Chapter 158: The Third Wedding Anniversary

The wooden basin didn’t hold anything ordinary—it contained a bouquet of nine handmade flowers woven from ginkgo and red maple leaves, full and radiant, wrapped with two sheets of newspaper. Even more important, nestled in the center of the bouquet was a golden ring set with a red agate gemstone.

“Like it? I never bought you a ring when we got married, so I had to get one now,” Lin Heng said with a smile as he approached.

Today was their third wedding anniversary. On October 29, 1980, Xiulan had come from Lushui County to Hongfeng Village to marry him.

He had bought the ring a long time ago—three grams of gold with an agate stone, costing one hundred and fifty yuan—but he had never brought it out until now.

“I love it!” Xiulan choked up, tears streaming down her face with emotion.

“What’s there to cry about? Here, let me put it on you.”

Lin Heng smiled as he wiped her tears, took her left hand, and slipped the ring onto her ring finger.

Xiulan’s eyes, clear as autumn waters, looked up at Lin Heng as she softly said, “I have a gift for you too. I was thinking if you forgot what day it is today, I wouldn’t give it to you.”

With that, she pulled a small cloth bag from her pocket. Inside was a handkerchief, and when unfolded, a sparkling pure silver ring.

She had ordered it at the Baisha Township market last time with money she had earned herself, but hadn’t told Lin Heng about it.

If Lin Heng forgot this day, she would give it to him another time when he was in a better mood; if he remembered, she would give it to him immediately.

Grasping Lin Heng’s hand tightly, she slipped the ring onto his finger and teased, “Looks like you remembered all along and just pretended not to today. You’re so bad.”

“Thank you, wife.” Lin Heng gently pushed her against the wall and kissed her deeply.

“Mm—”

Caught off guard, Xiulan’s eyes widened, cheeks flushing bright red. She glanced at Lin Heng, then quickly closed her eyes to pretend she didn’t notice anything, though her body honestly responded to him.

“Phew!”

After three minutes, Xiulan felt like she might suffocate if it went on any longer. Blushing, she pushed Lin Heng away.

“That’s enough. No more.”

Seeing Lin Heng was about to come closer again, she hurriedly put her hand on his chest, afraid she’d lose control.

Lin Heng grinned: “If you want to keep going so badly, I’m just trying to wipe your tear stains.”

He reached out and wiped the tears from her cheek.

Xiulan blushed deeply at that, scolding, “If you bully me again tonight, you’ll be sleeping on the floor.”

“Would you really let me?” Lin Heng chuckled. On a day like today, he didn’t believe she’d be cruel enough to make him sleep on the floor.

“You just keep laughing.” Xiulan shot him a sharp look.

“Ah!”

She hadn’t even left yet when Lin Heng pulled her back into a warm embrace. Luckily, the soft cushion absorbed the impact.

“What are you doing?”

Xiulan glared at him fiercely.

“Nothing, just feeling the reality.”

Lin Heng held her tightly, almost to the point of suffocation, but his broad, warm chest made her feel intoxicated.

He could feel the rhythm of her heartbeat and admire her truly irresistible figure.

“Mom! Dad!”

Xiaoxia came running in, clutching a pile of maple leaves, looking at the two with curiosity, not understanding what they were doing.

Xiulan instantly blushed and scrambled out of Lin Heng’s arms.

Lin Heng smiled calmly: “Daddy’s hugging Mommy, showing her love.”

“I love Daddy too!” Xiaoxia stretched out her little hand, not understanding the difference between the two kinds of love.

“Daddy loves you too.” Lin Heng kissed his daughter’s cheek.

Seeing Lin Heng so composed, Xiulan calmed down and gave him a mock glare.

“It’s fine. She’s going to see it sooner or later. It’s better she learns gradually,” Lin Heng said with a smile—it wasn’t a big deal.

Knowing about these things early prevents confusion or missteps. Keeping it secret often only stokes curiosity and leads to experimentation. Education on these topics has always been too repressive in this country, which isn’t the right approach.

“I love Mommy too!” Xiaoxia tried to kiss her mother, completely ignoring what they had just been doing.

Xiulan resignedly let Xiaoxia kiss her. Really, now her mouth carried Lin Heng’s saliva and her face carried her daughter’s.

But the happiness was genuine. She looked at the bouquet again and again, unable to part with the ring on her finger.

“These leaves are half-dried now. A little more sun and they’ll preserve forever. It took me the whole morning to make this,” Lin Heng said with a smile. Making this took a lot of effort.

“So that’s why you started right after buying the beef this morning?” Xiulan blinked. This man had really gotten under her skin—heart and soul.

Lin Heng chuckled; everything was implied.

“You’re so mean—I was upset this morning thinking you forgot all about today,” Xiulan said with a glare, then looked again at her ring and flowers, unwilling to let go.

“I secretly took the beef, let’s start roasting and tasting it first,” Lin Heng said as he carried their precious daughter and headed outside.

Both daughter and wife were too adorable; he loved them so much.

He and Xiulan had married in November 1980 according to the Gregorian calendar. Xiulan got pregnant with Xiaoxia in March the following year and gave birth during the Lantern Festival of 1982. By the next Lantern Festival, Xiaoxia would be two years old.

Outside the cabin, in front of the stove made of yellow clay, Lin Heng gathered firewood and started a fire.

Xiaoxia watched curiously. When Lin Heng got the fire going, her eyes lit up as if witnessing a miracle, clapping her hands and bouncing with joy. “Yay!”

After jumping twice, she brought more wood and leaves to throw into the fire, having lots of fun.

“Don’t play with fire—it can hurt you, and getting burned will hurt more than Mommy’s scolding,” Lin Heng said, watching her closely.

At those words, Xiaoxia immediately covered her bottom and backed away, quickly understanding fire’s danger.

Lin Heng pulled her a little farther back, then threw in some charcoal. Once the flames died down, the charcoal ignited. He sealed the side opening of the stove with a stone slab and set up an iron grate on top. Now they were ready to start grilling.

Inside the house, Xiulan had already cut the beef he had secretly prepared. Looking up at him as he came in, she asked, “Can we use these bamboo skewers on the table directly?”

“Yes, those are the skewers we prepared for the barbecue. They’ve all been washed,” Lin Heng nodded, walking over to help thread the meat.

“You bought two or three jin of beef—can we finish it all?” Xiulan asked, watching him.

“It’s all cut up, we’ll definitely finish it. If not, I’ll go call Li Shiwei and the others to come help,” Lin Heng said with a smile.

They only took one head of lettuce and some cilantro for vegetables, nothing else. With just the three of them at home, meat alone was enough.

Three jin of beef threaded onto ten skewers, Lin Heng carried them all at once to the stove for grilling.

Xiulan washed her hands and watched nearby with Xiaoxia. Before long, the beef started sizzling and releasing a tempting smoky aroma.

“Smells so good!” Xiaoxia sniffed, almost drooling.

“It’ll be ready soon,” Lin Heng said with a smile.

At the start, you can’t flip the meat too often. Wait until one side firms up, then brush oil and turn it over.

Since Xiaoxia would be eating too, Lin Heng waited ten minutes before bringing the cilantro and lettuce to grill.

“All done, time to eat.” Lin Heng pulled out three skewers—two sprinkled with homemade barbecue seasoning.

Because Xiaoxia couldn’t eat much, Lin Heng cut her some small pieces with a knife, sprinkled a little pepper and salt, and fed them to her bit by bit.

“How’s my cooking? Not bad, right?” Lin Heng smiled at Xiulan.

“Mm, it’s delicious—fragrant and spicy, the more you chew, the better it tastes,” Xiulan nodded repeatedly, cheeks puffed, unable to stop.

“Yummy!” Xiaoxia nodded approvingly too.

Lin Heng happily said, “The lettuce and cilantro are grilled too.”

He couldn’t stop eating either. The yellow cattle raised free-range on the mountain hadn’t been fed any fodder. It was still young beef, and its texture and flavor were really excellent.

It had a chewy bite—not tough like old pigskin—but paired with the homemade barbecue seasoning, it was impossible to stop eating.

The three of them sat there among the maple trees, eating barbecue and enjoying the scenery—it felt like a paradise untouched by the world.

In his past life, Lin Heng had dreamed of this countless times.

“We thought we wouldn’t finish it, but surprisingly the two of us ate it all,” Xiulan said, munching a piece of raw lettuce, sighing.

“It looks like a lot, but it’s not much,” Lin Heng smiled.

“Daddy, you eat,” Xiaoxia mimicked her mother and took a bite of raw lettuce. Finding it not tasty, she shoved it into Lin Heng’s mouth.

“You really are my little treasure,” Lin Heng said, pinching her cheek. He didn’t dare give it to her mom, so he ate the leftovers himself.

But what could he do? This was his precious daughter—not only eating raw lettuce but wanting to be held too.

Lin Heng finished the cilantro, and Xiulan cleared the rest of the leftover vegetables.

It was the first time the little wooden cabin had a fire going, and the more-than-an-hour barbecue ended. Besides Xiaoxia’s laughter, there were birdsong and the distant sound of mountain streams flowing.

Lin Heng took his wife to the fence to have a look. On both sides of the river, the scenery was beautiful.

Clusters of Chinese sumac on the opposite mountain glowed bright red, like bunches of flowers decorating the endless hills covered in yellow leaves of various shades—truly soothing to the body and mind.

In the fields and slopes, villagers could be seen working. The Shiban River looked like a long jade ribbon winding down from the southwest.

Leaning on Lin Heng’s shoulder, Xiulan gazed absentmindedly at the view, enjoying the peace and beauty. Xiaoxia played with maple leaves in Lin Heng’s arms, babbling happily to herself.

Lin Heng was thinking about building a dam at the village entrance on the Shiban River to raise the water level by one or two meters—then the view would be even more stunning.

After a while, the wind suddenly picked up, and the three returned to the cabin where the forest sheltered them from the stronger gusts.

Xiulan sat on the swing with interest and saw Lin Heng coming over. She quickly said, “Don’t push too hard.”

“Hold on tight.” Lin Heng grinned and gave a strong push. The swing rocked vigorously.

But the swing’s arc was only about seventy or eighty degrees—not as wild as the men’s games.

“Too fast, too fast, slow down!” Xiulan clutched the ropes, a little scared.

“Fun, isn’t it?” Lin Heng laughed.

“You’re doing this on purpose. You’re dead meat—stop it now,” Xiulan scolded him fiercely.

But Lin Heng swung the swing faster. Xiulan’s fear turned into pleading: “Slow down, I’m begging you.”

“Say ‘Brother’! Make it sweet,” Lin Heng teased.

Xiulan shot him a glare, then gave in: “Brother, good brother~”

“Good little sister!” Lin Heng was pleased. Xiulan’s soft voice melted his heart.

“Daddy, I want to play too!” Xiaoxia waved her arms excitedly, finding it so much fun.

“Alright, alright, I’ll play with you.”

Lin Heng picked her up and sat on the other swing nearby, rocking her gently.

Xiulan stayed on her swing, not rushing to get off, rocking slowly.

The quiet cabin in the woods really had a different kind of atmosphere.

“How about it? Want to stay here a few days? When it snows in winter, the scenery will be even more beautiful,” Lin Heng smiled.

“Let’s find a time and come stay,” Xiulan nodded. She was falling in love with this place too.

After playing for a while, the three went inside, tidied up, locked the door, and started heading back.

Halfway down, they heard someone calling from below the mountain: “I couldn’t find you guys—turns out you ran up the mountain to play.”

It was Li Shiwei, smiling broadly.

“What’s up?” Lin Heng asked curiously.

“Nothing, it’s almost quitting time and I still couldn’t find you. Your dad asked me to come look,” Li Shiwei said with a laugh.

“I’ll send my daughter home first, then come up,” Lin Heng said.

“I’ll come with you,” Li Shiwei nodded.

After sending Xiulan home and saying a word to her, Lin Heng and Li Shiwei went to the Hongfeng Mountain construction site.

The first row of stone retaining walls was already built and the ground leveled. The mountain road in the middle was excavated.

Right now, everyone was digging the foundation for the second row of fishpond retaining walls.

Lin Heng led his team to mark out the lines for the remaining five fishponds in the first row with stakes.

After working a bit more, it was almost six o’clock.

“Tomorrow and the day after, no need to come to work. Take two days off, then come back early the day after,” Lin Heng announced as he took out the work log for everyone to sign.

Naturally, no one objected to this—having two days off to go home and take care of things was pretty good.

After dismissing everyone, Lin Heng asked Lin Hai if he wanted to join them tomorrow for fish blasting.

Lin Hai leaned in with a smile: “I can’t make it tomorrow, Brother Lin. Tian Yan wants to see me.”

“Alright, kid,” Lin Heng shook his head. This guy was hopelessly lost in love.

Then Lin Hai shyly added, “Also, the day after tomorrow, I want to take her to a barbecue. What do you think, Brother Lin?”

“No problem. As long as you can get her to come, that’s your skill,” Lin Heng patted him on the shoulder, clearly not objecting.

“Thanks, bro,” Lin Hai said gratefully, then eagerly slipped away.

Lin Heng turned and went home with his father and the others, and they all excitedly began preparing the gear needed for tomorrow’s fish blasting.

“Make a few extra nets, and bring fish traps and rods too,” Li Shiwei said with a smile.

“Of course,” Lin Heng nodded. This time they were going big—if they didn’t come back with at least a hundred or two hundred jin of fish, it wouldn’t count as a success.

(End of chapter)