Volume One, Chapter 20: He Actually Doesn’t Mind the Hardship

Having land at home is indeed a cause for joy.

Father and mother Shen were so delighted they could hardly close their mouths in smiles. Yintian also felt happy; her eyes inadvertently glanced toward Cui Heng, who happened to look up and meet her gaze. A faint blush crept onto Cui Heng’s ears.

He seemed somewhat uneasy.

Yintian smiled softly to herself. No matter how composed the young master was, he was still just an eighteen-year-old boy. If he hadn’t chosen to return to the countryside, by now he would have been engaged—likely to a noble young lady from the capital, well-bred and from a good family, someone befitting the young master.

She sighed inwardly. It was a pity he had come back to the countryside. If he stayed here for life, he could only marry a rustic village girl...

Suddenly, Yintian stopped herself.

Other village girls—she wasn’t worthy of the young master either! If none of them were worthy, why couldn’t it be her?

Her heart pounded wildly.

“Is dinner ready yet? I’m starving!” Zhang Jing called out unabashedly from the kitchen, his boldness even greater than Yintian’s.

“You’re shameless. You already ate lunch at my place, and now you’re rushing dinner. Don’t tell me you’re planning another all-night book-copying session here tonight!” Yintian retorted.

Zhang Jing, with a mouth stained yellow from the persimmon cakes that Mrs. Shen had picked and dried from the mountain, grinned.

“How could I not? These book-copying tasks are all thanks to the teacher— you should be grateful I brought you into this line of work! Once these books are copied, your young master will earn several hundred wen. That’s more than what embroidery work brings in!” His expression seemed to say, “So what if I’ve eaten your meals twice?”

Yintian restrained the urge to hit him, scooping the dirty water from the pot and pouring it into a bucket to later feed to Stinky Treasure, their pig.

She had to serve her guests first!

“Go wait then!”

Dinner was simple: pancakes and noodle soup, but the cooking oil was animal fat. After the whole family ate their fill, Yintian prepared pig feed for Stinky Treasure, who would have to make do with bran.

After feeding the pig, she stir-fried some beans and placed them inside the house in case someone got hungry during the night.

She hadn’t bought much grain last time anyway, and most of it had been used as wheat seed. Yintian planned to buy more grains once she had some free time.

There were still plenty of beans left. After some thought, she soaked a basin of beans, intending to grind them tomorrow to make bean curd for everyone to enjoy.

Once all the chores were done, she rubbed a small piece of lard on her hands and went inside to start embroidery work.

Embroidery required careful attention—no rush, steady hands... The lighting inside was poor, so Mrs. Shen kindly lit a lamp for Yintian.

“Sweetheart, don’t ruin your eyes!” Mrs. Shen was careful with herself but generous with Yintian. Their own room never had lights on, yet they spared two lamps for Yintian’s and Cui Heng’s rooms.

Yintian felt guilty for having left the elderly couple to follow Shen Fuzhu to the capital in her past life—it seemed ungrateful.

She scolded herself silently once more, then resumed stitching with such vigor that she nearly tore the fabric with her large movements!

“Sweetheart?” Cui Heng called softly.

Yintian snapped back to reality and saw that both Cui Heng and Zhang Jing were watching her.

Cui Heng moved her pillow behind her.

“Come lie down. You’ve been tired all day.”

Yintian instinctively glanced outside, but the sky was pitch black.

“I’m not sleepy...” she said.

“Do as you’re told.”

She murmured in agreement, climbed onto the kang, and lay down behind him. Cui Heng tucked the quilt around her.

“Sorry for the trouble, Brother Zhang.”

He treated Yintian with such intimacy that Zhang Jing felt a sourness in his mouth. He grabbed a handful of beans and chewed them.

“Brother Cui is lucky...”

Yawning, he ignored the strange hostility Cui Heng directed at him and bent his head to continue copying books.

By dawn, after finishing the copying, Zhang Jing tidied up and prepared to leave for class.

“Brother Cui, copy a little faster—I'll come to collect it in a couple of days!”

This time he held back; after staying up all night, he couldn’t afford to be late again!

Cui Heng smiled but said nothing, stretching his sore wrists before lying beside Yintian and pulling the quilt over himself.

When Yintian woke up, he was still asleep. She quietly got up without waking him.

The beans in the kitchen had soaked all night, each yellow soybean fully plumped with water.

She scooped them out and carried them to the village’s stone mill to crush them. Returning home, she filtered the ground beans through cheesecloth to extract the soybean milk, then boiled it until cooked.

She ladled out three bowls of soybean milk, adding gypsum powder to the rest to let the milk set into tofu pudding.

The leftover bean pulp could feed pigs, chickens, and ducks—or be used as fertilizer.

But most villagers, struggling to have enough to eat, wouldn’t waste bean pulp on animals.

Yintian mixed half a bowl of flour, some salt, and shredded radish into the bean pulp, making bean pulp cakes—perfect for breakfast!

She ate a little breakfast with Father and Mother Shen. The tofu pudding had set, and since the pot was still warm and the young master hadn’t woken, she covered it and brought her embroidery frame outside.

By mid-morning, Cui Heng awoke.

Yintian’s embroidery was nearly finished.

“Young master, you’re awake! I made tofu pudding for you—shall I serve you a bowl?”

Cui Heng responded with a simple “Okay.”

Yintian went to the kitchen to chop scallions and ginger, then marinated them briefly with sesame oil and salt before adding them in. She also took out some pickled radish from the jar she had prepared, chopped a few pieces, and mixed them in.

If only she had some crushed peanuts or sesame seeds—it would taste even better. But the countryside had limited resources.

Next year, she vowed to plant some sesame and peanuts herself!

She wasn’t even sure if peanuts were available now. In her past life, she had only heard of peanuts after arriving in the capital; back in the village, she had never known such things existed.

The aroma of the tofu pudding made Cui Heng pause in surprise.

The pristine white pudding topped with scallions, ginger, and pickles—since coming to the countryside, the food might be humble, but there was always evident care in its preparation.

The house was simple, but the lady of the house cleaned tirelessly. Even now, with his bare feet on the floor, there was no dust to be found.

Mrs. Shen came in holding a new long robe and placed it by his bedside.

“Brother Heng, change into this new clothes. Let me wash your old ones. The shoes are almost done; once I sew the uppers to the soles, they’ll be ready.”

“Young master, eat first before the tofu pudding cools!”

Cui Heng nodded and looked down at the tofu pudding, feeling deeply moved. He took a bite, then met Yintian’s unwavering gaze.

“It’s delicious!”

Yintian smiled.

“I’m glad you like it. I can cook many more dishes. Once our family lives well, I’ll make delicious food for you every day!”

After he finished eating, Mrs. Shen handed him the clothes and watched as he changed.

“The clothes fit well. Thank you, mother.”

Suddenly, Mrs. Shen covered her eyes and wept.

“Brother Heng, I’m sorry you’ve suffered so much!”

Cui Heng sighed, though he didn’t truly feel hardship.

“With you all by my side, I feel very happy.”

He comforted Mrs. Shen, then looked up at Yintian, who smiled back at him. She tidied up her embroidery work.

“I need to go into town. I’m going to borrow a cart and see if I can buy some grain on the way back. We should buy extra this time—once it snows, we won’t be able to leave!”

Qinghe Village was quite remote, with difficult access.

Just as she pushed the cart out the door, two burly men wearing animal skin vests approached and asked for directions.

“Little girl, can we ask if anyone in your village found our animal traps on the mountain a few days ago? Please return them!”