Starting from Mountain Farming and Hunting

Every meal during the New Year was all about rich meats and hearty dishes, as if they were trying to make up for all the good food missed out on throughout the past year.

As everyone ate, they chatted idly, sharing the day’s happenings. Lin Heng and Xiulan talked about their time in the city, while their parents recounted how Li Shiwei and Lin Hai had visited to pay their New Year respects, and that tomorrow they would be making more rounds.

In the blink of an eye, it was the next day. After his warmup, Lin Heng picked up the compound bow and loosed a rapid volley of arrows. Even when he wasn’t heading up the mountain, he had gotten into the habit of training. With each arrow he released, he felt a surge of satisfaction.

“Ah, in a few days maybe I’ll try entering the mountains from a different direction,” Lin Heng set down the bow and murmured to himself.

Giving up on venturing into the mountains was simply out of the question. It was both his passion and his way of life. He longed for landscapes deep in the wilderness that no one else had ever seen, relished the thrill of pitting his wits and strength against wild game, and most of all, loved the allure of exploring the unknown.

These mountains stretched on endlessly, with so many places left unexplored. The areas he had set foot in amounted to little more than a drop in the ocean.

He pulled out the arrows, wiped them clean, put them back in the bow case, and then went to wake up Xiao Xia. After helping her get dressed and washed up, the father and daughter went to feed the chickens, the horses, and the forest musk deer.

Once they finished, Xiulan had already prepared breakfast. Though it was just for the three of them, the meal was still quite sumptuous. The stir-fried donkey meat was delicious with rice, and the crucian carp tofu soup was wonderfully nourishing.

As they ate, they watched in comfortable silence as the sun melted the frost away. After breakfast, they could still admire the wintersweet blooming in the backyard, and even the koi in the pond seemed a bit more lively.

But things were different this year. Lin Heng hadn’t even arrived yet when the whole family came out to greet him, and even Cao Haiyan had turned into a docile little rabbit, speaking with gentle, pleasant tones.

Lin Heng found this a bit surprising: so she did have this side to her after all.

He handed all the gifts he’d brought to his aunt, making it clear he was on her side now. If anyone wanted to bully her in the future, they’d have to think twice about the consequences.

Their family was big, with everyone squeezed into one house. The food, unsurprisingly, couldn’t compare to what was served at Lin Heng’s own home. Apart from pork and wild-caught hog badger and golden pheasant, there was no beef, mutton, fish, or donkey meat to be seen.

But his aunt Lu Hongyun’s culinary skills were quite good—possibly even a bit better than his mother’s.

After finishing the meal, Lin Heng prepared to leave, not wanting to overstay during the holidays. Plus, there weren’t even any ponds or streams on this mountain, so there wasn’t much fun to be had.

As Lin Heng was about to leave, Li Baiquan smiled and asked, “Lin Heng, aren’t you still planning to build a feed storage on Red Maple Mountain? When will construction start?”

“I’m not sure yet. How about this, Uncle, when it’s about to begin, I’ll send someone up to let you know,” Lin Heng thought for a moment and replied. He hadn’t worked out the specifics yet.

“That’s fine. Looks like it’ll still just be me and Li Shiwei helping this year,” Li Baiquan nodded with a smile. Working for Lin Heng paid off much better than planting crops.

Lin Heng nodded, then grinned and added, “Red Maple Mountain isn’t fully planned out yet, but in a few days I might ask you all to help plant the fruit trees. That’s just for the food, though.”

That sort of work was mutual help between families, part of village kinship, so there was no question of payment. If you brought up pay now, it’d be awkward for them to ask for help when they needed it.

Li Baiquan laughed. “No problem at all. When the time comes, our whole family will come help you plant!”

After that, Lin Heng chatted with Li Shiwei for a bit, while Xiulan talked with his aunt Lu Hongyun. Meanwhile, Xiao Xia was reluctant to part with Li Shiwei’s daughter, Li Leyan. The two girls were about the same age and got along splendidly.

Li Leyan especially liked Xiao Xia’s little dog, Lai Fu.

“Let’s go, Xiao Xia!”

Lin Heng called out.

Xiao Xia looked at him, clearly reluctant to leave.

Xiulan winked at her with a smile and said, “You can stay here and play if you want. We’re heading back.”

“Nooo!”

Hearing that, Xiao Xia grabbed Lai Fu and ran over, hugging Lin Heng tightly.

“We’re heading out now, Aunt, Uncle.”

Carrying Xiao Xia, Lin Heng said his goodbyes, then he and Xiulan headed down the mountain.

A short while later, they saw Li Leyan running after them, unable to bear parting from Xiao Xia, but was soon stopped by her father.

Back home, just as the fireplace began to heat the room, Lin Hai arrived, saying to Lin Heng, “Brother Lin, come have dinner at my house tonight.”

“My brother and the others already went, didn’t they?” Lin Heng replied helplessly. These meals just kept coming, one after another.

Lin Hai smiled ruefully. “Those are my parents’ orders. If you don’t come, I’ll have to drag you over myself.”

“All right then, we’ll head over ourselves tonight,” Lin Heng nodded in agreement.

But before evening, his third aunt, Li Xue, came in person to invite them.

After Li Xue left, Lin Heng said to Xiulan with a laugh, “It’s amazing, really. Before, my third aunt wouldn’t even let me have a drink of water at her house, but now she’s inviting us to dinner herself.”

Xiulan chuckled, “It’s a good thing when people can change for the better. And you, keep your voice down, it’s not nice if someone hears you.”

Lin Heng spread his hands. He was sure that even if his third aunt overheard, she’d pretend not to. Besides, he was never fond of her; if it wasn’t for his third uncle and cousin Lin Hai, he wouldn’t even bother talking to her.

Every time he thought back to half a year ago when he passed by her house and was mocked just for wanting a drink of water, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of irritation.

Then he smiled and said, “Lucky for me you’re not like that. Otherwise, I’d have been kicked out long ago.”

It really was true: marrying a good wife was such an important thing.

Xiulan poked him, “If you want to experience it, I could try learning.”

“No way, you definitely shouldn’t…”

…

The two of them joked as they made their way with Xiao Xia to dinner.

His third aunt’s cooking was nothing special, though Lin Heng kept this to himself.

Early the next morning, his parents again invited the extended family over for a meal. That’s how it went every New Year, eating from one house to the next.

Around midday, two groups of guests arrived to pay their respects. Lin Heng didn’t recognize any of them, so he left them to his parents.

Yet these two clans of relatives kept trying to get close to Lin Heng, going on about how they’d met him when he was little. But he had no memory of it; all he remembered was that they’d once called him a useless spendthrift.

Lin Heng didn’t want to say much. But these people insisted on touring his house, bringing their children along. One five-year-old boy immediately climbed onto the tricycle in the yard, rocking and wobbling on it, with no one bothering to stop him.

Lin Heng wanted to say something several times but, for the sake of his parents’ face, took a deep breath and let it go.

He finally relaxed when the boy got off the tricycle. If that had been his own child, he’d have given him a good spanking.

“Wow, what a big dog! Its fur is so thick!”

Suddenly, the little boy rushed toward Xiong Ba. Luckily, Xiong Ba sensed trouble and dodged out of the way.

But the boy spun around and made for little Feng Shou, the Xiquan Dog, acting as though this place was more his home than his own.

“Don’t touch that dog, it’s too small!” Lin Heng couldn’t help but speak up quickly. This child clearly didn’t know any limits.

Hearing Lin Heng’s voice, the woman talking with Mother Lin finally turned and called out, “Liu Hao, come back, don’t touch anything!”

“I wasn’t touching, Grandma, I’m just looking at the puppy,” the boy named Liu Hao stuck out his tongue and insisted.

Lin Heng didn’t bother replying, just headed inside to have Xiao Xia take the Qinglang Dog Lai Fu and her toys into the bedroom. Who knew what this little terror would do if he got rough with them?

“Whew!”

Lin Heng sat on the bed in the bedroom, taking a deep breath. His impression of these relatives had dropped to below zero.

He heard Mother Lin take them all out to the backyard. He had no interest in playing the host and just hoped they’d finish their visit and take that child with them. Lin Heng didn’t even want to let them stay for a meal, preferring to leave that to his mother.

“Daddy, what’s wrong?” Xiao Xia looked up at him curiously.

“Splash!!”

Just then, there was a sudden splash from the backyard.

“What the hell!!”

Lin Heng shot to his feet, his anger spiking.

He rushed out to the backyard and saw the little brat, Liu Hao, had picked up a chunk of volcanic rock from beside the fish pond and thrown it into the water.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Lin Heng’s face had gone cold.

“That’s enough! Your hands really are troublesome!”

The boy’s grandmother immediately snatched him up and smacked him hard on the butt several times, scolding him as she did.

“I’m sorry, Grandma, I won’t do it again!” Liu Hao covered his backside and pleaded, looking like he was really hurting.

Lin Heng felt the punishment was far too light; with all those thick clothes, he probably didn’t feel a thing.

“Go apologize to your uncle Lin Heng, now,” demanded the older woman, who looked even older than Mother Lin.

“I’m sorry, Uncle,” Liu Hao said hurriedly to Lin Heng.

Lin Heng wished he could give the kid a couple of real spankings himself, but he could tell the child wasn’t actually hurting—he was just putting on a show.

He glanced at his mother and checked the fish, finding they were unharmed. Lin Heng forced down his anger once again. “Just don’t mess with things next time. Auntie, better keep an eye on your child—he’s way too mischievous.”

Her mother said this was her distant cousin, who treated her very well when she was a child. And there were four people from this cousin’s family here, so he didn’t want to make things too big.

Lin Heng decided to forgive them. He wouldn’t hit this brat or his grandmother anymore, but he pulled the child to his side and kept him there.

“Lin Heng’s house is built really well, it must have cost a lot,” someone remarked.

“Yeah, it looks so beautiful,” another chimed in.

“I’ve thought highly of Lin Heng since he was little, and sure enough, he’s turned out to be so accomplished,” a relative praised, helping to smooth things over.

Lin Heng felt a bit more at ease seeing Liu Hao pulled aside. He replied with a few casual words, then said he was going to fetch Xiulan and left.

He did it on purpose: once he was out, the others would feel awkward lingering in his house any longer.

Xiulan and Caiyun had just gone to the riverside to do laundry. Lin Heng hadn’t walked far before he ran into them.

“Why are you here?” Xiulan handed a basket of clothes to Lin Heng, asking curiously.

“I’m about to be driven insane by that cousin’s grandson,” Lin Heng grumbled as he took the basket, then recounted everything that had just happened in detail.

Caiyun couldn’t help but agree halfway through. “You’re not exaggerating—he’s barged into my bedroom several times, rummaging through my things. That’s why I locked the door and made up an excuse to come out and do laundry.”

“I wish I could kick him,” Lin Heng said angrily.

Xiulan frowned. “Don’t his parents discipline him at all?”

She let out a breath and continued, “Honey, don’t lose your temper. Otherwise, our parents will be embarrassed. They’ll leave this afternoon anyway.”

Lin Heng nodded, carrying a basket in each hand as they walked home.

When they arrived at the gate, they found the group still inside the house. He was speechless. The three of them exchanged glances and went in anyway.

Inside, Mother Lin and the four relatives were sitting in the main hall, but the boy was nowhere to be seen. Lin Heng suddenly felt apprehensive.

Xiulan and the others greeted everyone and went to hang up the clothes, while Lin Heng hurried inside to search.

The moment he opened the study door, he saw Liu Hao. The kid was standing on his chair, furiously scribbling with a calligraphy brush. Looking closer, Lin Heng realized he was using his new painting paper. Rage surged within him.

“Who told you to come in here and mess around? Do you have any idea how much that painting is worth?”

With a roar, Lin Heng rushed forward, grabbed the boy, lifted him up, and smacked his behind hard with the paperweight nearby.

He had reached the end of his patience. He didn’t care if this was a relative, even if it were the Emperor himself, he would not let it slide.

“Waaah, damn you, I’m going to fight you! Hit me again and… waaah!” The brat, stung by Lin Heng’s blows, still refused to give in. He tried to scratch and bite him. But since Lin Heng exercised every day, he easily seized both of the boy’s hands with one hand and continued to spank him.

“What’s going on? What happened?”

“Stop hitting him, you’re going to hurt the child! You don’t know your own strength—he’s just a kid!” Outside, the boy’s grandmother heard his wailing and rushed in, blocking Lin Heng without even asking what happened.

Mother Lin was startled and stepped in to help stop him. Xiulan, Caiyun, and Xiao Xia also rushed in and could only try to intervene.

Lin Heng was actually amused by the grandmother’s actions. He tossed the brat in her direction and pointed at the artwork on the table. “Fine, I’ll stop hitting him. Aunty, you can just pay for the damages. That calligraphy piece—I bought it at the antique market yesterday for twenty yuan each, the wolf hair brush was five yuan, and forget about the Bog Wood table and chairs for now.”

“Waaah, damn you, just wait and see!” Liu Hao shrank behind his grandmother, rubbing his butt and cursing savagely.

“What?”

“That expensive?”

Everyone’s eyes widened when they heard the prices, and Liu Hao’s grandmother was dumbfounded. Over twenty yuan for those?

All eyes turned to Mother Lin.

Mother Lin lifted her hand, then put it down again, at a loss for what to do.

Lin Heng showed no courtesy now. He looked at his aunt and said, “This kid shakes back and forth in my motorcycle, then chases my dog, throws stones into the fish pond, and now wrecks my valuables. Am I wrong to give him a spanking? Have you ever disciplined him from start to finish? I just want to ask—does he have any manners at all?”

He waved his hand and continued, “No need to argue. What are you going to do about it? My things are ruined.”

Lin Heng’s words left his aunt red with embarrassment. Suddenly, she grabbed another paperweight from the table and started smacking her own grandson’s butt.

“How dare you mess with things, I’ll beat you to death! Who told you to touch things? Kneel down, and don’t you dare use your hands to block me…”

As the boy’s heartrending cries rang out, his grandmother’s slaps only got harsher.

Mother Lin, Xiulan, and the other relatives rushed to pull her away, but the more they tried, the harder she hit her grandson.

Clearly, she was waiting for Lin Heng to step in.

But Lin Heng just acted like he hadn’t seen anything, watching with great interest and feeling increasingly satisfied.

He had already given them a chance. When he was the one spanking the boy, she rushed in to stop him. Now that she realized she couldn’t afford to pay, she was beating the child to win some sympathy?

He wasn’t going to help. Let’s see what she would do next.

(End of chapter)

#### Translator’s Notes

pay their New Year respects: Refers to the Chinese tradition of bainian (拜年), where people visit family and friends during the Spring Festival to exchange greetings and wishes for the new year.

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