feng.

 

“Ah? Brother! This doesn’t seem right…” Jing Feng was a bit anxious, feeling uncomfortable asking his brother for things.

 

“Deal! It’s settled. I know you’re reluctant to ask, but in the future, I’ll have less control over the shop, and you’ll have to put in more effort, so you deserve it,” Jing Yi said, punching his shoulder, trying to cheer him up.

 

“Alright! Then I definitely won’t let you down! Thank you, Brother Yi!” Jing Feng was extremely excited and full of energy. He really wanted to go back to the villages and towns to find skilled artisans. However, he couldn’t do that yet, as he hadn’t finished his business for the day.

 

He put on a brilliant and ingratiating smile and said to Chuxia, “Sister-in-law, the business in the store has been doing well recently, hasn’t it?”

 

Jing Yi couldn’t stand it and said, “What are you doing? If you have something to say, just say it. Why are you smiling so obsequiously? It’s disgusting!”

 

“Brother Yi! I’m just smiling normally!”

 

But Jing Yi couldn’t stop Jing Feng’s enthusiasm. He turned to Chuxia and said, “Chuxia, has the store been busy recently? Is it particularly hard work?”

 

It had been almost half a year since they got married, and Chuxia was no longer the naive Chuxia. Seeing Jing Feng’s smile and indirect questioning, he almost knew what he wanted to ask.

 

“What do you want to ask? About Xiaochen?” Chuxia said straightforwardly, wanting to tease Jing Feng a bit.

 

There were only a few people in the store. Xiao Yu was his sister-in-law, so that left Xiaochen.

 

Jing Yi got excited and quickly gossiped, “Oh, the silly boy is in love, huh? When did this happen?”

 

“Shh! Both of you, please lower your voices,” Jing Feng said, feeling embarrassed. He didn’t want to ask his brother for things like this.

 

“Alright, I’ll lower my voice. Stop smiling so much and save some face for yourself,” Chuxia said, looking at Jing Yi and pretending to be serious.

 

“Hmph, you’re so spineless. You don’t even dare to pursue him on your own. Back in my day, I pursued Chuxia all by myself,” Jing Yi said.

 

Jing’s mother: This white-eyed wolf is really ungrateful!

 

Jing Feng didn’t want to look at his brother Jing Yi anymore and turned to Chuxia, pleading, “Sister-in-law, do you know if he has found someone?”

 

“I actually know a bit about this. I heard that Aunt has introduced him to several families, but nothing has worked out. Aunt is getting anxious, saying that he’s already sixteen and can’t keep delaying. If it weren’t for this time when Mother went to Uncle’s house to ask Xiaochen to come to town to help, Aunt might have hurriedly arranged a marriage,” Chuxia said.

 

“Ah… that’s good. Sister-in-law, can you help me find out more, and maybe give a gift to Xiaochen?” Jing Feng said hesitantly.

 

Jing Yi couldn’t stand it and chimed in, “Young man, you have no courage or sincerity! Are you going to have my wife marry for you and go to the wedding for you too?”

 

“What are you saying!” Chuxia was angry.  He said something inappropriate.

 

He raised his fist and lightly hit Jing Yi.

 

“Alright, I misspoke. Chuxia, don’t be angry,” he said, trying to appease his wife while glaring at his brother.

 

Jing Feng: So unfair. I have to endure this.

 

Finally, persuaded by Chuxia and threatened by Jing Yi, Jing Feng decided to pursue Xiaochen on his own. He said goodbye to Chuxia and happily went to buy a gift.

 

“Don’t buy anything expensive. Xiaochen won’t accept it,” Chuxia reminded him.

 

“Okay!”

 

The next day at the Ningxia Pavilion, everything was normal, except that Jing’s mother and Lin’s mother were both there. When people get older, they love to watch the excitement, especially when it comes to young people and their foolish love.

 

At the counter, three people were gossiping secretly.

 

“When did this Xiao Feng boy start to like Xiaochen? He’s been so quiet about it,” Jing’s mother said in a low voice, winking. She had watched Jing Feng grow up, so she felt like she was half responsible for him.

 

“I guess it was on the day of the store opening? I’m not sure when they met after that,” Chuxia guessed.

 

“He’s been holding it in for over a month now. This young man is not good at this! Just last year your brother couldn’t  wait even a day!” Lin’s  mother joked.

 

“Hahaha, Yuanyuan is right,” Jing’s mother agreed with a smile.

 

Chuxia blushed helplessly. These two elders were making jokes about the younger generation.

 

While they were chatting and laughing, they saw Jing Feng, dressed neatly, standing at the door, looking at Chuxia and Lin’s mother, and then greeting them with a grin.

 

He looked very nervous, wiping his sweat despite the cold weather. He gathered his courage and walked into the store.

 

“Welcome, esteemed guest,” unexpectedly, it was Xiaochen who greeted him. He met him head-on.

 

“I… I’m looking for someone,” he said timidly, and then walked towards the counter.

 

“Okay,” Xiaochen clearly recognized him. Although he didn’t understand what he was up to, he knew he was a relative of the family, so he didn’t pay much attention.

 

Jing Feng walked to the counter, smiling awkwardly, and greeted each of them, “Aunt, Aunt Lin, Sister-in-law Chuxia.”

 

“Look at you, so timid!” Jing’s mother was impatient and quickly advised, “You should take this opportunity to chat a bit while there are fewer people. When the customers come, you won’t have time to talk.”

 

“Yes, be brave, Xiao Feng. But there are many people here now, so don’t give the gift yet. It’s not good for his reputation,” Lin’s mother, who had a ger married off, naturally had more thoughts.

 

“Right, you go chat for a bit, and leave the gift here. I’ll give it to him later!” Jing’s mother took charge and encouraged him, “Don’t worry, Aunt knows Xiaochen’s temperament very well. You’ve got a good deal if you can pursue him!”

 

Chuxia watched as Jing Feng handed the exquisite wooden hairpin to Jing’s mother and then bravely walked over to Xiaochen, trying to strike up a conversation.

 

The store was quite large, and they were next to the private rooms, so they couldn’t hear what they were saying, but the atmosphere seemed good.

 

At that moment, Xiao Lan came from the backyard with the goods. He immediately saw his little brother-in-law smiling obsequiously at Xiaochen, and he smiled and mouthed, “Are they getting along?”

 

Chuxia whispered, “Yes, I’ll find out Xiaochen’s thoughts later.”

 

As more customers arrived, Xiaochen, with slightly flushed cheeks, said to Jing Feng, “Let’s talk later. I still have work to do.”

 

“Okay,” Jing Feng chuckled nervously and scratched his head, “I won’t bother you. I’ll come to ask for your advice next time.”

 

Xiaochen looked up at him, blushing even more, and said, “Whatever you want,” before hurrying away.

 

Seeing Xiaochen taking a customer interested in jade soap into the private room, Jing Feng immediately straightened up, as if he had won a battle, and went to the counter to share his joy with his aunt and uncle.

 

“What did you talk about? The atmosphere seemed good,” Jing’s mother asked impatiently.

 

“Hehe, not much. I wanted to talk about my situation, but as soon as I mentioned marriage, he said he had to clean the counter and left,” Jing Feng said, looking at the four impassive and speechless faces in front of him, and quickly continued, “Then I had a bright idea and said that Brother Chuxia always praises his business skills, so I came to ask for advice.”

 

“Is that all?” Lin’s father was shocked.

 

“Ah, yes! We had a great chat. The atmosphere was really lively. I just made an appointment to come again, and he didn’t refuse me!” Jing Feng was proud of himself, feeling like he had done a great job.

 

Seeking approval, he asked, “Hehe, do you think this is a good sign?”

 

The four of them: You should go home and dream.

 

After sending Jing Feng away, the four of them realized that the key was to see how Xiaochen would respond.

 

After Xiaochen finished serving the customer, Jing’s mother gave him the wooden hairpin and subtly praised Jing Feng.

 

Xiaochen was soft-spoken, but actually quite strong. He had shown this when he adapted to the environment of the Ningxia Pavilion, and he was doing much better than Xiao Lan.

 

Liu Xiaochen cherished this job very much. He was sixteen this year, and other gers and girls in the village had already started looking for partners. Before coming to work at the store, he had already started looking in the village and had seen several families.

 

When his aunt first brought him here, his mother didn’t want him to come, fearing that it would be difficult to arrange a marriage after he appeared in public. But she didn’t know that he was already tired of the matchmaking in the village.

 

Living in the village, everyone knew each other. Some men in certain families had no skills, but they would bring a matchmaker to boast to the girl’s family, making it seem like their son was so outstanding that he was more than suitable for their daughter. It made him uncomfortable.

 

His mother always nodded along, and his father eventually refused when he saw that he was really unwilling.

 

He thought his mother didn’t know the real situation, so he explained why he didn’t want to get married. But her response was, “Well, I didn’t know that, but their family conditions are good. They can provide food and clothing, and they don’t beat people. It’s a good match. The in-laws are strict, and the boy likes to boast a bit, but that’s nothing. That’s how it is in the village.”

 

Is it enough to marry just because the in-laws can provide food and clothing and the man doesn’t beat people? Is this how my life will be?

 

Xiaochen didn’t think so, but he couldn’t read or understand the big picture. He hadn’t seen much of the world, and he was insignificant. Even though he felt miserable, he had no way to vent. Sometimes he wondered if he was asking for too much.

 

It wasn’t until he came to work with his aunt in town that he found a hint of what he wanted to do.

 

When Jing Feng came today, he understood what it meant. He didn’t mind it. It was because Jing Feng praised his work and even said he wanted to learn from him. He felt respected by Jing Feng, and that was enough to make him have a good impression of Jing Feng.

 

So even though his cheeks were slowly turning red, unable to hide his shyness, he bravely accepted Jing Feng’s gift and thanked Jing’s mother.

 

The other four people in the store looked at each other. It was a success! This was a step closer to being family!