Two taels of silver.

That’s two thousand copper coins!

He couldn’t hide the smile on his face—this was cash that Wan Dongyang had given him, and only to him.

It was already quite late when Liu Qishuang set out. After spending some time at the Wan household, it had grown somewhat dark. On his way back, he deliberately lingered for a while, waiting until it was completely dark. Using the cover of night, he stashed his belongings before finally entering his home.

When Liu Qishuang brought the bear meat home, Xu Shifan looked overjoyed and praised him repeatedly. Then, without hesitation, he took the bear meat Liu had just brought back and immediately began preparing to leave.

Liu Qishuang had known all along that his father would take the bear meat back to the Xu household, but he hadn’t expected him to be in such a hurry—so much so that he was determined to return that very night. As Xu Shifan was leaving, he had already reached the doorway when he called back into the house, “Are you really not coming back with me?”

Xu Shifan was addressing Liu Congxiang with those words.

Liu Qishuang hid in the kitchen, wanting to see just how much backbone her mother actually had. As he’d expected, his mother had none—she ended up leaving with Xu Shifan after all.

Liu Qishuang looked toward the family outhouse, thinking of his grandmother’s final days and his grandfather’s current plight, and the hatred he felt toward his mother grew even stronger.

He was different from his grandfather; his grandfather had focused solely on blaming his father. Although he, too, resented his father, he hated his mother even more. He felt that the way their family’s life had turned out was entirely his mother’s fault.

His father wasn’t even Grandpa and Grandma’s son—the fact that he schemed against them could only be described as cold-blooded and selfish. But his mother was Grandpa and Grandma’s own flesh and blood! Yet she actually allowed her husband to treat his own parents that way. She was utterly unworthy of being called human—she was as black-hearted and rotten to the core as could be.

If his mother hadn’t constantly taken his father’s side, no matter how formidable his father was, he wouldn’t have been able to stir up much trouble, because the villagers would have helped them—unlike now, even when Grandpa was beaten by people from another village, not a single villager bothered to ask a single question.

Because people know that asking is pointless—and might even make them look like meddlers. Her mother would just say it’s their own business, and outsiders shouldn’t get involved.

“I won’t think about it anymore.”

Liu Qishuang had been waiting by the courtyard gate ever since his parents left. Once he was certain they wouldn’t be coming back, he shook his head vigorously, banishing the complaints he’d already voiced eight hundred times in his mind, and hurried to the thatched shed next to the gate to retrieve the item he’d hidden there earlier.

“Good thing I was prepared.”

When he got the bear meat, he knew his father would take it away. Since it was such a rare treat—if he hadn’t gotten any, that would’ve been that—but since he had, he naturally wanted his grandfather to try some.

While at the Wan family’s house, he’d asked Lin ger to cut the meat into two pieces so that he and his grandfather could both have some to eat the next day.

After stowing the meat away and hiding the silver under the baseboard in a hidden corner of his parents’ room, Liu Qishuang went straight to find his grandfather.

“Grandpa, you’re not sleeping here anymore.” Liu Qishuang had no intention of letting his grandfather continue sleeping in the cattle shed. The weather was getting hotter by the day, the place stank to high heaven, and even the mosquito-repelling herbs couldn’t keep out all the insects. Sleeping there would surely mean a sleepless night—it was simply unfit for human habitation.

He planned to have his grandfather move into his own room, while he would sleep in the woodshed. If his father came home and got angry, so be it—he wasn’t afraid of them anymore.

Liu Qishuang’s plan was sound enough, but Grandpa Liu wouldn’t listen to him.

Grandpa Liu used to sleep in the wood shed, but his persistent cough had forced him into the cow shed. Now that his cough had mostly cleared up, he figured moving back wouldn’t give the other two any grounds to complain.

But there was no need to sleep in the main house—to an old man like him, it didn’t matter where he slept.

Grandpa Liu insisted, and Liu Qishuang didn’t argue with him; he figured the wood shed wasn’t much different from his own room, so it didn’t matter. After Grandpa Liu’s bed was made, the grandfather and grandson both got ready for bed.

Free from the stench that had been lingering in his nostrils and the incessant buzzing of mosquitoes, Grandpa Liu quickly fell asleep, but Liu Qishuang tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

He was, unusually, suffering from insomnia.

That was because Liu Qishuang had mustered the courage to ask Lin-ger a question.

He asked Lin-ger whether Chen Damei had received any silver from Wan Dongyang. The answer was no.

Wan Dongyang had only given him silver.

The lingering shadow of having been called a “child” was instantly swept away, and Liu Qishuang came to terms with it.

After all, Wan Dongyang was indeed several years older than him—it was only natural that he looked like a child to him. But since he wasn’t actually a child, how could he just give up like that?

It was the Dragon Boat Festival right now, and his father and the others probably wouldn’t be back until after the festival—which meant he had three or four days.

He remembered that during the Dragon Boat Festival, people sold scented pouches on the street. He’d go out and buy a few feet of fabric, then ask Saixue to come over and teach him how to make them.

The weather in May was still quite pleasant. With a plan in mind, Liu Qishuang slept soundly until dawn. When he opened his eyes and saw the sun, he was so startled by the bright light that he rolled over and sat up in a flash!

He’d been so exhausted the day before yesterday—a whole day had passed, and he still hadn’t quite recovered.

“Oh no, I overslept!”

Although his parents had been away for the past few days, he couldn’t just laze around at home all day—he still had plenty of work to do.

The family raised pigs, and since there was no ready-made pig fodder in the fields right now, he had to go out every morning to gather it. After returning with the fodder, he still had to go to town to buy meat. Today, he planned to go to the pharmacy to buy two roots of angelica sinensis and two pig’s trotters to stew a dish of angelica sinensis and pig’s trotters for his grandfather.

As for the odd jobs in the fields, he didn’t need to worry about them too much for the time being—it was only a matter of two or three days, and the weeds wouldn’t choke the crops. Today was the twelfth day of the fifth month, a major market day, and with the Dragon Boat Festival approaching, the streets were bustling with people coming and going.

When Liu Qishuang finished his household chores and headed to town, he made a point of putting on an extra layer of clothing to conceal the cash pouch at his waist.

The silver Lin-ger had given him was in whole ingots, so he had to take it to the money house first to exchange it for small silver pieces and copper coins. He exchanged one liang of silver for eight taels in small silver pieces, and the remainder for copper coins, packing them into a large bundle in his money pouch. Afraid someone might snatch it away, he not only wore thick clothes but also slung a basket over his shoulder to conceal it—only then could he feel at ease.

As he stepped out of the pharmacy, Liu Qishuang was beaming from ear to ear. He had never eaten angelica root before; he only knew it was good for one’s health and had assumed it was a very precious item that would cost a fortune in cash.

Little did he know that the shopkeeper was honest and didn’t try to deceive him. The shopkeeper frankly explained that the price of angelica root had dropped significantly over the past two years compared to earlier times—it was only one hundred wen per jin. He bought two plump pieces that weighed no more than two jin—exactly two taels of silver.

He had almost saved all of the two taels of silver he’d set aside, and Liu Qishuang was overjoyed. But by the time he reached the fabric shop, the smile had vanished from his face.

He’d been scolded at a fabric shop before, so he was a bit afraid to enter those neat, bright stores. Some of the snobbish clerks would look at him with utter disdain the moment his gaze fell on the display cases, as if he’d dirtied their fabric.

“I’m here to buy cloth—good cloth!” Plucking up his courage, he stepped over the threshold of the fabric shop. Immediately, a young clerk approached him, pointing the way and gesturing for him to follow down to the area where the bolts of cloth were displayed.

Liu Qishuang wasn’t upset by the young clerk’s reaction; on the contrary, he instantly let down his guard and relaxed considerably. His clothes were old and tattered, yet the young clerk still greeted him warmly—which was completely unexpected.

“Young man, I’d like to see some top-quality cotton cloth… or satin.” Liu Qishuang had a good idea of the price of cotton cloth, but he was unsure.

He thought he’d look at both; if the satin was only slightly more expensive, he’d buy it—after all, he’d only need a few feet, so it shouldn’t cost much in cash.

The young clerk attending to Liu Qishuang was still quite young and had just started working at the shop. Although he was enthusiastic, he couldn’t hide his feelings; he immediately frowned in distress and bluntly pointed out that satin was expensive, adding that they had some newly arrived hemp cloth that was also excellent—very durable and long-lasting.

Liu Qishuang knew the young clerk meant well, so he simply explained that it wasn’t for his own use but a gift for someone else, and he had the cash ready.

Upon hearing this, the young clerk immediately brightened up, quickly leading him to another section of the shop and patiently showing him the selection.

Liu Qishuang weighed the price, thinking it was only about half as expensive as the other fabric, and finally spent nearly two hundred wen on five chi of satin before leaving in high spirits.

After leaving the fabric shop, Liu Qishuang headed straight for the farmers’ market. He still needed to buy some pork feet, and he also wanted to pick up a few large white steamed buns to take home and fry into crispy slices—he’d been craving them ever since he last had them and had been wanting to make them again for a while.

Today, the weather was fine, and it was now high noon with the sun at its peak.

Liu Qishuang had originally thought that after noon, the market would be less crowded, but to his surprise, it was still bustling.

As soon as he arrived at the market, he caught a whiff of salt and pepper. It turned out a small stall selling pot-buns had appeared at the market entrance. As he walked deeper into the market, he noticed many more villagers selling fruit along both sides of the street. It was now May, and the peaches and plums most commonly found in the countryside were beginning to hit the market, filling the air with the fresh sounds of vendors’ calls.

Liu Qishuang had come with a specific purpose in mind and had no intention of loitering in the market. He headed straight to his destination, bought the pork feet, picked up some steamed buns, and was just about to leave, but just as he was about to leave, he witnessed a commotion.

The young woman who had always patronized his stall got into an argument with a vendor selling aged mugwort. The reason was that the vendor had already agreed on a price and collected cash, but then backed out because someone else offered a higher price. Enraged, the plump young woman started arguing with the vendor right then and there.

Liu Qishuang hadn’t expected aged mugwort to sell so well these past few days, so he got an idea. He told the plump young woman to wait for him there the next day, and he’d give her two bundles. Just a few days ago, he’d been wondering what to give someone as a gift—he never expected the opportunity to come knocking right at his door.

When Liu Qishuang returned home, it was the hottest part of the day. Even though he didn’t usually sweat easily, his forehead was now slightly damp, his face flushed as if radiating heat, and his eyes seemed to glisten with moisture, making them appear even brighter.

“Grandpa, I’m back.” Liu Qishuang called out as soon as he reached the courtyard gate, but no one answered. He called out twice more after entering the courtyard, but still no response, so he knew his grandpa had gone out to work.

After hiding the remaining cash, Liu Qishuang finally had time to splash some cold water on his face.

Water was readily available at his home, so he simply squatted by the wall, cupped his hands like a bowl, and took several big gulps to quench his thirst and cool off. Only then did he scoop up water to splash on his face. After splashing several handfuls of water on his face, a gentle breeze blew, and a wave of coolness washed over her. He took a few deep breaths to relax, then immediately set off for the village.

He went to the Song family’s house to find Song Saixue, arranging to go to the market together the next day to sell calamus and aged mugwort. Although he had plenty of cash now, why would he pass up a chance to make more?

Aside from doing business in town, he also wanted to ask her to come to his house whenever they had free time over the next few days to teach him how to make scented pouches; he had to finish them by the fifteenth at the latest so he could give them away.

He also invited her to come to his house for lunch that afternoon.

Although the Song family got by just fine, they weren’t exactly overflowing in meat—especially bear meat, which they might not get to eat even once in a lifetime—so Liu Qishuang naturally had them on his mind.

Liu Qishuang hadn’t eaten much good food since childhood, nor had he ever prepared anything special, but he’d seen his mother stew pork trotters, so he decided to follow her example and start making the soup.

First, he went to the storage pit behind the house and dug out some ginger, then sneaked into his father’s room to take half a bowl of wine. With both ingredients ready, he singed the pig’s feet over a fire and scrubbed them clean with loofah pulp. He then placed them in a pot, added the ginger and wine, and blanched them over high heat to remove the blood scum and impurities before beginning to simmer them slowly.

Once the pot came to a boil again, Liu Qishuang hesitantly added the washed angelica root. He wasn’t sure when exactly to add it, nor did he know how this angelica root and pig’s trotter soup would taste, but since they were all high-quality ingredients, it should turn out well no matter how he prepared it.

When simmering, one shouldn’t simply boil things over high heat the whole time. After about half a shichen, Liu Qishuang removed a piece of firewood from the stove, reducing the heat from high to medium. Another half-hour passed, and with the firewood reduced further, the heat was lowered to a simmer—it was at this very moment that Grandpa Liu returned.

As soon as Grandpa Liu returned, Liu Qishuang couldn’t help but pull him over to the large pot, smiling broadly as he explained in detail how she’d prepared it.

“Grandpa, I didn’t mess this up, did I? Just take a whiff—it really smells amazing.” Even though the pot lid hadn’t been lifted yet, the aroma was already impossible to contain; it had escaped through the cracks and filled the entire room.

“That’s right. That’s probably how it’s done. Grandpa thinks it should be just like this.” Grandpa Liu wasn’t sure exactly how to make it either, but since the contents of the pot smelled so wonderful, it had to be right.

When Song Saixue arrived, the grandfather and grandson were setting the table. Song Saixue set down a basket of peaches, her eyes wide as saucers as she stared unblinkingly at the table, her mouth watering.

“Shuangshuang, why is there so much meat?” Braised pig’s trotters, and what other kinds of meat? There were even fried steamed bun slices and scrambled eggs! There’s just too much good food here! You should’ve told me sooner—I only brought a few pieces of fruit. If I’d known, I would’ve sneaked some rice over here too. I feel like I’m taking advantage of this.”

“My parents could be back any minute—let’s just eat whatever’s here.” Although his parents would most likely not return until after the Dragon Boat Festival, Liu Qishuang wanted to play it safe.

In any case, they definitely wouldn’t be back today, so the safest bet was to eat all the goodies right away.

“Let’s eat.” He quickly had everyone sit down. Seeing Song Saixue swallowing her saliva with anticipation, Liu Qishuang couldn’t help but feel delighted.

He glanced at the basket Song Saixue had brought, thinking that with all the meat on the table today, the fruit would be the perfect way to cut through the richness—which made him even happier.

Besides, in the past, it was always Saixue who’d sneak him treats; he rarely had the chance to treat others to something good. Now that he could treat someone to a delicious meal, he was overjoyed—how could he possibly resent her for getting the better of the deal?

This wasn’t the first or second time the old man and the two children had secretly prepared a feast together. None of them held back; they ate their fill, and it wasn’t until nearly half an hour had passed that they finally got up from the table.

“I can’t jump anymore—I just can’t jump at all.” Song Saixue sat on the steps, rubbing her round belly; she didn’t feel like moving at all, but she was still sucking on a plum.

She’d originally planned to play jump rope with her friend after dinner, but now she couldn’t manage even a single jump.

That pot of pork trotter soup was so delicious—not only had she gnawed on several chunks of pork trotter, but she’d also downed a huge bowl of soup, filling every nook and cranny of her stomach.

Liu Qishuang didn’t feel like moving either. Holding a white-and-red-striped peach in his hand, he plopped down next to him and chatted with her, discussing their plans to go to the market the next day.

It was early summer in the fifth month; the nights were filled with the croaking of frogs and the chirping of insects. The evening breeze carried these sounds into the courtyards of every household, blending them with the laughter and cheerful chatter within.

The next day, Liu Qishuang got up before dawn. He wanted to go out early to harvest calamus and dried mugwort.

The three of them had already made their plans the night before.

Today, Liu Qishuang and Song Saixue would go to the market to sell their goods, while Grandpa Liu would stay home to handle matters. If the couple returned, they would simply tell them the truth.

After all, his father believed he owed Brother Wan cash and intended to use the proceeds from the sale to repay the debt. The two arrived on the street neither too early nor too late—it was just past the Si hour.

Hanging mugwort and calamus on the front door during the Dragon Boat Festival is a tradition in their prefecture. With the festival just around the corner, households that hadn’t yet hung them were naturally anxious. The two found their goods selling very well; in less than half an hour, they had already sold more than half of their stock.

No matter how in demand the calamus and dried mugwort were, a large bunch cost no more than two or three wen. But as the saying goes, small amounts add up—the two had harvested quite a lot that day, and by now each had earned over thirty wen.

When his back basket was nearly empty, Liu Qishuang began looking around; he was waiting for his plump older sister to come find him.

“Sister, over here!” Finally spotting her, Liu Qishuang quickly waved at her.

The plump woman made her way straight toward him, weaving through the crowd of morning gatherers, a smile on her face that suggested she was in high spirits.

“Young man, you really came.” The plump woman immediately grabbed a handful of things and tried to give him cash, but Liu Qishuang refused.

“Sister, no need to pay. We were about to leave anyway—here, this is for you.” The summer dew was heavy, and since Liu Qishuang had been walking upstream along the large ditch that morning, his sleeves and pant legs were somewhat damp. As he waved his hand to refuse, the woman noticed his sleeve, which was wet almost to his elbow.

The woman frowned and said, “Young ger, did you cut this dried mugwort yourself? Where’s your husband?”

Wan Dongyang arrived just then and happened to overhear the woman’s words. Curious, he glanced at Liu Qishuang and naturally took a few steps closer, so it wasn’t long before the woman’s sarcastic remarks reached his ears as well.

“A grown man, and he has the nerve to let you dress like a scruffy dog. His own fulang doesn’t even know how to dress properly—he just makes him do all the hard labor.” As she finished speaking, the woman rolled her eyes at Wan Dongyang. She picked up her things and deliberately walked past him, “accidentally” bumping into him. Then, with her head held high like a rooster that had just won a battle, she strutted away proudly.

Long after the woman had left, Liu Qishuang still didn’t dare lift his head, but Wan Dongyang, who had finally caught on, spoke up first.

“You told people you’re married.”