“Grandpa, there’s still cash.” Liu Qishuang held three packets of medicine in his right hand, while his left palm was open, revealing a handful of copper coins—there must have been more than ten of them.

Seeing his grandson’s eyes crinkle with laughter, Grandpa Liu smiled as well.

Perhaps Heaven had allowed him to live this long precisely because of this child.

If he had died early, who knows what kind of wretched household this child would have been sold into to suffer. By staying alive until the child came of age and finding him a good family, his life would not have been in vain.

The grandfather and grandson had come to town today, bringing with them the reed cores they’d picked out a few days earlier. There was a place in town that specialized in buying reed cores, so they’d sold them before arriving at the clinic. Liu Qishuang had set aside the ninety pieces of cash they’d received.

These were meant to be handed over; he dared not spend them.

The dozen or so left over after buying medicine were the ones they could actually use.

Leaving the clinic, Liu Qishuang wasted no time and headed straight for the market. He spent six wen on two large white steamed buns and two large meat buns, leaving him with only seven copper coins.

Liu Qishuang had originally planned to use the remaining seven copper coins to buy candy for Wan Xiaohua, but upon second thought, he decided against it.

Seven wen wouldn’t even buy a single packet of the cheapest molasses candy, nor much loose sugar. Wan Xiaohua had no shortage of sweets in her daily life; she wouldn’t care much if he bought her some. It would be better to get her something she actually likes.

He recalled how excited Wan Xiaohua had been when she saw the wildflowers that day. He figured the little girl must really love flowers, so perhaps if he got her some wildflowers, she’d be even happier.

Having made up his mind, Liu Qishuang carefully tucked away the remaining seven wen of cash and handed the bun in his hand to Grandpa Liu. “Grandpa Liu, have a bun.” When Grandpa Liu took the bun, he saw that his grandson still had one left, so he ate it with peace of mind. Noticing his grandson hadn’t taken a bite, he simply urged him to eat while it was still hot. Liu Qishuang simply said he wanted to watch the commotion and would eat later.

Today was the third day of the third month—not a regular market day—but since it was the morning market, the streets were bustling.

There were still many vendors selling wild game, and Liu Qishuang watched with great enthusiasm, wishing he could grab a hoe and a back basket and head straight into the mountains to dig for them. But his mother had given him plenty of chores to do, so he had to go work first.

As the grandfather and grandson left the market to head home, they ran into some villagers. But since they weren’t well-liked in the village, they didn’t even exchange a greeting and simply went their separate ways.

By the time the grandfather and grandson reached home, it wasn’t even noon yet. Liu Qishuang placed the two remaining steamed buns and one dumpling in the cupboard, set a packet of medicine on the stove, and hid the other two packets. He instructed his grandfather to boil the medicine himself, then went to attend to the tasks his mother had assigned him.

He found his mother’s apron and tied it on. He tucked the corners of the apron into the waistband to form a cloth pouch, filled it with soybeans, and found a short stick about as thick as a thumb before setting off for their family’s paddy fields.

Xu Shifan loved green beans—the tender, young version of soybeans. At Liu Qishuang’s home, they planted beans at staggered times each year so they could enjoy green beans from June through September.

Liu Qishuang’s family owned a total of three mu of paddy fields. Like most households in the village, these fields were scattered throughout the village and its outskirts rather than concentrated in one place. Today, he was heading to a place called Bee-swarm Cliff, where his family owned half a mu of land.

However, though it’s called Bee-swarm Cliff, that paddy field was at least two li away from the actual cliff. If the field had truly been at Bee-swarm Cliff, he wouldn’t have dared to go—and it wasn’t just him; no one in the village would have dared to go.

For Bee-swarm Cliff was no place for the faint of heart. There was a cliff there, covered with wild bees. From a distance, it looked like a vast expanse of brown and yellow, and no one knew how many hives there were. Even from a mile away, one could hear the buzzing—there were likely tens of thousands of wild bees there.

Moreover, not all of those wild bees were the small, harmless ones that produce honey; there were also giant hornets and horned wasps—beasts so venomous they could sting a person to death. In years past, villagers bold enough to try harvesting honey had lost their lives there.

Now that area has become off-limits to the village, and no one has dared to go there for many years.

The Bee-Swarm Cliff lay about four or five li north of the village. A large river ran along the route; beside the river were sloping hillsides dotted with some dry fields and paddy fields, but mostly vast stretches of barren mountains.

As Liu Qishuang walked along the mountain path, he occasionally encountered villagers heading to the fields to work. But since he wasn’t well-liked in the village, even when he met them, there was little to say. Yet if anyone tried to pick a fight with him, he wouldn’t just back down.

This was one of the reasons he was unpopular; those who hadn’t managed to take advantage of him would always go around the village spreading false rumors about him, causing those who didn’t know him to dislike him without understanding him.

“Saixue!” From a distance, Liu Qishuang saw Song Saixue getting into an argument with the two Wang brothers. He hurried toward them, but just as he reached the edge of the paddy field, Song Saixue was shoved to the ground by the gers.

“What are you doing?” Liu Qishuang’s throat felt a bit sore from the wind as he ran so fast, but he didn’t have time to worry about that. Keeping a wary eye on the Wang brothers, he moved to help her up.

However, Song Saixue was no helpless, delicate young lady. She’d only been caught off guard a moment ago. She didn’t need anyone to help her up; she rolled over and scrambled to her feet, then burst into tears as she lunged at the two brothers.

Song Saixue rarely fought and had no experience whatsoever, but she had seldom been wronged since childhood. Now, having been cursed at and struck, the sense of injustice gave her boundless strength. She paid no heed to technique, merely clenching her fists and swinging them wildly, her arms whirling like a windmill.

Liu Qishuang had initially intended to intervene, but upon second thought, he immediately abandoned the idea. If he pulled Song Saixue, she would be at a disadvantage and likely get beaten, so he had no choice but to switch targets and try to pull the Wang brothers instead.

“Stop fighting!” Liu Qishuang seized an opening to grab Wang Qiushuang. The two of them tugged at each other, pulling them apart. Just as he was about to let go of Wang Qiushuang to grab Wang Chunyu, Song Saixue let out a wail and began crying again, her sobs growing louder and more intense.

The paddy field where the children were playing was probably about ten or so mu in size. Several other families were working in the fields at the time, and Song Saixue’s cries drew everyone’s attention. Before long, some adults came over and pulled the children apart.

When children fight, adults usually scold the younger one and comfort the one crying the hardest—but Song Saixue was both.

She was younger than the two Wang brothers and was crying harder than anyone else. As soon as the villagers arrived to break up the fight, they all began comforting her. Even as they asked what had happened, their disapproving glances were already fixed on the Wang brothers.

The most important thing after a children’s fight is, of course, to tattle. Song Saixue was crying so hard she could barely catch her breath, her sobs coming in gasps, yet she was already pointing at the Wang brothers and starting to tattle.

“Auntie, I heard them gossiping behind my back, and then they hit me! My bottom hurts, my hands hurt—everything hurts! It’s all because of them.”

Song Saixue wasn’t lying at all. Her bottom hurt from falling onto the hard stones on the ground earlier; her hands hurt from hitting them; and she hurt all over because she felt so upset—not a single part of her body felt at ease.

Song Saixue was still crying; her eyes were bloodshot, and tears streamed down her face. Anyone with children could tell she felt terribly wronged.

“Don’t cry, child.” Wang Guixiang, who was close friends with Song Saixue’s mother, Guo Dafang, wiped away her tears with a look of concern, while casting a disapproving glance at the Wang brothers.

But since she wasn’t an elder of the Wang family, she couldn’t very well scold the two gers. She thought she’d just offer a few words of advice, but the Wang brothers turned their gaze to Liu Qishuang, who was standing off to the side.

“How is that gossiping? My brother didn’t say anything wrong. That ger deliberately pushed someone into the rice paddy—wasn’t he just trying to attract attention, to seduce people? That’s exactly what it says in those storybooks! Just look—that Wan guy over there is already taking his side!” Wang Chunyu had just taken several punches to the mouth; not only was his lip split, but it was also swollen.

He had always been particular about his appearance, and now he raised a hand to cover half his face.

Once Wang Chunyu spoke up, most people didn’t want to get involved with that good-for-nothing Wan Dongyang, but Wang Chunyu’s words were simply too harsh. Wang Guixiang couldn’t help but say, “You’re both unmarried gers. How can you speak of him that way? Watch your tongue.”

“I didn’t say…!”

Wang Chunyu hadn’t even finished his sentence before he was cut off—for no other reason than that Liu Qishuang, standing nearby, had slapped him hard across the face.

Wang Chunyu stared at Liu Qishuang in disbelief, momentarily unable to form coherent speech. He couldn’t understand it—how dare he? How dare he hit him!

Although Liu Qishuang’s slap startled the Wang brothers, the villagers standing nearby found it perfectly normal.

It turned out that news of the incident at the Wan family’s paddy fields that day had already spread throughout the village. The villagers naturally knew that the young man at the foot of South Mountain was not someone to be trifled with.

As Wang Guixiang’s eyes darted about, he secretly mocked the Wang brothers for overestimating themselves.

That Xu-ger wasn’t even afraid of Wan Dongyang—why would he be afraid of them? He was like a dog that doesn’t bark but bites; he was actually quite formidable. Wang Guixiang was right—Liu Qishuang certainly wasn’t afraid.

Besides, his parents weren’t home today, so he wasn’t worried about anyone going to their house to complain. Why should he put up with this? “That day you falsely accused me of pushing you into the rice paddy; today you slander me for seducing someone. This slap is what you deserve. If you don’t accept it, go ahead and call your parents to my house to settle this.”

After delivering the slap and his parting shot, Liu Qishuang didn’t linger to argue. He’d come to work, not to fight, so he headed straight for the family’s paddy fields. Once Liu Qishuang was gone, the others tried to mediate, but by then, no one was listening.

Song Saixue had stopped crying by then. She roughly wiped the tears from her face and ran after Liu Qishuang. The remaining Wang brothers didn’t want to let it go just like that, but neither of them was one to get physical with others in public; they both gave the impression of being mild-mannered and easygoing.

Earlier, they hadn’t really intended to fight; they’d just thought she was a mere little girl—if they hit her, so be it, and she surely wouldn’t dare do anything about it! Little did they know that little girl was so fierce and wasn’t afraid of them at all, which is exactly what had caused the trouble they were in now.

“All right, let’s just drop it. He’s just a young ger, and your words were a bit harsh. Let’s not hold a grudge against each other—just forget about it.” Wang Guixiang had come specifically for Song Saixue; now that Song Saixue was gone, she didn’t want to linger. After offering this word of reconciliation, she too took her leave.

There was still plenty of farm work to be done.

After the peacemaker had slowly walked away, Wang Qiushuang began to curse under his breath—and his curses were directed at Song Saixue. Wang Chunyu, standing nearby, said nothing, but simply stared in the direction Liu Qishuang had gone.

Wang Chunyu was now clutching the corner of his swollen mouth, grinding his teeth so hard they were nearly shattered.

He hadn’t cared much about the incident in the paddy fields that day, but after inquiring about the Wan family’s situation and recalling Wan Dongyang’s change of attitude later on, he began to seethe with anger.

Although the Wan family had three brothers, the eldest and second were actually childless—they still hadn’t produced a single son, and since they were already quite old, it was clear they would never have one. In the end, the estates of the eldest and second brothers would inevitably all go to the third.

If he married Wan Dongyang, he wouldn’t just inherit several plots of land—he’d also have free laborers to do the work for him. How wonderful that would be!

If he’d known this, why did he bother staying in the rice paddies hoping for pity? He should have just climbed out of the paddies and let that Wan guy beat him up—that way, that stinking ger wouldn’t have stolen the limelight from him!