CH 44

Chapter 44: 赵升退亲

[ Zhao Sheng break off a marriage engagement]

Translator : LittleYen

“There is more…. Does gibberish count? What papa …mama…can’t understand what you are saying.” Zhao Zheng’an eyes slid over a trace of doubt.

[Tl notes: In ancient times, chinese didn’t use the word papa or mama to call their parents like in modern times, in the past using words such as ‘Fu Jing /Tie or Mu jing/Niang’ is more common… so Zhao Zheng’an is not familiar with the word papa mama. ]

Zhong Ziqi’s inner heart was in turmoil after he heard what he said. Sure enough drinking is causing trouble ah! He almost blurred it out, it seems, from now on, he must drink less.

He woke up late today. The day was already bright outside, so Zhong Ziqi hurriedly dressed and tied his hair in the mirror. He hated combing his hair, it was too long; he wanted to cut it into ‘crew cut’ style, but unfortunately, he would be treated as an alien if he did so.

Zhong Ziqi looked in the mirror and combed his hair. His eyes inadvertently found a red mark on his neck. He pulled the collar and found another one under his collarbone too. He turned around then asked the man behind him who was wearing clothes: “Look, what is this?”

The man’s face did not change:”Oh …bitten by mosquitoes? I told you to cover up with a quilt last night but you didn’t listen.”

Zhong Ziqi doubted it as he looked in the mirror again. There was no bump or itchy feeling.

Never mind! Forget it! Zhong Ziqi tidied up his clothes before he went to make breakfast.

Inside the room, Zhao Zheng’an sighed with relief. He laughed out loud as if he had remembered something.

The few jars of wine brewed at home were ready to drink. He left the matter of selling the wine to Zhao Zheng’an, who had approximately plenty of free time every day.

Zhao Zheng’an thought for a while before then he took some of the fruit wines with him to Jin Hua Restaurant. Now that his wife was allied with Jin Hua, he naturally would not choose another family.

In between all the polite greetings and compliments, in which Zhao Zeng’an won’t go into the details,when Zhong Ziqi returned home, he was very happy too see a lot of large silver taels, then he holding them and laughing for half a day, unable to come back to his senses. Zhao Zheng’an shook his head, as he liked his silly (feeble-minded) enthusiasm.

“Boss Jin says we can brew more in the future.” Zhao Zheng’an brought the words to Zhong Ziqi.

“Yes, we have to brew more. It will make a lot of money.” Zhong Ziqi was happy with the big silver taels, then he began to have a dilemma; the small space on the bed would not fit, so where to put them?

Finally Zhao Zheng’an couldn’t stand it anymore, so he put it under the wardrobe and clicked the lock on it.

“Huh? Where did you get that lock?” Zhong Ziqi looked amazed.

“I bought it. Here’s the key,” and a small key appeared in the palm of Zhao Zheng’an’s hand.

Zhong Ziqi joyfully took the key and put it away. Having a lock also gave him a lot of peace of mind, saving him from always being afraid of losing it.

“By the way, I remember, I heard Zhao Amo say that Brother Sheng was going to have a wedding after the autumn harvest. How come I haven’t heard any news about it these days?” Zhong Ziqi suddenly remembered this matter and asked Zhao Zheng’an if he knew anything about it.

Zhao Zheng’an thought for a moment and shook his head. He hadn’t heard Zhao Amo mention this either.

“I remember Sheng Zi mentioning that his fiancee was introduced by his uncle. His fiancee and his uncle were related.” Zhao Zheng’an said.

“Oh, forget it! We can’t talk about people’s affairs blindly. We’ll naturally know when the time comes.” Zhong Ziqi said without taking it seriously.

But one day, Zhong Ziqi found that Zhao Amo, who had set up a stall with him, did not show up. Even Zhao Sheng did not show up but Zhao Ning came with a gloomy expression.

“What’s wrong? Who made you angry? Why didn’t Zhao Amo and Brother Sheng (Sheng Ge) come?” Zhong Ziqi asked.

Zhao Ning shook his head as if he wanted to say something. He was a person who could not hide anything. By looking at his face, something must have happened. But since he did not want to talk about it, it was not appropriate for him to ask more questions.

But that evening, Zhao Amo went to his house alone.

“Zhao Amo, what brings you here?” Zhong Ziqi poured a bowl of water for Zhao Amo and handed it to him, sitting aside with Zhao Zheng’an.

Zhao Amo sighed worriedly, “Hey, I came to see you today because I have something to ask your help for.”

Zhong Ziqi and Zhao Zheng’an looked at each other: “What is it? Amo, just tell me.”

Zhao Amo: “Didn’t I not go to the stall today? There’s an incident.”

“Sheng zi originally had a marriage engagement scheduled for the wedding after the autumn of this year. Both of the children’s relationships are usually very good, just left to set a date for a marriage. It’s just that …suddenly they wrote to us a few days ago, saying that the wedding would be postponed.”

“Perhaps, there is something wrong?” Zhong Ziqi said uncertainly.

Zhao Amo shook his head:

“Our family Sheng Zi’s marriage engagement was introduced by his Uncle’s wife. That ger was still somehow related to his Uncle Wife’s family. A few days ago, his uncle’s wife heard that I had made a lot of money in business and wanted to follow suit. Do you think I can say yes? The ‘beancurd jelly’ business is a partnership between me and Wang Cai’s family, so if he comes in too, what’s the profit? So I refused. Later, he asked me for the recipe but the recipe wasn’t mine, so I couldn’t tell him. Now his uncle’s wife was not happy and he spoke in a weird and cold way. Soon, the ger’s family wrote to me about the delay. I reckoned that it was his uncle’s wife who was playing a trick behind it.”

[Tl notes regarding ‘舅么’ (read JiuMe) which I translated as Uncle’s Wife…Originally the author mean Uncle+ Amo/Ame/Ama = Aunt (since he’s the ger so could also be called as ‘Uncle’ /the uncle’s wife) ]

After saying that, Zhao Amo’s mouth was dry, picked up the water, took a big sip, wiped his mouth, then said: “Today, your Uncle Bao Gen and I took Zhao Sheng go to find that ger’s family.His uncle’s wife was there to chat. When he saw me there, he was surprised that I came but he didn’t object. He told me in definite terms that he was the one that set things up. His intention was to trade the formula for the marriage. I asked that ger’s family what they thought of it, but they just acted as if they had nothing to do with it yet their attitude was clearly on his uncle’s wife’s side. That ger hid in his room and didn’t come out to see my family’s Sheng Zi. Zheng Zi got angry at this so he said he would break off the marriage engagement. His father and I couldn’t persuade him, so the marriage was finally withdrawn.”

“Zhao Amo, in my opinion, it is better to cancel the marriage engagement. As long as the family is harmonious, everything is good(家和万事兴). This is just one ‘jellied tofu’ , if in the future, your family makes a lot more money, what else will happen? Rather than that, it’s better to cancel the marriage engagement, Sheng Zi is honest and capable, are you still afraid that he can not find a good ger?”

Zhao Zhengan said with a distressed heart, as a fellow man, who had also been cancelled from the marriage engagement by the other side. He felt that Zhao Sheng, in this matter, had done a good job so he supported him.

That ger’s family do not have a standpoint, they are not sure which side they should be side with. They were blind for not able to see who was good for them .Now they were ‘trying to steal a chicken but only end up losing the rice that used to lure it’, he didn’t believe they wouldn’t regret it.

[Tl notes on this idiom; 偷雞不成蝕把米:

lit. to try to steal a chicken only to end up losing the rice used to lure it (idiom)

fig. to try to gain an advantage only to end up worse off

to go for wool and come back shorn]

“You said it right! In fact, when I think about it carefully, that’s exactly the reason. It’s just that Sheng Zi, this kid has not been happy yet he just acts as if nothing has happened. However, his father and I have seen it all with our eyes, so how can we not know how sad he is? We can’t persuade him, so why don’t you guys help me?It’s not good for his health if he’s holding it in like this.” Zhao Amo said worriedly.

“Okay Amo, you go back and tell Sheng Zi that I need to see him and ask him to come over. We’ll talk as brothers.” Zhao Zheng’an nodded his head in agreement.

“I’m going back then.” Zhao Amo stood up and hurried back.

Not long after, Zhao Sheng came: “Zheng’an, what did you want to see me about?”

“Nothing much, just looking for you to have a drink with me.” Zhao Zheng’an gestured to Zhong Ziqi to go and get the food,so Zhong Ziqi went to the kitchen.

Zhao Sheng was stunned then he said with a bitter smile:

“Did my Amo, uh,tell you guys?”

“Yes, your Amo asked us to advise you not to keep your feeling inside. There are plenty of good gers outside.”

“Yes, there are many good gers, but I really like him. I always thought he was very good, but today he didn’t go out to see me. I was very disappointed and sad.” Zhao Sheng remembered what had happened today and was angry again.

This reminded Zhao Zheng’an of his own marriage that had been withdrawn. As a joke, he told Zhao Sheng: “At that time, I also thought that he was my ideal wife, gentle,kind and understanding, just like you, what left was just waiting for the marriage date, but unfortunately, once I was accidentally become a fool, he ran away. Two or three years of affection ah! you tell me, how worthless it is.”

Zhao Sheng did not expect Zhao Zheng’an to have such a story.He vaguely remembered that there was indeed such a thing. He patted Zhao Zheng’an’s shoulder comfortingly. As the saying, those who have the same misfortune sympathize with each other.

[同时天涯沦落人 /Those who have the same misfortune sympathize with each other.This saying came from the poem: The Song of the Pipa Player (琵琶行), by Bai Juyi (白居易). Literally it means: We are (two) people stranded (together) from the far corners of the realm.]

Zhao Zheng’an changed his expression to a happy one: “But I thank those people who ‘throw stones at me that had fallen down into a well’ Otherwise, how could I have married Ziqi? It’s called ‘both yin and yang are wrong’. What’s lost doesn’t mean the best. It just means he wasn’t the right one for you.”

[落井下石: to throw stones at sb who fell down a well (idiom); Seeing a man about to fall into a trap, instead of reaching out to save him, he pushed him down and threw a stone.]

[ 陰差陽錯; yīn chā yáng cuò

Lit: both yin and yang are wrong

Idiom: an accident, mistake or event arising from many different unforeseen causes; a strange combination of circumstances; accidentally. ]

Zhao Sheng was blinded by the happiness on his face, but he still agreed with him. The depression in his heart was also dispersed a lot.

In the evening, Zhao Zheng’an and Zhao Sheng talked and drank a little wine. Zhong Ziqi interjected every now and then, but it was interesting to listen.

As the moon was rising, Zhao Baogen came over uneasily and received a drunken mess of a son.

Zhao Zheng’an was also a little tipsy:”Uncle Bao Gen, don’t worry! Sheng Zii, he has already gotten over it.”

[看開 kàn kāi: Get over from something/ to come to accept an unpleasant fact / to cheer up]

“Thank you very much, both of you! Sheng Zi, this child’s character has always been like me since he was a little boy, he doesn’t like to talk. If something happens, he’s always put in his heart. I and his Amo are afraid he’ll be boreout of his mind.” Zhao Baogen said a lot of words in this rare moment before helping his son back home.

Zhong Ziqi closed the door and turned his head,looking at Zhao Zheng’an with a smile yet not a smile : “A gentle, kind and understanding ger?”

Zhao Zheng’an heard this and immediately sobered up, stuttering over his words, “Did you … hear everything?”

“Coincidentally, I happened to hear it. How come I haven’t heard you say that before?” Zhong Ziqi smiled a nice smile.

Zhao Zheng’an, however, broke out in a cold sweat: “That …is all ‘stale grain, overcooked sesame’ things, so I don’t want to mention it again. Moreover, that ger already married, soon after he withdrew from our marriage engagement, he immediately engaged to someone else.”

[(陈谷子烂芝麻) chén gǔ zi làn zhī ma: (lit.) stale grain, overcooked sesame (idiom); fig. the same boring old gossip]

“Oh …is that so! Is it very regrettable? Very aggrieved?”

“Not at all. Don’t listen to my nonsense! I had to say that because I wanted to comfort Sheng Zi. You still don’t know what’s in my mind?” Zhao Zheng’an said try to curry favor with him.

“How can I know what’s in your mind? As the proverb says, ‘you may know a person’s face, but not his heart’.”

[知人知面他不知心 :

You may know a man’s exterior but not his heart.; it is impossible to judge a man’s heart from his face.; one may know a person for a long time without understanding his true nature.; you know a man or you recognize him when you see him, but you don’t know what he is at heart.]

“Of course I only thought of you in my heart. To that ger,at the time, I only thought he had a good character, but I did not have deep feelings for him. Moreover, in that kind of situation to cancel the marriage engagement, I was just angry at them for hitting a person who is down. If you listen to my words, you should hear me say, I am very glad they gave up on me, let me meet you. To you, my feelings are different, the first time I felt so emotionally attracted, that I think you are very cute and I like you very much.. …” said Zhao Zhengan with deep emotion.

“Stop …… stop! Too mushy! All right I know, I believe you now. Please go inside.” Zhong Ziqi got goosebumps and turned to walk back, but in his heart he was secretly delighted.

Was this his confession? Although the setting and the circumstances were not right, he accepted it.

“Wife, you have to believe me. I …… will follow you in this life.” Zhao Zhengan shouted from behind him.

“…… stop shouting, I hear you, quickly tidy up and go to sleep!” Fortunately, there are no people around here, otherwise it would be really embarrassing.

Zhao Zheng’an scratched his head; how come he didn’t see any reaction from him? At least make a statement or say something? Don’t leave him hanging like this!

Translator ?:

That was quite a lot of idiom and proverbs in this chapter… Huft… ??

But the shy Zhong Ziqi is so cute… Love it!