The two of them walked home, one in front of the other. Xu An and Xu Mo had already prepared the meal: cabbage and tofu stew with vermicelli, scrambled eggs with scallions, and two-layered flatbreads.

Once they sat down at the table, Xu An handed each of them a flatbread and said, “Sister, Big Brother Lu, hurry and eat.”

Xu Mo glanced at the silent pair, exchanged a look with Xu An, and then lowered his head to eat.

After finishing his meal, Lu Xiaotang went to the cow shed. Xu An and Xu Mo sat on the kang, playing chess, while Xu Ning sat beside them, knitting a sweater.

Xu An casually asked, “Sister, did you and Big Brother Lu have a fight?”

Xu Mo lifted her head to look at her, and Xu Ning paused for a moment, glancing at the two before saying, “No, why would you think that, Xiao An?”

Xiao An replied, “When you two were eating earlier, you hardly spoke. Big Brother Lu kept sneaking glances at you, and I thought he might have upset you.”

Xiao Mo nodded in agreement. “Usually, Big Brother Lu jokes around with us during meals. Today, he only served us dishes and hardly said a word.”

Xu Ning didn’t notice the unusual atmosphere; she was too absorbed in her thoughts while eating. Did he somehow discover her worries? That would be so embarrassing.

Xu Ning felt her face heat up again. She said to Xu An and Xu Mo, “I didn’t have a fight with Brother Lu. I might have caught a bit of a chill when I went up the mountain today, so I’m feeling a bit unwell. It’s fine, you two should continue with your chess. I’ll head to bed.”

Xu An asked with concern, “Sister, are you sure you’re okay? If not, I can go with you to find Doctor Han in the village.”

“I’m fine, it’s already getting better. After a good sleep, I’ll be okay tomorrow. You both should get to bed early too,” Xu Ning replied before getting up to return to her room.

Lying in bed, she tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. She eventually sat up, lit a candle, and decided to knit for a while to keep her mind from wandering.

Meanwhile, Lu Xiaotang was a bit distracted while talking with his parents in the cow shed.

His mother noticed and asked, “Why are you so absent-minded today?”

Lu Xiaotang quickly perked up and replied, “Mom, I woke up a bit early this morning and don’t feel too well. You and Dad should get to bed early; I’ll head back now and come by tomorrow to talk with you.”

After he left, his mother whispered to his father, “He used to stay up all night, and I never saw him like this. He must be annoyed by my nagging.”

Uncle Lu comforted her, saying, “Don’t overthink it. Xiaotang might just not have rested well last night.”

After saying that, he watched his son leave and thought to himself that something seemed off about the boy.

When Lu Xiaotang returned, he found Xu An and Xu Mo sitting on the kang playing chess. Noticing it was only a bit past eight, he asked Xu An, “Is your sister already asleep?”

Xu An nodded and replied, “My sister said she wasn’t feeling well today, so she went to rest early. Big Brother Lu, why did you come back so early?”

Lu Xiaotang said, “Your Uncle and Aunt Lu are tired, so I came back early. Did your sister say what was bothering her?”

Xu An sighed and said, “She mentioned that she felt a bit of wind while on the mountain and has a headache. I suggested taking her to see Doctor Han in the village, but she didn’t want to go. She said a good sleep would fix it by tomorrow.”

Lu Xiaotang recalled that she had seemed off since coming down from the mountain. She hadn’t acted this way before, which meant she must really be unwell. He walked over to Xu Ning’s room and knocked on the door.

“Xiao Ning, are you asleep? Get up; I’ll take you to see the doctor.”

Xu Ning had just knitted a couple of rows when she heard Lu Xiaotang calling for her at the door. She thought that her lie about not feeling well had likely been told to Xu An and Xu Mo, who then informed Lu Xiaotang.

Hastily, she responded, “Brother Lu, I’m feeling much better. There’s no need to see the doctor. You should go to bed early!”

“Well, I’ll go get you some medicine,” Lu Xiaotang said, preparing to head out.

Hearing this, Xu Ning quickly opened the door and said to the departing Lu Xiaotang, “Brother Lu, really, there’s no need. A good sleep will fix me. If I still feel unwell tomorrow, I’ll see the doctor then.”

Lu Xiaotang noticed she looked okay and nodded, saying, “Alright, just rest well. If you feel uncomfortable at night, call for me right away.”

“I got it, Brother Lu. I’ll go to sleep now,” Xu Ning replied.

Lying in bed, she thought, What a day this has been! Beauty truly leads to trouble!

The next morning, Xu Ning woke up to find that Lu Xiaotang and Xu An had already prepared breakfast. After they finished eating, Xu An went off to school.

Xu Ning decided not to go up the mountain today. Instead, she planned to chop the cabbage in her private plot, as Old Chen would bring back the pickling jar for the sauerkraut at noon. She intended to start fermenting the sauerkraut today.

Lu Xiaotang told her to sit and rest while he took the knife from her hands. Before long, he had chopped the cabbage, fetched water, and washed the pickling jar, all while cleaning the cabbage thoroughly.

Xu Ning stood nearby, putting the cabbage into the jar and sprinkling salt over it. Both of them were unusually quiet. Xu Ning didn’t know what to say and felt nervous, afraid that her thoughts might be too obvious.

Meanwhile, Lu Xiaotang was contemplating how to express his feelings to the girl, wondering if she would ever accept him. He was uncertain whether she could see him in that light.

Xu Mo glanced between the two, remaining silent. He picked up her small basket and began collecting the dry leaves from the cabbage.

He said, “Sister, Brother Lu, I’ll take these dry leaves to the cow shed to feed the cows.”

With Xu Mo gone, the atmosphere between Xu Ning and Lu Xiaotang became even more awkward.

Just as Lu Xiaotang was about to speak, they heard Old Chen’s voice from outside, calling, “Xu Zhiqing, Xu Zhiqing, I’ve brought back the pickling jar for you!”

Lu Xiaotang quickly set down the cabbage, moved the jar inside, cleaned it out, and helped place the cabbage inside, letting Xu Ning sprinkle salt over it as needed.

Although the atmosphere felt a bit strange, the two of them worked together seamlessly. They finished pickling two large jars of sauerkraut, leaving plenty of cabbage behind. Xu Ning planned to let it dry outside for a day before storing it in the cellar tomorrow.

Noticing the time was getting late and Xu An would be coming home soon, Xu Ning went to the kitchen to retrieve the dough she had prepared in the morning. She intended to make a pot of brown sugar steamed cakes.

In the afternoon, as Xu Ning was about to head out with her basket, Lu Xiaotang followed her, carrying a flat carrying pole.

Xu Ning asked curiously, “Brother Lu, what do you need that pole for?”

Lu Xiaotang replied, “I have nothing to do at home, so I’m going up the mountain to chop some firewood. Let’s go!”

As they passed the cow shed and saw the door was closed, they didn’t call for Xu Mo. He had eaten lunch in the shed and should still be napping.

Once they reached the mountain, they saw several villagers’ wives foraging for wild produce, along with a number of men chopping wood.

Xu Ning found a less crowded spot to start picking pine cones, while Lu Xiaotang chopped wood not far from her.

When Aunt Si approached and spotted Xu Ning, she said, “Xu Zhiqing, my husband mentioned waiting a couple of days to chop cabbage. Are you in a hurry to pickle your sauerkraut? If you are, I can chop some for you now.”

Xu Ning smiled and said, “Aunt Si, I already pickled the sauerkraut this morning. Just bring me the cabbage whenever you chop it; there’s no rush. The cabbage I bought is meant for winter.”

Aunt Si slapped her thigh and replied, “That’s good to hear! I was worried about delaying your pickling.”

Then, glancing at Lu Xiaotang, who was busy chopping wood, she lowered her voice and asked, “Xu Zhiqing, your cousin is quite the catch. Does he have a girlfriend?”

Xu Ning glanced over at Lu Xiaotang, noticing he seemed focused on his task and probably hadn’t heard. She cleared her throat softly and said, “Aunt Si, I haven’t asked him. He’s a bit shy and might feel embarrassed.”

Before Aunt Si could respond, Xu Ning continued, “By the way, why didn’t I see Aunt Dashuan with you today?”

This question immediately shifted Aunt Si’s attention. She replied, “Her eldest daughter married into Wang’s brigade, right? She came to tell me that there’s a girl in her village who’s quite nice. She wanted to introduce her to her second brother, so they went to check her out this afternoon. Sister Dashuan went along too.”

Aunt Si then filled Xu Ning in on all the latest village gossip, sharing who was looking at whom, and which wives were arguing with their husbands.

Xu Ning listened with interest as Aunt Si gossiped about the happenings in the village.

Meanwhile, Lu Xiaotang continued chopping wood, occasionally glancing over to catch snippets of their conversation.