After breakfast, the group set off for the countryside. With the New Year just two days away, their house in the countryside still needed cleaning.

It was nearly noon by the time they arrived home. This was the coldest time of the year, and there were no idle villagers chatting at the village entrance; in fact, they’d seen hardly anyone along the way.

Wei Hu helped Song Ning off the oxcart. “Sit out in the sun for a bit. I’ll go tidy up the house.”

They hadn’t lived here for three or four months; even the courtyard was covered with a layer of fallen leaves, not to mention the quilts inside the house. How could they sleep without airing them out first? Fortunately, the sun was shining brightly today, so Wei Hu pushed open the door and carried the quilts out first.

Chen Cuihua also hurried to help tidy up, and even Lan’er grabbed a small broom to help sweep the house. Since Song Ning’s pregnancy was now showing and he wasn’t feeling well, he sat quietly in the courtyard soaking up the sun.

The family’s pets—Hei Dou, Hua Dou, and Xiaocaili—had all been brought back. During the winter, Hei Dou had gone on an escort mission with Wei Hu, while Hua Dou had stayed in town to watch over the yard. Now that they were back in the countryside, Hua Dou finally had the chance to run free; she dashed off toward the back mountain, and Hei Dou followed right behind her.

The little calico cat, meanwhile, strolled lazily in the sun with her tail curled up. Seeing her like this, Song Ning laughed. “Come over here, come on.”

The house had been unoccupied for a while, so Wei Hu first lit a fire to warm it up. Accustomed to wearing a short brown tunic, he found the cotton robe restrictive; he tucked the hem into the leather belt at his waist.

The three of them tidied up the room in no time. Wei Hu helped Song Ning into the house to sit down; sheltered from the wind and basking in the sun, it was even warmer inside. Song Ning thought Wei Hu was being a bit too cautious. “It’s fine—it’s still early in the month.”

At noon, Wei Hu helped roll out the noodles again. Chen Cuihua prepared a bowl of hand-rolled noodles with shredded pork for each of them to have as a light meal; they’d make something more substantial in the afternoon.

Song Ning was thinking about Qiu-ger, so after eating, he took Lan-ger to go find him.

Qiu-ger had already eaten as well; he was currently sitting in the main room, basking in the sun while holding his ger. Seeing Song Ning arrive, he beamed, “Come on in! I was thinking you’d be back any day now.”

Qiu-ger placed the little ger in his cradle, then hurried to pour Song Ning some hot water and bring out some snacks.

“Don’t go to all that trouble—we’re old friends, after all.”

Qiu-ger was delighted. “Lan-ger, have some too. I haven’t seen you in a while—you’ve even grown a bit taller.”

Upon hearing that he’d grown taller, Lan-ger smiled so widely that his little fangs peeked out.

Qiu-ger could tell that Lan-ger was living a good life now—his little face had filled out, Song Ning had nursed him until he was fair-skinned, and he carried himself with confidence.

Song Ning had brought a piece of fine cotton cloth. “It’s for making clothes for our little Qing-ger.”

Qiu-ger shot Song Ning a sidelong glance. “And you said I was being too polite? You’re even more so than I am—bringing fabric for the little guy of all things.”

Qiu-ger held the few-month-old ger up for Song Ning to see. “Look at him—he must be eating a lot. We can barely keep up with feeding him—we’re almost running out of sheep at home.”

Song Ning reached out and touched the little one’s hand; it was warm, and the baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes, was smiling happily.

“I heard from my mom that you were expecting. She told me yesterday when she came back from town. That’s great—now our Qing’er will have a playmate.”

“Mm-hmm. He’ll be born just in time for fall—it won’t be so hot then, so it won’t be too much of a hassle.”

“That’s great. Qing-ger was such a handful back then—he kept me so busy I couldn’t even eat my meals.”

The two sat together chatting affectionately. At the moment, only Qiu-ger and his son were at the Sun household; Granny Sun and Sun Dazhuang were in town selling window cutouts, bringing home three to five hundred wen each day.

Qiu-ger told Song Ning that his family’s circumstances had improved this year. Sun Dazhuang, who had previously worked as an apprentice under a master craftsman, had now completed his apprenticeship and was earning more by building houses for others. His mother-in-law also frequently made tiger-head shoes to sell in town, so they were better off than before.

Song Ning was happy for Qiu-ger, who hadn’t stopped smiling the whole time he was talking.

“Once my son Qing-ger grows up, I’ll send him to town to study under you for a couple of years. Who says a young ger from a peasant family can’t get an education? I’ve heard that in the prefectural capital, they can even work as bookkeepers.”

“I’ve heard that too. It’s good for a ger to be literate. When the time comes, he’ll get to travel around and see the world.”

Song Ning stayed there quite a while; it wasn’t until Wei Hu came to pick him up that he left. Qiu-ger teased the two of them, saying they’d already started missing each other after only a short time apart.

Watching the family of four leave, Qiu-ger reflected that Brother Huzi truly doted on his Fulang. These days, Brother Huzi’s family was the most successful in the village—they’d opened two shops and even ran a school.

Several months later…

Before they knew it, early autumn had arrived. Song Ning, wearing a pale green robe, was playing with the little cat in the courtyard. He hadn’t been to the school for a month; he’d entrusted Bai Xiaoyun to look after things. Wei Hu had also stopped working as an escort; for now, he was staying home to tend to their twenty mu of land, and once that was done, he’d come to town to keep Song Ning company.

After the New Year, the family had purchased more land—they’d even sold their original three mu—and consolidated it all into one plot, half paddy fields and half dry fields. They’d already harvested the first crop this year; Wei Hu couldn’t manage it all by himself, so he’d hired help to bring in the crops.

The twenty mu of land had used up every last bit of the family’s savings, but the harvest from the first crop was enough to ensure that his family would never want for food or clothing.

Today, Wei Hu drove the oxcart out to the countryside to check on the fields. Seeing that everything was in order, he hurried back. When he returned, he saw Song Ning in the courtyard, playing with the little cat in his arms. As soon as he saw him, he smiled at him.

“Brother Wei Hu, you’re back. Have some water—why are you sweating so much again?”

Although autumn had already begun, it was still a bit hot; it would likely be a while before the weather cooled down.

Song Ning took a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from Wei Hu’s forehead. They were standing so close that he accidentally bumped his belly against him. Song Ning giggled, and Wei Hu laughed along with him—the little one would be born in just a few days.

As his wife put it, their little one had come with its own provisions. Ever since his fulang had conceived this little one, everything at home had gone smoothly—even this year’s harvest had been bountiful, with the crops from their twenty mu of land piling up throughout the house.

His mother had also prepared plenty of clothes, undershirts, and jackets for the little one—a child who would never want for food or drink.

Wei Hu hasn’t dared to venture too far from home these past few days, afraid there wouldn’t be anyone there when Song Ning went into labor.

A few days ago, Song Ning had a bout of stomach pain that really scared the whole family—they thought he was about to give birth and hurriedly called for the midwife. But then there was no further sign of labor, which made the whole family burst out laughing.

As it neared the end of the school day, Song Ning asked Wei Hu to go pick up Lan-ger and bring him home; his mother had just returned, so he wasn’t worried that anything might happen to him.

At dinner that evening, the family gathered around the table. Chen Cuihua had specially prepared a radish and pork rib soup. Lan-ger tilted his little head and stared at Song Ning’s belly, asking, “Little Dad, why hasn’t my little brother come out yet?”

“He’ll be here soon. Maybe the little guy’s just too lazy to move right now.”

Chen Cuihua also said with a smile, “He’s not the type to keep us on our toes—I’m afraid he might be a ger.”

“Lan’er likes gers—he can go to school with him!”

Everyone burst into laughter. Song Ning rubbed his belly—why hadn’t the little rascal made a peep yet? He was starting to get a little anxious.

That night, while they were sleeping, Song Ning was still talking to Wei Hu about this, saying that his little one was such a lazybones. Late in the night, Song Ning was woken up by a stomachache. At first, it was just a dull ache, and he thought it would go away in a moment, just like last time. But to his surprise, the pain grew worse and worse. He shifted slightly, startling Wei Hu, who was sleeping beside him.

Wei Hu felt Fulang’s forehead—it was covered in sweat—and hurriedly lit a candle. “Does your stomach hurt?”

“Brother Wei Hu, this time it’s for real—the little one’s on his way.”

Wei Hu hurriedly got dressed and got up, then went to wake his mother to help out, while he ran off to fetch the midwife.

Chen Cuihua also rushed over. Seeing that Song Ning was in so much pain, his forehead was covered in sweat, she said, “There, there, Ning-ger, don’t be afraid.”

Song Ning forced a smile. “Mom, you were just saying today how well-behaved this little one was, and now here he comes in the middle of the night.”

Chen Cuihua hurried back to the kitchen to boil some water, then gave Song Ning some brown sugar water to drink. She was so anxious that she kept running to the doorway to check, “Why isn’t the midwife here yet?”

Wei Hu was anxious too. Fortunately, the midwife they’d hired didn’t live far away. In the dead of night, while everyone was fast asleep, Wei Hu knocked on the midwife’s door. She was an experienced woman and calmly got dressed. “Oh, don’t worry. First-time births never happen this fast.”

“My Fulang has been in labor for quite a while now.”

How could Wei Hu not be anxious? When he arrived, his ger was already in terrible pain. As soon as the midwife finished getting dressed and stood up, Wei Hu didn’t say a word—he just hoisted the woman onto his back and ran off. The midwife was so startled that her heart was pounding even as she sat down on a stool in the Wei household.

She kept grumbling, “Oh my, I’ve never seen such a reckless father—he nearly shook my old bones to pieces.”

Chen Cuihua tried to smooth things over, saying, “He’s young and impetuous—please bear with him.”

Wei Hu was right—Song Ning had been in labor for quite some time. With the midwife by his side, the little one came out just as the sun was rising in the east, and Wei Hu’s heart, which had been in his throat, finally settled.

The midwife came out, wiping the sweat from her brow. “Congratulations, congratulations! Look at this plump, fair-skinned little boy.”

“A boy?”

Wei Hu asked in surprise. Both he and Ning-ger had assumed this pregnancy would result in a little ger—after all, the baby had been so well-behaved—so they hadn’t expected it to be a boy.

Wei Hu thanked her and slipped the prepared one tael of silver into the midwife’s hand. Her face immediately lit up with a broad smile, and she didn’t seem to mind at all that Wei Hu had so recklessly carried her over on his back.

Wei Hu saw the midwife out, then hurried back to check on his Fulang and the baby.

Chen Cuihua, cradling the little one in his swaddling clothes, was overjoyed. “Just look at this child—even though he’s a boy, he looks just like our Ning-ger.”

Wei Hu looked at his Fulang, who was fast asleep, and felt a pang of tenderness. He wrung out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his brow, then went to look at the little one, who hadn’t opened his eyes yet—and indeed, he looked just like their Ning-ger.

The little one must have been hungry; he opened his mouth and began wailing. Song Ning had been up all night and was simply too exhausted—the baby’s cries didn’t even wake him.

Lan-ger, however, was woken up by the noise. At first, he thought he’d misheard it, but upon listening more closely, he realized it was indeed a child’s cry. He slipped on his shoes and hurried over. “Is that my little brother?”