He Dongdong stayed with Lin Yu for a while before heading back. By then, Lin Yu was no longer afraid. Instead, he felt like it wasn’t a big deal anymore. After tidying up the scraps of fabric at his feet, he went to prepare a meal.

Wei Qingshan came home early today, holding two wild chickens in his hands. Hearing the noise, Lin Yu stuck his head out from the kitchen. “Qingshan, you’re back.”

“Mm, I was lucky today and caught a wild chicken. Tomorrow, you can slaughter one for a meal.”

Lin Yu shook his head. “No need, let’s save them to sell and save up some silver.”

“Alright, then we’ll butcher them in a couple of days.”

Wei Qingshan knew Lin Yu was frugal. Although there weren’t many prey to hunt in the spring, catching a few here and there could still add up to some silver. Things would get better in summer and autumn.

He carried the two wild chickens to the backyard and quickly noticed that one of the cages was a little damaged. Wei Qingshan made a mental note to ask Lin Yu later if a weasel had broken in.

Since there was no meat at home, Lin Yu made scrambled eggs, scooped up some pickled vegetables, fried a few golden, crispy pancakes, and prepared a mixed grain soup.

After trekking through the mountains all day, Wei Qingshan was starving. He wrapped some shepherd’s purse and eggs in a pancake and took a big bite. “One of the chicken cages is a little damaged. I’ll fix it with bamboo strips later to prevent weasels from sneaking in at night.”

“Did anything happen at home today?”

Lin Yu hesitated for a moment before deciding to tell him. “Um… Xia Hehua came over.”

Wei Qingshan’s face instantly darkened. “Did she bully you?”

“No, no. She wanted to take the wild chicken, but I didn’t let her.”

Wei Qingshan put down his food immediately. His little husband was soft-tempered and timid, and seeing the dented chicken cage, he was sure that Xia Hehua had bullied him!

He got up and headed straight outside. “Stay here. Xia Hehua actually dared to bully you!”

Lin Yu quickly grabbed his sleeve. “No, no, she didn’t bully me. I… I beat her and drove her away.”

Wei Qingshan: “???”

Lin Yu pulled on his sleeve and hurriedly explained, “I remembered what you said. When Xia Hehua tried to take the wild chicken, I grabbed the broom and hit her as hard as I could, and she ran away.”

Afraid that Wei Qingshan wouldn’t believe him, Lin Yu even pointed to the big broom propped up against the thatched hut. “I used the biggest broom to hit her.”

Wei Qingshan still found it hard to believe. “You really weren’t bullied?”

Lin Yu shook his head repeatedly. “I was the one who hit Xia Hehua. She tried to take your wild chicken, and I wouldn’t let her. You worked so hard to catch them.”

Wei Qingshan burst into laughter. He never expected his little husband to have such a fierce side. The way Lin Yu tilted his head and earnestly explained himself looked so adorable.

Unable to hold back, Wei Qingshan grabbed Lin Yu by the waist and spun him around a few times. “My little husband is amazing!”

Lin Yu, suddenly lifted off the ground, was startled and quickly clung to Wei Qingshan’s shoulders. He couldn’t help but smile as well. Those wild chickens were something Wei Qingshan had risked himself to catch. He couldn’t let them be taken. At the time, his mind had gone blank—he only knew that he had to protect their home.

Still holding him up, Wei Qingshan asked, “Were you scared?”

Lin Yu nodded, then shook his head. “I was scared at first, but this was your stuff. I couldn’t let it be taken.”

Wei Qingshan’s heart melted. He hugged Lin Yu close, letting him rest his head on his shoulder. “Why are you so silly? What’s more important, people or things?”

Lin Yu hugged his neck and mumbled, “Things.”

“People are more important. If you ever run into something you can’t handle, protect yourself first, understand?”

Lin Yu nodded softly. Then he realized they were still in the courtyard and quickly pushed against Wei Qingshan’s shoulder. “Let’s eat, let’s eat. The food’s getting cold.”

Only then did Wei Qingshan let him down, his face full of smiles. He even rewarded his little husband by giving him a big piece of egg. Lin Yu’s reaction today had surprised him—considering his timid nature, he must have been really pushed to the limit to fight back like that.

Wei Qingshan felt a pang of heartache. He knew Xia Hehua wasn’t easy to deal with. Lin Yu’s words made it sound simple, but he must have been terrified.

Lin Yu took a bite of the egg and suddenly remembered something. “She said she was taking it for the old lady, but I didn’t let her.”

“Mm, you did the right thing. Whether it’s Xia Hehua wanting to eat it or the old hag, they don’t get any. I cut ties with that family a long time ago. You did great today.”

“But she said you were unfilial. What if the villagers find out?” Lin Yu worried that Xia Hehua would spread rumors and ruin Wei Qingshan’s reputation.

“It’s fine. My reputation was ruined by that family a long time ago. I’m not worried about that.”

Only then did Lin Yu nod in relief.

“In a few days, once we’ve saved up some game, we’ll go to town and sell it.”

Lin Yu’s heart was stirred upon hearing this. It was early spring, and the vegetables grown by farmers had yet to mature. He thought it would be a good idea to go into the mountains to gather some wild vegetables and then sell them in town with Wei Qingshan.

He shared this idea with Wei Qingshan, who initially didn’t want Lin Yu to go. The round trip would take at least two hours, and after a full day of walking while hunting, he was afraid Lin Yu wouldn’t be able to handle it.

But his little husband looked at him with those moist eyes, and Wei Qingshan couldn’t resist—so he agreed.

Lin Yu was eager to work, as if he had eight hands. His mattress was still unfinished, and since they were going into the mountains to hunt tomorrow, he wanted to take advantage of the remaining daylight to finish handling the straw from the other day.

Wei Qingshan squatted down as well. “What are you making?”

Lin Yu was a little embarrassed. “I want to weave a mattress for the new bed, so it’ll be easier to take out and air in the future.”

Besides, a straw mattress wasn’t just convenient for sunning; it was also cleaner. Lying loose straw directly on the bed was too messy. Wei Qingshan also crouched down. “I’ll help you sort it.”

As night fell, Wei Qingshan lit an oil lamp, but Lin Yu realized that it was even darker inside than outside. So they decided to blow out the lamp and work outside instead, saving the oil.

Afraid that Lin Yu would get cold, Wei Qingshan draped a thick cotton coat over his shoulders. Tonight, the moonlight was especially bright, and Lin Yu felt he could see everything clearly.

One of them sorted the straw while the other wove. They chatted from time to time, with Wei Qingshan mostly talking about things in the mountains. Lin Yu found it very interesting.

Suddenly, Lin Yu thought of something. “Tomorrow, neither of us will be home. What about the wild chickens and rabbits? What if Xia Hehua and the others…”

“No worries. Tomorrow, we’ll tie Baixue in the backyard. Baixue will keep watch.”

After learning that Xia Hehua had come to ask for things today, Wei Qingshan was reluctant to leave Lin Yu home alone. He had already planned to let Baixue accompany him. Baixue was lively and protective, making it the perfect guardian for his little husband.

Now that Lin Yu wanted to go into the mountains with him to help make ends meet, leaving Baixue to guard the house was the best solution.

Not long after, they finished weaving the straw mattress. Looking at the thick bedding, Lin Yu was overjoyed, as if he could see their life getting better day by day.

Even Wei Qingshan praised Lin Yu’s skill—his little husband was incredibly capable.

Since they planned to go into the mountains early, Lin Yu got up early to knead dough and make flatbreads. Wei Qingshan helped heat water. Lin Yu packed the flatbreads and fetched water, then went to the backyard to chop up wild vegetables mixed with cornmeal for the chickens and set out wild greens for the rabbits.

After breakfast, the two of them set off for the mountains. This was Lin Yu’s first time following Wei Qingshan into the mountains, and he was quite excited—not only because he was with Wei Qingshan but also because he had never ventured into the deep mountains before and was curious about what he might find.

Not long after they left, He Dongdong came bouncing over with an embroidery basket. Seeing that Yu-ger’s wooden gate was latched, he called out twice but got no response.

“Oh, Yu-ger went out.”

Disappointed, He Dongdong walked away carrying his basket. Halfway down the path, he heard Xia Hehua’s shrill voice.

“Look at my face! This is what Lin Yu did to me yesterday. That husband of Wei Qingshan is completely unreasonable! I just wanted to take a wild chicken for Mother to nourish her health, and not only did Lin Yu refuse, but he also beat me with a stick! Neither of them has a shred of filial piety!”

Someone rolled their eyes. This Xia Hehua always twisted the truth. Everyone had seen Yu-ger before—soft-spoken, gentle, like a lump of dough. Him hitting Xia Hehua? Impossible.

“Someone visited Yu-ger yesterday. He was sitting in the courtyard, pale as a sheet and trembling all over. You’re saying he beat you?”

Another person chimed in, “Exactly! How could Yu-ger possibly have beaten you?”

Xia Hehua was so furious that she nearly fell backward. She hadn’t expected that, even with visible scratches on her face, these people still wouldn’t believe her. She pointed at her face. “He hit me! Look, there are scratches all over my face!”

He Dongdong snorted and added, “Oh, this? Who knows where you got scratched? I visited Yu-ger yesterday—he was crying from how badly you bullied him.”

Xia Hehua glared at him. “It wasn’t just my face! My back is bruised too! I couldn’t sleep from the pain last night!”

“Then take off your clothes and show everyone.”

Xia Hehua was speechless. Yesterday, Lin Yu had indeed swatted her multiple times—not painfully, but it was humiliating. There were no real marks on her body. And who in their right mind would strip in public?

Flustered, Xia Hehua’s face turned red. He Dongdong had no interest in arguing further. He smirked and walked away.

The gossipy aunties and househusbands who had gathered around clearly didn’t believe her either. They all suspected that Xia Hehua had tried to take something and, when rebuffed, bullied Yu-ger instead—only to now come here to shift the blame.

Everyone felt that Lin Yu was truly pitiful. He had no parents, was married to a man with a bad reputation, had no money, and now had to deal with such an overbearing in-law family.

Lin Yu was unaware that while he was away from home, he had become the pitiful victim of Xia Hehua’s bullying in the eyes of the village, drawing widespread sympathy.

He had been walking through the mountains with Wei Qingshan for an hour now. The deeper they went, the brighter his eyes became—sure enough, there were plenty of wild vegetables in the mountains!

While Wei Qingshan checked the traps he had set, Lin Yu carried a bamboo basket and gathered wild vegetables. There were a lot of fiddlehead ferns in front of him, and he began snapping them off one by one. Before long, his basket was quite full.

He followed Wei Qingshan closely. While Wei Qingshan hunted, he quietly foraged for wild greens. As he snapped off a fresh sprout of Chinese toon with a crisp crack, a startled bird flapped its wings and took off, making Lin Yu jump.