Chapter 33: A Bold Confession

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For a moment, Luo Huian was rather taken aback. He had not expected Tong Shuangling to discuss the matter with him so directly. Although hardly anyone passed along the narrow road where they stood, she was a young woman—how could she bring herself to speak openly about such private affairs?

Unable to determine what she was thinking, Luo Huian could only answer perfunctorily, “I have not considered the matter yet.”

Tong Shuangling pressed on. “When do you intend to consider it?”

“That does not seem to concern you.” Luo Huian’s expression grew slightly colder, a trace of displeasure showing on his face.

“How could it not concern me? My mother told me that your family was planning to come ask for my hand.” Tong Shuangling widened her eyes as though she had just heard something absurd.

Ask for her hand? Luo Huian remembered that Lin Chunyan had mentioned finding him a wife, but at the time he had assumed she was only speaking casually. He had never expected her to have actually found someone.

“That was my mother’s idea, not mine. If it has caused you any trouble, I am willing to come to your home and apologize in person.” Luo Huian lowered his stance.

“So it wasn’t your idea.” Tong Shuangling seemed a little disappointed, but her tone brightened at once. “Then think about it now.”

Luo Huian stared at her. The girl before him truly did not follow the usual script. “What exactly do you mean?”

“I just think… you’re quite good… If you also think I’m acceptable… then…” Tong Shuangling’s face, for once, showed a hint of shyness.

The sudden confession left Luo Huian at a loss. His tongue seemed to have tied itself into knots. He wanted to say something, yet had no idea where to begin.

After a long while, he finally spoke slowly. “Miss Tong, all I want now is to take good care of my younger siblings. I do not wish to think about anything else.”

The meaning behind his words was unmistakably a refusal.

Tong Shuangling did not seem surprised by the outcome. She relaxed once more and nodded resignedly. “All right. I understand.”

With that, she turned to leave, her manner carefree.

“Miss Tong, may I ask you a question?” Luo Huian suddenly called after her. After a brief pause, he continued, “Do you truly not mind my physical condition?”

Tong Shuangling smoothed her hair and replied naturally, “Why should I mind? Some people are disabled or mute, and they still find someone to marry. What matters is what kind of person he is, not those outward conditions.”

“But treating my condition would cost a great deal. A cripple like me…” Luo Huian said, sounding somewhat resigned.

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“How could you think of yourself as useless? I heard that you can read and write. You can write letters for others, copy books, or teach. Any of those could earn money. How could you be useless? Why worry about the cost of medicine?” Tong Shuangling looked utterly incredulous.

Luo Huian gave a self-mocking smile. She was right. He had perfectly good hands and feet, and there were many things he could do. Supporting a family did not require one to work only in the fields. For so long, he had been trapped in a dark and negative state of mind, unable to free himself. Over time, he had become so consumed by self-pity that he had nearly lost sight of who he was.

The young woman before him had awakened him with a single sentence.

“By the way, you asked me a question. To be fair, you must answer one of mine as well.” Tong Shuangling looked at him. “Do you like Tong Chuxue?”

It was not an easy question to answer. In Luo Huian’s seventeen years of life, he had never experienced anything like love.

He fell silent.

Looking back on everything he had done during this period, anyone watching from the outside would certainly have taken it as an expression of affection.

But he swore that he had never thought of it in that way. Everything he had done had merely followed his true feelings; there had been no complicated motives behind it.

To Tong Shuangling, however, his silence was an admission. Having received her answer, she saw no reason to stay any longer.

Luo Huian returned home carrying that silence with him.

When Lin Chunyan saw him come in, she hurried forward. Earlier, Luo Huiqing had told her everything that had happened along the road. Lin Chunyan had listened with joy in her heart, and now she asked Luo Huian, “Why are you back so soon? You could have talked a little longer.”

Luo Huian gently pried her hands away. “Mother, you needn’t concern yourself with my marriage.”

“If I don’t worry about it, who will? What happened? Tell me.” Lin Chunyan grew anxious. Did this mean her son had not taken a liking to the girl? That was all right—she could simply look for someone else.

“Mother.” Luo Huian’s voice turned solemn.

Lin Chunyan knew that although her eldest son appeared obedient, he was extremely stubborn. Once he had made up his mind, not even ten oxen could drag him back. She could only compromise.

“All right, all right. Your mother won’t interfere anymore. You can decide for yourself. Come, let’s eat.”

That night, Luo Huian lay in bed, recalling his conversation with Tong Shuangling again and again.

As he thought about it, many things gradually took on a clearer shape.

The future he longed for seemed to have gained more color.

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At the new house, Tong Chuxue spent a few coppers buying several large, old flowerpots from a neighbor. She was preparing to cultivate dendrobium.

The iron-skinned dendrobium she had dug up in the mountains had been growing well during this period, with thick and sturdy stems. From it, Tong Chuxue selected several of the strongest offshoots to serve as seedlings.

Iron-skinned dendrobium originally grew on trees, so its growing medium required particular care. Materials such as bark, decayed leaves, and pebbles were needed to create a moist, well-ventilated soil structure for its roots.

As for the growing environment, iron-skinned dendrobium required shade and good ventilation. When the house had been built, Tong Chuxue had specifically asked the workers to add an extra window.

Tong Chuxue inserted the cut single-stem shoots into the soil. Then she gathered her wood-element energy into the palm of her right hand and held it above the seedlings. The power traveled through the leaves and spread throughout the plants. Before long, the shoots she had just planted began to grow roots, and their stems became slightly taller.

After filling several pots in succession, Tong Chuxue gazed at the results with satisfaction. In roughly a month, the seedlings would mature. By then, she could acquire more flowerpots and expand the operation.

Outside, Xu Jinniang knocked on the door. “Chuxue, are you finished?”

Tong Chuxue went over and opened it. “Mother, if you want to come in, just come in. Why are you knocking? This is your own home.”

“That won’t do. What if I frighten you and you accidentally damage the golden babies?” Xu Jinniang said with deep disapproval.

Tong Chuxue was both amused and exasperated. Ever since Xu Jinniang had seen the enormous silver ingot Tong Chuxue brought home, her understanding of the value of iron-skinned dendrobium had undergone a complete transformation. She now called the plants “golden babies.”

“Mother, did you need something?”

“Oh, right.” Xu Jinniang nearly forgot the reason she had come. “It will soon be time to sow the next rice crop. We don’t have any seedlings at home, so we need to buy some from another household. Otherwise, what will we plant?”

To be honest, if Xu Jinniang had not reminded her, Tong Chuxue would almost have forgotten that her primary occupation was actually farming.

Although dendrobium could bring in money, the matter had to be kept secret, or it would be far too easy to invite trouble. They still had to continue farming.

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