WSMTATMC C29

Chapter 29

“Shopkeeper, half a jin of chives, please.”

“That’s ten wen with a discount.”

“I said half a jin.”

“Oh, sorry—it’s five wen.” Wang Ying picked up the scale, weighed half a jin of celery, and tied it up for the customer.

The customer hesitated, “I said chives.”

“Ah? I’ll weigh it for you.”

After sending the customer off, Chen Qingyun quietly asked, “Sister-in-law, what’s wrong with you today?”

“Nothing, nothing at all.”

“You seem distracted. I heard Brother had a high fever last night. Didn’t you sleep?”

Wang Ying blushed deeply, suddenly remembering last night’s scene—Chen Qingyan holding his hand, their hands intertwined…

Hiss—no one had ever done that to him before. Helping someone like that with intimate skills was quite thrilling!

For a moment, his mind turned into a wrestling ring between two little figures.

The figure representing reason clutched its waist and scolded, “Wang Ying, you’re a man of iron and steel! Must you be gay? Aren’t you ashamed? What would your maternal grandfather and grandmother think?”

The figure representing reality crossed its arms and sneered, “You’re a ge’er now without a chance to marry and have children. Being with a man is only natural. What’s shameful about that? Plus, you’ve traveled back to ancient times; even if your grandparents were alive, they wouldn’t see you. Why care what they think?”

Wang Ying gradually sided with the voice of reality. In truth, his current body was quite different from the one in his previous life.

Not only was he not repulsed, he particularly enjoyed the intimacy with Chen Qingyan, especially that kiss…

Wang Ying swallowed hard. So that’s what a kiss feels like—tingly and intoxicating, making one unable to stop.

It had snowed yesterday, and today the temperature plummeted six or seven degrees. The streets had noticeably fewer pedestrians.

In the morning, workers from the Welcome Inn and Cui Xiang House came one after another to pick vegetables. After they left, the goods in the shop had been halved. Tonight, Wang Ying planned to go to the experimental field to pick more.

At noon, Chen Qingyan brought a food box to deliver lunch again.

The two averted their eyes awkwardly when they met. Chen Qingyun took the food box from her brother’s hand. “Why didn’t you let Third Brother deliver food? Brother had a high fever last night; don’t catch a chill.”

“I’m fine.”

“Sister-in-law, eat quickly.”

“Not hungry. You two eat first.”

Chen Qingyan glanced slyly at Wang Ying, who was busily pretending to be occupied, and cleared his throat. “Let’s eat together before the food gets cold.”

Wang Ying had no choice; he put down the account ledger, washed his hands, and sat down to eat.

The table was small, and sitting so close, their bodies inevitably touched.

One leaned in deliberately; the other did not refuse. The meal was eaten with restless hearts and distracted minds.

After dinner, Chen Qingyan showed no sign of leaving and instead urged his sister to go home. “It’s cold today. You should go back early.”

“I’m not cold—dressed warmly.”

“When you go, watch how Mother looks; she doesn’t seem well. Check on her.”

Upon hearing this, Chen Qingyun immediately stood. “All right, then I’ll head back. Brother, stay here and keep an eye on Sister-in-law; he doesn’t seem well today.”

“Mm, go quickly.”

Chen Qingyun took the finished food box and left. With her gone, only the two of them remained in the shop. Wang Ying felt increasingly uneasy, his chest pounding painfully as if someone were hammering at it.

“Mother sick?”

“No, she didn’t rest well last night.”

“Why did you send Qingyun away?”

Chen Qingyan rubbed his nose and said quietly, “I want to spend some time with you.”

Wang Ying turned his head and suppressed a smile. “Then stay.”

Each took a book and sat around the fire, the room filled with quiet except the crackling of burning wood.

After a while, Wang Ying could no longer concentrate and glanced sideways at the other, noticing his somewhat pale face. “If you aren’t feeling well, you don’t have to deliver meals anymore. There are eateries nearby—it’s enough to eat a bite outside.”

“It’s fine.”

Silence fell again. Unable to focus, Wang Ying cleared his throat. “Last night… it all happened so suddenly. I just wanted to help you; don’t overthink it.”

“Then the kiss you gave me… was that also to help?”

Wang Ying’s face turned crimson immediately. “That was an accident!”

Chen Qingyan chuckled softly but said nothing.

Wang Ying couldn’t help kicking him once with his foot.

Chen Qingyan didn’t dodge, his eyes sparkling as he looked at him.

Clearly, Chen Qingyan had had a taste of the sweetness.

Seeing his expression made Wang Ying feel mischievous. “Get over here.”

“Daytime… public displays aren’t proper…”

“What are you talking about! Look at the cut on your lip.”

Chen Qingyan obediently moved his stool closer. The wound was from Wang Ying’s bite. Honestly, he hadn’t paid attention before, but now in daylight, it was quite obvious.

Wang Ying lightly stroked his lip with his thumb. “Does it hurt?”

Chen Qingyan shook his head, breathing out softly.

“Today, there aren’t many customers. Let’s close the shop early and go home.”

“Okay.”

They put out the fire and locked the main door, walking home one after the other.

When they arrived, the stove had no cooked food. The two first went to the main room to check on Madam Li.

She must have been frightened by last night, as her complexion hadn’t improved throughout the day. Seeing the two, she weakly greeted them. “Welcome back.”

“Mother, have a seat and rest.”

“How’s Yan’er?”

“He’s much better; no need to worry.”

“Good. This morning your Fourth Uncle sent a letter. He said he isn’t returning home for New Year this year and asked us to help with the ancestral rites.”

Chen Qingyan picked up the letter and glanced over it. “It’s hard traveling in this cold. And Fourth Uncle is up for promotion this year, so it makes sense.”

Besides these matters, the letter mentioned Chen Qingyan, asking about his recent health and studying. It also noted a vacancy at the Laizhou Prefecture office for a ninth-grade clerk, wondering if he wanted to try.

Chen Qingyan hesitated before saying, “I’d rather not trouble Fourth Uncle. The school has taken in so many kids, it would look bad to just leave.”

Madam Li thought the same. Her son’s health had just improved; she wasn’t at ease about him traveling far.

After a while, they prepared to return to the backyard. Madam Li called Chen Qingyan to stay behind.

“What is it, Mother?”

Madam Li said, “I know this marriage isn’t your wish. Are you reluctant because of Ying’er’s status?”

“No.”

“Then why don’t you want to consummate the marriage?”

Chen Qingyan hesitated. He couldn’t say Wang Ying didn’t want to consummate and take all the blame himself. “It’s… my health. I don’t want to hold him back.”

“Didn’t the doctor say you were fine last time?”

“As for intimacy… it’s not going well.”

Hearing this, Madam Li gave up completely. Now she no longer dared to hope the eldest son could continue the family line. As long as he could live, that was enough.

After leaving Madam Li’s room, Chen Qingyan went to the kitchen to get the food and returned to the backyard.

After dinner, Wang Ying went as usual to the experimental field to pick vegetables. He was startled by a notification upon entering.

“Congratulations, your experimental field has leveled up to Stage Two.”

What? How did it suddenly level up?!

The last time he checked, the experience bar was far from full. The wheat in the field had only just sprouted, and the fruit trees had only grown a few leaves; how could it level up?

Wang Ying thought about it but found no reason. He decided to check the new features on the electronic screen.

[Experimental Field 03]

Level: 02

New functionality: Area Temperature Regulation.

Area regulation means the experimental field can be divided into several zones, and each zone can have its temperature adjusted independently. This prevents one area’s temperature from affecting the plant growth speed in another.

Wang Ying couldn’t help but exclaim mentally. This was amazing!

He tried circling a small corner on the screen and adjusted the temperature there to minus ten degrees Celsius. The grass on the ground quickly developed a visible layer of white frost!

Isn’t this just a natural refrigerator?!

From now on, storing vegetables and grains became much easier!

The only downside was the limited area of the experimental field. Increasing its size would be even better.

He scrolled down further on the screen.

The number of people allowed to enter the experimental field increased to two. (Note: entry by invitation required, and participants must be near the host.)

Wang Ying scratched his chin thoughtfully. Could this mean he could bring someone else into the field now?

If so, great! When he couldn’t sleep at night, he could bring Chen Qingyan into the field to farm. He wouldn’t be the only one tired anymore.

The condition for this upgrade puzzled him. Previously, experience came from plants growing to maturity. Now it seemed his guess might have been wrong.

The final reward was a 1.5 times increase in the field’s yield. This was the most obvious bonus. Although only a 0.5 increase numerically, the vegetables visibly increased a lot.

Take cucumbers, for example. Normally, a single vine yields 4-6 cucumbers. Now, each vine bore at least ten, and the nearby tomatoes were heavily laden, bending the branches.

There were so many vegetables it became a burden. The shop could only sell a limited quantity daily; picking too many meant they’d spoil.

It was possible to harvest and refrigerate nearby for preservation, but stored vegetables never were the same as freshly picked. If left unharvested, they’d rot in the field, which was even more distressing to see.

Not a good situation. He would plant fewer vegetables after this harvest and grow more grain crops that could be stored longer, like wheat and millet.

By the time he left the experimental field, it was nearly the hour of the hai (亥) — around 9 to 11 p.m. Chen Qingyan hadn’t slept and was leaning on the bed reading from Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji).

Seeing Wang Ying return, he quickly put down his book and helped put away the harvested vegetables.

After tidying up, they lay down on the bed together, their hearts beating quickly.

Wang Ying said, “Next time, don’t wait for me. This small task you can do yourself. Go rest early.”

“I want to wait for you to sleep together.”

…

“Brother… Can I kiss you?”

Hearing that, Wang Ying couldn’t hold back, pulling the blanket tightly. “You just recovered from a serious illness; don’t overindulge…”

“Just a kiss—no more.”

“Fine—”

Before the words were finished, Chen Qingyan kissed him. At first, the kiss was gentle, lips barely brushing tenderly, warm and soft, without lust—only intimacy.

Wang Ying actively took his lower lip into his mouth and licked the cut from yesterday with his tongue.

“Ah!” Chen Qingyan gasped in a cool breath, reaching out to press Wang Ying’s neck and deepen the kiss.

Tongues entwined like playing a game: one pulling away, the other chasing, until caught and then indulging in sucking and licking.

The saliva that couldn’t be swallowed dribbled down the corners of their mouths. Wang Ying was so delighted he nearly suffocated, all thoughts of being a straight ge’er abandoned; his eyes saw only this kiss.

So be it—he had a tough previous life, struggling through a whole lifetime. It was hard enough just to be alive—might as well follow his true feelings, his hands climbing to Chen Qingyan’s shoulders, returning the kiss wholeheartedly.

No abstinence. The two couldn’t resist and did it again. Chen Qingyan bit the pregnancy mole on Wang Ying’s neck; his hands were fast and hard. When released, Wang Ying nearly cried out.