Read Novel Full Chapter 201
Chapter 201: Who Are You Sleeping With?
In winter, the cattails are dry, and since they were being used for making mats, they were immediately useful. Mrs. Chen rarely came out, and seeing the children practice made her curious. Since the open space was sunny, Shen Lie decided to leave the cattails by the edge of the practice field and go back to bring a few small stools for Sang Luo and the others to sit on while weaving the mats.
As he left, Chen Dashan, seeing them return, gave up his own practice and hurried after Shen Lie. Noticing Mrs. Chen and Sang Luo nearby, he quickened his pace and asked quietly, “How did it go? Did Zhou’s family agree?”
He saw that Mrs. Chen was beaming with a smile.
Shen Lie, recalling the whispered conversation between Sang Luo and the old lady, smiled and said, “Your grandmother says they don’t usually decide on the spot. They’ll need to visit again the day after tomorrow, but it seems promising.”
He added softly, “Congratulations.”
Chen Dashan was so happy he could hardly contain himself. He discussed with Shen Lie, “You should stay in the valley for another couple of days. I need to go into the mountains to find some things.”
In rural areas, weddings are not typically elaborate, and given the current situation, holding a feast is impractical. He wanted to prepare more for the betrothal gifts, not wanting to shortchange Zhou Ge.
Shen Lie understood Chen Dashan’s intent and said with a smile, “Go ahead. For such a good occasion, if you need help, pick a few people. The youngsters are capable now. Even your second son and my younger ones can hunt small game, though they still need an experienced hand to take them out.”
Chen Dashan had recently tested Shen Lie’s disciples and knew his assessment was accurate. He replied, “Alright, I’ll get some fresh goods. Tomorrow, I’ll take Ershan and head deeper into the mountains.”
—
During the day, Sang Luo, Mrs. Chen, and Mrs. Gan worked on weaving the cattail mats. Shen Lie took a few of the younger ones to dig up some yellow clay, which they used to plaster the outer wall of the wooden house where Shen An and Shen Jin lived. They also hung thick curtains inside the cave and the wooden house doors, adding skins and thick blankets to keep warm at night.
Since Mrs. Chen was focused on her grandson’s marriage, she decided to stay outside the village instead of returning to the valley. The Chen family’s cave was slightly larger than Shen Lie’s and had two beds, so the four of them could manage.
Because she stayed, she discovered that Shen Ning was living with Shen Lie and Sang Luo. She was astonished.
Not knowing how to ask Shen Lie and Sang Luo directly, Mrs. Chen quietly pulled Shen Ning aside the next day to ask.
Shen Ning genuinely didn’t understand these matters. She had grown up without parents and didn’t think much about it when living in the valley, where everyone lived close together. So, she saw their living arrangement as perfectly normal.
Mrs. Gan lived outside, but her cave was far from Shen Lie’s, and Shen Ning and Sang Luo practiced martial arts and woke up early every day. With a wooden house next to the Shen family’s cave, Mrs. Gan wasn’t aware that Shen An and Shen Jin were living in the wooden house.
So, apart from Mrs. Chen, no one had paid much attention to these details.
“You sleep with your sister-in-law?” Mrs. Chen asked.
Shen Ning nodded without thinking.
Mrs. Chen’s eyes widened in surprise, “Where does your brother sleep then?”
“On the daybed. We have a daybed under the bed, which we pull out at night.”
Mrs. Chen was stunned, overwhelmed by questions.
In the valley, there was no choice, but now they were outside, with houses, and Sang Luo was sleeping with Shen Ning???
She suddenly recalled the curtain hanging between the two beds in Shen Ning’s room in the Shili Village and stared at Shen Ning, asking in shock, “Doesn’t your sister-in-law always sleep with you?”
Shen Ning also sensed something was wrong, though she didn’t quite understand what. She hesitated and nodded.
Mrs. Chen slapped her thigh with an “Oh no!” This meant there had been no consummation of the marriage.
Mrs. Chen looked at Shen Ning with a puzzled expression. With no one around, she whispered, “How can you sleep with your sister-in-law? Your brother and sister-in-law are married; they should be sleeping together. How did it end up with you and your sister-in-law sleeping together?”
“Oh heavens, what a mess!”
Shen Ning was also stunned. While she didn’t fully grasp the deeper implications of Mrs. Chen’s words, she understood enough to realize that she wasn’t quite aware of the situation. She wasn’t foolish; she just hadn’t been taught or exposed to these matters growing up, so she hadn’t paid any attention.
Especially in the valley, where everyone lived in close quarters and her older brother and sister-in-law seemed to take it for granted, she hadn’t given it much thought.
Mrs. Chen’s ambiguous hint clarified things for her. “So, so, so I should move out tonight?”
There was still room in Shen An and Shen Jin’s house, and moving her brother’s daybed there would solve the problem.
“Move, move, move! Oh, you silly girl, what can I say to you?” Mrs. Chen lamented. “A whole year, and you haven’t even shared a bed with your wife.”
She was also concerned about making Sang Luo uncomfortable, and said, “Don’t tell anyone I taught you this, and don’t let your sister-in-law know I’m aware. Just say you’re grown up now and it’s not suitable to share a cave with your brother. Ask to move to the wooden house instead.”
Mrs. Chen was so exasperated she almost slapped her own thigh but ended up rubbing Shen Ning’s head affectionately instead. “Silly girl.”
—
Shen Ning had to change rooms.
Sang Luo was still puzzled. “Why change rooms all of a sudden?”
Shen Ning, unsure how to explain and thinking of Xu Wenyin’s situation, babbled, “I saw Wenyin’s setup; she said girls should avoid sleeping in the same room as their male relatives. She had separate spaces in the cave—one for herself and one for her brothers. We have space in our wooden house too. Older brother, if you move your daybed over, I’ll put up a curtain next to it, and it’ll be like having my own room.”
Speaking smoothly, she solved her own bed problem, but Shen Lie almost choked. After clearing his throat two or three times, he said, “You can move, but leave the daybed. We have enough wood; I’ll make you a new bed.”
He and Sang Luo had lived together before, but it was really hard to manage without that daybed. Just thinking about it made him feel uneasy.
Shen Ning only remembered Mrs. Chen telling her to move, and the daybed wasn’t important to her. She didn’t understand the implications. Hearing her brother say he’d make her a bed made her happy. “Okay, big brother, help me get some blankets tonight. Bring two wolf pelts. I’ll put more dry grass underneath, use one pelt to cover and one to lay on, and it’ll be warm.”
Shen Lie agreed. Sang Luo didn’t think much of it either. Shen Ning often hung out with Xu Wenqin, and Wei Lingzhen, being particular, might have taught Xu Wenqin these rules. As for the cave where she and Shen Lie stayed alone, they had been living together long before Shen Ning and the others came to the valley, so it wasn’t an issue.
Shen Lie went to borrow a saw from the Chen family, and Mrs. Chen, hearing about making a bed, was puzzled.
“Why make a bed?”
So, the daybed hidden under the bed was still for Shen Lie’s use.
But that was something she couldn’t mention.
Alright, alright, it’s better than having Shen Ning sleeping nearby.
—
In no time, on the third day, when Chen Dashan came back from the mountains with Chen Ershan, carrying two deer, Mrs. Gan brought news of the Zhou family’s agreement to the marriage.
They didn’t wait for the next day. Two days prior, when Shen Lie returned to the valley to get the wolf pelts for Shen Ning, Chen Dashan went with him and prepared the betrothal gifts. Now, with the two new deer, the four grandparents and two boys helping to carry things, they headed off with Mrs. Gan to deliver the gifts.
Two stones of grain, various beans and cereals totaling two stones, two jars of salt, six pelts, two bolts of new cloth, sixty pounds of smoked meat, and two deer.
This betrothal gift was considered extremely generous, even in the peaceful years before, let alone now, when items like salt, grain, cloth, and meat were in high demand.
The Zhou family was stunned at the sight of these gifts.
The Zhou family only had one cave and nowhere to hide. Since they were discussing marriage, there was no need to be too discreet. Chen Dashan and Zhou Ge had not seen each other for two months, but now, with everything out in the open, things were different. A single glance between them was filled with sweetness.
In the countryside, there weren’t many formalities, and in the mountains, even fewer. Zhou Ge hid in the cave, while Mrs. Chen and Zhou Laizi’s wife discussed the wedding date.
Compared to keeping her daughter at home longer, Zhou Laizi’s wife preferred her daughter to go to the Chen family sooner.
Because of trust and the immediate peace in the mountains, no one knew when strangers might come. While there were many people in the village, Zhou Laizi’s wife trusted Shen Lie and Chen Dashan’s group more, believing her daughter would be safer with the Chen family.
With one eager to marry and the other eager to be married, the wedding date was easy to set, based on the time needed for both families to prepare. They settled on November 28th.
Chen Dashan and the Zhou father and sons were on the other side, and hearing the wedding date was less than ten days away, Chen Dashan grinned from ear to ear, making Zhou Dalang and Zhou Erlang laugh.
As they discussed further, Zhou Laizi’s wife and Mrs. Chen left the small yard and whispered privately about something in the large yard where they were growing plants. Only then did the Chen family return home.
—
The Chen family was preparing to welcome a new granddaughter-in-law. The most important task was, of course, building a house. They would use the cave as the bridal chamber, and like the Shen family, they added a clean room and a firewood room outside the cave, then built a wooden house where Chen Youtian and Chen Ershan would live.
Felling trees and building the wooden house was not just for the adults; even the group of children in the valley had been trained for this. With dozens of people working together, it was done quickly. Chen Youtian made a new bed for his son and daughter-in-law, moving two old beds to the wooden house for him and Ershan to use, providing extra space for other family members who occasionally came out of the valley.
Since the Chen family was building a house, Chen Dashan stayed in the outer village every day. Shen Lie and Sang Luo began thinking about what wedding gift to prepare for Chen Dashan.
In the mountains, the only place to find something special was deeper in the forest.
“I’m thinking of catching a few live sheep. We can build a pen and keep two for ourselves, and give one or two to Dashan’s family,” said Shen Lie.
Sang Luo loved drinking goat milk. After leaving the valley, the goat milk from the valley’s nanny goat was mainly reserved for the elderly and children, leaving Sang Luo without any. Occasionally, they used a stone mill to make soy milk and tofu pudding, but nothing better.
Shen Lie had been considering this for a long time, but they hadn’t had the chance to go out until now. With Chen Dashan staying nearby, it was the perfect opportunity to go searching.
Hearing about raising sheep, Sang Luo’s eyes lit up. She looked at Shen Lie and asked, “Is it easy to find sheep now?”
Animals are quite clever. With so many people living nearby, the surrounding mountains were constantly being scoured. Apart from small creatures like pheasants and rabbits, most larger animals had retreated deeper into the forest. Chen Dashan had to go far to hunt deer.
Seeing her interest, Shen Lie’s eyes sparkled. “We’ll need to go deeper into the forest and rely on luck to find specific animals. It might take two or three days. Do you want to come with me?”
His eyes were full of anticipation, hoping she would join him.