After bringing the steamed rice dumplings and elm samaras to the table, the grandfather and grandson were ready to eat.

As soon as they sat down at the table, Liu Qishuang picked up the wine bottle and poured drinks for himself and his grandfather, a look of happiness and contentment on his face. On the table were a plate of buns and a plate of rice dumplings, along with stir-fried green beans with pork, salt-fried chili peppers, and scrambled eggs with wild scallions—all delicious dishes.

Liu Qishuang had originally planned to make a stir-fried eggplant dish—there were a few edible eggplants from the first harvest in the vegetable patch, and he wanted to serve them first—but Grandpa was worried they wouldn’t be able to finish it all, so he told him to skip it for now and save it for tomorrow.

Liu Qishuang thought Grandpa had a point.

Eggplant wasn’t all that rare—even if his parents came back, they could have some. For today, they should just finish off the delicious food already on the table.

“Grandpa, let’s have a rice dumpling first.” The Wan family had given them four rice dumplings and four buns. Liu Qishuang simply placed the plates holding the rice dumplings and buns in front of himself and his grandpa, handing two of each to the other—two rice dumplings and two buns for each of them.

Perhaps because they rarely ate meat throughout the year, both Liu Qishuang and his Grandpa had hearty appetites; neither of them felt there was too much food on the table to finish.

As soon as they began eating, Liu Qishuang started with an elm samara bun. It was his first time trying one, and as he took an eager bite, the filling spilled out—some of it even ending up in his mouth.

The bun had a thin wrapper and a generous filling.

The filling in these buns contains not only elm samaras but also stir-fried ground meat; you don’t even need to chew them much—the moment they melt in your mouth, they fill it with a rich, savory aroma.

“I can’t believe this is so fragrant and delicious. Next year, I’m definitely going to pick some—I’m sure I can make some cash selling them.” Liu Qishuang was thoroughly satisfied with the buns and kept nodding in approval as he ate.

Watching his grandson think about making money with everything he ate, Grandpa Liu felt a warm sense of satisfaction. He thought his Shuishuang was a hardworking child who was sure to lead a good life in the future.

After finishing one bun, Liu Qishuang moved on to the rice dumplings. Upon untying the thin string that bound them, he was slightly surprised. Weren’t rice dumplings supposed to be white? Why did the glutinous rice inside look brown, as if it had been dipped in soy sauce? After taking a few bites of the glutinous rice, revealing what was wrapped inside, Liu Qishuang was even more puzzled.

“Grandpa, why is there meat and an egg inside the Wan family’s zongzi? Aren’t zongzi usually filled with peas? Or red beans, green beans, and the like?”

Grandpa Liu had never seen a zongzi with a filling like this either. He shook his head and said, “It doesn’t matter what’s inside—as long as it tastes good.”

“Mm-hmm,” Liu Qishuang nodded, both agreeing with his grandfather and affirming the taste of the zongzi in his hand. “It really is delicious.”

This zongzi, filled with pork belly and salted egg yolk, tasted much better than any he’d had before. He didn’t know how the pork belly was prepared, but the fat wasn’t greasy at all—it was fragrant and even tastier than the lean meat.

The egg yolk inside was different from the ones he usually ate—it was fragrant when chewed and had a slightly salty flavor. Both the pork and the egg yolk must have been marinated; as for how they were marinated, Liu Qishuang had no idea.

But in an instant, his ears turned red. He thought to himself that he would find out sooner or later.

The dishes on the table gradually dwindled as he ate bite after bite of buns and rice dumplings, and the rice wine beside him had been refilled twice. By the end of the meal, almost everything on the table had been eaten, with only a single rice dumpling remaining on the plate in front of Liu Qishuang.

“I really can’t eat any more. I’ll have it tomorrow.” Perhaps because he’d had quite a bit of rice wine, Liu Qishuang’s cheeks were slightly flushed, but other than that, he showed no signs of intoxication; he likely wasn’t drunk.

After the meal, Liu Qishuang not only carefully washed the pots and bowls but also gathered up the rice dumpling leaves and tossed them into the pigpen. He then washed the wine cup that had held the rice wine earlier and placed it in the bamboo basket at home where bottles and jars were stored—there were so many cups and bottles in there that even his parents couldn’t tell them apart.

Once everything was taken care of, it was getting late; the sky was beginning to darken, and it must have been well past the middle of the Hour of the Dog.

Liu Qishuang was sitting under the eaves at that moment, a small bowl of rice wine by her side. Her grandfather was sorting white-stem reeds beside her, and Liu Qishuang called out for him to stop working, saying it was getting too late to see anything.

“It’s still light out; we can work a little longer,” said his grandfather. Accustomed to his work, he could manage just fine with even a little light left. He hoped to sort out as many white-stem reed cores as possible to earn a little extra cash.

Liu Qishuang sipped the sweet rice wine while gazing toward the village entrance. Thinking of his parents at the Xu family’s house these past few days, his heart swelled with joy.

Over the past few days, he’d eaten plenty of delicious food at home and hadn’t had to do much farm work—it had been absolutely wonderful. But he feared his parents hadn’t been having such an easy time of it.

He knew that once his parents returned to the Xu household, they would become servants there—forced to do every kind of work, with none of the good food coming their way. The thought of himself living it up while his parents suffered made Liu Qishuang’s smile grow even wider.

But this time, Liu Qishuang was wrong. Upon returning to the Xu household, his parents were actually enjoying a rare period of leisure.

Bai Fengxian had already spoken with the Xu family before her last visit, explaining that neither the father nor the ger of the Liu family would agree to the marriage. Upon hearing this, the Xu family grew anxious—not only because of the marriage itself, but also because of the attitude of the father and son.

They understood better than anyone why, over the years, the second son had been able to lord it over the Liu household and bring whatever he wanted back home.

If the mother and son of the Liu family stood united, not only would this marriage fall through, but the second son’s life would likely become very difficult as well. If he could no longer call the shots at the Liu household, the Liu family’s possessions would naturally no longer be given to the Xu family.

Over the years, whenever harvest season rolled around, the smiles on the Xu family’s faces would shine especially brightly. The reason was simple: in addition to the harvest from their own fields, they could also receive grain from two mu of land—and they got it for free.

As soon as the couple arrived at the Xu household, Mu Ruxiu, the eldest son’s wife, warmly pulled Liu Congxiang aside to sit down. She then sent the two girls from the third son’s household to pick fruit from behind the house, washed it all thoroughly, arranged it on a fruit platter, and presented it to Liu Congxiang.

Although the Liu family didn’t have many fruit trees, and peaches, plums, and willow leaves were a common sight on the streets at this time of year—which Liu Congxiang wasn’t particularly surprised by—what did surprise her was Mu Ruxiu’s attitude.

In all the years since she’d married Xu Shifan, Liu Congxiang had never been treated this way by the Xu family.

Her face had been grim after the altercation with Xu Shifan, but Mu Ruxiu’s sudden warmth softened her expression considerably. Yet she wasn’t foolish; she knew exactly why Mu Ruxiu was being so kind—it was all for her son.

Thinking she could get things done with just a few pieces of fruit was, of course, impossible.

Whenever the two of them visited the Xu household in the past, Xu Shifan would go out to work in the fields, while Liu Congxiang had to stay home to take care of the entire family—washing dozens of days’ worth of laundry all by herself and cooking meals for the whole household on her own.

That would have been bad enough, but at the dinner table, the best dishes never made it to their plates.

“Here, Congxiang, have a chicken drumstick.”

The Dragon Boat Festival hadn’t even arrived yet, but the Xu family had already slaughtered a chicken. When the chicken was served, Mu Ruxiu’s very first chopstick movement was to serve Liu Congxiang a portion—and a particularly good one at that.

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t surprised and delighted; Liu Congxiang had never once had the upper hand with her sister-in-law.

Even though she knew deep down why her sister-in-law was fawning over her, Liu Congxiang couldn’t help but relish the moment. She even thought to herself that she might as well enjoy this while it lasted—after all, there might not be another chance to keep her sister-in-law in check.

There were only two chicken drumsticks on the whole chicken. As Liu Congxiang looked at the drumsticks in her own bowl and those in the bowl of the Xu family’s eldest grandson, she was just feeling a surge of satisfaction when, suddenly, another drumstick appeared in her bowl.

“Second Auntie, this is meat from the rooster’s drumstick—it’s tender and in big chunks. It’s most satisfying to eat in big bites. You must be tired from your journey; eat a little more.” Xu Yaozu, the eldest grandson of the Xu family, was the only male grandchild among the Xu family’s grandchildren, but the name “Yaozu” was given to him only after the Xu family had no further male descendants.

He had originally been named Shunzi, and by the time his name was changed to Yaozhu, he was already in his teens; consequently, both the villagers and his own family were accustomed to calling him Shunzi.

To be honest, Xu Shunzi was quite a handsome young man. He bore a striking resemblance to Bai Fengxian, while his build was just like his grandfather’s—tall and sturdy. Before the incident, he had been very selective about his marriage prospects, but back then, it was he who was the one being picky.

As the only male grandson in the family, Xu Shunzi was naturally the cherished treasure of the elderly Xu couple and his own parents. When Xu Shunzi passed over a chicken drumstick, Bai Fengxian and Mu Ruxiu’s faces immediately darkened. They were both heartbroken—that was a drumstick from a rooster, after all! What a bargain for that woman!

But no matter how reluctant they were, they had to let it go at this moment.

Mu Ruxiu forced a strained smile and nodded in agreement with her son, saying, “Congxiang, it’s rare for Shunzi to show such filial devotion. Go ahead, eat up—eat as much as you like.”

While she urged him to eat, she thought to herself, ‘I hope you eat yourself to death!’

Liu Congxiang wasn’t unaware of the Xu family’s intentions. Believing that only a fool would pass up a free meal, she didn’t hold back at all; after nodding, she began devouring the chicken leg in big bites.

As soon as Bai Fengxian saw that she really wasn’t holding back—and actually dared to eat two—she could no longer hide her kind smile!

How could she possibly eat both chicken drumsticks herself? Bai Fengxian had assumed that Liu Congxiang would at least set one aside for Shunzi, or offer one to the two of them, the elders.

But she actually had the nerve to eat both of them—it drove her crazy!

Liu Congxiang pretended not to notice as she finished her meal; her thoughts hadn’t changed one bit, but over the next few days, she began to waver a little. The Xu family was truly skilled at flattery, showering Liu Congxiang with praise until she was completely swept off her feet.

Not only did she no longer have to do any work this time, but Mu Ruxiu kept gushing about how lucky she was—having given birth to a ger, she now had both a ger and a son-in-law. Liu Congxiang, of course, understood exactly what Mu Ruxiu meant by “ger and son-in-law.”

If her son were to marry into the Xu family, the children he bore would bear the Xu surname, and she would be a grandmother. Her son would then no longer be a son, but a grandson.

Not only that, but Xu Shunzi was also quite savvy; not only did he go out of his way to flatter everyone, but he also hinted in every sentence that she would be the one running the Xu household in the future—after all, she was both a daughter-in-law and a direct relative of the Xu family.

Liu Congxiang and her husband had never received such treatment at the Xu household. Xu Shifan was already completely at a loss; he was determined to push this marriage through, eagerly awaiting the day he could return to the Xu household to call the shots.

Seeing how happy Xu Shifan was—and realizing she had finally outmaneuvered her two sisters-in-law—Liu Congxiang was also tempted. But she hadn’t completely lost her head and still retained some sense of reason.

She felt that Liangjia Village, where the Xu family lived, was no match for Wanjia, and she was somewhat reluctant to spend her days there. Furthermore, although her husband was a son-in-law of the Liu family, and their son bore the Liu surname, they were, after all, first cousins—how embarrassing that would be if word got out.

The couple stayed at the Xu household for a few days, living a carefree life, so much so that even after the Dragon Boat Festival had passed, they still hadn’t thought of returning home. It wasn’t until Mu Ruxiu, who really didn’t want to wait on those two “ancestors” anymore, mentioned that the rice seedlings in the fields needed fertilizing that the two finally headed back.

They were also worried that the old man and the child at home might be slacking off, doing nothing but eating good food.

On the way home, Xu Shifan brought up the matter of the two children’s marriage again. This time, Liu Congxiang didn’t refuse outright, but she didn’t agree either.

She was still set on forming an alliance with the Wan family. She believed that if her son married into the Wan family and he later gave birth to a son who would be supported by the Wans, the two of them and their ger would hold the entire Liu and Xu clans in their hands—that would be the best outcome.

Gers could never be relied upon—once he had a husband, he’d forget his mother. Once his son went over there, it was far from certain whether he’d listen to her or to his sister-in-law.

Besides, she’d been chasing after the Wan family and currying favor with them for so long—it would be such a shame if her wishes didn’t come true.

Liu Congxiang had already begun to waver about the marriage arrangement with the Xu family, and Xu Shifan was determined to push the matter through. After the two returned home and discovered that the rice and flour had been tampered with, they didn’t even utter a word of reproach. On the contrary, Xu Shifan’s attitude toward his son had actually improved.

He remembered his son’s words from that day all too clearly—his son had said he wouldn’t marry Wan Changqing.

Thanks to the couple’s attitude, the grandfather and grandson finally enjoyed a period of peace—but it didn’t last long.

In early June, as the height of summer arrived, green beans appeared in the market. Liu Congxiang and Xu Shifan went to town to sell grain and, while they were there, bought some green beans to take home. As they were doing so, they happened to see Wan Changqing acting quite intimately with a young man from town.

“Hmph! What’s so great about that? He doesn’t even have a few mu of farmland, and he’s got a father with a broken leg at home. Who knows when his old injury might flare up again? When that happens, money will just flow out the door—there’s nothing to get excited about!” As soon as she got home, Liu Congxiang started ranting.

In fact, rumors about Wan Changqing and that ger from town had been circulating in the village for some time, but the ger was simply too well-off. It wasn’t just Liu Congxiang—most people in the village thought it was impossible.

After all, that was a family that owned a silver jewelry shop—how could Wan Changqing possibly be a match for them?

Not only had the match Liu Congxiang had been hoping for so long fallen through, but she’d also found out that Wan Changqing had landed himself a good match. She was furious. After venting her anger, she turned her tirade on the old man and the child at home, ranting for nearly half an hour until she’d completely vented her frustration and finally calmed down.

“Hmph, if one door closes, another opens—it’s not as if I’m relying solely on your Wan family!”

When Liu Congxiang said this, Xu Shifan was delighted.

With all three of them now disinterested in the Wan family, it would be pointless for that old geezer to keep insisting.

Only after her mother had calmed down did Liu Qishuang gaze in the direction of Wan Dongyang’s home, silently wondering whether Wan Dongyang was actually interested in him and when he would finally come to marry him.

Wan Dongyang had been keeping something to himself lately, but he’d been too shy to speak up. It wasn’t until June had turned into July that he finally decided to open up.

“Mother, I want to get married.”