March 3rd was a good day.
With a gentle breeze and bright sunshine, after seeing Chen Jinhu off, Xu Huaiqian put on the blue-collared gown issued by the academy. He sat on an ox cart and set off along the Xinghua Road that Chen Liejiu had built through the entire village, heading towards the academy.
He hadn't been out all winter.
Although Changnan's winters didn't bring snow, and it wasn't cold enough to freeze people to death outdoors, the damp cold was more detestable than direct freezing cold, especially for someone as sickly as Xu Huaiqian.
Wherever he was, the wind seemed to drill into his bones. He only felt momentary warmth by the brazier. To avoid adding burden to his sickly body, he tried not to go out unless necessary.
Now, breathing fresh air outside, Xu Huaiqian found everything beautiful and novel.
He could even smile and greet the villagers spring ploughing by the roadside: "Uncles, aunties, busy working?"
His greeting was astonishing, startling the busy villagers in the fields.
"X—Xu Xiucai!!!" Someone was so scared they dropped their hoe, staring at Xu Huaiqian's clear, bright eyes in disbelief. "Xu Xiucai's eyes can see?!"
" They can see!" Seeing their big reaction, Xu Huaiqian waved sheepishly. "They've been better for a while, but the weather was too cold to go out easily. Thanks to my A-Jiu earning money to treat me."
He explained and didn't forget to thank Chen Liejiu.
Hearing this, the villagers, still amazed by Xu Huaiqian's recovered eyesight, turned their gaze onto Chen Liejiu. Seeing Chen Liejiu's post-marriage, even more audacious aura than before, they all tensed up slightly: "Then you really should thank him properly. Your husband worked hard for you."
"Look at this road under your feet. Your husband was out here building it even in the depths of winter. You must treat your husband well in the future."
The villagers might fear Chen Liejiu, but they also admired him greatly.
During the coldest days, when the ground was frozen solid, he dared to gather people to build the road, enduring the hardship daily, digging soil, roasting earth, mixing sand— never once complaining of tiredness from start to finish, tougher than any man.
" Ah, I will study hard to repay my husband." Hearing this, Xu Huaiqian also remembered the road-building period when Chen Liejiu came home exhausted every day and left before dawn. He tightened his fingers interlaced with Chen Liejiu's.
Seeing his little husband so concerned about him, Chen Liejiu smiled: " Don't listen to their nonsense. It wasn't hard work at all, and I don't need you to do anything to repay me." Having a husband as alluring as a fox spirit, what more could he want?
" But I want to repay you." Xu Huaiqian leaned against Chen Liejiu earnestly. Chen Liejiu had done so much for him—treating his illness, running around for him. His sickly body could only study; he couldn't do anything else. If he didn't strive hard to earn some official ranks for Chen Liejiu, to let him also enjoy prestige, Xu Huaiqian would feel he had failed him.
", Alright, alright. Take it easy yourself. At the academy, don't overwork." Chen Liejiu had no resistance against his little husband. When his attitude softened slightly, he didn't know where to put his hands and feet.
", I know, I know." Xu Huaiqian touched his ear; he had heard Chen Liejiu's nagging so much it felt like his ears were growing calluses.
Watching the affectionate young couple, the people in the fields busily lowered their heads, picked up the dropped hoes, and shook their heads as they watched their retreating figures.
Actually, they hadn't understood Chen Liejiu's purpose in building the road at first. What use was such a short village road, no matter how well built?
But this spring, clansmen from outside the village brought money to buy land and build houses in their village. Many were clan elders and important figures from the Chen clan. Now, any land in their village that could still be built on was being snapped up. They belatedly seemed to understand what Chen Liejiu built the road for.
Wouldn't he want to move all the Chen clan members back to Xinghua Village?
That was a stretch. Chen Liejiu's initial goal was simply because Xu Huaiqian couldn't see and found riding uncomfortable. He wanted to build a smooth and steady road for him to travel on comfortably, whether by cart or on foot.
Simply put, it was to spoil his husband.
He didn't expect that come spring, many clansmen wanting to build houses would see how well Xinghua Village was developing. Since they had to make charcoal and bricks in Xinghua Village anyway, they might as well stay there with Chen Liejiu and the others.
Advantageous proximity meant seizing opportunity first. If Chen Liejiu had any more money-making ideas later, they could curry favor immediately.
Regardless, Chen Liejiu was quite happy they were willing to move back to Xinghua Village.
After the last incident of being surrounded, Chen Liejiu also felt that going it alone wasn't good.
If Xu Huaiqian hadn't happened to say those words that day, giving him a chance to escape, he would have been doomed.
Now, with the clan filling Xinghua Village, if anything happened again, he could just shout out in the village, and people would come to help. This was much better than being far away, calling for help with no response from heaven or earth.
Chen Liejiu hadn't told Xu Huaiqian about these things, so Xu Huaiqian naturally didn't know. Sitting on the ox cart now, looking at the road ahead stretching into the distance with no end in sight, he couldn't help but be curious: "Where does this road lead to?"
" It leads to the main road to the academy."
There was a road at the foot of Qinglian Academy, but it only went to the county government. Those like them, coming from all directions to study, had to take small paths branching off.
They could take the main road too, but they'd have to go to the county town first, then from there to the academy—a much longer round trip than taking the small paths.
But the small paths were too bumpy. Xu Huaiqian's health was poor, and who knew how many years he would study at the academy? Jolting year after year wasn't good. So when building the road, Chen Liejiu had a selfish thought and also improved the road to the academy.
However, he didn't have that much money. He couldn't make it as smooth and sturdy as the village road; he only managed to compact it with cured soil.
Sure enough, once out of the village, Xu Huaiqian didn't see a coal cinder road like in the village but a dirt road that was a bit smoother than before.
Chen Liejiu's face was a bit red. After all, he was a useless husband who couldn't provide better comfort for his man.
", A-Jiu, you're amazing!" Xu Huaiqian didn't feel that way at all. Hearing that Chen Liejiu had built the road all the way to the academy, he was completely astonished. How was his husband so capable?
", Tell me quickly, how did you manage it?" He tugged on Chen Liejiu's clothes, his expressive eyes filled with admiration.
If the village road was built with the villagers' cooperation because he could make money and the Chen clan gave him face, what about this road outside the village leading to the academy?
How did he persuade the outer villagers to agree to let him build the road? Moreover, Chen Liejiu had handled these matters without telling him, without any trouble— simply miraculous.
Facing his little husband's exceptionally admiring gaze, Chen Liejiu felt complicated.
How should he explain to his little husband that he bluffed his way into getting this road?
Last time he was surrounded by people from various villages, he had boasted in front of other clan members, saying that not only would the Chen clan help him, but they would also come to beg him.
At that time, when they were driven out of Xinghua Village by the Chen clansmen, they were indeed unconvinced and didn't believe at all that Chen Liejiu had such great ability to make the whole clan strike it rich.
Later, they saw Chen Liejiu start the charcoal business, with cart after cart of charcoal shipped out from Xinghua Village. Those originally poor and idle clansmen in Xinghua Village became wealthy one by one.
They bought clothes, purchased land, built houses—it made others green with envy.
Originally, they hated this bully man Chen Liejiu to the core, wishing he would die immediately. But after seeing the benefits Chen Liejiu could bring to the clan, they started thinking: why didn't their own clan have a man as capable as Chen Liejiu who could make the whole clan rich?
So these outsiders got the idea to poach Chen Liejiu. However, Chen Liejiu had no intention of betraying his clan. They could only settle for the next best thing, hoping Chen Liejiu would also bring them along to get rich.
They truly played out to perfection the idea of "if you can't beat them, join them."
At first, Chen Liejiu didn't know how to agree. He couldn't have them make charcoal too; the county town was only so big. It could accommodate one charcoal kiln but not a second.
But at that time, he was so obsessed with road building that when these people came to him, he had a wicked idea: "If you agree to let me expand the small path from the village to the academy, I'm willing to bring you along."
Building a road was no small matter, especially one this long. Chen Liejiu thought these outsiders would probably bicker for a year or two back home.
Unexpectedly, their area was extremely poor—so poor that people seized any glimpse of hope immediately.
They went back and discussed it with their clansmen. Almost without hesitation, they agreed.
Who wouldn't agree to a deal that involved losing just a little land in exchange for the whole clan getting rich?
While building this road, they even volunteered to help, hoping the road would be finished early so Chen Liejiu could lead them to fortune.
"Just—" Facing Xu Huaiqian's eyes, Chen Liejiu didn't explain such complex matters. He just briefly explained: "Since we were going to make imitation silver charcoal, I promised to buy their trees. Transporting trees requires a road, right? So the road was built like this."
"Really?" Xu Huaiqian was a bit skeptical. Road building started in October; plans for imitation silver charcoal began in December—two months apart. Could he have predicted the future?
"Even if we weren't making imitation silver charcoal," His little husband was too clever; the slightest inconsistency could make him notice. Chen Liejiu had to make up for it: "Our Chen clan's trees wouldn't last for many years. We'd eventually have to buy from outsiders anyway. So when building the road, I told them if they were willing to build the road, I'd buy their trees in the future."