Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Pei Mu pushed open the door of the main room. Thankfully, the scene outside was much better than he had imagined—no thick smoke, no fire.

He let out a relieved breath and walked to the kitchen door, where he saw Zhong Yizhu clumsily scooping a griddle cake from the pot onto a plate—if you could even call it a cake. It was yellow, green, and black, oddly shaped, and looked toxic enough to kill you if you stared too long.

As for the source of the burnt smell—he glanced at the black lump in the bowl beside Zhong Yizhu and felt he had found the cause.

Sensing the sunlight blocked at the door, Zhong Yizhu looked up, his expression still a bit nervous: "You're awake."

How could I not be... Pei Mu let the words pass through his mind before changing his phrasing: "What're you up to?"

Zhong Yizhu looked at the things he’d been slaving over all morning and felt they looked nothing like his mom’s.

He pressed his lips together and told the truth: "It's cornmeal and vegetable meat patties. Mother made them for me once. You said you were going up the mountain today, so I figured I’d make you some to take."

Now it was Pei Mu’s turn to be stunned. Seeing him silent, Zhong Yizhu thought he disliked the quality. He looked at the mess on the stove and figured the criticism was fair, so he quietly changed the subject: "I'll eat the messed-up ones myself. I won't waste anything."

Pei Mu walked over, took the cloth bag he usually used to store coarse grains from the cupboard, and poured the patties into it. He even put the black lump in as well.

"Hey, that one’s mine..." The kitchen was small, and Pei Mu came in and filled the tiny kitchen. Zhong Yizhu stepped back and watched. When he saw Pei Mu packing the mostly burnt patties, he started to object, but Pei Mu interrupted.

"Thanks."

"No… don’t mention it."

Pei Mu looked closely at Zhong Yizhu, then suddenly turned his head and laughed. Zhong Yizhu was a bit baffled and stunned.

It seemed to be the first time he had seen Pei Mu smile. His brows and eyes curved, all the usual harshness melted away, making him no different from the spirited young men he had seen before—even better-looking.

"What’re you laughing at?" Zhong Yizhu asked, his ears getting hot, and then he checked his attire. There was nothing wrong.

Pei Mu saw Zhong Yizhu’s ears, both smudged black, and could almost imagine how he’d been flipping the patties, then touching his ears in fear of the heat—that’s how they ended up this way.

Pei Mu stopped laughing but kept it to himself, being a jerk.

Zhong Yizhu, totally clueless, walked around with his black ears. After this morning’s incident, he felt a lot less awkward around Pei Mu.

While Pei Mu packed his gear for the mountain in the main room, Zhong Yizhu heated up yesterday’s leftovers for breakfast. After they ate, Pei Mu shouldered his bow and arrows and headed into the forest.

After watching the "black-eared cat" all morning, Pei Mu’s morning grumpiness faded. Just before leaving, he said, "If you go out, better check a mirror."

Zhong Yizhu: ...

His mom had packed a mirror in his dowry. Zhong Yizhu ran into the room, found the mirror, and froze at the sight.

He’d always been clean. While he didn't care much about dressing up, he knew he was decent-looking. And he’d been parading around like a mess in front of Pei Mu.

Recalling Pei Mu's strange smile in the kitchen earlier, Zhong Yizhu finally realized Pei Mu had played him.

He stewed for a bit, wondering if Pei Mu was making fun of his crappy cakes. After cleaning his ears with a wet cloth, he figured Pei Mu wasn’t that small-minded—after all, when he’d wrongly thought Zhong Yizhu wanted fruit empty-handed, Pei Mu had just given it to him anyway.

The sun wasn’t high yet. The yard was some distance from the village, so quiet you could hear a pin drop, with just birds chirping in the trees and on the eaves.

Zhong Yizhu took a walk around the yard. Though Pei Mu was a bachelor, he kept the place tidy. Aside from a stack of animal hides, there wasn’t much clutter.

Zhong Yizhu didn't touch Pei Mu's belongings. He swept the house and yard—didn’t take long.

The sun made him sleepy. He returned to the room and opened his dowry chest and started organizing.

Of course, he’d brought his treasured spices. There were also two ancient texts on incense, plus the fabric scraps and embroidery floss he’d bought earlier.

After the grain harvest a few days ago, the Wu family sent word they were returning the fields and Zhong Yizhu could deal with the stubble himself. He’d thought the Wu family would kick up a fuss, but this was unexpected and lucky.

Twenty mu of farmland—he and his mother each held ten mu. His mother couldn't manage her ten mu, so he asked the village head to help find a tenant.

Previously, the Wu family followed the landlord practice of splitting fifty-fifty. After discussing with his mother, he reduced the rent by ten percent, collecting forty percent as rent. They would provide the seeds, and taxes would be split equally.

Zhong Yizhu didn't want more money out of greed. He had seen how hard farming was for villagers and knew that those who rented land were poor families who couldn't afford to eat. He shouldn't bleed them dry.

That meant less money for his mom, but enough grain. She only needed food for herself, and selling the extra grain would just about cover her living expenses.

Zhong Yizhu didn't think too far ahead. His father had taught him since childhood to do things with a clear conscience. He hadn't understood many of those words then, but now he was gradually grasping their meaning.

As for his ten mu of land, he planned to ask Pei Mu if he wanted to farm it himself.

Pei Mu was a hunter. He hadn't bought any land in the village and relied on buying grain. Zhong Yizhu didn't know if Pei Mu could farm or what he would choose. Regardless of whether they hired someone or farmed themselves, the output would be enough for both of them, and they wouldn't need to buy grain anymore.

After calculating all this, Zhong Yizhu finally touched the silver bracelet on his wrist and took it off.

He mimicked Sun Yunniang's motion of opening the clasp. Sure enough, the silver note his father had given his mother was well hidden inside.

Zhong Yizhu couldn't help sniffing. His mother's deep care for him often made him feel he could never repay her.

Now that he was married, leaving his mother alone in the house, he wondered if she was scared or eating well.

Meanwhile, in the forest, Pei Mu was roasting cakes.

He wasn't usually so particular. Often, he'd eat cold cakes with cold water for a meal, but today was special.

He didn't know how Zhong Yizhu had made them, but after cooling, the cakes were as hard as rocks—good weapons for hitting rabbits.

Pei Mu took a bite, chewed for a long time, and finally gave up and started a fire.

After heating, they were easier to eat, but the taste was increasingly indescribable.

There were vegetables, meat, and flour, yet he somehow felt like he was eating pig slop.

After finishing the last burnt cake, Pei Mu stood up and extinguished the last embers with dirt.

On the first day of marriage, he had eaten a cake even worse than his own cooking. Strangely, Pei Mu's mood wasn't too bad.

He glanced at the sun, picked up his game basket, and continued deeper into the mountains.

Pei Mu didn't plan to spend the night in the mountains. He calculated the time and descended. He reached home just as the sun set, so there was still light.

The yard gate wasn't locked. He pushed it open and walked in, seeing Zhong Yizhu sitting at the main room's doorway, lost in thought with a book in hand.

Hearing Pei Mu's entrance, Zhong Yizhu snapped out of it, put down the book, and came over.

"You're back."

His actions were natural, because Sun Yunniang always greeted him or his father this way. But for Pei Mu, it was the first time experiencing such a welcome. He felt uncomfortable and stepped aside. Seeing Zhong Yizhu look stunned, Pei Mu said, "The basket is heavy. I'll take it."

"Oh, okay..." Zhong Yizhu withdrew his hand and followed Pei Mu into the main room. Pei Mu set the basket on the floor and pulled out a live pheasant and a rabbit. There were two dead rabbits left in the basket, covered with blood. Zhong Yizhu glanced at them and quickly looked away.

He had completely forgotten about Pei Mu's prank that morning. In his heart, he marveled at Pei Mu's hunting skill—catching so much prey in one day, completely unlike what the villagers had said about him.

He crouched on the ground, looking at the two live animals, then looked up and asked Pei Mu, "Are you going to sell them?"

"No. I'll take these two live ones as a gift to bring when we visit your family tomorrow. I'll skin the dead ones—one for Ping'an Ge and one for ourselves."

In Great Yan, the third day after the wedding is when the bride first returns to her family home. Zhong Yizhu was just thinking about going home to see his mother the next day; he hadn't expected Pei Mu to prepare such generous gifts for the visit.

His eyes lit up as he looked at Pei Mu, his tone full of surprise: "Really?"

"Mm. Take them to the backyard, put them in the cage, and give them some water."

Pei Mu picked up the basket and got ready to skin the animals. Before leaving, he added, "Do you know how to feed them?"

"Yes!"

Zhong Yizhu reached out and touched the pheasant's tail feathers, still caught up in his excitement, not catching the skepticism in Pei Mu's tone, and answered cheerfully.

Pei Mu took the hare to his usual processing spot, listening as he worked to the sounds of Zhong Yizhu coming and going behind him.

Feeding two wild animals could make such a racket—as expected.

...

That evening, Zhong Yizhu headed to his room early.

There wasn't much to do at night anyway, so he undressed, got into bed, and lay under the covers, already excited thinking about going to see his mother the next day.

It had only been a day since he'd seen her, but it felt like much longer. He'd only lived at the Zhong family's old house for two months, but because his mother was there, it had already become home to him.

He stared at the unfamiliar ceiling, his mind wandering, then began to think about how to talk about the farmland with Pei Mu later.

After all, they'd need to plant two seasons of rice, and there wasn't much free time in between. Diligent families had already plowed their fields, but theirs had just been lying idle since the harvest, untouched. Whatever arrangement they made, it was time to get started.

Meanwhile, Pei Mu finished processing the prey as usual, cleaned up, and fetched water to wash up.

Living alone, he bathed frequently. After washing, he simply washed his underwear and, without bothering to wrap them in a cloth, walked casually into the bedroom, holding the dirty clothes.

This routine was so familiar that he completely forgot there was now another person in the house.

He realized it was too late.

The bedroom door opened and closed, and Zhong Yizhu turned his head to speak but was met with the sight of a completely naked man.

His beautiful peach-blossom eyes went wide, a scream caught in his throat.

Their eyes met, and Pei Mu's mind went blank.

He wondered if he could still knock the man out right now.

Author's note:

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One, two, three – get ready: So for now, close your eyes...

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