“I’m not some old hag yet, and my ears aren’t deaf.” Mother Wan’s voice was flat. She looked up and shot him a disdainful glance, her eyes fixed on his mouth. Then she looked down at the long needle in her hand, as if she wanted to sew shut that mouth that knew nothing but how to bellow like a demon.

She had been busy for quite some time this morning; the shoe upper in her hands was nearly finished, with only a few stitches left.

Wan Dongyang had just reached the steps of his own home when his older sister-in-law, Lin Qiuyue, stood at the kitchen door and glanced outside. Seeing him return, she called out for him to go to the wind-swept hill beside the house and bring Wan Yong’an back for dinner.

“Got it, I’ll go right away.” Though Wan Dongyang said he’d go immediately, he had no intention of leaving. Instead, he pulled his mother into the house. Before entering, he cast a glance at Liu Qishuang, who was quietly crouched in a corner, working.

It was as if Liu Qishuang had eyes in the back of his head. Only after Mother Wan had followed them inside, cursing all the while, did he cautiously glance toward the Wan family’s main hall. But he dared not look for long; after a quick glance, he quickly straightened his posture and gripped his tools even tighter, afraid they might think he wasn’t working hard enough.

But…

Pounding this stuff was just like pounding rice—it didn’t feel too tiring at first, but after a while, it wasn’t much easier than working in the fields. His arms were aching terribly, and his neck and lower back were starting to feel stiff as well.

Wan Dongyang led Mother Wan into the small room off the main hall. Before he could say a word, his mother raised her hand and gave his arm a couple of sharp taps. “What are you doing? Why are you sneaking around like this? Did you do something wrong out there?”

Wan Dongyang had already looked pale out front, and now his face was even paler, with a look of resentment on his features. Not one to bottle up his feelings, he snapped at his mother with a touch of anger.

“Didn’t I tell you not to make him do heavy labor? Just have him sweep the floor or help you paste shoe soles and trim loose threads.”

Mother Wan, faced with her son’s reproach, had intended to explain. She hadn’t wanted Liu ger to work either; it was only because the boy seemed so restless that she’d given him a little task. Besides, she hadn’t asked him to shell much corn—just a sheng, which is only about four jin—and she’d even told him to rest whenever he got tired—she certainly wasn’t trying to wear him down.

But now that she’d come to her senses and saw her son like this, she didn’t feel like explaining anymore. Instead, she stared at him with a stern expression.

As mother and son, the moment Mother Wan’s expression changed, Wan Dongyang immediately knew what she was thinking and hurried to protest. “Oh, my dear mother, please treat me like a human being! He’s just a child—don’t let your imagination run wild!”

“Then who are you putting on this act for? It’s as if I’d tormented your young fulang and you’ve come to settle the score with me.” Once her son had called her bluff, she put her suspicions aside.

On second thought, it really was impossible; she had indeed overthought it. Although the child called her “Aunt Wan,” she was old enough to be a grandmother, and her own son was quite a bit older than the boy—it was simply out of the question.

Wan Dongyang hadn’t intended to keep the matter of the rice paddies a secret in the first place; he simply hadn’t had a chance to mention it. Seeing his mother’s wild imaginings, he immediately recounted the events of the previous day in detail.

“In short, I didn’t really call him over to work; I called him to apologize. Don’t make him do heavy labor—that stone pestle isn’t light. Xiaohua has never been willing to do this pounding work, and Liu-ger isn’t much older than her, so he certainly doesn’t have much strength in his hands.”

Wan Dongyang was feeling a bit regretful now. He should have spoken up sooner. If he’d told his family last night, the boy wouldn’t have had to work all morning, and he wouldn’t have been wrongly accused by his mother.

Wan Dongyang had thought that once he’d made himself clear, everything would be fine. Little did he expect that the moment he finished speaking, his mother, upon hearing his explanation, would become even angrier. She immediately reached out and yanked his ear, causing him to scream in pain and beg for mercy! “Mom, Mom, it hurts, it hurts! Quick, quick, let go!”

Wan Dongyang crouched down, bending his body to match the direction of his mother’s pull; otherwise, she might have yanked an ear right off his head. Mother Wan was furious beyond belief! She was itching to give Wan Dongyang a good thrashing!

She’d always believed that the Liu family’s ger wasn’t the type to lie or stir up trouble; the incident that day must have been caused by the Wang family ger. But she never imagined that her own good-for-nothing son knew the truth yet kept it hidden—and even went so far as to call people over to do the work. What kind of logic was that? Who would treat others so unfairly!

“I don’t care why you kept this from him, but you must tell Liu-ger what happened. If you don’t explain it clearly, I’ll go tell him myself. Don’t you dare take advantage of his family’s treatment toward him to treat him with such contempt.” Mrs. Wan’s tone was stern; she didn’t seem to be joking at all.

Wan Dongyang nodded with a long face, muttering under his breath, “I’m not mistreating him—I’m making it up to him! Besides, it’s not like I didn’t want to tell him; I just haven’t had the chance yet!”

His mother was indeed being unfair to him on this matter. He had originally planned to find an opportunity in a few days to set the record straight, but he never expected his mother to ignore his advice. Of all the chores she could have assigned him, she had to make him pound corn—a task that was incredibly exhausting.

“Good for you for knowing your place!” Mrs. Wan lowered her voice and peeked out the door, then whispered even more quietly, “A person’s pride is everything. Even if one is poor, one’s spirit must not be broken. What’s a few meals? Things are as they are—there’s no reason to wrong someone for no reason.”

“Then don’t say another word. I’ll go explain it to him myself.” Wan Dongyang walked out with a frown, went straight to Liu Qishuang’s side, and without a moment’s hesitation, snatched the stone pestle from his hands.

Liu Qishuang stared at his empty hands, thoroughly startled, and quickly explained, “I was called here to work. Aunt Wan called me to pound this corn and wheat.”

Liu Qishuang had come to work in the Wan family’s fields. He assumed Wan Dongyang was angry at seeing him doing such menial tasks, and that was why he’d been arguing with his mother about it earlier, which was why he’d ended up screaming in pain.

Little did he know that his words caused Aunt Wan, who had just stepped out the front gate, to see red. She glared fiercely at Wan Dongyang once more. She thought to herself, “What on earth is going on? We’ve wronged the poor ger, and now he’s coming here to work for us!”

“I say, you deserved what you got yesterday! Why didn’t you just spend the night soaking in that rice paddy?” Mrs. Wan couldn’t help but snap. Seeing that he still hadn’t spoken, she urged him, “What are you still standing there for? If you won’t say it, I will.”

“I know, I know.” Wan Dongyang wasn’t the type to be easily embarrassed; he wasn’t shy about speaking up, he was just weighing his words.

He couldn’t quite figure out Liu-ger’s temperament anymore. Anyone else would surely think his current arrangement was just fine—as long as he had food to eat, that was all that mattered—but this ger might not see it that way.

He hadn’t realized before that this young ger, who looked so easy to push around, actually had such a fiery temper.

“About the rice paddies—I know that Wang guy did it.” Wan Dongyang decided to just get it out. No sooner had he spoken than his older sister-in-law called out to him, “Youngest, why haven’t you gone to call your older brother back for dinner yet? Hurry up—the eggs will be done any minute.”

“I’ll go. Just make sure you explain things clearly to him.” Mrs. Wan glared at her son once more before heading out the door.

Liu Qishuang had no idea what was going on, but he’d heard Wan Dongyang’s words just now, and a smile had already spread across his face.

Wan Dongyang was standing right beside him at that moment. Seeing the smile on his face and recalling his mother’s earlier words, he finally realized that he had indeed been in the wrong.

“I’m sorry,” Wan Dongyang apologized first.

He had indeed intended to explain the matter of the rice paddies to the man, but he hadn’t taken it very seriously. He didn’t think it was all that important—after all, it was in the past. He’d simply thought it would be better to use an excuse to lure the man to his home and treat him to a few good meals. Now he realized he had been wrong.

A little reward was more important than clearing his name.

Yesterday, that young ger had done the right thing; he was quite impressive, daring to stand up for himself even at the risk of opposing him.

Once Wan Dongyang had spoken his mind, he naturally had to explain why he’d laughed it off and not exposed Wang-ger. After hearing everything, Liu Qishuang merely nodded; there was not a trace of reproach on his face, nor a hint of sadness.

“It’s enough that you know.” As long as Wan Dongyang knew that Wang-ger wasn’t pushed by him and that the Wan family’s rice paddies weren’t destroyed by him, that was all that mattered. Wan Dongyang’s actions were perfectly natural—after all, this was the boy his uncle favored; how could he not care?

He and Wan Changqing were as close as brothers, so naturally, he had to look out for him.

Having cleared up the matter and proven his innocence, Liu Qishuang’s expression turned relaxed and joyful. Thinking back to Mrs. Wan’s attitude just now, he felt even happier inside. He knew it must have been Aunt Wan who had sent someone to explain everything to him—Aunt Wan was truly the kindest, kindest person.

But…

Why had Aunt Wan suddenly changed her tune?

Liu Qishuang wasn’t a fool. Judging by the look on Wan Dongyang’s face when he returned, he knew that Mrs. Wan must have just found out. But now a new doubt had arisen in his mind. Just as the question began to form, Wan Dongyang spoke up to clear it up for him.

“I still feel that just sweeping that matter under the rug isn’t right by you, so I thought I’d invite you to stay at my place for a few days. I’ll have my mother cook some food to make amends—I’m not really asking you to come here to work. Don’t read too much into this; just relax and stay with us for a few days. As for that Wang fellow, we’ll deal with him later.”

“We didn’t settle this properly yesterday, and the opportunity has already passed. If we go to the Wang family to press the matter now, I’m afraid they won’t admit to it, and the villagers will slander the Wan family for bullying outsiders.” But though the moment had passed, the matter was far from over. Wan Dongyang had taken note of this insult, and he would get his revenge sooner or later.

While Wan Dongyang was still explaining yesterday’s events, Liu Qishuang’s mind had already wandered elsewhere. He was now gazing intently at the person beside him, his eyes—one large, one small, yet both equally beautiful and bright—curving into a smile.

Liu Qishuang hadn’t expected that Wan Dongyang had called him over to the house for this very reason.

It turned out he hadn’t called him over to work, but to play and enjoy some good food. That was why, upon seeing him pounding things, he had reluctantly mentioned the rice paddy to Aunt Wan.

Who was Wan Dongyang, after all? He was the village bully—someone who dared to provoke and beat up anyone. And who was he? Just a poor young man from a humble family, one whom even his own parents didn’t care about. If he’d been wronged, so be it. Yet here he was, going to all this trouble to make amends for him.

He… is a good person, after all.

At this thought, Liu Qishuang looked away, his cheeks flushing involuntarily, and the tips of his ears turning red. Seeing that he wasn’t angry but actually so pleased, Wan Dongyang’s mind began to spin.

He didn’t quite understand. Hadn’t this young man had his eye on his uncle? Why, then, was he so pleased to hear that his uncle favored Wang-ger? Hadn’t his mother and he intended to marry him off to his uncle? That was precisely why he’d nearly believed Wang-ger’s words earlier.