Translated By April

Lin Yu first accompanied He Dongdong to look for Gao Shuwen. He Dongdong didn’t know which shop Gao Shuwen was in, only that it was a rice shop. The two of them asked around along the street at several shops and searched for a long time before they finally found it.

About to see Gao Shuwen, He Dongdong felt a little nervous. He straightened his clothes and touched his hair. “Yu-ger, do I look okay like this?”

“Mm, you look very good.”

Only then did He Dongdong enter the shop together with Lin Yu.

“What would you two like?”

He Dongdong was a little shy. “I’m looking for Gao Shuwen. I am—I am his betrothed.”

“Oh, you’re Gao Shuwen’s betrothed, huh? Wait a moment, I’ll go call him for you.” The shop assistant glanced at the two of them and then went to get someone.

When Gao Shuwen saw that He Dongdong had come, there wasn’t the slightest smile on his face. Instead, a trace of faint anger appeared, and he didn’t even glance directly at He Dongdong. He walked straight out of the shop. He Dongdong, preoccupied with his own shyness, didn’t notice.

Seeing that Gao Shuwen had gone out, He Dongdong quickly followed, “Shu—Shuwen, I came to see you.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to bring you something. These are some wild fruits I picked outside the village. I wanted to give them to you to taste.”

“Why didn’t you say anything beforehand?”

He Dongdong was a little taken aback. “Shuwen, are you angry?”

Gao Shuwen also realized his tone was a bit harsh. “No, it’s just that you came without saying anything. If the master sees, it won’t be good—they’ll dock my wages.”

“Ah, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

He Dongdong apologized again and again, and even forgot to give the gift. Gao Shuwen soothed him with a couple of words and then left.

After Gao Shuwen left, He Dongdong was still in a daze, his eyes red and tears about to fall. “It’s all my fault.”

Lin Yu wanted to say something, but didn’t open his mouth. “Dong-ger, let’s go.”

Lin Yu didn’t have the heart to sell those few embroidered handkerchiefs by himself anymore. He found a fabric shop and sold them for ten wen apiece. He Dongdong was still full of regret over his own rashness.

“Do you think he thinks I’m too frivolous? I shouldn’t have come to see him today.”

“No, it’s not your fault.”

Lin Yu could only gently comfort him. He Dongdong was usually cheerful and careless—he had never seen He Dongdong like this before. Those cold and harsh words made even him feel uncomfortable. Moreover, he had seen a familiar embroidered handkerchief tied at Gao Shuwen’s waist—double lotus flowers. He remembered selling that to a ger who looked like he came from a well-off family!

But that handkerchief had appeared on Gao Shuwen’s body. Handkerchiefs were personal items—how could a ger’s thing appear on an outsider man’s body unless the two of them were extremely close?

Lin Yu didn’t dare tell He Dongdong what he had discovered. Since he had some copper coins from selling wild vegetables just now, he went and bought two sticks of candied hawthorn. The two of them each had one, and they waited near the vegetable stall where they had sold their goods earlier for Wei Qingshan to return.

After eating something, He Dongdong felt a little better. He shared the wild fruits in his basket with Lin Yu. Lin Yu ate two and stopped. These wild fruits weren’t found near the village—one had to go deeper into the forest to find them. He Dongdong must have put in a lot of effort to pick so many.

The two waited for a while, and Wei Qingshan returned. The three of them ate a bowl of noodles, and Wei Qingshan went to get a cut of meat and then went home.

After returning home, Wei Qingshan carefully placed the back basket on the ground. “We’re out of eggs at home. I bought some eggs.”

Lin Yu removed the leaves covering the back basket. “Why did you buy so many?”

The eggs cost three wen each—Wei Qingshan had bought nearly half a basket.

“You eat eggs every day—you can’t go without. Once our hens start laying eggs, we won’t need to buy any more.”

Lin Yu carefully took out the eggs, afraid of breaking them.

After Lin Yu finished tidying up, Wei Qingshan handed him the small cloth pouch from his chest. “This is the money from selling the honeycomb today—you keep it.”

Lin Yu could feel the silver taels through the cloth bag. “Why is there so much!”

Lin Yu poured out the contents, and three silver taels rolled onto the table. Lin Yu’s eyes widened in surprise—this honeycomb had actually sold for so much silver!

“Mm, because you’re the little lucky star of the family.”

Lin Yu blushed and brought out the wooden box he had hidden away. Adding the three taels from before, there were now a full ten taels of silver in the small wooden box!

Lin Yu was so excited that his face turned red. “Qingshan, we have ten taels of silver now. If we keep saving, by next year we’ll be able to buy an acre of land!”

“Mm.” The corners of Wei Qingshan’s mouth curled up. Just ten taels of silver, and his little husband was already this happy. When summer and autumn came, and he could go hunting freely, who knew how happy his little husband would be.

One had to know, back when he was still with the Wei family and hadn’t split off, he had earned no less than a hundred taels of silver for them. Not demanding any of it back was as good as severing all the years of ties and gratitude he owed to his mother.

Lin Yu also brought out another small wooden box filled with copper coins. In the meantime, Wei Qingshan had gone to the town a few times to sell game, and for every hundred coins, Lin Yu had strung them into a string. Including today’s copper coins from selling game and wild vegetables, after counting them, it added up to over one tael!

That evening Lin Yu made braised pork. The small greens in the vegetable garden had already grown out. He picked some to stir-fry, steamed pagoda tree flowers, and also made an egg and vegetable soup.

The two of them sat in the courtyard to eat. Since they had earned silver from selling the honeycomb today, Lin Yu made a richer dinner. He tasted the first batch of small greens from the garden—crisp and refreshing, with less bitterness than the wild vegetables they had picked. The braised pork was also stewed, soft and tender. The fatty meat melted in the mouth, and paired with a mouthful of fragrant steamed pagoda flowers, Lin Yu truly felt that their current life was like a dream.

Lin Yu ate happily, and Wei Qingshan was also delighted. Ever since his little husband had come, he had been able to eat hot meals three times a day. The way his little husband managed the household so carefully was truly adorable.

If he worked a little harder, by next year, they could buy a few acres of poor farmland.

While Lin Yu and Wei Qingshan were eating meat, even the aroma drifted over to the neighbors. Sang Niang had killed another chicken today and stewed it until it was soft, filling a whole bowl.

At the dinner table were just Qian Laotai, Sang Niang, and Qing-ger. Sang Niang picked up a chicken leg and gave it to Qing-ger to gnaw on, and also took one for herself. Qian Laotai was very displeased. “Is this how you serve your mother-in-law? Do you have no sense of propriety!”

Sang Niang picked up the chicken head and gave it to Qian Laotai. “Mother, you’re the elder of the house. You eat the chicken head.”

Qian Laotai had just wanted to scold her daughter-in-law, but when she saw the chicken head in her bowl, her expression changed. That chicken head had been lying bloody beside her pillow when she woke up this morning!

Qian Laotai immediately lost her appetite. She had thought about putting Sang Niang in her place, but after she hit Sang Niang during the day, Sang Niang would make weird laughing sounds outside her door at night. If she hit her too hard, Sang Niang would fall stiff to the ground and then chase her all over the yard.

Sang Niang gently took care of Qing-ger as he ate. “Drink a bit more chicken soup, Qing-ger.”

Qing-ger happily nodded. “Mama, I like eating meat.”

“Then eat more.”

Qian Laotai snorted coldly. “What use is feeding a ger so well?”

Sang Niang’s expression changed instantly. She looked at Qian Laotai with an eerie face, but her voice grew even gentler. “Mother, it’s getting dark.”

Qian Laotai was so frightened she shivered, hastily ate a few bites of food, and ran off to hide in the house. Now she feared the dark the most. Even during the day, she felt the house was gloomy and eerie. She was so scared that she would run outside to gossip with others. Only when she was among people did she feel less afraid.

Now there were only three of them left in the house. Qian Gui’er hadn’t been seen since he took the silver last time. What Wei Qingshan said was right—if she wasn’t even afraid of death, why would she fear Qian Laotai? She even thought viciously that it would be best if Qian Gui’er died outside—drank himself to death, or got beaten to death over gambling, that’d be fine too.

Lin Yu went to check on Sang Niang once. She seemed to be doing well. The dejection she had before was completely gone, and her energy had returned. Only then did Lin Yu feel at ease.

That evening, Lin Yu spoke privately with Wei Qingshan. “Today I went with Dong-ger to look for that Gao Shuwen. Gao Shuwen seemed angry when he saw Dong-ger.”

“He didn’t bully you, did he?”

“No, he just spoke to Dong-ger in a bad tone. Remember the twin lotus embroidered handkerchief I sold at the market in Dali Village? I saw it today—at Gao Shuwen’s waist.”

“You suspect Gao Shuwen is involved with someone outside?”

“Mm, I’m only suspicious. Gao Shuwen works as a bookkeeper in town and has a stable monthly income. Why would he take a liking to a ger in a village? With his conditions, finding a good, fertile woman wouldn’t be hard.”

Not only Lin Yu, even Wei Qingshan felt uneasy about the matter. He was close with the He family brothers, and this Dong-ger was also close with his little husband. He couldn’t ignore this. “Don’t tell Dong-ger for now. Next time I go to town to sell game, I’ll ask around before saying anything.”

“Mm. I’m just afraid Gao Shuwen isn’t a decent man and ends up hurting Dong-ger.”

As usual, Wei Qingshan went into the mountains to hunt, while Lin Yu stayed home to do embroidery. Even the noise from next door had quieted down. Today, Sang Niang brought Qing-ger over. Seeing the rare smile on Sang Niang’s face, Lin Yu felt genuinely happy for her.

“Yu-ger, I want to go to town to sell fabric. Can you help me look after Qing-ger for a morning?”

“Sure. I’m at home embroidering anyway. Qing-ger is very well-behaved.”

Lin Yu didn’t know what method Sang Niang used to make that difficult Qian Laotai fear her. As long as her days got better, that was enough.

After entrusting Qing-ger to Lin Yu’s care, Sang Niang took her fabric and headed to town. Naturally, she was in high spirits. The silver she used to earn had all been taken by Qian Laotai. She didn’t even have a single copper coin in her hand. This time, after selling the fabric, she would buy some meat and some malt sugar for Qing-ger.

Xiao Qing was very obedient at Lin Yu’s place, neither noisy nor troublesome. He tilted his little head and watched Lin Yu embroider. Lin Yu smiled at him, and Xiao Qing also revealed his small pearly-rice teeth. After being well-fed and well-cared for by Sang Niang for a period of time, Xiao Qing’s face had even grown some flesh. Lin Yu couldn’t help but reach out and pinch it.

Not long after Sang Niang left, Qian Laotai peeked and crept into the courtyard. The white dog, Baixue, lying in the yard, barked at her, startling Qian Laotai into stepping back.

“Yu-ger is embroidering, I’ll watch over Xiao Qing, it’s fine. Look at that, Sang Niang, I’m at home, and she won’t let me watch him, but instead bothers you.”

Xiao Qing was a bit afraid of Qian Laotai. When he saw her coming, he hid behind Lin Yu. Lin Yu shielded Xiao Qing behind him. “I can watch over him just fine. If there’s nothing else, then head back. The hunting dog at home doesn’t like strangers.”

Baixue started barking at Qian Laotai again, and she retreated several steps and hastily left the courtyard.

She spat in anger. “Busybody!”

She didn’t believe Sang Niang could keep that little bastard under her nose all the time.

Sang Niang carried a bolt of cloth and walked toward the town. When she left the village and saw someone she knew, she exchanged a few words. “Auntie, are you just watering vegetables?”

“Oh, it’s Sang Niang, I haven’t seen you in a few days.”

“Mm, I was at home weaving cloth. I just finished and am heading to town to sell it.”

“You aren’t bringing Xiao Qing?”

“I asked Yu-ger to help watch him. It’s slow to walk with him.”

Sang Niang carried her cloth and chatted for a bit before leaving. Though her cloth skirt was patched, it was clean. Her hair was neatly combed, and with a smile on her face, she looked much more spirited than before.

Sang Niang thought she needed to hurry to town. Since Xiao Qing wasn’t with her today, she could walk faster.

“Who were you just talking to, Auntie?”

“Qian Gui’er’s wife, Sang Niang.”

“Ah, that’s Sang Niang? Didn’t that Qian Laotai say she’d gone mad?”

“She spoke very politely, didn’t look like she’d gone mad at all. I think Qian Laotai was just spouting nonsense.”

“Sang Niang is pitiful, too. She’s been married for three years, and we’ve hardly seen her. How’d she end up with that kind of family?”

Sang Niang didn’t return by noon. Lin Yu rubbed his wrist—he was almost done embroidering. In a few days, he could deliver it to He Daniang.

Seeing Lin Yu set down the embroidery needle, Xiao Qing immediately brought over a bowl of water. “Ama, drink water.”

Lin Yu rubbed Xiao Qing’s head. “So good.”

Xiao Qing happily bared his small rice-grain teeth again. Lin Yu took two sips of water and went to cook. Thinking it was just him and the little boy at home, he decided to make noodles—easy for the child to chew too.

Lin Yu made hand-pulled noodles with shredded pork and greens. He and Xiao Qing each held a bowl and ate in the courtyard.

It wasn’t until the afternoon that Sang Niang returned. The moment Xiao Qing saw her, he ran over. “Mama, you’re back!”

“Mm, did you listen to your Ama and behave?”

“Mm! Xiao Qing listened to Ama!”

“You’re back.” Lin Yu brought a stool and poured water for Sang Niang to rest.

With a faint smile on her face, Sang Niang took out some maltose from the bamboo basket and gave it to Lin Yu to eat. Lin Yu declined, not wanting to take from her when she lived a hard life—he couldn’t compete with a child for food.

“You have some. Xiao Qing is still young, he can’t eat that much.”

Unable to refuse, Lin Yu finally took a piece. Only then did Sang Niang smile. Xiao Qing also clung to her side, nibbling the maltose bit by bit.

Lin Yu noticed a piece of pork in her basket and was naturally happy for Sang Niang. “Things have been okay at home lately?”

“Mm, it’s fine. She doesn’t dare do anything to me now.”

Lin Yu nodded with a smile. That Qian Laotai told everyone Sang Niang had gone mad and was possessed by something unclean. He’d heard it himself once while buying tofu at Chun-ger’s house. But people just sighed, saying a good wife had been tormented to madness.

“That’s good. I can see Xiao Qing’s face has grown some flesh.”

After chatting a bit more, Sang Niang took Xiao Qing and went home. Her days were better than before now. When she saw something in the kitchen, she’d eat it. If she had no coins to buy meat, she’d just catch a chicken in the backyard.

If Qian Laotai dared talk nonsense, she’d go scratching at her window in the dead of night with her hair loose.

Today, having sold a bolt of cloth and earning a few strings of coins, she bought some meat and maltose. She was someone who had already died once—what was there to be afraid of anymore?

These days, Lin Yu was worried about Dong-ger’s situation and was waiting for Wei Qingshan to ask around when he went to town. After saving up a few days’ worth of game, Wei Qingshan carried a bamboo basket and left. Lin Yu saw him off. “Go early and come back early.”

After sending off Wei Qingshan, Lin Yu went to water and weed his small vegetable garden. His small vegetable garden was growing very well, with winter melons and pumpkins already beginning to put out tendrils. He went to the backyard to find some bamboo, split it into bamboo strips, then drove them into the ground and tied them together with hemp rope into a person-height frame.

He didn’t embroider today. Yesterday, he had already finished embroidering the wedding clothes and two quilt covers. He didn’t send them to the He family. He always felt a bit uneasy in his heart, afraid something might go wrong in the meantime.

Lin Yu finished tying up the frame, then used hemp rope to tie the vines of sponge gourds and bottle gourds to the bamboo frame, so that they would know where to climb. The winter melons and pumpkins bore heavy fruit, which wasn’t suitable for climbing frames, so Lin Yu simply let them crawl all over the ground.

He worked all morning and finally tidied up the vegetable garden. Looking at the lush green patch of the garden, Lin Yu felt happy in his heart. He now not only had his own vegetable garden, but also his own chickens.

Although it couldn’t be considered wealthy, as long as he wasn’t lacking food or clothing, he was already very happy.

Lin Yu glanced a few times toward the entrance. It was almost noon, and still no sign of Wei Qingshan, so he went to cook. After he finished eating, he left the food in the pot to stay warm, so when Wei Qingshan returned, he could eat directly.

The weather was gradually getting hotter. The two had already switched to light spring blankets. The crops in the dry fields were also nearly ripe, and the leaves below were already turning yellow. It seemed that in a few days, they could be harvested.

Lin Yu’s house was in a remote area. Standing at the entrance, he could see the fields of others, one plot after another. He was quite envious, thinking to himself that if he embroidered more and saved up some silver, he and Wei Qingshan could also have a plot of their own.

Wei Qingshan had not returned yet. Lin Yu had just finished eating when Chun-ger came over, carrying a basket in his hand, his face full of joy, “Yu-ger, you’re home.”

“Hey, are you not busy at home anymore?”

“How could it not be busy? Everything’s being managed by Wang Er. Now I just help out on the side.”

Chun-ger beamed as he handed the basket of items to Lin Yu. Inside were a few pieces of tofu and several eggs. “I especially came over today to thank you.”

“Thank me for what?” Lin Yu was completely confused.

Chun-ger spoke softly to Lin Yu, “I’m pregnant. I already had the doctor check these past couple of days. The doctor said it’s been more than a month.”

Lin Yu was both surprised and happy. “That’s great.”

Chun-ger touched his still-flat stomach, smiling with a face full of happiness. “It’s still early, so outsiders don’t know yet. I only told my mother and the others. When my father and mother heard, they were very happy. Yesterday they brought me some eggs. I brought some to you.”

“I don’t want them, don’t want them. You take them back and nourish your body.”

“Just take them if I tell you to. I counted the days—it must’ve been back when I had that fight with Wang Er and came over here and touched the embroidery on your quilt cover, and then I got pregnant!”

Lin Yu couldn’t quite believe it himself. “Really?”

“Of course. I’ve had a sore lower back these past few days. I thought it was just from working too hard. Saw a doctor and turns out I was pregnant!” Chun-ger was truly happy. “Wang Er and I have been married for two years, and only now do we finally have one. That man of mine is over the moon. If I hadn’t stopped him, he would’ve come over personally to thank you.”

Lin Yu also started laughing, his eyes glancing at Chun-ger’s belly a few times—there was a baby inside now.

“We agreed—my baby’s tiger-head hat will be embroidered by you. Once three months have passed and it’s stable, I’ll get some red fabric and bring it over to you.”

“All right.”

Lin Yu carefully sent Chun-ger off. He was happy for Chun-ger, too. It was not easy for a ger to bear children—this was a great joy.

Lin Yu himself couldn’t believe that the quilt cover he embroidered was that magical—just by touching the child on it, one could get pregnant. If that were the case, why didn’t he have a child?

Not long after, Wei Qingshan also came back. His face looked a bit serious, and Lin Yu’s heart thudded. “Is it something bad?”

“Yeah, I asked around in town—there really is something wrong with that Gao Shuwen.”

Lin Yu was a little anxious. “Is it a matter of bad character or what?”

“People say Gao Shuwen has been fooling around with a widowed ger in town. That widowed ger hasn’t been in town these days, they heard he went back to his maternal home.”

Lin Yu was a bit dazed. “Ah? How… how could that be…”

“This sort of thing is hard for outsiders to talk about. I’ll go give Dazhu a few hints that there’s something wrong with that Gao Shuwen, and he’ll understand.”

“Okay.”

Wei Qingshan ate his meal and then went to the He family. The He family was now full of joy. Dong-ger’s marriage was the envy of who knew how many people in the village.

The people in the village had lived by farming for generations. Families that had someone with a craft lived a bit better, but someone who had studied, and even worked as a bookkeeper in town, this kind of marriage was like finding a treasure with a lantern in hand.

Wei Qingshan found He Dazhu and said a few things. He didn’t state it outright, just said that while in town today, he ran into Gao Shuwen and saw him acting very intimate with a ger.

How could He Dazhu not understand what Wei Qingshan was getting at? Wei Qingshan was a sincere man—how could he have come to say something unless it was serious? It must not be a simple matter.

There were just over a month left until the set wedding date, and their family had already begun preparations. The wedding date happened to coincide with the busy farming season, so they needed to find people to prepare the feast, invite people over to help, and inform the relatives—just in case others couldn’t spare the time during such a busy period.

They had already hired the cooks for the feast and had even informed some of the relatives. If something went wrong now, it would be a big problem.

After Wei Qingshan left, He Dazhu told He Daniang about the matter. He Dazhu looked troubled. “Mother, what should we do?”

“You go to the town tomorrow, find out clearly, and then come back.”

He Dazhu went to town early the next morning, found the rice shop where Gao Shuwen worked, and waited outside. He kept watch the whole morning but didn’t see Gao Shuwen come out with anyone.

He found a nearby tea stall and sat down for tea. “Waiter, is the bookkeeper at that rice shop called Gao Shuwen? I think he looks pretty good. I have a ger in my family…”

“You mean that Gao Shuwen? You probably won’t be able to make that marriage happen. That one, he’s not lacking for romance.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You see that rice shop? Heh heh, he got the bookkeeper job through a widower from that shop’s family. Not long ago, I even saw a little ger come looking for him. That Gao Shuwen really is something. Tsk tsk.”

He Dazhu’s heart thudded. This matter was even more serious than Wei Qingshan’s saying he was intimate with someone.

That Gao Shuwen actually had such poor conduct. If their Dong-ger married him, wouldn’t that just mean he would be getting bullied?

He Dazhu didn’t go back. He asked around the town again and then headed for the countryside. He had to get to the bottom of this today!