My Husband Called Me Home to Live Off Him

“My father said Man Ge is about to give birth, and he made a few little clothes for the child […]

Du Heng returned home in the afternoon, having skipped lunch to prepare the enrollment gifts. He wanted to make an

By late March, the evening wind carried the scent of early-blooming peach blossoms. Du Heng, as usual, placed a few

This time, Du Heng went alone to the county, sparing Qin Xiaoman the trouble of traveling back and forth. If

“The laborers my father hired were all dependable. Had he still been alive, he would have managed the land himself.”

That evening, Qin Xiong brought over a fresh pork stomach from the neighboring village, saying it was to nourish the

Du Heng stood at the inn’s entrance, watching the ox cart disappear down the road. He couldn’t help but step

Since Xiaoman’s father passed away, the number of visiting relatives had decreased each year. Two years ago, there were still

Du Heng and Xiaoman closed their stall earlier than other vendors. They still had over an hour’s journey home—not like

Qin Xiaoman lay on the soft couch, his back propped up with a thick quilt and two pillows placed on

Du Heng took out some soybeans that had been soaked overnight, brought out the clear oil, and prepared to fry

In the tenth month, the Li family held their wedding. As one of the wealthier landowning families in the village,

The trotters were chopped and simmering in the pot. Du Heng refreshed the yellow beans with warm water, since dried

Xiaoman’s excitement immediately deflated, much like Du Heng had looked when he first heard about the land tax. After all

Du Heng and Xiaoman’s family had a lot of crops this year. They had previously harvested fields of rapeseed, sorghum,

The whole incident had happened in the middle of the night. The chaos of chasing the thieves lasted nearly until

The summer rain fell heavily, covering the sky and darkening the day earlier than usual. Xiaoman, imagining the household would

In July, the sorghum in the fields had already turned an entire mu deep red, standing tall with heads raised

Before the county market day, Qin Xiaoman and Du Heng planned to take some of the clear oil they had

The next day, Du Heng had been thinking about getting up early. Even though he had gone to bed late,