Chapter 56

A few more days passed, and Cheng Duo indeed fulfilled his promise to take Yong Ge up the mountain. The two of them met at the agreed location, and Cheng Duo chuckled as he looked at Yong Ge, who was sweating profusely with a leather armguard, belt, and quiver in hand, looking somewhat disheveled.

He quickly jumped down from a tree and greeted him, "You're here?"

"Mmm."

"My fault, I forgot to teach you how to put them on."

Yong Ge felt embarrassed at first, but when he heard Cheng Duo's words, he suddenly relaxed, "I'm just clumsy. I couldn't figure it out for a long time."

Cheng Duo pulled him under the shade of a tree and wiped the sweat off his face. "This leather armguard has a hidden button design. You haven't seen it before, so it's normal that you don't know. Let me show you."

He took hold of Yong Ge's hand, helping him tuck his sleeves into the armguard, fastening the belt, and strapping on the quiver. Even though he was still dressed in rough linen clothes, due to his handsome face, he looked like a dashing young man.

Yong Ge moved his arms and legs and felt that his movements had become much more agile. He also noticed that Cheng Duo was dressed in the same attire, and amidst his excitement, he felt a sense of sweetness.

"Feeling hot?" Cheng Duo asked.

"It's bearable."

"Endure a bit for now; it will be cooler once we enter the mountains. There are many mosquitoes in the mountains, as well as thorns and poisonous vines. Wearing the armguard will provide some safety."

Yong Ge's eyes curved into a smile. "I know you're doing this for my sake."

For some reason, seeing Cheng Duo's fierce and ruthless appearance when he fought, and now hearing his gentle and meticulous instructions, Yong Ge's heart felt a little fuzzy. He couldn't help but think that Cheng Duo looked incredibly handsome like this.

Cheng Duo noticed Yong Ge's blushing cheeks but assumed that he was just overly excited about his first hunting experience. He took out his own iron spear from his storage space and turned to walk up the mountain. "Let's go. I'll take you to hunt some wild chickens."

Considering it was Yong Ge's first hunting experience, Cheng Duo chose an easier target for him. However, despite Cheng Duo finding the prey and positioning themselves, Yong Ge still let several wild chickens slip away. Either the arrows hit the trees or got blocked by thorns and bushes. The morning went by without any success.

In the end, Cheng Duo was afraid that Yong Ge would be discouraged, so when Yong Ge was focused on aiming, Cheng Duo quickly threw a stone with his iron spear. The stone hit the neck of a wild chicken, causing it to stop flapping its wings, just in time for Yong Ge to shoot an arrow through it.

"You got it."

Cheng Duo pretended to be surprised as he quickly went forward and restrained the still struggling wild chicken. He turned around and smiled, "This is your first catch. How do you want to cook it?"

He had a pot and seasonings in his storage space, and finding a place with water would allow them to start a fire.

Yong Ge was overjoyed. He carefully retrieved his arrow and then held up the wings of the wild chicken. "Let's stew the whole thing. Do we still have the dried bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and chestnuts in your storage space? We can put them together and stew them, then dip the mantou in the soup."

"Alright, I'll listen to you."

Yong Ge had caught his first prey and then cooked a satisfying meal for Cheng Duo. His confidence soared, and he wanted to continue hunting after they finished eating. However, Cheng Duo stopped him, saying, "You're tired, rest for a bit."

He packed everything up, laid out a dustproof mat, and even brought out a thin blanket. "Lie down and take a nap?"

Yong Ge didn't know what to say. Were they here to hunt or to have fun in the woods? However, he was indeed a bit tired, and when he saw Cheng Duo patting the soft mat, he blushed and sat down…

The two of them spent the whole day playing in the woods. Since Cheng Duo was indulgent, they didn't catch many animals, but they gathered quite a few wild vegetables and delicacies from the mountains.

Cheng Duo packed most of the vegetables in a basket for Yong Ge to bring back home.

The next day, Yong Ge spread an old mat in the courtyard and arranged the wild vegetables and mushrooms they had gathered on it, letting them dry under the sun.

Because there were a bunch of chickens freely roaming in the yard, Yong Ge was worried they would peck at the food. So he sat under the eaves, holding his cheeks, looking a bit drowsy.

He had spent the whole day running around on the mountain yesterday and came back quite late. Today, he got up early again to process and dry the vegetables.

By mid-morning, the sun was blazing, and Yong Ge's eyes felt a bit blurry. He was dozing off when he suddenly heard footsteps outside the yard. Thinking it was Sha Yang coming to bother him again, he was about to go back inside to get his bow and arrows… But when he pushed open the courtyard door, it wasn't Sha Yang as he had expected, but Yu Ge.

"The sun is so scorching, why did you come?" Yong Ge quickly brought out a small stool, inviting Yu Ge to sit while he went to the kitchen to pour him some water.

Since they had bought the chicks together, their relationship had progressed rapidly. Aunt Qian also wanted the two brothers to interact more, so Yu Ge often came over under the pretense of delivering things. Like today, Yu Ge brought a small bamboo basket of fried fish.

The fish were about the length of a finger, around four or five of them, pan-fried until golden brown. These things were considered precious in the countryside, not to mention that they were fried with oil. Yong Ge didn't dare to accept them and quickly declined, "You should take these fried fish back; they are too valuable."

Yu Ge spoke softly, "What valuable? They were caught by a few of my brothers themselves; they're not worth much. Besides, I dare not take them back. My aunt would scold me. Don't go and mention it in front of him."

Because they had spent some time together, Yu Ge had become more cheerful and talkative in front of Yong Ge.

"You know I wouldn't dare…" Yong Ge couldn't refuse and had to accept them. Whenever he went to Aunt Qian , the other party would just stuff him with even more things and express gratitude endlessly.

To be honest, Yong Ge hadn't done much, and it was usually Yu Ge who came to him more. They would just chat, and sometimes Yu Ge would help him with chores.

Yong Ge accepted the fried fish, and in his heart, he tried to figure out what gift he should give in return. Aunt Qian was polite, and he couldn't take advantage of her.

Yong Ge put the fried fish in a cool spot in the kitchen and came back with the bamboo basket. As he sat down again, he heard Yu Ge suddenly say, "Have you heard? Your eldest uncle's wife has arranged another marriage for Feng Ge. The groom is said to be the cousin from the Hong family, who owns a pork stall. Hong thought it wouldn't be appropriate, so he introduced him to a well-off distant relative."

"Is that so?" Yong Ge hadn't been moving around the village much lately and hadn't heard any news.

"My aunt said your eldest aunt likes to show off whenever she meets people, afraid that others won't know that her son, Feng Ge, is going to become a young madam…" Yu Ge pursed his lips, not saying the rest. He knew his aunt was furious, cursing that Wu Guihua had probably found another swindler. Why would a respectable family like theirs take a liking to Feng Ge, whose reputation was ruined?

To be honest, it made him feel uncomfortable too. Feng Ge and he both had their reputations tarnished, yet Feng Ge quickly found a good marriage, while he was left without anyone interested in him. Recently, Yu Ge often thought that even if he married a widower, he didn't want to burden a whole family.

Yu Ge sighed, "Why do brothers have to get married? I heard that the brothers in the capital can take wives. I don't know if it's true or not."

"You want to take a wife?" Yong Ge was surprised. It was the first time he heard that brothers could marry! It seemed like all the brothers in their village were only getting married, but with brothers taking wives, how would they support their families?

It's not surprising that Yong Ge was shocked. In the village, farming was the main occupation, and men were relied upon for their physical labor. Besides, due to the competition for water and food in the countryside, they would even fight over a single wild vegetable. The strength of the brothers was simply not useful.

Who would respect a family without any sons to establish their lineage? Some malicious people would even specifically bully them…

"No, I don't like women." Yu Ge lowered his head. He didn't want to be talked about. Hearing that the brothers in the capital could marry, he just wished he could establish his own household. It wasn't because he liked women.

Yong Ge understood Yu Ge very well, "Those are just rumors, probably not true. Sooner or later, you'll find someone you like. Look at me…"

"What about you?" Yu Ge perked up when he heard that. It seemed like his previous dejection was just an act.

Yong Ge realized he had slipped up and quickly tried to salvage the situation, "I-I mean, I used to look unattractive…"

"Yong Ge, don't try to hide it from me. You went out with someone yesterday, didn't you? I came here twice in the morning and afternoon, but you weren't home." Yu Ge pondered for a moment, furrowing his brows as he made a guess, "Could it be Sha Yang?"

"Of course not! I told you I'm annoyed with him!" Why was Yu Ge asking about this?

"As long as it's not him." Yu Ge sighed in relief. "I saw Sha Yang and his father going out some days ago. They came back with a lot of things, like red cloth or something. It seemed like they were going to have a celebration."

For some reason, Yong Ge had a bad feeling. Sha Yang had come to bother him just four or five days ago, and now they were having a celebration so soon. Whom was he going to marry?

Moreover, why was everyone getting married one by one? Now was not the right time for marriages at all. In their village, people only held weddings during the wheat harvest and before the new year. Who would choose to have a wedding in the scorching heat?

This ominous feeling reached its peak on the day of Feng Ge's wedding when Li Man Cang and Wu Guihua came to invite Yong Ge to attend.

Yong Ge remained vigilant, "My father said it before he left. He wants to sever ties with you. Without his permission, I dare not associate with your family. My father will be angry."

Wu Guihua had obviously come prepared, "Yong Ge, are you still holding a grudge? What happened before was Aunt's fault. Aunt apologizes to you, alright? Aunt is begging you. Feng Ge's wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime event. Your father and your elder brothers are not here. If you don't come, who else will? Your family can't have no one show up, right?"

Li Man Cang also said, "What Second Brother said before was just out of anger. Otherwise, you should go this time and show some face for Feng Ge in front of the in-laws. We won't ask anything else of you."

"Yeah, today we're celebrating in our family, and the courtyard is full of people. Could it be that we would embarrass you in front of everyone?" Wu Guihua was about to kneel down in front of Yong Ge as she spoke. "Aunt-in-law is kneeling for you. If you want to hit or scold, after today, I'll comply with whatever you want…"

The more Wu Guihua and Li Man Cang acted submissive, the more suspicious Yong Ge felt about their intentions.

It was true that he belonged to the second household, but whether he appeared or not wasn't really that important! They could easily make up an excuse saying he went out with his father, who was also not at home.

Even though the villagers might gossip, hadn't they talked about it less when his father made the announcement? Would his appearance really be enough to silence the villagers?

Moreover, the wedding procession was coming, and they would quickly leave with the bride. He didn't have time to chat with the villagers.

Furthermore, Wu Guihua was always a competitive person, and yet she was kneeling before him… Yong Ge felt a chill running down his spine. Without hesitation, he decided to retreat to the courtyard and close the door.

But to his surprise, Li Man Cang and Wu Guihua exchanged a glance and, seeing their plan fail, they both pounced on him without giving him any time to react.

Wu Guihua still had a damp cloth in her hand. Yong Ge couldn't defend himself against four hands with just his fists, and soon he was smothered and passed out.

Wu Guihua complained, "I said we should have just grabbed him directly instead of wasting our time begging him!"

"But it was Feng Ge who said that people need to see him enter, and the idea of a forced marriage is more convincing and believable!" Li Man Cang frowned. "Stop the nonsense and go get the basket from the grass hut."

Fortunately, they had prepared for both possibilities, so now they weren't afraid of directly subduing the person.

On their way back, the two of them, sneaking around, encountered a villager who was working in the fields.

The person asked, "Man Cang, aren't you and your wife celebrating today? Where did you go so early in the morning?"

Wu Guihua looked flustered, but Li Man Cang held her back and replied, "We… we went to buy groceries."

The villager glanced at the full load on Li Man Cang's back, which seemed heavy, but didn't think much of it. After exchanging a few auspicious words, the villager left.

The two of them were afraid and even forgot to say the customary words of inviting the villager to the wedding banquet.

"What… what do we do now?"

"Go home and don't panic." Li Man Cang tried to remain calm.

The two of them returned home through the back door and carried Yong Ge into the woodshed along the way. Feng Ge came in to change his clothes and complained, "Didn't we agree to coax him over with kind words?"

Wu Guihua wasn't happy either. "I almost kneeled down in front of that brat, but he's unyielding. What can I do?"

"Let it go, let it go. Feng Ge, hurry up and change his clothes." Li Man Cang quickly stopped them. Time was running out, and if they kept arguing, they would attract attention.

But as luck would have it, Li Changsheng thought of something and couldn't find anyone. When he pushed open the door and entered, he saw the scene in the woodshed. "Dad, Mom, what are you doing?!