After three days of bitter medicine, it was finally time to go to Ma’er Village for a follow-up with Bearded Ma.

Early in the morning, after breakfast, the two set out together.

Huo Ling noticed the ger walking half a step ahead of him, no longer trailing behind with his head bowed. He sensed their bond had grown closer than before.

He understood well that some things couldn’t be forced. Throwing two strangers together so abruptly—even someone as easygoing as himself often felt at a loss for how to interact.

The boy was like a rabbit encountered in the woods—seemingly calm on the surface, but always with a taut string running through him.

Not wanting to push too hard, Huo Ling mentioned that over the past three nights, though they’d slept on the same kang, they’d each used their own quilt.

“Ma’er Village isn’t far. We’re not in a hurry, so let’s take our time walking there.”

Last time they borrowed the oxcart because Yan Qi couldn’t walk, but constantly borrowing wasn’t right. Livestock was precious; every family treasured theirs. Each loan meant another debt of gratitude.

Yan Qi didn’t expect to ride every time they went out. That would be the life of some wealthy family. Villagers were long accustomed to relying on their own two feet for travel. Not just three-quarters of an hour—even to the town or county seat, those unwilling to spend could walk there in two or three hours.

“Hmm, with someone to keep me company, the time will pass quickly.”

Huo Ling’s mind drifted at those words. He thought to himself, Soon I’ll have someone to keep me company too.

No wonder when his eldest brother first got married, he grinned like an idiot every day, and my sister-in-law kept saying he looked like a fool.

Marriage really is a good thing.

Since leaving the village required effort, Huo Ling didn’t go empty-handed. He specifically carried two oil flasks from home and a sack of fire hemp seeds, intending to press lamp oil at the oil mill in Ma’er Village.

Fire hemp seeds were the seeds of wild hemp. They grew everywhere—both wild and cultivated in fields—all called wild hemp.

Since hemp seeds yielded oil and hemp stalks could be stripped for rope, every household depended on them.

A pound of hemp seeds typically yielded about three ounces of oil, and a pound of lamp oil, used sparingly, could last a month.

Coincidentally, both the mountain and the village had dwindling lamp oil supplies. Last night, the Huo brothers had specially gone to the family shed to weigh out ten pounds of hemp seeds—all stored since last autumn when they were harvested.

Pressing a larger batch meant fewer trips in the days ahead, especially since Huo Ling had to carry supplies up from the valley.

The village path was quiet early in the morning. The occasional passerby was usually a man fetching water. Hurrying to fetch water for their households’ needs. They all moved swiftly, merely nodding a greeting to Huo Ling before continuing on. There were no groups gathered under the roadside trees chatting idly, which came as a relief to Yan Qi.

For the three days since entering the Huo household, he had been recuperating. The medicine he took made him drowsy, constantly wanting to sleep, and he hadn’t stepped outside at all.

Today, venturing out for a long journey, he braced himself for the villagers’ scrutiny. Fortunately, he wouldn’t have to face it just yet.

The Huo family’s home was among the easternmost households in Xiashan Village. As they approached the western edge, Huo Ling suddenly pointed to one of them.

“That’s the Lin household. Memorize the location so you can visit the Xiao family boys later.”

Yan Qi glanced around, committing the position to memory. The house was easy to recognize—the Lin family clearly didn’t live well. While many village homes now had tile roofs, regardless of age, they all used blue-glazed tiles. Yet, as far as the eye could see, only the Lin family still had a thatched roof.

Seeing Yan Qi walk past and then turn back to look, Huo Ling assumed he and Xiao Mingming were close friends. He deliberately elaborated on the Lin family’s circumstances to ease Yan Qi’s mind.

“Lin Changshui is an upright man. Aside from his speech impediment, he’s dependable in every other way.”

He then explained the reasons behind the Lin family’s poverty over the past few years.

“His father was a drunkard in his lifetime. Down a few bowls of cheap wine and he’d forget his own name, beating his wife and children. Not only did he drink away the family’s savings, but he eventually drank himself to death. To pay for his medical care, they even lost several acres of prime farmland. But since his passing, the Lin family’s life has actually become more stable.”

Lin Changshui spent his days farming with his mother. During the off-season, he took odd jobs in town. Combined with their frugal lifestyle and few major expenses, he reckoned that after weathering these years and catching their breath, their lives would only improve.

Hearing this, Yan Qi felt considerably relieved. He considered meeting Huo Ling a stroke of good fortune and hoped Xiao Mingming would marry well, too. Then, the two of them could look out for each other in Xiashan Village.

With no relatives left to their names, they regarded each other as family.

“Drinking is no good. Back in my old village, there was an old man who loved his liquor. His face was perpetually flushed. His wife couldn’t stand it anymore, so she took the child and remarried. He passed away soon after.”

It was rare for Yan Qi to speak up, so Huo Ling couldn’t help but ask, “How did he die?”

Yan Qi recalled, “It was the day after a heavy rain. The dirt road was slippery, and puddles had formed like huge blisters. He slipped and fell in while drunk, landing face-first. He drowned right there. Later, I plucked up the courage to check that puddle—it wasn’t even calf-deep. Logically, it shouldn’t have been deep enough to drown someone.”

It just goes to show that when misfortune strikes, there’s no escaping it.

Huo Ling listened and said, “I’ve never been much of a drinker. I only have a little when I feel like it, and I rarely get drunk. Before the mountain crossing, I won’t touch a drop. You can rest assured.” “

These words struck a chord with Yan Qi. Ever since hearing that story as a child, he had kept his distance from alcohol. Even when elders in his family brought home liquor during festivals, he would always prepare a sobering soup well in advance to prevent any misfortune.

”Most men enjoy a few sips of liquor. As long as they know their limits.”

In his view, liquor was made from grain—money better spent buying more food. Why waste it on a drink?

He’d once dabbed his chopsticks in sorghum wine, finding it scorched his throat. The heat surged to his temples as he swallowed, nearly bringing tears to his eyes. It was utterly undrinkable.

But he kept this to himself. Saying too much would make him seem like he was trying to control others, and that would only cause annoyance.

Huo Ling, however, seemed quite pleased. He even added, “Yeah, I’ll listen to you.”

As they approached the village entrance, several villagers carrying baskets appeared ahead, heading out together to dig wild vegetables in the fields.

Among them were both women and men, chatting and laughing in small groups. If Huo Ling had been alone, he would have kept his head down and walked past as usual. But this time, with Yan Qi by his side, he couldn’t help but be called over for a chat.

“Huo Er, where are you headed so early?”

Huo Ling turned to see that it was Aunt Hongmei from the Qi family. She was close with Ye Suping, often gathering to sew together. He lifted the cloth sack in his hand and gave it a shake.

“The lamp oil at home is running low. I’m heading to Ma’er Village early to get some more.”

Unlike Qi Hongmei, the other woman beside her kept her eyes fixed on Yan Qi, scrutinizing him from head to toe.

“So this is Young Master Qi? He’s been in the village for days, but you’ve been hiding so well, we haven’t caught a single glimpse of him.”

“He hasn’t been feeling well, sick for days. Today the weather’s nice, so he’s coming with me to Ma’er Village to learn the way.”

Huo Ling made no mention of taking Yan Qi to see a doctor. Preferring to say as little as possible to outsiders. Otherwise, who could predict how the same words, spoken by different people after you left, might be twisted and spread?

Yan Qi followed suit, addressing the woman as “sister-in-law”—a safe enough title even if he didn’t know her.

The woman speaking was Jin-shi, Qi Hongmei’s sister-in-law. She had once tried to arrange a match for Huo Ling, but it hadn’t worked out. To stop her from chattering on, Qi Hongmei quickly interjected, “Well then, you two should hurry off. Don’t delay. If you’re late, someone might beat you to the oil mill, and you’ll have to wait even longer.”

With that, they parted ways. Once Jin-shi and the others had walked far away, Qi Hongmei nodded toward them and whispered, “Sister-in-law, did you see? That boy is dressed in brand-new clothes. Second Brother Huo really spares no expense.”

She added, “That Yan family ger looks so sickly, taking medicine before even entering the house. Going to Ma’er Village couldn’t just be for lamp oil—they’re probably seeking out Bearded Ma.”

She clicked her tongue several times. “I used to think Second Brother Huo had such high standards. But after dragging it out this long, he ended up with someone like that.”

She recalled how she’d once tried to match her maternal uncle’s son to Huo Ling. No matter how she emphasized Huo Ling’s high earnings—how their household ate meat several times a month, even the dog got bone-in cuts—her uncle remained unsatisfied. He’d scolded her for proposing a mountain-chasing laborer, accusing her of not truly wishing his nephew well. It had infuriated her.

Yet people always favor their own kin. Two years later, when Jin-shi saw Yan Qi—a boy hardly remarkable in appearance—enter the Huo household and come home with a whole new outfit, she didn’t blame her uncle’s family for lacking discernment. Instead, she grew bitter toward Yan Qi.

Qi Hongmei didn’t even lift an eyelid, replying coolly, “It didn’t cost you a penny or a yard of your cloth. Why bother?”

Jin-shi snorted through her nose, about to retort, when she lowered her gaze and spotted a patch of dandelions. Instantly, Second Brother Huo vanished from her mind.

“Sister-in-law, come quick!”

In all the world, nothing mattered more than digging wild greens in this season.

On the other side.

Huo Ling and Yan Qi walked for quite a while, chatting freely without feeling their legs grow weary. And when they spotted several village houses at the end of the path, they knew they had reached the border of Ma’er Village.

Since oil pressing took time, they first went to the Wang family oil mill to drop off their hemp seeds. Bringing your own seeds for pressing costs only two wen per catty, much cheaper than buying hemp oil directly.

Huo Ling counted out twenty copper coins. The Wang family’s husband took the payment and, noticing Yan Qi’s unfamiliar face, asked, “Who is this? I’ve never seen him here before.”

“My husband. His surname is Yan.”

The Wang family’s husband looked surprised for a moment. Everyone in the neighboring villages knew that the second son of the Huo family had been a bachelor for many years. He hadn’t expected him to quietly bring a ger home. He greeted them politely, “So it’s Yan-ger.”

After agreeing to return later for lamp oil, Huo Ling and Yan Qi finally departed.

Compared to the oil mill, Bearded Ma’s place was easier to find—just follow the scent of medicinal herbs.

Seeing Huo Ling and Yan Qi arrive, Bearded Ma beckoned them inside to sit.

“You’ve come early, which shows you take this matter seriously.”

As a physician, who wouldn’t appreciate such compliant patients? The worst were those who shied away from consultations to avoid expenses, only to let minor ailments fester into major illnesses—and regret coming too late.

Placing his fingertips on the ger’s wrist, he concentrated intently for a long moment before nodding slightly. “Stop taking the medicine you were taking. I’ll prescribe a different formula. Continue this for another half-month, and we’ll see how it goes.”

Hearing “half a month” right off the bat, Yan Qi tentatively asked, “Doctor, must I take this medicine for so long?”

He actually wanted to say he wasn’t seriously ill, but Bearded Ma chuckled, “What’s the matter? Afraid the medicine is bitter?”

Yan Qi was about to deny it when Huo Ling cut in.

“Bitter medicine cures illness. Listen to Uncle Ma.”

“Exactly. Though this formula I’m prescribing isn’t particularly bitter.”

Bearded Ma unfolded a sheet of paper and wrote a few characters in ink. He advised Yan Qi, “Don’t neglect your own health. You’re not too old, and you’ve just gotten married. You don’t understand the risks involved.”

At this point, he shot a meaningful glance at Huo Ling.

“Remember this: certain matters, like marriage, depend on fate. They come when they’re meant to—no need to rush.”

Yan Qi was momentarily lost for words, and Huo Ling also froze before realizing Old Man Ma was likely hinting at the matter of children.

To outsiders, Huo Ling’s marrying in his late twenties surely meant he was eager for children. The Huo family had suffered two generations of single heirs; only in Huo Feng and Huo Ling’s generation had they finally produced two male descendants.

Huo Da had only one daughter. If Huo Er didn’t step up soon, the family line would be cut off again.

But then came Yan Qi, this husband of his—now scrawny as a stick. Even if he did conceive, he’d likely risk half his life in childbirth.

Seeing his ger’s blank expression, unaware of the situation, Huo Ling didn’t rush to explain in front of outsiders. He simply said, “I waited until this age to marry. If I’d been in a hurry about other things, I would’ve acted long ago.”

“Well then, that’s settled.”

Bearded Ma gave Huo Ling a more respectful look, raising his hand to stroke his own thin mustache. “The prescription is written. Wait a moment while I fetch the herbs.”

After a while, the herbs still weren’t ready when a cart pulled up at the Ma residence. In a flurry of activity, they whisked away Bearded Ma’s wife.

Yan Qi learned from Huo Ling that Bearded Ma’s wife was a midwife with family-inherited skills. The two had effectively paired up—one to diagnose illnesses, the other to deliver babies.

Yan Qi, prompted by this, slowly grasped the meaning of Bearded Ma’s earlier words. His brow furrowed slightly. Gers were inherently less desirable than girls for marriage, which was why many families preferred not to mention gers when arranging marriages. Even if a ger did marry, the dowry would be two or three times less.

If his own womb proved uncooperative…

Huo Ling suddenly noticed the ger’s worried expression, his hand resting lightly over his belly through his clothes. A thought flashed through his mind, and he began to guess.

“What I said to Bearded Ma just now wasn’t just polite talk. It’s what I truly intend to do. And… It’s still too early to discuss that now.”

Yan Qi touched his ear.

True enough. Though this was his first marriage, he knew that merely sleeping together wouldn’t conceive a child.

Especially not in separate beds.

Out in the open, certain details were better left unsaid. The two fell silent, sitting shoulder to shoulder on a bench as they waited for Bearded Ma.

“Right… right here.”

As they sat, familiar voices echoed outside the courtyard. Huo Ling’s eyebrows arched slightly as he lifted his head to look.

The wooden door swung open, and a tall man stepped inside first—indeed, it was Lin Changsui.