Ch 21: My Wolf Husband

Lin Shuishi was brought to the Zheng family home, where he was introduced to many people and received a very warm welcome.

The Zheng family had four sons. The eldest and second sons were already married. Since the family had some surplus and prestige, their wives came from good families and had several children. The fourth son was studying in the county town and could not return immediately.

The eldest son had a young ge’er with him, indicating he had a concubine. Although it’s a rural area with fewer formalities, it was apparent that the young ge’er had little say. During meals, he served in the kitchen and did not join the table with the other elders and guests.

Lin Shuishi noticed this and sighed inwardly. Indeed, within any crowd, there are distinctions of status and wealth.

Mrs. Zheng noticed Lin Shuishi’s gaze and understood the situation. Since Lin Shuishi was still not officially part of the family, she didn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable. She promptly invited the young ge’er, Huan Ge’er, to join the table. Huan Ge’er hesitated but cautiously sat at the edge of the table, taking a corner seat.

Lin Shuishi pretended not to notice and did not look further. It was a family matter, and as an outsider, he didn’t want to intrude.

The meal, though not very lavish, included some rabbit meat and potatoes in large quantities, enough to satisfy everyone. However, Lin Shuishi found the taste mediocre due to the lack of spices.

He thought about how, in the harsh winter, many in Yuan Mountain Village had died from hunger and cold. The situation in Rehe was quite good in comparison. Who would care too much about the taste when there was enough food to eat?

One thing Lin Shuishi particularly enjoyed was the warm kang bed in the farmhouse. It was only covered with a few layers of straw mats and had a faint dusty smell.

He suddenly remembered the warm wolf den on the mountain ridge, which was both refreshing and uniformly temperature-controlled, with a comforting scent…

While Lin Shuishi was lost in thought, someone called out to him from outside. His fingers twitched slightly, and Dongsheng shouted, “Shui Ge’er! Your horse is back! It won’t let me lead it. Come and see, don’t let it get away!”

It turned out that the little horse had followed Lin Shuishi to the Zheng family home. Zheng Dage, who greeted them, was very impressed with the horse’s appearance and immediately went to harness it himself.

But how could this wild little guy behave himself? It suddenly kicked up its heels and ran away, and no one could keep up with its speed. Lin Shuishi told everyone not to worry; it would come back soon. Dongsheng, however, was worried about losing the horse and stayed outside, watching.

Upon hearing this, Lin Shuishi quickly responded and wrapped himself tightly in his fur coat before heading outside. Mrs. Zheng immediately reminded him, “Shui Ge’er, be careful and don’t get cold!” Lin Shuishi waved his hand repeatedly, saying, “It’s alright, don’t worry. Auntie, I’m fine.” He had even slept in snowy dens on mountain slopes in winter, so he was quite resilient now.

He lifted the curtain and pushed open the wooden door, seeing the little horse and Dongsheng standing quite far apart, stubbornly refusing to move. Lin Shuishi hurried over to the little horse, gently guiding its small face and leading it into the wind-protected stable.

“Stay here for a while and don’t run around.” Down in the valley, people might steal horses.

The little horse shook its neck and settled down, drinking some water Dongsheng had just poured. Lin Shuishi removed the basket from the horse’s back, asked Dongsheng to move it inside, and then spent some time outside with the little horse, tightening its loose mane. After tidying up, the little horse shook its mane and posed, showing off its appearance.

As a hunter, the Zheng family had two horses in the stable. Lin Shuishi noticed that these two yellow horses had short, thick legs, were short and thin, and had dry fur. Despite being adult horses, they were even shorter than the little black horse!

Looking at the sleek, well-proportioned little horse in front of him, Lin Shuishi reflected on how the differences between horses were even more pronounced than those between people. No wonder Zheng Dage was so excited.

At this moment, Lin Shuishi frowned, tightening the little horse’s reins. Good horses were easily lost, and since this little guy was meeting people for the first time, there was a risk it could be sold or slaughtered. It would be painful for him, and he’d have to explain to the Horse King later!

The horse, tired from carrying things down the mountain, saw that Lin Shuishi seemed to be settling in this “smoky dirt mound” and relaxed, lying down to rest.

Seeing the horse settled, Lin Shuishi went back inside.

After eating and drinking, the older brothers in the house, seeing Lin Shuishi comfortably resting on the warm kang, felt at ease and prepared to take their leave.

Lin Shuishi was grateful to them, and after thinking it over, he followed them downstairs, choosing some high-quality furs from the basket to give them as a token of his appreciation.

With the snow sealing off the mountains, the hunters’ winters were harsh, but still better than for ordinary farmers. They could always catch some rabbits or martens with traps, and selling the furs in town brought in some income. Seeing Lin Shuishi offer such fine fox and leopard skins, they were very moved and declined the gifts, feeling comforted and thinking that Lin Shuishi resembled the old Lin Dage of the past.

“Little one, keep the good things for yourself. We can’t take more from you. We should be giving you things instead.”

Lin Shuishi quickly shook his head, though he struggled to express himself. “No, I have more. Just these few for you, as a token of my gratitude.”

The men, touched, patted Lin Shuishi on the head and said softly, “We’re hunters too, and we have our own ways of getting fur. You keep these for yourself, sell them in town for some money, and take care of yourself. It’ll save us from worrying about you!”

Though they could catch small game, they dared not venture into the East Mountain, so they had never obtained such fine furs before. They pretended not to know the value of the fur.

Seeing that they were determined to refuse his gifts, Lin Shuishi had no choice but to keep the furs with him. He then stuffed their bags with various dried fruits, which they finally accepted, and reminded Old Man Zheng and Dongsheng to take good care of him.

“Don’t worry, Shui Ge’er will be part of our family from now on. How could we not treat him well?” Old Man Zheng said, urging Dongsheng to confirm.

“San’er, say something!” He nudged Dongsheng, who just smiled foolishly, blushing and scratching his head.

Lin Shuishi, being in his twenties and having been influenced by modern civilization, was much more perceptive than the original owner. He quickly realized something was amiss. After seeing off the guests, he made a decision—he couldn’t stay at the Zheng family’s house for long.

That night, Lin Shuishi lay in the room prepared for Old Man Zheng’s fourth son, covered with the fur he had brought. The Zheng family, concerned that he might be cold during the night, had piled extra firewood on the kang, making it too hot for someone unaccustomed to such warmth. Lin Shuishi, not used to the hot kang, tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

Feeling his throat dry and uncomfortable from the heat, he had no choice but to sit up, draping himself in a large white snow fox fur, and leaned against the window, quietly watching the moonlight.

The full moon was missing a piece. Lin Shuishi wondered if he was looking at the same moon as someone else at this moment.

Under the moon in the Dongshan Mountain, a pack of wolves howled. The wolf king, now in good condition, led the pack on a hunt. They returned, their load full of fresh sheep and deer, which they dragged up the hillside. The wolves waited a long time but saw that Fuli didn’t come to eat, so they looked at the wolf king.

The wolf king licked the blood off his lips, his blue eyes scanning the surroundings. He then leaped and raced to the top of a ridge, where it seemed closer to the moon.

Fuli lay on the ground, with a listless little white wolf curled up beside him. The small wolf, seeing its father, remained still, relying on Fuli and trying to act important.

The wolf king stood beside Fuli for a while, but seeing that his elder brother ignored him, he sneezed and stepped back. He was frustrated, not only with Fuli but also with the unmoving cub.

So, the little white wolf didn’t even have the luxury of feeling melancholy. The wolf king grabbed it by the scruff of its neck and, stiff as a board, carried it to the deer meat under the ridge. The wolf king bit open the deer’s belly, pressed the little wolf’s head down, and dunked it into the deer’s liver, covering its face in blood.

The wolf king observed the increasingly picky cub, while the cub struggled and kicked with its fluffy hind legs, longing for the “two legs” that usually fed it so gently.

Meanwhile, Fuli was left alone at the top, basking in the gentle breeze, bathed in the moonlight.

xxx

The next morning, having slept half the night in the cold and the other half on the hot kang, Lin Shuishi indeed developed a fever, with a swollen throat and a nosebleed. The eldest daughter-in-law quickly grabbed a towel and came to help Lin Shuishi clean up the blood.

Seeing the delicate, refined Lin Shuishi, she wiped his nose continuously, feeling quite sentimental. Although Lin Shuishi looked like a delicate young man with his fair face, neither she nor her sister-in-law, nor even Huan Ge’er, could match his daintiness!

The eldest daughter-in-law, observing the way her father-in-law and mother-in-law acted, realized that this young ge’er would be the sole focus of attention in the family from now on. However, the pregnancy mole was faint, and San’er and his family would still need to rely on them in the future, so she wasn’t envious. Instead, she found Lin Shuishi easy to get along with and kind.

Lin Shuishi, after wiping his nose, thanked her in a muffled voice, “Thank you, eldest sister-in-law.”

The eldest daughter-in-law, being straightforward, waved it off and, seeing that Lin Shuishi was fine, invited him to the main hall for breakfast. Lin Shuishi had a simple meal with the Zheng family, helped clean the dishes, and then went out to feed the little black horse.

Upon stepping outside, he saw the horse occupying the feed trough and selectively eating the bean cake, intimidating the two yellow horses away. Lin Shuishi went up and patted its soft ears, “This is someone else’s house; you’re being quite the bully!”

Behind him, Old Man Zheng hobbled over, carrying a bag of bean cake and pouring it in front of the little black horse, picking out the horse’s favorite bits. “Shui Ge’er, I heard from the eldest daughter-in-law that you didn’t sleep well last night and caught a cold.”

Lin Shuishi shook his head, “It’s nothing, Uncle Zheng. I’ll be fine in a bit.” After exchanging a few more pleasantries, with Zheng Laohan showing concern for Lin Shuishi’s well-being, Lin Shuishi, who had already made up his mind, finally asked, “Uncle, is the house we used to live in still around? I’d like to go see it, pay respects to my parents, and reflect on the past.”