He almost died today. Died.

He had never thought about death before, nor had he ever wanted to die.

No matter how hard things got, he always told himself that he would eventually grow up, that his parents would eventually grow old, and that the day would come when he could make his own decisions and live a good life. That’s why, even when he had to eat nothing but bran and vegetables every day while enduring beatings and verbal abuse, he could endure it.

But today, he almost died.

He hadn’t even lived a single good day yet, and he’d almost died.

He was suddenly overcome with regret. He realized that fantasizing about a better future was unreliable; living well in the present was far more important.

His body suddenly plummeted downward, followed by a series of excited shouts. Liu Qishuang opened his eyes from his daze and realized they had reached the hill behind the village—they were almost home.

“I’ll walk on my own.” He hurriedly asked them to set him down, afraid the villagers might see him, but just as Wan Dongyang crouched down to lower him to the ground,

Liu Qishuang was momentarily lost in thought again.

He could hardly believe it—Wan Dongyang had actually carried him the whole way. The journey from Zhushan Village to their own village was at least one hour’s walk; such a long distance must have been exhausting. How come he hadn’t dropped him along the way?

Before he knew it, their large group had reached the fork in the path leading to Wan Dongyang’s home. Wan Dongyang took back the back basket from Wan Changqing, and the two of them parted ways with the villagers, setting off down the path toward home.

In May, the corn seedlings—which had grown tall in the breeze—were already quite high. As the two passed through a cornfield, they soon arrived at the Wan family’s doorstep. The Wan family had been too worried about those who’d gone into the mountains to rest; now, hearing the sounds coming from the back mountain, they were all waiting at the courtyard gate.

Seeing Wan Dongyang return, the Wan family finally breathed a sigh of relief, and Liu Qishuang took the opportunity to take some wild vegetables out of the back basket.

“Wan Dongyang, thank you.” After handing over the wild vegetables, Liu Qishuang prepared to leave.

But to his surprise, after taking the wild vegetables, Wan Dongyang immediately handed them to his mother, then snatched the back basket back from her and slung it over his own shoulder. “Mother, I’ll walk Liu-ger home. You all go ahead and get some sleep. Everything’s fine—Yun Shen and the others are all safe. Don’t worry.”

“Let’s go.” As soon as Wan Dongyang finished speaking, he set off. Liu Qishuang was utterly exhausted and didn’t want to argue or exchange pleasantries, so he hurried after him. When Liu Qishuang caught up, Wan Dongyang stepped aside to the roadside, letting him walk ahead.

It was late at night, and a young ger walking alone might be afraid.

The Liu residence wasn’t far from the Wan residence—just a walk along the foot of South Mountain, past a patch of dry land and a few rice paddies. The two walked in silence, and before they knew it, they had reached the Liu residence.

Wan Dongyang was a man of few words. Upon reaching the gate of the Liu family compound, he set down the things on his back, turned, and walked away. Liu Qishuang could only watch as his figure quickly vanished into the haze and murmured a quiet “thank you.”

“Shuangshuang, you’re back.” Before he even entered the courtyard, Grandpa Liu’s voice rang out from within, and he slowly made his way toward the gate. Liu Qishuang hurriedly replied and stepped inside.

His grandfather had set out some food for him, but he didn’t feel like eating right now—he just wanted to sleep. He was so exhausted he didn’t even have the strength to chew.

“You can’t go without eating,” Grandpa Liu insisted, pulling him toward the kitchen.

As soon as they entered the kitchen, Grandpa Liu drew some hot water and told him to soak his feet. He then pressed a rice bowl into his hands—the rice inside was still hot. Grandpa Liu had been waiting for him to return the whole time; he’d already reheated the rice three times.

Soaking his feet would relieve his fatigue; then, after eating his fill and getting a good night’s sleep, he’d feel much better tomorrow.

Liu Qishuang held his rice bowl and, as he shoveled rice into his mouth, wondered why they were having plain rice today—his parents were already up, too.

After the couple got up, Xu Shifan asked him a few brief questions about why he’d come home so late. Liu Congxiang first complained that his late return had worried them, then grabbed his back basket to inspect it, only to grumble that he’d brought back too few wild vegetables—not even twenty jin in the basket.

Liu Qishuang paid them no mind; how much he’d brought back was none of their business. Tomorrow, he’d set aside a couple of bunches for himself and Grandpa to eat, and sell the rest.

He wouldn’t give them a single bite to eat or a single wen to spend.

By the time they finished eating, it must have been close to the hour of Chou. It was too late, so Liu Qishuang didn’t even bother washing his bowl; he just tossed it onto the stove and went to bed. He was utterly exhausted; once he lay down, he didn’t want to move a single finger. But suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and he sat up.

“Did I say it? Did the words come out? Did he hear me?” Liu Qishuang sat there in a daze, and only after a long while did he shake his head. “I don’t think so.”

If Wan Dongyang had heard it, he wouldn’t have shown no reaction at all.

He felt slightly reassured, but in the next instant, endless regret welled up inside him. Liu Qishuang wondered: what if he had heard it? It would have taken only a moment to say it—how could he have fallen asleep so quickly?

Perhaps he was too exhausted; even with his worries weighing on his mind, sleep came quickly, and Liu Qishuang soon fell into a deep slumber. Yet he felt as though he’d been woken the moment he closed her eyes. When he opened them and looked at the sky outside, he realized it was already dawn the next day.

He hadn’t expected time to pass so quickly; he’d thought he’d merely closed his eyes for a moment, but an entire night had gone by.

The person who came to the Liu household to fetch him was from Wan Changqing’s family; they seemed quite anxious. Liu Qishuang hurriedly followed them out the door, making sure to take the wild vegetables with him.

A short while later, after returning from the Wan household, he headed straight for town.

Liu Qishuang didn’t know why they’d summoned him. He harbored a wild hope that they might be calling him to divide up some spoils—perhaps Yun Shen would give him some bear meat.

His wild speculation turned out to be half-right—Wan Changqing’s family had indeed been looking for him because of the one-eyed bear from the day before, but not to give him bear meat; they wanted him to testify.

It wasn’t until he arrived at the Wan household that he learned the blind bear from the previous day had already been sold by Liu Quan to Landlord Wan without authorization.

Liu Quan thought that, as the leader, he should get the lion’s share of the bear, but the other three weren’t happy about it, so they called him and Chen Damei to testify and asked them who had hunted the bear.

Wan Dongyang said that whoever hunted the bear should get the lion’s share, and the rest of the group agreed with him.

Liu Qishuang had seen with his own eyes that Yun Shen had killed the bear, so he naturally told the truth. But he hadn’t expected that this would cause him to offend Liu Quan, who pointed a finger at him and berated him, saying he was only out to curry favor with the Wan family.

“I’m telling you, you lowlife—why are you so eager to speak up for the Wan family? So Wan Changqing didn’t take a liking to you, and now you’re setting your sights on Wan Dongyang? Or have the two of you been hooking up all along? Oh, right! I was wondering why Wan Dongyang was so attentive last night—as soon as he picked someone up, he didn’t even bother with that guy surnamed Yun and went straight for you, helping you up and carrying you on his back. So you two are lovers, are you?”

“Liu, don’t spew such filth—he’s just a kid. Do you think I won’t tear your mouth to shreds?” Wan Dongyang didn’t want to hit anyone in someone else’s home, but he was struggling to hold back.

Wan Dongyang clenched his fists, looking as if he were about to swing at any moment. Liu Quan, naturally, got scared and didn’t dare say another word. Liu Qishuang was still a bit dazed, but he was relieved he hadn’t voiced his wild fantasies last night.

So, Wan Dongyang had simply taken him for a child.

But he wasn’t a child anymore. Most young men and women in the village began looking for potential partners at fourteen; some were betrothed at fifteen, and some were married off at fifteen. He was about to turn fifteen himself—he wasn’t a child anymore.

Liu Qishuang still had to go to town to sell vegetables, so naturally he wouldn’t linger at the Wan household. But no sooner had he stepped out the door than Wan Dongyang followed right behind him.

He walked to the ditch below the Wan family’s house and couldn’t help but glance back—only to catch sight of Wan Dongyang crouching by the gate of the Wan family’s courtyard like a thief. Just as he was wondering what Wan Dongyang was up to, he saw Wan Dongyang stick one foot out.

But soon, he realized what Wan Dongyang was up to.

Before long, a figure came running out of Wan Changqing’s house. The person had obviously been tripped by Wan Dongyang and sent tumbling a good distance away, followed by a barrage of curses. And who else could that person be but Liu Quan?

“Serves him right,” Liu Qishuang couldn’t help but laugh out loud, but in an instant, the smile vanished from his face.

Today was the tenth day of the fifth month. Though it wasn’t a market day, the streets were bustling because the Dragon Boat Festival was approaching, and the market was especially lively, with villagers selling calamus and dried mugwort everywhere.

Liu Qishuang was flanked on both sides by vendors selling aged mugwort—two young, unmarried girls. Since they were all around the same age, they could strike up a conversation even without knowing each other. Just as Liu Qishuang was telling them how far and exhausting it was to gather wild vegetables in Laolin Forest—and that he’d never go back there again—a customer approached, and it was a regular. “Oh, it’s you!” The woman stopped in her tracks as soon as she spoke and began picking through the wild vegetables in front of Liu Qishuang.

Liu Qishuang’s face lit up with a smile the moment he saw the customer, and his smile grew even wider when he took in her appearance—she was the first person to buy Chinese mahogany from him.

“Sister, the wild greens are five wen a bunch. I’ll give you two bunches for eight wen.” Liu Qishuang noticed that the woman had picked out one bunch and set it aside without touching it, then kept sorting through the rest. Realizing she wanted two bunches, he offered her a slight discount.

Upon hearing this, the woman stopped browsing, casually picked up another bunch, placed it in her basket along with the one she’d selected earlier, and began counting out the cash.

With the Dragon Boat Festival just around the corner, these wild greens would only be in season for a few more days before they disappeared from the market. Even at five wen per half jin, they weren’t expensive, so getting a whole jin for eight wen was a good deal—the woman didn’t hesitate.

However, though she gave the cash without hesitation, she didn’t leave right away. After a moment’s hesitation, she turned to Liu Qishuang and asked, “Did you or your husband go into the mountains to pick these wild greens?”

Liu Qishuang hadn’t expected the woman to remember what he’d said last time, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and admit he’d picked them himself. He didn’t expect that because of that one remark, the woman would accidentally count two extra copper coins when she was counting out the cash—and still give him ten copper coins as usual.

Having deceived her yet received her kindness in return, Liu Qishuang felt terribly guilty. But he didn’t dare chase after her to explain, so he resolved that if he ever met this woman again, no matter what he was selling, he would give her some for free.

By May, wild vegetables had become scarce. Liu Qishuang quickly sold out the meager supply in his back basket. Using two girls around fifteen or sixteen standing beside him as a cover, he turned his back to the street and crouched down to count his cash.

“Ninety-five, ninety-six, ninety-seven, ninety-seven!” Just a few copper coins short of a whole string of coins—Liu Qishuang was quite pleased.

He even thought to himself that next year, when he’d be another year older, his strength and stamina would surely improve considerably. A single trip into the mountains should allow him to bring back thirty or forty jin of wild vegetables. Even if the price varied by three, four, or five wen per jin, on average, he could easily earn nearly three hundred wen per trip. If he went as early as April, he’d make a tidy sum by the end of the month.

Thinking that he could earn a few liang of silver next year just by selling wild vegetables, Liu Qishuang began looking forward to the New Year and the arrival of spring. He completely forgot that just last night, when he was too exhausted even to speak, he had silently vowed to himself that he would never set foot in that wretched old forest for wild vegetables again.

Liu Qishuang didn’t squander the cash he’d earned; he spent only twelve wen on a jin of pork and put the rest away.

He had already spent all the cash he’d earned from selling wild produce last time while his parents were away, and now he had only eighty-five wen left after buying the pork—but that would be enough for him and his grandfather to get by for a while.

He’d already found a good place to hide the cash—one his parents would never discover. Since the village was close to town, he’d sneak into town to buy meat whenever he had a chance. As long as his parents were out working, he’d cook the meat for his grandfather to eat.

It was still early when Liu Qishuang returned home from town—just past noon, around the beginning of the Wei hour.

He was walking at a leisurely pace, thinking about how he would prepare the meat in his back basket, when someone called out to him. He turned around and saw that it was the third young master from the Wan family, the landlords.

“Third Young Master,” Liu Qishuang called out hurriedly, and even though he knew he wasn’t blocking the carriage, he stepped further to the side of the road. Although the Wan family were landowners, they weren’t the kind of exploitative landlords depicted in operas or found in other villages.

Landlord Wan was a kind man, and his sons had good dispositions as well. Although they were major landowners, they were always polite to the villagers and never acted haughty or looked down on anyone.

After calling out, Liu Qishuang was just thinking how kind the Third Young Master was—he’d even greeted him—when the Third Young Master Wan’s carriage came to a stop, and he invited him to get in.

“Thank you, Third Young Master, but it’s not far—I’ll walk on my own.” Liu Qishuang certainly wasn’t going to take a few polite words at face value.

Master Wan’s carriage wasn’t some old cart—it was a proper carriage with a covered compartment, looking both clean and elegant. He shifted his back basket; how could he possibly let it get dirty or scratch the carriage?

Liu Qishuang had thought they’d just exchange a few polite words and that would be the end of it, but to his surprise, the carriage actually stopped, and the curtain was lifted—Wan Dongyang’s head poked out from inside.

“Get in,” Wan Dongyang called out, inviting him into the carriage.

But Liu Qishuang wasn’t having any of it; he simply shook his head and walked away without a word.

Seeing that the young man was ignoring him, Wan Dongyang was a bit taken aback, but he had something important to discuss. He called out to the coachman up front, “Third Uncle, stop the carriage.”

Young Master Wan, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth and looking as if he were watching a show, stopped the carriage and, with a cheerful air, hopped down, then caught up with his nephew in a few strides.

“What’s wrong with you, ger? I told you to get in the carriage—why did you run off? You’re not happy about getting a free ride?”

“…….. ” Liu Qishuang said nothing, merely shaking his head.

Wan Dongyang’s frown deepened; he was getting a little annoyed, but he still had to say what needed to be said.

He grabbed the boy’s back basket and said to the youngster, who wouldn’t even give him a glance, “If anyone from the Wan Changqing family calls you over for a meal, you must go, understand?”

“Mm-hmm.” This time, Liu Qishuang responded.

Since the Wan family’s son-in-law had caught the old bear, and they were traveling the same way anyway—not to mention that he’d vouched for Yun Shen—the Wan family would likely treat him to a meal. There would be meat to eat—bear meat, no less, something he’d never get to taste in his entire life—so Liu Qishuang wanted to go.

Seeing that he had finally agreed, Wan Dongyang’s expression brightened, and he asked again, “Are you really not going to ride in the carriage?”

“No,” Liu Qishuang replied just as decisively.

“Fine, whatever you say.” Wan Dongyang’s reply was blunt; he took a few steps away, and the carriage quickly drove off. Only then did Liu Qishuang look up at the rear of the carriage as it receded into the distance.

As the carriage grew distant, so did Wan Dongyang. He’d said he was just a kid, and he didn’t feel like dealing with him. Meanwhile, inside the carriage.

“How’d you manage to offend that young man, kid? It looked to me like he didn’t want anything to do with you.” Young Master Wan said with a chuckle. He hadn’t expected there to be a young man in the village who dared to give Wan Dongyang the cold shoulder—it was truly a rarity.

Wan Dongyang’s mind was in a tangle at that moment; he was deep in thought. Hearing Young Master Wan’s remark, he immediately grew flustered.

“Offend him? I just helped him last night!” Last night, that ger had been so exhausted he was barely hanging on. If Wan Dongyang hadn’t carried him all the way home, who knows when he would’ve made it back.

Wan Dongyang was a bit angry and a bit confused, which is why his mind was in a tangle.

He just didn’t get it—the guy who’d asked for his hand in marriage just last night—it had only been one night—how could he have turned into a completely different person?!