Lin Yue was baffled by his parents’ stern expressions. He’d planned to wait for them to speak first, but when they just stared at him without a word, he could only sigh and say:

“Father, Mother, why are you staring at me like that? It’s just that the Shang family came today. Did they say something? Is it that hard to talk about?”

Zhou Wenlan rolled her eyes at him. “What’s the rush? Can’t your mother even look at you?”

Seeing his mother’s expression, Lin Yue dared not argue back. He nodded hastily. “Fine, fine, what’s wrong with that? Can you even see clearly, Mother? Maybe I should lean in closer.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Lin Yue leaned forward, pretending to brush against Zhou Wenlan. She promptly shoved him away.

“Go on, go on. You’re an adult now, yet you still lack any sense of decorum.”

Zhou Wenlan sighed softly, picked up the cup on the table, and drank it in one gulp. She exchanged a glance with Yue-ger’s father, Lin Yuan, before speaking slowly:

“Yue-ger, the Shang family came today to discuss your marriage. They said if we have no objections, they’ll bring the betrothal gifts first thing the day after tomorrow. Since you weren’t here today, your father and I didn’t consult you and agreed directly.”

Lin Yue propped his chin on his hand and muttered, “I thought it was something big. Turns out it’s just the betrothal gifts. It’s only natural. If they asked, we agreed.”

Zhou Wenlan couldn’t help but smack him. “Once the betrothal gifts are delivered, the match is practically sealed. Your father and I just don’t want to part with you, you heartless brat!”

Lin Yue immediately grew indignant. “Mother, you were the one who said this Shang family was respectable, so I agreed to the match! I wanted to wait two more years before marrying, but you wouldn’t let me!”

Zhou Wenlan raised her voice, utterly righteous. “Good young men are in high demand! If I kept you here, you’d grow too old. By then, all the boys your age will be married off—who would you marry then?”

Lin Yue blinked innocently. ”By then, the younger ones will have grown up. I’ll still find someone.“

Zhou Wenlan was stunned. She reached out and pinched Lin Yue’s cheek. ”You’ve got some nerve, dreaming up such nonsense.”

Seeing Lin Yue about to speak again, Zhou Wenlan cut him off. “Enough of your nonsense. Mother has serious business to discuss.”

Lin Yue reluctantly swallowed his reply and changed his tone. “Speak, Mother. I’m listening.”

Zhou Wenlan cleared her throat. “Yue-ger, your father and I chose him because he’s a scholar. If he passes the exams to become a Xiucai, he’ll be exempt from taxes and corvée labor. Then you’d be married to a scholar—no more toiling in the fields day in and day out, at the mercy of the weather like us. Even if he doesn’t make it, finding work in town would still be better than farming.”

“Now that the marriage is settled, your father and I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Our only wish now is for you both to marry smoothly, build a harmonious life together, and live prosperously.”

She paused here, and Lin Yuan continued, “While every family has its own way of managing household affairs, the fundamentals remain the same. Your mother and I have some advice to impart to you.”

Zhou Wenlan nodded along, having rehearsed her words long ago. Now she spoke without a single stutter, chattering on for quite some time.

Lin Yue nodded along at first, but by the end, his mind drifted.

Yet Zhou Wenlan showed no sign of stopping. She merely shifted gears to describe the appearance of the young man from the Shang family. After all, Lin Yue had shown a fondness for beauty since childhood—especially when he was little, preferring to play only with good-looking children.

“Your father and I have met that scholar from the Shang family once. His features are fairly regular, though he’s rather thin. But that’s hardly a concern—scholars don’t need to work the fields anyway…”

Lin Yue perked up slightly, half-heartedly listening to his mother describe the man’s appearance. Yet another figure involuntarily surfaced in his mind. The Lin household shared a wall with the Gao family, whose scholar son had been taking students since Lin Yue could remember. A few of the students who came and went were familiar to him, though he recalled most were slender. Today’s encounter with Scholar Shen was different—tall and sturdy, rarely clad in scholar’s robes, he looked less like an intellectual and more like a hunter.

For some reason, Lin Yue had encountered this man more often over the past two years. Though they’d never spoken, his features had lodged in his memory. Hearing the word “scholar” now, his mind immediately turned to this man.

Lost in thought, Lin Yue suddenly felt an eerie stillness. Looking up, he saw his mother had stopped talking and was watching him. He cleared his throat softly. “I understand, Mother. I’ll live well.”

Zhou Wenlan sighed. This match had troubled her before it was settled, and now that it was, she worried still. “The betrothal gifts will be presented the day after tomorrow. You must hurry and finish embroidering your wedding quilt. Honestly, you cut the fabric before the New Year and still haven’t finished it. No more dawdling.”

“The trousseau chest, camphor wood trunk, and furniture are all prepared. You needn’t worry about those. Besides, I’ve already embroidered one wedding quilt. With the one you’re working on, it’s a good thing in pairs. As for the wedding gown, I’ll embroider it with you. It’ll be done in a few days…”

Mentioning the wedding gown, Lin Yue suddenly piped up: “Mother, could you embroider it? I’ll just add a few stitches for show—my embroidery skills are nothing to boast about.”

Zhou Wenlan didn’t hesitate. “Only now realizing your skills are lacking? When I tried to teach you, but you couldn’t sit still for five minutes—it was like you had nails stuck in your butt.”

Lin Yue: …

At this critical juncture, Zhou Wenlan couldn’t bring herself to scold him further. Her tone softened considerably. “Once the wedding gown is sewn, you can embroider the patterns on the edges and cuffs yourself. I’ll embroider the front panel for you. And I’ll also embroider the ceremonial fan you will use when you marry.”

Lin Yue nodded contentedly. “Mother, you’re so kind. I saved some money from selling snacks. I can chip in a little for the preparations, too.”

“Keep what you’ve saved. Having money gives you confidence. Your father and I will add to it for your personal fund.”

While they spoke, Lin Yang had finished washing the dishes and approached. “Brother, I’ll give you my savings too.”

Before Lin Yue could respond, Zhou Wenlan interjected, “Those few pennies you saved? That’s just pocket money your brother gave you for running errands. You’re making it sound so important.”

This got Lin Yang fired up. “Mom, is that my fault? Shouldn’t you blame yourself for giving me such a measly allowance?”

Zhou Wenlan shot him a glance. “Fine. Just remember to give it all to your brother. If I find even a single coin left, I’ll dock your allowance for a month.”

“I won’t keep any for myself! I’ll give it all to my brother!”

Lin Yue let out a “Wow!” and teased, “Then from now on, when I send you on errands, I won’t pay you. You’ll be working for free.”

Lin Yang’s face scrunched up. His mouth opened and closed repeatedly. “Fine, fine, big bro, you’re so heartless.“

”Hahahahaha, little bro, I’m as cold as iron!“ Lin Yue nearly fell under the table laughing at his expression.

Zhou Wenlan watched their antics, waved her hand to shoo them out, and said, ”If you’re idle, go plant vegetables. Otherwise, join me in weaving mats. It’s almost dark.“

The best time for planting vegetables was on cloudy days or in the evening. After watering, the soil stayed moist longer, making it ideal for seeds to take root and sprout. This was especially true for transplanted seedlings—planting them during the day risked scorching them to death, and watering them then only hastened their demise.

Lin Yue’s eyebrow twitched. Weaving mats wasn’t tiring, but it was dull and nowhere near as interesting as planting vegetables. “Mother, we’ll go plant vegetables. Right now.”

Lin Yang didn’t object. They gathered the vegetable seeds and seedlings they’d bought that morning, grabbed their tools, and headed outside.

Yushui Village and the surrounding hamlets shared a common feature: homes weren’t built tightly together but scattered in small clusters, arranged with pleasing irregularity. Vegetable plots and rice fields interwove among them. The Lin family’s vegetable patch lay just across the road, making harvesting convenient but planting a bit troublesome—they had to fetch water from the river.

Stepping out of the gate, Lin Yang shouldered his carrying pole toward the riverbank while Lin Yue pushed open the fence into the vegetable plot.

Rainfall had increased significantly after the Qingming Festival. A light drizzle had fallen just days prior, and with the skies finally clearing yesterday, Lin Yue dug a small test hole nearby. The soil still felt moist, suggesting they could water less later.

The vegetable plot wasn’t large, but it was neatly organized into several beds of varying sizes. To the left of the entrance, in order, were planted scallions, garlic, and cilantro. To the right, space was reserved for transplanting eggplants. Further to the right were two rows designated for vegetables like beans and cucumbers that needed trellising.

The two largest sections were located in the front left, where cabbage and radishes had been grown earlier. After the winter harvest, the soil had been turned over and now lay empty, ready for planting chili peppers and melons. Mint and fish mint grew in the corners. The plots to the right front were planted with common vegetables like chives and shepherd’s purse. In the corner was a water pit nearly three feet deep, used to collect rainwater. When busy, they would occasionally draw water from here to irrigate the garden.

Lin Yue worked with practiced ease—ridging, digging holes, fertilizing. By the time Lin Yang returned with two buckets of water, they began transplanting and sowing.

After about two sticks of incense, Lin Yue scattered the last few seeds and straightened up. “I’ll handle these last two ridges myself,” he called to Lin Yang. “You go water the plants. We’ll finish faster this way.”

“Got it, big bro. I’ll be off then. Call me if you need anything.”

Lin Yue took the hoe from his hand. “Hurry up. Don’t carry too much. I’ll finish here and help you carry water together.”

Lin Yang flexed his arm defiantly. “I’m not you. I’m strong enough. I don’t need your help.”

Lin Yue always considered himself easygoing. Villagers often called him gentle—a bit exaggerated, but not entirely untrue. Except when it came to his brother, he’d lose his temper easily. The worst part was, Lin Yang never seemed to notice when you glared at him, which only made it more infuriating.

Only in the past couple of years, with marriage prospects on the horizon, had his mother’s constant reminders to cultivate his temperament begun to take root. Otherwise, he’d be glaring at him right now.

“Fine, you’re so tough. Then carry a couple extra buckets.”

Lin Yang walked off, swaying his head.

Lin Yue couldn’t be bothered to watch him anymore. He buried his head back in work. The two ridges were finished in no time. Seeing Lin Yang still watering, he headed to the other end to weed.

Weeding didn’t look as strenuous as digging holes, but it was actually more demanding. When using a hoe, one had to be careful not to damage the crop roots while pulling out as much of the weed roots as possible. Then, the soil clinging to the roots had to be broken up. The angle of the hoe and the amount of force applied all required precision—it demanded more skill than digging holes. The vegetable patch had been weeded recently, so only a few sprouting grasses remained, making the task much easier. If the weeds had grown taller, they would have needed to be cut down with a sickle first before removal.

By the time the two finished, the sun had completely set. As dusk fell, Zhou Wenlan sat by the oil lamp in the kitchen, weaving mats, while Lin Yuan washed up.

Seeing them return, Zhou Wenlan rose to tidy things. “You’re finally back. Why did it take so long today? Once your father finishes washing, you two hurry up and wash up too. Get to bed early—there’s work to do tomorrow.”

Lin Yue responded with a nod before explaining, “We planted all the empty spots in the vegetable patch, so it took a bit longer.”

“If you didn’t finish, you can go back tomorrow. But next time, don’t stay out so late.”

“Got it, Mother. Don’t keep working. We’ll wash up right away.”

The family of four quickly finished their ablutions, blew out the oil lamp, and retired to their respective rooms.

The Lin family home was a square structure with three rooms. The central room served as the main hall. The eastern side housed the Lin couple’s bedroom. The western side was divided into two rooms. The innermost room had its door opening into the main hall. Still piled with odds and ends—Lin Yang’s room. The other room belonged to Lin Yue, the only one with a door curtain.

Having done little work today, Lin Yue lay in bed tossing and turning for ages before finally drifting off. He vaguely recalled a dream filled with noise— as if people were arguing. The vivid immersion left Lin Yue restless all night, and he woke up feeling utterly exhausted.

Zhou Wenlan had risen even earlier, already boiling water and preparing breakfast, waiting for father and son to wake. Seeing Lin Yue emerge surprised her. “Why so early today? The sun must be rising in the west!“

Lin Yue choked on his words. He wanted to argue back but felt a twinge of guilt—after all, he had always been the last to rise in their household. He could only silently carry the water out to wash up.

After washing, Lin Yue placed the basin and kettle in the corner before heading into the kitchen. ”Mother, what are we having for breakfast?” “

”I made multigrain porridge and baked some flatbreads. We won’t be coming home for lunch.”

With spring drawing to a close, the farmwork couldn’t wait. Plowing and harrowing the fields, sowing seeds and transplanting seedlings—not to mention the peas, broad beans, and wheat planted in early winter—all needed harvesting and drying.

The Lin family’s fields had previously been farmed together with Uncle Lin’s, but some scattered mountain plots remained. Each could only hold two or three rows of sorghum. Using oxen was impractical here, so manual labor was necessary. Today, the Lin couple’s task was digging the land, while the Lin brothers were responsible for harvesting the peas and broad beans.

Lin Yue peered over the stove. The dough had risen perfectly. “Mother, I’ll go pick some scallions now. Let’s make half into scallion pancakes—they’ll add flavor.”

Zhou Wenlan nodded. “Hurry then. Dawn is breaking.”