On the way back to retrieve the clams, Yu Chunmiao snapped off a stalk of sweet cane, peeled it, and broke it into two pieces. She handed one to Qi Rong and popped the other into her own mouth.
Qi Rong stared at her like she was crazy.
“Sister-in-law… are you a cow or something?”
Now he really wasn’t sure whether this new sister-in-law was actually silly or not.
Chewing on the cane, Yu Chunmiao said indistinctly, “Try it. It’s sweet.”
Qi Rong frowned, hesitated, then slowly put the cane into his mouth and chewed the way she did. After just one bite, his eyes flew wide open. The pupils in his dark eyes visibly dilated.
“It’s sweet! Sister-in-law, it’s sweet—really sweet!”
He chewed furiously, only spitting it out after it was completely crushed. “Let’s bring some back for Mother and Big Brother to try!”
Yu Chunmiao shook her head. “One stalk is enough. It’s not mature yet. When it’s ripe, it’ll be even sweeter—and it can be boiled into brown sugar. Right now the joints are short and green. When they grow longer and turn brown, that’s the best time to make sugar.”
Qi Rong nodded vigorously. Momentary cravings were nothing compared to real money.
Lunch had long been ready, but Chen Ruolan waited and waited without seeing the two return. She first brought Qi Chong his meal in his room, worry evident on her face.
“Rong’er still hasn’t come back. I’ll go look for them. You eat first.”
Qi Chong grew anxious as well and grabbed his crutch, intending to go with her.
“Rest,” Chen Ruolan said firmly, pressing him back into his chair. “If you fall and injure yourself again, no amount of money will fix it.”
She turned and left at once.
The moment she stepped into the courtyard, she saw Qi Rong running back with two stalks of sweet cane in his hands.
“Mother! Big Brother!”
Not seeing her daughter-in-law behind him, Chen Ruolan ignored her son’s excitement and asked, “Where’s your sister-in-law? Why are you back alone? Why did it take so long?”
Hearing this, Qi Chong’s worry deepened.
“She’s right behind me,” Qi Rong said quickly, shoving the sweet cane into his mother’s hands. “I came back first to give you this. Chew it—it’s really sweet.”
Without waiting for a response, he dashed into Qi Chong’s room.
“Big Brother, here!” He thrust the cane toward him. “Chew it. It’s sweet. Sister-in-law said in August we can use this to make sugar. Sell it, and then we’ll have money to treat your leg.”
Qi Chong thought to himself—August? By then, his leg would already be beyond saving.
Still, looking at his younger brother’s slightly open mouth as he panted for breath, and the sweat glistening on his neck from running, Qi Chong felt a complicated mix of emotions.
His brother was so young, yet already carrying the family’s burdens. And he himself—injured over someone irrelevant—had become a drag on everyone.
He looked at the “cow grass” in his brother’s hand and, without saying anything, stuffed it into his mouth. He didn’t believe it could be sweet. Cows liked it, sure—but a couple of bites wouldn’t kill him. At the very least, he couldn’t disappoint his brother.
He planned to lie after a few chews.
But the moment he bit down, Qi Chong froze.
A faint sweetness seeped out with the juice, pressed free by his teeth, spreading through his mouth.
“See? I didn’t lie, right?” Qi Rong said proudly. “Sister-in-law is amazing. She even had me pick loquat leaves—said she’ll boil them for Mother to help with her cough.”
With that, he ran off again.
Qi Chong stood there in a daze as his brother’s voice drifted in from outside.
“Mother, try it! Try it! If you don’t believe me, ask Big Brother—it’s really sweet!”
At that moment, Yu Chunmiao finally returned. She was carrying a full basket of clams and more than a dozen loquat leaves, her back bent under the weight.
“Why didn’t you help your sister-in-law carry things?” Chen Ruolan scolded, stuffing the sweet cane back into her son’s hands as she hurried over to take the basket. “Look at her—she’s bent over from the load.”
Yu Chunmiao set the basket down and said, “Mother, Qi Rong helped me along the way. I only carried it myself for a short distance. I’m not tired.”
Listening to the conversation from inside the room, Qi Chong felt an urge to go out and take a look. They hadn’t even met properly yet, and she was already worrying about his family—about him.
So what was he hiding from?
As his thoughts tangled, his younger brother ran back in again. The door hadn’t been closed, and Qi Chong caught sight of his mother and Yu Chunmiao heading into the kitchen together.
Her petite figure flicked the braided hair over her chest back with a casual swing. It was such a simple movement, yet Qi Chong couldn’t look away for a moment. Something tightened inexplicably in his chest—his heart seemed to miss a beat before he even realized it.
“…Big Brother? Did you hear what I said?”
Qi Rong’s voice yanked his thoughts back to reality.
“What did you say?” Qi Chong realized he hadn’t heard a single word.
A crow seemed to fly over Qi Rong’s head in silent despair.
“Sister-in-law asked me to ask you—are there any rules from the court about making sugar?”
Qi Chong spat out the chewed remains of the sweet cane and replied, “The court forbids commoners from making sugar with sugarcane, and also from growing sugarcane. But if you make sugar from other things, as long as it’s under two hundred jin a year for household use, it doesn’t matter.”
Even if someone managed to produce more than two hundred jin using other materials, they wouldn’t be thrown in jail. The most that would happen was that once discovered, the method would be confiscated by the court, and civilians would be forbidden from using it again.
That was exactly how sugarcane had been taken over by the authorities in the past.
Qi Rong happily ran off to pass the news to his new sister-in-law. After running a short distance, he doubled back and thoughtfully closed the door behind him.
Big Brother didn’t like people peeking into his room—especially the new sister-in-law. He had emphasized that point before.
Qi Chong: “……”
Sometimes having a brother with too good a memory wasn’t a blessing.
After a simple lunch, Yu Chunmiao asked Chen Ruolan to help change the water for the clams and river snails, insisting that dinner must wait until she returned to cook it herself.
She and Qi Rong came back around four-thirty, carrying another half basket of clams.
Yu Chunmiao began washing the loquat leaves, took six or seven, cut them into thirds, and set them to boil.
“Mother, do we have honey at home? Dried tangerine peel would work too.”
Chen Ruolan replied awkwardly, “Chunmiao… we don’t have any of that. I’m really sorry—you’ve just married in and already you’re working so much. We don’t even have a single piece of candy to offer you.”
Fanning the stove, Yu Chunmiao said, “Mother, it’s not for me. This is for you. Honey or tangerine peel would just make it work better.”
Looking at the loquat leaves soaking in the pot, Chen Ruolan swallowed.
“This… this is really for me? I can drink it?”
Her youngest son had mentioned at lunch that Yu Chunmiao wanted to boil loquat leaves for her cough. She’d been worrying about it all afternoon. The moment of truth had arrived.
Ever since tasting the sweet cane, Qi Rong trusted his sister-in-law a lot more. He immediately chimed in, “I’ll drink it first. If I’m fine, then Mother can drink it.”
Yu Chunmiao rubbed his head. “No need. I’ll drink it.”
Once the loquat-leaf water was ready, Yu Chunmiao drank half a bowl herself, then poured another bowl for Chen Ruolan.
“Drink it. It’s really fine. I’d never give you something I wasn’t sure about.”
Chen Ruolan thought—even if it doesn’t help, it won’t kill me. She pinched her nose and downed the bowl like medicine.
It wasn’t bitter. Instead, her mouth filled with a fresh, clean loquat fragrance. After drinking, the itchy urge in her throat eased noticeably.
“Not bad… my throat really does feel more comfortable.”
Hearing this, Qi Rong immediately ran off to report to his big brother. He didn’t even step inside—just pushed the door open, leaned halfway in, and said, “Mother drank the loquat-leaf water. She said her throat feels better.”
He dropped the message, shut the door, and ran off again.
Qi Chong: “……”