Lu Liu wasn’t amused by his joke. Instead, he scolded him.
“I told you already—you should keep some silver on you. It’s not that much more. The hens have started laying eggs. We’ll be able to collect eggs to sell from now on. I can earn money too.”
Li Feng looked at him for a long moment, then got up, closed the doors and windows, and kissed him—long and deep, again and again.
When the hot water was ready, Li Feng went to bathe and wash his hair first. Lu Liu stayed in the room for a bit, patted his face, wiped his eyes and mouth, then felt his way to the washroom to scrub Li Feng’s back.
When Li Feng saw him come in, he joked,
“I don’t smell that bad, do I?”
As he said it, he laughed himself.
“Last time I came home, you were pregnant with Zhuangzhuang. This time I come back, you’re pregnant with Xiao Mai. If I go out again, will there be another one waiting?”
Lu Liu snorted. “In your dreams. The doctor said there are only two.”
Two was already pretty wonderful.
Li Feng asked him, “Are you scared?”
Lu Liu had already gone through all the fear. He wasn’t afraid anymore.
Li Feng held his hand and said, “Xiao Liu, you’re really brave.”
Lu Liu smiled. “What’s so scary about it? Mom had three kids. My dad also carried twins.”
If there was anything he was afraid of now, it wasn’t giving birth—it was not being able to raise them.
And only then did he understand why he’d been longing for Li Feng’s return, yet felt timid when they finally met. Making money and taking care of the family couldn’t both be done perfectly. He wasn’t sure whether he’d end up holding Li Feng back.
Lu Liu didn’t say any of that out loud. He focused on scrubbing Li Feng’s back, then washing his hair. There was still daylight—enough time for it to dry. Li Feng watched him quietly for a long while without saying a word.
Dinner was made by his mother. By the time Li Feng got home, it was already past noon. After bathing, feeling comfortable again, and growing hungry, he ate first.
Shun-ge’er had already fed the mule and even brushed it clean.
Er Huang lay at Li Feng’s feet and was fed a bowl of dog food.
In Li Feng’s basket were silver and copper coins, along with three drawings.
After eating and letting his hair dry, he took out the drawings and showed them to Lu Liu.
“They’re wheat ears. I had the jewelry shop owner draw them—didn’t even charge me.”
The words “didn’t charge me” made Lu Liu laugh.
He held them in his hands and examined every drawing carefully.
The shop owner’s skill was solid. Each grain of wheat was drawn clearly, plump and full. The hairpin even had the long lines of wheat stalks etched into it. The bracelet and ring didn’t include stalks, so the wheat ears themselves were carved in even finer detail.
Lu Liu had never seen gold before. He knew how expensive it was, so while looking at the designs, he didn’t dare show how much he liked them—afraid Li Feng would immediately take the silver and go buy them.
Making money was hard. A whole month away, sleeping in communal bunks, traveling back and forth; everyone at home had poured their effort into gathering mountain mushrooms—only to earn this little bit of silver. And half of it still had to be taken out again to keep buying mushrooms. It really wasn’t easy.
Li Feng asked if he wanted to count the money.
“Er Jun and Fourth Monkey didn’t buy anything either. They exchanged it all for copper coins and said they’d take them home and let their husbands count all night.”
Lu Liu didn’t want to count money. He wanted to hold Li Feng and get a good night’s sleep.
So Li Feng asked Shun-ge’er if he wanted to count it.
Shun-ge’er was still excited—of course he wanted to!
Mother didn’t count money. Li Feng planned to go to the county another day and buy her pork stomach to eat.
Summer days were long. After staying busy for a while, the day passed quickly.
Dinner that night was dumplings—pork and scallion filling.
Li Feng remembered that after Lu Liu married into the family, he’d once made pan-fried dumplings. He wanted those.
Once the dumplings were boiled, Lu Liu ladled out the water, laid the dumplings flat in the pan, covered it with a lid, and used the leftover heat in the stove to pan-fry them.
He made Li Feng a big bowl of plain soup—mushrooms as the base, with shredded meat and egg ribbons added. After serving it, he deliberately picked out the mushrooms and meat, leaving just the clear broth so Li Feng could drink it plain and taste the fresh sweetness, to soothe his throat and mouth. He was parched to the bone.
That afternoon, Li Feng ate first, then drank the soup while waiting for the dumplings. Once the dumplings were ready and he’d eaten his fill, laziness set in. He leaned back in his chair and didn’t move for a long time. He was tired.
That evening, Lu Liu didn’t let him wash dishes. He brought water for him to rinse his mouth, then urged him to go lie down.
Li Feng still didn’t move. “I’ll sit a bit longer.”
Eat first, sleep later.
So Lu Liu sat with him.
Li Feng kept calling his name, over and over—calling him without saying anything else, just calling.
Lu Liu kept looking at him, answering each time, his brows and eyes filled with smiles.
“Da Feng, you look like you’re drunk.”
Li Feng was perfectly clear-headed. Once he was home—safe and settled—he just grew lazy all over.
He told Lu Liu, “Put your heart at ease. I can support this family. I can support the kids too. Even if we have a few more, it’ll be fine.”
Lu Liu held his hand, feeling the rough calluses, and nearly cried again.
“I know. I didn’t say anything…”
Li Feng squeezed and rubbed his hand in return. “You don’t have to say anything. I can tell.”
Lu Liu puffed out his cheeks and asked, “Then what am I thinking right now?”
Li Feng guessed wildly. “You’re definitely thinking, ‘You stinky man—I’ll show you. Anything you guess will be wrong.’”
Lu Liu couldn’t help laughing. He really had thought that—but he hadn’t done it.
Instead, he said something sweet.
“I’m thinking… my Da Feng is so tired. I should do something to make you happy.”
That was truly sweet. Li Feng stopped sitting around, got up to rinse his mouth. After Lu Liu finished washing up too, the two of them went back to the room together.
Nothing in the room was hidden. Lu Liu’s brush, ink, paper, and inkstone were all laid out on the table, and the letters he’d written were placed there as well.
There weren’t many literate people in the stockade anyway. Mother and Shun-ge’er didn’t know enough characters yet. He wasn’t afraid of them seeing.
As for Li Feng—the letters were written for him in the first place.
They climbed onto the kang, and the letters came up with them.
Li Feng held Lu Liu in his arms, holding the letter paper as the two of them read together.
During this trip, Li Feng’s studies had fallen behind a bit. He read by guessing half the time, asking Lu Liu to explain characters to him. Some circled ones he still couldn’t figure out.
Lu Liu’s face turned red as he explained everything. Hearing it all softened Li Feng’s heart, and he kept wanting to kiss him.
Writing the letters had been slow, but reading them was quick.
Before much lamp oil burned, they were finished.
Only then did Lu Liu realize he hadn’t written that much at all. Those recorded daily moments could be told in just a few lines.
But those written words—just as he’d imagined—laid his heart bare before Li Feng, preserving all his confusion, unease, joy, and fear, letting Li Feng experience them carefully, one by one.
He sighed, thinking how wonderful it was to be able to read and write. Li Feng thought the same.
Li Feng felt a bit regretful. “I should’ve written to you too.”
He didn’t tease Lu Liu about his worries. Lu Liu relaxed, leaning against him with eyes half-closed, smiling.
“It’s enough that I write to you. You’re someone who’s meant to do big things—you shouldn’t always be tied down thinking about me.”
Night in the foothills was noisy—crickets chirping, frogs croaking, overlapping without pause. Once you got used to it, it was like a lullaby.
Lu Liu wanted to sleep holding Li Feng, but with his belly grown, he couldn’t anymore.
He had to lie on his side hugging a bamboo pillow, letting Li Feng hold him from behind.
It made him feel terribly wronged.
No one ever said being pregnant would be like this.
Luckily, Li Feng was big and tall. When he pulled him close from behind, he wrapped Lu Liu completely inside his arms. He lifted a leg, caging him fully against his chest, one arm draped around Lu Liu’s waist, where Lu Liu could grab it, hold it.
Only then did Lu Liu feel better. He urged Li Feng to go to sleep quickly.
Li Feng closed his eyes, his tone lazy in a way completely unlike his usual self. He kept calling Lu Liu’s name. Lu Liu answered again and again, thinking Li Feng was just calling him for fun. But after a while, Li Feng said,
“Xiao Liu, don’t hide from me. I’m not afraid of you being clingy. I like it when you’re clingy.”
Lu Liu was dazed. “I’m not hiding from you?”
Li Feng said, “You didn’t succeed.”
Lu Liu blinked, and tears slid out.
He didn’t wipe them away, pretending he wasn’t crying.
He was just thinking—Li Feng would still have to go out again in the future.
And he understood now: making money meant running around.
Earning money and staying by his side—together, all at once—was too beautiful. He wouldn’t even dare dream of it.
