That night, Lu Yunfei still failed to win over his wife. In the end, he could only go outside and wash himself with cold water to calm the fire burning inside him. He couldn’t help but miss their wedding night—that night had been as beautiful as a dream, giving him the greatest happiness he had ever experienced. Now, every time he got close to his wife, he found it hard to control himself.
Could she not fall asleep so quickly?
By the end, he was actually annoyed.
How could she possibly fall asleep so easily?!
The next morning, when Han Xiuxiu woke up, Lu Yunfei was already practicing boxing in the courtyard. She stood there watching him for a while and felt that today he looked even more vigorous than yesterday, as if he had endless energy.
The corners of Han Xiuxiu’s lips curved upward.
This guy… is kind of cute.
Today they were returning to her parents’ home for the customary visit after marriage, so they set off soon after breakfast.
When Black Panther saw them carrying gifts, he wagged his tail excitedly, clearly wanting to come along. Lu Yunfei shut him inside the house instead.
“Black Panther, stay home and guard the house.”
The dog whined unhappily and barked several times. Lu Yunfei simply patted his head to comfort him before leaving with Han Xiuxiu.
Lu Yunfei, tall with long limbs, carried the gifts for his in-laws: two slabs of cured meat, a jar of wine, and a package of tea. The wine and tea had been bought earlier. While the gifts weren’t especially extravagant, they were respectable enough.
Han Xiuxiu carried a small bundle containing a shuttlecock and neatly tied bundles of pheasant feathers.
Lu Yunfei walked ahead while Han Xiuxiu followed several paces behind. Whenever the path became difficult, he would slow down and wait for her.
After crossing the mountain, their village came into view.
Many villagers were working in the fields. When they spotted the young couple, they couldn’t help taking a few extra glances. Those who knew them even called out greetings.
Once the couple had gone farther away, gossip naturally followed.
“They look quite well matched. That hunter is tall and sturdy, and he seems honest enough. The Han family’s daughter is fortunate.”
“She was almost married off to a fool. Now she’s married to such a tall hunter—that’s definitely good fortune.”
“But the hunter doesn’t own any land. Maybe they don’t even know where their next meal is coming from. Otherwise, why would someone his age still be unmarried?”
“That’s true too. Hunting is dangerous. One accident and he’s dead. Farming may be hard, but at least it’s steady.”
As the villagers chatted among themselves, Han Xiuxiu and Lu Yunfei had already entered the village.
After breakfast, Han Xiaoxiao had gone to the village entrance several times to wait. Today was her elder sister’s first visit home after getting married.
Finally, on her fifth trip, she spotted Han Xiuxiu in the distance and immediately ran toward her.
“Big Sister!”
Han Xiuxiu waved back happily.
“Xiaoxiao!”
Since Lu Yunfei’s parents had both passed away and he had few relatives, seeing the close bond between the sisters made him feel a little envious.
Han Xiaoxiao stopped a few steps in front of them and shyly looked at Lu Yunfei.
“Brother-in-law.”
Lu Yunfei smiled.
“So you’re Xiaoxiao? Your sister talks about you every day.”
Han Xiaoxiao pursed her lips in a shy smile, then walked over to Han Xiuxiu and took the bundle from her hands.
Han Xiuxiu handed it over.
“These are all for you. Open it and have a look.”
The moment Han Xiaoxiao opened the bundle, her eyes curved into crescents.
“A shuttlecock! It’s so beautiful! Thank you, Big Sister!”
The girls in the village all had shuttlecocks, but theirs were made with rooster tail feathers. This one was decorated with colorful pheasant feathers, making it far brighter and more unique.
Han Xiaoxiao fell in love with it immediately, turning it over in her hands again and again, unable to put it down.
Although Lu Yunfei continued walking ahead without turning around, his ears were perked up, listening carefully. Hearing that his little sister-in-law liked the gift made the corners of his mouth lift slightly.
When the three of them reached the back of the Han family house, Han Xiaoxiao shouted loudly,
“Big Sister and Brother-in-law are back!”
Han Daliang, Madam Li, and Han Dongdong all came out to welcome them.
Han Daliang beamed with delight.
“My son-in-law is here! You didn’t have to bring gifts.”
Lu Yunfei replied politely,
“Father-in-law, thank you for waiting. It’s only a small token of my respect. Please don’t stand on ceremony.”
As Han Daliang accepted the gifts, he ushered him inside.
“Come, come in first.”
A son-in-law was an honored guest. The Han family hadn’t gone out to work in the fields today, staying home specifically to entertain him.
Lu Yunfei was warmly welcomed into the house, with Han Xiuxiu following behind.
Madam Li brought out a plate of sunflower seeds and had Han Xiaoxiao pour tea before heading into the kitchen to prepare lunch.
If Han Xiuxiu’s birth mother had still been alive, she would surely have asked how her daughter was being treated after marriage. But Madam Li was only her stepmother and still harbored resentment toward her, so she didn’t ask a single question. She simply busied herself with cooking.
Normally Han Xiuxiu should have gone into the kitchen to help, but seeing Madam Li’s attitude, she simply sat to one side and listened as Han Daliang and Lu Yunfei chatted.
Han Daliang was an honest farmer, and before long the conversation turned to crops and farming.
To Han Xiuxiu’s surprise, Lu Yunfei was actually able to keep up with the discussion, so there were no awkward silences between father-in-law and son-in-law.
Just as the atmosphere was lively, Han Dongdong suddenly burst into loud tears.
He had tried to snatch Han Xiaoxiao’s shuttlecock, and she had pushed him away. He fell onto the ground.
Realizing she had caused trouble, Han Xiaoxiao bit her lip and stood frozen, still clutching the shuttlecock tightly.
Madam Li hurried out from the kitchen. Seeing her son crying, her face darkened instantly. Before anyone noticed, she shot Han Xiaoxiao a fierce glare, then pulled Han Dongdong to his feet.
“That shuttlecock was a gift from her own sister, and you still tried to steal it. You deserved to get hit!”
Her words weren’t pleasant to hear.
Han Xiuxiu had only made the shuttlecock because Han Xiaoxiao liked pheasant feathers, and all the girls in the village enjoyed kicking shuttlecocks around. She hadn’t thought to prepare anything for Han Dongdong.
She hadn’t expected Madam Li to make an issue out of it.
Lu Yunfei glanced at Han Xiuxiu before helping the still-sniffling Han Dongdong to his feet.
He removed a necklace from around his own neck and placed it in the boy’s hand.
“This is a necklace made from a wolf’s fang. I’ll give it to you. A real man isn’t allowed to cry anymore.”
Wolves were difficult and dangerous to hunt. They were fierce, traveled in packs, and were known to seek revenge.
A necklace made from wolf fangs was believed to ward off evil spirits.
Seeing this, Madam Li stopped complaining. She lightly smacked Han Dongdong before returning to the kitchen to continue cooking.
Holding the wolf-fang necklace, Han Dongdong gradually stopped crying and stayed glued to Lu Yunfei’s side, repeatedly asking whether the fang really came from a wolf.
Han Xiuxiu pulled Han Xiaoxiao close and wiped away the tears on her face.
“There, there. Stop crying. Don’t let any more little pearls fall.”
Han Xiaoxiao clutched the shuttlecock tightly, her voice trembling.
“It’s broken…”
Han Xiuxiu examined it.
One corner had been torn, and several of the pheasant feathers had been bent out of shape from the tugging.
She gently rubbed Han Xiaoxiao’s head.
“It’s alright. This afternoon I’ll stitch it back together with a few stitches. It’ll look just like before. We still have plenty of pheasant feathers. When your brother-in-law catches another one, I’ll save more for you.”
Though Han Xiaoxiao was somewhat mature for her age, she was still only seven or eight years old.
A few comforting words were enough to make her smile through her tears.
Before long, Madam Li finished preparing lunch.
The table was filled with dishes: crispy fried peanuts, scrambled eggs with Chinese chives, twice-cooked pork with garlic sprouts, an assortment of cured meats, stir-fried cabbage in vinegar, and tofu with greens soup.
After Han Daliang invited his son-in-law to sit down, everyone gathered around the table.
He opened a jar of wine.
“Let’s have a couple of drinks together.”
Lu Yunfei stood up, took the wine jar, and poured drinks for both of them.
Raising his cup, he toasted Han Daliang, thanking him for entrusting his daughter to him.
The two men chatted merrily over wine.
The others mostly kept their heads down and ate.
Today’s meal was especially lavish by the family’s standards, and both Han Dongdong and Han Xiuxiu ate with bright smiles.
Overall, it was a fairly harmonious meal.
Afterward, Han Xiuxiu helped clean up the dishes.
Han Daliang had drunk several extra cups out of happiness. His face was flushed deep red, and he reeked of alcohol.
Madam Li sighed.
“I know you’re happy, but you shouldn’t drink so much. You’re already talking nonsense.”
Lu Yunfei hadn’t expected his father-in-law to have such a low tolerance for alcohol.
Then he remembered that Han Xiuxiu herself had gotten drunk after only a few sips last time.
Helping support Han Daliang into his room, Lu Yunfei laid him on the bed.
The moment Han Daliang touched the mattress, he began snoring loudly.
Somewhat embarrassed, Madam Li said,
“Son-in-law, why don’t you go rest for a while too? Xiuxiu’s old room has already been cleaned up.”
After finishing the dishes, Han Xiuxiu returned to her room.
She saw Lu Yunfei lying on the bed, still fully dressed.
Thinking he had fallen asleep, she quietly turned to leave.
But hearing her footsteps, he sat up.
“Finished cleaning?”
She nodded.
“If you’re tired, go ahead and sleep. We can head back later.”
Instead, Lu Yunfei patted the empty space beside him.
“You should rest too.”
Han Xiuxiu was indeed tired. She had gotten up early and walked a long distance that morning.
So she lay down beside him.
Turning to look at her, Lu Yunfei asked softly,
“When did your mother pass away?”
“When I was eight.”
“Was it because of illness?”
Han Xiuxiu shook her head.
“She died giving birth to Xiaoxiao. Right after Xiaoxiao was born, she started hemorrhaging… She couldn’t survive…”
Having inherited all of the original Han Xiuxiu’s memories, she could still vividly feel the fear and helplessness of that day.
At first, everyone had been smiling, saying her mother had given her a little sister.
Not long after the baby was born, however, panic suddenly erupted.
She had been kept outside the room, watching the midwives carry basin after basin of bloody water outside.
The entire house had smelled of blood.
Then…
Her mother was gone.
She was buried in the village cemetery.
Back home remained only a constantly crying infant.
Her father had been so devastated that he seemed to lose his soul.
Han Xiuxiu had carried her baby sister from house to house, begging women who were nursing their own children to let the baby drink just a little milk.
Those memories had long been buried deep inside.
But Lu Yunfei’s question had stirred them all back to the surface.
She choked on a sob, and tears rolled down her face.
She hadn’t expected the original Han Xiuxiu’s childhood to have been so tragic.
Lu Yunfei sighed inwardly.
I really have no tact… Why did I have to ask that?
Now he had made his wife cry.
He reached out and pulled her into his arms, gently patting her back as though comforting a child.
Only after her emotions gradually settled did he speak with a smile.
“Don’t cry anymore. If Xiaoxiao hears you, she’ll think I bullied you.”
Han Xiuxiu lightly punched him.
Then she sat up, wiped away her tears, and said,
“You go ahead and sleep. I’m going outside.”