There wasn’t much space in front of the grave, and more burial mounds sat behind it, so it wasn’t possible to kneel all the way back in a line.
Several relatives were buried in this area. After paying respects to his own father, Li Feng would tidy up the surrounding mounds as well and burn a bit of paper money for them.
Families came one after another—after everyone paid their respects, the burned offerings added up. There weren’t many dishes, but with wine passed around one mouthful at a time, you could still drink your fill.
Lu Liu followed Li Feng from grave to grave, bowing to one ancestor after another.
Wang Dongmei didn’t move. Everyone else had already stood up, but she remained kneeling before the grave.
While Chen Guizhi rambled on about household matters, Wang Dongmei suddenly cut in, “Father, I’m pregnant. Er Tian finally has a child coming! Our Li family has a descendant! We know we were wrong—please, let Mother forgive us!”
Little Shun turned in surprise to look at her.
Chen Guizhi tossed paper ingots into the fire and said to Li Feng’s father as if he were still listening, “If your eyes are still open down there, take a look at this old face of mine. I raised three children for you. Now that I’m old, I just want a little peace. The Li family’s child should be raised by the Li family’s son.”
Her words hadn’t changed at all from the day she split the household—still sharp, still unmoving.
Wang Dongmei burst into tears.
“Mother, we were foolish for a moment—why are you being so ruthless? With all that land, how is Er Tian supposed to handle it alone?”
Little Shun glanced at his second uncle. Er Tian stood there stiff as a wooden post, not making a sound.
“Second Brother, it’s not that I’m taking sides. Supporting a family is hard for Eldest Brother too.”
Er Tian still didn’t respond.
It was a busy day for tomb-sweeping—food, wine, and a noisy crowd.
Li Feng was taking Lu Liu around to bow to the ancestors and heard none of it.
After circling through all the graves, he brought Lu Liu back to kneel twice more before his own father, and then they could head home.
News of Lu Liu’s pregnancy hadn’t spread. He was only a little over a month along—more than two months behind Yao’s husband—so they couldn’t announce it.
The family kept the joy within the house. The old physician knew the rules too; early pregnancy wasn’t to be shared.
People in the village were suspicious, but when they asked, Li Feng simply said he wasn’t feeling well.
No one mocked him—they would wait a while and see if there was happy news before deciding whether to joke about it.
Once they left the burial grounds, everyone headed home separately.
Er Tian called out to his older brother—he wanted to talk.
Li Feng glanced at him. Running his own household had taught Er Tian a hard lesson. Gone was the old careless attitude—his expression had become steadier, more dependable.
And with only eight mu of land, he shouldn’t have been struggling this much. He had done farm work and supported a family before; none of this was new. Li Feng hadn’t even asked him to fetch the mule—having livestock at home should’ve kept him from exhausting himself.
It wasn’t the work—he was being crushed by daily life.
Before, he’d only counted the money coming in and going out, never the small details.
He never imagined how quickly life fell apart when every penny was measured.
Wang Dongmei had never managed the household. She just wanted to keep more silver for herself.
By rights, if she was that frugal, even if life was tough, they should’ve saved something—there should’ve been hope ahead.
But she couldn’t stand the flattery and snide comments from her own family. With just a few coins in her pocket, she wouldn’t spend a single one on herself. Even after getting pregnant, she barely ate any brown sugar or eggs—yet she sent plenty of things back to her mother’s house.
Er Tian came home after working all day to plain greens and pickles, so drained he could barely work the fields.
He didn’t want to continue anymore.
Li Feng listened to him ramble on and frowned deeper with every sentence.
“Aren’t you a man? Since when is supporting a family easy? You hit trouble and suddenly you ‘don’t want to live like this’? If you don’t like the way she spends money, then you hold onto the money. She’s a person—she understands words. Talk to her. How could she not know what’s important? You both have to eat and drink. Buy less at a time—if you only bring home a little, she can’t send anything out. As for your in-laws, you should’ve stormed over there long ago. Your household is falling apart—you think you can fix that by being soft?”
Er Tian didn’t know how to storm anywhere.
Li Feng said, “How did you make a scene with Mother when we split the family?”
Er Tian kept silent.
Li Feng continued, “Then do the same thing. If she sends food and money home, and you catch her, go to her family and eat there. Bring an axe. Whatever door they lock, you chop it down. Plant yourself inside and eat. Whoever throws a punch, you swing the axe. Go a few times. After that, when she wants to run home, your father-in-law will chase her out himself. When a family can’t even survive, what face is left to save?”
Er Tian memorized every word, then asked, “Brother… since Dongmei is pregnant and can’t work too hard, could you teach her to make stir-fried sauce to earn a little money for the household?”
Li Feng rejected the idea immediately.
“She can’t touch food.”
Er Tian blinked, realizing he’d overstepped.
Li Feng added, “She can do grass weaving, bamboo weaving, or dry soap beans or melon rind.”
Small jobs, still worth a bit of coin.
This rare conversation between the brothers ended on good terms.
Er Tian wanted to say more, but Li Feng waved him off.
“I’m keeping an eye on how you’re living. Even if the household’s divided, we’re still brothers. If something really happens, I won’t ignore you. Don’t make me lose faith in you.”
Er Tian had nothing else to say.
They parted ways there. Li Feng strode forward and caught up with his family.
He reached again for Lu Liu’s hand. Lu Liu looked up at him with a soft smile.
“Mother said you’re heading to the county in the next few days. Can I go too? I want to tell my brother the good news.”
The mountain road was too rough—it was better if he didn’t go.
Li Feng hesitated, then turned to Chen Guizhi.
“Mother, would that be alright?”
Chen Guizhi wanted Lu Liu to rest more.
“In the early months, the pregnancy isn’t stable. The road is too far. After three months, Dapeng can take you to the county.”
Lu Liu felt disappointed, but he knew they were right. All he could do was hope the days would pass faster.
Li Feng reassured him, “I’ll tell your brother.”
Lu Liu nodded. “Alright. I’ll go next time.”
Li Feng’s trip this time was mainly to deliver bamboo shoots and fresh mushrooms.
It was the season—mushrooms were plentiful. Whatever they couldn’t deliver would be dried at home.
They also brought two rabbits to sell.
This time, Li Feng didn’t hurry. With his “chicken-breeding booklet” neatly bound, he visited other villages along the way.
Besides Li Village, there were three more villages west of the county. He spent half an hour in each. Sold bamboo shoots and mushrooms and asked whether anyone wanted the chicken-raising booklets.
When night fell and there was nothing else to do—people focused on making babies.
The “baby-making manuals” sold well.
Villages didn’t have much money, but averaging ten copies per village was already pretty good.
With silver in hand, Li Feng went to the county. After delivering goods to Lu Yang, he talked about buying mountain mushrooms. Now that he had some capital, he felt confident enough to ask Lu Yang to contact merchants.
He had lost some time that morning, so by the time he reached the shop, it was noon.
At noon, Xie Yan came home for lunch. The moment they met, they were bickering again.
Xie Yan boasted, “I made money.”
Li Feng grinned, “I’m going to be a father.”
Xie Yan’s eyes widened. “I made a lot of money!”
Li Feng kept smiling. “My husband is pregnant!”
Back and forth they went—until Lu Yang overheard and rushed out, delighted.
“Liu is pregnant?”
Li Feng laughed like a fool. “Yes. It’s still too early to tell people. He wanted to come say it himself, but Mother and I both told him to wait two more months.”
Lu Yang paced the courtyard in excitement and worry.
“What’s he coming for? That’s such a long trip—I can go to him! I’ve never visited the mountain village anyway. Tell him I’m free these next few days, I’ll go see him!”
He gathered ink, paper, brushes, a new abacus, and a big account book.
Then went to the cloth shop to pick nice fabric scraps—to sew a Hundred-Family Robe and Hundred-Family Quilt for the baby.
Lu Yang said to Li Feng, “Take good care of him. If I see him looking unwell, I’ll take him back to the county to live.”
Li Feng wasn’t angry—just confident.
“You won’t be able to take him.”
Lu Liu was doing just fine.
Lu Yang wasn’t angry either. He smiled until his eyes turned into narrow slits.
Through those narrow slits, he spotted Xie Yan squatting in a corner like a depressed mushroom. He leaned over and whispered something indecent into Xie Yan’s ear:
“Are you trying to be top scholar now?”
Xie Yan muttered, “No. Not really. If you go to the mountains, what am I supposed to do?”
Lu Yang blinked, his smile turning even lighter.
