With so many people watching, Chen Cuihua made her position clear: if she tried to take her own life again in the future, it would have nothing to do with her family! Chen Cuihua then hurried home.

Li Xiaolian had fallen into the water and was frozen stiff, her face deathly pale and her lips turning purple. She only came to after someone pinched her philtrum. She froze for a moment, then burst into tears. She really hadn’t meant to die—but she’d come so close!

The icy river water had covered her head, and her padded jacket clung to her like a water ghost, dragging her down. She was truly terrified. Li Guifen slapped her across the face. “Are you trying to drive your mother to her grave?!”

Li Guifen begged a few women and fulangs to help carry the girl back home.

After Qiu-ger ran over to the Wei household, he sprang into action. He quickly lit a fire to heat water; the water jar in the kitchen was full, and the firewood was piled as high as half a wall—they had everything they needed.

Qiu-ger frantically stoked the fire under the stove, stuffing the firebox full of firewood. He grabbed a gourd ladle to scoop water into the pot, but finding it too slow, he switched to a wooden basin to pour water in.

“Honestly, I’ve never seen anyone who wants to die and drag others down with them. That Li Xiaolian has truly lost her mind!”

Qiu-ger filled the pot more than halfway with water, then hurriedly brought over the brazier and shoveled in a good amount of firewood. He first took it to the main room to warm the house—jumping into water in the dead of winter could easily be fatal!

Qiu-ger carried three piles of firewood into the house one after another, running back and forth until he was drenched in sweat. Back in the kitchen, he hurriedly lit a small stove to boil ginger water.

It was freezing out, yet he was so flustered that he was drenched in sweat. Qiu-ger kept running to the doorway to check, “Why isn’t he back yet?”

Frustrated, he stamped his foot and went back to stoking the fire.

As soon as he heard voices, he rushed out and saw Wei Hu wrapped in a cotton coat, his head dripping wet, with icicles hanging from the tips of his hair! Song Ning, beside him, was pale as a sheet, looking thoroughly terrified.

“Oh my! You’re finally back! Hurry inside and warm up!”

Song Ning also hurried to the kitchen. As soon as he stepped into the courtyard, he caught a strong whiff of ginger. He quickly lifted the lid, filled a bowl to the brim, and brought it out. “Brother Wei Hu, you need to drink a bowl of ginger water right away!”

Wei Hu took the bowl, blew on it to cool it down, and downed it in one gulp. Before he could even say a word, Song Ning had already poured him another. Wei Hu downed three bowls of ginger tea in a row before Song Ning finally stopped.

Wei Hu ruffled the ger’s hair. “I’m fine now. Look, I’m just fine.”

Qiu-ger walked into the house carrying a huge bundle of firewood. “Brother Huzi, don’t say that. If you catch a cold, it’ll be terrible.”

Qiu-ger added more firewood to the hearths one by one—one in the main hall and two in Song Ning’s room—filling the house with a wave of warmth. Chen Cuihua also rushed back. “Hurry up and take a bath and change your clothes. Li Guifen really is a nightmare for this old woman!”

The group carried the tub over. Wei Hu tried to lend a hand, but Chen Cuihua stopped him. “Stay inside and keep warm. Going from hot to cold and back again could give you a chill—that wouldn’t be good.”

The three of them hurriedly carried hot water to the tub, and by the time they were done, everyone was drenched in sweat.

“Thanks, Qiu-ger.”

Qiu-ger let out a sigh. “Ning-ger, what are you saying? We’re not strangers to each other!”

Song Ning hummed in response and went inside to help Wei Hu bathe.

Chen Cuihua was furious by now—this was a complete and utter injustice!

“Thank you, Qiu-ger, you’ve worked so hard. Could you keep an eye on things here for me while I go fetch a doctor?” 

“Aunt Cuihua, Dazhuang is at home. I’ll have him go—he’s much quicker on his feet.”

“Alright, thank you.”

“Auntie, what are you saying?”

Qiu-ger hurried home to ask her husband for help. Sun Dazhuang was at home and hadn’t yet heard what was happening outside. As soon as Qiu-ger told him, he didn’t hesitate—he ran off to fetch a doctor.

Just as Qiu-ger turned to leave, she saw her mother-in-law sitting in the main room, trembling. “Mother, Mother! What’s wrong with you?” Qiu-ger shouted twice before Granny Sun snapped back to her senses. “Ah, nothing, nothing. It’s noon already. I’m going to cook.”

Granny Sun staggered off to the kitchen to cook. Qiu-ger found it odd—she used to be so helpless she practically needed to be spoon-fed, yet today she’d actually gone to cook on her own. Had the sun come up in the west?

Qiu-ger didn’t dwell on it and went over to see if there was anything he could help with at Ning-ger’s place.

Over at Song Ning’s place, he was helping Wei Hu bathe. He’d fetched some fresh undergarments and laid them out on the bed. Once Wei Hu was out of the bath, Song Ning circled around him, carefully drying him off. Only after he’d finally managed to get Wei Hu into a thick, warm jacket did Song Ning let out a sigh of relief.

Song Ning opened the door, and Chen Cuihua came in to help carry the water out.

“Is Huzi cold?” 

“Mom, I’m fine.”

Not to mention that three fires were burning in the room, and Wei Hu, being young and full of vigor, felt that nothing serious had happened.

Song Ning sniffed and silently twisted Wei Hu’s hair. His hands were still cold, and Wei Hu took them in his own. “You must have been scared.”

“I was scared to death.”

“Come over here and warm up.”

Only then did Song Ning sit down beside Wei Hu. Chen Cuihua brought over a pot of ginger tea from the kitchen. “Ning-ger, you should have a sip too. It’ll help drive out the cold.”

Chen Cuihua was worried that Song Ning might catch a chill from the shock; she thought it would be best for everyone to have a bowl to help ward off the cold.

The doctor arrived shortly afterward. Upon hearing that he had fallen into the water, he came straight over with his medicine chest full of herbs. He prescribed some cold-relieving medicine and advised them to keep him out of the wind as much as possible for the next few days.

Chen Cuihua asked anxiously, “Doctor, is he really all right?”

“He’s fine. He’s a young, vigorous man—he’s full of vitality.”

“That’s good, that’s good.”

Chen Cuihua paid the consultation fee and saw the doctor out. As soon as she stepped outside, she spotted Li Gui’er’s wife peeking into her courtyard. Upon seeing Chen Cuihua emerge, she quickly ducked her head back.

Chen Cuihua was now seething with anger whenever she saw anyone from the Li family. “What are you here for?”

Li Gui’er’s wife waved her hands frantically. “No, no, I—I came to ask the doctor to come.”

Li Gui’er’s wife was drenched in sweat. Back home, the mother and daughter were still wailing away, and since Li Gui’er wasn’t home at the moment, she’d had to go fetch the doctor herself. On her way, she’d run into Sun Dazhuang bringing the doctor back.

Since the Wei family had called the doctor first, she had no choice but to wait outside. Although she and Li Xiaolian didn’t get along, she wouldn’t stand for anyone endangering a life. Even though she disliked Li Xiaolian, she still hurried to call the doctor.

Li Gui’er’s wife was leading the doctor to her house. Chen Cuihua snorted and walked into the courtyard, repeatedly thanking Qiu-ger and his husband. By the time all the commotion was over, it was well past noon.

Chen Cuihua tried to persuade the two to stay for a meal, but Qiu-ger politely declined. “Aunt Cuihua, you still have to take care of Brother Huzi. We don’t want to be a burden to you, so we’ll head home first.”

“Oh, thank you so much, thank you so much.”

After seeing them off, Chen Cuihua got busy cooking, while Song Ning tended the small stove, simmering the medicine.

Honestly, this had really given him quite a scare.

Things were in full swing over at the Li household. Li Xiaolian hadn’t really intended to die—she’d just wanted to scare Wei Hu a little. Little did she know she’d accidentally stepped on the ice and broken through.

The doctor happened to enter the house alongside the Shi family. Upon hearing that their in-laws had invited them to discuss the wedding date, the elderly Shi couple couldn’t have been happier. In most families, once a marriage is arranged, the bride and groom’s families would typically keep the couple together for half a year or even a year to show their reluctance to part.

The engagement had only been set recently, so the Shis were completely taken aback that the Lis were already asking to set a wedding date. The elderly couple was so overjoyed they didn’t even think to ask why the Lis were in such a hurry.

Usually, it’s the groom’s family who makes repeated requests to set the wedding date, but today the roles were reversed.

With this sudden call to discuss the date, the Shi family had no time to prepare anything; they simply grabbed a chicken from the backyard as a token of goodwill, and the three of them followed Li Gui’er back.

Little did they know that just as they reached the doorway, they bumped into the doctor who was entering the house.

The whole thing blew up, and the elderly Shi couple were so furious they grabbed their chickens and stormed off, vowing to call off the engagement. If they went through with the marriage, wouldn’t the villagers be gossiping behind their backs?

The Li family was in a real bind now. Li Xiaolian couldn’t stop crying, and the Shi family was making a fuss about calling off the engagement. For a while, Li Guifen didn’t even dare step outside. She, Li Guifen, used to be the one laughing at other people’s misfortunes—who would’ve thought that now the joke had come back to haunt her own family!

Wei Hu had been recuperating at home for a few days without any major issues. Song Ning was afraid Wei Hu might catch a chill, so he wouldn’t let him step outside unless absolutely necessary; even bringing him tea and water was handled by Song Ning.

But Wei Hu wasn’t the type to sit still. After just two days cooped up inside, he felt restless all over. The moment he stood up, Song Ning, who was sitting nearby, looked over. “Brother Wei Hu, do you need anything? Would you like some water?”

“I’m going out to take a leak.”

Song Ning replied, “Okay, just wait a moment.”

Song Ning went into the back room, came out carrying some things, helped Wei Hu put on his rabbit-fur coat, and then stood on tiptoe to fasten the hood for him. “All set. Go on.”

Wei Hu was bundled up tight before stepping out the front door. If he’d refused, his ger would have started tearing up, so Wei Hu had no choice but to comply—whatever Song Ning said went.

He didn’t get up that early in the morning anyway. He couldn’t even make it out the door right now, let alone go chop

firewood. He spent the morning cuddling with Song Ning. He was used to waking up early, but thankfully Song Ning was in his arms; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to handle it alone.

Song Ning wasn’t awake yet. As Wei Hu, holding him, shifted slightly, Song Ning’s eyes opened a crack. “Brother Wei Hu, it’s still early. Let’s go back to sleep.”

“Mm, go back to sleep.”

It was a rare treat for Wei Hu to be holding Song Ning and enjoying some morning intimacy. In this bitterly cold, not even Chen Cuihua got up that early; she waited until the sun was fully up before rising.

Hearing the creak of the door opening in the east room, Song Ning sat up and leaned down to give Wei Hu a quick kiss. “Brother Wei Hu, you lie down for a bit longer. I’ll bring you some hot water.”

Wei Hu chuckled to himself; this ger was treating him like a child now.

Song Ning quickly slipped on his jacket and got up to help boil some water. After tidying himself up, he brought the hot water into the room for Wei Hu. “Brother Wei Hu, it’s snowing outside again. You really shouldn’t go out.”

“I know.”

The previous snow was still piled up in the courtyard, and now it had started falling again. A little while later, Qiu-ger brought over some red paper. He’d asked Sun Dazhuang to buy some earlier, and he’d just brought it over for Song Ning.

A brazier was burning in the main hall, with a small earthenware pot perched on top, simmering a broth of red dates and longan. The three of them sat around the table learning paper cutting together. Qiu-ger and Chen Cuihua were picking it up quite quickly; by now, they could already cut along with Song Ning using the red paper. The window decorations they produced were more than enough to sell.

Qiu-ger chatted idly, “It’s strange, really. My mother-in-law hasn’t gone out to gossip lately, nor has she been nagging me. When I’m busy, she even helps out with the cooking.”

Chen Cuihua remarked, “That’s actually a good thing. It saves her from gossiping outside and causing trouble for your family.”