translated by april

Realizing what had happened, Wei Qingshan quickly drew his bow and shot an arrow, pinning the wild pheasant to the ground. Lin Yu’s eyes were full of excitement—this was the first time he had seen Wei Qingshan catch prey, and he was really amazing!

Afraid he might scare the pheasant away, Lin Yu only dared to follow behind Wei Qingshan to take a look. The pheasant was still alive, wounded in the wing by the arrow, struggling to escape. Wei Qingshan reached out and grabbed the pheasant, lifting it. Lin Yu stretched his neck forward to look. “What a big pheasant.”

“Pheasants are naturally cunning. If you hadn’t startled it, it wouldn’t have flown out.”

Lin Yu’s eyes curved into a smile. It was great to have caught another pheasant—once they saved enough silver, they could buy land.

The two wandered deep into the mountains all morning. Along the way, they encountered a spotted deer hopping away in panic. Wei Qingshan didn’t give chase—it was a doe, and from the looks of it, she was already pregnant.

Lin Yu saw it too. It was his first time seeing a spotted deer—it was so beautiful!

By noon, the two shared some flatbread for lunch. After resting for a bit, they continued searching for prey in the forest. In the afternoon, Wei Qingshan checked the traps he had set, planning to head back once he was done.

After all, spring wasn’t a time for excessive hunting. Even if they spotted larger prey, they wouldn’t capture it, so it was better to return early.

In one of the traps, Wei Qingshan found another pheasant caught by the leg. He took it out and placed it in his basket. As they made their way down the mountain, they kept an eye out for wild vegetables along the roadside, picking some to sell in town the next day.

With two pheasants caught today, Wei Qingshan was quite satisfied. Ever since his little husband started coming with him, his luck had improved.

Hearing the sound of water, Lin Yu glanced toward the dense forest and spotted a patch of lush wild vegetables growing near a small stream. His eyes lit up. “Qingshan! I think that’s water celery!”

Wei Qingshan hadn’t taken this path before—he was just following his memory down the mountain. He hadn’t expected to find a secluded stream here.

The two walked toward the water’s edge, and sure enough, Lin Yu saw a large patch of water celery growing by the bank!

“Is this edible?” Wei Qingshan plucked a stalk and sniffed it. There was a strange scent—hard to describe, but not very pleasant.

Lin Yu nodded eagerly. “Yes! It’s called water celery. I’ve eaten it before.”

Back when Lin Yu lived with the Zhao family, times were tough. In spring, he would gather whatever edible wild greens he could find to fill his stomach. Because of this, he had learned to recognize many kinds of wild vegetables.

Lin Yu quickly walked over and started picking water celery, while Wei Qingshan helped. Fortunately, both of them had brought baskets today. Lin Yu’s was already filled with other wild vegetables, but there was still room for more. Wei Qingshan reorganized his own basket and began adding to it as well.

Amid the water plants, they even spotted small fish. Lin Yu reached out to grab one but missed. Wei Qingshan pulled him back. “Let me do it. The water’s cold.”

Wei Qingshan took off his shoes and waded into the stream. Cupping his hands, he scooped up both water and fish, splashing them onto the grassy riverbank. Lin Yu quickly broke off some willow twigs and started threading the palm-sized fish onto them one by one.

Lin Yu was thrilled—he hadn’t expected such a great harvest today. Even Wei Qingshan was surprised. With Lin Yu by his side, their luck was exceptionally good.

Usually, he only focused on hunting and didn’t know much about the various wild vegetables in the mountains—Lin Yu knew more about them than he did.

After wading in the water for a while, Wei Qingshan managed to catch eleven or twelve fish, each about the size of a palm. With no more fish in sight, he stepped out of the stream. The moment they were startled, the fish had either swum away or hidden. Catching this many was already pretty good.

On the riverbank, Lin Yu had neatly strung all the fish together. He lifted them to show Wei Qingshan. “We’re really lucky today!”

Life in the countryside was hard, and these fish would add some much-needed meat to their meals. Lin Yu wondered if Chun-ger still had any tofu. If he did, they could buy a couple of pieces and make fish stew with tofu! Just thinking about it made his mouth water—it had been a long time since he had eaten that dish.

Wei Qingshan rubbed his little husband’s head. “Let’s go.”

Lin Yu had quite a fruitful harvest today, and even his courage had grown. Along the way, he kept chatting with Wei Qingshan, “I want to go home and stew tofu—fry the fish in oil until golden, then simmer it with the tofu. It’ll be so fragrant!”

Wei Qingshan was already feeling hungry just from his description. “Then let’s hurry home and cook.”

Wei Qingshan wasn’t particularly fond of fish. Back when he still lived with his family, he would occasionally bring some fish back from the mountains, but by the time he got home, all that was left for him was a pot of cold, fishy soup, with only the fish head remaining.

But his little husband had great cooking skills—just listening to his description, Wei Qingshan thought it would probably taste delicious.

Their baskets were filled with water celery, and other wild vegetables. Lin Yu carried a string of fish in his hand, while Wei Qingshan held two pheasants.

As they neared the village, Wei Qingshan pressed down on the contents of their baskets. Lin Yu understood why—he was worried that ill-intentioned villagers might grow jealous. Fortunately, their home was in a more secluded area, so they didn’t have to pass through the village and could head straight home via the back mountain.

Lin Yu put down the things and quickly ran inside to grab some copper coins. “I’m going to Chun-ger’s place to see if there’s any tofu left!”

Wei Qingshan gave a short response. Lin Yu glanced at him. “Can I take some water celery to Dong-ger?”

“Take whatever you want from home. Bring a few small fish too—Aunt He helped me a lot in the past.”

Lin Yu nodded eagerly. He picked up a handful of water celery and took three small fish—just enough to make soup.

Worried that the tofu might be sold out, Lin Yu hurried out. On the way, he stopped by He Dongdong’s house to drop off the food. When He Dongdong saw the fish, he was delighted. “It’s fish!”

He Daniang was just as happy. “Yu-ger, you’re too kind.”

He Dongdong looked at the bundle of fresh green vegetables and asked, “Yu-ger, what is this?”

“The elders in the village call it water celery. You can stir-fry it directly. Try it and see if you like it. It has a bit of a unique taste—some people aren’t used to it.”

He Dongdong wanted to chat more, but Lin Yu was in a hurry to buy tofu. “Dong-ger, I have to go. I want to buy two pieces of tofu to stew with fish.”

When He Daniang heard this, she handed He Dongdong a few copper coins. “Dong-ger, go buy some tofu too. I’ll make fish soup with tofu for you.”

He Dongdong got excited at the mention of food. He quickly grabbed a bowl and left with Lin Yu, afraid that if they were late, the tofu would be gone.

Luckily, they had arrived early. The sun had only begun to weaken, and there was still tofu left for sale. Each of them bought two pieces before heading back.

On the way home, He Dongdong chatted with Lin Yu. “Yu-ger, where did you go today? I went looking for you, but you weren’t home.”

“I went into the mountains with Qingshan.”

“You went into the mountains? I heard there are wild beasts there—they can eat people!”

“Mm, but it’s fine with Qingshan around.”

“Hmph, you don’t even know! When I got back, I heard Xia Hehua talking badly about you, saying you hit her.”

Lin Yu froze for a moment—Xia Hehua actually said that about him?

“But don’t worry, everyone knows what kind of person you are. Nobody believed her.” He Dongdong snorted proudly. “Besides, you think I’d let her get away with that? I called her out right then and there! Yesterday, she bullied you so badly that you were trembling. You should’ve seen her face when I shut her down—it turned red with embarrassment. Hahaha!”

Seeing that it wasn’t a big deal, Lin Yu chuckled. “Dong-ger, thank you.”

“What are you thanking me for? You’re my best friend! I still remember how you gave me an egg to eat on your wedding day.”

The two laughed, happily carrying their bowls as they went their separate ways.

When Lin Yu returned home, Wei Qingshan had already cleaned the fish. Lin Yu washed his hands and started cooking. He stir-fried the water celery with chili and garlic, using lard for extra flavor. The small fish were fried until golden, then simmered with hot water and tofu. Finally, he sprinkled some chopped green onions before taking it off the fire.

Wei Qingshan was tending the fire, peeking into the pot repeatedly as the delicious aroma filled the air.

“Yu-ger, don’t we need a smaller iron pot for cooking?”

Wei Qingshan had noticed that they were using the same large pot for both stir-frying and making soup—it was clearly inconvenient. Lin Yu nodded. “We’ll talk about it later.”

“Alright, once we have enough silver, we’ll buy a small iron pot just for stir-frying.”

Ironware was expensive, and they had strict regulations. Buying an iron pot required saving up at least a few taels of silver.

Their neighbor, Qian Laotai, craned her neck to look in their direction. Ever since Lin Yu had married into the Wei family, the smell of meat had been wafting from their home every day. She had no idea what they were cooking today, but the aroma was making her drool.

Xiao Qing smacked his lips and sucked on his fingers. “Grandma, I want to eat meat.”

Qian Laotai impatiently shoved the three-year-old beside her. “Eat, eat, eat! All you know is eating! Even I want to eat meat!”

Xiao Qing was pushed to the ground. He sat there and started crying, “Mom! I want Mom! Mom!”

Inside the house, his mother, who was weaving cloth, quickly came running out. “Qing-ger, Qing-ger, Mom is here, Mom is here.”

She scooped him up and comforted him. The three-year-old’s eyes were filled with tears as he sobbed.

Qian Laotai shot her a glare. “What’s so special about that ger? He just fell on the ground. What’s the big deal? Useless thing! Hurry up and cook—who’s going to serve you otherwise?”

Sang Niang quickly carried Qing-ger away. The little boy was still crying. “Mom, I want to eat meat.”

“Be good, once Mom sells her cloth, I’ll buy you some meat.”

Qing-ger was starving for something tasty—he hadn’t eaten anything good in a long time. The smell of meat from not far away only made him cry harder. Qian Laotai, irritated by the noise, snapped, “Cry, cry, cry! If you keep crying, I’ll throw you up the mountain to feed the wolves!”

Qing-ger didn’t understand her words, but being scolded only made him cry even harder.

Since their houses were close, Lin Yu naturally heard the child’s cries. What child wouldn’t crave meat? When he was still living with the Zhao family, he had often been tormented by the smell of others cooking meat, but as a mere new husband, he had no right to make decisions, so he remained silent.

Wei Qingshan saw through his thoughts. “That’s Qian Laotai’s grandson—a ger. Qian Laotai is difficult to deal with. Their family is actually well-off, but she despises her daughter-in-law for giving birth to a ger instead of a son.”

Lin Yu had also heard the old woman’s voice, which reminded him of Cai Chunhua, who used to beat and scold him all the time.

“Let’s send a bowl over. That Qing-ger is pitiful.”

Lin Yu knew that Wei Qingshan was only agreeing because he saw that he was feeling soft-hearted. “Thank you.”

“If you thank me again, I’ll get mad.” Wei Qingshan put on a stern face. “Just drop it off and come straight back. Qian Laotai is not someone to be messed with.”

“Mm, I know.”

Lin Yu scooped up a small fish and a few pieces of tofu into a bowl, leaving out most of the soup—children needed more solid food to fill their stomachs. “I’m going now.”

“Mm, just leave the food and come back.”

Wei Qingshan was worried that if Lin Yu stayed too long, the sharp-tongued Qian Laotai would take the chance to bully him, so he gave him a final reminder.