Chapter 15 – Qingming Tomb-Sweeping

“Why?” Shen Nian asked, confused.

“Think about it. Neither of us farm, nor do we have any money-making opportunities. How are we supposed to live?”

Shen Nian placed a finger to his lips and coughed, “The money is enough.”

Uh…

Suddenly, he felt a bit of a flaunting vibe!

“No! I just told you this afternoon to be low-key.” Xia Tian continued explaining to Shen Nian, “We have money, and we know it, but we can’t let the villagers know!”

“We’re eating and drinking every day without earning any money. If others think about it, they’ll know we aren’t short on money. If bad people get interested, it’ll be troublesome.”

Shen Nian thought to himself, “But if they get interested, I’m not afraid.”

Generally, small-time thieves wouldn’t be able to do anything to him.

“Also, when your younger brother was trying to matchmake for you, he said he was worried about you and took the last thirty taels of silver from the family to help you marry.

You heard that, right?

They used up the last of the silver to help you get a wife, and now you have no money.” Xia Tian emphasized the words “no money” on purpose.

Seeing that Shen Nian seemed stunned for a moment, Xia Tian smiled faintly.

“Mu Yang…” Shen Nian murmured.

Xia Tian was taken aback. Mu Yang, is that Shen Nian’s younger brother?

Noticing that Shen Nian’s mood seemed to drop, Xia Tian gently comforted him, “Brother Shen, Mu Yang, is he your brother? Don’t be sad. Qingming is in a few days. We can buy some joss paper, make some offerings, and visit him.”

“Mm,” Shen Nian nodded lightly.

Seeing that Shen Nian had agreed, Xia Tian decided not to continue the topic.

They chatted a bit more about what she saw at the market – prices, what she bought, how much she spent, and so on. Seeing Shen Nian looking a little weary, Xia Tian went to fetch some water. After they both washed up, they went to their respective rooms to rest.

For several days, Xia Tian woke up early and went up the mountain, digging up bamboo shoots from the bamboo forest. After gathering quite a few, she spread them out to dry in the yard before she could finally relax.

She also picked up a lot of firewood, which she piled high in the southwest corner of the yard under a shed.

Whenever she felt tired from work, she drank some spring water, which instantly revitalized her. Nowadays, she felt like she had endless energy. Even some old injuries seemed to have disappeared.

The vegetables planted in the garden had started sprouting. Since it hadn’t rained for the past few days, Xia Tian had been carrying water to irrigate them.

Shen Nian’s coughing had also improved significantly. He only coughed occasionally. The serious condition from before hadn’t appeared again, and he didn’t seem as sickly anymore.

It seemed that adding a few drops of spring water to the teapot every day was working well. Xia Tian believed that over time, it would completely cure him.

Worried that Shen Nian might suspect something, Xia Tian occasionally dug up some bitter herbs to make a cold dish or used dandelion leaves to brew tea, all in the hopes of covering her tracks.

In the future, if Shen Nian ever questioned it, she could always claim it was the effect of the bitter herbs or dandelion, since traditional Chinese medicine is vast and profound, and he wouldn’t be able to verify it. Hehe!

To make the excuse more plausible, Xia Tian even dried more bitter herbs and dandelions, so that she could continue making tea for Shen Nian even after the season passed.

In the blink of an eye, Qingming Festival was approaching.

The day before Qingming, it was a market day in Qingquan Town.

Early in the morning, Xia Tian took Uncle Liu’s ox cart to the town to buy the things needed for tomb-sweeping.

During Qingming, every household typically prepares joss paper, incense, and candles to visit the tombs of their ancestors.

With the market being busy, many shops set up stalls outside their stores, making it easier for customers to choose what they needed.

Xia Tian bought incense, candles, and joss paper, and then visited the snack stalls. She picked a few items and bought a small jar of wine from a wine shop to take with her for the tomb-sweeping.

The meat she had bought during the previous market day had already been finished, so this time she bought a pound of pork and two large bones. She also bought a set of pig intestines, as the braised ones she had made last time tasted great, and Shen Nian had eaten them with relish.

The family was running low on salt, so Xia Tian bought two pounds of fine salt for 140 copper coins.

Salt was expensive. They still had some coarse salt at home, so she didn’t buy any. Coarse salt from ancient times had a lot of impurities, and eating it wasn’t good for the body.

If she needed salt for pickling vegetables, she would come back to buy some coarse salt later.

On the way back, she passed a tofu stall and bought two pounds of tofu.

She didn’t buy anything else and went back to Uncle Liu’s ox cart. There weren’t many people there yet.

Uncle Liu’s cart usually wouldn’t leave until it was full.

Seeing that it was still early, Xia Tian didn’t want to wait, so she said goodbye to Uncle Liu and walked home.

She had plenty of energy now and didn’t mind walking. Her pace wasn’t much slower than the ox cart, and she arrived home in about an hour.

When she left in the morning, Shen Nian was still asleep, so Xia Tian prepared breakfast, kept it warm in the pot, and went to the market.

When Xia Tian returned, she saw Shen Nian sitting at the door, chopping bamboo with a knife.

This was bamboo she had cut from the mountain yesterday.

Thinking that the family was short on things, she decided to cut some bamboo and weave the necessary items herself to save some money, even though Shen Nian had said they weren’t short on money.

But life, after all, required a steady flow of resources.

After greeting Shen Nian, Xia Tian went to the kitchen to prepare a simple meal. She planned to bring it to Shen Nian’s younger brother when they went to the tomb.

She didn’t have time to make her signature braised dish, so she decided to make it next time.

Xia Tian checked the pantry to see what ingredients were available, and then quickly prepared a few dishes – sauerkraut with pork belly, scrambled eggs with chili peppers, and a cold bamboo shoot salad. She also put some snacks she had bought into small plates, ending up with four plates in total.

After calling Shen Nian to eat, Xia Tian packed the prepared items into a basket, and they both headed out to visit Mu Yang’s grave.

Mu Yang’s grave was up on the mountain behind the house, and they arrived in less than fifteen minutes.

Xia Tian took the items from the basket and carefully arranged them in front of the tombstone.

Since they had arrived, Shen Nian hadn’t said a word.

Xia Tian didn’t pay him any mind, lit incense, and squatted down to burn the joss paper.

While burning the paper, she murmured, “Mu Yang, I’m Xia Tian, the woman your brother Shen Nian was supposed to marry, the one you hired a matchmaker for. Although we’ve never met, don’t worry, I’ll take good care of your brother.

Please make sure your brother wakes up soon. If you need anything over there, you can come to him in a dream.

It’s probably better if you come to me directly in a dream. Your brother doesn’t talk much, and even if you came to him, he probably wouldn’t say anything.

I don’t know what you like to eat, so I’ve just prepared some simple food. Please make do with it. I also brought some wine, and later, I’ll let your brother have a drink with you.

I didn’t have time to make braised dishes today, but next time when I visit you, I’ll bring some.

Let me tell you, the braised dishes I make are amazing. Your brother really likes them.

Don’t worry. Your brother is in good hands with me, and he’ll wake up soon. He’s already been doing better these last few days.

Don’t be frugal over there. If you need anything, just send a dream, and we’ll burn it for you.”

Listening to Xia Tian muttering for a while, Shen Nian felt his sadness dissipate.

Mu Yang used to be like this—chatting endlessly. Now it seemed he had found a like-minded soul.

Shen Nian squatted down and began burning joss paper along with Xia Tian.

Once the paper was burned, Xia Tian took the jar of wine, opened it, and offered some in tribute to the tombstone. Afterward, she drank a little herself and left the rest by the tombstone.

Xia Tian also took the food from the plates and placed some on the side of the wine jar. Only then did they clean up and head back home.