Song Ning hadn’t been to town since the start of spring. The busy farming season at home had passed, and now things were quiet. Even Qiu-ger hadn’t been coming to see him much lately—he’d been busy working in the fields himself.

Tomorrow is the Third of March, the Shangsi Festival. The town fair is always the liveliest time of year. Now that the weather has cleared up, the market is even more bustling than it was during the New Year.

Song Ning dashed off to find Qiu-ger. Qiu-ger was at home embroidering pouches. Seeing Song Ning arrive, he was overjoyed. “Come, sit down.” 

“Qiu-ger, are you going to town tomorrow? There’s a temple fair. I’ve saved up some embroidery patterns and plan to take them to the embroidery shop to sell.” 

“Of course I am. Look, I’ve embroidered about ten pouches myself—I’m just waiting to sell them at the fair tomorrow.”

Song Ning took them in his hands and examined them. “Qiu-ger, your embroidery is truly beautiful. Haven’t you been busy farming lately? I can’t believe you still found time to embroider these pouches.”

“I squeezed in a few. Business is sure to be good tomorrow.”

Tomorrow is the Shangsi Festival. Lots of gers and women will be buying pouches and sachets to give as gifts, so even though he’s busy, he still found time to embroider a few.

Song Ning chatted with Qiu-ger for a while. He mentioned that Wei Hu’s uncle had come by to borrow the ox cart. The two of them leaned their heads together and grumbled a bit. Then, when Song Ning said he’d come over today to invite him to ride the ox cart into town together, Qiu-ger broke into a delighted smile. “Well, I won’t say no to that.”

“I’ll call out to you when I pass by your house first thing tomorrow morning.” 

“Sounds good.”

Since tomorrow was the Shangsi Festival, the whole family changed into new clothes after breakfast. Song Ning, dressed in a sky-blue robe, looked like a fresh young bud on a branch, carrying a basket in his hand filled with the flower patterns he had drawn.

Wei Hu went to the back of the yard, led the ox out, and hitched it to the cart. He placed a few straw mats on the cart for seating. Chen Cuihua tidied herself up and came out, still wearing the silk flower Song Ning had given her during the New Year. She climbed aboard, beaming with joy.

The family of three set off in the oxcart. This was the first time any of them had ridden their own oxcart into town. Chen Cuihua beamed with joy. “Our own oxcart is so much roomier.”

When they arrived at Qiu-ger’s house, Song Ning didn’t even get off the cart; he just called out into the courtyard. Qiu-ger hurried out carrying a basket, followed by Sun Dazhuang, who helped Qiu-ger onto the cart first.

The whole group set off for town in high spirits. Quite a few villagers were heading out to join the festivities, and they ran into many acquaintances along the way.

“Cuihua, heading to town?” 

“Yeah, just going to join the fun.”

“Having an ox cart is great—no more walking to town from now on.” 

“Maybe your family can buy an ox someday, too.”

They exchanged greetings with acquaintances along the way. Unless invited, no one would be so tactless as to ask for a ride on someone else’s oxcart, so as not to offend them.

Qiu-ger and Song Ning sat together, the breeze blowing across their faces, making them feel exceptionally comfortable. “I used to be too stingy to take the ox cart into town. Dazhuang, work hard, and let’s try to buy a beast of our own as soon as possible.”

“Sure thing. Now that the weather’s warming up, more people are building houses, so we’ll be able to earn a few extra coins.”

Song Ning leaned close to Qiu-ger’s ear and whispered, “Granny Sun loves to join in the fun. She saw me calling you just now, and she looked a little upset.”

“She’d love to come, but I’m afraid she’d be a nuisance. Since I didn’t let her ride in your ox cart, and she’s so scared of Aunt Cuihua, she didn’t dare come.”

After saying this, the two of them chuckled quietly.

Wei Hu, leisurely driving the oxcart with his whip in hand, heard his Fulang and Song Ning whispering to each other. He glanced back and saw his Fulang grinning like a cat that had stolen some fish. A smile tugged at Wei Hu’s lips. That ger.

Once they reached town, Qiu-ger parted ways with Song Ning and the others. He was going to sell some pouches and would come to find Song Ning later.

There were truly so many people in town to join the festivities. As soon as they reached the town entrance, they saw a large crowd already gathered. Wei Hu led the ox to a clear spot; an old man nearby offered to watch the oxcart. Wei Hu gave him three copper coins to mind the ox, took a pair of tokens, and the three of them headed toward the fair.

The town’s March 3rd fair was held by a lake on the southern outskirts. Scholars, connoisseurs, and the sons and daughters of wealthy families liked to go there to enjoy the spring scenery. Song Ning had originally planned to take his flower patterns to the embroidery shop to sell, but seeing how crowded the town was, he decided to sell them right there instead—he could earn a few more copper coins that way.

The fair was absolutely packed with people—women, men, and children from the countryside, as well as wealthy townspeople out for a stroll, each surrounded by their servants.

When Song Ning lived in town, he used to come out to the fair every March 3rd. There were simply too many people, so Wei Hu held his hand to keep her from getting swept away by the crowd.

Song Ning felt a sweet warmth in his heart as he held Wei Hu’s hand and even secretly tickled the palm of his hand.

Chen Cuihua simply took the basket from Song Ning’s hands. “You go play with Huzi. It’s all young people here on the third day of the third month. I’m going to sell some flower arrangements. We’ll meet up later.”

Before the two could say a word, Chen Cuihua was already out of sight, jostled away by the crowd. Wei Hu pulled her closer to him. “Be careful.” 

“It’s okay, Brother Wei Hu.”

The temple fair was truly bustling. There were young girls carrying baskets selling apricot and peach blossoms, and older women selling zongzi. Many people carried baskets selling small trinkets or snacks, and on both sides of the street were numerous stalls selling sliced cakes, pea paste cakes, wonton soup, and steamed buns.

Song Ning loved sweets, and after just a few steps, he already had a piece of sweet pea paste in his hand—soft and chewy. Whenever Wei Hu spotted something he wanted to eat, he didn’t ask Song Ning if he wanted any; he knew that if he asked, Song Ning would surely say no, afraid he’d spend his copper coins.

The copper coins they earned at home were meant to be spent, and Wei Hu couldn’t bear to let Song Ning go without.

Before long, he bought Song Ning his favorites—sesame candy, jujube cakes, and more. The aroma of grilled meat skewers wafted through the air, and Song Ning glanced at Wei Hu and bought him five skewers.

Song Ning pulled Wei Hu back, trying to stop him from buying more. “These skewers are so expensive, and they don’t even taste as good as the ones our mom makes. You shouldn’t be wasting our copper coins like that.” 

“They’re not expensive. They just taste different from what we have at home. Give it a try.”

Song Ning shoved two skewers into Wei Hu’s hands. “You eat some too.”

Wei Hu wasn’t about to fight with Song Ning over food. The skewers weren’t very big to begin with, and five of them were barely enough to fill a tooth gap. “You eat them. I don’t like this stuff.” Song Ning wouldn’t take no for an answer. He stood on tiptoe, holding up a skewer to feed him. “Eat it, come on, eat it.”

Song Ning clung to Wei Hu, pestering him to eat, and Wei Hu smiled as he plucked a piece from the skewer. “Alright, you eat.”

Only then did Song Ning start eating. They took turns—one bite for him, one for Wei Hu. The two were naturally handsome, and along the way, quite a few people had been stealing glances at them, though their attire didn’t suggest they came from wealthy families, the ger didn’t look like a child from a peasant family at all; he looked more like a pampered ger from a wealthy household. The man beside him, on the other hand, looked like a peasant’s son, yet the two behaved so intimately that standing together, they looked quite harmonious.

Many people watched them surreptitiously, tutting to themselves. What a pity—both were already taken.

The Shangsi Festival was meant for young people to go out and have fun; if two took a liking to each other, it was bound to lead to a happy match.

In the crowd, Song Baozhu watched Song Ning with such jealousy her eyes nearly popped out of her head. She was the one who’d married a Xiucai, yet her life was far from as good as Song Ning’s.

Just look at his clothes and the food he eats—it’s nothing like a poor family in the countryside. The hunter by his side buys him things without batting an eye, yet she can’t even treat herself to a decent meal. Her life seems to be getting worse by the day.

Furious, she raised her hand and slapped Zhao Qingshan, who stood beside her. “You good-for-nothing! You must pass the Juren examination this year, or else—just you wait!”

Zhao Qingshu didn’t dare utter a word even after being slapped in public. With the autumn examinations only a few months away, he hadn’t even scraped together enough travel money. A trip to the prefectural seat would cost at least ten taels of silver.

At present, his food and clothing were entirely supported by the twenty taels of silver from Song Baozhu’s dowry. By the time the autumn examinations rolled around, that money would likely be long gone. Where would he find the funds for his journey? He would inevitably have to go to the Song family to beg for help, so he dared not offend Song Baozhu in the slightest.

A snicker came from nearby. Zhao Qingshu looked over and saw his former classmates; several of them were fanning themselves with great air of sophistication. Scholars were always haughty and looked down on the behavior of petty people.

Previously, Zhao Qingshu had only been able to attend school thanks to the support of the Song family patriarch. Although they had once mocked him for being a “kept man,” it was merely a matter of them looking down on him. But now, this man was marrying another woman for a dowry of twenty taels of silver—an act that scholars found utterly despicable.

Fengnian Town is a small place, and with so few scholars around, everyone knows everyone else. Word of what happened to Zhao Qingshu had already spread far and wide.

A few classmates had originally come to the temple fair just to join in the fun, but they happened to witness Song Baozhu slap Zhao Qingshu. Since they looked down on him, they immediately stepped in to give him a hard time.

“Oh, isn’t this our Mr. Zhao the Xiucai? What are you doing at the temple fair? Trying to pick up some rich young ger or lady?”

The remark set the crowd roaring with laughter. The commotion was quite a spectacle; many people turned to look. From his attire, they recognized him as a scholar—a class of people who value their reputation above all else. It was the first time anyone had seen a scholar causing a scene in broad daylight.

Even Song Ning, who was walking ahead, heard the commotion. He turned around and saw that it was his dear sister and Zhao Qingshu. He had intended to turn and leave, but when he heard someone mocking Zhao Qingshu, he immediately grabbed Wei Hu and headed over to join the fray.

By the time the two arrived, a crowd of onlookers had already gathered. Song Ning could barely see over the heads of the crowd and had to stand on tiptoe to catch a glimpse. Wei Hu, unable to suppress a chuckle, cleared his throat and lifted him slightly. “Can you see now?”

Song Ning squinted, his face flushed with heat. “Put, put me down. This is, this is embarrassing.”  

“It’s fine. There’s no one behind you.”

Wei Hu held Song Ning up slightly so he could see the commotion. The scene was quite a spectacle right then, so Song Ning stopped worrying about whether it was embarrassing or not.

Zhao Qingshu tried to make a run for it after being mocked by his former classmate, but several people reached out to block his path. “Hey, Mr. Xiucai Zhao, where are you running off to?”

“Oh my, I’d almost forgotten—Xiucai Zhao is a different man these days. Are you planning to take the provincial exams this fall? Have you secured the funds yet?”

“How could there not be a source? Just say a few sweet things in bed, and the silver will be delivered right to you.”

The men burst into laughter, and Song Ning couldn’t help but smile. Scholars certainly have a way with words—this commotion would surely leave Zhao Qingshu even more humiliated.

Song Baozhu wasn’t about to put up with this nonsense. “Who are you lot? Pah!”

“You must be Zhao Qingshu’s wife, huh? Tsk, you’re probably no saint yourself.” 

“Who are you talking about? Who are you talking about?!”