Upon hearing this, Huo Ling was both surprised and not surprised.

He wasn’t surprised that the two brothers wanted to earn silver by being mountain porters; what surprised him was their intention to live in the mountains permanently—that took extraordinary resolve.

“Don’t you still have fields to tend back home? If the two of you head up into the mountains together, what will become of the fields? Who will take care of your parents?”

Huo Ling asked straight to the point.

Hearing this, Zhao Yincheng sensed there might be a chance and replied solemnly, “We only have three mu of poor farmland to begin with. Before the New Year, to raise money for my father’s medicine, we leased two mu to my second aunt’s family. The remaining one mu is just for growing some wheat—my father and mother can manage it on their own.”

Zhao Chensheng, who was a bit younger—only seventeen this year and two years younger than Zhao Yinsheng—added after his older brother finished speaking, “My father’s injury is healing, and my mother is still in fairly good health, so my older brother and I don’t need to worry too much about them.”

He glanced at Zhao Yinsheng, who continued, “Chensheng and I have discussed it. Our family is already as poor as can be—we can’t afford meat or marriage expenses. It’s better to work hard for a few years before getting married. Once our circumstances improve, we won’t have trouble finding a suitable spouse. If we force a match now, it’ll just be one poor family marrying another—both of us are so poor we’d be a burden to each other. Why put the other family through that suffering? We wouldn’t be able to support one another, and our lives would only get worse and worse.”

Huo Ling hadn’t known much about the Zhao brothers before; his only interaction with them had been last year when he asked them to carry some things up the mountain, and later, when they met in the village, they’d merely exchanged pleasantries.

Hearing him speak like this today, he seemed like a sensible fellow.

“It’s good to have that kind of spirit.”

Huo Ling was a few years older than them and deserved to be called “big brother”; when he spoke, he inevitably carried himself with the air of an elder.

But when it came to the mountain drive, he didn’t rush to take a stance.

“Last year, right after I got married, I asked the two of you to help me, and you came up the mountain with me once. I remember you both said back then that the mountains were desolate, and staying there too long made you feel uneasy.”

Working in the mountains isn’t a life everyone can handle—sometimes people can’t bring themselves to make the decision, and other times their families won’t give their blessing.

For instance, he’d originally wanted to give Lin Changshui a hand by getting him to go into the mountains to earn some money for a couple of years, but Lin Changshui’s mother absolutely refused, terrified that her only son might meet his end out there.

So Lin Changshui and Xiao Mingming later set their sights entirely on the food business. They’ve already made arrangements with Huo Ling and Yan Qi to test the waters by selling millet buns in town starting on the fifteenth.

Zhao Yinsheng and Zhao Chensheng had scolded Huo Ling until his face turned red, but they hadn’t expected him to still remember it.

Zhao Yinsheng said, “Neither of us had ever ventured deep into the mountains before. On our first trip, we were inexperienced and inevitably overreacted a bit. But looking back, there’s really nothing to be afraid of—after all, Second Brother Huo, you’ve been living in the mountains for quite a few years now.”

Huo Ling shook his head. “If you think that way, you won’t last in this line of work. The deep mountains are home to tigers, wolves, venomous snakes, bears, and wild boars—it’s not a place just anyone can go, and you absolutely mustn’t take it lightly. But you also can’t let fear take root in your heart; you can’t be afraid before you’ve even encountered them. Besides, once you’ve mastered the necessary skills, even if you do encounter them, you’ll know how to handle the situation.”

Zhao Yinsheng’s face flushed even redder at Huo Ling’s rebuke. “I didn’t think it through.”

“Second Brother Huo, my brother and I can really handle this. Even if I can’t, my brother can—he isn’t even afraid of setting off firecrackers!”

Zhao Chensheng retorted.

“Shut up!”

Zhao Yinsheng glared at Zhao Chensheng, who quickly pretended to look down and take a sip of water.

Huo Ling couldn’t help but smile. The way these two brothers got along was different from how he and his older brother interacted. Zhao Chensheng seemed to listen to his older brother, but in reality, he had a mind of his own. Still, the bond between the two brothers seemed solid, so they probably wouldn’t develop any rifts easily in the future.

That said, Huo Ling was also a bit curious.

“What made you decide to go rafting? Do you know anyone in the Logging gang?”

He suddenly recalled Tian-ger, who had fled from the Shen family in Shuangjing Village back then. Afterward, Yan Qi had mentioned running into him on the street and suspected that the lad had infiltrated the Logging gang.

The Logging gang headed south in the spring and would return to the regions beyond the Pass before the autumn equinox, continuing this pattern until the snow season; one could often see them drinking and loitering in the city.

However, even though they’d crossed paths a few times since then, Yan Qi hadn’t seen Tian-ger again.

Perhaps he had stayed in the south—past the disaster-stricken counties, further south still, to those lands of peace and prosperity, where there were more ways to survive than beyond the Pass.

“We didn’t really know each other—we just happened to cross paths through a series of twists and turns. They aren’t picky; as long as you’ve got two hands and two feet and are willing to go along, they’ll take you.”

Zhao Chensheng muttered under his breath from the side, “They really don’t pick and choose. Out of ten who leave each year, maybe only eight come back. Year after year, there are losses; year after year, there are shortages.”

Huo Ling raised an eyebrow and looked at Zhao Chensheng.

“So you think your older brother has guts, but you also think going out to float logs isn’t a good path to take.”

“Of course not. Everyone says log rafting is dangerous, but as you said, Second Brother Huo, as long as you’re skilled, if you run into tigers or wild boars, at least you can fight or run away. But what about log rafting? Out on the great rivers and streams, a gust of wind or a wave can knock you into the water and drown you—no matter how skilled you are, what good is it?”

Ignoring his older brother’s pleading glance, Zhao Chensheng chattered on.

“Who came up with the idea of going into the mountains to herd in the first place?”

Zhao Yinsheng didn’t hide the truth; he raised a finger and pointed at his younger brother. “It was Chensheng’s idea. He said we should make money, but not like this—you might earn it but not live to spend it. After all, our only capital is our lives and our strength. They say you should make a living from the land you’re on. Since we were born at the foot of Bailong Mountain, we might as well try to make a living in the mountains.”

He added sheepishly, “That’s why I thick-skinnedly sought out Brother Changshui, and then came begging to you, Second Brother Huo.”

“Logging is a way to make money, not a death sentence—it’s not really that scary.”

Huo Ling paused for a moment, then asked, “Can you climb trees? Are you afraid of heights?”

Both brothers shook their heads.

He didn’t make a hasty promise, but said, “In a couple of days, whether it works out or not, I’ll give you an answer.”

The Zhao brothers left first, while Lin Changshui stayed behind for a while longer, speaking highly of Zhao Yinsheng and Zhao Chensheng.

“They’re both… sincere… honest people. They have no… ill will, and they’re not afraid to… work hard.”

“The two of them actually have it all figured out. If you ask me, with their temperament, they shouldn’t be confined to the fields.”

There’s a difference between someone who’s content to farm for a lifetime and someone who isn’t content to spend their whole life tilling the soil. Huo Ling understood this better than anyone; he could see at a glance that the Zhao brothers simply lacked the catalyst to make up their minds.

With the unexpected tragedy that had struck their family, they’d had to lease out what little farmland they had. Relying on their old ways, they simply couldn’t make ends meet. They had to break free—and they had no other choice but to do so.

“I’ll only say this to you for now. The mountain porters have their own rules. They’re outsiders; if they want to properly enter the mountains, they must follow the rules and seek a master’s guidance before the Mountain God’s tablet. Once it comes to matters of apprenticeship, it’s no small matter. You know my temperament—I never even considered this before, but now that they’ve shown me such respect, I can’t just rush into a commitment.”

That was why he hadn’t brought up the matter of taking on a master or apprentice earlier.

Lin Changshui nodded repeatedly.

“I know, I know. They also… understand the situation.”

After seeing both groups off one after another, Yan Qi returned to find Huo Ling tidying up the kang table.

He helped out, and after they’d tidied everything up, they rolled up the guest-use kang mat to reveal the clean one underneath. Only then did he sit down and ask, “What did you all talk about just now?”

Huo Ling gave a concise summary.

“Uncle Zhao’s injury drained much of the family’s savings. The Zhao family now has only one mu of land left, and they can’t make ends meet. The two brothers are planning to go into the mountains with me to make a living.”

“It’s not even the end of the first lunar month yet—it’s still early for digging ginseng. They’ve come looking for me now; do they really intend to become mountain porters?”

Yan Qi speculated.

Huo Ling nodded.

“That’s the idea.”

Seeing Huo Ling frown, looking as if he had something on his mind, Yan Qi couldn’t help but move closer and sit down beside him.

“What do you think about this? I’m afraid it might just be a passing whim, and you’ll end up unable to stand the solitude of the mountains.”

“You really are my husband through and through.”

Huo Ling smiled and said, “You’ve hit the nail on the head.”

Unlike those who venture into the mountains only in autumn to make a living, life in the mountains is desolate and uncertain year-round. Foraging for mountain produce isn’t like harvesting grain—where you work your way through one mu of land after another, yielding one shi from poor soil and two shi from fertile soil, with fixed yields each time.

Unless he was searching for rare items like black oil mushrooms, Huo Ling’s ability to return with a catch every single time was honed through years of roughing it in the mountains since childhood.

“I didn’t agree on the spot; I’m waiting to think it over some more.”

Later that afternoon, Huo Ling discussed the matter with his older brother, Huo Feng, who advised him to accept the offer and take on these two apprentices.

“At this point, I have to say, I’ve never felt at ease about you working as a mountain porter. Every time you’ve gone into the mountains, everyone at home has been on pins and needles. Now that Qi’er is pregnant, if you head into the mountains alone after spring begins, having these two along will at least provide some support. My wife and I are secondary—the main thing is that Qi’er can have peace of mind. Think about it—doesn’t that make sense?”

Huo Feng’s words left Huo Ling deep in thought. Even after he blew out the lamp and prepared for bed, he was still wide awake, with not a trace of sleepiness.

“Haven’t made up your mind yet?”

He lay down next to Huo Ling, his fingers unconsciously tracing circles on the man’s arm.

Huo Ling felt a tingling sensation spreading through his arm. He took hold of the younger man’s mischievous fingers and gently stroked them.

“No matter how you look at it, this arrangement is actually all to my advantage—there’s nothing to lose.”

First, as Big Brother said, he’ll have backup in the mountains—three men and three hunting dogs are definitely safer than when he used to go alone with Dager.

Second, before an apprentice is fully qualified, he must share his earnings with his master. This is to prevent the saying “teaching an apprentice will starve the master” from coming true, and it also ensures the apprentice makes a commitment—that he’ll focus on his training to qualify sooner rather than giving up halfway.

“Over the next year, I’ll definitely be spending more time down in the valley. If I take those two on as apprentices, I’ll still have some income even when I’m not in the mountains.”

For most of the day, Huo Ling’s mind hadn’t stopped racing. He weighed the pros and cons repeatedly and became convinced he should accept.

“As for why I haven’t decided yet…”

Huo Ling raised his left arm to prop his head up. After a moment, he let out a soft sigh. “To be honest, I hate trouble. Just the thought of taking on apprentices gives me a headache.”

Yan Qi never would have guessed that was the reason; he couldn’t help but smile. “That won’t do.”

He said earnestly, “You’re going to be a father in half a year. If you don’t even have the patience to take on an apprentice, how are you going to discipline your child in the future?”

It had to be said that this single remark was more effective than the long speech Huo Feng had given earlier that day—it hit him like a blow to the head.

It reminded Huo Ling once again of one thing—he was no longer that solitary mountain traveler roaming Bailong Mountain on his own.

He had a husband, and he was about to have a child.

“It’s me—I’m an unworthy father.”

Huo Ling admitted his mistake immediately.

Instead, Yan Qi raised his hand and gently touched Huo Ling’s cool nose—for no other reason than that it stood out even in the pitch-black night.

Because of his high, straight bridge, even the faintest sliver of moonlight filtering through the rice-paper window could illuminate it with perfect clarity.

He secretly hoped that the child in her womb would have a nose like Huo Ling’s—and not just the nose; Huo Ling’s eyebrows and eyes would look just as good on a little boy or a ger.

“I’m not saying you’re not up to the task. This is our first time being fathers—let’s not judge each other.”

The ger said earnestly, “I just think you should give it a try.”

He murmured wistfully, “Being a master—how impressive is that? Don’t you think so?”

Huo Ling was amused by him. He pulled the other man into his embrace from beneath the quilt, his thoughts swirling until they finally settled.

He exhaled deeply and said, “All right, I’ll give it a try.”