There was a table placed in the middle of the courtyard. He Daniang busied herself pouring water for everyone. “Yu-ger, you are doing well too, right?”

“Very well, thank you, Aunt He.”

Lin Yu wiped the sweat from his forehead and took a sip of water. When he returned home, he had thought the courtyard would be overgrown with weeds, but when he came in, it was so clean that not even a single fallen leaf could be seen. Just now, while helping Wei Qingshan move rabbit cages to the backyard, even the pigsty and mule shed had been cleaned spotless. The water jars at home were also full.

“No need to thank me, I should be the one thanking you and Qingshan.”

After unloading, it was already close to noon. He Daniang and the others expressed their thanks and left. Lin Yu appreciated their help with the move, so he gave each family a wind-dried chicken. He Daniang and Shi Niang tried to refuse, but Lin Yu simply said it was for the children to eat, and only then did the two accept it.

He Dongdong and Shi Tou each held a child and came to say goodbye. He Dongdong held Yun-ger’s little hand. “Say thank you to your Ama. Tell him we’ll come back to play another day.”

Yun-ger reached out his little hands, asking Lin Yu for a hug. He Dongdong said a few words to Lin Yu, then left carrying Yun-ger.

Yun-ger saw that Lin Yu was no longer holding him, and with a “wah,”—he burst into tears. Lin Yu had lived with the two little ones for several months and was also very fond of them. Yun-ger didn’t usually cry. Seeing him cry, Lin Yu couldn’t bear it either and wiped his eyes.

He Dongdong quickly picked up Yun-ger and left, thinking that once they were out of sight, the crying would stop. “Alright, we’ll come over again tomorrow.”

Yun-ger, eyes brimming with tears, reached out toward Lin Yu, “Ama, hug~ hug~”

Once Yun-ger started crying, Lei-zi beside him also began to cry. The two little ones cried so hard that they couldn’t be comforted. But they were already heading home, and it was time for lunch. They couldn’t just stay here. So the two of them coaxed and carried the children as they walked away.

Wei Qingshan saw Lin Yu reluctant to part and led him into the courtyard. “If you like them, we’ll go over to visit tomorrow. It’s so close.”

Lin Yu nodded. He didn’t want to cry either, but Yun-ger and Lei-zi started crying, and he couldn’t hold it in. Lin Yu wiped his tears. Things were peaceful now, and they could go home and farm again—this in itself was a great joy.

At noon, Lin Yu rolled out noodles, and the three of them had just finished eating when the He brothers and Shi Tou arrived. There were still things on the mountain that hadn’t been brought down—they needed to make another trip.

After Wei Qingshan went out that afternoon, Lin Yu hung out the quilts to air and, along with Zhao Yueniang, cleaned up the house. Then they changed to the lighter spring bedding. It was warmer down here than up in the mountains.

The thick bedding and coats were just waiting for warmer weather so they could be taken apart and washed, then stored away. The two of them swept and wiped, busy all afternoon. They finally put the bedding back in place and got everything in order.

By the time Wei Qingshan drove the mule cart back, it was already dark. The wild chickens and hares were placed in the backyard, and the three deer were also tied up in the backyard. Wei Qingshan went down into the cellar and carried up the remaining four sacks of grain. After all their days in the mountains, one sack remained. Wei Qingshan had just had Shi Tou carry half of it back home.

Originally, Shi Tou didn’t want to take it, but Wei Qingshan persuaded him, saying they couldn’t let the two kids go hungry. Only then did Shi Tou accept it. The road ahead was long— there was no need to worry about not having the chance to repay them later.

That night, after dinner, they boiled water, and all three took a bath and changed clothes. Everyone had been exhausted all day and went into their rooms early.

Lin Yu took out his small wooden box, which held all of their belongings, as well as the land deed for the five mu of farmland.

Lin Yu took it out and looked at it. They hadn’t spent much while living on the mountain, and after buying land last year, there were still one hundred and fifty silver coins left. There was grain at home, so they didn’t need to buy any—these silver coins were enough for them to start a business.

Lin Yu picked up the land deed and looked at it again and again. “Qingshan, we really have land now. In a few days, we’ll be able to start planting.”

“Tomorrow we’ll go check it out. The paddy field should be irrigated.”

“Mm!”

Lin Yu put the wooden box away, blew out the lamp, and lay down early to rest with Wei Qingshan.

The next morning, after breakfast, the three of them headed toward their farmland. Wei Qingshan knew where the land was, but Lin Yu and Zhao Yueniang were visiting for the first time. Lin Yu changed into a lighter padded jacket today, feeling much freer—not like during the winter when he had to wear thick coats and even layer on a rabbit-fur jacket. It was hard to even move his arms back then.

Walking along the road, Lin Yu couldn’t stop smiling. When they bumped into familiar villagers, they greeted them cheerfully. “Oh, Qingshan and Brother Yu are back.”

“Yeah, we’re back.”

Now, many villagers were already working in the fields—pulling weeds, irrigating, turning the soil—it was lively in the fields.

Wei Qingshan pointed to three mu of paddy fields and showed Lin Yu. “This is our land.”

“These are our paddy fields,” Lin Yu couldn’t hide his excitement. The three mu weren’t large and could be seen at a glance, but it was their family’s land. From now on, they wouldn’t have to buy grain to eat anymore.

These were three mu of excellent paddy fields in a great location. At the end of the plot, there was an irrigation ditch. There was no drought this year, and the river water was flowing through the ditch. Wei Qingshan opened up the ditch to let water flow into their paddy field. With the field flooded and the soil turned over, they could plant grain in a few days.

Zhao Yueniang happily grabbed Lin Yu’s sleeve. “Brother! Our family has land now!”

“Mm!”

After opening the ditch, the three of them stood there for a while, then went to check out the other two mu of dry land. Last year, no one planted a second crop due to the drought, so the dry fields hadn’t been tilled. Although there was no drought this year, spring still brought little rain, and the dry field was cracked into chunks.

“This land needs to be thoroughly tilled.”

“Everyone else has gone to the fields to work. Our family should start tomorrow too—we can’t miss this year’s spring plowing.”

“Alright.”

The three of them, after checking the land, returned to the village. After a year of turmoil, although everyone still looked a bit pale, now that they could farm again, everyone had smiles on their faces. Children in the village played and ran along the roads, and the village seemed to have regained its vitality.

As the three of them passed by the old Wei family courtyard, they heard crying inside, and a crowd had gathered at the entrance.

“Where’s my Ye-ger? Where’s my Ye-ger? Give me back my Ye-ger! Give me back my Ye-ger!”

An old woman sat crying on the ground, wailing as if she were dying. Beside her stood an old man and a half-grown boy, both wiping away tears.

The three of them walked over. Lin Yu had heard about the Feng family’s situation from Dong-ger while they were on the mountain. Xia Hehua’s eldest brother had snatched the Feng family’s boy and run off with the bandits. Now that Wei Er had returned, the Feng family was convinced he had run off with the bandits, too, and must know where their boy was.

The old couple of the Feng family only had two sons, and they treated them like pearls and treasures. Now the older son was neither seen alive nor found dead—how could the family possibly be at peace?

The Feng family often came to the house of the second Wei brother to cry and make a scene, begging them to return their son. If that was impossible, at least give them a clue so they could go look for him themselves.

Auntie Feng wailed miserably, drawing tears from the surrounding women and husbands who were watching. Someone stepped forward to help her up, saying, “Auntie Feng, get up, don’t cry your eyes out.”

Auntie Feng cried as if she were dying, “Wei Er, you heartless bastard, you must know the whereabouts of my Ye-ger! Return my Ye-ger, give me back my Ye-ger!”

The Wei Laotai and the other two hid inside the house and refused to come out. Wei Er stubbornly insisted he hadn’t seen anything. “It was that animal from the Xia family who kidnapped your son—what does that have to do with me? If you want to go after someone, go after the Xia family.”

That sentence directly stabbed at the Feng family’s lungs. Their son had indeed been snatched away by Xia Hehua’s brother during the chaos. Xia Hehua was also hiding in the house, afraid to come out, just secretly peeking her head out once.

Auntie Feng now hated both the Xia and Wei families to the core. When she saw Xia Hehua peeking out, she didn’t know where the strength came from, but she pushed aside the people holding her up, strode forward, grabbed Xia Hehua by the hair, and yanked her out.

“You give me back my Ye-ger! Give me back my Ye-ger!”

Auntie Feng gripped Xia Hehua’s face tightly. None of the surrounding people stepped in to help. Everyone suspected that Wei Er must also be acting as a bandit, although there was no evidence yet. But the trouble stirred up by the Xia family was clearly because of Wei Er’s household, so everyone secretly hated the Wei family.

Xia Hehua let out a screech. She was still someone’s wife, after all. Wei Er stepped in and pulled her away. “I told you I don’t know! I don’t know!”

Wei Er had used a bit too much force. Auntie Feng staggered from the shove and almost fell. The surrounding people quickly helped her up. Someone cursed, “Wei Er, what the hell are you doing!”

Auntie Feng was so filled with hatred that she dug out a piece of flesh from Xia Hehua’s face. Xia Hehua held her face and rolled on the ground in pain.

The crowd helped the Feng couple back home. The teenage son who followed them was also wiping away tears.

Lin Yu felt terrible watching this. He let out a sigh. What a sin.

The three of them—Lin Yu, Wei Qingshan, and Zhao Yueniang—also went back home. Last year had been tough on everyone. When they came down from the mountain, they saw a lot of new graves. The bitter winter and not enough to eat probably meant quite a few elderly people in the village had passed away.

Seeing the tragedy that had befallen the Feng family, with a perfectly good son lost just like that, even the joy in Lin Yu’s heart was somewhat washed away.

The next morning after breakfast, Wei Qingshan went to the He family to borrow a plow. The three of them went to the fields, preparing to first till their own dry field.

The mule pulled the plow to turn the soil, while Lin Yu and Zhao Yueniang used hoes to break apart the clumps of turned-up earth. The soil was a bit hard, and they didn’t finish turning the field until the afternoon. Tomorrow, they could start sowing wheat.

Now, every household was busy with spring plowing. The fields were bustling. Even though people still didn’t have enough to eat, everyone had stored up energy and gone down to the fields to work. Even the children had followed along. Though still hungry, with spring’s arrival, many wild vegetables had sprouted on the back hills, which was already much better than in winter.

Everyone was busy farming. It was as if the natural disaster had already passed. The village patrol teams had also disbanded and were now working in the fields.

Lin Yu and Wei Qingshan carried their hoes home for dinner. On the way, they heard people talking.

“I can smell the aroma of meat coming from Wei Er’s house every day. My god, now everyone can’t get enough to eat, but they get to eat meat at every meal!”

“Isn’t that the truth? And Wei Er often runs to town too. Where do you think their money comes from?”

“Now that every household is busy with spring plowing, only his family is in no rush. Their land hasn’t even been touched.”

“You believe that nonsense about making money from business? With the chaos of last year, what kind of business could he have done? I think he became a bandit, he went around looting and robbing!”

Lin Yu and Wei Qingshan, walking behind with hoes over their shoulders, just happened to hear the people in front gossiping about the Wei Er family.

As they neared the village, they saw Xia Hehua washing clothes by the riverbank at the village entrance. She just happened to be walking up with a wooden basin in her hands. On her head was a half-old gold hairpin, and on her hands were two silver bangles. When she saw the village women and men, she smiled and said, “Back from working in the fields?”

There was still a patch missing from her face, scabbed over now, making her look rather scary. But Xia Hehua didn’t care at all. She flaunted her silver bangles and gold hairpin as if afraid no one would see them.

The others didn’t respond to her and walked off with their hoes.

Lin Yu naturally saw Xia Hehua’s gold hairpin and silver bangles as well. He whispered to Wei Qingshan, “It doesn’t look new.”

Wei Qingshan frowned deeply. “I’m afraid Wei Er really did become a bandit.”

People like that were truly detestable. The village could not keep someone like him around—sooner or later, he would bring disaster.

That afternoon, Wei Qingshan went to speak with He Dazhu and his brother. The three of them agreed that Wei Er probably wasn’t clean and should be investigated. The three of them went to the village head to report that Xia Hehua was wearing a half-old gold hairpin.

Xia Hehua was still feeling smug. Weren’t they all laughing at her before? Now she was dressed in gold and silver—let’s see who dares laugh at her now!

Wei Er had taken silver to the town to drink wine. The town had become a lot more peaceful. Most of the refugees had returned home. Only a few widows and orphans with nowhere to go were taken in by the town’s orphan charity house. Many young women and men who had suffered misfortunes last year had ended up forced into a life of hardship.

Wei Er was disgusted by Xia Hehua now that her face was ruined. Last year, when he was living in the bandit stronghold on Aozi Mountain, he was used to a life of luxury surrounded by women. Now, he was thinking of spending silver to buy two women to take home as concubines. He didn’t want to stay in the village anymore. If people found out, he’d be in trouble. So he was thinking of buying a house in town and living there instead.

He had just returned home when he saw Xia Hehua wearing a gold hairpin on her head and silver bangles on her hands. He rushed over and snatched the gold hairpin away.

“Who told you to wear this!”

“What’s wrong with it? I’m your wife, what’s wrong with me wearing it?”

Wei Er was so furious that he slapped Xia Hehua across the face. “Did anyone see you?”

“Y-Yes…” Xia Hehua fell to the ground and didn’t dare make a sound.

“Damn it, you stinking woman, are you trying to get me killed!”

Wei Er hurried into the house to gather up the gold and silver. He was afraid the villagers would come after him. It was better to rush off to town and settle there—in any case, no one there knew him, and he could live freely.

Wei Er grabbed the bundle and was ready to leave. It was nearly dark now. Seeing that he was about to go, Xia Hehua quickly clung to Wei Er’s leg. “Wei Er, where are you going? Don’t leave me behind.”

“Get lost, stinking woman!” Wei Er kicked Xia Hehua aside.

As soon as he stepped out of the courtyard gate, he was surrounded by a group of strong young men who had been lying in ambush for him. The village chief led them in capturing Wei Er. “Wei Er, it’s already dark. Where are you going?”

“V-Village Chief, I’m not going anywhere, not going anywhere.”

Wei Qingshan snatched the bundle from his arms. Gold and silver spilled all over the ground, and gasps came from the people nearby. Who had ever seen so much gold and silver! Especially those gold taels—some people lived their whole lives without ever seeing one!

The village chief’s face turned cold. “Seize Wei Er! Tie him up and lock him in the clan’s ancestral hall. Tomorrow he’ll be sent to the magistrate’s office in town!”

Several men tied up Wei Er and collected the valuables on the ground, ready to turn them over to the authorities.

Even Xia Hehua and Wei Laotai were tied up and taken away, too. The village chief specifically arranged for people to guard them.

Wei Er was still shouting, “Let me go, let me go! This gold and silver were earned by Lao Tzu doing business!”

Wei Qingshan sneered coldly. “We’re afraid it’s more like the kind of business where you rob homes and loot travelers.”

Even though it was already dark, the news that Wei Er had been caught with a large stash of gold and silver had spread through the entire village. Every household came to see the wicked man Wei Er. Everyone hated him so muchthat  they wished they could kick him.