Chapter 69: That’s it

After sending Ye Xiaomei away, the house suddenly became quiet.

　　After hearing Ye Annian's explanation, Fu Zai stopped crying. He held the copper coin in his arms and sat in the courtyard to wipe away his tears, which made the hair on the back of the copper coin wet.

　　Ding Qiu was like a mature and steady big brother, quietly staying with him.

　　Ye Anyian watched Wu Xianglian take Ye Xiaomei away. He stood in the courtyard with a cold face and said nothing.

　　Jiang Zhu closed the courtyard door and came to his side: "If you are worried, we will go to Ye's house to see her early tomorrow morning. We are in the same village, just a few steps away."

　　"No need." Ye Anyian said.

　　Ye Quan is a smart person. Now that Ye Xiaomei and Wei Feng's marriage has been decided, he will not let Wu Xianglian and others compete with Ye Xiaomei in the last two days.

　　If the secret is exposed when the time comes to get married, it will not look good.

　　Ye Anqing breathed a sigh of relief and turned around to go to the main room.

　　"What are you doing in Xishi? Second sister is gone, I will help you."

　　Seeing that his expression softened, Jiang Zhu stopped mentioning the matter and said with a smile: "How about making egg noodles? I have been eating rice these days, but I haven't eaten noodles for a long time."

　　"Okay." Ye Anian agreed happily, "Then I will help you beat the eggs, and then go to the vegetable field to pick some cucumbers and make noodles."

　　The noodles are simple and ready in just half an hour.

　　The dough was rolled out with strong hands and passed through the water. It was cool and just right for the mouth. Jiang Zhu fried the fragrant egg sauce and marinated the eggs and tomatoes. Ye Anyian cut cucumber shreds to make noodles and washed some green vegetable leaves, which can be eaten directly with the sauce.

　　After the evening meal, Jiang Zhu brought out the hawthorns that Ye Xiaomei had cleaned in the afternoon and planned to make some candied haws.

　　Ye Anyian went to cut some bamboo sticks for him to thread the candied haws on.

　　To make candied haws, one needs to boil the sugar into a syrupy consistency, and then dip the cooked hawthorns into it. It was not convenient to make it in a big pot, so Jiang Zhu dug out a small pot, brought it to his medicine house, and used a small clay oven to boil the sugar.

　　Ye Annian peeled a handful of bamboo sticks, carefully boiled some water, boiled the bamboo sticks in water to sterilize them, and then strung the hawthorns one by one.

　　The hawthorn fruits that Jiang Zhu and the others picked during the day were relatively large, so he put six to eight fruits on one stick.

　　A total of ten bunches were passed around, and Ye Annian put them on a wooden tray and went to Yaolu to see how Jiangzhu's candy was boiling.

　　In the small pot on the small clay stove, the sugar has completely melted, boiling and bubbling, and the color is also slightly yellow.

　　Jiang Zhu controlled the heat and saw Ye Anyian coming over with a tray and said, "Come on, the sugar has just been cooked."

　　Ye Annian put the wooden tray on the long table at his hand. Jiang Zhu took a bunch and put it into the pot and rolled it a few times. After each hawthorn was coated with syrup, he put it in Take out the skewers and put them into a large bowl filled with sesame seeds on the other side.

　　After wrapping the sesame seeds in a bowl, Jiang Zhu handed the candied haws to Ye Anian and warned: "Be careful of burning your hands."

　　When Ye Annian took it, the stick was still hot, and he carefully put the prepared candied haws back on the other side of the wooden tray.

The freshly made candied haws cannot be eaten right away, they need to cool slightly.

　　The two of them just divided the work and cooperated, and soon all ten skewers were dipped, and the rectangular wooden tray was full.

　　The hawthorn red pills are wrapped in a layer of crystal clear sugar. After cooling, they have turned into a hard and crisp sugar shell, and the shell is also covered with a layer of fragrant white sesame seeds.

　　The two of them sat in the medicine house, waiting for the candied haws to cool and solidify.

　　After sitting for a while, Fu Zai, a little dumpling, smelled the smell.

　　"Brother, Brother Jiang, are you making candied haws?"

　　"Your little nose is quite clever." Ye Anyian called him over and said.

　　Fu Zai smiled: "I can smell the sweet smell, it smells so good."

　　Jiang Zhu picked out two bunches of candied haws that had solidified and handed them to Fu Zai: "Go ahead and try it with Ding Qiu."

"good!"

　　The little dumpling happily took the candied haws and ran away.

　　After running a few steps, he remembered that his feet were still recovering and quickly slowed down, making Ye Anqing laugh.

　　After waiting for a while, the other candied haws were ready to eat, so the two of them took a bunch to eat.

　　The candied haws are sour and sweet, especially when coated with sesame seeds, they taste fragrant.

　　But after all, it was night, so the two of them didn't eat much, and told the two children to remember to brush their teeth and rinse their mouths.

　　While Fu Zai was brushing his teeth, he still couldn't forget the candied haws. He said with great regret, "It's a pity that the second sister went home and didn't even eat it."

　　Ye Annian looked at the remaining six skewers in the tray: "Tomorrow you can bring one skewer to Brother Zhao and Brother Shitou, and then find an opportunity to bring one skewer to the second sister."

　　"Okay!" Fu Zai was happy when he heard this.

　　She patted her little chest and said, "I will definitely make my second sister eat candied haws!"

　　Ye Anyian touched his head: "Brush your teeth and go to sleep. Be careful not to get up tomorrow."

　　Unexpectedly, Fu Zai shook his head: "No, I have to move the cages for the snow dumplings and sesame balls. The second sister said that there will be dew in the morning, and the rabbit will die if he drinks the dew."

　　In the past, Ye Xiaomei helped him move with him. Now that Ye Xiaomei left, Ye Anyian followed him and moved the bamboo cage with the two rabbits in and placed it in the main room next to the bamboo woven nest of copper coins.

　　Copper Coin may have become familiar with the two little rabbits recently, and the two rabbits are no longer afraid of it. Sometimes they see it approaching and sniff it with their little noses, as if to distinguish its scent.

　　After settling the rabbit and the coins, Ding Qiu and Fu Zai had moved their bedding back to the west room. The bed was also neatly made, so no one needed to worry about it.

　　Ye Annian watched the two children get into their respective beds and lie down, helped them blow out the candles and closed the door.

　　Back in the east room, Jiang Zhu had laid out the bedding for both of them, and prepared the soup and medicine he needed to drink every day. They were placed on the Kang table. Next to the medicine bowl was a small plate of candied fruits.

　　Ye Annian sat down by the Kang, picked up the medicine bowl and drank it all in one gulp, then picked up a candied fruit and put it in his mouth to chew.

　　I don't know if it's because I drank too much medicine in both lives, but I seem to have gotten used to drinking this decoction, and I don't feel so bitter anymore.

　　Especially after changing the recipe, Ye Annian felt that the light and sweet aftertaste was not bad.

　　Jiang Zhu was tidying up the medicine box. When he saw that he had finished drinking the medicine, he took out a fat white porcelain jar from the medicine box.

　　He opened the jar, and Ye Annian caught a glimpse of the translucent milky white paste inside, which exuded a refreshing fragrance of vegetation.

　　"Stretch your hand over here," Jiang Zhu said.

Ye Anian extended a hand to him as instructed.

　　Jiang Zhu dug out a lump from the small jar and applied it on his palm. Then he used his own hands to spread it and spread it evenly over his entire hand.

　　In the past few days, Ye Annian had taken the time to make drawings of swallows, whittling and planing wood. It was inevitable that there would be scratches on his hands, and some of his finger joints were also red and swollen.

　　He had mentioned making some hand ointment to Jiang Zhu before, but since they were both busy with Ye Xiaomei's marriage these days, the matter was forgotten.

　　"The ointment has been prepared a long time ago, but we go to town frequently these days, and you don't do much wood work, so I forgot to give it to you."

　　As Jiang Zhu said this, he took his other hand and helped him apply the ointment evenly on his entire hand.

　　"Now that your second sister's marriage has been settled, I'm afraid you'll have to be busy again. Remember to apply this hand ointment often. I've made a lot of it."

　　In the ointment, he added some herbs to reduce swelling and blood stasis, treat trauma, and nourishing ingredients. They were all good things.

　　"Okay." Ye Anyian nodded in agreement.

　　Tonight both children moved back to the west room to sleep, and they were back to their old self.

　　Ye Annian looked at the soft, thin quilt spread out on the kang and the two pillows close together, feeling nervous for no reason.

　　Jiang Zhu didn't know what he was thinking, so she packed the medicine box and urged him to get on the kang and sleep.

　　Ye Annian took off his shirt and lay on the quilt wearing only his undergarments. His eyes went dark as Jiang Zhu blew out the candle.

　　The quilt behind him suddenly moved, and a fiery body came closer.

　　Ye Annian pulled the corner of his quilt, his waist sank, and Jiang Zhu stretched out his arms and hugged him, her whole body pressed tightly against him.

　　"What do you do?"

　　Ye Anyian's heart stopped for a beat, and then suddenly began to beat wildly and uncontrollably.

　　Jiang Zhu put her hands on his waist. Hearing this, he lifted up the hem of Ye Anyian's clothes with his hands, put his hand in and rubbed his lower abdomen.

　　"Let me see if you have gained weight after raising it for so long."

　　Ye Anyian put his hand on Jiang Zhu's and asked, "Am I getting fat?"

　　Jiang Zhu pinched his flat belly and smiled: "I'm a little fatter, I have to keep it up."

　　"Go to sleep." Ye Anyian patted his rebellious hand.

　　I thought Jiang Zhu would let him go, but tonight, Jiang Zhu didn't.

　　His hands slipped onto Ye Annian's trousers, and he grabbed the waistband of the trousers with unknown meaning.

　　Ye Anian's heart suddenly sank, and he grabbed him in a panic: "Don't make trouble, we have to go up the mountain tomorrow."

　　He had no experience in this kind of thing. Now that he was in this situation, he had to face up to this problem.

I would imagine that a normal couple would consummate their marriage soon after getting married, but they had been married for more than two months, and they were just chatting under the covers.

　　If you look at it from Jiang Zhu's perspective, well, it does seem a bit difficult.

　　He thought back on the days he and Jiang Zhu had spent together, and had gradually become accustomed to more intimate things. Could it be that he could try to take another step forward?

　　"You're thinking..."

　　Ye Anian finally prepared himself mentally. However, just before he spoke, Jiang Zhu had already loosened his pants and tightened his hand.

"Go to sleep."

　　The voice coming from his ears was low and hoarse, with some restraint that could not be ignored.

　　Ye Annian took a deep breath, feeling that Jiang Zhu's breath against his ear was hot, and the temperature of his hand was much higher than before.

　　He suddenly felt a little guilty. It seemed that he had always been the one being accommodated.

　　After breaking away from Jiang Zhu's hand, he turned over under the astonished gaze of the other party, and then put his arms around Jiang Zhu.

　　"Just... that, if you are really uncomfortable, it's not impossible..."

　　What a good word, but he stumbled over what he said.

　　Jiang Zhu was stunned for a moment, then smiled: "An Nian, you are really..."

　　He shook his head with a chuckle, put his hand into his clothes, and rubbed Ye Anyian's waist.

　　Feeling the shoulders of the person in his arms shaking slightly, he said warmly: "There is indeed a lot to do tomorrow, let's stop there."