“I’ve been working in town with my father for so long, but I’ve never actually met Brother Youcheng,” Shen Linchuan said with a smile.

Zhou Er didn’t dare to respond to Shen Linchuan’s remark lightly; he never knew where this little rascal might be hiding a trap in his words, so he could only give a vague reply.

“Youcheng’s busy with his studies; how could he come to the market often?”

Zhou Ning also furrowed his brow slightly. “That’s true. I’ve been doing business with my father in town for over ten years now, and I don’t think I’ve ever actually run into Youcheng either.”

Zhou Ning spoke softly, and with the market filled with the shouts of vendors, Zhou Da, who was standing some distance away, didn’t hear him. He was still talking with Zhou Er. Since he hadn’t helped out at Zhou Er’s house during this year’s wheat harvest, Zhou Da couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

He wasn’t unaware that Lao’er’s family liked to take advantage of others. From a young age, his parents had constantly told him that as the eldest son and older brother, he had to protect his younger brother. He shouldn’t compete with him for food or clothing; they were all part of the same family, and he should look out for his brother. Only when brothers were united could the family live well.

Zhou Da had been told this by his parents since childhood, so the idea of looking after his younger brother had long been deeply ingrained in his mind. Years had passed; Zhou Er was no longer the little boy he’d been as a child—he was now the father of two.

But even after the two brothers started their own families and went their separate ways, the bond between them never truly broke. Zhou Da still looked out for his younger brother, who had no trade of his own, from time to time. He never said a word when his brother came by for some meat, and he never refused to contribute money for his nephew’s education.

He just never expected that the nephew he’d supported for so long would actually look down on him, his pig-slaughtering uncle, from the bottom of his heart.

Zhou Er chimed in with some kind words, “Big Brother, Youcheng is busy with his studies. We’ll have him visit your place more often in the future. The boy is really putting his mind to his studies—I heard he even earned praise from the teacher the other day.”

Zhou Da hummed in acknowledgment, then cut off half a pig’s liver and handed it over. “Take this home to eat.” 

“Ah, thank you, Big Brother. I’ve got nothing else to do, so I’ll be heading back now.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Zhou Ning tugged at Shen Linchuan’s sleeve with a hint of displeasure. “Look at Dad—he’s soft-hearted again.”

“Don’t blame Dad. He’s always been generous and honest by nature. After all, they’re blood brothers. It’s no big deal—it’s just half a pig’s liver.”

Shen Linchuan knew full well that getting his father to completely cut ties with Zhou Er’s family wasn’t something that could be resolved overnight. Now that Zhou Er’s family couldn’t come to his house for meat and no longer helped with their chores, Shen Linchuan figured they’d just take it slow.

His father was a good man; though he looked a bit fierce, he had a soft heart. A few kind words were all it took to smooth things over.

Zhou Er left town carrying half a pig’s liver. Before, when he’d visited his older brother, he’d always managed to get a good hunk of pork belly, but now he’d only received half a liver. Still, something was better than nothing. It seemed his older brother had let bygones be bygones; in a few days, he’d likely even discuss the matter of the tuition with him.

Zhou Er carried the pork liver home. As soon as Hu Caiyun saw it, she said, “Why did you decide to buy pork liver? You’d be better off spending a little more silver to buy some meat. We haven’t had any meat in the house for half a month now.”

She couldn’t stand these hard times without meat. In the past, she used to eat meat every other day, but now—ever since Shen Linchuan married into the family—he wouldn’t let her have any. It wasn’t until she spent her own silver to buy some that she realized just how expensive meat really was!

They couldn’t even afford meat once a month—not because they didn’t have the few dozen copper coins to buy it, but because they simply couldn’t bring themselves to spend it.

Zhou Fang, seeing her father carrying the pork liver, pouted in displeasure. “Father, I don’t want pork liver. I want meat. Look how much weight I’ve lost lately.”

“All right, all right, you two stop nagging. This pork liver was actually a gift from my eldest brother.”

“What? That’s all the pork liver Big Brother gave us? He’s way too stingy!” Hu Caiyun shouted.

Zhou Er glared at her. “Enough! Lately, you’ve been causing trouble for Big Brother’s family. You’ll still have to ask Big Brother for our son’s tuition money. Big Brother may be soft-hearted, but that Shen Linchuan is no pushover.”

“Shen Linchuan, Shen Linchuan—ever since that little brat showed up, things haven’t gone smoothly for us!”

“Shut your mouth! If you hadn’t dragged Youcheng over to Big Brother’s place to cause trouble, do you think Big Brother’s family wouldn’t have helped us with this year’s harvest? If you make another brainless fuss, I’ll smash your mouth in!”

Hu Caiyun dared not say another word. Her resentment toward Shen Linchuan grew even stronger; she felt that her inability to gain any advantage over the eldest brother’s family was all because of Shen Linchuan’s meddling.

In past years, the two families had worked together during harvest time. Zhou Da and Ning-ger would go out to work, and all she had to do was cook a meal. But this year was different—there was no one left at home to do the work, so even she had to stand under the blazing sun in the fields cutting wheat!

Zhou Fang gave her mother a sidelong glance. “Look at Dad. He’s nothing but a bully at home, and he even threatens to beat you.”

“Who cares? Your father thinks he’s such a big shot.”

The mother and daughter whispered their private conversation without the slightest regard for Zhou Er. Zhou Er let out an exasperated sigh. The women in this household never think before they speak or act, and the daughter is just following her mother’s example. Did she perhaps give birth to her with half a brain missing?

While Zhou Er was causing a ruckus at home, Zhou Youcheng couldn’t settle down at school today either. His face had been scratched by Zhang Xiaoyi; it had taken several days to heal, and now it was covered in scabs. Zhang Xiaoyi had struck hard—he’d nearly torn a chunk of flesh right off his face.

As soon as he walked in, his classmates craned their necks to look. After class, some of them ran right over. “Hey, Brother Youcheng, where’d you go during the break? Which bed did you crawl out of? Look at those scratch marks on your face.”

“I bet it was some untamed little wildcat, ha ha ha.”

A few classmates gathered around, laughing at him. Zhou Youcheng was so embarrassed by their teasing that he broke out in a sweat. “What nonsense! I just scraped my face while doing farm work at home. My family has been honest farmers for generations, with strict family values—how could I possibly do such filthy things!”

The group laughed even harder. “I just wonder what kind of farm work could leave you with cat scratches like that, hahaha.”

It wasn’t until Master Wang from the school arrived that he came to Zhou Youcheng’s rescue. After scolding the crowd a few times, they finally quieted down. But he didn’t let Zhou Youcheng off the hook either. “I may be old, but I’m not blind. It’s obvious to anyone that someone scratched that face.”

After class, he gave Zhou Youcheng another stern lecture. “It was your father who said it’s rare for a family in the countryside to have a scholar, so I took you in. I never imagined you’d be so unambitious!”

Master Wang raised his ruler and struck Zhou Youcheng’s hand several times with all his might. “Tell me the truth—did you go to some brothel or something?”

How could Zhou Youcheng dare admit that he’d tried to flirt with a young ger only to get beaten up instead? The consequences would be even worse—this old man was incredibly old-fashioned. If he found out, he might just kick him out of the school.

After a few strokes, Zhou Youcheng’s hand swelled up. His previous injuries hadn’t even healed yet, and now he’d only added new ones.

Zhou Youcheng’s forehead was covered in sweat from the beating. “Master, please investigate! I had an argument with my sister at home. My younger sister has a heavy hand, and that’s how she scratched my face. If you don’t believe me, I’ll go fetch her right now!”

Seeing Zhou Youcheng’s earnest and solemn demeanor, Old Master Wang finally believed him. “Study diligently.” 

“Yes, I will remember that.”

Zhou Youcheng breathed a sigh of relief after narrowly escaping punishment. He was just a country bumpkin, after all, while Zhou Youcheng was a Tongsheng with a promising future. It was the boy’s good fortune that Zhou Youcheng had taken a liking to him. Yet that Zhang Xiaoyi had dared to strike him—and Zhou Ning as well! Once Zhou Youcheng passed the examination to become a Xiucai next year, they’d all get what was coming to them!

After being struck on the palm by the Master and then mocked by his classmates upon leaving, Zhou Youcheng’s resentment only deepened—which, ironically, drove him to study even harder.

Before long, the weather grew hotter. Zhou Ning bought new bamboo mats in town and hung bamboo blinds at the entrances to both rooms to keep out the mosquitoes. Zhou Da’s pork business would be winding down in a few more days.

The weather in July and August was too hot; if a pig was slaughtered and left for a day, the meat would become sticky and unappetizing. A whole pig had to be sold in a single day, and often by the afternoon, the rest had to be sold off at a discount.

Every year, Zhou Da would take a two-month break during the hottest period.

Only the large butcher shops in town didn’t have to worry about unsold pork. They kept their meat in cool, shaded rooms, and any unsold pork was kept cold with ice, though pork did sell for a bit more during the height of summer.

Although a bamboo curtain hung at the doorway, people had to lift it every time they entered or left the house, so it was inevitable that mosquitoes and flies would fly inside. Shen Linchuan, who was already studying hard at night, couldn’t sleep well because of the bites, and his spirits had been low for the past few days.

Zhou Ning noticed this and felt deeply concerned. Every day after dinner, he would light some dried mugwort in the room early on, but even that couldn’t keep out the one or two mosquitoes that buzzed around them, keeping them awake.

The summer was stiflingly hot; lowering the bed curtains only made it hotter, and opening the windows was out of the question—doing so would let the mosquitoes in.

Shen Linchuan was dozing fitfully when he heard the buzzing of a mosquito circling his face. Frowning, he rolled over, longing for air conditioning and refrigerators, not to mention mosquito coils, insect repellent, and electric mosquito repellent.

As soon as Shen Linchuan moved, Zhou Ning woke up. They’d burned mugwort and driven away the mosquitoes earlier today, yet somehow these pests had managed to sneak in again.

Zhou Ning felt sorry for Shen Linchuan, who worked so hard at his studies and couldn’t even sleep well at night. He picked up the palm leaf fan by the pillow and began fanning him to keep the mosquitoes away. Shen Linchuan felt much more comfortable in his daze—could it be that a breeze had picked up, and even the mosquitoes had vanished?

Shen Linchuan opened his eyes to see that it was his fulang fanning him!

A warm feeling welled up in Shen Linchuan’s heart as he snuggled closer. “Ning-ger, stop fanning me. It’s late—you should go to sleep.” 

“It’s fine. I’m not sleepy right now. You go ahead and sleep.”

It’s the middle of the night—how could anyone not be sleepy? Shen Linchuan took the fan from Zhou Ning’s hand. “Go to sleep. It’s fine; I’ll just catch up on some sleep at noon.” “I heard they sell Xiying gauze in town. Why don’t we buy some and make a mosquito net? It’ll keep the mosquitoes out at night.”

“Isn’t that expensive? Let’s just make do for now. I’ll see if I can whip up some mosquito repellent.”

Shen Linchuan didn’t fall asleep until the wee hours of the morning. Those mosquitoes were truly a nuisance. It wasn’t that Shen Linchuan didn’t want to buy the Xiying gauze—it just sounded expensive. Although the two of them currently had a hundred taels of savings and had accumulated another twenty or thirty taels from their business, all of it was hard-earned by him and his Fulang, so he couldn’t bear to spend it.

Dawn came early these days, and it was still a bit chilly in the countryside well into the afternoon. As usual, Shen Linchuan got up as soon as it was light out. He was a bit groggy from a poor night’s sleep, but the cool breeze that swept in when he opened the door snapped him awake.

Never mind that he hadn’t slept well; in the summer, when the mosquitoes swarmed, even his fulang couldn’t sleep. That silly little man would sneak around at night, fanning him and shooing away the mosquitoes. Shen Linchuan felt he could never love his Fulang enough.

As usual, the family ate breakfast early and set off for town in their mule cart to do business. His father said it was unbearably hot now, so they’d put the family’s pork business on hold for a few days—selling the meat at a discount wouldn’t bring in much silver anyway.

The mule cart clattered along the smooth imperial road. There were quite a few people on the road this morning—ox carts and mule carts heading into town, peddlers pushing handcarts, Fulang carrying fresh vegetables on their shoulders, and women carrying baskets—all taking advantage of the cool morning air to make their way to town.

Early that morning, Zhou Da was in a good mood. “In a couple of days, I’ll stop selling pork. I’ll take over the pork business you and Ning-ger have been running in Linchuan, so you two won’t have to come to town so early to do business anymore.”

Zhou Ning nodded. “That’ll be a lot of work for you, Father.”

Since Shen Linchuan had to study and hadn’t slept well the night before, if the two of them didn’t have to go to town to do business, Shen Linchuan could sleep in a little longer.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. Selling pork is just a quick job.”

“Thank you, Father.”

Shen Linchuan knew his father felt he was working too hard studying, so he’d let him stay home and rest properly for these past two months.

When they arrived in town, customers were already waiting there early as usual. They set up their small stall and sold out quickly. After finishing, they packed up and headed home.

The vegetable garden at home was now full of eggplants, green peppers, and other produce, along with gourds and pumpkins.

There was more than enough to eat, and when the two returned, it was only a little past nine o’clock; the air was still pleasantly cool.

Shen Linchuan went into the vegetable patch and picked a few eggplants and also gathered two gourds. “Ning-ger, come on, let’s go to Doctor Zhang’s place to buy some herbs.” 

“Are we buying star anise and bay leaves? I’ll go then.”

“No, I need to buy some herbs to repel mosquitoes. My fulang’s been so exhausted these past few days that he hasn’t been able to sleep well either—he’s been working so hard.”

Shen Linchuan wanted to make some mosquito coils. Every night after dark, Ning-ger would burn mugwort in the room to keep the mosquitoes away, but mugwort cannot be burned all night long.

“There’s a lot of smoke. Why don’t we get some mosquito coils so we can burn them slowly at night?”

The two of them walked together toward Doctor Zhang’s house. Both Doctor Zhang and Zhang Xiaoyi were home at the moment. Doctor Zhang was sitting under a tree grinding herbs, while Zhang Xiaoyi was doing some needlework. Seeing Zhou Ning arrive, he was overjoyed. “Ning-ger is here! Come sit down!”

Then, upon seeing Shen Linchuan arrive, he muttered under his breath, “Why is he here too?”

Considering how Shen Linchuan had helped him last time, Zhang Xiaoyi thought he was a good person. Never mind—he was a friend’s husband, so she treated him the same as everyone else.

Zhang Xiaoyi poured a bowl of mint and rock sugar water for each of them. “Have some tea to cool off. It’s been getting hotter lately—even the mosquitoes have been swarming.”

Zhang Xiaoyi showed Zhou Ning what she was holding. “I’m sewing a pouch. I’m stuffing it with some mosquito-repelling herbs. I’ll make one for you too—you can hang it on your person.”

“Thanks, Yi-ger.”

“Don’t mention it—we’re good friends, after all.”

Shen Linchuan watched the two of them huddled together chatting, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. His Fulang often dropped by for a visit, and it was nice to have a young ger to chat with.

Doctor Zhang was also chatting with Shen Linchuan, mostly about matters related to their studies.

Doctor Zhang was very kind. A middle-aged man dressed in a blue robe, he was slender and had an air of a reclusive scholar about him. It was said that the Zhang family had been doctors for generations, and he was even better at treating difficult and complex ailments than the famous doctors in town.

Shen Linchuan listed the herbs he wanted: “I’ll need some realgar powder, patchouli, and mint…please give me plenty of each.” Doctor Zhang carefully packaged them one by one. 

“Is this for repelling mosquitoes?”

“Yes, I want to try making incense at home. It might be more convenient than burning mugwort.”

“That’s actually a good idea. Wealthy families use lavender and borneol from the south, ground into powder and added to incense burners, but people can’t afford such things; burning mugwort is still the most practical option for us.”

“How could country folk afford those expensive herbs for mosquito repellent? Every household uses mugwort and mint—they’re all over the mountains. Just go cut a bunch, dry it at home, and you won’t have to spend money buying them.”

These things are plentiful in the countryside but hard to find in town. Come summer, many villagers—men and women alike—carry baskets of dried mugwort and mint to town to sell, earning a few copper coins in the process.

After Shen Linchuan bought what he needed, he headed back with Zhou Ning. As they left, Zhou Ning had a small sachet tucked at his waist—one Zhang Xiaoyi had made for him, filled with mosquito-repelling herbs—so he wouldn’t have to worry about mosquito bites.

Back home, Shen Linchuan got to work. He laid out the herbs he’d bought on the table, grabbed a stone mortar, and set to work. Zhou Ning knew he was making something to repel mosquitoes, though he didn’t know exactly what it was, so he sat beside him to help.

Shen Linchuan treated it as nothing more than a fun craft project to do with his Fulang. “Come on, good Ning-ger, help me turn this mugwort into mugwort fluff.”

Zhou Ning took it and got to work, while Shen Linchuan gathered some charcoal from the stove and ground it into powder.

Finally, he mixed the mugwort fluff with realgar, patchouli, mint, and elm bark powder—used as a binder—to form a paste, resulting in a large jar of blackish goo.

Zhou Ning craned his neck to look inside. “Shen Linchuan, will this actually work?” 

“It should.”

Traditional mosquito coils—how could they not work?

Finally, they rolled the paste into long strips and coiled them up. Shen Linchuan clapped his hands. “All done. Once it’s dried, we’ll try it out tonight.”

Zhou Ning nodded in agreement. When Shen Linchuan finished and looked up, he burst out laughing. He laughed so hard that his head bumped against his Fulang’s shoulder. “Ning-ger, you’re hilarious.”

“What’s wrong?”

Zhou Ning was baffled by the laughter, while Shen Linchuan laughed so hard that a thin layer of sweat broke out on his forehead. Zhou Ning reached out to wipe it away, and as he did, three black lines appeared on Shen Linchuan’s forehead, looking particularly comical as they hung there.

Zhou Ning paused for a moment before bursting into laughter as well. Shen Linchuan knew immediately that his Fulang had been up to no good. “Oh, so you dare to bully your husband! Just wait until I teach you a lesson!”

Shen Linchuan’s hands were black as well, and he reached out to smear them across Zhou Ning’s face. The two of them wrestled around in the courtyard, laughing until they were drenched in sweat.

“All right, all right, I’ll let you off this time. Come on, let your husband wipe your face.”

Both of their faces were covered in soot; the water in the basin turned black as they washed up. Shen Linchuan tilted his head and kissed his Fulang, making him feel a bit flustered.

Shen Linchuan pulled Zhou Ning into the room. “There’s a washcloth inside. Let me wipe your face.”

Zhou Ning, suspecting nothing, followed him inside. As soon as they entered, Shen Linchuan closed the door. “My dear Ning-ger, I’m feeling a bit unwell.” 

“Unwell? Where does it hurt? Did you just laugh so hard you lost your breath?”

“No, it’s here.”

Shen Linchuan took Zhou Ning’s hand and placed it on his body. Zhou Ning recoiled as if burned, pulling his hand back. “It’s broad daylight! Father will be back any minute.”

“I’ll be quick. Please, I’m begging you.”

Zhou Ning was feeling a bit tempted, too. It had been hot lately, and they hadn’t been very intimate, but he was terribly shy in broad daylight. Shen Linchuan coaxed and persuaded him until he was pulled onto the bed. “It’s fine. The curtains are drawn; no one can see us.”

It was Shen Linchuan’s first time fooling around with his Fulang in broad daylight. Even with the curtains drawn, he could see everything clearly. He found it hard to control himself, and since Zhou Ning was so full of energy, they could do whatever they wanted without a care.

The two of them worked up a sweat, and they didn’t even get around to making lunch. Finally, fearing his father might return soon, they hurriedly fetched some water and got up.

Shen Linchuan ate until he was completely satisfied, while Zhou Ning’s face had turned bright red from their antics. Zhou Ning felt as though he’d lost his mind, fooling around with Shen Linchuan in broad daylight, but there was a thrill to it, like a secret affair—otherwise, he wouldn’t have let Shen Linchuan carry on like that for so long.

Zhou Da came home a bit late today. Zhou Ning called out “Father” and tucked the cloth-wrapped bundle away. Shen Linchuan was currently in the courtyard, turning over the mosquito coils to dry them. It was hot in the summer, so the coils would dry in a single day. “Father, I made some mosquito coils. Why don’t you light a tray of them tonight when you go to bed and give them a try?”

“Mosquito coils? What are those?” Zhou Da walked over.

“It’s incense to repel mosquitoes—we just call it mosquito coils. They should work pretty well, so you won’t have to burn mugwort before bed anymore. It’s much more convenient.” 

“Alright, I’ll give it a try tonight.”

Zhou Ning carried the cloth bundle into the house. Now Shen Linchuan would definitely be able to sleep soundly tonight.

As soon as it got dark, Shen Linchuan lit the mosquito coil inside the room and closed the windows. Otherwise, while the mosquitoes couldn’t get in, neither could the breeze, making it a bit stuffy and hot while sleeping. Fortunately, there was a bamboo curtain hanging at the doorway, so a little breeze still managed to blow in.

As the mosquito coil burned, wispy white smoke drifted up. It had almost no scent and wasn’t at all acrid, unlike burning mugwort.

Once everything was set up, Shen Linchuan sat down at the table in the main room to study. With one hand flipping through his book and the other fanning himself, no mosquitoes came to bite him. Shen Linchuan was quite satisfied and even felt that the night air was unusually cool.

When he blew out the lamp and went to the inner room to sleep, he noticed that the inner room didn’t feel stuffy today either; the breeze was actually blowing into the room. A canopy had been set up over the bed. Shen Linchuan reached out to lift the canopy and climbed into bed. “Why did you put up the canopy today? Isn’t it too hot?”

Zhou Ning was almost asleep, having been waiting all along for Shen Linchuan to come and surprise him. “Feel it—is that a canopy?” Shen Linchuan reached out and touched it; it felt silky smooth and cool to the touch. “Is it Xiaying cloth?”

“Mm-hmm. I had Father buy it for us. He knows some merchants who travel through town, so it was a bit cheaper than in the shops.”

Zhou Ning sat up. “I also draped the windows in our room and Father’s room with Xiaying cloth, so we can open the windows at night.”

Shen Linchuan was deeply moved. He hugged his Fulang close and nuzzled against him. “My dear Ning-ger, you’re so wonderful.” 

“That’s the silver we earned together. Don’t think I’m wasting it. I just didn’t want you to have trouble sleeping at night.”

“Not at all. Thank you, Ning-ger.”

That night, after hanging up the Xiaying cloth—which was breathable and cool—and lighting some mosquito coils, Shen Linchuan finally got a good night’s sleep. Just before dawn, a strong wind picked up outside, and raindrops began to fall in a steady downpour.

Since Shen Linchuan didn’t have to get up early, he hugged his Fulang and went back to sleep for a while.

Summer rain comes and goes quickly; it cleared up in no time. Shen Linchuan got up and stretched, feeling refreshed after a good night’s sleep. The mosquito coils were well worth the money—not a single mosquito had flown in during the night.