18 This is Shanxiu Village (Bug Fixing)

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When Ye Xi arrived at Lin Jiangshan’s home, Lin was crouching before the stove, feeding the fire. No one could tell what food was simmering beneath the covered pot, but the aroma was nothing like the fragrance of rice that rose whenever Ye Xi cooked.

“What are you making?” Ye Xi asked with a smile from the doorway.

Lin Jiangshan tossed two more slender sticks into the stove and rose to his feet. “I thought I’d steam some rice.”

Ye Xi went to the pot and lifted the lid. A cloud of white steam rushed into his face. The rice was not yet cooked, so he picked up the bamboo chopsticks beside the stove and prodded it.

“There isn’t enough water. It’ll come out undercooked, and the bottom of the pot will probably burn.”

Hearing this, Lin Jiangshan took a ladleful of water from the jar and was about to pour it in.

“Wait.” Ye Xi stopped him and rolled his eyes helplessly. “If you add that whole ladle, you’ll end up with porridge. Just half.”

Lin Jiangshan nodded and poured in only half a ladle. He could learn almost anything, yet somehow he had never managed to master the simple task of cooking rice. He was always only halfway competent at it.

Ye Xi did not dare leave him to steam the rice unsupervised. He told Lin to wait nearby, rolled up his sleeves, tied a coarse-cloth apron around his waist, and busied himself at the stove.

Smoke curled lazily upward, drifting through the chimney and out of the house. Soon the rice began to swell, and Lin Jiangshan caught the fragrant scent of it from where he stood.

Ye Xi ladled out a bowl of thick, milky rice broth. Earlier, he had stuck the flatbreads he brought with him against the underside of the pot lid, and they were warm by now.

“Have this first, so you can fill your stomach.”

One bowl of rice broth and one corn flatbread.

Lin Jiangshan did not stand on ceremony. He sat at the table and began eating, taking a mouthful of broth for every three bites of bread.

By the stove, Ye Xi sorted through the greens. Watching the man eat with such relish, he felt a warmth rise in his heart. Two people under one roof, three meals a day—was this not the ordinary life of a farming household?

Then he suddenly remembered what his younger brother had said on the way there.

Was it really true that no one was willing to marry him?

Ye Xi stared blankly at the green vegetables in the bamboo basket, his brow furrowed as his thoughts wandered.

When Lin Jiangshan noticed that he had gone still, he lifted his eyes toward him and called, “Xi?”

Ye Xi came back to himself. Courage welled up from his heart, and one thought filled his mind. He pressed his lips together, slowly raised his lashes, and looked calmly at Lin Jiangshan.

“Would you marry me?”

Now that he knew what his face looked like, there was nothing left for him to fear.

White steam drifted through the kitchen. Firewood burst in the stove with faint crackling sounds.

Lin Jiangshan took a bite of bread and answered without hesitation, brief and decisive.

“I will.”

His readiness left Ye Xi momentarily stunned.

Lin Jiangshan looked up at him, swallowed the bread in his mouth, and asked in return, “You don’t want to marry me?”

Ye Xi hurriedly shook his head. “It’s just that I didn’t expect you not to mind my face…”

Lin Jiangshan drained the rice broth from his bowl and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“I’m marrying you, not your face. As long as you’re willing to live a good life with me, that’s enough.”

He smiled. “You’re gentle, capable of managing a household, and a good person. Life with you can’t go wrong. If anything, I’m the one taking advantage of you.”

His words made Ye Xi’s face flush. He had been the one to bring it up, so why was he the one feeling embarrassed now?

“Then I’ll go home and tell my parents.”

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Lin Jiangshan nodded. “I’ll find a matchmaker and come to ask for your hand as soon as I can. I don’t know the customs here or what kind of betrothal gifts are expected, so I’ll ask the matchmaker to prepare a customary set for an ordinary household. I’m afraid I couldn’t afford much more.”

Ye Xi had not expected him to give the matter such serious thought. Blushing, he reminded him, “My family doesn’t have so many rules. Don’t prepare too much.”

“All right.”

On the way home, Ye Xi still felt as though he were walking through mist. He had actually married himself off just like that—and what was more, he, a young man, had been the one to propose to a man. Even across ten villages in every direction, it would be hard to find anyone else as bold as he was.

That evening, when Ye Xi’s father and the others returned from the fields, Ye Xi sat holding his bowl and watched a moth circle endlessly around the oil lamp. He was trying to think of how to tell his family.

Ye Shan’s cheeks were stuffed full as he reached for another dish.

Ye Xi drew a breath, set down his bowl and chopsticks, and said slowly, “Father, Mother, Eldest Brother, I’m engaged.”

The chopsticks in Ye Shan’s hand dropped with a clatter. Ye Xi’s father and Liu Xiufeng both turned to stare at him.

The little courtyard fell utterly silent.

After a long while, Liu Xiufeng asked cautiously, “Xi, did you encounter something unclean when you went out today and fall into some kind of delirium? You’ve forgotten that your engagement to the Cao family was already broken off.”

Ye Shan picked up his chopsticks. “Mother, could it be that Xi has been upset after hearing everyone in the village talk about the Lin and Cao families these past few days?”

Ye Xi’s father nodded. “We may have to find a physician tomorrow and have him prescribe something.”

“We ought to find a Taoist priest.”

“If you ask me, Xi should stay home for a while, so he doesn’t run into anyone from the Lin household and upset himself.”

The three of them spoke over one another. Ye Xi opened his mouth several times, but he had no idea what to say.

At last, he shouted, “Lin Jiangshan!”

Only then did Ye Xi’s father, Liu Xiufeng, and Ye Shan fall silent and turn toward him in unison.

Ye Xi pressed his lips together. “We both feel that we’re well suited to live together, and that we could make a good life as a couple. So we decided to marry.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Shan was the first to rejoice. He slapped the table and said, “That’s wonderful! Brother Lin will be our brother-in-law from now on. He’ll be family!”

Liu Xiufeng was delighted as well. “Just a few days ago we were teasing you about this, and you wore such a long face. How did you suddenly decide everything today?”

Ye Xi lowered his eyes, somewhat bashful. “I was worried he would despise me because of my burned face. But since he doesn’t mind, I’m willing to live with him.”

Ye Xi’s father nodded and said solemnly, “This is a good thing. Though Lin Jiangshan is an outsider, he’s hardworking, capable, and kindhearted. He’s a fine man to marry. Your father won’t stand in the way.”

Liu Xiufeng smiled. “I’m quite pleased with this son-in-law. As long as he treats you well, our two families aren’t far apart. We can help one another in the years to come.”

His family’s open-mindedness brought heat to Ye Xi’s eyes.

“Thank you, Father and Mother.”

* * *

Lin Jiangshan moved just as quickly and decisively. Two days later, he had found a matchmaker. He went to town and bought two jars of good wine and two packets of pastries from a shop. He also bought two bolts of cotton cloth from a textile store. Since there were no chickens at home, he substituted two wild pheasants from the mountains. The two large geese came from the market, plump and imposing.

When he walked through Shanshow Village carrying the betrothal gifts with the matchmaker, many households began whispering behind their doors. Most were envious.

Everyone knew that when a young man in the village was married, the betrothal gifts were usually modest: a pair of chickens or ducks and one bolt of cloth were generally enough. It was rare for an outsider to prepare such a generous offering.

When he reached the center of the village, Second Aunt Liu, who loved nothing more than gossip, came up to speak with him.

“Lin, where are you taking all those fine gifts?”

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“To the Ye family,” Lin Jiangshan replied.

“The Ye family in Ye Shan’s household?”

Lin Jiangshan gave a quiet affirmative.

Second Aunt Liu moved closer and lowered her voice conspiratorially. “You’re going to ask for their Xi’s hand?”

Lin Jiangshan smiled. “Yes.”

“Oh, dear. You only arrived in Shanshow Village not long ago, so perhaps you don’t know that the boy’s face was badly burned. It still hasn’t healed, and it’ll leave scars. The Cao family from the neighboring village had been engaged to him, but they hurriedly broke off the match. Why are you still rushing to offer yourself to him?”

Lin Jiangshan’s brows drew together slightly. He answered frankly, “I know.”

Second Aunt Liu looked even more astonished. This man actually liked someone disfigured?

“You know, and you still want to ask for his hand?”

Lin Jiangshan swept his gaze over the surrounding villagers and spoke in a deep voice.

“His face may be injured, but he is gentle, virtuous, and good at managing a household. None of that can be changed. A man should marry a virtuous spouse. It is my good fortune that he is willing to marry me. What could I possibly object to? I’m only afraid that if I go too late, I’ll miss my chance. That’s why I hurried here with the matchmaker.”

He made it sound as though he were racing to marry a celestial beauty, preserving the Ye family’s dignity to the fullest.

The villagers could not help laughing when they heard him. This man truly was impatient.

Second Aunt Liu smiled awkwardly. “Then hurry along. I’ll be waiting for the wedding feast.”

Only then did Lin Jiangshan continue toward the Ye household with the matchmaker and betrothal gifts.

Once he had gone, the villagers all began saying how fortunate Ye Xi was. Before his face had been burned, the Cao family from the neighboring village had wanted him. Now that his face was scarred so badly, a man had still come eagerly to their door with lavish gifts to ask for his hand.

Knowing that Lin Jiangshan would be visiting that day, the Ye family had risen early to tidy the house. Even the fallen leaves in the courtyard had been swept spotless.

After getting up that morning, Ye Xi busied himself back and forth without pause. He fed the livestock, swept the main room, and tended the entire vegetable garden. Yet the visitor still had not appeared.

He was growing anxious, working himself into a restless whirl and unable to settle down. He had been formally engaged once before, but he had never felt as unsettled as he did this time.

Liu Xiufeng secretly watched her young son from the corner of her eye, covering her mouth to hide her laughter. He was clearly waiting for his new husband to arrive, just like a child who had only just begun to understand the stirrings of spring. It was truly amusing.

She had even put on a new outfit sewn the previous year. Standing by the gate, she coughed twice before calling to Ye Xi, “Lin will be here soon. You should rest and stay inside. Your father and I have some things to discuss with him later.”

Only then did Ye Xi wash his hands and stop working, though he still looked uneasy before going indoors.

Ye Shan stood at the doorway teasing him. “Are you worried we’ll make things difficult for your future husband? Or are you afraid Father and Mother won’t let you go? Your brother is certainly going to give him a hard time and make sure he can’t marry my little brother too easily.”

Though he was joking, Ye Xi was not pleased. He glared at his elder brother before slipping back into the house.

Ye Shan laughed. “You’re not even married yet, and already you’re taking his side.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the matchmaker’s voice came from outside.

“Is Master Ye at home?”