Hii guyss, been a month since I updated the stories under me, sorry for that. I’ll upload five chapters each. To be honest, since this site is new, the uploading interface isn’t quite user-friendly, so it was such a drag to do it. I didn’t see the announcement from Admin saying that if we give them access to the files and say which chapters to upload, then they’ll do it. Since I don’t have to upload, that means the schedule will be consistent. Thanks for waiting!

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The steamed pork with taro had barely been served when the buns arrived—not white flour buns, but cornmeal and sorghum flour buns. Just think of how much white flour that would have taken!

Qiu-ger closed his eyes in bliss as he ate. “Ning-ger, try eating the meat wrapped in a bun—it’s so delicious.”

Song Ning imitated Qiu-ger and tucked two slices of meat into a bun. The fat from the meat was absorbed into the bun, and it really did taste even better.

The Wang family’s banquet was quite a spread: steamed pork with taro, stir-fried pork liver, pickled vegetables with pork blood, winter melon and pork bone soup, and a few dishes of stir-fried Chinese cabbage. By rural standards, this was a pretty decent feast.

At the table outside, there were so many people that the chopsticks were practically fighting on the table as soon as the dishes were served—some people couldn’t even get a bite. Since everyone was running low on food, they all wanted to grab a few extra pieces of meat.

At Song Ning’s table, however, the meal proceeded in a calm and orderly manner, with everyone able to exchange a few casual words.

The village chief was an old man who looked to be in his fifties. Since it was his youngest son who had been sent to town to study, he was especially courteous to Song Ning-ger, knowing that he could read and write. “Did you attend school in town, Ning-ger?”

Song Ning replied, “I studied for a few years when I was young.”

“That’s no small feat. Educating a young ger costs even more money than raising my own son.”

He thought to himself that the Song family must indeed be well-off in town to be willing to send their ger off to school. He’d heard the village gossip before—that the ger couldn’t do a thing for himself, and that once he was married into the Wei family, the couple would have to take turns tending to him, as if they’d brought an ancestor into their home.

“It seems the Wei family is truly blessed to have married such a fine ger. If I’d known Song Ning was going to marry into the countryside, I would’ve brought the betrothal gifts and taken him home long ago. What a pity—he didn’t end up in my family.”

“Your handwriting is even better than my son’s. I heard from Carpenter Ma’s family that their son, Xiangyuan, borrowed books from you. Could my son go to you to borrow some books to read as well?”

Song Ning agreed, as long as they didn’t damage them.

The village chief was quite fond of Song Ning. Although the young man seemed a bit gentle-natured, he spoke with great confidence. The Wei family had truly struck gold.

Chen Cuihua was also delighted to see the village chief hold Song Ning in such high regard. Her family was truly blessed to have married such a fine ger. Let’s see who dares say her family has bad luck now—pfft!

After dinner, Chen Cuihua sent Song Ning home first. She still had to help clear the dishes, and Wei Hu needed to return the borrowed tables and chairs.

So Song Ning headed home with Qiu-ger first.

Qiu-ger hadn’t eaten this much meat in ages; he was so full he had to lean on Song Ning to walk. “I, I was even planning to help you snatch some meat, but I never expected to ride on your coattails, Ning-ger. With all this grease in my belly, I’ll be full until New Year’s. Burp~”

Song Ning walked slowly as well, then turned his head and let out a burp of his own, making Qiu-ger burst out laughing.

“So you’re stuffed too, Ning-ger.”

Song Ning gave a silly chuckle in return. “That steamed pork with taro was delicious.”

The two strolled home together. As soon as Song Ning got home, he lit a fire. They huddled around the charcoal brazier, warming themselves, with a small earthenware pot simmering hawthorn and tangerine peel soup on top. Since they were both stuffed, they planned to have a bowl of the soup in a little while to help settle their stomachs.

Qiu-ger stayed to play for a while before heading home. Chen Cuihua and Wei Hu had also returned after helping out at the Wang family’s place. Song Ning poured a bowl of hawthorn tea for each of them. Chen Cuihua was still beaming with joy. “Ning-ger, you really made your mother proud today!”

Wei Hu was sitting nearby, holding his bowl of hot water and sipping it in small sips. The hawthorn and tangerine peel tea was a bit sour, but Wei Hu drank it all down with a stern expression. Song Ning chuckled to himself—his brother Wei Hu just couldn’t handle sour things.

After resting at home for a day, Wei Hu went back to the hill behind the house to chop firewood. Meanwhile, Song Ning was inside, sifting through some old paper he’d used before. He’d said he wanted to teach Qiu-ger how to cut paper cutouts, and fortunately, he’d brought quite a bit of the old paper he’d used from the Song household earlier. 

Song Ning took it all out, one by one.

Chen Cuihua was tidying up nearby. “It’ll be the New Year in just over a month. I’m not very good with my hands, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to learn, but if I do, I might be able to earn a few copper coins.”

“Mother, you’re quite skilled with your hands.”

“Cuihua, is Cuihua home?” Hearing someone call her name, Chen Cuihua came out of the room. “Oh, it’s Wang Fulang! Come on in and have a seat.”

Wang Fulang came in carrying a basket. “Is Ning-ger here too?” 

“He’s here, in his room, working on his books.”

Song Ning heard someone asking for him and came out as well. Seeing it was Wang Fulang, he called him “Uncle” and poured him a cup of hot water.

Wang Fulang lifted the steamer lid. Inside was a bowl of taro and steamed pork—clean leftovers from yesterday’s feast that no one had touched.

Chen Cuihua gasped, “Wang Fulang, what are you doing? Bringing such a precious gift!”

“There were so many people at home yesterday that I didn’t have a chance to thank you. If it weren’t for Ning-ger’s help, my household would have been in complete chaos.”

“He’s just a child—how could he possibly accept such a heavy gift? Wang Fulang, please don’t be so formal.” Chen Cuihua didn’t want the bowl of meat; the Wang family had already shown her family enough face yesterday. How could she possibly accept their meat now?

Wang Fulang let out a sigh. “It’s the custom—I have to accept it. I just delivered one to the village chief’s family. This is for your family. Please take it. I’m sure I’ll be relying on your Ning-ger from time to time in the future.”

“Wang Fulang, please don’t be so formal. Ning-ger was just helping out as a favor.”

“Take it, take it. When my son’s wife has a baby someday, we’ll need your Ning-ger to help out with the banquet.”

Although rural families don’t have as many formalities when organizing events, weddings and funerals are unavoidable for every household. The old Tongsheng is getting on in years and won’t be able to work as a clerk for much longer; he’ll inevitably need to trouble others in the future.

Chen Cuihua couldn’t refuse and accepted the gifts. When Wang Fulang was leaving, she gathered another half-basket of dried wood ear mushrooms and other such items.

These items weren’t cheap if sold; Chen Cuihua had gathered them herself in the mountains during the summer.

Although she understood the custom—that the host family inevitably needed to thank those who helped with the arrangements—and her son had served as the scribe this time, he was still young. Chen Cuihua feared gossip, so she was especially generous when giving gifts to the Wang family.

At noon, Chen Cuihua steamed the bowl of meat and specially baked a few white flour flatbreads, which she sliced open to serve with the meat.

“We’ve really benefited from Ning-ger’s presence,” Chen Cuihua thought. Ever since the young man had come into their home, life had become increasingly smooth and harmonious; he truly brought good fortune to her family.

Song Ning was flattered by the praise. When he saw that Qiu-ger hadn’t come looking for him that afternoon, Song Ning decided to tag along with Wei Hu into the mountains to chop firewood.

He’d never gone into the mountains with Wei Hu to chop wood before, and since he was getting a bit bored at home, he figured he might as well come along for the fun of it.

At first, Wei Hu didn’t want to take Song Ning to the back mountain—it was windy there. But when the wind started blowing on the ger, Wei Hu made sure Song Ning was bundled up in a rabbit-fur-lined coat with a hood. He even tried to get Song Ning to hold a hot water bottle, but Song Ning refused. “Brother Wei Hu, I’m here to help you gather firewood. Why would I be holding a hot water bottle?”

Song Ning followed Wei Hu to the back mountain. Chen Cuihua called out, “Ning-ger, come back after playing for a while. Don’t catch a chill.”

“Got it, Mom!”

Song Ning happily trailed behind Wei Hu. The back mountain was a barren, yellow expanse at this time of year, and further up, the snow lay thick. It was hard to see the path, and one could easily slip and fall; since the heavy snow had sealed off the mountain, hardly anyone went up there anymore.

Song Ning just wanted to stick close to Wei Hu. Wei Hu spent his days either chopping or selling firewood, and aside from snuggling together in bed at night, they were each busy with their own affairs.

As Wei Hu walked ahead, he kept glancing back at the young ger behind him. Song Ning simply reached out and took Wei Hu’s hand. A smile spread across his little face; Wei Hu’s hands were rough, but they were warm.

Wei Hu clasped his Fulang’s hand. “Do you want me to carry you up?” 

“No, I can walk on my own.”

They walked the entire way without seeing a single soul. Who in their right mind would go running to the back mountain in the dead of winter? After walking for a while, they stopped.

Song Ning plucked up the courage, stood on tiptoe, and kissed Wei Hu on the lips. Wei Hu’s gaze deepened for a moment, and his voice grew hoarse. “You’re being spoiled again.”

Wei Hu wrapped his arms around the ger’s waist and lifted him onto a low rock. The ger’s eyes sparkled as he stared at him, not blinking once.

“Brother Wei Hu, I’m really happy. I never thought I’d be able to bring honor to our family.”

“I never expected the Wang family would send over another bowl of meat today. I’m so happy,” Song Ning said, wrapping his arm around Wei Hu’s neck. “Back at the Song household, my stepmother and stepsister used to call me stupid all the time—they said I couldn’t even manage simple chores like serving tea or pouring water. I thought I was stupid too, and when I came to your family, I didn’t know how to do any housework either.”

“You’re not stupid. Ning-ger is the smartest of all.”

Song Ning smiled too. “Brother Wei Hu, I’m really happy. I’m not a useless ger.” 

“No, you’re not.”

Song Ning’s heart was so full of joy that it felt like it would overflow. He was so happy he couldn’t help but want to get closer to Wei Hu, yet he was afraid his mother might see them at home—it would be rather embarrassing in broad daylight—so he followed Wei Hu to the back of the mountain.

Wei Hu leaned down and captured the ger’s lips, only letting go when he was nearly out of breath. Song Ning’s face flushed.

“Brother Wei Hu, I want more.”

Wei Hu’s voice was hoarse. “Don’t get me all worked up. It’s freezing out here.”

Song Ning punched Wei Hu playfully. “Brother Wei Hu, what are you thinking?!” Out here in the middle of nowhere, who would want to be making out with him in broad daylight?

Wei Hu let go of him. “I’m busy right now. I’ll take care of you tonight.”

Song Ning’s face flushed even redder. He climbed down from the rock and ran off to one side. Wei Hu chuckled and, in a few swift moves, climbed the tree to chop branches. Full of energy, he couldn’t wait for night to fall.

Wei Hu cut branches up in the tree, and when he came down, the two of them gathered the firewood together, their eyes meeting with a sticky, intimate gaze.

After one round of gathering, Wei Hu walked Song Ning home. The wind was strong on the back mountain, and the young man was so frail; Wei Hu was afraid the wind would blow him away. After dinner that night, the two of them went to bed early without needing to say a word.

The next day, they inevitably woke up late, but he was surprisingly dry. Wei Hu got up early and wiped him down first, changing his undershirt to a fresh one. Taking advantage of the spare moment, he fetched water to wash the clothes Song Ning had taken off. He didn’t bother heating the water; Wei Hu wasn’t afraid of the cold and simply washed them with cold water.

When Qiu-ger came to find Song Ning, Song Ning had just gotten up. Fortunately, he didn’t have to get up that early in winter; otherwise, he would have felt rather awkward.