At home, Chen Yuping soaked some yellow soybeans and went to visit Third Uncle, hoping to get lucky and find some pig tails. To his surprise, he actually found one.

A pig tail costs just a few coins and is quite cheap, with not much meat on it.

He brought the pig tail home, planning to make a dish of soybeans braised with pig tail for dinner. The fish hot pot would be enough for lunch.

Cui Yuanjiu prepared the fish, carrying a bowl along with the cutting board and knife to the kitchen.

Chen Yuping had just hung up the pig tail when he glanced at the bowl in Yuanjiu’s hand and smiled, “Your knife skills are really good, those fish slices must be nice.”

“Yuanjiu is indeed very efficient,” Dad Chen praised.

Cui Yuanjiu grinned, his eyes slightly squinting, as he hung up the cutting board and knife. “Shall we start cooking now?”

“Sure.”

At this moment, it hadn’t rained, and Chen Yuandong came over with his wife and daughter to join for lunch.

“Cao ger is awake, and Qiaoniu was clamoring to come over. Earlier, it was raining heavily, so I didn’t let her. This little one even knows how to throw a tantrum now,” Liu Guixiang said as she placed her daughter on a bamboo couch to play with Cao ger. “Yuanjiu is helping to light the fire.” As she spoke, her eyes were filled with smiles, and she stole a few glances at Dad Chen.

Dad Chen caught his daughter-in-law’s gaze and chuckled happily.

“Has Father Chen and the youngest son returned yet?” Chen Yuandong asked.

“They said they went to the fields since it stopped raining.”

“I’ll go take a look too.” After a pause, Chen Yuandong added, “How long until lunch?”

Chen Yuping replied, “About half an hour.”

Liu Guixiang helped chop vegetables—potatoes, radishes, winter melon, tofu, mushrooms, and greens—almost ten varieties, which they would blanch in the fish hot pot later.

They also soaked a basin of vermicelli and didn’t cook rice.

Chen Yuping prepared two dipping sauces, one spicy and one mildly spicy.

Just as the outside started to drizzle, Father Chen and his two sons returned home, managing to avoid getting wet.

Cui Yuanjiu moved the pot from the small stove to the big one, setting it on the table filled with prepared vegetables, so everyone could pick what they wanted to blanch.

Each person held their sauce bowl and sat in a circle near the stove.

The pot of fish soup bubbled vigorously, releasing a rich aroma. The misty steam wafted warmly toward their faces. Outside, the gentle rain fell, while inside, everyone enjoyed the hot pot and drank some liquor, sweating profusely in the cool weather. Their cheeks flushed and glowed with a particularly cheerful springtime look.

After eating and drinking, Chen Yuanqiu, feeling pleasantly tipsy from the few sips he had taken, said with dreamy eyes, “The fish hot pot is really delightful. In the dead of winter, having fish hot pot must feel even better.”

Having not had hot pot for a long time, Chen Yuping felt quite satisfied, saying, “The broth made from pork bones is also very fragrant.”

“Ping ger knows how to cook delicious food,” Liu Guixiang said, touching her face with a frown. “I’ve been coming here often for meals, and I’ve noticed I’ve gained weight, even Qiaoniu has put on some pounds.” With good food and enough milk, both mother and child had gained weight.

Chen Yuandong quickly interjected, “Not really, this is just right.” He embraced the soft, fragrant child and kissed her gently.

“Second sister-in-law, look at second brother. Just look at that look in his eyes, it gives me goosebumps,” Chen Yuanqiu said, rubbing his arms. “Love makes one see beauty in everything.”

Father Chen, leisurely sipping tea, glanced at his youngest son and said, “Learn a bit from your second brother.” With a good relationship between the couple, the elders felt secure.

The eldest son and his partner were not as good as the second son and his partner. Zhang Zhiwei was a bit dull, just going through life without much thought. There’s nothing wrong with a simple life, but it can be a bit too plain, and couples need some intimacy. A harder life could still have sweetness in their hearts.

“I’m learning, not only from second brother, but I also want to learn from Father,” Chen Yuanqiu said, lavishing compliments on the old man, hoping he wouldn’t always have high expectations of him. “When it comes to caring for a partner, Father is the best.”

Father Chen laughed, likely a bit tipsy, his mood lightened: “Your dad chose me because of my few good points. Otherwise, as a poor man, how could I marry your dad? Back then, he was well-known and sought after. Many wanted to marry him, but he chose me!”

“He’s drunk,” Dad Chen thought as he listened to his partner, knowing he was a bit tipsy. “Don’t listen to him, liking him is one thing, but it’s also because he’s clever, works hard, is efficient, honest, and straightforward. He has always treated me well. For most of our lives together, I haven’t seen him change, and he’s still the same as when we first married. To live together, one must choose the right person, money doesn’t matter as long as they are hardworking and quick-witted. The most important thing is to hold them dear.”

When Dad Chen said this, he meaningfully glanced at Cui Yuanjiu.

It was unclear if the young man took it to heart.

In the afternoon, the rain didn’t fall, and business at the stall picked up.

Father Chen took his youngest son to make tofu while Chen Yuandong worked in the fields. Liu Guixiang and Dad Chen watched the children while keeping an eye on the stall, while Chen Yuping and Cui Yuanjiu washed pig intestines behind the house.

“You must have been to quite a few places while escorting goods.”

“I rarely go north, I mostly travel in the south. I won’t take jobs too far away since they’re too dangerous. There aren’t many skilled people in the escort agency.”

Chen Yuping smiled warmly, “Tell me about the outside world.”

“Months ago, I went with an escort to Xiucheng, it’s a particularly beautiful and prosperous place. The people living there are very refined, and seldom loud. I hardly saw anyone unattractive, with their features carrying an air of elegance. Their mannerisms and speech are quite different from ours.”

Cui Yuanjiu described the people of Xiucheng, their food, the sights he saw, detailing his experiences slowly and clearly.

After he finished talking about Xiucheng, he mentioned Tongcheng, then Mo Nan… various places, each with its unique customs and scenery—Xiucheng’s refinement, Tongcheng’s scholarly atmosphere, and Mo Nan’s boldness, among others.

Chen Yuping listened, filled with longing, wishing he could visit each place.

“I even had some grilled skewers from a northern man’s shop, they sprinkled some kind of spice on top, and they were especially fragrant.”

“Perhaps it’s cumin?” Chen Yuping thought and said, “If you come across that spice outside, buy some for me. We can make grilled skewers and see what it tastes like.”

“I’ll buy it if I find it, it’s really delicious. The shop is small, but it’s very popular.”

Dad Chen made a trip to the kitchen and heard voices near the well behind the house. After a while, he returned to the kitchen and again heard voices from the well.

In an hour, he went to the kitchen three times, and each time he could hear talking from the well.

Though he didn’t show it on the surface, he was actually quite pleased inside.

Cui Yuanjiu may be small in stature, but he was steady, sincere, capable, tall, and robust. He’s someone reliable. He was quick-witted and efficient, learning quickly by just observing. Other than being from a poor family, that was not much of an issue, especially since he had severed ties with the Zhang family.

If these two really got together, they would probably live near Kuzhu Village. Ping ger still wanted to build a sanhe courtyard around the old house, making it convenient for visits and support.

“Dad thinks the young man from the Cui family is good?”

Dad Chen nodded and was straightforward with his daughter-in-law: “I like him in every way. If Ping ger and he really got together, life wouldn’t be bad. The most important thing is that Yuanjiu will likely live in Kuzhu Village with Ping ger. You know Ping ger struggles with fertility, so I want him nearby. If anything happens, he would know early, and under our watchful eyes. Both your father and I would feel at ease.”

“That makes sense,” Liu Guixiang, as a mother, understood the elders’ thoughts well. She also wanted to keep her daughter under close watch.

Dinner consisted of soybeans braised with pig tail, Mapo tofu, spicy stir-fried meat, and vegetable mushroom soup.

The weather wasn’t great, and seven shrimp paste buns and two tea eggs remained. They steamed another batch of buns, either to eat with shrimp paste or as side dishes.

After dinner, while it was still early, Cui Yuanjiu left the Chen household, walking lightly with a smile on his face, clearly having encountered good fortune.

The young man spoke sourly, 

“You’re so lucky, eating well at the Chen house. I’ve been gnawing on buns all day, eagerly waiting for you to bring back some marinated food, and you spent the whole day at Chen’s!”

“Ping ger made a fish hot pot for lunch that was especially delicious. I’ve never had such good hot pot.”

“Now you’re showing off!”

“For dinner, we had soybeans braised with pig tail and Mapo tofu…”

The young man groaned loudly: “Brother Jiu, if you say another word, I’m going to Chen’s house tomorrow! I mean it!”

“Do you want two tea eggs?”

“Yes!” The young man shouted as he lunged for the tea eggs. “Why didn’t you bring them out earlier, they smell so good. If only there were some marinated food, that would be even better.”

“If I come across some, I’ll bring it back for you.”

“I’ll remember that! If you don’t bring it back, I’ll just go buy it from Chen’s house myself.”

Cui Yuanjiu remembered there was also a youngest son at the Chen house, a seventeen-year-old lad. He glanced at the young man, who was enjoying the tea eggs, and thought, “You can come with me to Chen’s house tomorrow. I’ve already been honest about Cao ger’s background.”

“I knew it! No wonder you look so happy, the Chen’s are really nice!” He gave a thumbs-up and continued eating the tea eggs.

When Cui Yuanjiu spoke about Cao ger, only Dad Chen and Chen Yuping were in the kitchen, the rest of the Chen family was unaware.

That night, lying in bed, Dad Chen chatted with his partner about his thoughts: “I think this boy is quite good, he seems capable of living well. What do you think?”

“It’s still early, let’s wait and see. So far, he indeed seems reliable, if Ping ger chooses him as a partner, we can relax our worries. Moreover, Cao ger is his master’s lifeblood, and he is someone who values gratitude. Even if they have children later, Cao ger wouldn’t be neglected.”

“That’s what I think too. If Ping ger were to choose someone else, there would always be a difference between a biological child and an adopted one. In that case, Ping ger would be caught in the middle, making life quite difficult, and things could get rocky.”

Dad Chen was convinced that Cao ger was his little grandson, a weak little child who now looked plump and healthy thanks to him and Ping ge’s efforts.

“I think Ping ger might share similar thoughts. This afternoon, he and Yuanjiu were chatting and laughing, engaging in conversation like never before.”

Father Chen was a bit surprised. “While washing the pig intestines?”

“Yes, for over an hour.”

“Ping ger is wise, let’s see what he thinks and follow his lead. Don’t interfere too much.”

“I know.” Dad Chen spoke with a smile: “Between them, I promise not to say a word, not even a glance. Let them figure it out on their own. If they truly have feelings for each other, they won’t need us to say much, things will naturally develop. I understand, don’t worry.”