Clear Huai River [Farming]

Shen Yunqing was the only precious boy in his family, and his mother went to great lengths to find him a good match.

The groom was Ji Rui, the youngest son of the Ji family in Nanshan Village. The Ji family was well-off, and Ji Rui was a scholar. Everyone in the Shen family was pleased with the match.

But Shen Yunqing felt uneasy about Ji Rui. He looked grim and forbidding, was taciturn, and didn't seem like a scholar at all. Shen Yunqing worried that Ji Rui would treat him badly after they married.

It wasn't until the day Shen Yunqing and Ji Rui got married that he discovered the Ji Rui he had met wasn't Ji Rui at all, but his half-brother. The real Ji Rui was a cripple!

The Shen family couldn't possibly stand by and let their precious boy endure such humiliation. They stormed the Ji family with a crowd, intending to take Shen Yunqing home.

After a struggle, Shen Yunqing had no choice but to go through with the marriage and wed Ji Rui's older brother, Ji Huai, to protect their reputation.

Ji Huai's mother died when he was young, and his stepmother treated him poorly. He never got enough to eat, had endless work to do, and didn't even have a decent padded coat in winter. He could only fend off the cold in ragged clothes stuffed with reed fluff. He had suffered every hardship imaginable.

He thought his life would go on that way forever, until he was forced to marry a young man.

The young man was gentle and considerate. Ji Huai found in him all the warmth he'd never experienced growing up, and finally understood how wonderful it was to have someone care for him.

So that the young man wouldn't have to suffer alongside him, Ji Huai worked hard to earn money and support their family. Their life steadily improved, and each new day brought more hope.

Reader's notes:

1. Pregnancy and childbirth

2. A gentle domestic story about everyday life, with no golden finger and a farming-life setting.

3. The seme did not conspire with his stepmother to trick anyone into marriage. He was deceived too.

4. The prices in this story aren't very realistic. I was busy at the time and didn't want to take a long break from updating, so I had to write it this way to move the plot along. If you can't accept that, please read with caution.

5. I wrote the first dozen or so chapters just for fun, then left them in my drafts for a year before continuing the story. Some details may be a little inconsistent, so please don't read if that bothers you.

Check out my upcoming story: After Fleeing Disaster, I Somehow Married My Brother-in-Law:

When Zhu Anlan was seventeen, his father died, and he was taken in by the Chi family. Chi's father took his cold wrist in his hand. "From now on, this is your home. When you're old enough, you'll marry Ah Huan's older brother, and then we'll be a proper family."

Unfortunately, less than half a year later, the Chi family's eldest son died unexpectedly of illness. Chi's father called in his second son, Chi Huan, and pointed at Zhu Anlan. "Your brother is gone, so Anlan will be your husband now."

But Chi Huan glanced at the slender shoulders of the young man beside him and pressed his lips together before saying in a low voice, "I only think of him as an older brother."

--

Disaster struck without warning. Floods kept coming, and Chi's father was swept away while trying to save the grain. When he was rescued, he had only a breath left. As he lay dying, he held Chi Huan's hand and told him, "Listen to your brother and treat him well. Find him a good match someday."

Chi Huan's eyes reddened. His Adam's apple bobbed, and the words he wanted to say caught in his throat. At last, he managed a single "Okay."

After burying Chi's father, Zhu Anlan followed Chi Huan from the south all the way north, where they made a home.

Just as he'd promised his father, Chi Huan asked a matchmaker to find Zhu Anlan a spouse.

But for reasons even Zhu Anlan couldn't explain, he never said yes.

Chi Huan grew smug and increasingly shameless, convinced Zhu Anlan would never leave him.

But the family was so poor they could barely afford food, and life was hard. Zhu Anlan began to think about marrying himself off so Chi Huan could live a better life.

So when Chi Huan once again brought up a suitable match, Zhu Anlan agreed.

Chi Huan's expression changed in an instant. He bristled, anger blazing in his eyes. "You're going to abandon me?"

"Ah Huan..." Zhu Anlan had barely begun when Chi Huan pinned him against the earthen wall. His scorching palm pressed against Zhu Anlan's waist as the young man said fiercely, "A father's place passes to his son, and a younger brother takes his elder brother's place. My brother is gone, so you should be mine!"

--

From then on, it was as if Chi Huan had suddenly discovered love. He spent all day hovering around Zhu Anlan.

"Brother, you're all I have left. Don't leave me."

When Zhu Anlan went out:

"Brother, where are you going? Don't tell me you're sneaking off to meet another pretty boy again!"

"You've been gone so long. Don't you miss me?"

When Zhu Anlan talked with someone else for a little too long:

"A Lan, keep your distance from them. No one outside is as good as family. Why don't you look at me instead?"

"You won't comfort me? Fine, I'll just die!"

Unable to take it any longer, Zhu Anlan finally snapped. "Are you ever going to stop?"

Chi Huan quieted down, looking wronged, and dropped to his knees with a thud. "Brother, I was wrong. Please don't be mad at me..."

Theme: Everything will get better