Yan Xue and Qi Fang stayed another day, waiting until Wei Shuxian's condition stabilized and her spirits lifted somewhat before preparing to leave.
After all, having her hopes dashed and witnessing the fickleness of human hearts, it was hard for Wei Shuxian not to be affected.
Yan Xue had even considered bringing Wei Shuxian back with them for a few days, taking advantage of the summer break to help her recuperate and change her surroundings—and perhaps her mood as well.
But Wei Shuxian shook her head. "I appreciate your kindness, but I won’t go anywhere. I’ll stay right here, keeping watch over your teacher."
As she spoke, her gaze drifted toward a certain direction outside. Yan Xue knew that was where Su Changqing was buried—Qi Fang had visited the grave earlier.
Back then, Su Changqing, fearing he might bring trouble to Wei Shuxian, had divorced her beforehand. Yet Wei Shuxian had built her own cage, trapping herself inside.
There was nothing Yan Xue could do about it. She followed Wei Shuxian’s gaze and said, "Shiniang, you might not know this, but when I first came to the forestry center, I thought winters in the northeast were especially cold and long."
She complained lightly, "It even snowed in May! But I counted the days, and eventually, little sprouts pushed through the ground. Before I knew it, not only had spring arrived—summer was already here, with no trace of winter left."
Turning to Wei Shuxian, Yan Xue’s eyes curved into crescents. "So this year, I knew from experience—if I just waited a little longer, spring would always come."
As she spoke, she took Wei Shuxian’s hand in hers—slender, soft, yet strong, much like the warmth in her smile, much like Yan Xue herself.
Wei Shuxian understood what she meant: to hold on a little longer, and eventually, the long darkness would pass, giving way to the light of hope.
Staring into those clear, beautiful eyes and feeling the steady warmth of Yan Xue’s grip, Wei Shuxian couldn’t bring herself to say anything disheartening. In the end, she nodded. "Yes, we’ll all be fine."
At the very least, she had made it through this year’s spring. Perhaps if she endured one more, everything would take a turn for the better.
Qi Fang was waiting and standing guard, and Yan Xue was there to wait with him and help him hold on. The children were already carrying enough weight—she couldn’t add another burden to their shoulders.
On the day of their departure, Wang Zhengrong and his wife came to see them off at the train station. It was the first time Yan Xue had met Wang Zhengrong’s wife, and she was surprised to see her belly was even bigger than Yan Xue’s.
No wonder she hadn’t visited Wei Shuxian—at this stage of pregnancy, moving around was difficult, and traveling back and forth wasn’t advisable.
No wonder, too, that Wang Zhengrong always gave in whenever Yan Xue clutched her stomach and complained. His wife seemed quite formidable, and Wang Zhengrong appeared a little… lacking in authority at home.
Still, she was warm and friendly. "When Zhengrong and I got married, Qi Fang was only about ten. Who would’ve thought he’d be a father now?"
Two pregnant women meeting inevitably led to talk of children and daily life. Watching them, Qi Fang quietly pulled Wang Zhengrong aside.
Seeing his serious expression, Wang Zhengrong thought he had something important to say—until Qi Fang asked, "Zhengrong-ge, how do you usually coax your wife?"
Wang Zhengrong was momentarily speechless. Then, with great solemnity, he declared, "I call the shots at home. Why would I need to coax her?"
Now it was Qi Fang’s turn to be speechless. He stared at Wang Zhengrong for a long moment before clarifying, "Hypothetically speaking, if you weren’t the one calling the shots… how would you go about it?"
Yan Xue might seem easygoing and kind-hearted, but beneath that soft exterior was an unshakable resilience.
That resilience helped her weather storms without faltering—but it also made her particularly hard to appease once she was truly angry.
Qi Fang had tried apologizing and softening his approach over the past few days, but she either ignored him or said, "I don’t want to argue with you in public."
Her eyes were icy, and Qi Fang didn’t dare push too hard, afraid she might storm off alone—pregnant belly and all.
The last time he’d felt this helpless was when he realized he and Yan Xue had mistaken each other for someone else.
Back then, they hadn’t even consummated their marriage, and with no idea who Yan Xue’s actual intended match was, he’d been terrified she might divorce him.
Now, they had consummated the marriage, and they had a child on the way—but Yan Xue also had a stable job…
Qi Fang cut off that train of thought. "You’ve been married longer, ge. You must have some experience—help me out here."
Wang Zhengrong, now unburdened by pride, began whispering advice—until his wife turned around. "Zhengrong, what are you two talking about? The train’s here."
They quickly stopped, with Qi Fang carefully guiding Yan Xue aboard while Wang Zhengrong carried their luggage.
"Come visit again next time!" The couple waved from the platform, watching until the train disappeared into the distance.
Yan Xue waved back. Once the train picked up speed and a cool breeze dispersed the stifling heat, she heard Qi Fang murmur, "Wife, do you want some water?"
That was quite the leap in terms of endearments—from "Yan Xue" to "Xiao Xue" at Wei Shuxian’s place, and now straight to "wife."
With others around, Yan Xue couldn’t outright ignore him. "No, I’m not thirsty," she replied offhandedly.
Qi Fang didn’t press further, sitting quietly beside her with his peach-blossom eyes downcast. Then, after a while, he gently lifted her legs onto his lap.
The old-fashioned green train had no sleeper cars, only hard seats. Sitting too long made legs swell—especially for a pregnant woman like Yan Xue.
The day she arrived at Wei Shuxian’s, her feet had been so swollen she could barely remove her shoes. She hadn’t said a word, but Qi Fang must have noticed—that night, he’d specially prepared hot water for her to soak her feet.
Now, when she shifted slightly, a long-fingered hand pressed down. "It’s fine, no one’s looking." He even gave her a light massage.
Of course, people were looking. The two of them were striking enough that passengers had been stealing glances since they boarded.
But if Qi Fang said no one was watching, Yan Xue wasn’t about to suffer needlessly. Still, leaving her legs there didn’t mean she’d forgiven him.
Qi Fang didn’t expect such a small gesture to dissolve her anger. He’d just remembered how swollen her feet had been when she arrived.
Honestly, if he’d known Yan Xue would follow him, he should’ve just brought her along in the first place. At least then she wouldn’t have had to travel alone.
But it was too late for regrets now, and this wasn’t the place for serious talks. They’d have to wait until they got home and could speak behind closed doors.
When they returned to the forestry center, rain was pouring down. Qi Fang draped a coat over Yan Xue and let himself get soaked all the way back.
At the door, Yan Jigang was doing homework inside but rushed out at the sound of movement. "Jiejie, you’re back! Jiefu, you—you’re back from the sea!"
Qi Fang, in the middle of putting their things away, paused. "What do you mean, ‘back from the sea’?"
"Jiejie said—said you thought the lake was too calm, so you wanted the ocean’s waves!"
Well, he might not have returned from the sea yet—he was still caught in its turbulence…
Qi Fang was at a loss for words, but Yan Xue reached out to pat her brother’s head. "You’ve finished your finals, right? How were your grades?"
"They’re out!" Yan Jigang immediately ran to fetch his test papers, and Yan Xue followed him into Second Old Lady’s room.
As Qi Fang turned his head, Yan Xue was already nowhere to be seen. He changed into clean clothes first before heading to the opposite room.
Just after greeting Second Old Lady upon entering, he glanced up and spotted something familiar on the luggage rack—Yan Xue’s pillow.
Qi Fang’s heart sank immediately. He hadn’t expected Yan Xue to be this angry, to the point of moving her belongings to Second Old Lady’s place.
Normally, even when he wasn’t around, Yan Xue would sleep alone in their room. Even during their last cold war, she hadn’t gone so far as to separate their bedding.
This made the situation feel even more complicated. Before he could figure out how to handle it, the door to the main room creaked open again.
"Grandma, is Yan Xue back?" It was Lang Yue'e’s voice. She stepped inside, shaking off her umbrella, and only then noticed him. "Qi Fang, you’re back."
"Sister Yue'e," Qi Fang greeted her, but the look on her face made him frown involuntarily.
Yan Xue hurried out from the inner room. "Did something happen at the pilot site?"
Everyone knew she had been away. If Lang Yue'e was here asking if she’d returned, it had to be something serious—something difficult to resolve.
Sure enough, Lang Yue'e said, "Good thing you’re back. I came to ask for your advice. It’s been raining nonstop at the forest farm for days, and some of the newly harvested wood ear mushrooms are starting to spoil."
This was no small matter. Yan Xue’s expression turned grave at once. "How many days has it been raining? Didn’t you spread them over the dried ones first?"
Once wood ear mushrooms matured, they had to be harvested even in the rain—otherwise, they’d rot on the logs and damage the other buds.
However, mushrooms harvested in the rain couldn’t be sun-dried. The usual method was to spread them over already-dried mushrooms to absorb some moisture, then wait for clear weather to sun-dry them properly.
The pilot site had dealt with rainy days before, and Lang Yue'e knew the drill. She gave a helpless smile. "It only cleared up briefly the day you left. Since then, it’s been pouring. The whole forest farm is worried about another flood this year. They’ve been issuing flood prevention notices for days."
She sighed. "Guo Chang’an checked today and said if we leave them any longer, they’ll start molding. That’s why I came to see if you were back."
If the mushrooms really did mold, not only would the newly harvested batch be ruined, but even the already-dried ones beneath would be lost. Yan Xue didn’t waste any more time. "I’ll go take a look."
Just as she was about to grab an umbrella, Qi Fang had already opened one and stepped forward to support her arm. "I’ll go with you."
Lang Yue'e glanced at Yan Xue’s belly and took hold of her other arm. Setting aside her anger for now, Yan Xue focused on getting to the pilot site first.
The group hurried over and found Guo Chang’an and Zhou Wenhui still inside the mushroom-drying shed, their faces lined with worry.
A folded umbrella rested near Zhou Wenhui’s feet. "I just checked. With all this heavy rain lately, another batch of mushrooms is about to mature."
Spotting Yan Xue entering, their expressions brightened. "Yan Xue, you’re back!"
Yan Xue nodded, skipping the pleasantries and heading straight for the mushrooms. "Which batch was harvested earliest?"
Guo Chang’an, who was in charge of this, immediately pointed to several racks. "These, these, and these—all of them."
A rough estimate put the amount at at least a hundred or two hundred pounds. Even after drying, they’d still yield several dozen pounds—not to mention the dried mushrooms layered beneath.
Yan Xue walked over and touched them. The situation wasn’t good. "Discard these. Save the dried ones underneath."
"Throw all of these away?" Zhou Wenhui, ever the thrifty one, looked pained at the thought.
But Yan Xue didn’t hesitate. "All of them. Losing a few dozen yuan is better than having our products develop a reputation for poor quality and becoming unsellable."
No one argued after that. They quickly picked out all the damp mushrooms from the top. Of course, they couldn’t bring themselves to waste them entirely—while they couldn’t be dried, they could still be eaten.
Yan Xue checked the remaining batches. They were in slightly better condition, but if the rain kept up, they wouldn’t last much longer either.
She stood in the shed, resting a hand on her lower back as she thought. "If nothing else, we should pick out the ones most at risk and take them back to dry over the kang."
"We’ve been considering that," Lang Yue'e said. "But the kang at home are small. Drying them that way would ruin their shape."
Their mushrooms sold well partly because of their low price, but also because of their excellent appearance. If the quality dropped, affecting sales, they might struggle to sell them in the future.
Yan Xue knew this, but even if the appearance suffered, they could still sell them at a discount. That was better than letting everything rot.
Ideally, mushrooms harvested in the rain should be dried using a dehydrator. But in this era, where could they find one? The pilot site didn’t even have electricity during the day.
Yan Xue had been summoned here straight after getting off the small train. Her legs ached from the journey, and she shifted uncomfortably. "Let’s do this for now. Dry what we can, and hope for clear skies tomorrow."
No one had a better solution. Zhou Wenhui, however, still couldn’t hide her distress. "If only we’d built kang in the pilot site too—several large ones."
At the mention of installing kang in the pilot site, something flickered in Yan Xue’s mind. But exhaustion from the trip left her too drained to grasp it.
It was Qi Fang, who had been silent until now, who suddenly asked, "How much coal do you have left here?"
Hearing this, Yan Xue immediately understood. "There should still be some. We only fired up the boiler once after the pilot site was built."
They might not have kang, but they had cultivation rooms. Firing up the boiler would work just as well—maybe even better.
Yan Xue moved toward the coal storage, but Qi Fang was faster, stepping out into the rain ahead of her.
Guo Chang’an caught on too and hurried after them. Soon, they were filling the boiler with water and shoveling in coal, getting it going in no time.
Uncertain if this would work, they only opened the valve to one cultivation room at first. Hot steam rushed through the pipes, circulating water through the heating ducts below, and the room quickly warmed up.
They carried the mushrooms inside, spreading them in just two layers—on the floor and the lower shelves—before stepping out and turning the heat to maximum.
When they checked back later, Guo Chang’an nearly recoiled from the blast of heat as soon as he opened the door.
But he pushed through, emerging moments later with a flushed face. "It works. The bottom layer is already drying."
"Let me see." Qi Fang stopped Yan Xue, not letting the pregnant woman step inside, and went in himself. He returned shortly with a dried mushroom. "It’s definitely working."
The group collectively exhaled in relief. They immediately opened the other cultivation rooms and moved the most vulnerable batches inside to dry.
By the time they finished, it was long past quitting time, and the sky outside had darkened. Lang Yue'e gave Yan Xue and Qi Fang an apologetic look. "You must be exhausted. I dragged you here right after you got back."
Zhou Wenhui urged them, "You two should go rest, especially you, Yan Xue. We’ve got things covered here. No need to rush back."
Yan Xue was indeed hungry—even the little one in her belly was protesting. She nodded and bid everyone goodbye.
The path home was dark, and neither of them had brought a flashlight. Amid the steady patter of rain, Qi Fang once again took hold of Yan Xue’s arm.
She didn’t pull away, but neither did she speak. They walked home in silence, then joined Yan Jigang and Second Old Lady for a lively dinner.
After dinner, just as she was about to rest, the Second Old Lady took out a piece of paper from the drawer and handed it to Yan Xue. "Here’s a telegram for you. It arrived yesterday, but I didn’t get a chance to tell you earlier."
Yan Xue took it but barely glanced at it, her smile fading slightly as she casually folded it and placed it on the kang beside her.
"You shouldn’t leave this lying around. Take it back and keep it properly," the old lady said, picking it up and pressing it into her hand.
Without another word, Yan Xue took the telegram and returned to her room.
As soon as she stepped inside, someone entered behind her, followed by the warmth of an embrace pressing against her back. "I really know I was wrong, wife," a voice murmured by her ear, his hands carefully encircling her belly.
Yan Xue remained silent, simply handing him the telegram. "Read this first."
Qi Fang was puzzled but freed one hand to take it. At first glance, he recognized the familiar address—his shiniang’s (teacher’s wife) place. Then he saw the sender: his friend in Yanjing, the one he’d once written to inquire about the Yan family’s situation.
He understood almost immediately. "You contacted him to ask for my shiniang’s address?"
"Yes," Yan Xue admitted without hesitation. "If you hadn’t sent me that telegram, I would’ve waited for his reply and then gone to find you."
The young woman’s voice was calm as she pushed him away. "If you’re angry that I went through your letters or that I asked about your shiniang’s address, we can start arguing now."
This was unexpected for Qi Fang, but he didn’t immediately blame her. "Why did you think of asking him for the address?"
"Who else could I ask? Does anyone around me know where you went? Or even the name of this ‘shiniang’ you keep mentioning?" Yan Xue lifted her face to look at him. "You kept saying we’re family, that you were upset I didn’t tell you when I got hurt. But when you promised me and then left me behind, was that how you treated family?"
"I never stopped seeing you as family," Qi Fang tried to explain. "If you weren’t pregnant, I would’ve taken you with me. But with your belly so big—"
"Does this big belly mean I can’t take care of myself? Or that I’ve lost my mind?" Yan Xue cut him off sharply. "Fine, I wasn’t entirely clear-headed at the time and didn’t know how to explain things to you. I even made a scene in front of Wang Zhengrong just so you’d take me along. But in your eyes, am I just some unreasonable person? And then you went behind my back!"
What angered Yan Xue the most was this: "To avoid taking me, you’d even promise me first and then sneak away at the last minute. Do you really think I’m unworthy of sharing your burdens?"
She rarely spoke so much at once, and never so bluntly. Qi Fang fell silent for a long moment. "I just didn’t dare let you share them."
His gaze dropped. "Yan Xue, I’ve lost my mother, my grandfather, my teacher… even my father and brother. You’re all I have left."
His voice was steady, his expression barely changing, yet his words carried a deep loneliness.
Every word in that letter had been sincere. With Yan Xue, he finally had a home—how could he bear to risk his wife and child alongside him?
Even the slightest chance of Yan Xue suffering something like what happened to Shan Qiufang—or worse—was unacceptable to him.
"But have you ever considered," Yan Xue’s voice softened, "if I didn’t go with you and something happened to you, what would become of me and the child?"
Her words struck him like a bolt.
He looked up, but Yan Xue’s gaze had already drifted to the window. "If I hadn’t followed you, and you’d handed over your teacher’s work, you’d never forgive yourself—am I wrong?"
Qi Fang couldn’t deny it. Yan Xue turned back to him. "So you’d have me stand by and watch you live in regret for the rest of your life?"
When reading about such things, she could sigh and lament. But now, he was her husband, the father of her unborn child.
Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Qi Fang, you’re not alone anymore. You don’t have to carry everything by yourself. And I’m not some clueless person who needs your protection. When I got hurt and didn’t tell you, you were furious. Do you know how I felt when I came back and found you gone?"
Back then, her emotions had gone far beyond anger. That was why she’d sought out his shiniang’s address, why she’d followed him without hesitation.
She’d even prepared herself—for Qi Fang to rage at her over tampering with his letters, for them to go their separate ways afterward. After all, they both had their own paths.
But one thing was non-negotiable: he couldn’t repeat the mistakes from the book.
The room fell into silence. Having said her piece, Yan Xue lowered her eyes and moved to leave.
But Qi Fang caught her hand on the doorknob. "I’m sorry for making you worry."
His voice was quiet, stripped of the placating tone from before.
He didn’t dare pull her into an embrace, as if afraid she’d push him away. "I won’t do this again. From now on, I’ll listen to you."
No one else would exhaust themselves for him like this—only her.
Only her, who never saw his troubles as burdens, who never turned him away, who instead wore herself out for his sake…
His grip on her hand tightened. "From now on, you call the shots. I’ll discuss everything with you. I’ll listen."
"We’ll see." Yan Xue had never trusted words—only actions.
When he didn’t let go, she shook him off herself. "I’m tired. I need to rest."
Qi Fang didn’t dare stop her, releasing her immediately. He watched as she opened the door and stepped into the room across the way.
Soon, Yan Jigang’s laughter floated over, mingling with Yan Xue’s soft, amused replies. He hesitated but ultimately didn’t intrude on her rare good mood.
The rain lasted another day before finally clearing. Everyone at the pilot site breathed a sigh of relief and hurried to lay out the remaining wood ear mushrooms to dry.
Meanwhile, at the small repair factory, Qu Mingli called Qi Fang to the administrative office.
"That excavator you modified earlier was borrowed by the county to repair the reservoir. The county wants to know—if we have you modify another one, how soon can it be done?"
With all the parts and enough manpower, and given his prior success, it wouldn’t take too long.
But Qi Fang paused. "Let me go back and calculate it carefully. I’ll give you an answer soon."
Qu Mingli, accustomed to his thoroughness, didn’t question it. "Then get back to me as soon as possible so I can relay it to the county."
Instead of returning to the repair factory, Qi Fang headed straight for the pilot site to find Yan Xue.
Modifying the excavator meant going to town—a business trip. Given the current state of things between them, he couldn’t just leave without a word.
To his surprise, when he arrived, Yan Xue was nowhere to be found. Neither were Lang Yue'e or Zhou Wenhui. Guo Chang'an, who’d been working nonstop to maintain the cultivation rooms, had gone home to catch up on sleep.
After searching everywhere, Qi Fang only spotted Xu Wanchang and the girl with the burnt ear. Left with no choice, he approached Xu Wanchang to ask.
As it turned out, Xu Wanchang didn’t know either. The girl, noticing his questions about Xu Wanchang, gestured a few times. When she saw he didn’t understand, she took out a notebook.
“Are you looking for Technician Yan? She went to the club for a blind date.”
Qi Fang: ??? Care to repeat that?
I tried my best, but I still couldn’t fix it. Feels like everything’s been thrown into chaos [sobbing][sobbing][sobbing].
