Blanched crickets and cricket tofu have two entirely different flavors.

If the preparation of the second dish hadn’t been explained beforehand, Yan Qi would never have guessed it was also made from mole crickets. It melted in the mouth, rich and fragrant—no wonder it could linger in one’s memory for an entire year.

“After tasting this today, I feel completely at peace.”

Ye Suping fanned herself contentedly with a palm leaf fan. Even down in the valley, the evenings had grown cool by now, though the pesky autumn mosquitoes remained—they wouldn’t die off until the weather turned colder.

But the mosquitoes were particularly vicious at this time of year; a single bite left a huge bump, even more painful than in the summer.

Come to think of it, tomorrow was the last day of the seventh month—her birthday. Not only was her family’s fortune on the rise, but she was also carrying another little one in her womb; she felt truly at ease.

Nowadays, whenever anyone is home, they won’t let Ye Suping lift a finger to do housework; even little Huo Ying is always eager to pitch in.

After washing up at night, she felt refreshed all over.

After many days apart, Huo Ling and Yan Qi finally shared a room again.

No sooner had they stepped inside than Huo Ling pulled Yan Qi into his arms.

The ger paused in his tracks, feeling the man lower his head and rest it on his shoulder.

“Let me hold you for a while.”

Huo Ling’s voice was deep and resonant, sounding as if he’d suffered a great injustice. Yan Qi smiled helplessly and let him have his way.

The two stood there in the room like a pair of fools for a long while. Feeling the warmth radiating from the chest behind him, Yan Qi leaned back, feeling an immense sense of security.

But the moment that thought crossed his mind, he suddenly found himself lifted off the ground, his feet no longer touching the floor.

A gasp escaped his lips, but he forced the rest back down, afraid his brother and sister-in-law might hear and jump to conclusions.

His hands clutched Huo Ling’s collar tightly; he instinctively closed his eyes. When he opened them again, sure enough, he found himself placed on the kang.

“Wait…”

Huo Ling pressed down on him, silencing his husband’s unfinished words between their lips.

The soft, moist sensation was hard to resist. Two people who knew each other so well embraced, and soon even their breathing changed.

Yan Qi’s hair quickly fell loose, spreading across the bed beneath him. Huo Ling carefully brushed it aside so it wouldn’t press painfully against him later.

It felt as though this was the longest they had ever kissed; only now did they realize that even without rushing to consummate their union, simply clinging to each other in tenderness could be addictive.

As their clothes fell away, the ger still wore his undergarments, while Huo Ling’s clothes had long since been cast aside.

His taut abdomen was firm and muscular. Huo Ling took Yan Qi’s hand and ran it over his body from top to bottom. Watching his lover’s cheeks and earlobes gradually flush with color, he smiled and leaned down to plant a gentle kiss.

“…Do you want it?”

The deliberately hushed voice echoed in his ear, and Yan Qi had no choice but to respond.

In an instant, still waters turned into a raging torrent, and the fine rain was swept up by a fierce wind.

The long night came to an end with two cloth towels—used, washed, wrung out, and draped inside the room.

In the courtyard, the dog, once all human voices had faded, relaxed and lay back down where it had been. Not far away, a bowl of clean water reflected the crescent moon in the sky.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Since they had come down the mountain early this time, and it was also Ye Suping’s birthday, Huo Ling and Yan Qi happened to stay home for an extra day.

Early in the morning, the sound of pots and pans filled the kitchen. Huo Feng personally served his wife a bowl of birthday noodles, then, as if by magic, produced a brand-new silver bracelet and slipped it onto her wrist.

Next, Huo Ling and Yan Qi presented their gifts: one was a red envelope containing wedding money, and the other was a pair of new shoes Yan Qi had made for Ye Suping.

Before they were married, Huo Ling had always given wedding money as well; it wasn’t about the amount, but rather to bring good luck and an auspicious start.

Otherwise, as her younger brother-in-law, giving her anything else would seem odd, but since Ye Suping treated him so kindly, not giving her a gift would be even more inappropriate.

As for the pair of shoes Yan Qi had made, he had intentionally made them slightly larger than Ye Suping’s usual size, remembering that feet tend to swell during pregnancy; if he had made them in her usual size, she might not be able to wear them.

However, since cloth shoes naturally stretch and become more comfortable with wear, he didn’t dare make them too large, thinking that if they still didn’t fit later, he could always use a wooden last to stretch them out.

Ye Suping slipped them on right there to try them out. She walked around in them a couple of times and, seeing that they were exactly a finger’s width too big, kept saying they were just right.

“My feet swelled when I was pregnant with Yingzi, too. Back then, I’d wear your eldest brother’s shoes, or just walk with the heels hanging off—that was actually more comfortable.”

After trying them on, she put them away, brushed off the invisible dust from the soles, and smiled, “I’ll save these for later.”

Among sisters-in-law in every household, there’s often a surface harmony that doesn’t extend to the heart—especially in families that haven’t divided their property. There isn’t a single one who can go a whole year without a heated argument.

But Ye Suping often thought to herself: with someone like Yan Qi, how could she possibly have even a shred of ill will toward him? He was already being as considerate as could be.

Yan Qi complimented Ye Suping again, saying the bracelet looked lovely on her.

“It makes you look even fairer, Sister-in-law.”

Ye Suping simply slipped it off and handed it to him. “Try it on yourself.”

“That won’t do. This was a gift from my eldest brother.”

“Once he gave it to me, it’s mine. Does he really get to decide who I can give it to?”

Ye Suping took Yan Qi’s wrist, slipped the bracelet on, and gestured, “You’re thinner than me, so this is a bit too loose. If it were just a little smaller, it would fit perfectly.”

She even circled her finger around it to demonstrate.

Yan Qi felt embarrassed; without even looking closely, he hurriedly slipped it off and handed it back.

The silver bracelet Huo Feng had bought was surprisingly heavy—not the kind of hollow trinket bought merely to show off. Wearing it on his wrist felt as though he were holding a string of silver coins, leaving him feeling uneasy.

Ye Suping said nothing as she took it back, merely smiling without a word. But when Yan Qi was led by Huo Ying to the backyard to collect eggs, she went to the woodshed, found Huo Ling, and handed him a piece of cotton thread that had been cut and tied into a knot.

“I just had Qi try on the bracelet. Here, hold onto this.”

Huo Ling hurriedly took it. “So fast? Thank you, Sister-in-law.”

Ye Suping smiled warmly. “That’s not fast enough. I had to do it today while it’s still fresh, so he wouldn’t get suspicious.”

Huo Ling held the piece of cotton thread up to his eyes and examined it, looking puzzled. “Is his wrist really that thin?”

Usually, when he holds his hand, it just feels slender, but actually measuring it with the thread is even more surprising.

“That’s right. I specifically wrapped it around my finger once, leaving a nail mark at the tip, and as soon as he left, I quickly pulled the thread to compare.”

She added, “I don’t think Qi’er is just thin; he’s naturally built with a delicate frame.”

“Thank you so much, Sister-in-law. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have known what to do. He’s a light sleeper, so I was thinking of measuring him during the night, but I was afraid of waking him up.”

“It was no trouble at all. There’s no need to thank me.”

From the courtyard came the sound of Huo Ying’s mumbling. The two exchanged a glance, realizing that Yan Qi had returned to the front courtyard, and quickly went about their respective tasks, as if they hadn’t just spoken.

The first day of the eighth month marked the first major market of the season.

The first batch of fresh pine nuts from Bailong Mountain was about to go on sale this year, and with who knows how many lucky souls having hauled pine cones down from the mountains, it was a given that the place would be packed.

Huo Ling and Yan Qi also ran a pastry business. Not everyone could afford mountain produce, but buns were different—as long as there were people, business was bound to be good.

For this reason, they’ve prepared two bowls each of dough and filling—enough to make about a hundred buns. Even if they don’t sell out, it’s no problem; they can always bring the leftovers home, and the few of them at home can easily eat a dozen or so.

Since there were so many pine nuts, they wouldn’t all fit on the handcart once the goods for the bun stall were loaded. Huo Feng and Lin Changshui went along as well, each carrying pine nuts in a backpack, just as they had done on the way down the mountain.

Xiao Mingming and his mother-in-law had also risen early to make a batch of mixed-vegetable cornmeal cakes. With a hint of saltiness, they became more flavorful the more you chewed them and remained tasty even when cold. There were ten in total, all wrapped in clean cloth, which he gave them to take along.

“We’ve all eaten before leaving, and if we get truly hungry, we have the ready-made buns. Keep these for yourselves to eat at home.”

Yan Qi tried to decline, but Xiao Mingming insisted, “Just think of it as a taste of my cooking. They’re not very big, and no matter how delicious your homemade buns are, you’ll eventually get tired of eating only what you make yourself.”

It was a kind gesture, so he finally accepted them. Halfway along the road, the group shared two of them, and they were indeed quite flavorful.

The crust was crispy, and they had a delightful, toasty aroma.

“If we took these to town to sell—three wen for one, or five wen for two—I reckon we could make a decent profit.”

Having run a stall for a long time, Huo Ling was quick on his feet. Plus, since he and Yan Qi had tasted success selling food and recognized the Lin family’s skill, he casually brought it up.

In truth, there are many ways to make money. For instance, they sell mountain produce and prepare food; his older brother and sister-in-law are considering raising more livestock to sell eggs and meat. The only difference lies in which path one chooses and how much effort one is willing to put in.

It’s just that some people can’t think of these opportunities, or even if they do, they lack the capital or the courage to act on them.

Having received Huo Ling’s repeated hints, Lin Changshui realized the other man genuinely wanted to give his family a helping hand. He replied, “I’ll… go back and talk to Mingming.”

Walking through town, those pushing carts or driving wagons were actually less agile than those on foot. Whenever they encountered a narrow alleyway, they’d get stuck together; if even one refused to yield, the whole line would come to a standstill, and no one could move.

Fortunately, there were many of them, and with three strong men in the group, pushing forward was a bit easier.

Earlier, Huo Feng had taken over pushing the cart, while Huo Ling told Yan Qi to stay close to him. When the crowd grew too dense, he didn’t forget to pull the other closer to his chest, scolding him for barging through recklessly.

The other was initially defiant and glared back menacingly, but when he realized he had to look up to see Huo Ling’s face, he immediately played dumb and scurried away, tail between his legs.

“There sure are a lot of people today. I thought we’d come early, but if we’d been any later, there wouldn’t have been room to stand.”

They found a spot to park the cart, unloaded the mountain of produce, and set up the bun stall. The group caught their breath briefly before spreading out the straw mats to display their goods, while Huo Ling and Yan Qi lit the charcoal stove first.

He looked around but didn’t see the man selling cooking brooms—he didn’t know if the man hadn’t come at all or had set up shop elsewhere.

Before leaving, they’d thought that after traveling such a long distance, they’d surely be hungry by the time they reached town, so they might as well make a few stuffed buns to tide them over.

Now, having eaten the Lin family’s vegetable buns, their bellies were full to bursting. This actually saved them the ingredients for a few buns, allowing them to make a little extra money.

Yan Qi washed his hands and began rolling out dough to make buns, while the other three perked up and pulled out the star attraction of the day—a thirty-year-old “Lantern Stand”—from their back baskets, placing it right in the center of the stall.

Huo Ling usually didn’t bother with hawking his wares, but today, according to tradition, he’d brought a small copper gong. As soon as the “Lantern Stand” made its appearance, he struck the gong three times.

Hearing this from afar, passersby knew immediately that a mountain trader was selling a prized item here.