Chapter Bonanza (5/10)

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On the morning of his birthday, Yan Qi rose early to prepare a bowl of longevity noodles for Huo Ling.

His movements were light and deliberate as he slipped around to the foot of the kang, careful not to wake the sleeping Huo Ling.

Recent heavy rains in the mountains brought sudden downpours. A corner of the backyard wall was unstable, and Huo Ling feared it might collapse under the rain. He went into the mountains to carry back several baskets of stones, planning to reinforce it when he found the time.

Even if he claimed it wasn’t heavy, he must have been exhausted.

Last night, after taking off his clothes, his shoulders were rubbed raw again. He applied some ointment before finally falling asleep.

Before leaving, Yan Qi carefully lowered the door curtain to block the light seeping in from outside.

Outside the pass, summer dawns came far too early. Sometimes, after staying up late the night before, he felt he’d barely slept before the sun was already high in the sky.

Conversely, he imagined winter nights fall much earlier here. Who would have thought that just crossing a border could shift the sun’s rising and setting by so much?

Yan Qi moved as deliberately as possible in the kitchen, from kneading the dough to stoking the fire. The noodles were long and evenly thick, waiting only to be boiled.

The simmering broth, infused with elm mushrooms, was rich and fragrant with oil droplets. He rinsed a handful of bright green vegetables, blanched them, and set them aside. along with two eggs, intended to be poached in the broth.

Two side dishes would accompany the meal: one plate of stir-fried pickled mustard greens—a specialty he excelled at making, and one of Huo Ling’s favorites.

The other plate held rabbit meat, cold-marinated since yesterday, requiring no cooking.

Especially that rabbit meat—it had been simmered for hours yesterday, then steeped overnight in the marinade. After cooling, he’d deboned it.

Cold-marinated meat uses a different recipe than hot-marinated, so its color isn’t as bright red, but the flavor is just as rich.

Moreover, the water used in the mountains was sweet mountain spring water, making everything cooked with it taste delicious.

Worried it might be too salty, Yan Qi tore off a shred of meat to taste. It seemed acceptable to him—eaten plain, it was indeed a bit salty, but paired with noodles, it should be quite good. Besides, Huo Ling preferred stronger flavors than he did.

After preparing the dishes, the ger wiped his hands on his apron.

He turned back to the bedroom door, carefully pushing it open and lifting the curtain to see if the person on the kang had woken.

As soon as Huo Ling opened his eyes, he saw his husband’s head peeking through the doorway.

Their eyes met, and both couldn’t help but smile.

“When did you get up?” Huo Ling asked.

“Not long ago. Just after dawn.”

Yan Qi intended to turn back to the stove to continue his tasks, but Huo Ling beckoned him over.

He paused, removed his apron, and left it outside before stepping inside.

No sooner had he reached the edge of the bed than the man swept him up in an embrace around the waist, pulling him down onto the bed.

Yan Qi gave a soft gasp of surprise. By the time he regained his senses, Huo Ling was already nuzzling his neck. Embarrassed, Yan Qi murmured, “I just lit the fire. I’m all warm and sweaty.”

“You only smell delicious.”

Huo Ling kissed his ear. The ger giggled, tickled, and turned his head. “Or perhaps you’re smelling the aroma of meat?”

“Meat this early in the morning?”

“Of course there is. Today is your birthday, and I made it especially for you.”

Moments later, unable to ignore a certain overly alert part, Yan Qi gently nudged Huo Ling. “You should get up first.”

“Since it’s my birthday, I won’t settle for just meat.”

Huo Ling’s embrace around his husband revealed his true intentions—they were obvious at a glance.

Yan Qi didn’t want to start the day with “fooling around.” Knowing Huo Ling well, he realized that even if he gave in to his husband’s wishes in the morning under the guise of celebrating his birthday, things might not settle down by nightfall.

Hearing the ger’s quiet muttering, Huo Ling curved his lips. “Those were your words.”

“Exactly what I said. Can I go back on my word now?”

After months of marriage, Yan Qi no longer felt shy about such matters.

He finally pushed Huo Ling up, glancing down casually before pulling the thin quilt over him.

“I’ll go cook noodles for you. They’ll be ready once you’re done washing up.”

Watching his young husband hurry away, Huo Ling smiled softly and lay back down on the bed.

Only after his stirred emotions had settled did he finally lift the quilt, slip on his outer robe, and step out.

The longevity noodles sat on the table, a stunning bowl: golden broth, emerald greens, and snow-white noodles.

Yan Qi removed the heat-resistant cloth from the bowl and said earnestly to Huo Ling, “Happy birthday. May you enjoy boundless longevity.”

“Thank you, my husband.”

Huo Ling felt a slight lump in his throat. He raised a hand to touch his nose, sensing a tinge of stinging there.

This formal birthday celebration reminded him of the days when both his father and mother were still alive.

Though his elder sister-in-law had made longevity noodles for him since then, it just wasn’t the same. Now, Yan Qi was the one preparing them—the closest person to him besides his parents and brother.

He gazed at the bowl for a long while before finally picking up his chopsticks, taking a bite of noodles, followed by a sip of broth.

The noodle soup wasn’t just visually appealing; it tasted wonderful, too. The noodles in the bowl truly formed an unbroken chain.

Reaching the bottom, he uncovered two perfectly poached eggs, white and tender.

Huo Ling decisively picked one up and placed it in Yan Qi’s bowl.

The ger had eaten noodle soup for breakfast, made from leftover dough. Huo Ling could tell at a glance that there was no poached egg in his portion.

“We agreed to one egg per day. Why did you give me both?”

He then offered the ger a taste of the noodles.

“Longevity noodles aren’t meant to be shared. It’s a tradition—the birthday celebrant should eat them themselves.”

Yan Qi had barely finished speaking when Huo Ling replied, “If the celebrant is happy to share, what’s wrong with that?”

Unable to resist the stubborn man, Yan Qi smiled helplessly and leaned in to bite off a piece of noodle.

As for the cold braised rabbit meat, it was savory and salty, perfectly seasoned. Dager and Huang Yae couldn’t stop circling around, eager for more. The bones the two had finished eating hadn’t even hit the ground before the dogs snatched them up and began chewing.

For the first time, Huo Ling considered describing his own eating habits as “pathetic.” After gnawing on a rabbit leg, he almost wished he could suck on his own fingers, too.

“Where did you learn this braising recipe?”

Yan Qi replied, “It’s from home. My mother developed it herself. Since my father liked pig’s ears with his wine, she’d sometimes braise other offal too. But this rabbit version is my first attempt.”

Huo Ling recalled the ger mentioning earlier that he wanted to start a small business to supplement the family income. At the time, he had even suggested selling food, but the ger hadn’t brought it up again afterward.

He couldn’t quite gauge Yan Qi’s intentions—whether he truly wanted to do it or not.

Truth be told, any food business was hard work. If he had to rush to set up a stall at the big market, he’d have to rise before dawn and work late into the night, getting little rest the night before and the morning of.

He wasn’t struggling to earn enough for the household’s basic needs, and he truly couldn’t bear to see Yan Qi endure such hardship.

But if Yan Qi truly wanted to do it, he certainly wouldn’t stand in his way.

After a few breaths of silence, he tentatively suggested, “Last time we talked about the food business, I think your cold marinade recipe would be perfect for a stall.”

Yan Qi hadn’t expected Huo Ling to remember. He fidgeted with his chopsticks, feeling awkward. “We don’t have all the spices needed at home. I’d say we’re missing five or six ingredients compared to the shops. It’s really not presentable.”

Huo Ling sensed an opening. The man hadn’t said he didn’t want to sell food; he’d only said the cold marinade wasn’t suitable. So he replied: “What’s so hard about that? If you’re missing something, just buy it. What business doesn’t require some investment?”

Yan Qi seemed to hesitate for a moment, but ultimately shook his head.

“Spices are expensive—a single ounce can cost over a hundred coins. We only attend the big market twice a month and won’t sell much. Plus, making cold braised dishes requires meat. Buying pork offal isn’t cost-effective either. Those who sell braised chicken or goose usually raise their own flocks.”

And they certainly didn’t have that luxury.

Huo Ling listened as Yan Qi spoke at length, clearly having given this matter serious thought. Over the past days, he must have pondered it deeply, not merely mentioned it casually.

Realizing this, Huo Ling perked up, urging the ger to keep exploring the idea, lest they regret it later.

“We live right in the mountains. Why not catch wild rabbits like these and sell salted rabbit meat?”

That was indeed a viable approach. Yan Qi chewed on the tip of his chopstick for a moment before replying, “If we’re truly going to make this a livelihood, rabbits are essential. But you’re not a professional hunter. With autumn approaching and the peak hunting season fast approaching, how can you afford to focus your energy on catching rabbits? That would be chasing small gains while missing out on the big picture.”

After speaking, he waited a long while without hearing Huo Ling respond. Feeling uneasy, he glanced over to find the man smiling warmly at him.

Yan Qi felt his cheeks flush slightly, realizing he’d spoken more than intended. He lowered his head to serve food onto Huo Ling’s plate. “I’ve been rambling on about all sorts of trivial things. Today is clearly your birthday.”

Huo Ling happily ate the small dish his husband had served him. “Not at all. I love hearing these things.”

There wasn’t much left in the bowl. He finished it in a few bites, drinking every last drop of the noodle broth.

A rabbit leg and a rabbit head remained on the plate. Yan Qi hesitated to gnaw on the head, so Huo Ling picked it up and ate it.

Eating this was a delicate task. As he tore it in half with his hands, he said, “When it comes to the food business, you should think it through thoroughly. Whatever we need, we’ll go out and buy. Don’t worry about the cost.”

Huo Ling’s tone was earnest. Yan Qi chewed the mushroom in his mouth a few times, swallowed, and said, “I’m afraid of getting in the way. Everything at home is stable now. If we spend money on a new venture and don’t earn it back…”

For the first time, Huo Ling interrupted Yan Qi, thinking inwardly that his words were growing increasingly uncertain.

“Don’t treat this as your own responsibility. We’re family now. Hunting game was me guiding you because I knew more than you. Selling food is you guiding me because your cooking skills surpass mine.”

Huo Ling laid out the situation plainly. “To be honest, I’ve considered adding a new venture before. During the snowy months when we can’t enter the mountains, we can only set a few animal traps around the courtyard to catch game for trade. Sitting idle at home for so long, spending without earning—that’s one thing. But the real trouble is that people get restless from having nothing to do.“

Yan Qi instinctively looked up. ”When heavy snow seals off the mountains, does the town market still operate as usual?”

Huo Ling chuckled. “Of course it does. Everyone still needs to eat and drink. But if it happens during a heavy snowfall, it usually gets canceled. When that kind of goose-down snow falls, you can’t even see the roads. Once it stops, it resumes as usual.”

Yan Qi’s restless mind stirred once more. From Huo Ling’s words, it seemed they could continue their trade even after the winter mountain closure—not just when selling mountain goods downhill, but also by offering food.

Yet this matter couldn’t be settled so easily.

They finished the last few bites in their bowls quickly, cleared the tableware, and returned indoors. Tea and a bowl of pine nuts were set on the kang table—a clear setup for a long, leisurely chat.

On his birthday, Huo Ling granted himself a day off, deciding to stay out of the mountains for now.

These were last year’s pine nuts; this year’s crop wouldn’t be ready until after autumn. According to Huo Ling, they wouldn’t be as fragrant.

The man set out an empty bowl and began shelling the nuts. After just a few, something appeared before him.

He set aside the pine nuts to take them. Seeing it was made of cotton cloth stuffed with cotton, he felt a stir within. Unfolding it, he discovered it was a pair of knee pads.

They were designed for durability and resistance to dirt, without any embroidery. Yet, in a corner, he spotted a trace of colored thread. Leaning closer to examine it, he made out the characters “平安” (peace and safety).

His fingers traced the characters lightly. “Is this also my birthday gift?”

Yan Qi nodded. “Well, I couldn’t very well give you just a bowl of noodles.”

Huo Ling felt this birthday was truly worth celebrating. Stroking the knee pads, he asked with genuine emotion, “What made you think to make these?”

The ger took the empty bowl from Huo Ling’s hands and began peeling pine nuts as he spoke. “The mountains are colder and damper than the lowlands. Knees are the easiest place for cold to seep in. I saw you didn’t have knee pads, so I thought you should have a pair. Wear them every day once it gets colder. Take care of yourself while you’re young, and you won’t suffer when you’re old.”

He handed several pine nuts to Huo Ling. “The cotton came from your old coat. With the leftover batting, I can make you a new pair of cotton-padded shoes.”

Before he could finish, Huo Ling had suddenly popped the pine nut from his fingertip into his mouth.

The ger froze in place, forgetting to withdraw his slightly damp, soft hand.