As soon as Wei Qingshan entered the courtyard, he saw the bright red goji berries drying in the sun. “You went out?”

“Mmhm, we just strolled around nearby.”

Wei Qingshan picked one of the wild pheasants that was seriously injured and carried it out. “We’ll stew chicken tonight.”

“Mm!”

Lin Yu quickly went to the kitchen to boil water, while Wei Qingshan cleaned the pheasant in the courtyard. The remaining one was locked in the cage.

Lin Yu used a small clay pot to stew the chicken soup. He added the red dates and the goji berries he had just picked today, and stir-fried a plate of wild vegetables with lard.

Zhao Yueniang was helping to keep the fire going. Smelling the aroma of the chicken, she kept swallowing her saliva. Her older brother’s cooking smelled amazing!

Even Dahei and Baixue came running over at the smell. Baixue directly stretched out her head to rub against Lin Yu’s leg. Lin Yu pushed Baixue’s dog head. “It’ll be ready soon.”

The clay pot stewed on the fire barrel for more than half an hour, with a layer of golden chicken fat floating on top. Lin Yu used leaves as a potholder and brought the pot out. “Time to eat, time to eat.”

Lin Yu first picked out the chicken neck and chicken feet inside, then mixed some soup with rice to feed Dahei and Baixue. Baixue finally stopped circling around his legs.

The whole clay pot of wild pheasant was picked clean by the three of them. Lin Yu even used the chicken soup to soak his rice and ate a full bowl. Feeling a little too full, and since it wasn’t dark yet, he scooped up water with a gourd ladle and poured it over his little vegetable garden.

It was already a bit late in the season to grow things like gourds and loofahs, so he only planted some cucumbers and small greens. He also picked wild vegetables from outside. Now, he wasn’t worried about running out of greens to eat.

When it got dark, Lin Yu wiped himself down and lay on the bed to rest. He thought of how Zhao Yueniang had said today that she wanted to help him take care of the children, and Lin Yu’s heart felt warm. He also wanted a little baby. With more people at home, it would be livelier. Dong-ger had gotten married even later than him, and now their child was already several months old.

Lin Yu scooted over toward Wei Qingshan and reached out to untie the inner belt of Wei Qingshan’s clothes. Wei Qingshan opened his eyes. “You want it?”

“I do,” Lin Yu said softly.

Wei Qingshan pulled him into his arms. If not for worrying that his little husband’s body wouldn’t be able to take it, Wei Qingshan would have wanted to mess around with his little husband every day.

These days, Wei Qingshan would eat breakfast and go hunting. Lin Yu and Zhao Yueniang stayed home, cooking or went for a walk in the nearby woods. At night, Lin Yu would reach out his small hand and tug at the inner belt of Wei Qingshan’s clothes.

Even if Wei Qingshan was slow, he could tell by now. “No, not today.”

Lin Yu looked a little aggrieved. “You don’t like it?”

Wei Qingshan let out a laugh. “It’s been four or five days in a row now. If this keeps going, your body will get weak.”

“But… but… it feels good.”

Lin Yu had to lie against his conscience. It did feel good, but only the first two times. After that, it just felt tiring. During the day, his lower back always felt sore.

After Lin Yu said that, his face burned. It was only under the dim moonlight that he dared to say such a thing. After speaking, he felt a bit wanton and buried his face in Wei Qingshan’s neck, not daring to lift his head.

Wei Qingshan understood his little husband well. He had been acting strange these days; something was definitely up. He gently stroked his little husband’s head to comfort him. “What’s going on lately?”

Lin Yu shook his head and didn’t speak. His tears were about to fall—he wanted a little baby.

Wei Qingshan felt a patch of dampness at his neck and panicked. He quickly sat up and hugged his little husband to comfort him. “What is it? Don’t cry, don’t cry. I’ll give it to you.”

Lin Yu cried softly, not daring to make a sound. “Qingshan, I don’t have a baby. Chun-ger, Dong-ger, they all have one. Only I don’t.”

So it was because of that. Wei Qingshan felt both amused and helpless. Just because he didn’t have a baby, his little husband was crying from anxiety. “Why are you so silly? So what if we don’t have one? What’s there to cry about?”

“Is it because my pregnancy mole’s color is too light?”

“No, we just don’t have one. Isn’t it fine like this, the two of us?”

“Then you don’t want a baby anymore?”

“What baby? You’re my baby. No one is more adorable than my Lin Yu, my husband. Raising just you is enough for me.”

Lin Yu had been feeling sad just now. But now, with Wei Qingshan joking so shamelessly, he got so angry that he punched Wei Qingshan’s chest twice. “No, don’t talk nonsense.”

Wei Qingshan wiped away his little husband’s tears. “Life isn’t easy right now. We don’t even know what the situation is in the village. If we had a baby now, even the baby might suffer. Besides, even if we never have one in the future, the two of us can still live a good life together.”

Lin Yu thought it over, too. This year really hadn’t been peaceful. Even if they had a baby, where would they get goat’s milk?

He was too embarrassed to lift his head. He really had been too reckless these past few days.

“Alright, go to sleep. Tomorrow I’ll go down the mountain to the village and take the wild pheasants from home to sell while I’m at it.”

“Mm.”

The next day, after eating, Wei Qingshan led the mule and took two cages of wild pheasants down the mountain. They had caught quite a lot of pheasants these days, and there wasn’t enough space to keep them all at home. It was just right to take a look at how things were in the village, too.

Lin Yu felt a bit relieved that Wei Qingshan was going down the mountain to sell game today. After what had happened yesterday, he didn’t even dare look at Wei Qingshan now. Just because Wei Qingshan didn’t agree, he had cried—he really was too spoiled.

Wei Qingshan led the mule down the mountain. When he returned to the village, he didn’t see many people around. Every household had its doors shut, and only the sound of voices could be heard from within.

Wei Qingshan tied the mule in the courtyard and went to the He family to ask about the current situation.

When he knocked, a cautious voice came from inside, “Who is it?”

“It’s me, Wei Qingshan.”

Only then did He Dazhu, who had been hiding behind the door holding a stick, hurry to open it. “Qingshan’s back—come in quickly.”

“Why does every household have its doors shut?”

He Dazhu brought him a stool and poured water. “Don’t mention it. This year’s second crop has basically failed. There hasn’t been a single drop of rain. Now no one dares go out, afraid that refugees might come to rob food. I heard there are more and more refugees in town. How’ve you been up in the mountains?”

“Pretty good. Everything’s been sorted.”

A month had passed, and it was the hottest time of year. As soon as Wei Qingshan got down the mountain, he felt the heat was especially intense. It was much cooler deep in the mountains.

“Has anyone gone to town lately?”

“Not many. The town is a mess now. I heard that several nearby villages have had refugees stealing and robbing. We’re a bit farther away, so it’s still relatively safe. The villagers from those few villages are fleeing elsewhere. Xia Hehua’s family came over—her family lives close to town.”

Wei Qingshan hadn’t expected the countryside to be like this already. If the refugees really started to cause trouble, life would be hard for everyone. There was no need for him to take the risk of bringing wild pheasants into town to sell. He might as well just sell them in the village. Since he already brought them down, he couldn’t bring them back up again. Just sell them like before—thirty wen each.

“Qingshan, why did you come down? Did you come back to get something?”

“I came down to get some news and brought a few wild pheasants to sell.”

“There’s no going into town now. Starving people will do anything.”

“I’ll just sell a few in the village and then go back.”

This time, Wei Qingshan brought down seven or eight wild pheasants. He led the mule and started calling out to sell them in the village. Someone heard his voice and stuck their head out to look. “It’s Qingshan—he’s back.”

“He came down to sell some game.”

Wei Qingshan’s wild pheasants weren’t expensive. Nowadays, rice in town is costly. Buying a pheasant to get a taste of meat was more worthwhile than buying grain.

The He family bought one. When Shi Tou heard it was Wei Qingshan’s voice, he opened the door and bought one too. Wei Qingshan chatted with him for a bit, then led the mule to continue hawking in the village.

Now every household had shut its doors, and even the sound of conversations had become much quieter. Everyone was tightening their belts to get by. Only the Wei household was particularly noisy.

Ever since Xia Hehua’s mother and older brother had moved in, there was a small quarrel every three days and a big fight every five. Wei Laotai resented the people from Xia Hehua’s family for eating their rice without giving any silver and kept thinking about driving them out.

Of course, Xia Hehua refused. The nearby villages close to town had all been harassed by refugees. What if something happened to her mother and brother if they went back?

Granny Xia was also someone who loved to eat and hated work. She ate the household’s rice and still complained there wasn’t any meat. When she heard there were wild pheasants being sold at only thirty wen each, she stuck her head out to look.

“Hehua, Hehua, buy a pheasant for your mother to eat.”

“Ma, do you know what kind of times we’re in now? You still want to eat pheasant? It’s good enough just to have a full stomach.” Xia Hehua also stood on a dirt mound and looked out. When she saw it was Wei Qingshan leading the mule and selling pheasants, she shouted, “Wei Er’s big brother, what are you selling for? We’ve got no silver.”

Granny Xia’s eyes immediately lit up when she heard it was Wei Er’s real older brother. “Just go over and ask for one. We’re all family.”

“They wouldn’t even look at us. He bought a mule and land now— do you think he still cares about us?”

Granny Xia didn’t care. She pushed open the door and came out. “You’re Wei Da, right? I’m Hehua’s mother. I’ve always heard Hehua say she had a capable big brother. Aiyo, now that I see you today, you really are impressive!”

Xia Hehua’s older brother, Xia Banzhi, also came out. “Big Brother, caught so much game, huh?”

As he spoke, he reached out to touch Wei Qingshan’s pheasant cage, but Wei Qingshan used his whip to flick him aside. “Thirty wen each.”

Xia Banzhi forced out a flattering smile. “We’re all brothers, aren’t we?”

Wei Qingshan couldn’t be bothered with them and just pulled the mule away. Xia Banzhi hadn’t had any meat in a long time, and when he saw Wei Qingshan leaving, he tugged at his mother. “Ma, the pheasants are cheap—hurry and buy one!”

Granny Xia hadn’t expected Wei Er’s biological older brother to be so unfeeling. Back when Xia Hehua had just married in, her family had gotten quite a lot of meat—Xia Hehua used to send over wild pheasants and rabbits every few days. But ever since the family split, they had nothing left.

She was craving too, so after holding back for a bit, she still called out, “It’s just thirty wen per pheasant, right? Give me one.”

Granny Xia handed over the coins and rummaged through the pheasant cage, picking what she thought was the biggest one. Her hand even got scratched by the pheasants a few times in the cage.

Granny Xia carried the pheasant into the house with a showy air and handed it to Xia Hehua. “Hehua, cook this up for lunch.”

When Wei Laotai saw that Xia Hehua’s mother was actually willing to spend money to buy a pheasant—after mooching off them for so long—her expression finally softened a bit.

Xia Hehua quickly went to prepare the chicken. Wei Laotai was strict, always acting like she wanted to count every single grain of rice they ate. She had tried driving them out several times, but the Xia mother and son just clung on and refused to leave, which made her furious.

Xia Hehua cooked the chicken. While she went into the kitchen to get a bowl, the chicken meat in the basin had already been snatched clean. When she saw that only the chicken head and chicken feet were left inside, she was so angry that she directly grabbed the basin back. That leftover soup—she was going to drink it all by herself!

After selling all the pheasants, Wei Qingshan led the mule and left. What he didn’t know was that not long after he went down the mountain, Zhao Jiazu and Zhao Dazhi came looking for him.

The two of them were truly out of options and wanted to beg Lin Yu for something to eat. There were too many refugees in town now. In the past, the two of them could at least beg for food, but now they couldn’t even get a bite.

When the two arrived, they found nothing and had no choice but to go back to town to beg again. The village chief felt that if these refugees broke into their village, it would be trouble. Every household had elderly and children, so they simply set up roadblocks and made every family send someone to guard. Unless the person was a relative of someone in the village, no outsiders were allowed to enter.

Since Zhao Jiazu and his son couldn’t find Lin Yu, they went to look for Yao Jinling’s family. Back then, their family’s grain had all been taken by the Yao family. If the Yao family hadn’t taken their grain, they wouldn’t have ended up selling their land and yard, and now, they were reduced to begging on the street.

When Zhao Jiazu and Zhao Dazhi arrived, they happened to see Yao Laoda pushing a woman out. “No, no, you can’t come in. If you hadn’t run off with twenty taels of our silver back then, would we be starving now?!”

“Big Brother, Big Brother, I’m begging you, let me in, let me in!”

Zhao Dazhi saw—wasn’t that his wife? He immediately stepped forward to pull her. Yao Laoda thought someone had come to rob his house, so he grabbed a stick and struck twice hard. “Get lost! Get lost!”

Zhao Dazhi cried out in pain and rolled to the ground. “Yao Laoda! Back then, you took over a dozen sacks of our grain—give me back my family’s grain!”

Yao Laoda saw it was someone he knew and spat, “So it’s you, Zhao Dazhi? Back then, breaking your leg was already letting you off easy. It’s good enough that I didn’t ask you for the twenty taels of silver—you still dare to come asking for grain?! You three get as far away as you can!”

Yao Laoda swung the stick at the three of them, beating them until they covered their heads and ran.

Yao Jinling’s clothes were still in decent shape, but her hair was a mess. Zhao Dazhi kicked her. “Stinking woman, didn’t you run off and cheat on Lao Tzu? Now look what’s become of you. Pah!”

Back when she was at the Zhao family, Yao Jinling couldn’t stand the poverty, so she went to town and got involved with a traveling merchant. Now that things weren’t stable in town, that merchant abandoned her immediately. With nowhere to go, Yao Jinling had no choice but to look for her father and older brother, and they hadn’t even let her in the door.

You have to know, when she was with that merchant, she had even sent meat home a few times. But now that she had fallen from grace, her father and brother wouldn’t even spare a mouthful of food.

Yao Jinling was furious and bit down hard on Zhao Dazhi’s hand. Zhao Dazhi screamed and couldn’t shake her off. Yao Jinling’s mouth was full of blood. She spat. “Zhao Dazhi, the way I am now is all your fault! And you call yourself a scholar? Pah! Screw your grandfather!”

Yao Jinling let out a strange laugh and suddenly began flailing about, “I’m the top scholar’s wife! I’m the top scholar’s wife, hehe!”

Zhao Dazhi’s hand was bleeding profusely. He clutched his hand, dragging his lame leg, and kicked Yao Jinling. “Stinking woman! Stinking woman!”

Yao Jinling laughed and ran off. “I’m the top scholar’s wife! What are you looking at! What are you looking at! Why aren’t you kneeling to greet this lady!”

Zhao Jiazu snorted. “She’s gone mad. What a pity—otherwise she’d be worth at least two taels of silver.”

Zhao Jiazu patted his ragged clothes and walked off, not even caring about his lame son. In times like these, he was already struggling just to take care of himself. Zhao Dazhi had a lame leg—he couldn’t even compete when fighting over porridge. Bringing him along was just bringing along a burden.

Since that trip down the mountain, Wei Qingshan didn’t go again. They had lived in the mountains all this time, and it had only rained once, a light rain. The village probably hadn’t even had a drop of rain.

Wei Qingshan went out hunting. Lin Yu and Zhao Yueniang stayed home to look after the house. Of the hens they brought, two were nesting again. Lin Yu was very happy—he placed fifteen eggs in one nest for the hen to incubate.

At the courtyard entrance, the corn and peanuts had already grown to about a finger’s height, but the weather was too dry. Lin Yu and Zhao Yueniang carried water, watering them one by one. As long as the crops didn’t lack water, they grew pretty well.

Wei Qingshan went hunting every few days. The chicken coop at home could no longer hold all the pheasants. Lin Yu wove many more bamboo cages. The pheasants and wild rabbits that couldn’t be eaten for now were kept in the cages and raised until they could go down the mountain again and bring them to the village.

The weather was too hot. Lin Yu would now and then go with Zhao Yueniang to the little stream at the entrance to catch small fish and shrimp. The cool water reached past their ankles. Lin Yu had a small bamboo basket hanging from his waist, holding a few finger-length fish inside.

He bent over and turned over the stones in the stream. A small crab hiding in a crevice scurried away with its claws raised. Lin Yu was quick-eyed and deft-handed, pinched it up, and threw it into the bamboo basket at his waist with a big smile on his face.

Zhao Yueniang also bent over and looked in the water. “Hey!”

Zhao Yueniang scooped up a handful of water, and a little fish was swimming inside. “Brother, I caught one too!”

When the weather got hot, the two of them often came here to catch fish. After standing in the water for a while, the small fish they caught were enough to make a pot of fish soup.

After getting tired from catching fish, the two of them would sit on the rocks to rest. Zhao Yueniang stepped into the stream to play, saying, “Brother, actually, it wouldn’t be bad if we could live here forever. There’s none of that annoying stuff, it’s quiet and peaceful. You, brother-in-law, and I, the three of us living here.”

Lin Yu chuckled, “Silly girl, you don’t want to get married?”

Zhao Yueniang blushed, and she stomped on the stream, “Brother, what are you talking about? I’m still young.”

The two of them sat comfortably on the rocks, enjoying the shade. They had been living here for two months already. They lacked neither food nor clothes, and life was peaceful and beautiful. During these days, they hadn’t encountered any wild beasts. Lin Yu had long since forgotten the hidden dangers of the dense forest.

“It’s just that living in the mountains and forests makes it hard to open up large areas of land. If only we could plant more crops here.”

The cornfield at the entrance, as soon as it was watered, would sprout wild grass within a couple of days. Lin Yu and Zhao Yueniang weeded especially diligently, and only then did the field stay free of weeds.

After living here for so many days, not to mention Lin Yu—even Zhao Yueniang didn’t feel like the forest was dangerous anymore. In fact, it was even more comfortable than living in the village. Sometimes, the two of them would even go farther out to pick goji berries or wild fruits.

After sitting there for a while and seeing that it was almost noon, they got up and headed back.

The small fish and shrimp they caught were dumped into a basin to be kept alive for the time being, waiting to be eaten together when Wei Qingshan came back in the afternoon.

There wasn’t much to do in the afternoon, so Lin Yu took out the goji berries they had picked to turn them over and dry them. He and Zhao Yueniang had picked quite a lot of goji berries recently. Once dried, it would be half a sack. They could sell it for a few taels of silver once they went down the mountain.

Lin Yu then sat at the door of the wooden house to do embroidery. The white silk he had brought was almost used up. A few more days of embroidery, and he would likely finish it all.

Seeing that it was getting late, Lin Yu packed up the embroidery basket and went to cook. He picked a cured pig’s trotter from the kitchen shed, chopped it up, and put it into a clay pot to boil.

Zhao Yueniang helped tend the fire, while he went outside to clean the small fish and shrimp they had caught today, planning to make a river fish dough drop soup later.

After Lin Yu finished, he opened the door and looked outside. Wei Qingshan used to come back early before sunset. But today, the sky was already getting dark, and he still hadn’t returned. Lin Yu felt a bit worried. Just earlier today, he and Zhao Yueniang had said how nice life in the mountains was. Now, Wei Qingshan was late coming back in the afternoon—could he have run into a wild beast?

Lin Yu kept going to the door to wait. Not until it was completely dark did he hear Dahei’s barking and hurriedly run out.

“Why are you back so late today?”

Lin Yu only realized after getting closer that Wei Qingshan was leading a half-grown fawn behind him. Its leg seemed injured, and it walked very slowly.

“A fawn!”

“I spotted its hoofprints today and spent quite a bit of effort in the forest to catch it. Its leg got bitten by Dahei. We’ll raise it at home for now, and later we can take it down the mountain and sell it.”

Lin Yu didn’t take over the reins, afraid the hard-caught prey might run away.

Only then did Lin Yu notice that the sleeve of Wei Qingshan’s short brown coat was torn. “Hurry and come inside. Are you hurt?”

“No, it was just a tree branch that tore my sleeve. I’ll have to trouble my little husband to patch it up for me.”

The two of them went back home together. Wei Qingshan first replaced the rope with a sturdier one and tied the fawn in the mule shed. Only then did he wash his hands and enter the house.

Seeing that Wei Qingshan had returned safely, Lin Yu was very happy and quickly brought out the dishes, scooped rice, and placed them in front of Wei Qingshan. “Time to eat. Today, Yueniang and I caught some small fish and shrimp and made dough drop soup. Have a taste.”

Wei Qingshan had been running in the forest all day and only had dry rations for lunch. Now that he could have a meal with soup, he was very pleased. Besides, his little husband was good at cooking. Wei Qingshan ate a bowl of rice with the spicy pig’s trotter and drank two bowls of dough drop soup.

Zhao Yueniang carried the basin out to wash the dishes. Lin Yu called out to her, “Yueniang, it’s already dark, leave that for tomorrow.”

“Okay, got it, Brother. You should rest early, too.”

Lin Yu fetched a basin of water to help Wei Qingshan wash up. He helped Wei Qingshan remove the torn clothes and then noticed a long, gushing, bloody scratch on his arm. “How did you get hurt!”

Lin Yu quickly pulled Wei Qingshan to sit down and held up the oil lamp to take a closer look. He saw that the scratch on Wei Qingshan’s arm was swollen, and in some places, blood was oozing out.

Wei Qingshan hadn’t even noticed it himself. He didn’t feel any pain. If Lin Yu hadn’t pointed it out, he wouldn’t have realized. When he was chasing the deer today, he ran too fast. The forest was thick, so it was inevitable to get scratched.

If he had known, he definitely wouldn’t have let Lin Yu see it, so his little husband wouldn’thave feltl upset.

Lin Yu felt terribly distressed. He soaked a sweat cloth to wipe Wei Qingshan’s arm. “Don’t move. Let me wipe it for you.”