Lou Qingfeng’s small courtyard was elegantly simple, with two or three rooms. The garden was filled with bamboo. Lin Yu also spotted Zhou Bao’s sons, Zhou Yi and Zhou Er, who were also studying under Lou Qingfeng.

Zhou Yi was delighted to see Lin Yu arrive. He craned his neck to look behind him but didn’t see Tuan-ger. “Lin Fulang, where’s Tuan-ger?”

Lin Yu whispered to him, “He’s at home.”

“Why didn’t he come?”

Lou Qingfeng tapped the table. “Zhou Yi, no talking.”

After being scolded, Zhou Yi finally sat still. Why was Lin Fulang here, but Tuan-ger wasn’t? What was Lin Fulang doing here? Was he studying with them?

Lin Yu stood out among the seven or eight little radishes. One child asked, “Master, is he here to study with us?”

“Yes, you’ll all be classmates from now on.”

Lin Yu sat exceptionally straight all morning. During the break, the little radishes crowded around him. “Why are you studying with us when you’re so big?”

”I didn’t get to study when I was little.“

”You’re so pretty! Can I marry you when I grow up?“

Lin Yu was drinking water when this little chubby boy’s words startled him into a coughing fit. ”I already have a husband. He brings me to school every day.“

The little chubby boy snorted, ”Then tomorrow I’ll beat him up and steal you away!”

Lin Yu was tickled to death by the little chubby boy’s words. Children’s speech was truly amusing.

Lin Yu followed Lou Qingfeng to the schoolhouse in the mornings to study. Afternoons were spent accompanying Tuan-ger or checking on the shop. Evenings required time for writing practice. Her days were filled from morning till night.

Wei Qingshan felt a twinge of jealousy. He’d thought his fulang would just go to school to learn to read, but now he came home every day either studying or practicing calligraphy. By the time Wei Qingshan finished his duties and returned, his fulang was too busy to pay him any mind.

Wei Qingshan squeezed closer. “Is my fulang planning to take the exams and become a Xiucai?”

Lin Yu nudged him away. “Stop messing around. You’re making my writing all crooked.”

Wanting to stick close to his fulang, Wei Qingshan joined him in writing, holding his fulang’s hand as they practiced together. “Wei Qingshan, Lin Yu.”

Wei Qingshan found it quite pleasant to hold his fulang while writing. Normally, the shy fulang wouldn’t let him embrace him, but now, under the pretense of teaching calligraphy, he let him sit on his lap. Wei Qingshan found this delightful. Every day after finishing his duties, he would teach his little husband to write. As they wrote, they’d start fooling around.

Later, Lin Yu stopped him, saying he was distracting him from his writing. Wei Qingshan could only regretfully give up his role as a teacher.

Now the shop had an accountant. Lin Yu, having learned to read, could understand the ledgers himself. The new accountant was named Song Zhu. His family lived near the county seat and was reasonably well-off. He’d studied for several years but gave up after failing to pass the Xiucai exam. He’d taken a job as an accountant, earning a couple of taels of silver a month.

When Lin Yu had a free afternoon, he took Tuan-ger to the shop. Tuan-ger could now walk unaided and loved exploring everywhere, so Lin Yu followed behind, keeping an eye on him.

He was playing with Tuan-ger on the shop floor when a scolding voice echoed from upstairs: “Can’t you work properly? You’ve dirtied my clothes!”

“It wasn’t me. You bumped into me yourself.”

“Xiaoliu, go see what’s happening.”

“Aye.” Shi Xiaoliu hurried upstairs to find Ding Xiaohé being scolded by a man. He tugged at Ding Xiaohé, who was standing with his neck stiff. “What’s going on?”

“What’s going on? Look at your shop assistant! He splashed water all over my good clothes. Make him pay for them!”

Ding Xiaohé denied it. “It wasn’t me. He deliberately bumped into me. I won’t pay.”

Lin Yu asked Zhao Yueniang to watch over the ger while he went to investigate. He first apologized to the man. “My boy is still young. I apologize on his behalf. How about I give you a fish?”

Ding Xiaohé glared at the man, who looked thoroughly annoyed. “Hey, you dare glare at me?”

“It wasn’t my fault! He just grabbed my hand. I didn’t want him to, so he deliberately bumped into me!” Ding Xiaohé declared, his neck stiff with defiance.

Lin Yu’s face turned cold upon hearing this. “Settle the bill. Get out.”

“Who’d want to touch you? Look at you, all skin and bones. What’d I want with you?”

“Xiaoliu, go get the kitchen staff.”

“Aye!” Shi Xiaoliu scurried off. “Uncle Liu, Uncle Wang! Trouble!”

Two men from the kitchen, hearing the commotion, immediately came up, wielding spatulas. “You little brat, it’s you!”

The two dragged the man downstairs, took the silver from his pockets to settle the bill, then tossed him out. Shi Xiaoliu crossed her arms, watching him. “Hmph!” 

“Dare to come back, and I swear I’ll wring your neck!”

Lin Yu was still comforting Ding Xiaohe. Ding Xiahye was usually quiet and stubborn, like a little hedgehog. “It’s okay. Next time something like this happens, just call for help.”

Ding Xiaohé sniffed back tears. “Mm.”

“Alright, go rest in the back.” Lin Yu ruffled Ding Xiaohé’s hair and called toward the kitchen, “Uncle Wang, whip up a pot of glutinous rice balls and egg drop soup. Load it up with sugar—everyone gets a bowl later.”

“Got it!”

Lin Yu told Ding Xiaohé to rest in the back, but he refused, continuing to wait tables out front.

He hadn’t said anything at first because he feared they wouldn’t believe him. He wasn’t the most handsome guy, dark and skinny, but the man had touched his hand while he was pouring water. He’d glared at him, which had angered the man. Later, when he was serving tea, the man deliberately bumped into him.

He hadn’t expected everyone in the shop to stand up for him. It was the first time he’d ever felt supported. His family was poor, with many children. As the second-born, he’d always been overlooked, doing whatever chores he could manage since childhood.

Lin Yu came down and exchanged a few words with Shi Xiaoliu, asking him to comfort Shi Xiaohé on their way back together. Unlike Shi Xiaoliu’s lively nature, Lin Yu feared this boy might be harboring some unease.

Shi Xiaoliu nodded in agreement. “Lin Fulang, rest assured.”

After playing for a while, Tuan-ger grew sleepy, so Lin Yu took him home first.

The shop closed before curfew. As Shi Xiaoliu and his three companions walked toward the courtyard, Shi Xiaoliu called out to Ding Xiaohé, “Ding Xiaohé, you okay?”

“Fine.”

“Don’t worry. If anything happens at the shop, Uncle Wei and Lin Fulang will definitely stand by us. Next time something like this happens, just call for help. Let’s see if the folks at our shop can’t knock his teeth out.”

Ding Xiaohé nodded. Shi Xiaoliu, fifteen this year, was only two years older than him. He put an arm around Ding Xiaohé’s shoulder.

“I know you don’t like me because I scolded Xiaosui for crying back then. But let me tell you, your big brother here used to be a little beggar. If crying worked, everyone would be crying.”

Ding Xiaohé looked up at Shi Xiaoliu. “You were a little beggar?”

“Yeah. What? You look down on little beggars?”

“No, I just think you’re pretty impressive. To be in charge at your age.”

Ding Xiaohé rarely spoke so much. Shi Xiaoliu chuckled and put his arm around him like a buddy. “I know your family’s poor. Just keep working hard for Lin Fulang. He said he wants you to be a cook in the kitchen. He’ll even give you a raise later.”

“Really! My cousin said he wants me to be a cook?”

“What did you think? Did you think Lin Fulang taught you cooking just so you could make meals at home?”

Ding Xiaohé hadn’t realized Lin Yu was teaching him culinary skills for his livelihood. His eyes lit up. “Then I want to be just like my cousin and you, Brother Xiaoliu.”

“Hmph. Then don’t be stubborn. What’s there to be stubborn about? From now on, we’ll say what we need.”

Ding Xiaohé nodded.

Shi Xiaoliu continued, “What Lin Fulang teaches us—even though we’re just ger and girls—is no less valuable than what those men learn. It saves us from being sent out by our parents when we’re young. We can earn our own copper coins and support ourselves. What’s there to fear?”

Ding Xiaohé and Ding Xiaoshuai both nodded. Shi Xiaoliu was right—wasn’t that how things were for gers and girls in the countryside? Their family was poor; to save on mouths to feed, they might be sent away before their time, leaving the family to endure a life of hardship, unable to afford meat or even enough to eat.

After Shi Xiaoliu said this, Ding Xiaohé and Ding Xiaosui perked up. If Shi Xiaoliu, a ger, could manage things, they weren’t any worse. Once they had some silver in hand, they could make their own decisions too.

Lin Yu was living comfortably now. With Shi Xiaoliu helping manage the shop, he could go to school during the day and play with his friends.

When summer’s heat arrived, Wei Qingshan often bought melons and fruits to cool in the well. Lin Yu loved them too. As the summer heat intensified, Lin Yu lost his appetite for greasy foods. He’d ask Xu Nainai to prepare lighter dishes—even stir-fried meat was served with crisp, refreshing lettuce.

One day, Xu Nainai prepared a bowl of braised pork. The moment it hit the table, Lin Yu felt nauseous from the smell and rushed outside. Wei Qingshan followed him. “What’s wrong? Did something go bad?”

“I don’t know. The smell of that meat makes me want to vomit. Is it spoiled?”

“Impossible. I bought it fresh at the market this morning,” Xu Nainai insisted.

As soon as Lin Yu felt unwell, the whole family gathered around. Shi Xiaoliu and Zhao Yueniang looked extremely anxious, while Tuan-ger ran over and tugged at Lin Yu’s sleeve. “Little Father.”

“It’s nothing, it’s nothing. Everyone, please eat. Maybe the heat is making the smell unpleasant.”

Lin Yu thought it might be because he’d been greedy and eaten a few extra bites of the sweet melon spoiled by well water today. That must be why he felt unwell. He couldn’t eat too much tomorrow.

The moment Lin Yu saw the bowl of braised pork, he felt nauseous again. Xu Nainai quickly moved the meat aside, and Lin Yu felt a little better.

Xu Nainai gasped, “Oh dear, could Lin Yu be pregnant?”

Lin Yu jumped in surprise. “No way.”

He and Wei Qingshan had been married three years before conceiving their son, Tuan-ger. The boy was barely a year and a half old—how could it happen so soon?

Wei Qingshan froze, too. “We should call the doctor over to check.”

Lin Yu hummed in agreement. During the rest of the meal, his mind wandered. Wei Qingshan served him some refreshing dishes, but though his face showed no sign of worry, his heart raced. Could he really be pregnant?

Ever since letting Tuan-ger sleep in the east wing, he and his fulang had been getting rather frisky at night. Could he really be pregnant?

As soon as Wei Qingshan finished eating, he hurried off to fetch the doctor. Lin Yu waited in the main hall, restless and pacing. He kept glancing toward the doorway—why hadn’t Wei Qingshan returned yet?

Wei Qingshan was a quick runner. He summoned the physician and rushed home. The physician followed behind, wiping sweat from his brow. “Slow down, Commander Wei. Poor appetite isn’t a serious illness.”

By the time the doctor arrived, he was drenched in sweat. Shi Xiaoliu quickly poured him tea and fanned him with a palm leaf fan. The doctor sat to rest for a moment before taking Lin Yu’s pulse.

His brow furrowed, then his eyes closed. Lin Yu grew anxious. “Doctor, is he pregnant?”

“Don’t rush. Let me feel again.”

The physician pressed the pulse again and felt around. “Congratulations! Congratulations! They’re twins.”

Lin Yu gasped, “Really, twins?”

“If it were just one, would I have felt around this long? Over a month now. With the heat, be careful with your diet.”

Lin Yu nodded. Wei Qingshan was also delighted. He paid the doctor and sent him on his way. Lin Yu remained dazed, while Shi Xiaoliu and the others beamed with joy.

Wei Qingshan’s face also softened into a smile. “You won’t be able to eat such cold things anymore.”

Lin Yu nodded repeatedly. “It really is happening! I thought I just couldn’t eat because of the heat.”

Lin Yu was now pregnant. The doctor had confirmed it was twins, and the entire family grew even more cautious. Lin Yu stopped attending school—there were too many children there, and they feared he might bump into someone. They also called Zhao Yueniang back home to keep Lin Yu company. Xu Nainai was taking care of Tuan-ger, and Wei Qingshan worried that Lin Yu might want to go out for a stroll without anyone to accompany him.

Though still in the early months and not yet showing, the peak summer heat made Lin Yu increasingly sluggish. He stayed indoors most of the time, finding it too hot to go out, and his appetite continued to wane.

To coax more food into him, Wei Qingshan often brought back pastries and candied fruits. Lin Yu already suffered from summer heat, and by the end of the season, his little face had grown noticeably thinner. This only made Wei Qingshan ache with concern.

He could only hope the two little ones would be well-behaved, sparing Lin Yu some of the hardship.