Chương 237: Chapter Thirty Seven - After this Tenday, we will go back to school
By the crackling fire, Leon served the rice, braised meat and beans, egg drop soup and dumplings, along side the moon cakes and warmed wine. He was filial, serving his old Grandfather first, followed by a sour lover, who nudged him when he felt he'd been ignored long enough.
And after the meal, Leon and Jin Li presented Leonard with the gifts of clothing as well as a new cane that Leon had carved himself. It was much smoother and more attractive than the old man's previous one. His gnarled digits stroked over the leaf patterns and discreet symbols that he did not recognise as anything other than interesting additions. In return, Leonard gave Leon some books made from the scrap paper that could not be used for the book store and to Jin Li an old dagger that actually turned out to belong once to Leonard's uncle. And for both of them, two matching silver pendants, which had also belonged to Leo's parents.
"Aleora lef' these things fer ye," was all his explanation, his tone a little gruff.
"W-will you c-come b-back with us?" Leon asked him with reddened eyes as he stared at the small silver fan with a tiny blue pearl dangling from its lower point. Jin Li's was the same, but with a jet black pearl.
"Eh, ye wan' this old man t' go t' school with ye?" Leonard joked as he puffed upon his pipe.
Leon wrinkled his nose, scratching the tip, sheepishly. "I thought you c-c-could live in J-Julip t-town."
The elder leaned back in his rocking chair and blew out the blue-grey smoke, before waving his pipe dismissively. "This old man only has a couple of year' left, I don' feel like upping sticks an' movin' now." Leon lowered his head, stuttering out that Leonard shouldn't say such unlucky things and the old man patted his hand affectionately.
Jin Li nudged his small lover with one finger and indicated that the other ought help him adorn the pendant about his neck; this represented his man's family approval for him to take Leon as wife, naturally it must be worn, just as Leon had to wear his. He did not once question the terminology in his mind for Leon's status. The alchemist was obliging and as usual completely unaware of Jin Li's thoughts, although it did occur to him as he glanced from his to Jin Li's how the pendants were a matching set. The thought caused him to blush a little, but inwardly he was very pleased.
Seeing as Leon could not convince Leonard to move, he instead wished to stuff the small village home with practical things, making life for the old man more comfortable and proved to be the old man's descendant when it came to stubbornness; refusing to take back what was gifted. As he placed the thick duvet over the Kang bed in the main room that he'd finally managed to obtain a tenday later, he stated as Leonard tried to wave it away; "C-Can't I m-make m-my home m-more comfortable for when I c-c-come b-back?"
Leonard was stumped, unable to refute and said slightly red red eyed and quite gruffly; "Well, I'll just keep these things until you come home then." He received a bright smile from Leon and decided it was well worth it.
The duvet cover was the product of Russ' mother, with help from her oldest daughter. Surprisingly, it had been Jin Li's idea, when Leon had lamented that he wished he could help them. The tension in the woman's shoulders had lightened since she moved out of Russ' Grandmother home, but her eyes were still dark with worry. All of their savings had gone after all and it was winter. They were used to surviving on little, but no one could survive on nothing. She was now considered a fallen woman, so there were few but the kindest souls that wished to help her in the village, superstition and rumour had a tendency to overplay things; they thought she would bring bad luck to their families. Fortunately, her eldest daughter's marriage was not affected, her future mother-in-law was not about to let a willing bride vanish before her eyes considering that her beloved son's prospects had been poor to begin with.
"Tch," Jin Li had spat out, thinking his small lover ought to be thinking about his husband rather than other people. "Isn't it just money they need? Maybe while you are at it, you should just hand over all your bronze and silver to the people in this village to share. Then we can finally be done with them."
"I want t-t-to," Leon had replied then saw the incredulous expression on Jin Li's face as he'd washed his bloodied hands due to dismembering a carcass of a hunt, separating meat he wanted to eat from the scraps for the two Coeurl. "N-n-not the whole village," he had quickly corrected, he couldn't help everyone and honestly didn't want to after many had changed their treatment of his grandfather of late, "b-b-but Russ was m-my b-best friend gr-gr-growing up. I c-can't j-just ignore him like this."
"Why not?" Jin Li had retorted, increasingly more sullen.
Leon had ignored his words, choosing to soothe him instead by gently drying his hands for him. He had smiled inwardly as he had noticed Jin Li's mood lift. "Any s-silver would b-be stolen b-by that man," Leon had then thought aloud, thinking that he doubted Russ' father would let him and the girls go, just because he divorced their mother. "B-better t-to g-give rice and f-flour. B-but how t-to g-get them t-to accept."
"How is it that you can improve pills that no one else will touch the recipe of," Jin Li had scowled, "but you can't think of a simple solution to such a measly issue? Did you not complain that you could not purchase a duvet for our bed as such was usually made by the women of households for personal usage? Of course, that is if that woman can sew."
And she was more than competent in this area, accepting the request with a bit of reluctance as she was well aware what Leon's motives likely were. However, she also did need some way to provide food for her children over this period, Russ' wouldn't be paid from the small job he'd managed to find for a while and Leon was here thrusting good cloth, needles and thread as well as a deposit of a bucket of rice upon her. She was sure that this plus the further two buckets of rice, a sack of flour and a sack sweet potatoes was definitely too generous for payment considering it was only her time and effort that he needed, but seeing her the hungry faces of her two youngest daughters, she also couldn't say no to it.
Also as there was no money involved, so there would be no chance for her ex-husband and mother-in-law to find fault.
More than Russ' father retaliating in anyway, Leon's main concerns had rather been that his Aunt might cause worse trouble once he had gone back to school. Actually, she had yet to do anything since she'd screamed in his face and Leonard had not been worried about it whatsoever. After all, she represented her husband now, continuing to be unfilial and shameless in front of her father was the same as her husband acting unfilial and shameless. There was no way neither her husband nor mother-in-law would be satisfied with her behaviour if they were aware of it.
Indeed they had not been.
They'd had this chance to make strong connections to a young potential alchemist, perhaps offer to support him as he continued learning and even after when he needed herbs to make his pills. He would be grateful and naturally express such. The family's status potentially would rise along with his identity. Their relationship would be fruitful for both parties and harmonious.
Only Lessa had severed the chance with her shrew like behaviour. Her nephew would never want anything to do with her now! She tried to defend herself, but the old lady, much like the village chief, had seen a little more of the world that the close-minded woman and while she might not agree with the boy becoming a male wife, she would not sever potential connections with him as an alchemist because of it!
Worse, the village chief had felt that he did not want his eldest daughter to marry into a family where the mother-in-law was without virtue. Wouldn't the little girl suffer under such a roof! Thus Lessa had ruined her son's engagement as well, not to mention her daughter who now was stuck with the reputation of being thrown aside by her future husband for a man! Lessa had been forced to reflect in the Ancestral Halls while writing scriptures and maintaining a vegetarian diet. There was no time for her to bother her maternal family.
As the first tenday period of the new year ended, so did Leon and Jin Li's time in the former's ancestral village. If they wanted to return to school in plenty of time for the new term, they would have to leave upon the morrow. They ate a rich feast of rabbit stew, rice and sweet potato porridge that last evening as well as gifting Russ a large bowlful of the tender meat for his family.
"Don' worry abou' ye granda!" Russ promised him. "I'll look ou' fer him!"
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