He Daniang rolled up her sleeves and was about to make a move, but Xia Hehua hid behind Wei Er. “I didn’t say anything about your family, I just… I only said a few things about Wei Qingshan’s family,” she stammered.

“Apologize!”

Wei Er pushed Xia Hehua, who was standing behind him. He knew that neither of them could fight He Daniang, so he pushed her forward since she had brought this upon herself.

Reluctantly, Xia Hehua came out. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said those things.”

He Daniang was finally satisfied. “If I hear you gossiping about my family behind our backs again, next time I won’t be this polite.” He Dongdong snorted but wasn’t entirely satisfied. Xia Hehua had still spoken ill of Lin Yu! She was so annoying!

Once they were home, He Dongdong poured water for her second sister-in-law to wash her face. “Second sister-in-law, thank you.”

Since the last time when his second sister-in-law had tried to speak on his behalf regarding Xia Hehua’s brother, He Dongdong hadn’t spoken to her. But now that his second sister-in-law had stood up for him, He Dongdong forgave her. He wasn’t the kind of person who couldn’t tell right from wrong.

Lin Yu didn’t know about all this. At noon, he had stewed tofu, fried a dish of stir-fried pork, and after eating with Wei Qingshan, they were outside peeling bamboo shoots, preparing to dry them into dried bamboo shoots for storage.

In the afternoon, Wang Fulang wandered over. “Peeling bamboo shoots?”

Lin Yu didn’t have a good impression of Wang Fulang, but he still smiled and invited him to sit.

As soon as Wang Fulang sat down, he said, “I heard the He family asked you to embroider their wedding clothes and quilt, how’s it going? Can I see?”

“I haven’t started yet.”

Wang Fulang laughed. “Ah, I came too early. I’ll come back to look once you’ve finished. I’m sure Yu-ger’s embroidery skills must be great. Otherwise, the He family wouldn’t have trusted you with this job.”

Lin Yu smiled and didn’t say anything, continuing to peel the bamboo shoots.

“Ah, you wouldn’t know, but earlier today, Xia Hehua was gossiping about you. I shouldn’t be saying this, but after all, we’re both from the same village.”

Wang Fulang coughed lightly and continued, “Xia Hehua said that it was unlucky for you to embroider wedding clothes, and the second daughter-in-law of the He family overheard and the two of them fought. The whole He family got involved, and it caused quite a stir.”

The bamboo shoot Lin Yu was peeling fell to the ground. He bent down to pick it up, quietly wiping off the dust that had gotten on it.

Wei Qingshan’s expression turned cold, and he stood up. “Leave.”

“Yu-ger, what’s wrong? Don’t take it to heart, it’s all my fault for speaking too much.”

“Leave!”

Wang Fulang was slightly frightened by Wei Qingshan and hurriedly got up and left. Once outside, he fanned himself with his hand, sneering as he walked away. Well, he had just watched the drama of three families unfold.

Lin Yu kept his head down, silently peeling bamboo shoots. Wei Qingshan called his name twice before Lin Yu snapped out of his thoughts. “Ah, did you call me? I… I was just thinking about something.”

“It’s not your fault. You’re fine.”

Lin Yu stayed silent, and Wei Qingshan squatted in front of him. “It’s my reputation that has dragged you into this.”

“No, it’s because I shouldn’t have accepted the job,” Lin Yu said softly. “I don’t want to embroider anymore.”

“Alright, then I’ll go with you to return the items.”

Lin Yu washed his hands, stood up, and went inside to gather the wedding clothes and two quilt covers that He Daniang had brought. He placed them in the basket and carried it outside.

Lin Yu was feeling down; this should have been a joyous occasion.

Wei Qingshan noticed that Lin Yu wasn’t happy, and he wasn’t happy either. He remembered how his little husband’s eyes had sparkled with excitement when he had received the job.

When they arrived at the He family’s house, everyone was home. When they saw Lin Yu, He Dongdong immediately pulled him over to his side. “Yu-ger, you’re here! How’s the embroidery going?”

Lin Yu handed over the basket. “Dongdong, I’m not taking this job anymore.”

“What happened? Did you hear something?” He Dongdong became anxious. “Mom, Mom! Hurry, come out!”

He Dongdong’s shout brought everyone out of the house. He Dazhu greeted them, “Qingshan, you’re here.”

He Daniang looked at what Lin Yu had brought back and immediately understood. “Yu-ger, what’s going on?”

“Auntie He, I don’t want to embroider anymore,” Lin Yu said quietly, looking down.

“Ah, who’s the filthy person who said such things to you!” He Daniang, who lived in a more remote part of the village, didn’t believe the gossip had reached Lin Yu so quickly. She was sure someone had gone to spread lies on purpose!

Lin Yu just shook his head silently. He Daniang and the two other women from the He family took turns trying to comfort him, but Lin Yu was so upset that he just shook his head, refusing to listen.

He Daniang pushed forward. “Yu-ger, we’ve all seen your skills. We trust you with this work.”

He Ersao, who was a bit awkward with words, also tried to persuade him, “Yes, yes, that’s just Xia Hehua talking nonsense. Don’t let it bother you.”

He Daniang let out an “Aiya” and pulled Lin Yu over. “Do you think your Auntie He is that kind of person? Just go ahead and do the embroidery. Whether their life turns out good or bad, it’s between the two of them. Besides, look at how good your days with Qingshan are now.”

Lin Yu shook his head. “No… It’s inauspicious.”

Seeing that Lin Yu still wouldn’t agree, He Dongdong suddenly burst into tears. “I don’t care, I don’t care, I just want you to embroider it for me, I just want you to embroider it for me!”

He Dongdong’s crying flustered Lin Yu as well. Several grown men stood around helplessly, and the courtyard fell into chaos. Some tried to comfort He Dongdong, and others tried to comfort Lin Yu.

Lin Yu’s eyes turned red, and holding He Dongdong’s hand, he also began to cry. “Dong… Dong-ger, don’t—don’t cry, I’ll embroider it for you, I’ll embroider it.”

He Dongdong sniffled. “You said it.”

Lin Yu nodded. He Daniang laughed. “You two gers really, at your age, still dropping golden beans—go wash your face quickly.”

Lin Yu felt a little embarrassed. Wei Qingshan, who was at his side, took the basket into his own hands for him.

He Daniang patted Lin Yu’s hand. “Look at Qingshan, his reputation isn’t very good either. That’s just because outsiders don’t know him. As your Auntie He, should I not help him clean up and make things right? What happened to you isn’t your fault, poor child.”

Lin Yu nodded. When they got back, he set up the embroidery frame. Wei Qingshan came over to help. “There’s no rush to start right now—just begin tomorrow.”

“I want to embroider. I want to make Dong-ger’s wedding robe and wedding quilt the best-looking ones.”

The next day, Wei Qingshan took the pheasants and rabbits he had hunted in recent days to town to sell. A few days ago, Lin Yu had planned to go with him to sell embroidered handkerchiefs, but now that he was busy embroidering the wedding robe for He Dongdong, he just gave a few pieces to Wei Qingshan and asked him to check with the fabric shop in town to see if they could be sold.

After Wei Qingshan left, Lin Yu sat in front of the embroidery frame and embroidered continuously. At noon, he quickly ate, then continued embroidering again. When Wei Qingshan returned in the afternoon, he had brought a portion of dried fruit. His little husband liked this kind of sweet-and-sour snack, and since they were almost out at home, he bought some more.

When he saw Wei Qingshan return, a faint smile appeared on Lin Yu’s face. “You’re back. How did the embroidered handkerchiefs do—were they sold?”

“Mm.” Wei Qingshan handed the money pouch to Lin Yu with a smile on his face. “Two pieces of good news—the embroidered handkerchiefs were sold. The fabric shop’s owner gave ten wen per piece and said he’d buy as many as we can supply in the future.”

Lin Yu’s gloominess lifted slightly. “Really?”

“Mm, really. My little husband’s craftsmanship is so good. If we were to sell them ourselves, we could probably get more than ten wen a piece.”

Wei Qingshan’s lips curled up. Just one of his little husband’s embroidered handkerchiefs could sell for over ten wen—this was a skill that could support them.

Seeing that his embroidery skills had been affirmed by outsiders, Lin Yu’s confidence grew. He thought about Dong-ger’s items and was determined to embroider them well—not to bring shame on himself or on Dong-ger.

“There’s another good piece of news—there’s a recruitment in town for people to dig a river. I got ten spots. It’s fifty wen a day, and it’s a seven-day job.”

Since it was hard labor, fifty wen a day was already quite a bit. In the spring, the prey he could catch were all small animals, which were difficult and time-consuming to trap. The income couldn’t compare to the bigger prey he caught in summer and autumn. He had saved up a few days’ worth of game and added his little husband’s embroidered handkerchiefs, and they had only earned three hundred wen.

It was also a stroke of luck today—he happened to run into the officials from town hiring workers, and because he arrived early, he managed to secure ten slots.

Lin Yu was also very happy. “That’s good news.”

“Mm. I have to leave early tomorrow morning for town, and I’ll have to stay there.”

“I’ll be fine at home by myself. Dahei and Baixue will be with me.”

Wei Qingshan was still a little worried. “It’s fine—I’ll come back at night.”

Lin Yu urged Wei Qingshan to go find people. “We’ll talk when you get back.”

Wei Qingshan had received a lot of help from He Daniang in the past, so when something good came up, of course, he went to ask the He family brothers if they wanted to join. There weren’t many ways for villagers to earn money. Aside from farming, there were almost no other sources of income, so everyone would fight tooth and nail for this kind of opportunity.

He Dazhu and Erzhu agreed right away and went to call the brothers from the village head’s family. Wei Qingshan also called three people from his own Wei family, who had helped with his wedding.

He also called Chun-ger’s husband. When Wei Qingshan went to Wang Er’s house to ask, it just so happened that Wang Fulang overheard while coming to get tofu. The moment he heard about this good opportunity, Wang Fulang immediately stepped forward. “Qingshan, how about letting our Wang Da join too?”

“You were the one who purposely went to gossip in front of my husband yesterday?”

“No, no, I was just talking, giving Yu-ger a little heads-up.”

Wei Qingshan let out a cold snort and left.

Just as he was thinking about who to give the last spot to, Lian-ger heard the news from who-knows-where and came over. “Qingshan, I heard you’re recruiting people to dig the river in town? Can you bring my Shunzi along?”

“Digging a river isn’t like other work—it’s pretty hard. I’m not sure if Brother Shunzi can handle it.”

Lian-ger promised repeatedly. “He can handle it, he can handle it. Shunzi will definitely do a good job.”

Lian-ger had no other choice—his family was poor, Shunzi was small and skinny, and they had an old mother to take care of. The family relied solely on two acres of dry farmland to feed themselves, which was nowhere near enough.

“Alright then, tomorrow at sunrise, we’ll gather at the village entrance.”

Lian-ger repeatedly thanked him. He knew Wei Qingshan was showing pity because his family had a hard time.

After Wei Qingshan returned home, others who heard the news came over one after another to ask. Wei Qingshan told them the slots were already filled. Only then did those people leave in disappointment—after all, there weren’t many opportunities to earn extra silver like this.

In the early morning, before daylight broke, Wei Qingshan got up. Lin Yu also wanted to get up and cook, but Wei Qingshan pressed him back down, “It’s still early, keep sleeping. Get up when it’s light.”

“I’ll get up to make you breakfast.”

“I’ll just eat something simple myself.”

“That won’t do.”

Lin Yu insisted on putting on clothes and getting up. He cooked porridge and made flatbreads for Wei Qingshan to eat. Fearing that he wouldn’t eat well while working, he also packed six full flatbreads for himself and sliced pickles, drizzling them with fragrant oil.

When Lin Yu sent Wei Qingshan out the door, it was still dark. Wei Qingshan reminded him uneasily, “When you sleep at night, make sure to lock the door. Keep Dahei outside and Baixue inside.”

Lin Yu nodded, “Got it. Dahei and Baixue are very capable.”

Wei Qingshan originally planned to rush back at night after finishing the day’s work, but Lin Yu didn’t allow it. The river-digging work was already exhausting—how could he handle the extra strain of running back and forth?

Wei Qingshan held up a torch and left. When he arrived at the village entrance, most people had already arrived. Since there were many of them and they carried torches, even walking the mountain roads at night to the town wasn’t a problem.

Wei Qingshan called the names one by one, “He Dazhu, He Erzhu, Wei Zhizi, Wei Shui, Wei He…”

After he finished calling names, he found one person extra, “Wang Da, why are you here?”

Wang Da had heard from his husband yesterday that Wei Qingshan was bringing people to dig the river in town. His husband was the one everyone called Wang Fulang. When he returned, he complained that Wei Qingshan had gotten the job but had invited Wang Er instead of Wang Da.

“Qingshan, let me go too. I promise I’ll work hard.”

This time of year was slack season in spring, and the pay for digging the river was quite good. Though tiring, everyone wanted to go. Seven days meant 350 wen.

“Wang Da, it’s not that I won’t let you. I only got ten spots, and we’re already full.”

No one in the group spoke up because everyone wanted to go. If one more person came, someone else would have to give up their spot. Even his own younger brother, Wang Er, said nothing.

“Alright, let’s go. Everyone, walk fast so we’re not delayed.”

The group responded and followed Wei Qingshan on their way. Wang Da, unwilling to give up, followed at the back of the group. Wei Qingshan saw but didn’t say anything. If he wanted to follow, then let him—it would just be a wasted trip.

Because of what Wang Da did, everyone felt a little uncomfortable. What was supposed to be a happy thing now had this awkwardness. Who was he trying to push out? Wang Er spoke up, “Dage, just go back. You’ll just be making a trip for nothing.”

“It’s fine. I just want to follow and take a look.”

Wang Er didn’t speak again. His household had split from Wang Da’s. His family relied on Chun-ger’s tofu-making skills for income, so life was a bit better. But that was only because he and his wife got up before dawn every day to work hard. His big brother’s husband, Wang Fulang, came over every so often to take tofu, but never gave them a single copper coin.

Chun-ger had complained many times, saying that their family neither paid money nor helped out. What kind of people acted like that?

Also uneasy in the crowd was Lian-ger’s husband, Shunzi. He was the weakest and most delicate among the group. Now that Wang Da had shown up, he was afraid he’d be the one pushed out. That spot had been earned for him by his fulang.

It had been a long time since the family had eaten meat. Lian-ger had never had a good life with him. When he got the job yesterday, the whole family was overjoyed, planning to buy some meat with the wages once he got paid.

By the time the group reached the town, the sky had brightened, and the sun was just rising. Wei Qingshan had already registered his name the day before. Now he squeezed in among the team leaders to report and waited for the overseer to come inspect the workers.

He Dazhu looked up toward the river embankment, “There must be over a hundred people here.”

“It’s all thanks to Qingshan’s luck, coming to town yesterday and grabbing some slots for us.”

The overseer was inspecting the people in the front team. Seeing some who were skinny, old, or too young, he kicked them out with displeasure. “You, out, out. You don’t look like someone who can work.”

“You, you, and you—where did you find these people? Why are you bringing old men and children? Why not bring your great-grandfather, too, while you’re at it?”

Those who got the job naturally wanted to earn as much as possible. They wished they could bring every able-bodied person from home. The team up front looked like one family, young and old alike. The overseer, annoyed, kicked them all out.

Hearing the overseer being so selective, Shunzi quickly straightened his back, afraid that he’d be judged too weak and not accepted.

After finishing with the front group, the overseer came over to look at Wei Qingshan’s group. Wang Da quickly stood at the back. The one following at the very end was from the village chief’s household. Afraid Wang Da would steal their slot, they secretly stuck out a foot and kicked him out of line.

Wang Da cried out and sat on the ground. Just as he was about to curse, he realized it was someone from the village chief’s family—someone he couldn’t afford to offend—so he had no choice but to swallow his anger and quickly got up again to stand at the back of the line.

Wang Da’s behavior drew a lot of dissatisfaction from the others. Whose spot was he trying to take?

The overseer came over holding the work tokens. Seeing that the people in Wei Qingshan’s group were all young and strong laborers, his expression became more pleasant, and he handed out the tokens one by one. Even Shunzi, who was standing in the middle of the group, received one—though when it came to him, the overseer gave him an extra look or two but didn’t say anything.

At the end, the overseer noticed there was one extra person. “The team leader is Wei Qingshan, right? Is this person also with your group? Didn’t you only have ten people? Why is there one more?”

“He’s not with us.”

The overseer waved his hand. “Take your people in.”

Wei Qingshan led his group toward the riverbank. Wang Da, not having received a token, started pestering the overseer. “Sir, sir, I can work! I can work!”

“Get out of here! No team leader, no work for you!”

All river-digging jobs were led by team leaders, and each team leader was responsible for their own group. If anyone in the team slacked off or cut corners, the team leader’s pay would be deducted first. That was the rule to prevent laziness.

Wang Da was kicked away by someone. He got up and patted the dust off his clothes. “Peh! What a bunch of bastards!”

Wang Da could only go back home in disgrace. The more he thought about it, the more upset he became. Why was it that Wang Er’s family got to go, but he, Wang Da, couldn’t?

After Wei Qingshan left, Lin Yu ate breakfast, chopped wild vegetables, and mixed them with wheat bran to feed the chicks in the backyard. As soon as the chicks saw him carrying the basin, they flapped their wings and chirped excitedly as they ran over. A bunch of chicks gathered around Lin Yu’s feet. Seeing them so lively made Lin Yu very happy.

He placed the feeding basin down, and the chicks swarmed over to eat. He had bought fifteen chicks, and despite taking great care of them, four had still died. He had only eleven chicks left.

These chicks had now grown to about the size of Wei Qingshan’s fist. Red combs had already sprouted on their heads, and their fluff had given way to feathered wings. In a while, these chicks would be able to fly. Lin Yu thought he’d trim their wings when the time came.

While the chubby little chicks were pecking at their food, Lin Yu took the chance to clean out the chicken coop.

“Yu-ger, Yu-ger! Are you home?”

Hearing a familiar voice, Lin Yu responded, “Hey, I’m in the backyard.”

He Dongdong ran over and leaned on the fence, stretching his neck to look at the chicks. “Your chicks have grown so big!”

“Yeah, probably because they eat well.”

The men from the He family had all gone to town with Wei Qingshan to dig the river, and He Daniang had specifically asked He Dongdong to come keep Lin Yu company. He Dongdong liked doing so—when he was home, the two little ones in his family always clung to him.

Lin Yu came out, washed his hands, and brought out his embroidery hoop. He Dongdong helped sort the embroidery threads on the side. “Yu-ger, my mom asked me to see if you want to sleep at our place at night. There are more people at home.”

“No need. Dahei and Baixue are keeping me company.”

“Come sleep with me! I haven’t shared a bed with you before.”

Lin Yu felt it’d be inconvenient to stay at someone else’s house, so he shook his head and refused. “You don’t know how fierce Dahei and Baixue are. Last time Qingshan and I went into the mountains at night, Dahei even killed a wild dog.”

“What?! There are wild dogs in the mountains? That’s so dangerous!”

“Yeah, Dahei is really fierce.”

“I didn’t think the mountains would be that dangerous. You and Qingshan-ge are really brave. That old hag Qian Laotai next door always says your family eats meat, but that’s meat you two risk your lives to earn. If she’s got the guts, let her son go into the mountains too.”

Lin Yu smiled without replying. He was busy embroidering the collar of Dong-ger’s wedding robe.

He Dongdong craned his neck and clicked his tongue. “Yu-ger, your embroidery is so beautiful!”

Lin Yu was using yellow thread to embroider a cloud pattern and small bats symbolizing the five blessings on the collar of the wedding robe. It looked very elegant. He Dongdong had never seen such fine and beautiful embroidery on a wedding garment before and grinned foolishly in admiration.

Meanwhile, Wang Da had also returned home, his face full of anger. Wang Fulang patted the dirt off his clothes. “What happened? They didn’t take you?”

“Nope. They made me waste a trip! That Wei Qingshan called Wang Er, but why didn’t he call me?”

Wang Fulang’s tone was a bit hesitant. “How would I know? You must’ve offended him somehow.”

“How could I have offended him?” Wang Da noticed that Wang Fulang was avoiding his gaze. “Did you do something?”

“What’s it got to do with me?!”

The more Wang Da looked at him, the more he felt it was his husband’s doing. “Not saying, huh? Then I’ll go ask Chun-ger. He sells tofu, everyone in the village goes to him—he must know.”

Wang Fulang hurriedly pulled Wang Da back. “It’s because Wei Qingshan is petty! I only sat at his house that day and mentioned how Xia Hehua said it was bad luck for his husband to embroider Dong-ger’s wedding clothes.”

“Oh, great, so it was your fault! No wonder Wei Qingshan gave me that look!”

Wang Da grabbed a handful of Wang Fulang’s hair. “Why the hell would you go out of your way to spread gossip about other people?!”

“What does it have to do with me?! It’s clearly Wei Qingshan being petty. I was just chatting—what’s the big deal?” Wang Fulang cried out in pain.

“‘What’s the big deal?’ The man got a job and didn’t call me. That’s over three hundred copper coins! You go earn that for me!”

Wang Funiang still wouldn’t back down. “There were only ten spots. How do you know for sure that Wei Qingshan would’ve picked you?”

“Well, he picked Wang Er. Why the hell not me, Wang Da?!”