Chapter 6: Don’t Sew If You Don’t Like It

By the third crow of the rooster, Ye Miao woke up.

As it was summer, daylight arrived early. When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the mud-brick wall. Slowly, his mind began to clear.

He lay on his side, with an arm draped over his waist. Behind him came Qin Jin’s steady breathing.

Qin Jin was still asleep.

Ye Miao pressed his lips together, puzzled. Last night, this man held him so tightly while they slept, yet now, he wasn’t lying in his embrace anymore.

But that worked out well—it gave him the chance to slip out of bed quietly without waking Qin Jin.

Reaching for Qin Jin’s arm, Ye Miao gently shifted towards the inner side of the bed.

He needed to get up and make breakfast quickly; he couldn’t let Qin Jin think he was a lazy husband.

However, just as he sat up and turned his head, he found himself meeting Qin Jin’s groggy eyes.

Qin Jin was awake.

Qin Jin quickly regained clarity. Locking eyes with Ye Miao, Ye Miao immediately lowered his gaze, his expression turning evasive.

Although they had already been through the most intimate moments the night before, he still didn’t know if he felt embarrassed or awkward at this moment. Whatever the feeling was, he just didn’t dare to look directly at Qin Jin.

Was it because the romantic atmosphere of the previous evening, with flickering red candles and teary-eyed looks, had faded?

Unable to figure it out, he decided to let it go. Clearing his throat, Qin Jin sat up in bed, avoided Ye Miao’s gaze, and said as he got out of bed, “You rest. I’ll make breakfast.”

“No! Let me do it!”

Ye Miao was startled upon hearing this, his shyness from moments earlier forgotten as he quickly spoke up.

He already felt like he’d gotten up late. How could he let Qin Jin handle breakfast?

Scrambling to the foot of the bed, where two chests sat—a larger one holding Qin Jin’s clothes and a smaller one for his own—Ye Miao moved swiftly.

Seeing his urgency, Qin Jin felt it would be hard to refuse. “Alright, but the water tank is running low. I’ll go to my brother’s house to fetch some water.”

There was an old well in the courtyard, making water access fairly convenient.

Reassured by this, Ye Miao nodded, though he didn’t stop what he was doing. He quickly opened the small chest at the foot of the bed.

Reaching in, he took out a brown short-sleeved jacket from the top, then began rummaging underneath it for pants. As he moved things around, he suddenly heard the clinking sound of copper coins.

His eyes widened. He moved the clothes aside to reveal five strings of copper coins at the bottom of the chest.

Each string held a hundred wens.

Altogether, there were five hundred wens.

His face scrunched up in confusion. Just yesterday, he’d tucked these five strings of coins beneath his dad’s bed…

At that moment, Qin Jin came over to the foot of the bed. Seeing the little husband standing motionless, Qin Jin glanced inside the chest. Catching sight of the five strings of coins, he raised an eyebrow. “Seems like you’re wealthier than me. You’re really impressive, Miao-ge.”

It seemed Ye Miao’s embroidery skills truly brought in some money.

But Qin Jin also figured that this must be the entirety of Ye Miao’s and his dad’s savings.

Qin Jin’s comment brought Ye Miao back to reality. He tugged at the corners of his lips, but his smile was forced.

He had always worried about how Qin Jin would react upon finding out he didn’t have a single coin. Now, he didn’t have to worry—he had money.

But his dad barely had a few coins left…

“What’s wrong?” Qin Jin noticed his off expression and grew concerned.

“It’s nothing, I was just lost in thought.” Ye Miao shook his head, returned the clothes to the chest, and casually grabbed a pair of gray linen trousers.

“What were you thinking about?” Qin Jin probed.

“Breakfast,” Ye Miao answered. “I was thinking about what to make.”

“You decide. I’m not picky,” Qin Jin replied.

“Alright.” Ye Miao nodded.

By now, Ye Miao was fully dressed, but he didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he stood there, looking at Qin Jin with a well-behaved expression.

He had already adjusted his emotions. It was the first day after their wedding, and he couldn’t let his personal worries ruin Qin Jin’s mood.

Qin Jin gave him a quick once-over, then dressed swiftly, pulled open the door, and stepped out.

The sun hadn’t risen yet, and the temperature was just right. After both washed up with what little water remained in the tank, Qin Jin grabbed a bucket and headed to the old courtyard to fetch more water.

By that time, Qin Bing’s family had already eaten breakfast and gone out to work in the fields. During the summer, farmers worked before dawn to avoid the sweltering heat that came with the rising sun.

When Wang Xiuqin saw Qin Jin fetching water so late, she couldn’t hold back her laughter.

Qin Jin felt awkward and self-conscious under her teasing but focused on filling the water tank as quickly as possible.

After chatting with him for a while, she finally let him go.

Back home, Ye Miao got to work preparing breakfast once Qin Jin returned with the water.

It was a simple meal: water was poured into the iron pot, and after washing some millet, it was added in. A steamer tray was placed on top to hold the leftover food and steamed buns from the previous day. All that was left was to light a fire and cook it.

Millet porridge required a longer cooking time. Qin Jin had already filled the water tank, but breakfast wasn’t ready yet, so he grabbed a small stool and entered the kitchen.

“It’s too hot in here. You should wait outside,” Ye Miao suggested.

“I need to tell you something. Mother stopped me earlier to discuss the wedding expenses,” Qin Jin replied earnestly.

Ye Miao fixed his gaze on Qin Jin, waiting for him to continue.

“When I told you during our engagement that I had no money, I wasn’t lying. At that time, I really didn’t have a single coin. I even borrowed the capital for making pea cakes from my elder brother.”

“After the engagement, my eldest, second, and third brothers each contributed three taels of silver, which they handed to Mother. Last night, Mother tallied the expenses. The wedding cost seven taels of silver, but we only received less than two taels in gift money. That leaves me with a debt of over five taels.”

“I haven’t even repaid the fifty wens I borrowed from my eldest brother. Two days ago, I sold pea cakes for more than eighty wens but spent it all on buying peas and cane sugar for the banquet.”

“My intention was to spread the word about the pea cakes, so our villagers would know they’re affordable.”

“But now I only have 26 wens left.”

He sounded a bit embarrassed and avoided looking at Ye Miao. “Don’t worry. We’ll definitely repay the debt by the end of this year. Right now, the farm work is taking up time, so we’re making fewer pea cakes. But come winter, we’ll produce more. The profit will surely be much higher then.”

This wasn’t wishful thinking.

Pea cakes had good prospects. Before starting, he’d visited the county town to investigate and confirmed that Dongyang County didn’t have any vendors selling them.

He was the only one.

“I understand,” Ye Miao nodded softly.

He had already been prepared for the Qin family’s poverty and was not afraid of hardships.

“I can embroider more handkerchiefs. I can earn over ten wens a day.”

“No need. You won’t have to embroider handkerchiefs anymore,” Qin Jin shook his head.

Ye Miao’s eyes widened in surprise. Seeing that he was serious, he quickly asked, “Why not?”

“It strains your eyes, neck, and shoulders. It must be exhausting and painful. From now on, we’ll make pea cakes together. It’s easier than embroidery. You just need to soak the peas and cook them. No grinding, no frying—very simple.”

“Weren’t you saying before that you wanted to help me make pea cakes?”

Qin Jin explained.

Even if there was any hard labor involved, he wouldn’t let Ye Miao do it. Besides, making pea cakes truly didn’t require much effort.

“…”

Ye Miao froze, and that warm, swelling sensation in his chest from the previous night returned.

It turned out Qin Jin was forbidding him from embroidering because he cared about him.

Years ago, Ye Miao’s dad had knelt and begged his father to let him learn embroidery so he could have a skill to rely on. Now, on their first day of marriage, Qin Jin had made it clear he no longer needed to rely on that skill to make a living.

His eyes involuntarily reddened.

Noticing his expression, Qin Jin quickly got up and approached. “Why are you crying? If you really enjoy embroidering, you can still do it, but just not too much. Over time, it’ll be bad for your health.”

“No,” Ye Miao sniffled and smiled. “I don’t like embroidery.”

He was grateful to embroidery for helping him escape hardship, but gratitude and genuine fondness were not the same.

Staring intently at tiny embroidery hoops for extended periods was tiring for the eyes, shoulders, and back.

Even if someone started out enjoying it, they’d quickly grow weary of it.

“If you don’t like it, then don’t embroider,” Qin Jin said, glancing at Ye Miao’s teary eyes, looking pitiful.

After some hesitation, Qin Jin reached out and pulled him into an embrace.

Why did his little husband cry so easily?

Patting Ye Miao’s back like comforting a child, Qin Jin said softly, “It doesn’t matter whether it’s embroidery, making pea cakes, or something else entirely. In the future, just do whatever you like. Don’t push yourself.”

While his abilities were limited and he couldn’t promise a life of luxury, as someone with knowledge from modern times, he had dozens of ways to make money.

As long as they worked hard, they could build a stable and prosperous life, giving Ye Miao the freedom to choose.

Ye Miao didn’t expect Qin Jin to hug him. His body stiffened for a moment, but before he could feel shy, he heard those words.

Do whatever he liked?

The moisture in his eyes quickly transformed into tears, though he raised his head slightly in an attempt to hold them back.

Meeting someone who truly cared about him was a blessing—this was something to be happy about, not something to cry over.

He tried to smile.

In this lifetime, he never imagined he’d hear such words. Heaven truly hadn’t abandoned him.

Relaxing into Qin Jin’s sturdy embrace, he hesitated briefly before lifting his arms to wrap them around Qin Jin’s waist.

He wanted to be closer to this man.

Qin Jin didn’t understand Ye Miao’s thoughts, but instinctively, he tightened his hold, securing him firmly in his arms. “After breakfast, let’s ask Mother to lend us some wens to buy more peas, okay?”

“Actually, Eldest Brother already mentioned wanting to lend me money again, but we weren’t married yet then. I couldn’t borrow without your consent. Even now, if we’re going to borrow, I have to discuss it with you first and get your approval.”

At this point, he looked a bit sheepish. “That’s what I thought at least, but back then I spent over eighty wens on peas and cane sugar without discussing it with you first. It was for the wedding feast, but I should have asked you.”

“This wasn’t right on my part.”

“Don’t worry. From now on, I’ll discuss everything with you first.”

“…Okay.”

Ye Miao’s happiness deepened.

To be so respected by him…

After some thought, he said, “I have five strings of coins. We don’t need to borrow from Mother.”

His dad could sell firewood and had a source of income.

Moreover, if he brought food over to his dad while cooking, the man likely wouldn’t mind.

Thinking this, Ye Miao glanced at Qin Jin, though from his angle, all he could see was the back of Qin Jin’s head. Nonetheless, his heart swelled with joy.

His husband not only had a handsome face but also a pleasing silhouette—even his head looked good.

Kind and soft-hearted, he surely wouldn’t mind… right?

“That’s your dowry; you should keep it for yourself,” Qin Jin refused immediately without even thinking.

That was money painstakingly earned stitch by stitch—purely from hard work.

“I won’t keep it. Use it,” Ye Miao insisted firmly.

“No way.” Qin Jin firmly refused, “We can’t use your dowry. It’s settled.”

As he spoke, he patted the person in his arms on the buttocks with a large hand.

The sensation was soft and springy, just like… last night.

…

It was a habit he’d developed from comforting someone like a child. Moments ago, he had been patting Ye Miao’s back, but somehow, this time, his hand landed on his butt.

He truly didn’t mean to do it.

Awkward.

Qin Jin didn’t say another word, and Ye Miao found the gesture both intimate and embarrassing. Flustered, he shrank into Qin Jin’s chest like a quail, burying his head against Qin Jin’s chest without moving an inch.

Finally, Qin Jin cleared his throat and let him go. “Breakfast is almost ready. Get ready to eat, and after we’re done, we’ll head to the county town.”

Time to make money.

The first priority was to make money and pay off the debt!