That day, Chen Yushun’s health improved somewhat, and he made a trip to the Ren family’s home.
People had called for him several times, but he had lain in bed refusing to see anyone. The matter had become so embarrassing. Now that his condition was better, he wanted to go and put things to rest.
Ren had prepared a table full of dishes. The once lively Sun family was now desolate, with only the two of them sitting across from each other at the table.
They looked at each other a few times without speaking.
Chen Yushun seemed to have aged twenty years overnight. It was still the same man, but his face was yellowed from hardship, and his body had grown thin, no longer bearing the proud look he once had.
Ren looked at his disheveled state and felt indescribable emotions. Her eyes were dull and lifeless, like a pool of stagnant water.
“Thank you for still being willing to see me. Because of me, you lost that prestigious position as village head. I’m sorry.”
“Back then, you told me to wait, and I didn’t marry any of the wealthy families in the city, no matter how many matchmakers came to push me. I waited and waited, from eighteen until I was twenty-five or six. It was only when you gained the favor of Second Master Er that I thought the end of the hardship was near. But then you told me you wanted to be the village head and needed respectable in-laws to support you — that you wanted to marry into the Xiao family.”
Ren, no longer wild and reckless as before, had reverted to her usual gentle and virtuous demeanor. Speaking of the past, she was calm as if recounting someone else’s story.
She took a piece of food with her chopsticks and put it into the bowl: “To help your career succeed, I had to marry someone else. I passed the best years of my life, offended the matchmakers, and in the end, I could only marry that short-lived man from the Sun family.”
Chen Yushun’s brows furrowed deeply. “If it weren’t for your parents despising me for being poor, it wouldn’t have come to this!”
Ren smiled. “My parents did dislike you for being poor, but you promised them you’d make something of yourself and never let me down. Later, you married the Xiao girl to secure the village head position — and why was that?”
“After we married, outsiders only saw how many times you cared for me. They didn’t know how much Da Sheng did in secret for you. To raise your head in front of the Xiao family, and how much silver we sent them.”
Chen Yushun remained silent. He did feel guilty deep inside, but he had no choice but to argue: “My relationship with that You Shanxi wasn’t what you think.”
Ren shook her head. “The matter has come to this point; that’s no longer the main issue. You spent so much effort to get the village head position, and now you’ve destroyed it for me. From now on, we owe each other nothing.”
Hearing this, Chen Yushun was silent. He had initially intended to make a clean break but feared Ren might go mad and refuse. Now hearing her say it aloud, he felt a mix of relief and sadness.
He said, “I don’t blame you for this. It’s just that the past few years went too smoothly, making me careless and defenseless, which led to being outmaneuvered.”
Ren said nothing. She poured two cups of wine from the jug, leaving one for herself and handing one to Chen Yushun.
“Drink this wine, and from now on, bridges go to the bridge, roads go to the road.”
Chen Yushun saw this and said no more. He lifted the cup.
Ren saw the faint reluctance in his eyes, but his movements were steady. She smiled bitterly, clinked her cup with his, and drank her wine dry in one gulp.
Chen Yushun also took a sip, but having lain in bed for some days, though improved, his body was still weak and couldn’t handle much.
After swallowing, he found the taste strange and didn’t want to drink more. Just as he was about to finish the cup—so Ren wouldn’t think he was still unwilling—he heard a thud.
Ren suddenly toppled to the ground, blood seeping from her mouth. Chen Yushun was horrified and tried to call out to her but was suddenly pierced by an unbearable pain.
His limbs lost strength in an instant, and he collapsed beside her. His organs ached intensely, and though he wanted to crawl out, he had no strength…
People found them late at night. Xiao’s family, upon seeing Chen Yushun out past midnight, cursed loudly inside the house, saying he had no shame, had gone to the widow’s house at the Sun family, and might never come home again.
Chen Yushun’s son couldn’t bear it and went to find them at the Sun family’s place.
There, the lights were blazing, and two people were lying sprawled on the floor.
In a panic, they called Doctor Zhu over. Ren had been dead for some time; Chen Yushun still had a breath left.
The two had collapsed inexplicably in the house—one dead, one injured—and the villagers were terrified and reported it to the authorities.
The county officials investigated and found poison had been mixed into the wine they drank.
Ren drank more and was poisoned faster. Chen Yushun only took a sip, so the poison wasn’t severe enough to kill him.
There were no signs of struggle or external wounds, so it was concluded to be a private grudge.
Chen Yushun was unconscious for several days. People thought he might not survive, but Doctor Zhu managed to bring him back.
Though he lived, the poison had stayed in his body too long and damaged his internal organs. From then on, he could only lie in bed, barely hanging on.
The matter escalated to this point.
Once everything settled, his frail body was no longer fit to be village head, and he was removed before officially taking office.
The village went through the formalities, and Xu Yangshun took the position.
The Xu family was bustling with activity. Even Mr. Xu and the young scholar returned to the village once. Many people came to the Xu household with gifts.
The village head was an official position that dealt a lot with the county government. Normally, a grand banquet would be held, but given Chen Yushun’s misfortune, they kept things quiet to avoid gossip.
Xu Yang arranged two tables of food and invited close relatives and a few familiar families to a modest meal.
The Fan family naturally accepted the invitation, and Kang He prepared a fine gift to send over as congratulations.
Xu Yang moved quickly—after officially taking office, he immediately checked the almanac and picked a nearby auspicious date to propose to the Shang family. He was afraid of any misfortune at home.
The wedding was set for the first lunar month and promised to be a grand affair, also serving as a celebration of Ren’s appointment as village head.
The village had experienced great upheaval, but the small households still lived their lives as usual.
This autumn, the Fan family had a new helper, Dou Yicang. Kang He and Fan Jing were busy with business in the city and didn’t have to worry much about the fields.
But juggling house repairs and the harvest was still difficult. The rice harvested from the fields was carried home entirely by hand—baskets and loads on backs—laborious and slow.
They only had one donkey to work with. Kang He drove it to the city in the morning; the donkey stayed at the city’s livestock pens and was driven back only after the shops closed at night.
Sometimes, when going out to slaughter pigs, they returned late. On days when they didn’t slaughter, the harvested rice was stacked along the village roads, and two carts hauled it home.
But Old Fan thought the rice was too damp and wanted to thresh and dry it quickly in the fields under the sun. If it wasn’t stored early and a rainy day came, the rice would rot and sprout, wasting a year’s hard work.
Thinking it over, Kang He felt that one donkey just wasn’t enough. He wanted to buy another beast—either an ox or a donkey.
Money was no longer a concern, so buying an ox was possible.
Oxen were stronger and had better endurance. If it weren’t for previous financial difficulties, he would have chosen an ox.
But since they already had one donkey, getting a female donkey too would allow them to breed and have more donkeys.
Old Fan, hearing Kang He’s plan, still preferred a donkey. He said he knew someone skilled in breeding livestock, so they could arrange breeding for the donkeys. If they had foals, the family wouldn’t have to worry about beasts of burden anymore. If they were lazy, they could sell the young donkeys.
Kang He agreed, and within a couple of days, he brought home a strong female donkey.
They worried the two donkeys might fight when kept together, but the male donkey, upon seeing the healthy female, brightened his eyes and made soft neighing sounds.
That night, Kang He carried water to wash and passed by the stable, seeing the restless donkey pacing around.
He set down the bucket and offered the donkey a sour pear.
“The donkey usually sleeps early and doesn’t wake even at thunder, but today, it’s so happy it can’t sleep.”
The male donkey snatched the pear from Kang He’s hand but didn’t eat it, instead turning to place it before the female donkey.
“Hey, you stubborn donkey, you really know how to behave.”
Fan Jing came out of the house and saw Kang He struggling to carry the water, a bathrobe over his shoulder, and walked over.
“Do you really talk to the donkeys?”
After a day of hosting guests and talking nonstop, he still hadn’t had enough.
Kang He said, “I’m just seeing if that donkey wants to ride the female one.”
Fan Jing thought Kang He was truly idle and reached to take the bucket. Kang He quickly dashed to the bathing room with it.
Fan Jing could only glance at him helplessly and followed inside.
He stripped off his clothes and poured water over himself with a gourd ladle, scrubbing with a bathcloth.
Looking down, he noticed his belly had swollen considerably. It wasn’t obvious when wearing clothes, and it looked no different from usual, but now it seemed rounder, quite a change from his previously flat stomach.
He counted the days—it had been over a month.
Looking at the swelling, the scars on his skin had stretched somewhat. He found it strange but also felt a gentle warmth.
He looked for a moment and lightly poured water over his belly, wiping gently without scrubbing hard.
Kang He noticed he was taking a long time, calling from outside a few times. Fan Jing dried off and put on his clothes, coming out.
“What’s wrong? Why take so long to wash?”
Fan Jing shook his head and told him to hurry back inside. Thunder rumbled, and it looked like rain was coming.
Kang He was quick, wiping himself from head to toe with a rough cloth, and was back inside in less than fifteen minutes.
Soon, the sound of raindrops hitting down began.
The family had finished repairing the roof. The old thatched roof was removed, the wooden frame strengthened, and tiles densely laid on top.
Now, heavy rain and strong wind couldn’t easily let water leak inside. It was fortunate that it rained heavily the day after the roof was finished; if they had delayed a day and a half, the roof might have been soaked while incomplete.
Old Fan said the rain was just right to test the new tiles.
The stone floor in one room was also completed. Actually, once the roof was fixed and no longer leaked, the mud floor wasn’t a big issue.
But Kang He thought the floor inside was ugly and full of potholes and puddles. He decided to have it all leveled.
He had also considered installing a wooden floor, but wood was prone to insects and rot in the countryside, so he decided stone slabs were more durable.
The rain had brought some wind, cooling the stuffy room considerably.
Kang He put a lampshade on the oil lamp and said to Fan Jing, “Now we don’t have to fear heavy rain anymore. We can finally rest easy.”
Fan Jing agreed. In the past, heavy rain felt like war at home—carrying basins and buckets to catch water, propping ladders to fix the roof.
He had been doing this since he was a child. Looking at the tiled roof, after all these years, the problem was finally solved.
Only one drawback remained—the sound of raindrops on the tiles was loud, much noisier than thatch.
The first few times it rained, he hadn’t gotten used to it, but after a few times, he was accustomed.
Kang He got into bed, and since it was rainy and not hot, he held Fan Jing close.
“Since the roofers haven’t left yet, let’s have them build a couple of sheds for us.”
Fan Jing looked at Kang He curiously. “What kind of sheds?”
“We raise chickens, ducks, and rabbits, and now we’ve got a new donkey. If the sheds are spacious, it’ll be easier to raise all these animals. Too many of them in the house make the place smelly.”
Fan Jing smirked. “You still mind the smell?”
“I’m used to it, but I’ve seen some people get nauseous passing by the rabbit sheds.”
Fan Jing shot Kang He a sideways glance. “That’s just the kids messing around.”
Kang He laughed. He patted Fan Jing’s belly. “I know this little guy’s the real troublemaker. Just teasing you.”
“These animals don’t smell that bad, but when they poop and pee a lot and it’s not cleaned properly, diseases spread easily.”
Fan Jing agreed.
“Look, many customers come here regularly to buy our chicken, duck, and rabbit meat. On days we don’t sell, they preorder. Sometimes, our own stock isn’t enough, and we have to buy from others to resell. It’s easier to buy from others, but selling our own is more profitable.”
Kang He did the math: “Raising chickens and ducks means good for making stew.”
“For us small farmers, raising poultry and livestock is the main way to earn money. We can’t count on silk, porcelain, or gold. Without luck and opportunity, we can’t run big businesses.”
“Besides poultry and livestock, I want to buy more land to grow crops, not just grains like rice and millet. If we have spare fields, we can plant beans and melons for sale. Fruit trees, green peppers, and mountain pepper can all be planted, but trees take longer to mature, unlike regular crops that yield in a year.”
Fan Jing said, “Long term, planting fruit trees isn’t bad. People don’t just live a couple of years.”
Kang He replied, “We’ll take it slow. It won’t be harder than before.”