“Really?”

As soon as Wan Dongyang said he wanted to get married, his older sister-in-law and his mother immediately put down their work and gathered around him. Mother Wan could no longer hide the smile on her face—she’d been waiting for this day.

“Spill it, you little rascal. Who’s the one making this old tree bloom again?” Wan Dongyang’s mother had been making sweet rice wine just moments ago. Now that the weather had turned hot, she’d prepared some sweet rice wine—brewed with mountain spring water—to serve as a sweet soup at noon and to enjoy while cooling off in the evening breeze.

Wan Dongyang didn’t much like being called “old,” but at twenty-two, he was indeed no spring chicken. After letting out a soft grunt to show his displeasure, he didn’t argue with his mother and got straight to the point.

“Mother, pick an auspicious day to go to the Liu family and ask for his hand in marriage.” 

“The Liu family!”

Wan Dongyang’s offhand remark startled both his mother and his older sister-in-law. After exchanging glances, Lin Qiuyue fidgeted with her hands, her ten fingers all tangled up, but she said nothing.

Mother Wan was silent for a moment; after clearly giving it some thought, she cautiously asked, “Do you really like him?” 

“Mm-hmm.” He tilted his head away from his mother and gave a slight nod in response.

Now he was actually feeling a bit shy.

Mrs. Wan knew her son’s temperament; just looking at his determined expression, she could tell he’d made up his mind. But she felt a surge of panic. The Liu family—it really was the Liu family. That ger was so young; it was like an old ox munching on tender grass. Her face burned with embarrassment.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake! All you ever do is cause me trouble and bring shame upon me. Get out of here! Just seeing you annoys me—nothing ever goes right!” As soon as Wan Dongyang saw his mother’s reaction, he knew she had agreed; if she hadn’t, she wouldn’t have scolded him but would have tried to gently dissuade him instead. Now that he was reassured, he happily headed out the door.

Wan Dongyang was heading to town today to deliver pigeons. The weather had been hot lately, so the restaurant was ordering fewer pigeons, but he still had to make two or three deliveries a month—though each time it was only five or six birds.

“Giddyup!” As he hitched the horse to the cart and headed out the gate, Wan Dongyang glanced toward the Liu family’s house. He thought to himself that the young man had already asked for his hand in marriage and given him a token of their betrothal. Although he’d accepted it without quite understanding why, he’d accepted it nonetheless.

Naturally, he was going to marry him.

Although the young ger was still quite young, that didn’t matter—just as his mother had said, he’d simply bring him home and raise him.

That way, he wouldn’t have to live in constant fear at the Liu household anymore.

Wan Dongyang now ran only the Huiwei Restaurant; the manager of that other restaurant had been nothing but trouble. Not only did he constantly nitpick about his pigeons, but two months ago he’d even tried to drive down the price.

Wan Dongyang knew the manager probably thought he’d been stringing him along—that he hadn’t actually secured the contract with the “Huiwei Pavilion”—which was why the manager had continued to act so haughty.

Not wanting to haggle with him every so often, he simply told the manager that he was now selling a large volume of pigeons individually to neighbors—people who bought them to nourish pregnant women, the elderly, or children. He felt he couldn’t refuse them, so he ended the partnership with the restaurant when he could no longer meet their demand.

Wan Dongyang knew exactly how many pigeon-raising households there were in Poplar Town and the surrounding villages. He wasn’t worried at all about selling his family’s pigeons, so he wasn’t about to put up with that unfair treatment.

As he left the Huiwei Restaurant, Wan Dongyang held five taels of silver and another packet of dim sum in his hand. The silver was the cash he’d earned from selling pigeons, and the dim sum were a gift from the restaurant—they said they were a new variety for his children to try.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Wan Dongyang pushed his own little girl, Wan Xiaohua, aside, thinking he’d let someone else try the dim sum instead. As luck would have it, his wish came true: on his way home, he ran into Liu Qishuang and his grandfather at the city gate.

Liu Qishuang and his grandfather had come to sell white-stem reed that day. Summer was the peak season for white-stem reed; while it usually sold for only two wen per jin, it was currently fetching three wen, meaning they could earn a good deal more if they sold enough.

Wan Dongyang quickly stopped and even helped Grandpa Liu onto the cart.

Grandpa Liu was both surprised and delighted, wondering why Wan Dongyang was being so courteous as to help him up. He wasn’t so old that he couldn’t move—he was still capable of climbing into a horse-drawn cart on his own.

Of course, there was a reason Wan Dongyang had gotten off the cart.

“Here you go.” After helping Grandpa Liu onto the cart, Wan Dongyang casually handed the dim sum to Liu Qishuang.

After Wan Dongyang handed over the dim sum, Grandpa Liu froze. All the events of the past few months flooded his mind. His gaze darted back and forth between the two of them, and after a long moment, he gasped!

This was a possibility he’d never even considered—could Wan Dongyang have taken a liking to his Shuangshuang?

Liu Qishuang had no time to pay attention to his grandfather at that moment. He stole a glance at the person right beside him, but after taking the dim sum, he didn’t say a word; instead, he glanced around and quickly climbed onto the cart.

Wan Dongyang was amused by his reaction, which made him look like a thief caught in the act. He thought to himself that he was quite an interesting person—hadn’t he been incredibly bold earlier when he gave him the scented pouch? Why was he acting so guilty now?

But that was just a passing thought for Wan Dongyang.

He had a fiery temper, but he wasn’t foolish; he knew full well that their unacknowledged interaction would invite gossip from others, so they naturally had to keep it secret. Pretending not to notice Grandpa Liu, who stood frozen in place, Wan Dongyang walked around to the front of the cart and continued driving.

Wan Dongyang usually drove his horse-drawn cart back and forth to the village. If he ran into villagers—especially those he took a liking to, or those carrying heavy loads—he’d often give them a ride.

Not long after leaving the city, just as they reached the poplar grove near the town, they ran into several fellow villagers. Wan Dongyang naturally stopped the carriage and invited them to hop on, but when the Wang brothers tried to climb aboard, he refused to let them.

“You two, don’t get in,” Wan Dongyang said. He didn’t care for the brothers and couldn’t fathom where they got the nerve. He’d beaten them up last time, and even their parents had been beaten by his second sister-in-law—how could they still have the audacity to ride in his carriage?

The Wang brothers were carrying some things on their backs; though not particularly heavy, a ride in the carriage would naturally be better. It was sweltering out, and getting home sooner would be a relief.

Wang Chunyu, thinking back to what had happened last time, quickly forced a smile and said to Wan Dongyang, “We don’t mind if the carriage is crowded.”

“I mind you two.”

Wan Dongyang’s words were blunt. As soon as he finished speaking, he cracked his whip and rode off, leaving the two brothers still reeling from the shock.

“What did he mean by that?!” Wang Chunyu was furious! He wasn’t giving them any face at all!

Wan Dongyang’s carriage was full of old men and women—the kind who love to gossip. They spent all day gathered at the village entrance spreading rumors. If they went back and started talking about today’s incident, the whole village would know in no time. That would be a total disgrace for the brothers!

In truth, the Wang brothers weren’t thick-skinned; they simply had no other choice.

Last time, the Wang couple went to the Wan family to demand an explanation, but they didn’t get anywhere—it was a disgrace for their family. What they never expected was that, not long after, the Wan family started having one good thing after another.

The Wan family had completely severed ties with the Jiang family, the village’s traditional healers, and Wan Yong’an had set up his own practice as a doctor. Now, when many villagers have minor ailments no longer have the Jiang family as their only option. With a doctor in the family, the Wan family’s status in the village has naturally risen.

On top of that, Wan Changqing got incredibly lucky and hooked up with a rich guy whose family runs a silver jewelry shop. He and Wan Dongyang are as close as two peas in a pod, and with this connection, will he ever have to worry about not having silver jewelry to wear?

Finally, the Wan family has another promising relative: Wan Dongyang’s father is the son of Wan Caifu—the village’s biggest landowner—and his eldest brother. The two families are extremely close; how could Landowner Wan not look out for them?

The Wang family has two ger who are of marriageable age and are currently struggling to find suitable matches for them.

His family had long since regretted causing a scene at the Wan household and had been hoping to find an opportunity to make amends. But neither of them expected Wan Dongyang to be so stubborn—neither soft words nor harsh ones would sway him.

Liu Qishuang had grown to dislike the two Wang brothers because of the incident involving the Wan family’s paddy fields. Add to that the time they teamed up with Zhou Laosan to beat him up, and he disliked them even more—he couldn’t wait to see them suffer a setback.

“Heh heh.” Thinking back on how those two brothers had looked just now, Liu Qishuang felt incredibly satisfied. Hmph! Serves them right~

They reached Wanjia in the blink of an eye. When they arrived at the fork in the road leading to the Liu family’s estate, Wan Dongyang remained completely calm, showing no reaction whatsoever. After the old man and the man got off the cart and continued on their way home, it was Grandpa Liu—who had already dismounted—who seemed to have no intention of returning home. He stood at the fork, watching their retreating figures for quite a while without moving.

Liu Qishuang had long wanted to tell his grandfather about her relationship with Wan Dongyang, but at first he hadn’t been sure—unsure whether Wan Dongyang would come to their home to ask for his hand in marriage. But now he was certain.

Why else would Wan Dongyang give a young ger all sorts of treats for no reason? He must have had a specific purpose in mind.

“Grandpa, it’s just as you think. Come on, let’s head back.” Even though it was his own grandfather, Liu Qishuang still felt a bit embarrassed when it came to his own marriage, so he spoke and walked away first.

Upon hearing his grandson’s words, Grandpa Liu’s face lit up with a smile. He kept glancing back at Wan Dongyang as he walked away, then at his grandson, back and forth countless times before finally heading home.

“Excellent. Wan Dongyang is good. Wan Dongyang is truly a fine young man.”

The grandfather and grandson returned home in high spirits, only to find their joy vanish the moment they stepped through the door. Liu Congxiang and her husband were waiting for them with grim expressions.

“What’s this?” As soon as Liu Qishuang stepped through the door, a cash pouch was tossed at him.

It was the height of June’s sweltering heat—the hottest time of the year—and though beads of sweat still glistened on Liu Qishuang’s forehead, a chill began to creep into his heart. His mother had actually unearthed the cash he’d hidden away.

For a split second, his mind went blank. In that brief moment of daze, Liu Qishuang felt as though his legs were floating, as if he were in a dream. It wasn’t until the cash pouch on the floor came clearly into view that his blood, which had seemed to freeze, began to flow again; his feet found solid ground once more, and his heart settled.

No need to worry—what his mother had found was just the bag of loose cash; those few taels of silver were still safe.

“This is the silver from selling wild vegetables and aged mugwort earlier. I saved up enough to exchange it for a small change to pay off the debt.” With this as an excuse, he had nothing to fear. Liu Qishuang felt at ease, and the look in his eyes as he met his mother’s gaze was no longer one of guilt.

Liu Congxiang didn’t believe a word of her son’s nonsense. She reached out, her index finger nearly poking his face, and shouted, “Pay off debts? Are you a fool or am I? Are you making up such an excuse to deceive me? How long ago was it that Wan Yong’an treated your grandfather? How long have you been hiding this cash? You’ve gotten so bold that you dare to hide your own cash behind your mother’s back, and you even dare to lie to me! If I don’t break your legs today, you’ll never know the first thing about the world!”

As Liu Congxiang spoke, she was about to strike out at him, but was unexpectedly held back by Xu Shifan and Grandpa Liu. Just then, the dim sum Grandpa Liu had been hiding in his breast pocket fell out.

Grandpa Liu’s back was somewhat hunched; if he’d bent over even further on purpose, it would’ve been hard to spot whatever he’d hidden in his waist pocket—but who could’ve predicted today’s mishap?

When Liu Congxiang saw the dim sum on the ground, she became even more furious!

“Let go! Both of you, let go of him!” Liu Congxiang never imagined her son would dare to hide cash and secretly buy dim sum. This meant the brat had grown too bold and no longer held them in any regard.

Grandpa Liu, holding the boy back, looked utterly frantic. He didn’t even care about the dim sum on the ground right now; all he could say was, “Don’t hit the child.” Xu Shifan was holding him back because he’d recently gotten used to playing the role of a good father—he had to keep up the act so all his efforts wouldn’t go to waste.

He glared at the dim sum on the ground, but didn’t ease his grip; he kept holding the man back, preventing him from striking.

Liu Qishuang had initially felt guilty, but seeing his father’s reaction, he realized he was deliberately trying to curry favor with him. Taking advantage of the fact that his mother was being held back, he quickly began to explain to the others.

“That’s to pay off a debt. Brother Wan said I don’t need to pay him back bit by bit—he just told me to save up five taels of silver and bring it all back at once. If you don’t believe me, go ask him.” Liu Qishuang and Wan Yong’an had long been in cahoots; he wasn’t the least bit afraid of his mother asking him, and he knew her all too well—she wouldn’t dare go to the Wan household to ask questions.

The only people his mother dared to bully were him and his grandfather.

With Liu Qishuang’s explanation, Xu Shifan’s expression softened considerably.

“All right.” Xu Shifan gave a gentle tug, easily pulling Liu Congxiang away, then took his son aside. Frowning, he shared his thoughts with him.

“My silly son, why are you so naive? Who in this world sees cash and doesn’t want to take it? The Wan family’s eldest son clearly doesn’t want your cash, but he’s afraid the villagers will say he’s taking advantage of you by not charging a consultation fee—that’s why he’s just stringing you along.

Where on earth would a young ger like you get five taels of silver to give him? Don’t worry—you don’t have to worry about the debt to the Wan family. They won’t come after you for the cash. If you don’t believe me, just wait until they come knocking on our door demanding payment—I’ll pay them back myself.”

As Xu Shifan said this, he felt even more convinced that he was right. He had originally planned to put the cash pouch back in his pocket, but after a moment’s thought, he counted out twenty copper coins from it and handed them to his son, casting a deliberate glance at the dim sum on the ground.

“You’re all grown up now; you can’t go around without any cash on you. Take this—when you go out, buy whatever you want.” Xu Shifan was sure his son would be touched by his generosity.

Liu Qishuang gritted his teeth as he took the cash, thinking to himself, “Well, I might as well take it,” but he couldn’t help but wonder how his father had the nerve to take nearly a hundred copper coins from him, give him only twenty in return, and still tell him to buy whatever he wanted.

What could twenty copper coins possibly buy? No way!

Snatching the cash pouch from Xu Shifan’s hand, Liu Qishuang bent down to pick up the dim sum from the ground. As he ran out of the courtyard, he shouted back to him.

“I’m going to the Wan family to return the cash. If they really don’t want it, I’ll bring it back to you.”

As he ran toward the Wan family’s house without looking back, the only sound Liu Qishuang could hear was the pounding of his own heart, like a drum. Earlier, he had almost given in and handed over the cash he had earned hard.

But he couldn’t let that happen. He had clearly decided earlier that he would no longer meekly accept everything or blindly obey orders. Since he had made up his mind, he had to stick to it; he couldn’t go back to his old ways.

Liu Qishuang’s act of snatching cash startled the remaining three people.

Grandpa Liu silently pulled out the cash from today’s sales of white-stem reeds, handed it to Liu Congxiang, and even helped cover up the lie, insisting that the dim sum was bought for the Wan family’s Xiaohua.

Upon hearing this, Liu Congxiang recalled how she’d earlier sent someone to curry favor with Wan Xiaohua. She felt a little better, but then suddenly sensed something was wrong. Hadn’t that little brat said earlier that he wouldn’t marry Wan Changqing? Why, then, was he now trying to curry favor with the Wan family?

Grandpa Liu didn’t know why his daughter’s face was growing darker and darker. Filled with worry, he went to the ditch to wash his face—it was so hot that day, and a splash of cool water would bring some relief.

The couple took the cash and returned to their room in silence. It wasn’t until quite a while later that Liu Congxiang spoke—and the very words she uttered were the ones Xu Shifan had been longing to hear.

“Let’s finalize the marriage arrangements for the two children.”