Thanks to WANGXIANNURSE for the kofis. Enjoy these bonus chapters!

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Bai Xiaoyun stood beside Song Ning, waiting for her pastry. “Why are you here again today? I thought I wouldn’t see you anymore.” 

“Brother Wei Hu came down from the mountains, so I tagged along to sell some game.”

Bai Xiaoyun let out a teasing “Oh, I thought so.”

Song Ning blushed a little at the teasing. “Do you want some locust blossoms? I’ve got a few left that don’t look great, but they’re still good to eat.”

As Song Ning spoke, he pulled out the remaining batch—there was still a big bowlful left. Bai Xiaoyun picked up a flower, held it to his lips, and sucked on it. “It’s pretty sweet. Thanks.”

Song Ning poured the rest of the locust blossoms into Bai Xiaoyun’s bowl. Over at Chen Cuihua’s side, the pancakes were ready; she wrapped them in oiled paper and handed them over. “Here, have some. If you like them, just come back for more.”

Bai Xiaoyun stood there for a moment. Seeing the copper coins, he knew how much each one cost. He took a coin from his purse and placed it in the cash box. “Auntie, if you keep doing this, I won’t dare come buy from you next time.”

“You silly child, don’t be so polite.”

Bai Xiaoyun smiled and exchanged a few polite words, then pulled a bunch of thousand-gold greens from his basket and handed them to Song Ning. “Take this home to mix into a salad. These greens are really fresh.”

“Thanks a lot.”

“Song Xiaoning, don’t be so formal.” Bai Xiaoyun waved her hand and walked away. “Hurry up and copy your notes. Once you’re done, come find me to play.” Song Ning smiled too; Bai Xiaoyun’s personality was quite endearing.

After seeing Bai Xiaoyun off, Song Ning went back to work. Sometimes, when Chen Cuihua was flipping the pancakes, he’d help turn them over in the pan. The two of them kept the little stall running like clockwork.

It wasn’t particularly crowded at the moment, but there was a steady stream of customers at Chen Cuihua’s stall—business was actually quite good. The baked bun stall next door, however, seemed a bit quiet; after all, the morning rush had already died down.

The man kicked the firewood stacked behind the stall, scattering the neatly arranged logs all over the ground. Song Ning had deliberately arranged them that way, afraid that if they were left in disarray, people might trip over them and fall.

Hearing the commotion, both women turned around. Chen Cuihua glared at him. “What are you doing, kicking my firewood?!” 

“Your firewood’s in my space. It’s right on my side of the line. What’s wrong with me kicking it back? You country bumpkin.”

“Who are you calling a country bumpkin? You’re not a country bumpkin—don’t you eat the grain grown by country bumpkins?”

The baked bun vendor, relying on the fact that his family lived in town, bullied Chen Cuihua because she was from the countryside. He felt that Chen Cuihua had not only come and stolen his family’s business but was also deliberately picking a fight.

Chen Cuihua wasn’t one to be messed with either. “Try touching my stuff one more time, and I’ll break your legs.”

Song Ning mimicked his mother’s words, “I’ll break your legs!”

The man stepped forward and kicked them again, sending Song Ning and the others’ firewood flying far away. Song Ning, furious, planted his hands on his hips. “Go pick up my firewood!”

“I won’t. So what?” The pancake vendor crossed his arms and glanced off into the distance. “Wang’er, hurry over here! Your husband’s being bullied!”

A man as skinny as a stick came running over from the side. Who knew how long he’d been sitting in the corner? Hearing his husband call him, he hurried over to back him up. “It’s your family bullying my husband! Pfft! Don’t you know who I am? How dare you try to steal my business!”

Fearing this shifty-eyed man might hurt Song Ning, Chen Cuihua pulled him back. “Oh, I was wondering why you’ve been so cocky today. I’ve only been here two days, and your family’s already picking a fight. So it’s your husband coming over to back you up, is it?”

Chen Cuihua eyed the man across from her up and down, her gaze brimming with disdain. “Is that all you’ve got? I could take him down all by myself.”

Hearing his mother speak like that, Song Ning chuckled. He tugged at Chen Cuihua’s sleeve. “Mom, I’m going to find Brother Wei Hu.” 

“No need. He’s as skinny as a stick—I can handle him all by myself.”

Chen Cuihua said this as she shoved a pair of chopsticks into Song Ning’s hand. “You flip our pancakes. I’m done with this nonsense.”

Hearing that Chen Cuihua, a woman, dared to look down on him, the man became even more agitated. “I’ll tell you this: if you leave today, I won’t hold it against you. But if you don’t leave, just wait till I tear your stall to pieces!”

His husband also spoke defiantly, “You’d better know when to back down.”

Chen Cuihua rolled up her sleeves. “Bring it on. Your husband isn’t even worth looking at.”

The man grew even angrier, rolled up his sleeves, and prepared to fight. Song Ning watched with growing anxiety; Wei Hu wasn’t there at the moment, and he was calculating whether the two of them could take on the pair across from them.

The man had barely taken a step forward when someone grabbed him by the collar and yanked him off his feet. He let out a couple of yelps as his feet kicked the air,

“Who the hell dares to grab me by the collar!”

“Brother Wei Hu, you’re back!” Song Ning’s heart sank with relief. He’d been about to join the fight when Wei Hu returned—perfect timing.

“Who the hell are you?”

Wei Hu loosened his grip, and the man fell to the ground. Sitting there, he groaned a couple of times. The husband of the scallion pancake vendor hurried over to help his man up. “Who are you?”

“You’re causing trouble at my stall, and you’re asking who I am?”

“Brother Wei Hu, they’re just looking for trouble—they’re jealous of our good business.” Song Ning explained the situation. Wei Hu frowned. “Go gather our firewood.”

The man saw that Wei Hu was tall and imposing—his shadow on the ground was big enough to cover him entirely. He was originally just a small-time thug in town, someone who bullied the weak and feared the strong. As soon as he saw Wei Hu, he didn’t dare say a word and hurriedly picked up the scattered firewood from the ground. “It’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. It’s all a misunderstanding.”

Wei Hu kicked him. “This stall belongs to my family. If you come here causing trouble again, I won’t be so lenient next time.” 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.”

The man, named Wang’er, tucked his neck in and scurried away. Chen Cuihua glared at the husband selling baked buns. “With a husband like him, you actually had the nerve to call him over to back you up?”

The husband dared not say a word, kneading the dough with a scowl. Little did he know this peasant woman had such a formidable son! He’d only intended to chase them away, but instead his own husband got kicked—truly a case of trying to catch a chicken but losing a grain of rice. “Brother Wei Hu, have you sold all the game?”

“Sold out.”

“Brother Wei Hu, the locust flowers and honey are all sold out too!”

Song Ning looked at Wei Hu with sparkling eyes, clearly hoping for praise. Seeing this, Wei Hu’s heart softened, and he smiled at his husband.

“You did great.”

The smile on Song Ning’s lips grew even wider.

As soon as Wei Hu arrived, he had Song Ning sit in the back of the ox cart to rest. A small stall certainly didn’t need three people; they’d sold out by mid-afternoon, so the three of them packed up and prepared to head home.

Chen Cuihua hadn’t expected business to be so good today, even at regular prices. “We’ll have to make more of this tomorrow.” They packed up early again today, and Wei Hu sat up front, driving the ox cart as they prepared to leave.

“Wait, wait!”

A middle-aged man came running over in a hurry. Song Ning recognized him at a glance—wasn’t this the man who’d bought locust flowers from his family that morning? “Uncle, is there something you need?”

The middle-aged man was drenched in sweat from running. “I was afraid you’d already left. I ran all the way here and was worried I wouldn’t make it in time. Could you bring over a basket of those locust flowers tomorrow? My old lady loves them.”

Wei Hu nodded. “Sure.”

“I’ll go pick them first thing tomorrow morning. If I pick them in the afternoon, they won’t be fresh. My old lady used to be from the countryside too, so she really loves this kind of thing.”

“Alright.”

Wei Hu agreed. It was just a matter of getting up a little earlier and making a trip into the mountains. The man handed him two hundred wen. “Keep the change, but make sure they’re fresh.”

Once the two had settled on this, the man left.

Song Ning was quite pleased as well. “Mother, I never expected these locust flowers to sell so well.”

“That old lady just loves them. These locust blossoms only bloom for a few days; after that, they’re gone.”

The three of them drove the oxcart back home. There were still some locust blossoms left, so at noon, Chen Cuihua coated them in a mixture of white flour and cornmeal and steamed a pot of acacia blossom dumplings. Since Lan-ger wasn’t home for lunch, Chen Cuihua served up two bowls. Since acacia blossoms are a novelty for country folk, she said, “Ning-ger, take some over to Lan-ger and the others.”

“Sure.”

Song Ning picked up the basket and set off to deliver the food. The locust blossoms, tossed in sesame oil, smelled delicious—even Song Ning found himself getting a bit hungry just from the aroma.

Song Ning made his way to Lan-ger’s house with ease. Lan-ger was currently picking vegetables in his family’s garden; it seemed he hadn’t made lunch yet. “Lan-ger, haven’t you eaten yet? Your aunt steamed some locust blossoms.”

Lan-ger stepped out of the vegetable patch and took the basket. “Thanks, Auntie Ning.”

When Lan-ger had come over to lead the ox this morning, Song Ning had been busy extracting honey and hadn’t paid much attention to him. Now that he’d come to bring him lunch, he saw that the purple bruises on his little face had grown even worse.

Song Ning’s heart ached for him. Zhang Banxia was sitting in the courtyard basking in the sun, so he couldn’t say much. He crouched down, gently touched Lan’er’s little face, and whispered, “Does it hurt?”

Lan-ger shook his head. “It doesn’t hurt.”

Aunt Ning’s hands were so warm; touching his face felt like a gentle breeze blowing over him. Lan-ger resisted the urge to snuggle up to him. If he had a little daddy, he’d probably be just like this, too.

“Good boy,” Song Ning said, ruffling his hair. “Let’s go eat.”

“Lan’er, Lan’er, is it Huzi’s fulang who’s come? Go pick some vegetables from our garden for your auntie,” Zhang Banxia said, his voice trembling.

Lan-ger turned and went straight to the vegetable patch to pull up some greens. There was a small patch of spinach growing quite well in their garden, and Lan-ger pulled up quite a few in a row. Song Ning hurriedly stopped him: “That’s enough, that’s enough.”

The child had actually picked so much for him.

Song Ning took only a handful and declined the rest. “Save the rest to cook noodles with your grandfather. You don’t need to come so early this afternoon—get some sleep at home first, then come over.”

Song Ning returned after delivering the meal. Zhang Banxia seemed to be getting much sicker; he was gasping for breath even while speaking. Once Zhang Banxia was gone, what would become of Lan-ger? He was still so young, and just a little ger—how would he manage to get by in the future?

Song Ning’s heart was heavy, but he perked up when he reached his front door. Chen Cuihua invited him to eat. “Try these locust flowers—they’re truly fragrant.”

There was also a large bowl of water spinach mixed in, which went perfectly with the locust flower rice.

Song Ning put on a smile and began eating, his mind still on Lan-ger’s situation. Although he wanted to help him, he wasn’t the sole decision-maker in his own household.