Chapter 23 Can you also be my best friend...?

Chapter 23 Can you also be my best friend...?

Du Li pretended not to hear and walked away while carrying the child.

Meng Qing scoffed.

"Go back, go back, don't bother me." Meng's mother shooed him away, instructing him, "Cook a pot of porridge tonight, cook a lot, so we can eat the leftovers tomorrow morning. As for vegetables, buy whatever you think is best, and if you have time, slaughter a chicken and stew it. Son-in-law, aren't you coming home today?"

"No, he'll leave after the Dragon Boat Festival," Meng Qing replied.

Then Meng's mother remembered that tomorrow was the Dragon Boat Festival. She had been so busy that she hadn't prepared anything, and it seemed that she could only buy zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) to eat tomorrow.

"Then we'll slaughter the chicken and stew it tomorrow," she said.

Meng Qing replied that she understood, then turned and walked out. As she walked through the shop, she heard Du Li seemingly talking to someone.

"Is this your child? A daughter or a son?" Miss Yu asked.

“It’s a kid,” Du Li replied.

“She doesn’t look like you…” As she finished speaking, Miss Yu Er saw the woman coming out of the paper horse shop. After looking at the child, she immediately recognized the woman as Du Li’s wife and the eldest daughter of the Meng family’s paper horse shop. The woman had a gentle and kind appearance, with a round face and smiling eyes, but her crescent-shaped eyes gleamed with a shrewdness that didn’t match her appearance, like a pair of fox eyes on a rabbit’s face.

"Miss Yu, please accept my condolences." Meng Qing was the first to greet her.

Miss Yu asked in surprise, "You know me?"

Meng Qing walked up to Du Li and said with a smile, "I saw you when I went to the rice shop to buy rice."

Miss Yu understood. Daughters of merchants are less disciplined. She had played in the rice shop since childhood and often helped out in her family's rice shop after she grew up. It was normal for Meng Qing to have seen her before.

“I’ve seen you before. I caught a glimpse of you from afar on the bridge on the day you two got married,” said Miss Yu Er with great interest.

Meng Qing glanced at Du Li, wondering what was going on. The rice shop was in Lumen, which was not close to Wumen. It was impossible for Miss Yu to have just happened to pass by.

“I’m very curious about you. Your dowry is much less than mine, yet you married into the Du family so smoothly. I’m curious about what kind of person you are,” said Miss Yu Er frankly.

"Did you get the answer?" Meng Qing asked.

Miss Yu shook her head, then looked at Du Li and asked, "Can you answer my question?"

"Miss Yu, are you married? What's past is past. We were just not meant to be. Why bring up old matters again?" Du Li was in a dilemma and very unwilling.

Miss Yu smiled and said slowly, "Don't misunderstand. Although I'm not married yet, I don't have any lingering feelings for you. I'm just curious, given your family's circumstances, shouldn't you choose a daughter-in-law with a large dowry?"

She wondered from the bottom of her heart: "Or did I do something wrong that made you so disgusted with me that you did such a rude thing to humiliate me?"

Oh? Meng Qing is getting excited; there's a story behind this.

"Second Miss Yu, what makes you say that?" she asked.

“Two years ago, our marriage was almost finalized. We even exchanged birth dates and horoscopes, and all that was left was to match our horoscopes and set a wedding date. But then he went to work as a laborer at a rice shop to earn money. And it wasn’t even for our Yu’s Rice Shop; he was working as a porter at our rival Li’s Rice Shop.” Miss Yu still gets angry when she thinks about it now.

“My fiancé is working as a lowly porter for my mortal enemy. Isn’t that a slap in my father’s face? My father immediately called off the marriage. Once the marriage was called off, he stopped working as a porter. Don’t you think he’s deliberately trying to disgust people?” Miss Yu glared angrily at Du Li and said, “If you’re not happy with this marriage, just say so. It’s not like I’m determined to marry you.”

Du Li's expression remained unchanged, and he did not argue. He readily apologized, "I'm sorry, it's my own problem, not yours."

Miss Yu lowered her brows, glanced at him with disgust, and pressed, "Your question? What question?"

“There’s no need to go into that anymore. The engagement has already been called off, and I went to apologize in person.” Du Li didn’t want to talk about it. He looked at Meng Qing and said, “Let’s go.”

Meng Qing ignored her and asked, "Second Miss Yu, has your marriage been affected by Du Li's previous actions?"

Miss Yu glanced at Du Li, then at Meng Qing. Du Li looked unfazed, while Meng Qing looked serious, as if she would make some kind of compensation if Miss Yu nodded. Her anger subsided somewhat, and she said truthfully, "No, my marriage was arranged last year, but my fiancé will only be out of mourning this October, so the wedding will be at the end of the year."

Meng Qingsong breathed a sigh of relief. She smiled and pointed to the paper horse shop behind her, saying, "You don't need to dwell on the past anymore. You escaped a disaster by not marrying into the Du family. I lived at my parents' house for ten months after entering the Du family a year ago. There's no need to elaborate on what happened; I think you can understand."

Miss Yu disagreed, saying, "Your brother-in-law has recently become quite famous. His essay on policy has made him famous throughout half of Suzhou. Even Master Chen has praised him highly. Your Meng family's paper horse shop has also benefited from this. How could this be a calamity?"

After saying that, she looked Meng Qing up and down with a puzzled expression, and asked with a hint of scrutiny, "What did the Du family do to you? You want to move back to your parents' house. With such a promising younger brother-in-law, what else could you possibly complain about? Or is it simply that you're not used to living in the countryside?"

Upon hearing this, Meng Qing lost all interest in anything else.

"Let's go, it's too sunny, Wangzhou is suffering from the heat," Du Li urged.

"Miss Yu, we'll head back now." Meng Qing pretended not to hear her question and said goodbye, "Did you come here to buy funerary objects? My parents are at the paper horse shop. If you have any requests, just tell them."

Meng Qing and Du Li left with the child, while the second young lady of the Yu family watched for a long time. The Chen family's funeral was a grand affair; all the prominent figures in Wu County came to pay their respects, and the common people enjoyed the spectacle for several days. Besides the guests, the most talked-about aspect was the eye-catching paper offerings; the Meng family's paper horse shop became famous overnight. She overheard her father saying that the shop's fame was due to Du Min, who had written a new policy essay specifically to promote the Meng family's paper horse shop.

These past few days, Miss Yu had heard her family members express their regret many times. She was already feeling down, but before her worries could dissipate, her grandmother passed away. To save face, her uncles and aunts all spent money to commission the most fashionable funerary objects. This made her feel like she had a fishbone stuck in her throat. Du Li had deliberately ruined the marriage between the Du and Yu families; he clearly looked down on her Yu family. Now, the Yu family's relatives had to bite the bullet and patronize his in-laws' business. She couldn't swallow this resentment. She endured it again and again, but finally couldn't help coming over to ask for an explanation.

She still couldn't get a clear answer, and could only blame Du Li for being a coward with short-sighted views and valuing beauty.

Only after leaving the antique shop did Meng Qing finally escape the gaze that had been etched into her back. She glared at Du Li and said irritably, "What kind of thing did you do? It's only thanks to the magnanimity of Master Yu that you're not being held accountable. If it were me, and you dared to do something so despicable as to break off the engagement, I would hold a grudge against you for eight hundred years and would want to find someone to beat you up every time I think about it."

"I had no choice. The Yu family was willing to offer a dowry of three hundred strings of cash, so my parents would never take the initiative to break off the engagement. I could only try to influence the Yu family. But the Yu family was also very satisfied with this marriage. I went to their house twice to express my dissatisfaction, but the Yu family didn't take it seriously, just like my parents, ignoring me. Seeing that the marriage was about to be finalized, I had no choice but to resort to desperate measures." Du Li was also wronged. The Yu family was focused on Du Min's future and was very willing to agree to this marriage. Not only was the dowry generous, but they even promised to sponsor Du Min's trip to the capital for the imperial examination. When he heard this, he was immediately alarmed. He was already being drained dry by his family, and now there was another willing blood bag coming along. He was determined to ruin this marriage.

“I didn’t get any good out of this marriage. My father beat me twice and didn’t feed me for three days. I was starving and I had to go to the Yu family in the city to apologize,” Du Li said.

Meng Qing glanced at him twice, and then immediately changed her attitude: "How pitiful."

“It’s worth it, I’m not pitiful anymore,” Du Li said ingratiatingly.

Meng Qing curled her lips into a smile and proudly tiptoed. When she got home, she gave him a hundred coins and asked him to go to the fish market to buy a few perch and a pound of water spinach.

"I'll make you a sea bass and purse soup tonight," she said sweetly.

Du Li held the hundred-coin in his hand and twirled it. He subconsciously thought that this dish was too expensive and that he should just buy two silver carp instead.

"Go ahead, don't spoil the fun." Meng Qing saw what he meant and reminded him, "You're worth it here."

Du Li was startled, and even after arriving at the fish market, he was still pondering those words.

Wumen Fish Market is the only fish market in Wu County. The fish alley is about four miles long. As long as it is daylight, fishermen carry fish and shrimp to the fish market and resell them to fishmongers.

"Young man, what kind of fish do you want to buy? Come and take a look, I have all kinds of fish here." At the entrance of the alley, a lean fishmonger greeted him warmly.

Du Li walked over and saw that the fishmonger had three water carts. One cart was filled with silver carp, grass carp, black carp, crucian carp, and common carp. Another cart was filled with mandarin fish, mandarin fish, and yellowtail carp. The last cart contained fish that were not very active.

"No sea bass?" Du Li asked.

"I'm out of sea bass. Would you like to buy something else? The mandarin fish is also tender, and it's freshly caught," the fishmonger said.

Du Li scooped up a crucian carp and asked, "Was this caught from Taihu Lake?"

"There's no difference. Suzhou's water network connects to Taihu Lake, and all the rivers and lakes contain water from Taihu Lake, so the fish are all Taihu Lake fish." Seeing another customer arrive, the fishmonger urged, "Do you want to buy some?"

"I'll go check if there are any more bass." Du Li put down the net and left. He thought to himself, "I've diverted water into the rice paddies, so can the fish raised in the rice paddies really be called Taihu fish?"

Further in, Du Li noticed that the fishmongers sold fewer varieties of fish, while the stalls at the alley entrance were the largest and had the widest variety. After walking around for a while, he discovered something else: out of hundreds of stalls in the fish market, only two or three sold eels and loaches. Perhaps he could raise eels and loaches in his rice paddies?

"Young man, haven't bought any sea bass yet? Hurry up, come to me, I just received a batch of fish, there's a bucket of sea bass, come and pick one." The lean fishmonger at the alley entrance spotted a familiar figure in the crowd and hurriedly called out.

The sea bass died as soon as they were taken out of the water. With the hot weather, the dead fish rotted quickly, so the price was cheaper than a month ago, but still 23 coins per fish. Du Li picked out four large sea bass from the fish bucket, then went to buy a pound of water spinach before heading home.

Meng Qing was splitting bamboo strips under the eaves. Behind her, Wang Zhou was lying in a shallow bamboo basket, kicking his legs. Whether he was bold or used to it, the crisp sound of the bamboo splitting didn't affect him much. He was just playing by himself.

"I'm back. I bought four sea bass," Du Li said, striding in.

"First, scrape off the fish scales, then steam them until cooked, and let them cool before I cook them," Meng Qing said.

Du Li responded and walked towards the backyard. When Wang Zhou saw him, he made two "ah ah" sounds.

"Oh? You're awake? Play by yourself, Dad will go clean the fish," Du Li said cheerfully.

He quickly cleaned the fish, and while steaming it, he washed the dirty bowls and chopsticks that were soaking in the basin. After the sea bass was cooked, he put it in the food cupboard, and then picked up a bucket to fetch water from the well in the neighborhood.

After six round trips, filling both water vats, Du Li covered the vats, then swept the yard, tidied the backyard, and then went to tidy the front yard. He led the donkey out and tied it to a tree outside the hamlet, grabbed the chickens and put them in the coop, not only sweeping the donkey shed and chicken coop clean but also splashing water on them twice.

Meng Qing glanced at him every now and then. He was indeed a good worker, quick and efficient, observant, and neither afraid of the heat nor the dirt.

"How do you dispose of donkey and chicken manure?" Du Li asked, pointing to two baskets of manure.

“Pour it into the latrine outside the workshop. A night soil collector comes to collect it every day.” Seeing that he was sweating profusely, Meng Qing told him to stand in the shade.

Du Li looked at her and asked, "Do the night soil collectors pay you for collecting the night soil?"

Meng Qing shook her head. She remembered that her husband's family used a lot of manure because of their large fields, and said, "If our family's fields ever need manure, you can hire two boats to fetch it."

Du Li was overjoyed, even happier than when he ate the perch and water spinach soup. "I can pick it up? Won't the manure carriers have any objections?"

Meng Qing thought that made sense. It seemed that the manure carriers had given gifts to the head of Jiayufang in order to get manure from the manure farm. Du Li coming directly to collect manure was infringing on their interests.

“You can buy it. Two boatloads of manure should cost around 10 or 20 coins,” Meng Qing said. She also gave him a suggestion: “Every evening, the unsold dead and rotten fish at the fish market are bought up to be used as fertilizer for flowers and trees. In the summer, there are many dead fish, and since these people can’t buy them all, most of the remaining fish are dumped by the fishmongers. You can collect a few boatloads and bury them under the tree roots to fertilize the soil. However, I don’t know if all trees are fertile by eating manure; you’ll have to try it yourself.”

This was the first time Du Li had heard of burying fish under tree roots in fertile soil. He pondered, "Wouldn't that be too fertile? Too much fertile soil would burn the roots. Should we compost it? No, dead fish are too smelly, and besides, dead fish breed maggots, which eat away the flesh, leaving only fish bones."

"So you should bury it under the tree. The tree roots are thick and strong, so you won't be afraid of burning the roots." Meng Qing couldn't stand his maggot-like talk, so she suppressed her disgust and said, "You can dig a deep pit a little away from the tree roots and bury the dead fish. After a rain, the nutrients will seep through."

Du Li glanced at her.

Meng Qing glared at him and said, "Speak up if you have any objections."

“I think you’re wrong. Even the thickest tree is susceptible to root burn. If there’s a problem with the roots, the branches and leaves will react, and the fruit will also be affected,” Du Li countered based on his farming experience.

“I buried dead fish directly in the citrus and osmanthus trees in my backyard, and there were no problems,” Meng Qing argued with him.

"Then, the quantity must be small," Du Li insisted. He thought for a moment and asked, "Did you add anything else when you buried the dead fish?"

Meng Qing thought for a moment and said, "I scatter grass ash near the tree roots every year, two or three times a year. Does that count?"

"Yes, grass ash can prevent insects from growing in the soil," Du Li said.

"Then just sprinkle some grass ash when you bury the dead fish," Meng Qing concluded.

Du Li realized she didn't understand agriculture, so he stopped explaining. He also had an idea: he planned to use dead fish mixed with soil, rice husks, and grass ash to compost the poor soil, turning it into fertile soil so it would be useful for planting citrus trees next spring.

Seeing that it was getting late, Meng Qing stopped what she was doing and started cooking.

"It's getting dark, the mosquitoes will be coming out at night. Watch the child and make sure he doesn't get bitten," Meng Qing instructed.

"I'll take these two baskets of manure back the day after tomorrow." Du Li wanted the manure; if someone else took it right under his nose, he would regret it for a long time.

"It's fine as long as you don't mind the trouble," Meng Qing said.

Du Li carried the manure to the back of the gate, then led the donkey in, gave it water and grass, cleaned himself up, and then went to hold the child.

"Come on, let's go watch your mother cook." He followed her to the backyard.

Meng Qing was filleting the fish while rice was steaming in the pot. She planned to make a sea bass and vegetable soup, as cooking porridge wouldn't go well with it. She glanced at the father and son who had wandered to the doorway, understood Du Li's intention, and took the fish plate outside to sit in the courtyard and fillet the fish.

The citrus trees were laden with fruit, while the osmanthus trees were still covered in lush green leaves. Du Li carried his child and looked at the citrus and osmanthus trees, then at the birds perched on the wall. He walked around the backyard, and finally sat opposite Meng Qing to watch her fillet the fish.

"Are you comfortable at my place?" Meng Qing asked.

Du Li nodded repeatedly, "I really envy my brother-in-law. He's been living like this for sixteen years."

Meng Qing smiled.

After cleaning the four bass, Meng Qing had two large bowls of fish meat. She took the bowls into the kitchen, where the water in the earthenware pot had already boiled. She poured in the sticky water spinach, cooked it until it changed color, and then took it out to rinse it with cold water.

Fry the fish head in lard until fragrant, then pour in boiling water, along with the fish bones (which have no meat) to cook.

The fish head soup turns a thick white color. The fish head and bones are discarded. The sea bass meat is added to the soup and cooked until it becomes gelatinous. The soup thickens and the aroma of the fish fills the entire kitchen.

"Qingniang, Father, Mother and Little Brother are back." Du Li heard the voice in the backyard, so he announced it and went to greet them first.

Meng Qing ladled the boiling fish soup into the earthenware pot at the bottom of the vegetable stall, washed the earthenware pot clean, and then stirred a bowl of egg liquid to fry an egg.

Earthenware pots are heavy and conduct heat slowly, making them unsuitable for stir-frying, but they can be used to fry eggs, and thus, to make scrambled eggs with scallions.

"Frying eggs? They smell delicious." Mother Meng washed her hands and came in. "Is dinner ready?"

"Okay, serve the rice. I made sea bass and water spinach soup, so I didn't cook porridge, just steamed rice," Meng Qing said.

Hearing this from outside, Meng Chun clicked his tongue a few times, "Who did I get to eat perch and water spinach soup because of?"

"I made this especially for you. Didn't I promise you before?" Meng Qing said without hesitation.

"Really?" Meng Chun was mostly convinced. "It wasn't made for my brother-in-law?"

"He has a rough palate and can't appreciate such delicate food."

Meng Chun believed it, and he laughed heartily.

Du Li couldn't help but laugh. How could she be so shameless, using one dish to appease two people?

After sitting down to eat, Meng Qing first ladled a bowl of perch and vegetable soup for Du Li. She suppressed a laugh and said, "You should eat more because of my brother."

“Yes, yes, brother-in-law, eat more. If you like it, come again next time, and I’ll treat you to Niu Ji’s. Niu Ji’s silver fish and vegetable soup is also delicious, so fresh it’ll make your tongue tingle,” Meng Chun chattered.

"When I make money, I'll treat you to a meal." Du Li felt that as the elder, he was embarrassed to let his junior pay for his meal.

Meng's father sensed something was wrong. "You're making money? What kind of money are you making? Are you going to start a business?"

“No, I have twenty mu of permanent farmland and thirty mu of allotted farmland under my name. After the jujubes and late rice are harvested, I can use these fifty mu of land as I please. I’ll see what I can plant then, and hopefully I can make some money.” Du Li instructed, “Father, Mother, don’t buy any grain or fodder from Da Mao this year. I’ll bring it to you later.”

Meng's father looked at Meng Qing and asked, "You went back just for this?"

Meng Qing nodded, "I didn't want you to worry about it, so I didn't tell you before."

"Didn't your in-laws complain about you? Would they allow you to accumulate private wealth?" Meng's mother worried.

"There are conditions. The land will be given to the two brothers to cultivate, and they will have to pay for their grandchildren's private school fees themselves," Meng Qing explained. "Anyway, you don't need to worry about it anymore; this matter has been resolved."

"That's good. A man who can take charge and be responsible is a grown-up. Fifty acres is a lot of land. Ask around and see what you can plant to make more money." Meng's father couldn't wait for this son-in-law to stand up for himself. If a man is not valued in his parents' eyes, his wife will only have less status at home. Although Meng Qing is strong-willed, she gets tired of taking care of everything.

To say something unpleasant, Old Man Du and Granny Jiang will die sooner or later. Once the two elders are gone, Du Li and his two brothers will have to divide the family property eventually. Du Li will have to support the family sooner or later, and of course, he should do so while he still has the will to do so. If he can take charge, his family will not be bullied by outsiders in the future.

Meng's father put down his bowl and chopsticks, got up and went back into the house. When he came out again, he was carrying four strings of cash.

Du Li immediately realized that the money was for him. He stood up in a panic, backed away, and said, "Father, I can't take this money."

“What’s wrong with taking it? This is the attitude of your mother and me. Go for it boldly, don’t hold back.” Meng’s father piled four strings of cash on the table, sat back in his seat, and said, “Don’t feel burdened. I just hope that you and Qingniang can live a good life.”

Du Li clenched his hands helplessly. He knew that Meng's parents treated him well, but he never expected them to treat him this kindly. He had never heard such affirmation and support before. His mind was spinning, and his mouth felt like it was sewn shut; he couldn't say a word.

Meng Chun received a wink from his father, got up, went over and pulled him, "Brother-in-law, sit down and eat, the fish soup will get cold and fishy."

Du Li walked to the other side of the dining table, and amidst the puzzled looks of everyone at the table, he knelt down with a thud, "Father, Mother, I'll kowtow to you."

"Oh dear! Silly boy, get up quickly." Meng's mother smiled and went to help him up. "It's not worth it, don't bump your head."

Du Li kowtowed once to Meng's father, then turned around and kowtowed once to Meng's mother, only getting up after finishing.

"Sit down and eat." Meng's mother helped him back to his seat and patted him, saying, "Your father-in-law gave you some money, why are you bowing so much? If you start with this kind of ceremony, won't you have to kowtow again when he gives you money later?"

Seeing that Du Li's hands were trembling with emotion, Meng Qing smiled and said on his behalf, "If you give me money, I'll kowtow again. As long as you and my father are willing to give me money, kowtowing is not difficult."

"I don't want it anymore, I don't want my parents' money anymore. How can I take away your savings? You don't earn money easily, and besides, my brother Chun isn't married yet. You still have a lot of money to spend." Du Li wiped away his tears, choking back sobs as he said, "My... my own parents don't even care about me like this..."

"You're crying again?" Meng's mother felt both sorry for him and wanted to laugh. She comforted him, saying, "Just think of me and your father-in-law as your own parents."

“We don’t treat you like an outsider, so you shouldn’t treat yourself like one either. Just happily accept what your mother and I gave you,” said Meng’s father.

Meng Chun brought over the bowls and chopsticks, carried a stool, and sat down next to Meng Qing. He was a little jealous and muttered, "Sister, if my brother-in-law cries a couple more times, will he make us feel like outsiders?"

"It's quite possible, you never know." Meng Qing feigned fear.

Meng Chun peeked out and sighed. His brother-in-law was so thin and weak that he cried silently. He looked really pitiful.

"Forget it, forget it, I'll just acknowledge him as my brother." Meng Chun then picked up a stool, held a bowl, and sat back down.

"Let's eat," Meng Qing said, dispelling the warmth that had been brewing from her tears.

But because of this incident, the Meng family was still reminiscing about Du Li's tearful appearance, and even the deliciousness of the perch and vegetable soup paled in comparison.

That night, Du Li tossed and turned, thinking about many things. In the end, he realized that the only person he should thank in the Du family was Du Min. Without Du Min, Meng Qing wouldn't have taken a liking to him, and without Meng Qing, the Meng family elders wouldn't have treated him so well. The person he should thank most was Meng Qing. She might not have liked him, but she didn't look down on him, and as a result, the Meng family wouldn't despise him either.

"Sigh!" he suddenly sighed.

"Aren't you going to sleep? Why are you sighing?" Meng Qing was woken up by him.

Du Li didn't answer, pretending to sigh in her dream.

After the hundredth breath, he couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "I've given you everything I have, and I'm devoted to you. I want to be the best to you. Can you be the best to me too?"

The only response he received was the sound of steady breathing.

Can you fall in love with me too? Don't let me down like my parents did, disappointing my expectations and feelings? He asked himself again in his heart.