Song Ning snorted and turned away, ignoring him. Wei Hu gave him a peck on the lips, but Song Ning pushed him away. “Don’t kiss me!”

Song Ning’s reaction was truly amusing. This ger had always been so gentle and easygoing, with such a mild temperament—this was the first time Wei Hu had ever seen him get angry, and it made Wei Hu want to tease him.

“You’ve been avoiding me all this time—is there someone else on your mind?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Mm-hmm?” Song Ning’s eyes widened, and tears began to stream down his face. “I knew it, I knew it! You unfaithful scoundrel! Let me go, let me go!”

Song Ning raised his fist and swung it at Wei Hu’s chest. It didn’t hurt Wei Hu, but his own hand turned red first.

Wei Hu had only meant to tease the young ger a bit, but he’d gone too far and made him cry. Panicking, he quickly apologized, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! There is someone in my heart—and that person is you, though you don’t know it yet. I won’t hit you anymore. Does your hand hurt?”

“Really?”

“Really. If I, Wei Hu, am lying, may I have no place to be buried!”

Song Ning quickly covered his mouth. “What nonsense are you talking about!”

Song Ning couldn’t even be angry anymore. “Do you know that Li Xiaolian has a crush on you?”

Wei Hu shook his head quickly. “I didn’t know. She bumped into me today, and I pushed her away. She’s a young lady, and I’m a married man—what kind of example would that set? Don’t let her come over to our house to play anymore.”

Wei Hu truly had no idea Li Xiaolian harbored such feelings for him. He simply assumed she’d come to visit Song Ning. His husband didn’t have many friends in the village—he only got along well with Qiu-ger—so he thought it would be nice to have someone else to talk to. Little did he know she was actually after him!

“But… but I don’t know how to say that.”

“Let Mom handle it. It’ll be fine.”

So his ger was actually jealous. He’d thought it was because Li Xiaolian was flirting with him. At first, he hadn’t caught on—how could he have known Li Xiaolian had such intentions!

“Ning-ger, is Huzi in the house? Ask him to grab the scissors for me.”

“Okay!”

Song Ning jumped to his feet in a fluster. He gave Wei Hu a nudge. “Mom wants you to get the scissors.”

Chen Cuihua was feeling the cold, so she sat on her bed warming herself with a hot water bottle while doing some needlework. She called out to Wei Hu to bring her the scissors.

It had been snowing for two days straight; the snow was already up to people’s calves. No one ventured out unless absolutely necessary, and it didn’t stop until just before dark.

That evening, Chen Cuihua made a steaming hot sour soup with chive-and-radish meatballs. The meatballs were simply dropped into boiling water, then topped with some cilantro and a couple of drops of sesame oil—the aroma was irresistible.

It was cold out, so after dinner, they rested for a while before heading to bed. Wei Hu fetched hot water for Song Ning to wash his feet; the young man was so sensitive to the cold that even soaking his feet for half an hour wouldn’t warm him up.

While Song Ning was washing his feet, Wei Hu refilled the hot water bottle and placed it where Song Ning lay to keep him warm.

Song Ning felt a warm glow in his heart; this man was always so thoughtful.

Once Song Ning was all settled, he crawled into bed. His jacket, draped over the quilt, was still warm. It was so cold that he’d already pulled two quilts over himself, but he still couldn’t resist urging Wei Hu, “Brother Wei Hu, hurry up—it’s cold out there.”

“Alright.”

Wei Hu washed up using Song Ning’s leftover foot-soaking water, then splashed the water into the courtyard and shut the door.

The moment Wei Hu lay down, Song Ning pressed himself against him, immediately reaching out to untie the sash of Wei Hu’s undershirt. Wei Hu couldn’t resist Song Ning’s teasing; he rolled over and pulled him into his embrace. “Song Ning.”

The young man beneath him obediently wrapped his arms around Wei Hu’s neck. Wei Hu reached down and found that the ger had already kicked his undershirt aside for some reason.

But the ger was still clueless about the consequences, his eyes sparkling with anticipation. “Brother Wei Hu, hurry up.”

How could Wei Hu possibly hold back? “Be good. Don’t cry later.”

By the time Song Ning started crying, it was already too late. No, wait—that’s not what the books said! It hurts so much! What kind of books are these? They’re nothing but trouble!

Song Ning overslept that morning. It took him a struggle to open his eyes, and the person beside him was already gone. He called out in a hoarse voice, “Brother Wei Hu.”

Wei Hu was in the main room tanning rabbit skins. Hearing the voice, he came in. “You’re awake. Have some water.”

Wei Hu brought some hot water and helped Song Ning take a few sips. Song Ning moistened his throat and lay back down. His arm, which he’d just stretched out, was covered in red marks. Wei Hu cleared his throat and looked away.

The weather seemed nice today. Though he hadn’t gotten up yet, the sunlight was already streaming through the paper-covered windows into the room.

“Where’s Mom? Is she home?”

“No, she ate breakfast early this morning and went over to Old Wang’s place to watch the festivities. Old Wang’s family invited people over today to draw lots for the wedding quilt—they’re planning a wedding soon.”

Song Ning let out a quiet sigh of relief. After fooling around with Wei Hu yesterday, he didn’t want his mother to see him looking like this and refused to get out of bed.

Just thinking about yesterday made Song Ning blush and feel scared. He reached out and tugged at Wei Hu’s sleeve. “Brother Wei Hu, that felt uncomfortable. Let’s not do that again.”

Wei Hu nearly choked on his breath. Wasn’t he just introduced to the pleasures of the flesh, and now he didn’t want any more?

Wei Hu patted the bulge on the bed. “You must be hungry. I’ll go get you some food.”

Song Ning felt like crying, but couldn’t. That meant he was turning him down!

That’s not how it’s written in the books! If he’d known it would hurt this much, where would he have found the nerve to make a move on Wei Hu in the first place? What a lousy book—it’s leading young people astray!

It was actually him who’d torn Wei Hu’s undershirt yesterday—he regretted it so much!

It took Song Ning two days to start feeling a little better. He stopped wearing his flower-patterned makeup and instead leaned against the doorframe, hugging his little colored cat as he watched the snow fall.

Wei Hu was shoveling snow in the courtyard. As Song Ning watched, he let out a soft “Ah,” which made Wei Hu’s heart skip a beat. Ever since they’d consummated their marriage, the ger hadn’t been clinging to him as much at night. At first, he wouldn’t even let Wei Hu hold him while sleeping; it took Wei Hu half the night to coax him over.

Now he was sighing while looking at him, and Wei Hu feared he’d have to hold him while sleeping from now on.

Song Ning was already regretting it—he should’ve asked Qiu-ger. He recalled how he’d previously bragged to Qiu-ger about “seven times a night.” Good heavens, even twice a night was nearly killing him; if he did seven times a night, wouldn’t he ascend to heaven?

The snow in the courtyard had already been shoveled once. When it wasn’t snowing, they’d cleared the paths first; now it was time to clean up the courtyard, and Wei Hu set to work efficiently on his own.

Just as Song Ning was frowning and sighing, Qiu-ger came running over, “Ning-ger, Ning-ger! Come quickly! Someone in the village has drilled a hole in the ice to catch fish. Let’s hurry over and grab some!”

Song Ning was dragged away without a word. Someone had drilled a hole in the lake to catch fish. Most of what they pulled up were small fish about a foot long. A few young men were fishing there, flinging the catch onto the shore as they hauled it in—whoever picked it up got to keep it.

Although the water was frozen over, no one usually dared to step directly onto the ice; it was just a few young men who had drilled a hole to fish for fun.

The village entrance was bustling with activity right now. Those gathering the fish were mostly young couples and children, treating it as a bit of fun.

Song Ning was holding a small basket too—one Qiu-ger had just handed him—and the whole crowd was laughing and jostling over the little fish.

Qiu-ger deftly snatched up a small fish and grinned with delight. “Ning-ger, you’ve got to be quicker! Look, even that little kid is snagging more than you. If you were at a village banquet, you wouldn’t even get a single bite of meat.”

Song Ning laughed at that, “Alright, I’ll hurry up.”

Qiu-ger pulled Song Ning over to a spot where there were fewer people. He shouted toward the ice, “Dazhuang, throw it this way!”

“Got it!”

Dazhuang tossed the net toward the two of them. Qiu-ger hurried to pick it up, and Song Ning also scrambled to grab it with both hands. He bent down so quickly that his little face contorted for a moment. This time, Song Ning was faster and managed to snag two fish.

As soon as the fish hit the shore, a dozen or so people swarmed over. This time, Sun Dazhuang tossed another net toward the two of them, and Song Ning managed to grab two.

There were quite a few onlookers standing nearby, laughing heartily as they watched the scramble.

When Wei Hu arrived, Song Ning was in the thick of the scramble. Wei Hu walked over and asked, “How many have you picked up?”

“I’ve only managed seven.”

Song Ning gave an embarrassed smile. Seven palm-sized little fish wouldn’t even make a single dish, Qiu-ger over there had already picked up a dozen or so, and he’d even slipped two to Song Ning.

“I’ll help you.”

“Ah, that’s not right—there aren’t any men here to compete with.”

Wei Hu laughed. “Who said I’m competing with you?”

Wei Hu walked toward the lake. Song Ning called out, “Brother Wei Hu, be careful.”

“It’s fine.”

They were fishing close to the shore; no one dared to go out to the middle—the ice wasn’t solid enough yet.

Sun Dazhuang burst out laughing, “Brother Huzi is here! Come on, everyone, make some room for Brother Huzi! When it comes to catching fish, Brother Huzi always catches the most!”

Wei Hu took the net, swirled it around in the ice hole a few times, scooped it up, and flung it toward the shore. Song Ning hurried over to pick them up; the fish landed right at his feet. How could an outsider possibly outpace him? In no time, the fish had formed a layer at the bottom of his basket.

Li Xiaolian heard the commotion and came over. She’d been picking up fish for a while, but when she saw Wei Hu start tossing fish specifically toward Song Ning’s spot, she joined in. “Ning-ger, how many have you picked up?”

Song Ning ignored her and pulled Qiu-ger aside to stand a little further away. Li Xiaolian wanted to pick up a few more fish to take home for dinner. Since Song Ning and Qiu-ger had both just married into the village this year and didn’t know many people, the others felt awkward about crowding around them once the two stood there.

Li Xiaolian wanted to take advantage of the situation, but to her surprise, Song Ning—who had always been nice to her before—was ignoring her today. Hmph, it was all because of that day when she “accidentally” nearly fell into Brother Hu’s arms!

Just as Li Xiaolian was about to step forward, Song Ning glared at her. “Don’t come over here. I know you’re thinking about Wei Hu. Forget it—he’s my husband.”

Li Xiaolian was, after all, an unmarried girl. Having her true feelings so bluntly exposed by Song Ning, she blushed with embarrassment. Thankfully, there were only the three of them there; if outsiders had heard it, where would she have hidden her face?

Li Xiaolian finally walked away, seething with indignation.

Qiu-ger excitedly grabbed Song Ning’s sleeve. “Way to go, Ning-ger! I didn’t think you’d ever lose your temper with someone.”

“She was the one with impure motives first.”

Wei Hu tossed another net of fish their way. The two of them hurried to pick them up, and the others rushed over to help as well. Everyone’s basket was now quite full—enough for a proper meal.

With Wei Hu’s help, Song Ning managed to gather quite a few fish, some twenty or thirty of them. That was no small haul.

Chen Cuihua was watching from the side, laughing heartily at Song Ning’s antics.

Seeing that Song Ning had gathered nearly all the fish, Wei Hu climbed back up. Song Ning ran over with sparkling eyes, “Brother Wei Hu, look—I collected so many!”

The ger hadn’t been very close to him these past few days, but now he was back to his usual self, which made Wei Hu quite happy.

“Let’s go home, and I’ll make you some fish soup.” It would be just the thing to help him regain his strength.

“Okay!”

Chen Cuihua saw there was quite a lot. “There are so many. I’ll go buy some tofu, and we’ll have tofu and fish soup for lunch.”

Song Ning nodded. He’d been running back and forth with Qiu-ger picking up fish, and the heat had left a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead.

After they got back, Wei Hu boiled some water and started cleaning the small fish. Once they were all cleaned, he waited for his mother to return to cook them. Song Ning was crouched by the stove, warming himself, occasionally helping Wei Hu change the water to rinse the fish.

Chen Cuihua returned as well, carrying a tray of tofu. It was freshly made and still warm. “We sold quite a bit of tofu today—people are buying it to stew with fish.”

Chen Cuihua deftly cracked eggs into the pot, frying three of them first, then pan-frying the small fish until golden brown. When she poured in the boiling water, it turned milky white. She added the egg and tofu mixture, and the aroma was so enticing that the two dogs ran over from the backyard.

Li Xiaolian picked out a few fish as well; her family was also making fish stew today. Tiedan felt that his aunt’s cooking wasn’t as fragrant as Uncle Huzi’s, so he sneaked over to Wei Hu’s doorstep to catch a whiff of the aroma.

Hei Dou barked twice when he saw someone approaching, startling Tiedan so much that he fell flat on his bottom. Chen Cuihua heard the commotion and came out. “Oh, it’s Tiedan! Did your grandma make fish soup for you, too?”

“My aunt made it, but it doesn’t smell as good. Grandma Wei, can I eat at your house?”

Chen Cuihua felt a bit torn. He was just a little kid, but if she let Tiedan eat at her house, Li Guifen would surely object, and the two families would inevitably end up arguing again. “Well, I’ll serve you a little bit. Have a taste.”

Tiedan perked up. “Yay!”

“Tiedan, come back!”

Li Guifen hadn’t seen her eldest grandson and went out to look for him. She spotted Tiedan crouched at Chen Cuihua’s doorstep. “Come back!”

Tiedan seemed reluctant. “Grandma, I want to drink the fish soup.”

“Don’t we have any at home? Why go drinking someone else’s? Come back!”

Only then did Tiedan leave. Li Guifen pulled him back and gave him a couple of swats on the bottom. “You’re such an embarrassment. It’s not like we’re starving you—why are you running over there begging for food?”

Chen Cuihua snorted. She knew the spanking was meant for her. “When does your family ever eat meat? What’s wrong with a kid wanting something nice?”

“Chen Cuihua, stop tempting my Tiedan over to your place. I can tell you’re just jealous because you don’t have a grandson of your own!”

“Pfft! I already have a son-in-law—why would I envy your family?”

“Everyone in the village knows Wei Hu’s a wife-killer. Are you actually hoping to have a child? You’re lucky he hasn’t killed him yet!”

Hearing this, Wei Hu’s face turned pale inside the house, and Song Ning ran out, shouting angrily from a distance, “You’re a widow-maker! Your whole family is a widow-maker!”

Even Chen Cuihua was taken aback—she hadn’t expected Song Ning to curse like that. Hearing him shout those words, she couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “Did you hear that? My husband just said your whole family brings bad luck to husbands!”

True to form for an educated man, his insults weren’t vulgar but were deadly effective. Chen Cuihua was delighted.

Li Guifen was furious. “Who are you talking about?!”