Night fell, and the lights of the mountain village began to twinkle sparsely. On the threshing ground near the pond, a group of children ran around, chasing and playing. Old farmers sat by their houses, chatting idly with their dry tobacco pipes in hand, occasionally tapping the bluestone steps beside them. Dongzhu and Geng, the guard, also sat under a large tree by the pond for a while, chatting casually.

"...Originally, I thought this son-in-law was as weak as the rumors said, but the more I saw him, the more I felt something was off. Of course, he's still a scholar, but that's how a scholar should be. Now, in Jiangning City, who doesn't know our son-in-law, Ning Liheng? My boy is studying at the school now, and he was even praised by Prefect Song Mao last year, tsk... The old Geng family has always been illiterate. If it weren't for the Su family, that boy wouldn't have had the chance to read and write. If it weren't for the son-in-law, how could that boy be praised by someone like Prefect Song..."

The mourning hall was noisy not far away. Guard Geng patted his thigh and told Dongzhu, the coachman, about these things.

"You don't know, that son-in-law is truly humble. He doesn't like to show off, never goes out with those fame-seeking scholars to visit prostitutes or drink. And he's really good to the Second Miss. Look at the kind of people he associates with, Li Pin Li Dexin, those are real talents... How does he teach in the classroom? Never loses his temper, never says a harsh word. Those kids are a bit undisciplined, but they study well. Even so, they study better than those kids before..."

"I, Geng Lie, can't read a single word. I originally thought the teacher was strict. Last year, I was praised by Prefect Song, and I was happy. But one day that boy came back and talked about what happened in the classroom, and I felt something was wrong. The teacher is good-tempered and doesn't bother with you kids, but you kids can't be unaware of that. I hung him up and gave him a good beating. Later, the son-in-law even talked to me about it, saying there was no need to do that. That's the demeanor of a great man, winning people over with virtue and talent..."

"In the past, the teachers were strict, and those kids would sway their heads and read, but it was useless. Now those kids make a fuss, but they really admire this son-in-law. All day long they talk about what the teacher said, what our teacher said, haha. A few times that boy even ran up to me and said such things, tsk... Thinking about it, it really makes sense. Look at this time when we came to this village, visiting this family and that family, his words and deeds, his responses and advances, are no different from the master. At first, you might not see it, but slowly you realize, this is truly the benefit of knowledge, and few in the family can compare to the son-in-law..."

Geng Lie was a boisterous and fierce man on the outside, but humble to his own people. He spoke slowly, one sentence at a time. Dongzhu sat beside him, looking like his nephew. He was silent for a while, then said, "I heard that the son-in-law was beaten when he first entered the mansion, right?"

"Yeah, Xue Jin from the Xue family, probably took advantage of no one being around and hit him with a brick... Damn it, no one saw it at the time. If I had caught him then, even if the Xue family was behind him, I would have beaten him half to death and then reported him to the authorities... But later, the son-in-law humiliated him severely, hehe... Oh, right, you should have entered the mansion by then..."

"Yes," Dongzhu nodded. "Not long after entering the mansion, I heard people talking about it, but I didn't know much. But... Uncle Geng, since the son-in-law is so capable, why did he have to be a live-in son-in-law?"

Geng Lie thought for a while: "This matter is a bit complicated. First, the Old Master had an agreement with the son-in-law's grandfather's generation. Second, the Su family has a solid foundation now, and the Second Miss is also capable and strong-willed. I don't know how they negotiated it, but we think the most likely reason is... hehe, before the marriage, the Second Miss went to see the son-in-law privately. The Second Miss's appearance and temperament are top-notch... I don't know what happened between them, but anyway, the son-in-law agreed... Not to mention the Second Miss, just look at the few maids around the Second Miss, Chan'er is so considerate, Juan'er is also good, and that girl Xing'er... pretty is pretty, but too headstrong..."

Of the three maids, Chan'er was considerate, Juan'er was lively, and Xing'er, as the older sister, would sometimes argue with people. She had argued with Geng Lie a few times over small issues, but they didn't take it to heart. But it was still funny and annoying to talk about. After talking for a while, Geng Lie patted his shoulder.

"The Second Miss and the son-in-law are truly a match made in heaven. The future of the Su family will definitely be taken over by the Second Miss. You're still young, work hard, and maybe you can become a steward in the future..."

With such encouragement, Dongzhu nodded in agreement. Soon after, the night had fallen, and people entered and left the mourning hall. Farmers who had nothing to do at night gathered around, making it even more lively. As time passed, the crowd gradually thinned out. Dongzhu would occasionally go over and take a look. The girl named Xiaochán was inside. The son-in-law was there sometimes, and sometimes he wasn't.

Dongzhu had only entered the Su mansion last year. For him, who was originally in the countryside, being able to enter the city and work in such a high-class family gave him a "very powerful, very novel" feeling about everything he saw.

One courtyard after another, one rule after another, those stewards seemed to know everything, and the rest of the people, regardless of age, also seemed to be very powerful.

Occasionally, he would hear them talking about who this person was, who that person was, how high their status was, or hear legends about talented scholars in the city. In short, they all felt like existences he could not reach.

He often heard people in the mansion say that the Second Miss was the most powerful person in the mansion – of course, apart from a few masters – he didn't have much opportunity to see the powerful Second Miss, but he had seen the few maids around the Second Miss several times.

The girl who often smiled and looked good when scolding people was Chan'er. Although she seemed younger than him, he still had to call her "Sister Xiaochán." This was also natural, since she was so powerful. Juan'er, when giving instructions, seemed quiet and serious, with no expression and not much smiling, but when she got angry, her gloomy face was a little scary. Sister Xing'er was usually gentle when giving instructions, but when she had some friction with other people, she was very scary. Once, he saw her arguing with a steward from the Third Branch about something, speaking one point at a time and never giving in... Clearly, she was also a maid, but she dared to argue with such a powerful steward, and in the end, she even won. This made Dongzhu feel that she was really powerful.

Relatively speaking, the one who attracted Dongzhu's attention more was Sister Xiaochán. Actually, he hadn't spoken to her much. A few times, she came over to give instructions and then left. But when he was in the mansion, he could often see her. Occasionally, he would see her stretching lazily while walking, muttering something. Sometimes, he would see her jogging all the way, and sometimes he would see her hopping and skipping beside the son-in-law. He felt that... Sister Xiaochán's smile was really beautiful. Of course, apart from that, he didn't have many other thoughts.

On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, he drove the carriage to send her out, but he didn't get to say much. He just told her his name. Later, she actually remembered. A few times when he saw her in the mansion, she greeted him, and she called him "Brother Dongzhu." He hadn't been able to answer properly these few times, and he was very annoyed afterward.

There were also some servants in the mansion who pursued certain maids, but such things were not in his consideration. The Second Miss's three maids had a status in the mansion that was similar to that of a steward. He had neither adapted to the word "pursuit" nor did he feel that he had this status. Of course, this time when Xiaochán wanted to come back, he was assigned to drive the carriage. That morning, he originally wanted to say a few words of comfort, but he was tongue-tied, and in the end, he couldn't say it when it was time to leave.

In the past few days in Nanting Village, he always felt a little empty. There wasn't much he had to do, just feeding the horses and maintaining the carriage. Occasionally, he would accompany the son-in-law and Guard Geng to visit various families. The son-in-law was really amazing. If it were him, he would never say those words. They sounded simple, but they felt so natural and right. As Guard Geng said, people with knowledge should be respected.

Sister Xiaochán seemed to like the son-in-law. This was also right in itself, and he didn't feel that there was anything wrong. But the slightly empty feeling in his heart was always hard to suppress. As time passed, it became deep in the night. When he went to take another look, the son-in-law and Xiaochán were no longer in the mourning hall. So he went all the way back to the place where he and Guard Geng were resting. When he passed the son-in-law's courtyard, he saw that the lights were on inside. He stood outside and watched for a while. The son-in-law's shadow was sitting in front of the window, probably writing something, but Xiaochán's figure didn't seem to be inside.

Turning to the small courtyard arranged for him and Guard Geng to live in, he noticed a rustling sound coming from the carriage. He went over in confusion, and Xiaochán, dressed in white mourning clothes, climbed out of it, holding something in her hands. When she saw him, she nodded: "Brother Dongzhu."

"Uh, Sister Xiaochán... Haha, I thought it was someone else..."

"The son-in-law hasn't been eating well these days. I prepared some things when I came earlier, and I'm going to give them to him to eat." Xiaochán nodded and smiled. In her hands were a few long-lasting cakes and dried fruits, and then she handed one over: "Brother Dongzhu, are you hungry? Have one too."

"Uh, I, I..."

"Take it." Xiaochán smiled and put the cake in Dongzhu's hand, then waved her hand, "Then I'll go back to my room first. Brother Dongzhu, I'll have to trouble you again tomorrow."

"No, no... No trouble..." Dongzhu took the cake, with many words he wanted to say in his heart, but couldn't say, just watching that figure pass by to the other courtyard.

Actually, she didn't seem to have her usual smile, and her figure seemed a little sad. But when she reached the door of that room, he could still see her pause and pull a smiling arc on her lips, and then, she pushed the door open and went in.

The silhouettes of the two moved inside. Dongzhu held the cake in his hand, staring blankly for a long time, then took a small bite. This cake might have been delicious to him at other times, but the taste didn't seem that good at this time. He just stared at the figures in the light opposite him, experiencing a little bit of emotion that wasn't strong but couldn't be dispelled no matter what, a budding, confused love, lost in this summer night...

"This is what the landlords do..."

Inside the room, Ning Yi sighed and divided the cakes and dried fruits on the table in half, pushing half of them towards Xiaochán: "What will happen if people find out about this kind of behavior of not being able to eat the food prepared by others with good intentions and having the maid bring things over to eat secretly in the middle of the night?"

"It doesn't matter if people find out. Actually, the son-in-law is really amazing. He clearly doesn't like to eat it, but he can keep eating it while sitting there..."

"Uh, is it obvious that I don't like to eat it?"

"Xiaochán can tell, but others definitely can't." Xiaochán smiled, "I'm already full, so the son-in-law doesn't need to give it to me."

Having been used to living in big cities, he was a little unaccustomed to the food in Jiangning. Back in this small mountain village, even though the person who cooked the food every day was said to be the most skilled chef in the mountains, Ning Yi still couldn't get used to eating it, so Xiaochán would bring him some other food every day.

"No matter whether it's delicious or not, I'll just stuff it down. I'm full too. Since you brought it over, then you have the responsibility to eliminate half of it, don't waste it."

"Then I only want a small half."

Xiaochán picked up the cake and fruit and put it towards Ning Yi. Ning Yi shook his head and negotiated: "No, no, you brought too much, then I'll suffer a loss. We can calculate it according to the proportion, divide it into five parts, and Xiaochán, you have to share two parts, that's how it can be done... This one is too big, change to a small one!"

A negotiation like a bargaining was going on intensely on the table. Xiaochán held the big fruit and protested with two other small ones together: "You can't calculate it like that, this big one is worth two..."

"Then you come up with a more reliable way to divide it. I think these cakes aren't the same size either, look, the one on your side is obviously smaller, right... That's not good, you're deliberately taking advantage of it."

"If the son-in-law wants to put the big one over here, he has to take two small ones over there!"

"I have another way."

"Hmm? What... Woo..."

Xiaochán opened her mouth, and Ning Yi threw the big one in: "Okay, now there's no big one, so it's easier to divide, we don't count that big one..."

"Woo, zhūme léng bǔ suàn, wú chī diào le (how can you not count it, I ate it)..." Xiaochán protested while chewing with difficulty.

"How can I count it if you ate it, you're the one who ate it. And you can't even speak clearly, yet you're learning to negotiate, what exactly do you want to say... tsk, anyway, I can't understand. Okay, I'll continue to divide, you have the right to make suggestions, and all the suggestions you make, I'll take them as a reference..."

With nothing to do, he could only find some boring things to entertain himself. The two of them divided the food in the room in such a tug-of-war. After dividing it and calculating it carefully, Xiaochán realized that she had eaten most of it. She was usually a shrewd and capable gold-medal maid, but she was helpless when facing Ning Yi, and could only mutter "The son-in-law is bullying people." Soon after, she reluctantly left the room and went back to her own room to sleep.

At this time, it was already the fifth day of returning to the village. The people who should be visited had basically been visited. Next, they would have to wait two more days until the coffin was buried at Chenshi (7-9 am) on the day after tomorrow. It was also on the afternoon of the sixth day that Nie Yunzhu, who had returned from the store in Jiangning City, looked at the old man setting up a chess stall not far from the green willows on the river bend, and paused slightly. She had greeted him a few times in the past and knew him. This time, the old man looked up and smiled, beckoning to her over there.

She respectfully bowed, then smoothed her possibly messy hair and ran to the chess stall, standing beside the chess stall and talking to the old man with a smile.

The old man also stood up with a smile. After a few words, he gestured to the opposite side, then asked the little girl at the tea stall next to him for a pot of tea. After the two sat down, in the shade of the willow trees, they talked about the man named Ning Liheng who was in a remote mountain area. This was a good topic, and the old and the young, who might become father and daughter, could be considered to have truly met.

Chess pieces, the first one falls...

In the small mountain village, this night passed quietly. The next day, at Chenshi, the deceased was buried. Originally, there were dinners in the village at noon and in the evening, but considering the flood in recent days, the disaster victims went to Jiangning and would return to the city as soon as possible. After the burial and worship, Ning Yi and others said goodbye to everyone and prepared to set off.

At Si Shi (9-11 am), the sunshine in the sky had just become a little scorching. The carriage left Nanting Village and drove onto the mountain road back to Jiangning. The weather in the mountains was sultry, and soon after, dark clouds seemed to begin to gather in the distance...