Seeing the ger tugging at his sleeve so obediently, Wei Hu couldn’t help but smile. How could this ger be so well-behaved?

He simply couldn’t fathom how such a docile ger could have been treated harshly by anyone.

Song Ning tugged at Wei Hu’s sleeve all the way out of the village. The women and men pounding rice at the village entrance got a good look at him. Yesterday, when the ger had passed by the village entrance, he’d kept his head down, making it hard to see him clearly. Today, though he still kept his head slightly lowered, he seemed less timid.

A young man called out teasingly, “Hey, Hu-zi’s taking his husband to town!”

Wei Hu couldn’t be bothered to explain and just grunted a reply.

The man continued, “Look how sweet they are—even walking hand in hand.”

The group burst into laughter. Only then did Song Ning realize he’d been tugging Wei Hu’s sleeve the whole time. He yanked his hand away as if burned by hot coals, his face flushing bright red under their mocking stares.

Song Ning lowered his head and urged Wei Hu, “Hurry up, let’s go.”

Wei Hu glanced back to see the young ger’s face flushed as bright as the red thorn berries in the mountains. He knew the ger was sensitive, but hadn’t expected him to blush so fiercely. Quickly shouldering the deer, he hurried away.

The young women and husbands were still laughing as they called after them, “ Hu-zi’s husband, come play with us another day!”

Song Ning kept his head down and hurried away, his face burning so fiercely it felt like it might catch fire.

“Look how well-matched they are! I hear Hu-zi’s husband is from a family in town. Hmm, this ger is certainly better-looking than us. Just look at that fair complexion—clearly never done any real work.”

“You can say that again. Hu-zi isn’t bad-looking either, and he’s hardworking. It’s just his reputation that’s not so great. Otherwise, who knows how many ger and women in our village would be happy to marry him.”

“You’re telling me! Wei Hu is such a good man. Look at those two blue-tiled houses he built for his family. If it weren’t for those two marriages draining their savings, they’d be living like royalty.”

Li Guifen chimed in, “But yesterday I saw Hu-zi was reluctant—he wanted to send the ger back home!”

Someone chuckled and remarked, “But look at them now—aren’t they a happy little couple?”

Li Guifen had been gossiping about the Wei family at the village entrance since early morning. Just as the villagers had begun to believe that Wei Hu did not like the ger, the pair appeared hand-in-hand moments later.

Li Guifen’s attempt to embarrass Chen Cuihua had failed, leaving her feeling bitter and resentful.

Song Ning had already walked far ahead with Wei Hu and hadn’t heard what the others were saying.

They hadn’t gone far when they encountered an oxcart heading to town. Wei Hu waved it down. “You ride the oxcart.”

The old man driving the cart called out, “Hey, that’s quite a deer! Two men and one deer, nine wen.”

“I won’t ride. Only he will ride.”

Hearing that only he was to ride, Song Ning shook his head repeatedly. “I won’t ride either. I’ll walk with you.”

Wei Hu was already carrying such a heavy deer. How could he ride the cart when he only had an empty basket? He knew the Wei family didn’t have much silver now. He knew his betrothal gift alone had cost ten taels of silver—even that would be considered a heavy gift for marrying a ger in town.

“I walk fast. It’s fine.”

Without waiting for a response, Wei Hu swept Song Ning onto the cart with one arm. He fished a few copper coins from his waistband and handed them to the old driver. “Alright, let’s go.”

Song Ning sat at the back of the cart. He felt awkward riding alone and tried to climb down, but Wei Hu’s stern gaze stopped him. “Don’t move around. You’ll fall off.”

Song Ning could only sit still. A pang of sadness welled up inside him. His family ran a modest rice shop in town. Though not wealthy, they never went hungry or went without clothes. They even had a servant woman at home.

They weren’t wealthy, but they never went without meat. They traveled in a mule-drawn carriage with a sedan chair, and his father had even sent him to school for several years.

He’d never known that a single copper coin could bring a hero to his knees. After his father died, his stepmother seized his belongings. His quilt was patched with rough patches, and his meals were a mere two hastily served mouthfuls.

The Wei household was now living frugally. Just yesterday, his mother-in-law had argued over a copper coin while riding an oxcart. Today, Wei Hu had paid for him to ride alone. Though the family was poor, they treated him exceptionally well.

Wei Hu was strong and sturdy. When he went to town to sell game before, he always carried or hauled it himself. A journey that took over an hour, he could cover in just one. Today, he was taking the ger along. The ger walked slowly, so Wei Hu simply flagged down an ox cart and let him ride.

Wei Hu carried a deer alongside the cart, keeping a steady pace even as it moved swiftly.

Along the way, Song Ning felt a mix of emotions. How had he stumbled upon such a kind family?

They arrived in town early. Wei Hu, knowing the way well, led Song Ning to the town’s inn. Such large game was beyond the means of ordinary households; only inns and wealthy families could afford it.

The innkeeper, seeing the massive deer, exclaimed, “Hunter Wei, you’ve had a good haul today! This deer is no small catch.”

“It lost a leg, but the rest is fine.”

The proprietor had his assistants carry it to the back yard. Wei Hu had shouldered it effortlessly all the way, and only then did the two assistants lift it into the rear courtyard.

The shopkeeper smiled and handed him fifteen taels of silver. “It’s autumn now—perfect for nourishing meals. Many gentlemen are craving this very dish.”

“Thank you, shopkeeper.”

“Bring us your next catch, too. Hunter Wei, have some tea and rest your feet. We’re not too busy right now.”

Wei Hu was quite familiar with this shopkeeper. He usually brought large game catches here first. Without hesitation, he led Song Ning to an empty table and sat down.

The shopkeeper, having nothing else to do, chatted idly with Wei Hu. Noticing the unfamiliar ger accompanying him this time, he couldn’t help asking, “Is this your family?”

“A relative. Just bringing him around town to see the sights.”

The proprietor felt Song Ning looked familiar but couldn’t quite place him. Song Ning, however, recognized the proprietor. As a ger, he avoided public appearances but had dined here several times. His father, on the other hand, was a regular customer.

Song Ning offered a brief smile but said little else.

After drinking a bowl of tea, the two left. There were still many things to buy. His mother had instructed him to purchase winter cotton and fabric for Ning-ger, who needed quite a few small items. They would have to wander around town for a while.

The shopkeeper watched their retreating figures and muttered to himself, “That ger looks so familiar…”

A shop assistant nearby chimed in, “Shopkeeper, isn’t that ger from Mr. Song’s family?”

“Which Mr. Song? I don’t recall.”

“The Song family from the rice shop, of course. Their manager passed away a couple of years back. You’ve forgotten? Their ger has dined at our place several times.”

The shopkeeper slapped his forehead. “Ah! No wonder he looked so familiar—it’s Old Song’s ger! But why is he with Hunter Wei?”

“I heard he’s already married off. The Song family just had a wedding celebration the day before yesterday and even bought several roast ducks from our restaurant.”

“But wasn’t that for his sister’s wedding?”

“His ger got married too, only he left through the back door. I heard it from others.”

The shopkeeper shook his head. “Ah, Old Song was such a kind man in his lifetime. Who’d have thought that barely a year after he passed, his widow would treat that ger so harshly? Just look at how that rice shop is run now—not only do they shortchange customers, but they’re selling moldy rice too!”

After a moment of lament, the shopkeeper went back to his work.

Song Ning followed Wei Hu around the market. Wei Hu first bought six catties of cotton for one tael and two mace of silver, a bulging bundle.

After leaving the cotton shop, he exchanged the silver for loose copper coins. Wei Hu grabbed a handful and tossed them into Song Ning’s small basket. “Take these. Buy whatever you want. If you run out of silver, just tell me.”

“I don’t want it.”

Song Ning tried to return the coins to Wei Hu. He hadn’t done any work for them yet, and just buying the cotton had cost over a tael of silver. He remembered that Zhang Po’s monthly wages were only three hundred wen.

This cotton alone costs more than four months of Zhang Po’s wages!

Wei Hu pushed the basket toward him. “Take it. We’re family now. I treat you like my own little brother. You can’t go around with no pocket money.”

Song Ning carefully picked up the coins and tucked them into his sleeve. “Thank you. You’re a good man.”

Wei Hu then took Song Ning to buy cloth. “See which fabric you like.”

Song Ning casually pointed to several bolts of coarse blue cloth. “This one will do.”

The cloth merchant, a sharp fellow, saw the young pair enter and sweet-talked them: “Picking fabric for your husband? Those bolts are what folks around here wear daily—cheap and durable, though a bit stiff. Ger, we’ve softer fabrics too, not much more expensive.”

Wei Hu hadn’t bought much fabric before; his mother handled all such purchases for their household. Hearing the clerk mention the stiffness, he ran his fingers over the cloth—it was indeed coarse. This ger found even straw mattresses hard; how could such fabric possibly work? Wearing it would surely chafe his skin raw.

Wei Hu then felt the fabric that the clerk recommended. It was noticeably softer and came in several colors to choose from. He turned to Song Ning, “Which color do you like?”

Song Ning tugged at Wei Hu’s sleeve. “Don’t get that one. It’s too expensive. Just buy the blue cloth.”

Seeing the ger reluctant to spend silver, Wei Hu selected two colors for him: one water-cloud blue and one emerald mountain green. “Do you know how to sew? If not, have my mother make it for you. Have her turn it into a cotton robe—warmer than a coarse woolen coat.”

Song Ning shook his head sheepishly. “I… I don’t know how to sew.”

Song Ning had never learned such skills. From childhood, he loved reading and writing, leaving these tasks to the matriarch at home.

“No problem. I’ll have my mother make you a couple of outfits.”

Wei Hu selected another bolt of fabric for his mother. The shop assistant beamed with delight. Though they looked like country folk, they’d unexpectedly bought so much cloth. “Sir, you want plain fabric? We just got several bolts of fine plain cloth the other day. It’s perfect for undergarments.”

Before Wei Hu could speak, the clerk brought it over. Wei Hu ran his hand over it—it was indeed as soft as the clerk had described, superior to the other fabrics they’d selected earlier.

“Take two more bolts of this for garments too.”

Song Ning grew anxious. Even when his family had no worries about food or drink, they never splurged on so much fabric at once. He tugged Wei Hu’s sleeve urgently, “No, no! It’s too expensive!”

“We’ll need it sooner or later. Buying it now means we can wear it sooner.”

The shop assistant chimed in, “The gentleman is quite right. Your husband truly dotes on you.”

Song Ning flushed bright red at the teasing, stammering incoherently.

Wei Hu had chosen fine fabrics. In the countryside, some wore hemp, others coarse cloth—being able to make a single outfit all year was considered fortunate. His choice was extravagant; those two plain bolts alone cost more than the three patterned ones combined.

Five bolts of fabric in total, costing four taels of silver. Song Ning felt his heart ache at the expense—it was simply too costly.