When Chen Yuping got up, the sun had not yet risen, but it was already quite bright outside.

Only his dad was at home, busy preparing breakfast in the kitchen, while his father and younger brother were still working in the fields.

“Dad.”

“Awake? Hurry up and wash up, your father and brother should be back soon.”

Chen Yuping replied with a few sounds of acknowledgment, quickly rinsing his mouth and washing his face with coarse salt.

He wasn’t the real Chen Yuping, he had only crossed over a few days ago and was still not accustomed to getting up at dawn.

When he arrived, he had been running a fever and was particularly weak. After a few days of medication and care, he seemed to be fine, though he is still thin and frail and easily blown over by a gust of wind. Perhaps for this reason, his family didn’t mind that he was late getting up and didn’t criticize him for not working.

“Dad, the traps I set yesterday caught quite a few small fish and shrimp, over a pound, with more shrimp.” Chen Yuanqiu placed a small wooden bucket in the corner and walked towards the well: “Third brother, feeling better today?”

“Better than yesterday.”

Dad Chen looked at the wooden bucket his younger son had brought back: “Should we make soup or pan-fry them? It’s just enough for a meal.”

“What do you want to eat, Third Brother?”

“More shrimp?”

Chen Yuanqiu nodded.

“Dad, save the shrimp for me, I’ll pan-fry the small fish,” Chen Yuping shouted into the kitchen.

As Father Chen entered the house and heard his third son’s voice, a smile spread across his face: “Ping ger seems to be in good spirits today.”

“I think so too.” Dad Chen replied, quickly sorting the small fish and shrimp, using the remaining warmth from the embers in the stove to dry the cleaned fish in the pot.

“What are you planning to do with the shrimp, Third Brother?” Chen Yuanqiu asked curiously, taking a bite of a delicious pickled cabbage bun.

Chen Yuping smiled mysteriously: “Making something tasty.”

“Is there enough? If not, second brother set traps yesterday too, he probably caught some shrimp as well.”

“I’ll go check in a bit.”

In Kuzhu Village, after children marry, they are usually given their own households.

Dad Chen and Old Chen had four children. The eldest son, a ger, Chen Yuchun, was married to Zhang Zhi from the Zhang family in the village and lived in the southern part of the village next door to them. The second son, Chen Yuandong, a boy, married a girl from a neighboring village and lived just a few steps away from the old home.

The third son, Chen Yuping, a ger, was almost nineteen but had not yet found a partner. This was mainly because his birthmark on his forehead was too faint, leading others to believe he lacked good fortune.

The youngest son, Chen Yuanqiu, was about seventeen, a tall and sturdy young man. Since last year, many girls from both his own and neighboring villages had expressed interest in him, but he himself was not in a hurry to marry.

This world was quite peculiar.

There were men and women, and there were also gers who could give birth, where gers were considered male and had a birthmark on their forehead.

Men could marry gers, men could marry women, gers could marry women, and gers could marry gers. It was rare for men to marry men or women to marry women.

Gers with faint birthmarks tended to be strong and somewhat similar to men, they could support a family, making it easier for them to marry. After marrying girls or gers with deep birthmarks, they could have children. Though gers couldn’t give birth themselves, they generally had stronger reproductive abilities than ordinary men, though still not as strong as true men.

Chen Yuping’s situation was somewhat special, his birthmark was faint, and he had a frail physique, which made his reproductive ability relatively low, almost on par with his birthmark.

Although he looked quite good and was handsome, he had never had anyone come to inquire about marriage since reaching adulthood.

However, Chen Yuping, having crossed over, found the original owner’s troubles trivial.

As a modern man, facing significant life pressures and nearing thirty, he never thought about marriage and enjoyed being single.

He preferred to spend his time thinking about food and drinks rather than adding unnecessary stress to himself.

After helping his dad with some household chores, the two of them went to Chen Yuandong’s house next door.

Liu Guixiang was doing needlework under the eaves with the child. Seeing Dad Chen and his third son arrive, she smiled and got up to greet them.

“That child sleeps so soundly.” Dad Chen glanced at his granddaughter, then rolled up his sleeves to help his daughter-in-law with household chores.

Liu Guixiang helped out while Chen Yuping sat under the eaves, watching his sleeping niece.

“Go rest, there’s not much to do.”

“I thought I could tidy up while the child was sleeping, it’s rare for her to be in such a deep sleep at this hour.”

Dad Chen said gently, “Just focus on taking care of the child. I can handle these little chores easily. You should take a break when you can.”

“How can I sit still? I feel uncomfortable just sitting around.”

With the house cleaned inside and out, Dad Chen entered the kitchen and picked up half a bowl of shrimp: “I’ll take these over. If Ping ger makes something to eat, I’ll have him send some back.”

“Ping ger loves shrimp. If there are more, I’ll have his father send some to the old house directly.”

“That’s not necessary, I’ll be coming back and forth several times today.” As he spoke, Dad Chen asked his third son, “Are you taking Qiaoniu out to play or going back?”

The three-month-old baby was chubby with large, round eyes. Chen Yuping was quite fond of her and, seeing her wake up, he picked her up and played with her, chatting away as if they had a lot to talk about.

“I’ll go back with Dad.” Chen Yuping set Qiaoniu down: “Second sister-in-law, once the shrimp paste is ready, I’ll bring some over and come back to play with Qiaoniu.”

Liu Guixiang readily agreed.

Fresh river shrimp made excellent shrimp paste, flavorful and aromatic.

Even with just a small amount of shrimp, Chen Yuping eagerly started a fire to prepare the dish. Dad Chen didn’t stop him, he had his own tasks to attend to, allowing his son to go about his business.

Once the shrimp paste was done, the kitchen was filled with a rich, savory aroma.

Dad Chen returned from the vegetable garden, completely taken aback by the fragrance: “What is this? It smells amazing.”

“Shrimp paste.” Chen Yuping replied with a smile: “Dad, I’ll handle lunch today. How about inviting second brother and the others over to eat?”

“Sure, you prepare lunch. I’ll go check on the fields and let Qiaoniu’s mother know.”

As soon as Dad Chen left, Chen Yuping took some money and went to the east side of the village to buy two blocks of tofu.

Lunch was simple: shrimp paste stewed with tofu, shrimp paste stir-fried with green beans, mushroom and vegetable soup, and pan-fried small fish. In addition to the small fish from their own traps, Liu Guixiang brought over a small bowl from her home.

When the Chen family returned from the fields, they could smell the delicious aroma from afar.

“What delicious food did Third Brother make?” Chen Yuanqiu ran home excitedly: “Third Brother, what did you make? It smells so good from a distance!”

“I made some shrimp paste, just add a bit when cooking, it’s both fragrant and fresh.” Chen Yuping replied while setting the table.

Dad = Ger parent

Father = Male parent