Wei Qingshan returned with the things. Lin Yu first held the bowl and fed it to Qing-ger to drink. Qing-ger was very tired and drank in big gulps. After drinking half a bowl, he shook his head.

Lin Yu finished the rest, and Wei Qingshan handed him the other bowl. Lin Yu shook his head. “This one is enough for me.”

Afraid he didn’t have enough, Wei Qingshan poured a bit more into his bowl.

Wei Qingshan had bought five buns—he and his little husband each had one meat bun and one vegetarian, and the little kid had one meat bun for himself.

The three of them squatted on the ground and started eating. Lin Yu also liked the buns from that shop very much. The dough was soft and fluffy, and the filling was fresh and delicious. Wei Qingshan ate quickly, finishing in just a few bites, then took the bowls back to the sweet soup shop.

Lin Yu ate slowly. It had been a long time since he’d had buns—they were so fragrant. Qing-ger, next to him, held the bun in both hands, eating so fast that his mouth was covered in oil. He seemed very eager, like it had been a long time since he’d eaten meat.

After Wei Qingshan came back, he tidied up the remaining wild vegetables. Lin Yu tore his vegetarian bun in half and handed it to Wei Qingshan. “I can’t finish it.”

“You eat it. We’ll cook again when we get home later.”

The buns weren’t very big. Two weren’t enough to fill Lin Yu, let alone Wei Qingshan. Lin Yu stubbornly held out the bun. Wei Qingshan had no choice but to bite it while holding his hand. “Alright, you eat the rest.”

Lin Yu blushed a little, quickly pulled his hand back, and started eating.

Qing-ger, next to him, was already full and content, sucking on his fingers and letting out a burp.

Lin Yu picked through the rest of the wild vegetables and managed to sell a few more portions. The ones that didn’t look so good didn’t get bought, but he didn’t mind—there wasn’t much left, and whatever remained he’d just take home and eat himself.

Qing-ger, full and satisfied, sat obediently to the side without making a fuss. Lin Yu rubbed his head.

While the two waited for Sang Niang, Zhao Jiazhu hurriedly rushed home carrying medicine.

That morning, he had brought a doctor from town to his home, and the consultation fee alone had cost a whole tael of silver!

He had gotten medicine from the village clinic earlier, but it didn’t work. His son was still lying in bed, wrapped in blankets, groaning and moaning. He had spent another two taels on medicine today—it pained him terribly. The betrothal money from Yu-ger was nearly all spent!

And it wasn’t just his son—even Cai Chunhua was groaning too. The doctor said she didn’t have anything serious. Zhao Jiazhu, unwilling to spend money on her, didn’t get her any medicine.

Cai Chunhua indeed wasn’t seriously ill, but every time she thought about the two wild chickens that were taken from her, she got so angry her chest hurt. Those were clearly her things—thieves!

Zhao Jiazhu handed the medicine to Zhao Yueniang. “Go make the medicine for your brother.”

Zhao Dazhi was the only scholar in their family. He had passed the Tongsheng exam at the age of ten, and even the teacher had said he was gifted. Zhao Jiazhu had been hoping that one day he would become a high-ranking official and be called “Master” with honor. That was the only reason he was willing to spend the silver to go to town again and bring a doctor back.

When Zhao Jiazhu remembered seeing Wei Qingshan in town that day, he let out a cold snort. It was all his fault!

Zhao Jiazhu walked into Zhao Dazhi’s room. “Dazhi, are you feeling any better?”

“Dad, I want to eat chicken.”

The concern on Zhao Jiazhu’s face froze for a moment. “Dazhi, you can’t eat chicken right now. Once you’re better, Dad will buy you chicken to eat.”

As soon as Zhao Dazhi heard that, he started flailing his legs on the bed. “I want to eat chicken! Cough, cough, cough. I want to eat chicken, cough!”

Zhao Dazhi was already weak from catching a cold, and the flailing only triggered a bout of coughing. There were dark circles under his eyes, his complexion was pale, and his lips were chapped.

Hearing the commotion, Cai Chunhua walked in. “Dazhi, oh, Dazhi.”

She couldn’t bear to hear the word “chicken” now. Every time she heard it, her chest would ache. Her two wild chickens—just gone like that!

Cai Chunhua walked up to cover him with the blanket. Although Zhao Dazhi was weak, he was still a grown man. With one kick, he knocked Cai Chunhua over. “I want to eat chicken! Give me chicken!”

Cai Chunhua cried out as she held her aching back and got up. “Alright, alright, your mother will go buy chicken for you, I’ll go buy it.”

Cai Chunhua reached out her hand to Zhao Jiazhu. “Hand it over!”

“I don’t have any!”

Cai Chunhua immediately started digging into Zhao Jiazhu’s chest. “All of Yu-ger’s betrothal silver is with you! Give it to me! Give it!”

The two started scuffling, tearing at each other. Zhao Jiazhu’s clothes were pulled open. Forced into a corner, Zhao Jiazhu slapped Cai Chunhua hard across the face. “Insolent!”

Cai Chunhua was stunned by the slap. When she came to, she charged at him again. “Zhao Jiazhu, you dare hit me? You dare hit me?!”

Their faces were scratched up by the end of it. Eventually, Cai Chunhua managed to fish out a silver tael and stormed out to buy chicken.

Zhao Yueniang hid in the kitchen making the medicine, too scared to come out. She was trembling slightly, afraid her mother would see her and hit her too.

Meanwhile, in town, Wei Qingshan and Lin Yu waited for half an hour before Sang Niang finally rushed back. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Lin Yu shook his head. “We just finished selling, actually.”

The two of them packed up their things, ready to head home. A few others happened to be returning with them.

Lin Yu kept the money he made from selling wild vegetables in his own pouch, as Wei Qingshan told him to. That day, Wei Qingshan earned one hundred and ninety wen from selling wild pheasants and sixty wen from the rabbits, totaling two hundred and fifty wen. It still wasn’t enough to buy a bed.

While walking back, Lin Yu heard the chirping of chicks. When he turned his head, he saw a cage full of little chicks running around—yellow, white, gray, and speckled.

Wei Qingshan noticed too. “Let’s buy some chicks to take back. By summer, they’ll start laying eggs, and then we won’t have to buy eggs anymore.”

Lin Yu nodded vigorously. He also wanted to raise chickens—not only could they eat the eggs, but once the chickens grew up, they could be sold for money!

Excited, Lin Yu squatted down and picked out the lively and bolder chicks to place into the basket. He bought fifteen of them at two wen each, and counted out thirty copper coins from the money he’d just earned selling vegetables.

Qing-ger lay on Sang Niang’s shoulder. “Mama, little chicks~”

“Mm, little chicks.”

Sang Niang had sold off her woven cloth, but there still wasn’t a trace of a smile on her face.

Carrying Qing-ger, Sang Niang walked a bit. Qing-ger, sucking on his fingers, talked about eating a meat bun and drinking sweet soup. Sang Niang was very grateful to Lin Yu and Wei Qingshan, thanking them repeatedly, with eyes turning red.

Lin Yu didn’t understand why Sang Niang was reacting so emotionally. Even though they had spent a few coins, it didn’t seem like something to be that touched about.

What he didn’t know was that Sang Niang had wanted to give him some coins, but every time she sold cloth, the number of coins was strictly accounted for. Her mother-in-law had set the price; if she didn’t return with the full amount, she would be scolded severely.

If she had sold to a cloth shop, she wouldn’t have earned as much. That’s why she had worked so hard to carry her cloth around and find private buyers.

The journey was long, but there were ox carts on the road looking for passengers. Lin Yu wasn’t willing to spend the money on riding. Qing-ger was still young and couldn’t walk far, so Wei Qingshan helped carry him. Sang Niang kept thanking him, wiping away tears.

Lin Yu felt great sympathy for the mother and son. The Qian family seemed to live well on the surface, but Sang Niang’s clothes were patched all over, her complexion was poor, and even Qing-ger looked like that. He could only imagine how much hardship they must have suffered under Qian Laotai’s hand.

Lin Yu didn’t feel tired at all on the way back. The chicks chirped noisily in the basket, and he was determined to raise them well once they got home.

After the two of them returned, they kept the chicks under the thatched shed in the backyard. They blocked the exit with wooden boards so the chicks couldn’t get out. Lin Yu clapped his hands. “Once it gets dark, let’s move the chicks into the coop. I’m afraid rats might drag them away.”

“Mm.”

After tidying everything up, Lin Yu took out his coin pouch. He hadn’t yet counted how much he had made from selling wild vegetables. He poured it all out onto the table with a clatter and began counting one by one. After subtracting the cost of the chicks, he still had one hundred and fifty wen left!

Lin Yu’s eyes were shining—he hadn’t expected his wild vegetables to be so popular. Wei Qingshan watched his little husband count coins beside him. His little husband seemed especially fond of counting copper coins; his eyes sparkled while he did it.

Lin Yu handed the copper coins to Wei Qingshan. “How much silver did you spend on making the bed? Is it enough?”

Wei Qingshan said it wasn’t much. But Lin Yu didn’t believe him—there was the cost of wood and labor, how could it not be much silver?

Lin Yu looked at Wei Qingshan pitifully. Wei Qingshan couldn’t resist and finally said it had cost one tael of silver.

Lin Yu dug out a small silver tael from the wooden chest. “Take this and pay them.”

Wei Qingshan accepted it. “Alright, then, thank you, my little husband.”

Lin Yu placed the silver he earned that day into the small wooden box. Once they saved up enough, the two of them could buy land!

That night, the two of them went to bed early. Lin Yu wanted to take advantage of the current lack of vegetables by picking more wild greens to exchange for money. In the latter half of the night, raindrops began to fall lightly. Lin Yu heard the sound and opened his eyes. He propped himself up. “Qingshan, is it raining outside?”

“Mm. Looks like it’ll rain tomorrow too. Go back to sleep—we don’t need to get up so early tomorrow. There is also no need to go up the mountain; mountain paths are hard to walk on when it rains.”

Lin Yu felt a bit regretful. If only he could go up the mountain and pick wild vegetables every day. That was over a hundred wen a day—he could save one tael of silver in just ten days. Once this period passed and people stopped caring for wild vegetables, how would he earn money?

The next morning, the two of them rarely slept in and didn’t get up right away. Outside the house, the light rain continued to fall in a soft patter. Lin Yu lay on Wei Qingshan’s chest, listening to the sound of the rain.

But he didn’t lie there for long before getting up—he was already used to waking up early. As soon as Lin Yu got up, Wei Qingshan followed.

Wei Qingshan went to boil water, and Lin Yu, wearing a bamboo rain hat, went to the backyard to let the chicks out for a run. Yesterday, worried about weasels or rats dragging his chicks away, he had specially placed a wooden plank on top of the coop.

Once the chicks were let out, they huddled together along the straw, chirping loudly. They looked lively and energetic.

The open space outside the wooden boards was where Dahei and Baixue nested. Baixue tried to paw at the plank, but Lin Yu pulled her down. “Don’t scare the chicks.”

After tending to everything, Lin Yu went to wash up and prepare breakfast. After they finished eating, the two of them sat in the main hall. Lin Yu, now idle, had nothing to do—he had already mended the clothes and finished weaving the mattress.

Wei Qingshan picked up a raincoat and the bamboo hat. “I’m going to the neighboring village to get some meat. Let’s have meat buns for lunch.”

“Alright, then I’ll start making the dough.”

After Wei Qingshan left, the house was quiet, with just Lin Yu alone. Even the two dogs were hiding in their nests, not coming out. After Lin Yu finished kneading the dough, he sat in the main hall watching the rain. He didn’t like rainy days, because when he lived in the firewood shed, the roof leaked. His blanket was often soaked through, damp and cold, and it was very uncomfortable to sleep under.

But now, although their home was a thatched hut, the thatch on the roof was thick and well-laid, and not a single drop leaked when it rained. At night, when Wei Qingshan held him to sleep, it was warm and cozy.

While Lin Yu was waiting for Wei Qingshan to return, a tall man stood at the door and called out twice, “Sister-in-law, is Qingshan-ge home? I’m Shi Tou, the carpenter.”

Lin Yu quickly stood up and grabbed the bamboo hat, about to put it on.

Shi Tou stopped him. “Sister-in-law, no need to come out. I just came to ask if Qingshan-ge was home. The bed is finished—once the rain stops, I’ll deliver it.”

“Qingshan went out, but he’ll be back soon.”

“Alright, then I’ll head back first. When the rain stops, I’ll come over again. When the time comes, I’ll need Qingshan-ge to lend a hand unloading the bed.”

“Got it.”