As soon as they reached the bamboo gate, Kang He hadn’t yet had a chance to closely observe the Fan household when a girl of about ten years old ran out from the courtyard.
Her sparse hair was slightly yellowed, and she looked at Fan Jing with delighted surprise, calling out, “Big Brother!”
Fan Jing gave a brief “Mm” in response.
Glancing sideways, he noticed Kang He hadn’t stepped inside.
With a tilt of his chin, he gestured for him to come in.
“Big Brother, who’s this?”
Fan Zhener, spotting the unfamiliar face entering, asked in a hushed voice.
Fan Jing didn’t answer.
He simply set down his carrying basket and said to Zhener, “Get some water.”
Zhener noticed the bundle in Fan Jing’s hands, and a sudden realization dawned on her.
Guessing who the visitor might be, she felt both surprised and delighted, hurriedly running to the kitchen to fetch some hot water.
Without waiting for Fan Jing to beckon Kang He further, Chen Shi and Fan Qiaoer, hearing the commotion, came out from the house together.
Chen Shi was startled when she saw Kang He, exclaiming, “Oh my, you’ve come so early? We were planning to go to the village entrance at the appointed time to meet you!”
She had been telling Zhener earlier that when her father returned, they’d urge him to go up the mountain to call Fan Jing back.
Wangshui Village was quite a distance away, and it would take several hours to get here.
They had planned to head to the main road outside the village after noon to meet him, not expecting Kang He to arrive by cart.
Kang He, unaware of what Chen Shi was saying, couldn’t respond and felt a bit awkward.
He could only smile to show friendliness.
“He doesn’t understand. Talking to him is no use,” Fan Jing said, taking Kang He’s bundle into the main room.
Kang He smiled at Chen Shi again, but staring at each other was futile, so he followed Fan Jing inside.
Seeing the two of them like this, Chen Shi’s eyes flickered with thought.
They don’t seem distant, she mused.
The Kang family was quite something—once they received the betrothal money, they hurriedly sent him over.
Money really did make things happen.
“…Well, it’s fine. He’s here, and that’s what matters,” Chen Shi thought.
Arriving a day early meant peace of mind a day sooner.
For this son-in-law, the family hadn’t spent much, but they still followed proper etiquette, sending six strings of cash to the Kang family.
She had worried they might take the money and not deliver.
Chen Shi was genuinely pleased.
She introduced Kang He to the two girls and cheerfully went to unlock a cabinet.
She took out four pieces of honey cakes bought from a city shop, along with some homemade dried bayberries and wild cherries, arranging them on a plate to serve Kang He.
The second daughter, Qiaoer, saw the tall, sturdy figure of her new brother-in-law in the main room.
He wasn’t one of those odd-looking types, which made her happy for her big brother.
Too shy to openly stare at Kang He like Zhener did, she kept her head half-buried and ran off to the fields to call her father.
When Fan Shoulin heard that the visitor had already arrived, he was surprised.
Dropping his hoe, he didn’t even roll down his pant legs—one high, one low—and hurried back in his straw sandals.
Standing at the door, he glanced at Kang He sitting in the main room.
He looked the same as he did on the matchmaking day—no impostor had been sent.
Feeling at ease, he nodded to him, then leisurely went to the water jar by the courtyard to wash the mud off his feet.
“We thought you’d arrive in the afternoon and didn’t prepare much. You must be hungry after such a long journey. Have some fruit to tide you over; we’ll cook soon,” Chen Shi said.
Though she knew Kang He might not understand, she treated him like any guest.
For one, she didn’t know how else to act; for another, she was doing it for Fan Jing’s sake.
Seeing Fan Jing bring him back, the two seemed quite harmonious.
If she treated Kang He poorly on his first day, it would not only embarrass him but also make Fan Jing lose face.
Even though Kang He couldn’t understand Chen Shi, he could tell from her offering him fruit that he was being welcomed.
Stammering, he said, “Th-thank… you.”
Chen Shi was delighted to hear this.
“We’re family now, no need to be polite!”
She called Zhener and Qiaoer over to introduce them to Kang He.
Kang He saw the two girls and could tell from their features that they were Fan family members, likely Fan Jing’s younger sisters.
However, he hadn’t originally planned to marry into the Fan family, so he came unprepared.
Now, with the two girls—one lively, one reserved—calling him “Brother,” he had nothing to offer as a first-meeting gift.
Unable to even say a few polite words, he felt a bit embarrassed.
Fan Jing, who had been standing silently by the doorframe, suddenly spoke: “Time to eat.”
Chen Shi, who had been chattering about the girls, paused.
“Yes, yes! Big Brother’s back from the mountains, and Kang He’s here. We should eat something good today!”
“Zhener, Qiaoer, help your mother cook. Big Brother, get Kang He settled and put his luggage in the room.”
Only the two of them remained in the main room.
Kang He couldn’t help but glance at Fan Jing.
Their eyes met briefly, but Fan Jing said nothing, picking up the bundle and luggage from the table and heading into the room.
Kang He hesitated, then followed.
Fan Jing’s room wasn’t bright.
A small window on the east side was half-blocked by a pepper tree in the backyard.
The room didn’t get much sun, and unless it was a clear day, it stayed dim, requiring an oil lamp for light.
The room wasn’t large either.
Against the north wall was a wooden bed with a sturdy but worn coarse cloth canopy, hiding the interior.
By the window was a small square bamboo table, cluttered with cups, bowls, hemp thread, and a carving knife…
Fan Jing walked over, placed the luggage on the floor, and swept the table’s clutter aside to set the bundle down.
Turning, he noticed Kang He had followed him.
Kang He hadn’t entered fully, standing at the doorway, his eyes already drawn to the walls.
The bows, arrows, stone spears, rabbit pelts, deer antlers, and wild boar tusks dazzled him.
Most striking was a glossy black bear pelt, exuding a fierce aura.
Kang He’s eyes widened in awe.
He had thought Fan Jing was merely capable, but he hadn’t known he was a craftsman.
Seeing his room, he found it utterly fascinating.
Fan Jing nudged a low four-legged stool from behind the door with his foot, placing it in front of Kang He, gesturing for him to sit.
But Kang He didn’t sit.
He eagerly pointed at the items on the wall.
Fan Jing hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
With permission, Kang He stepped inside, heading straight for the black bear pelt.
He touched the coarse fur, then turned to the deer head, feeling the long antlers and the hard, pointed wild boar tusks.
Curiously, he picked up a bow, tested the hemp string, and pulled out a bamboo arrow from a basket—like a monkey in a fruit garden.
In the kitchen, Chen Shi tied a makeshift apron of scrap hemp cloth around her waist, briskly cleaned the pot, and started cooking rice.
Standing on a stool, she cut a palm-sized piece of smoked bacon from above the stove.
The meat’s exterior was blackened like charcoal from long smoking, but when sliced, the fat glistened, and the lean meat was vibrant red, emitting a savory aroma.
Zhener, chopping firewood under the stove, and Qiaoer, sitting by the stove door peeling vegetables, paused their tasks to stare at the bacon in Chen Shi’s hands.
It had been over a month since the family ate meat, and seeing their mother cut such a large piece was surprising.
Their mother was truly generous for their new brother-in-law’s arrival.
Qiaoer, sitting with her legs together, had a small round basket on her lap filled with plump water chestnuts.
Peeling their outer layers, she glanced at Zhener tending the fire and said, “Mother’s definitely going to stir-fry water chestnuts with the bacon.”
Water chestnuts were crisp and tender like bamboo shoots but without the bitterness, making them a delicious autumn dish.
The family’s water chestnuts, grown in their fields, were usually sold in town, as they couldn’t bear to eat them themselves, only indulging in the less attractive ones.
In late autumn, this was the last batch of water chestnuts, not as robust as during peak season, but their price had risen as the market neared its end.
Chen Shi had planned to sell them in town, but with Kang He’s arrival, they needed to serve something good, so she decided to cook them.
Just thinking about the aroma of water chestnuts stir-fried with bacon made Qiaoer’s stomach rumble with anticipation.
Zhener didn’t say anything, but she, too, hoped their mother would make the dish.
Chen Shi soaked the bacon in the rice-washing water to clean it later with a dried loofah scrubber.
The bacon’s outer layer was dirty and needed a good soak to be properly cleaned.
There was still time, so she wasn’t in a rush.
Wiping her oily hands on her apron, she glanced toward the kitchen door.
The carrying basket Fan Jing brought back from the mountains was still under the eaves outside, and she didn’t know what was inside.
The hemp cloth covering it seemed to move, as if something alive was inside.
“Zhener, go check what your big brother brought back from the mountains today.”
“Big Brother doesn’t let us touch his mountain goods,” Zhener said timidly.
Fan Jing was reserved and serious, and no one in the family dared touch his hunting spoils without his permission.
Once, Chen Shi had taken some of his game to give to her own family without asking.
Fan Jing waited at the door and demanded money when she returned.
Feeling humiliated, Chen Shi complained to Fan Shoulin, crying that Fan Jing disrespected her and didn’t treat her like a mother, making a big fuss.
But Fan Jing didn’t back down, kicking a stool across the room in front of his father.
Though he didn’t make Chen Shi pay in the end, from then on, no one touched his game without his approval.
Still, living under the same roof for so long, Chen Shi had figured out some of Fan Jing’s temperament and knew he wouldn’t fuss over important matters.
That’s why she dared to give away his pheasant when the matchmaker came.
Chen Shi coaxed, “Your brother-in-law is family now, but it’s his first day here.
If we don’t serve something good, it won’t look right.
We’ll be living together from now on, and we can’t start off making him feel unwelcome.”
“We don’t have much food at home. I’d love to kill a hen for meat, but they’re laying eggs now, and it’d be a waste to slaughter one. Plus, in a few days, we’ll need to invite our relatives for a proper meal. For a poor family like ours, we can’t throw a big wedding feast, but we still need a small celebration. If we kill a chicken or fish today, we’ll have to prepare again for the relatives. Where will we get so many chickens and ducks?”
Zhener thought her mother’s words made sense and stood up.
“I’ll ask Big Brother.”
Chen Shi let out a pleased “Ai” and smiled as she watched the little girl head toward Fan Jing’s room.
She was too embarrassed to ask herself, so she relied on the young one.
Qiaoer waited eagerly for the response.
The family’s water chestnuts were too precious to eat, and their big brother’s game was even more so.
If both made it to the table today, it’d feel like New Year’s.