Near the end of the Hour of Si—around eleven in the morning—a mule cart stopped outside the small courtyard.
The first person to step down was a young man dressed in a blue-gray long robe tied with a black sash at the waist. On his feet were cloth shoes with finely stitched seams visible upon closer inspection. His hair was tied up neatly with a wooden hairpin, simple yet refined. His brows carried the air of a scholar, and his clear eyes reflected intelligence. Years of studying indoors had left his complexion somewhat pale, adding to his gentle, scholarly appearance.
The man was none other than the Lin family’s youngest son, Lin Xiyong.
After lightly jumping down from the cart, Lin Xiyong lifted the curtain and extended a hand. A fair and slender hand rested delicately in his.
The woman wore an exquisite silver bracelet engraved with intricate patterns, which jingled softly as she moved. She was dressed in a light green embroidered gown, its hem swaying gently in the breeze to reveal lotus-patterned shoes beneath. A jade hairpin adorned her hair, making her delicate face appear as graceful as a lotus emerging from water.
This woman was Lin Xiyong’s wife, Chen Shuyun.
Lin Xiyong was twenty-three this year. He had only married Chen Shuyun, the twenty-year-old youngest daughter of Scholar Chen, earlier this spring.
Chen Shuyun came from Scholar Chen’s family in Qingshi Town. The Chen family was fairly well-off, having inherited a large four-section courtyard residence from their ancestors. Scholar Chen had converted the first and second courtyards into a private academy and invited several scholars to teach there.
When Chen Shuyun was young, she had been engaged since childhood to her sweetheart Zhang Shiyou. Unexpectedly, five years ago, after Zhang Shiyou passed the scholar examination and became a xiucai, the daughter of the local educational official took a liking to him. Soon after, Zhang Shiyou broke off the engagement with Chen Shuyun.
Although the childhood engagement had only been privately arranged between the parents and merely involved exchanged keepsakes, rumors still spread eventually. As a result, Chen Shuyun’s marriage prospects were delayed for years.
Then last year, while bringing freshly made snacks to Scholar Chen in the front courtyard, Chen Shuyun happened to encounter Lin Xiyong. He had looked at her several times, and Scholar Chen noticed.
Quietly, Scholar Chen began discreetly sounding out Lin Xiyong’s intentions.
The reason Scholar Chen was willing to let Lin Xiyong marry his daughter was because he had always believed Lin Xiyong to be upright in character and solid in learning. In Scholar Chen’s eyes, Lin Xiyong only lacked a bit of luck—passing the xiucai examination was merely a matter of time.
In the courtyard, Little Liu heard movement outside. She set down her work, wiped her hands on the apron in front of her, and stepped outside.
The first thing she saw was her younger brother-in-law helping his wife down from the mule cart.
Inside, she secretly curled her lips in disdain.
“Bringing back a wife who can neither carry nor lift anything—won’t that just add trouble?”
But outwardly she immediately put on a warm smile.
“Oh my, Fourth Brother and Fourth Sister-in-law are back! Hurry inside—Mother has been waiting all morning!”
“Greetings, Sister-in-law,” the couple greeted together.
“Good, good, all good. Quickly, come in!”
With that, Little Liu briskly hurried back into the courtyard. She had a mountain of work to finish this morning and still needed to help in the fields after lunch. Besides, she worried her mother-in-law had exhausted herself yesterday, so she had taken on more chores this morning. After all, Old Madam Lin was also her own paternal aunt, and now that she was getting older, Little Liu naturally felt more concern for her.
Lin Xiyong carried a bundle on his back and held five jin of pork belly bought from the county town. Chen Shuyun also carried a sizable bundle along with two boxes of pastries from the city.
After the couple entered the house, the mule cart returned to the county town—it had only been rented for the morning.
Lin Xiyong first went to the kitchen to set down the pork before returning with Chen Shuyun to their room to unpack.
Chen Shuyun took out a set of clothes she had personally sewn for her parents-in-law, then carried the two pastry boxes to the eastern room to visit Old Madam Lin.
At that moment, Old Madam Lin was resting.
She was getting old, and after yesterday’s commotion she had become tired after only a little work this morning. She had taken the chance to lie down and recover her energy.
As soon as the couple entered, Old Madam Lin sat up.
Before she could even speak, Lin Xiyong hurried forward and leaned beside the kang bed.
“Mother, are you feeling unwell? Should your son take you to see a doctor?”
“No need, no need. I’m not sick. Your third sister-in-law gave birth yesterday, so I was busier than usual. I’m just a little tired today. Resting for a while is enough,” Old Madam Lin quickly reassured him.
It was no wonder Old Madam Lin favored this youngest son more.
Ever since childhood, Lin Xiyong had always had the sweetest tongue. Whenever he got something tasty, the very first bite always went to his mother.
Human hearts were made of flesh, after all. Over time, Old Madam Lin naturally became more partial toward him.
“It’s good that Mother is alright. I know you love the pastries from Cui Xiang Pavilion in the county town most, so Shuyun brought you two boxes today. Mother must eat more.”
“Good, good, Mother will eat more,” Old Madam Lin replied happily while holding Lin Xiyong’s hand.
“Mother, I made a set of clothes for both you and Father. I hope they fit. I asked Husband for the measurements,” Chen Shuyun said as she stepped forward and placed the clothes on the kang.
“The stitching is so fine, and it’s made from quality cotton cloth too. Fourth Daughter-in-law has put in a lot of thought. We already have plenty of clothes—next time don’t spend so much money,” Old Madam Lin said while touching the garments.
“Mother, where’s Father? I didn’t see him in the bamboo workshop,” Lin Xiyong asked curiously.
“Your father went to the fields. He said helping drive the ox cart back and forth carrying millet bundles isn’t tiring. He’ll help for today, and if he can’t handle it tomorrow, he’ll stay home weaving bamboo instead,” Old Madam Lin answered lightly.
“Then I’ll go help now too,” Lin Xiyong said as he prepared to return to his room and change clothes.
Old Madam Lin quickly stopped him.
“No need. They’ll all be back soon anyway. Wait until after lunch and go together then. You two rushed back early this morning and must be tired too. Go rest for a while first.”
She shooed the couple back to their room.
Back in their room, Lin Xiyong and Chen Shuyun each changed into ordinary clothes suitable for farm work.
Lin Xiyong switched into a rough cloth short outfit he used to wear while working in the fields.
Chen Shuyun changed into a simple cross-collared cotton blouse with loose cotton trousers. Her jade hairpin was replaced with a plain wooden one, and her embroidered shoes with black cloth shoes.
At a glance, she now looked exactly like an ordinary peasant woman. No one would guess she had just moments ago appeared like the refined daughter of a scholar family.
Lin Xiyong went to the bamboo workshop to help split bamboo strips for his father. Though he lacked talent for weaving, he could still handle simple physical labor.
Meanwhile, Chen Shuyun went to the kitchen to help prepare lunch. Her cooking skills weren’t great, but she could at least assist.
When Old Madam Lin heard that Lao Xi had brought back five jin of pork belly, she instructed Eldest Daughter-in-law to cut and fry all of it.
“The weather’s hot,” she said. “Cook half into braised pork today, then salt the other half and cook it tomorrow.”
At noon, Little Liu prepared a large pot of mixed bean rice made from black beans, soybeans, and millet, along with a basket of wild vegetable steamed buns. She also made cold cucumber salad, eggplant with dried beans cooked in pork cracklings, and a pot of radish soup.
Together with the pork belly Lin Xiyong brought back, lunch that day was unusually lavish.
The Lin family had too many people, so they always ate at two tables.
Old Man Lin, Old Madam Lin, and the grown sons ate on the heated kang platform. The daughters-in-law and younger children ate at a large round table on the floor.
The adults on the kang ate quickly but orderly.
The round table below, however, resembled a battlefield because of the children. Soup dripped everywhere, and several younger ones quarreled loudly over whose piece of braised pork was bigger or fattier.
The adults paid no attention to any of it.
Things like bean rice, steamed buns, and today’s braised pork had already been portioned out in advance. Beyond that, everyone fought for themselves.
Meanwhile, Tian Guihua was still in postpartum confinement and did not join the others for lunch.
Her meal consisted of one bowl of bean rice, three chunks of braised pork, and a bowl of chicken soup. The chicken slaughtered yesterday had been stewed with the intention of lasting two days.
And poor little Comrade Lin Mei…
continued drinking her goat’s milk.