The land purchase was thus settled, but the Miao family insisted on receiving payment that very day.

According to custom, the sale of farmland required first drawing up a sales contract, then reporting to the magistrate’s office to transfer ownership. The resulting deed tax was one-thirtieth of the total value, with both buyer and seller paying half each.

Since the process involved traveling to the city to see the officials—a matter that could not be handled casually—most parties would first draw up a simple written agreement in the presence of a guarantor, paying one or two percent of the total price as a deposit.

“That’s fine,” said Huo Ling.

The Miao people were not to be trusted, and the Huo family shared their concerns.

“Then let’s all go back to our homes to fetch the silver and the land deeds. I’ll draft the contract right now. When you return in a little while, just sign and affix your thumbprints.” Zhou Chengzu also wanted to wrap things up quickly. Dealing with the Miao people—especially with Miao Shougen constantly hovering around—was simply bad luck in his eyes.

The Huo brothers left and returned. Upon arriving home, they said that they had purchased the Miao family’s land at thirteen taels per mu. Ye Suping remarked, “That price might be a bit high for land from other families, but for the Miao family’s, it’s well worth it.”

“That’s true. Don’t let the fact that Miao Daqiang raised a son who’s a pain in the neck fool you—he’s actually quite skilled at farming. He manages his family’s land well, and the grain yield they produce year after year ranks among the highest in the village.”

The thought of having five more acres of fertile land to farm next year made Huo Feng beam with joy.

“That’s great. From now on, after paying our grain taxes, we’ll have enough surplus grain to last us a whole year.”

Ye Suping nudged Huo Feng, urging him to go get the money, while Huo Ling followed Yan Qi into the house.

The two of them worked together to carry out the money chest. After opening it, Yan Qi asked, “How much silver do we need to buy three mu of land?” 

“Thirty-nine taels. Pay the deposit first—four taels.”

After saying this, Huo Ling couldn’t help but feel a shiver run down his spine. “This is the largest sum of money we’ve spent in years,” he remarked. “Buying land is just as joyful as buying livestock.”

Yan Qi replied, “Besides, we can afford it. It would be a cause for worry if we couldn’t.” Huo Ling suddenly smiled and said, “That sounds like something I used to say to you.”

Yan Qi caught on and laughed along with him. “I’ve learned my lesson now, and I’ve come to understand. It’s true what they say: when you’re poor, your ambitions shrink. Only when you’ve got money in your pocket does your mind become sharp, and your whole outlook broadens.”

He looked down at the copper coins in the box. “Since I’ve already looked through them, I might as well count out the ones I need and set them aside. That way, I won’t have to move them again.”

Previously, the family’s savings had been stored on the mountain. Huo Ling had anticipated they might need the money to buy land before the New Year, so he’d brought it all down with him this time—and it had indeed come in handy.

Earlier, before winter set in, right after they’d sold the ginseng and split the profits, they had over fifty taels. Then they spent fifteen taels on a cow, leaving them with just over thirty.

Before the snow season arrived, their main income came from selling forest frogs, supplemented by smaller earnings from pine nuts and other mountain produce, as well as revenue from selling buns. Adding up these scattered earnings brought in another ten taels or so, which covered the cost of the cow. As a result, they could now afford to buy the land.

“One, two, three…”

All thirty-nine taels were copper coins—that is, thirty-nine strings. Huo Ling and Yan Qi each counted them once; after confirming the amount was correct, they set aside four strings and placed the remaining thirty-five strings into a large cloth bag.

The bag felt heavy, and the money box was nearly empty. Yan Qi reached out to close it and put it back in its place, reassuring himself that now that the land was secured, his biggest worry was gone—someday he would save up the money again.

“I’ll go see if my older brother is ready.”

“I hope Old Lady Zheng isn’t going to cause any more trouble.”

Yan Qi took two quick steps forward, looking somewhat worried.

“No.”

Huo Ling noticed a frayed thread on Yan Qi’s sleeve and reached out to pull it off.

“She’s been driven mad with anger over Miao Shougen’s affair. Right now, she probably just wants to pay back the money as soon as possible to put an end to this. Otherwise, if the debt collectors track her down to the village, losing face would be the least of her worries—someone could get killed. Then she’d truly become the laughingstock of the whole village.”

“I heard from Big Brother that she’s got a big patch of gray hair now—she didn’t have any before.”

Huo Ling listened intently but didn’t hear his older brother calling him, so he stayed to chat a little longer.

“Aunt Chen confided in the two of us that perhaps they were simply not destined to have a son. They forced the issue and prayed for one, but it wasn’t a proper karmic connection. Giving birth to a debt collector—one who’ll drive his parents to their graves and squander the family fortune sooner or later.”

Yan Qi shook his head repeatedly.

“It’s all their own doing.”

He felt grateful once again that Old Woman Zheng hadn’t taken a liking to him or Xiao Mingming back then, and that Huo Ling was here in Xiashan Village. Huo Feng and Huo Ling headed out with the money. As dusk fell, Dager and Huang Yae followed them out.

At this hour, even the dogs that usually roamed the village were getting ready to go home for dinner. Wherever the two of them passed, the village dogs either scurried away with their tails between their legs or trailed behind them, trying to look tough by association.

By the time they arrived, there were already seven or eight dogs trailing behind them, and the two dogs kept by the Zhou family rushed out, barking loudly.

Dager walked up calmly, lifted his leg, and peed under the tree by the Zhou family’s gate. This made the other two dogs even angrier, but they didn’t dare to come forward and fight, so they just bared their teeth and growled.

“Don’t cause trouble. Wait outside.”

Huo Ling warned Dager. Meanwhile, Zhou Chengzu’s grandson had already come out to pull his family’s dogs back. By the time the Huo brothers entered the house, the two dogs had been held back inside as well.

After a while, things finally quieted down both inside and out.

When the money was placed on the table, Miao Shougen’s eyes lit up like a starving dog seeing meat.

Huo Ling watched coldly, thinking to himself that once the sixty-five taels were handed over to the Miao family, fifty of them would go toward paying off gambling debts, and he didn’t know if the remaining fifteen taels would even be put to good use.

Miao Shougen had forced his family to sell their land, and his own father was gravely ill, yet he showed not a shred of remorse and remained as arrogant as ever. Huo Ling didn’t believe for a moment that he still had any filial piety left, or that he’d be the first to rush out and buy medicine to treat his father.

Just as Miao Shougen reached out to touch the money, Huo Ling raised his arm to block him.

“What’s the rush? Hand over the deed first.”

These five mu of land had been purchased by the Miao family from another villager years ago; they were listed on the same old deed, clearly stating they belonged to Miao Daqiang. Zhou Chengzu took the deed, read its contents aloud, and, seeing both parties nod in agreement, produced the pre-written sales contract.

“These five mu of land are sold to the brothers Huo Feng and Huo Ling for a total of sixty-five taels. A down payment of seven taels is received today—three taels from Huo Feng and four taels from Huo Ling.”

Zhou Chengzu cautioned, “Think it through before pressing your thumbprint. Once you step out that door, whichever party changes their mind will have to pay compensation.” Huo Feng and Huo Ling were the first to press their thumbprints. Since Miao Daqiang himself could not be present, Miao Shougen, as his biological son, signed on his behalf. There were four copies of the deed, with each party keeping one.

“If it doesn’t snow tomorrow, we’ll go into town to the magistrate’s office to get the deed stamped and pay the transfer tax. If it snows, we’ll postpone it by a day.”

Zhou Chengzu rubbed his knees. It was bitterly cold, and he really didn’t want to trek into town, but as village chief, he had no choice but to lead a group there.

With the matter at hand temporarily settled, Miao Shougen watched his mother carrying the money bag filled with seven strings of cash, his eyes gleaming with greed. “Mother, let me carry that for you. Once we’re out the door, I’ll head straight to Ma’er Village to find Bearded Ma and get some medicine.”

Old Lady Zheng said nothing, refusing outright to let him take it. Miao Shougen’s expression darkened. “Mother, don’t you trust me?” Old Lady Zheng walked right past him and headed straight for the door.

Miao Shougen muttered a curse under his breath and quickly followed.

The sound of barking came from outside the courtyard. Huo Ling faintly heard Miao Shougen cursing at the dogs. With Dager leading the pack, none of the village dogs in that little gang were easy to deal with.

The barking grew fainter; they must have chased the dog out. Huo Feng had clearly sensed what was happening outside and gave Huo Ling a smug nod.

Zhou Chengzu cleared his throat twice, interrupting the brothers’ little exchange.

“You two are lucky to have bought the land before the New Year. Now that your two families have ten mu of land, that should be more than enough.”

He turned to Huo Ling and asked, “We’ve spent quite a bit on the land this time. You asked about building a new house last time—what do you think now? Do you still want to get started right after the New Year?”

Huo Ling shook his head and replied honestly, “We’re a bit short on cash right now. I’m afraid we’ll have to wait a little longer.”

“Waiting is fine, but don’t drain your savings all at once. The land isn’t going anywhere, and your family isn’t short on living space—you still have the house on the mountain.”

Zhou Chengzu got off the bed and walked them to the door.

“It’s been years since our village had any newcomers. Even if we did, I wouldn’t send them to build a house next to yours.”

Sure enough, heavy snow fell the next day. It was already late, yet the room remained pitch-black.

The man who’d been up half the night had overslept. Huo Ling got up to go to the outhouse, tucking the blanket around the ger before he left. At the outhouse door, he ran into Huo Feng, who’d just come out. “Looks like we won’t be able to get into town today,” Huo Feng said.

Huo Ling looked up at the leaden sky and let out a long yawn.

“It probably won’t stop raining until after noon. Even if it does, it’ll be dark by the time we get back. Let’s just wait until tomorrow.”

He went into the outhouse and came back out, fastened his belt, and returned to cuddle up with his husband for a nap.

The next day, the snow stopped. The group drove two ox carts into town, settled the silver tax on the spot at the magistrate’s office, and received the new land deed.

The thin documents carried the scent of fresh ink. For those who couldn’t read, opportunities to handle written paper were few and far between in their lifetimes; property deeds and land titles were rare examples of such documents in their homes.

Sometimes, when they stopped to think about it, they realized that a lifetime of hustle and bustle was all for the sake of these few flimsy sheets of paper.

With the new land acquired, the money spent would have to be earned back. Huo Ling and Yan Qi sold buns for three days straight, putting even more energy into their hawking. When they returned home from work that third afternoon, Huo Feng asked them if they wanted to go ice fishing the following evening.

“If you go, you two won’t be able to get up the day after tomorrow to sell buns in town.”

Huo Ling helped Yan Qi down from the oxcart, waiting until he was steady on his feet before asking, “Besides us, who else is going?” 

“Qi Da and Chunshu, father and son, plus Changshui and Ming-ger.”

Yan Qi turned and asked, “Isn’t Sister Hongmei going?”

“They were just talking about it right before you came in. I haven’t figured it out yet. I’ll ask your sister-in-law once we’re inside.”

“Hongmei thinks it’s too cold to go out at night and doesn’t feel like moving. She said she’d come over to spend the night with me, so we can chat.”

Ye Suping was cracking pumpkin seeds on the kang. She brushed away a small pile of shells and sighed softly. “I’m not afraid of the cold, but even if I wanted to go, I couldn’t.” She patted her belly. “It’s all this little one’s fault.”

“How cold could it be? Colder than up in the mountains?”

Yan Qi hesitated a bit. He wasn’t afraid of the cold itself, but he feared catching a chill that would keep him from going into town to sell his buns.

“Just dress warmly, and you’ll be fine. It’s cold, sure, but it’s actually kind of fun.”

Ye Suping motioned for him to come closer and scooped a handful of pumpkin seeds for him.

“We’ve got to go and see it at least once.”

Huo Ling nodded. “We’ll set up a tent made of animal hides on the ice and light a fire inside. It won’t be that cold.” “You can light a fire on the ice?”

Whenever these topics came up, Yan Qi felt like a clueless fool.

“If you roast the ice with fire, won’t it just melt?”

Huo Ying munched on the pumpkin seeds her mother had shelled, grinning. “I know, I know! Because the ice on the river is really, really, really thick—” The little girl made exaggerated gestures, then pinched her fingers together. “The fire’s just a tiny bit, so it won’t fall through.”

“Have you ever been there, Yingzi?”

Yan Qi asked with a smile.

This time it was the little girl’s turn to sigh. Resting her chin in her hand, she said, “My dad says I’m too little and won’t let me go. Donghua’s dad won’t let her go either.”

At that, she perked up again. “Donghua’s coming over tomorrow, too. She’s going to stay with us.” 

“Then you and your mom can stay home and look forward to a big fish dinner.”

Yan Qi stroked her little braid and smiled.

Not every family owned a fur tent, so those planning to go were essentially all relying on the Huo family’s tent. That was why, year after year during the ice fishing season, Huo Feng was the one who organized the gathering.

When the time came, several families would share a tent, team up to cut a hole in the ice, and fish together—it was more about the fun than the catch itself. Since they were leaving tomorrow, the two brothers dug out their animal-skin tent that night, spread it out to inspect it, and then folded it back up.

For Yan Qi, this was all completely unfamiliar, and it kept him so captivated that even though he was very tired, he couldn’t fall asleep even with his eyes closed. Huo Ling saw him leaning against his chest with his eyes shut, only his mouth moving.

“We don’t have much meat left at home. Should we chop it all up into mince tomorrow? We can sell what we can, and bring the rest back to eat if we get hungry tonight?”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking. Even though we’ll eat before we go, we’ll have to stay out on the ice until midnight, so we’re bound to get hungry. Everyone brings some dry rations.”

Huo Ling shifted his arm, and the blanket slid down a little.

He tugged it back up to cover the person in his arms, only for Yan Qi to gently push it down again, her eyes opening as she did so.

“Is the kang a little too hot today?”

Huo Ling felt the spot beneath him. “It feels about the same as usual to me.”

Yan Qi frowned, shifted slightly to the side, and slipped out of Huo Ling’s embrace. He rolled over to lie flat, then after a moment rolled back again, settling into a side-lying position.

He scratched his cheek, unable to put his finger on how he felt at that moment.

“Maybe I’m just restless.”

Huo Ling touched his forehead; there was nothing unusual. He said, “Why don’t we bring out another mattress and lay it down as a barrier? That should make it more comfortable.” Sometimes the heated bed would get a bit too hot; for those who were sensitive to heat, lying on it was like being a pancake in a frying pan—no matter how they tossed and turned, they couldn’t get comfortable.

After he said this, Yan Qi didn’t want to go through the trouble at first—in this bitter cold, no one wants to crawl out of bed after getting under the covers.

But eventually, he felt as if his front and back were being roasted by fire, so he had no choice but to get up and add another layer of bedding. He fell asleep shortly after lying down again.

Huo Ling was a bit worried, so he got up in the middle of the night to check the ger’s temperature again. Seeing that he was still fine, he finally settled down and slept soundly. After dawn, the two of them prepared a few extra pounds of meat filling.

When Huo Ling went to fetch the scallions, he discovered that their supply at home had almost run out without them noticing. Yan Qi raised his arm to rub his forehead; a stray strand of hair had brushed against it, making it itch a little.

“Next time we go up the mountain, let’s go together and bring down the ones from the mountain vegetable cellar too. But I don’t think they’ll last much longer. If we wait until after the New Year to sell them, we’ll have to pay to buy them from others.”

There were still two months left until the snow melted in early spring. Huo Ling said, “We should go and buy a batch before the New Year. After the holiday, other households probably won’t have much left either.” 

“You’re right. If we buy them early, we won’t have to worry about it later.”

After mixing the filling in two bowls, the couple hitched their cart and headed into town.

Yang Qingsheng was out shopping with his wife and son today. Passing by a bun stall, he bought twenty buns.

“That’s so many—even with your shophands, you won’t be able to finish them all.” 

“That’s none of your business.”

Yang Qingsheng paid the bill and, undeterred by the cold, stayed behind to chat. Upon learning they were planning to go ice fishing on the river that night, he immediately raised his eyebrows and said, “With such a good opportunity, why didn’t you invite me? Are we still good brothers?”

“I only found out last night. You’re in town, not in the village—was I supposed to fly over and tell you?”

Huo Ling retorted, “Just tell me if you want to go or not.”

Yang Qingsheng turned to ask Xia Qingman, “Honey, do you want to go?” 

“Mom, I want to go! I want to go!”

Yang Jun skillfully wrapped his arms around his mother’s, shaking her and pleading, “I want to go back to our hometown to catch big fish!” 

“All right, all right.”

Xia Qingman was dizzy from his shaking. “You’re just like your father. Did I say we weren’t going? If you want to go, then go.”

Yang Qingsheng and Yang Jun, father and son, high-fived each other.

“Back to the village to catch big fish!” 

“Catch big fish!”

Xia Qingman looked utterly exasperated as she complained to Huo Ling and Yan Qi, “Just look at them—they’re not fit to be fathers. Between the two of them, they’re not even ten years old.” But despite all the commotion, they didn’t let it get in the way of business.

Yang Qingsheng picked up the buns and said to Huo Ling before leaving, “We’re heading back to pack up now. Once you’ve wrapped up, we’ll head back to the village together.”