Late spring in March, with grass growing tall and orioles soaring, distant green mountains and clear waters at one’s feet—a truly splendid scene. Yet the travelers below hurried along, paying no heed to the spring splendor.

As dusk fell, Lin Yue hadn’t yet reached the village entrance when he caught sight of smoke rising faintly from his own rooftop.

Just as he was about to quicken his pace, he suddenly noticed the movement beside him cease. Turning his head, he saw his younger brother digging at the roadside shrubs.

The dirt road outside the village bordered mountainous terrain on one side and rice paddies on the other. Its edges were thick with shrubs of all sizes, along with wild fruit trees bearing torchberries and prickly berries. When the fruits ripened, the path teemed with children. Lin Yang was clearly the most enthusiastic among them, fascinated not only by the berries but also by the shrubbery itself.

“Lin Yang, what are you dawdling behind there? Hurry up! Mother must be cooking already.”

“Coming, coming! Wait for me, big brother!”

Lin Yang flung the basket over his shoulder with a thud, bent down to pull a perfectly straight stick from the bushes, and waved it as he ran. “Brother, look at my stick! It’s straighter than the one I found on the mountain the day before yesterday. Want to play?”

Lin Yue shook his head, a hint of disdain in his eyes. Though he’d loved playing with sticks as a child, he was much older now. Playing with sticks on the road? How childish.

“Play with it yourself. Give me the basket. Don’t shake the contents out.”

Lin Yang waved his hand. “No need. I won’t. I’m being careful.”

Seeing his determination, Lin Yue said no more and turned to walk on. But after just a few steps, Lin Yang—who’d already raced ahead—came running back, his stick slung over his shoulder. He squeezed close,

“Bro, can we have more green rice dumplings tomorrow? I only ate one today since we made them to sell. I didn’t get enough!”

Lin Yue shot him a glare. “This is dinner! How could you possibly get enough? I left two for you in the basket.”

“Huh? Aren’t those for Mom and Dad?”

Lin Yue seriously wanted to pry open his skull and see what was inside. “Didn’t I tell you to leave a few on the table before we left this morning?”

Lin Yang scratched his head and chuckled. “I just forgot. It’s all your fault, bro—you make them too delicious.”

His tone lifted as he added, “Ah, my brother is just that amazing! Not only is he good-looking, but he cooks so well and even knows how to make pastries.”

Lin Yue knew full well he was buttering him up, yet he couldn’t help but feel pleased, though his expression remained impassive. “You didn’t say that when I was twisting your ear. Tomorrow’s out of the question—I’ve rested today, so I need to work tomorrow. We’ll make them after this busy period.”

Lin Yang had no concept of moderation. “Then can we make other pastries? I’ll be your assistant, run errands—whatever! I’ll handle the work later, and you stay home to bake!”

The more Lin Yang thought about it, the more delightful it seemed. His hand instinctively grabbed Lin Yue’s sleeve, tugging it back and forth in a playful, demanding way.

Lin Yue ignored him. Though only thirteen, Lin Yang towered over him, his skin darkened from endless days outdoors. His whining looked anything but cute.

Lin Yue remained firm, but Lin Yang kept circling him until they reached the village entrance.

Not because he gave up, but because the crowd made him feel awkward.

Yushui Village is nestled against mountains and beside a river. At the village entrance, the river widened into a broad, gentle stretch. Villagers loved washing clothes here. With spring plowing keeping everyone busy lately, they could only find time in the evenings, so the riverbank was especially crowded now.

The rhythmic thud of pestles pounding laundry mingled with the flow of water and chatter, creating a lively hubbub.

As soon as Lin Yue and his companion approached, they were called out to. “Yue-ger, off to town with your brother again?”

Lin Yue turned to see his neighbor, Auntie Zhong Chunlan, speaking. Just as he was about to reply, a sharp, sarcastic voice cut in from the side. “Engaged and still running around everywhere? A ger everyone wants to marry really is something else.”

Lin Yue rolled his eyes inwardly. This Zhang Xiuzhi was truly disrespectful for her age. Just because he hadn’t accepted her maternal nephew’s marriage proposal, did she have to make snide remarks every time they met? It was embarrassing for an elder to nitpick with him daily—utterly tiresome.

“Auntie, what are you saying? Even after marriage, one still has to go out. What’s engagement? I had no idea you thought so highly of me. Where’s this ‘everyone wants to marry me’? It was just your nephew sending word a few months back, then that other one came… and that’s how the engagement happened.”

Zhang Xiuzhi: …

Zhong Chunlan burst out laughing. “Hahaha, Yue-ger, your tongue is sharp—no one can outwit you!”

Those nearby joined in the laughter. “How come we never noticed Yue-ger was so witty before? Ha ha!”

Lin Yue showed no sign of discomfort at the teasing, replying with a smile, “That’s not my fault. If Auntie visited our home more often, she’d have noticed long ago.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll come another day.”

Another wave of laughter and chatter followed, punctuated by a single cold snort—though no one paid it any mind.

Recalling the unanswered question from earlier, Lin Yue smiled and asked Zhong Chunlan: “Has Second Aunt eaten yet?”

Zhong Chunlan gave the clothes in her hands a shake and called out, “Not yet! I was busy washing clothes today and didn’t have time to cook.”

Lin Yue’s tone rose, his voice carrying a playful edge. “Sister-in-law must have cooked and is waiting at home. Why would Second Aunt need to do it?”

Zhong Chunlan smiled demurely, though her tone carried unmistakable pride. “Your sister-in-law is indeed diligent. I’m quite fortunate.”

She added quickly, “It’s just a pity her skills don’t match yours. Those stuffed pancakes you made last time were truly delicious. I tried making them afterward, but they never quite captured that flavor.”

Lin Yue didn’t feel comfortable continuing the banter, so he offered a few compliments on other things before stopping. Seeing that it was getting late, he didn’t want to linger any longer and prepared to take his leave. “Aunties, you’re busy, so I’ll head out first. I need to hurry home to cook dinner. Come visit sometime.”

Zhong Chunlan quickly replied, “Go on, go on.”

Then she suddenly gasped, “Oh dear! What a scatterbrain I am! Yue-ger, that Shang family who arranged your betrothal today—someone from them seems to have come by. I don’t know if they’ve left yet. When you get home, have your younger brother check first. You don’t want to run into them unexpectedly.”

Lin Yue paused, but didn’t think much of it. “Got it, thanks, Second Aunt.”

Lin Yue and Lin Yang hadn’t gone far when the chatter behind them started up again.

“What’s the Shang family doing here today? They didn’t bring any betrothal gifts. It doesn’t seem like they’re here for the formal betrothal ceremony.”

“It’s probably not the time for that yet. They only announced the match recently. They’ve likely just had the horoscopes matched.”

“That doesn’t add up. I ran into the Shang family just days ago. They must have already matched the horoscopes then. The Shang boy’s mother even bragged to us about how well their horoscopes aligned and how perfectly matched they were.”

“Hmm, I think that ‘perfect match’ claim is exaggerated. Yue-ger has such handsome features, especially those round, almond-shaped eyes. That Shang family lad is merely well-proportioned, but he’s so thin and gaunt—he looks completely lacking in vitality.”

“Huh? Then why did the Lin family agree to it? I haven’t heard that the Shangs are particularly wealthy. This sounds even worse than that butcher from last time—he was just well-proportioned, too.”

Zhong Chunlan, ever the gossip and having frequent dealings with the Lin family, immediately replied, “Well, you wouldn’t know this, but that Shang family lad is a scholar. They say he’s taking the scholar-official exam this year. If he passes, Yue-ger will have a scholar-official husband—how impressive!”

“Wow, that’s quite a match! Scholars are rare—our village only has one old scholar.”

“No wonder Sister Lin agreed. When I chatted with her last time, she hinted she wanted to find a scholar for Yue-ger.”

━━━━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━━━━

Lin Yue drifted off into thought, oblivious to the person ahead. He nearly collided with them until Lin Yang pulled him back.

Lin Yue snapped back to reality. Before him stood a tall man clad in a simple yet neat brown tunic. His skin was bronze-toned, his facial features angular and sharp, with arched eyebrows that gave him a somewhat stern, unyielding look. Were it not for the hint of gentleness in his eyes, Lin Yue would have instantly classified him as someone best avoided.

But he had encountered this man a few times before—he was a student of their neighbor, Xiucai Gao, making him a somewhat familiar face. Lin Yue murmured an apology and stepped aside.

Seeing him not move, Lin Yue felt puzzled and looked up again.

“It’s fine.”

His voice was low, and Lin Yue almost missed it. He didn’t say anything else and kept walking straight ahead.

Just as he was about to turn the corner, Lin Yue glanced back for some reason. The man was still standing there.

Was he trying to pull a scam?

Lin Yue chuckled at his own strange thought and shook his head vigorously.

Lin Yang turned with him, asking suspiciously, “Bro, what’s up? That guy seems to be watching you. Do you know him?”

Lin Yue patted his shoulder. “Don’t be silly. Just seen him a few times. He’s a student of Xiucai Gao next door. Haven’t you met him?”

“Let me think… I think I have. Why is he still in our village so late?”

Lin Yang pondered briefly before dismissing it. “Bro, let’s hurry! Dinner’ll get cold. Let’s see who gets home first.” With that, he took off running.

Lin Yue sprinted after him. “How can you run off first? You didn’t even call ‘start’!”

Lin Yue’s house was in the village center. Yushui Village was small, and within moments, Lin Yang had reached their home first. The courtyard gate stood half-open. He pushed it aside and dashed straight to the main hall. Finding no one there, only two plates of melon and fruit and a few cups of tea on the table, he turned toward the kitchen.

Upon entering, he saw his mother stir-frying vegetables while his father sat at the table repairing farm tools. No one else was present.

Lin Yang dashed in, set down the basket, and bellowed, “Dad! Mom! We’re back!”

Zhou Wenlan flicked her spatula. “What’s all the commotion? Where’s your brother?”

“My brother can’t keep up with me, ha! I’ll wait for him outside.” With that, he dashed off again.

Lin Yue had barely reached the courtyard gate when he saw Lin Yang sprinting out from inside, shouting as he ran, “Brother, did you get here? No one’s home!” Lin Yue instinctively swatted him. “Why yell so loud?”

“I didn’t think you’d hear me? You ran so fast today, bro. Just a bit slower than me.”

Lin Yue snorted. “That’s because you started running first. Otherwise, I’d definitely beat you.”

Lin Yang looked defiant. “Then why weren’t you faster than me last time?”

“Because I stopped to talk to someone last time. A gentle ger like me doesn’t run around all day.”

“Then why did you hit me just now, gentle big brother?”

“You’re not just anyone. You should be secretly happy I only hit you once.”

━━━━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━━━━

From the courtyard gate to the kitchen was only a few steps, yet the two argued all the way, still not settling down once inside.

Zhou Wenlan was getting a headache listening to them. She stepped in to break it up, “Yue-ger, get the bowls and chopsticks. Lin Yang, come help serve the dishes. Hurry up!”

Yue-ger moved first. “Coming, Mother! What are we having tonight?”

“I steamed some buns this afternoon when I had free time. Your father went out and dug some bamboo shoots, so we’re having braised spring bamboo shoots in oil, and millet porridge.”

“Mother made buns again? What kind of filling did you use today?”

Zhou Wenlan took a bowl to serve the porridge. “Your favorite pickled cabbage filling, your brother’s favorite bamboo shoot filling, and I even made the flower-shaped buns your father loves.”

Lin Yue was a bit surprised. His mother usually found steaming buns too troublesome—steaming plain steamed buns was already quite an effort for her. Making so many today felt odd. He quickly asked, “Did you make the shredded potato filling you like?”

“Of course I did. You’re such a chatterbox.”

Lin Yue sat down with two bowls of porridge and declared loudly, “But you’ve done this before, Mother! And you told me not to say anything.”

“Enough. Shut up and eat like your brother.”

“My brother just talked too much earlier, so I gave him a beating. Otherwise, he’d be talking more than me right now.”

“You two just keep on bickering. Eat your food.”

The Lin family didn’t observe the rule of silence during meals. Their table was always lively, especially today since Lin Yue and his brother had been to town. There was even more to talk about.

By the time the two finished chattering about who they’d met selling green rice cakes in town, how many copper coins they’d earned, and how many things they’d bought, the rest of the family had already finished eating.

Seeing his parents sitting still, their eyes fixed on his brother, Lin Yang, ever the observant one, rose to clear the dishes and poured each of them a cup of water.

Sure enough, they were both pleased. And Lin Yang was pleased too. He’d been so well-behaved today—by the day after tomorrow at the latest, he’d definitely get to eat some new pastries. Ha ha.