Chapter Summaries

Ruan Puchuan helped Lu Mingxi make egg fried rice, and the meal brought Lu Mingyi, Meng Zhixian, and Su Yuhe into the kitchen. Lu Mingyi and Su Yuhe remained wary of Ruan Puchuan, while Meng Zhixian mocked Lu Mingxi for accepting his help.

• Ruan Puchuan agreed to help Lu Mingxi cook and followed him home, where Lu Mingxi promised to buy him candied hawthorn skewers once he had settled in.
• Ruan Puchuan used eggs, lard, and leftover rice to make egg fried rice while Lu Mingxi watched and praised its smell.
• Lu Mingyi woke to find Ruan Puchuan cooking with Lu Mingxi and said they could manage on their own despite Ruan Puchuan's explanation.
• Meng Zhixian and Su Yuhe entered the kitchen, and Lu Mingyi explained that Ruan Puchuan had made the food.
• Su Yuhe questioned why Ruan Puchuan was there, and Lu Mingxi said he had invited him to teach him to cook.
• Meng Zhixian mocked Lu Mingxi for accepting Ruan Puchuan's help without knowing how he would repay the favor.

Lu Mingxi learned to make egg fried rice from Ruan Puchuan, who stayed for breakfast at Su Yuhe's home. After Ruan Puchuan choked while eating, Su Yuhe asked Lu Mingyi to treat the Li family's husband's injuries.

• Meng Zhixian left angrily after Lu Mingxi said he had learned half the lesson.
• Lu Mingxi invited Ruan Puchuan to stay for breakfast and asked him about Li Yun.
• Ruan Puchuan taught Lu Mingxi the steps for making egg fried rice and washed the wok.
• Ruan Puchuan choked on rice, and Su Yuhe gave him water and patted his back.
• Su Yuhe noticed Ruan Puchuan's untreated cuts and swelling, then asked Lu Mingyi to treat them.

Li Wenxiu questioned Ruan Puchuan about Lu Mingxi, but Liu Xiaobo stopped Ruan from going out to cut grass and frightened the boy by pinching his cheek. Lu Mingxi fled home and told Su Yuhe what happened while Meng Zhixian continued copying books.

• Liu Xiaobo pushed Li Wenxiu into the courtyard to bask in the sun and went to make her cabbage dumplings.
• Li Wenxiu asked Ruan Puchuan who Lu Mingxi was and invited the boy inside, but he stayed by the door.
• Liu Xiaobo ordered Ruan Puchuan to fetch water instead of cutting grass with Lu Mingxi.
• Liu Xiaobo pinched Lu Mingxi's cheek and compared his tender face to pork, frightening him.
• Lu Mingxi ran home and told Su Yuhe about Liu Xiaobo, while Meng Zhixian looked on and kept copying.

Su Yuhe took a break from copying books, shared a meal with her family, and returned to work while Lu Mingyi went to visit the neighbors. A skinny young fish seller met Lu Mingyi and followed him home after he agreed to buy one fish.

• Lu Mingxi helped prepare lunch and served the dishes, and Su Yuhe praised his cooking and Meng Zhixian's help.
• Su Yuhe hurried back to the study to copy books, while Lu Mingxi left Meng Zhixian to wash the dishes.
• Lu Mingyi finished eating and went out to visit the neighbors.
• A skinny young man offered Lu Mingyi palm-sized fish for ten wen each and urged him to buy more.
• Lu Mingyi agreed to buy one fish and invited the seller home to collect the money.

Su Yuhe began offering a home letter-writing service and enlisted Little He to find customers and deliver letters. When Little He brought the village chief to her courtyard, she arrived with news of an unexpected opportunity, but the chapter ended before she explained it.

• Su Yuhe refused to buy Little He's crucian carp because they might be carrying roe, and he agreed to release them.
• Su Yuhe bought ten bundles of firewood from Little He and asked him to spread the word about her letter-writing service.
• Little He agreed to bring customers' letters to the post station for a share of the earnings.
• Three days later, Little He brought a visitor to Su Yuhe: the village chief.
• The village chief said she had come to tell Su Yuhe something, while Little He called it a wonderful bit of good fortune.

Su Yuhe learned that the village and the court planned to build granaries in preparation for a predicted great freeze, and that her household would owe money or labor for both. She was left weighing the cost against sending Lu Mingyi to work.

• The village chief told Su Yuhe that the imperial preceptor had predicted the return of a devastating great freeze.
• The village chief explained that Su Yuhe’s household owed two taels or five hundred double-hours of labor for the city granary.
• Su Yuhe learned that the village would also build its own granary and that her household would owe another two taels or labor.
• Lu Mingyi offered to work off the remaining hours, but Su Yuhe said she could not pay the full amount at once.
• The village chief said Su Yuhe could pay with grain at market price and promised to return in a few days to collect the money.
• After the village chief left, Su Yuhe considered the expense and thought about the value of owning farmland for growing sweet potatoes.

Su Yuhe arranged for Lu Mingyi to copy books at home instead of working off his labor quota, then sold their completed copies to earn money. At the market, she spotted two seedlings that might be chili peppers but walked away when the vendor asked too much.

• Su Yuhe gave Lu Mingyi books to copy and told him to wait until his chilblains healed before writing.
• Lu Mingyi and Lu Mingxi hurried out to tend the cooking fire, leaving Su Yuhe and Meng Zhixian to keep copying.
• In mid-March, Su Yuhe sold two books she had copied and one Meng Zhixian had copied for four and a half taels of silver.
• Su Yuhe bought vegetables at the market and noticed two wilted seedlings said to bear spicy red fruit.
• Su Yuhe suspected the seedlings were chili peppers, but walked away when the vendor insisted on charging ten wen each.

Su Yuhe bought wild greens and arranged to buy mustard greens from Second Sister Li, who offered to sell her vegetables directly in the future. The chapter left Su Yuhe returning home with the greens while keeping her distance from most villagers because of their gossip and a past price-gouging incident.

• Su Yuhe bought meat, grain, and cheap wild greens after the stall owner agreed to her price.
• Su Yuhe asked Second Sister Li for ten jin of mustard greens, and they agreed on a price of three wen per jin.
• Second Sister Li stopped at her field and gathered forty mustard green plants with her husband.
• Second Sister Li gave Su Yuhe eleven jin of greens and offered to sell her vegetables directly in the future.
• Su Yuhe accepted the offer and recalled avoiding villagers after one had overcharged and guilt-tripped her over cabbage.

Su Yuhe returned to find Li Yun selling the wild boar he had hunted in her courtyard. After he grew distant and jealous, she teased him and reached for his hand, but he asked what right she had to care whether he was angry.

• Su Yuhe came home to find the village chief and others gathered around Li Yun’s young wild boar, which the butcher cut up and Meng Zhixian sold.
• After the customers left, Li Yun explained that he had sold the boar at the house and saved some pork collar for Su Yuhe.
• Li Yun compared his rough, callused hands with Lu Mingyi’s and assumed Su Yuhe would prefer handsome, wealthy young men from the city.
• Su Yuhe told Li Yun to rest and bathe, then caught his wrist when he tried to leave before lunch.
• Li Yun insisted he was not angry and asked Su Yuhe who he was to her.

Su Yuhe reassured Li Yun that she intended to marry him after his mourning period, then showed him the practical bathing room she had designed. She gave him a new outfit, leaving him delighted but unaware that the clothes had originally belonged to Xubai and his manservants.

• Li Yun accused Su Yuhe of preferring her three husbands at home and of thinking him ugly, but she denied it and promised to marry him after his mourning period.
• Su Yuhe showed Li Yun the bathing room's hot-water tap, reused bathwater drain, and stool for washing clothes.
• Li Yun praised Su Yuhe's clever house design, and she modestly said she would not be suited to building houses.
• Su Yuhe brought Li Yun a sky-blue robe and moon-white inner garments, and he was delighted to learn they were for him.
• Su Yuhe revealed that she had obtained the fine clothes from Xubai and his manservants.

Li Yun cooked pork for Su Yuhe and the others after returning with money from selling a wild boar to help pay for the village granaries. As the household discussed preparing for the coming great cold, Meng Zhixian worried that he had no useful skills and might be abandoned.

• Su Yuhe assessed Li Yun's new clothes, and he offered to cook sliced pork for dinner.
• Li Yun explained that he had sold the wild boar after learning about the payments needed for the village and official granaries.
• Li Yun suggested planting more sweet potatoes before the great cold, while Lu Mingxi volunteered to help chop firewood.
• Su Yuhe discouraged Li Yun from going up the mountain so soon after returning and offered Lu Mingxi cloth for embroidery, but he refused.
• Meng Zhixian regretted never learning practical work and feared that he would be left behind when the great cold came.

Su Yuhe reassured Meng Zhixian after he asked whether she hated him, and he kissed her. Meanwhile, Yongqin tried to keep Xubai from returning to Su Yuhe by claiming she had been intimate with the government slaves, but Xubai dismissed the accusation.

• Li Yun served lunch and agreed to make Lu Mingxi hand-rolled noodles with minced meat and a fried egg the next day.
• Su Yuhe went to the study to copy books for a silver bonus, where Meng Zhixian asked whether she hated him because she had never touched him.
• Meng Zhixian leaned against Su Yuhe, kissed her cheek and lips, and called her Wife.
• At the inn, Yongqin urged Xubai to return to the capital and accused Su Yuhe of fooling around with the government slaves.
• Xubai insisted Su Yuhe could not have been with the slaves and said she would know to choose him over them.

Yongqin’s interference drove Xubai to decide to return the next day and confront Su Yuhe, while Su Yuhe woke from a dream about him and spent the morning with Li Yun and Lu Mingxi. The chapter ended with Li Yun insisting on carrying a hot bowl for her.

• Yongqin told Xubai that Su Yuhe was living well with the three men and argued that she was unworthy of him.
• Xubai accused Yongqin of separating them to use him, and told her he would return the next day.
• After Yongqin left, Xubai vowed to trust Su Yuhe and ask her everything when he saw her.
• Su Yuhe woke from a dream in which Xubai accused her of changing her heart and stabbed her.
• Su Yuhe joined Li Yun and Lu Mingxi as they prepared dried sweet potatoes and hand-rolled noodles.
• Li Yun stopped Su Yuhe from carrying a hot bowl and insisted he would take it himself.

Su Yuhe ate hand-rolled noodles with Lu Mingxi while Li Yun and the others brought home a large supply of cheap sweet potatoes. She and Lu Mingxi made sweet potato congee for afternoon tea, and Meng Zhixian came to call her when it was ready.

• Su Yuhe burned her hands trying to carry a hot bowl, and Li Yun cooled them in water before serving the noodles.
• Li Yun returned with Lu Mingyi and Meng Zhixian, who carried baskets of sweet potatoes bought cheaply from village families in need of silver.
• Li Yun said the more than five hundred jin of sweet potatoes would take the afternoon to dry and last them a year.
• Su Yuhe asked Lu Mingxi to fetch sweet potatoes, then showed him how to make sweet potato congee.
• Su Yuhe copied books and helped dry the sweet potatoes while Lu Mingxi prepared afternoon tea; Meng Zhixian entered the study to call her to eat.

Su Yuhe and the others finished unloading sweet potatoes while Second Sister Li complained about the cost of preparing for the great cold. As she listened, Su Yuhe wondered how the authorities would fund the granaries and concluded that confiscating corrupt officials’ estates might replenish the treasury.

• Su Yuhe comforted Meng Zhixian and wiped the sweat from his forehead before Lu Mingxi interrupted them and invited him to dinner.
• Meng Zhixian washed his face while Lu Mingxi gathered clothes to take a bath, then Meng Zhixian and Lu Mingyi set out to carry more sweet potatoes.
• Second Sister Li arrived with Li Yun and helped unload the remaining sweet potatoes and vines into the courtyard.
• Second Sister Li complained to Li Yun that her household could not afford the seven taels demanded for the granaries and questioned whether the authorities could protect the people from the great cold.
• Su Yuhe considered the state’s expenses and thought that confiscating corrupt officials’ estates could fill the treasury.

Lu Mingxi asked Su Yuhe to share her quilt after bathing, and Li Yun later asked her to write them a marriage contract. After Li Yun left to prepare food, Su Yuhe remembered the imperial preceptor’s warning of severe cold and began considering down-filled bedding.

• Lu Mingxi asked Su Yuhe to smell his jasmine-scented soap and agreed to sleep beside her that night.
• Li Yun visited Su Yuhe’s study and asked her to write a marriage contract for them, which he carefully tucked away after the ink dried.
• Li Yun told Su Yuhe he had pickled vegetables and planned to make buns and chicken broth for the next day.
• Su Yuhe reassured Li Yun that he was just as good as anyone else after he belittled himself.
• After Li Yun left, Su Yuhe recalled the prediction of severe cold and considered collecting duck or goose down to make warmer bedding.

Su Yuhe discussed household expenses and winter preparations with Lu Mingyi while she copied books. That night, Lu Mingxi and Meng Zhixian disputed who would sleep beside her, and Meng reluctantly switched places with him.

• Su Yuhe ate the sweet potato porridge Lu Mingyi brought and told him to reimburse Li Yun for the sweet potatoes if he wished.
• Lu Mingyi suggested that Li Yun manage the household money, but Su Yuhe said Lu Mingyi was better suited to handle household affairs.
• Su Yuhe said they would postpone wedding preparations until after Li Yun's mourning period and asked Lu Mingyi to barter for goose and duck down.
• Su Yuhe finished bathing and climbed onto the kang, where Lu Mingxi complained that Meng Zhixian would not let him sleep beside her.
• Su Yuhe told Meng Zhixian to sleep beside Lu Mingyi, and Meng reluctantly exchanged places with Lu Mingxi.

Li Yun woke from a sweet dream of Su Yuhe and found Ruan Puchuan waiting outside Lu Mingxi’s home, then let him in and prepared a chicken. Later, Su Yuhe joined the villagers’ work, while Lu Mingxi eagerly waited for her before eating.

• Li Yun woke remembering his dream of Su Yuhe in wedding robes and found Ruan Puchuan waiting outside Lu Mingxi’s house.
• Li Yun invited Ruan Puchuan inside and told him to feed the chickens, while Lu Mingxi asked Ruan Puchuan to teach him how to slaughter one so he could cook for his future wife.
• Li Yun took over slaughtering the chicken and told Ruan Puchuan he would handle such tasks for Lu Mingxi; Ruan Puchuan declined Li Yun’s offer of sweet potatoes and left.
• Villagers gathered at Li Yun’s courtyard to prepare sweet potatoes, while Lu Mingxi chatted with them and Su Yuhe slept in.
• When Su Yuhe woke, Lu Mingxi hurried to announce that it was time to eat, and Lu Mingyi told her not to indulge him by waiting for her meal.

Su Yuhe watched Lu Mingxi and Meng Zhixian bicker over steamed buns, while Ruan Puchuan delivered lunch to Liu Xiaobo in the fields. Two wealthy young men arrived by carriage and asked Ruan Puchuan whether he was from Reed Flower Village.

• Lu Mingxi shared steamed buns with Su Yuhe and the others, and Meng Zhixian eventually gave him another bun to eat.
• Ruan Puchuan brought lunch to Liu Xiaobo, who argued with the older man from the Zhuang family about his son-in-law.
• A carriage stopped beside Ruan Puchuan, and two young men in fine clothes asked whether he was from Reed Flower Village.
• Liu Xiaobo hurried to Ruan Puchuan's side and fawned over the two young men.

Two young men paid Liu Xiaobo to learn about the three government slaves, while Ruan Puchuan hurried to warn the household. At a restaurant, Xubai began questioning Liu Xiaobo about his connection to the slaves.

• A young man in pale blue asked Liu Xiaobo about the household that had taken in three government slaves and paid him a tael of silver to share what he knew.
• Liu Xiaobo kicked Ruan Puchuan and told him to return home, while Ruan memorized the two men's appearances and hurried toward the blue-brick house.
• At dinner, Su Yuhe tried to pass her rich chicken soup and drumstick to Lu Mingyi, but he drank the soup after she insisted.
• Ruan Puchuan arrived at the house panting and asked, "What are you doing here?"
• The two young men brought Liu Xiaobo to Xubai at a three-story restaurant, where Xubai warned him to answer truthfully and asked about his relationship with the three government slaves.