Chapter 6 Leaving the Mountain Pass

  Next door, the Li family's rooster was crowing loudly "Oo oo" nonstop. Yang Ling was sleeping soundly and woke up in a daze, reached out to touch something, but his arms were empty. He hastily opened his eyes to find that the bed was already empty, leaving only him alone.

  Yang Ling couldn't help but smile wryly, he still wanted to take good care of the family, but unexpectedly they had gotten up early, while he was still sleeping in. He grabbed his clothes and put them on, a quilted blue robe with several patches sewn on it.

  He walked out to the outer house, looked around, but didn't see any sign of Han Youniang. Yang Ling walked out of the courtyard gate, it was too cold outside, the chill hit his nose, he stretched his limbs and expanded his chest, feeling a lot more refreshed.

  The morning sun shines, this is a small village built on the mountain slope, with more than ten houses, most of which are also dilapidated. At the foot of the mountain, there are dozens of houses, which seem to be quite good and should belong to relatively wealthy families.

  Yang Ling was standing by the right wall, gazing down at the mountain below. Suddenly, he heard the creaking of the courtyard gate and turned his head to see a huge bundle of firewood, with some branches still having snow on them. Below it was a small figure, who looked even smaller compared to the massive firewood. Amidst the fluffy pile of firewood, a small face peeked out, its cheeks frozen bright red.

  Yang Ling hurried over, looking both embarrassed and ashamed, saying: "Young lady, why... hurry up, put it down, why chop so much firewood".

  Han Youniang saw that it was him, and she was even more anxious than he was. She hastily put down the firewood, picked up the axe and ran over to support him, her expression worried as she said: "Master, why have you come out again? It's so cold outside, quickly go back inside."

  Yang Ling felt a bit self-reproachful and annoyed, he snatched the axe from Nong's hand and threw it aside, holding her small red face with both hands, saying: "Nong, don't chop so much firewood in the future, you should have woken me up, this work should be done by us men."

  Han Youniang's face was held by him, and she felt warm in her heart. She said seriously: "How can that be? You are a scholar, if you do these rough jobs, people will laugh at you. Husband, go back to the house quickly, don't get frozen."

  Her hands were also icy cold, the back of her hand was red and swollen, and all ten fingers were stiff. Yang Ling wrapped his palm around her small hand and walked quickly towards the house, saying: "You should hurry up and warm yourself inside, you're wearing too little." He said with some distress: "Our family is so poor that we can't even afford a set of clothes?"

  Han Youniang smiled shyly: "Not yet, I also have a new set of clothes that I was thinking of wearing during the New Year's festival, but now I don't want to use them. Husband, are you hungry? I'll go cook."

  Yang Ling's nose turned sour, and he secretly thought: "Niu Tou Ma Mian, you win. If I don't let this poor and lovely girl live a good life, even if you make me 10,000 years old, I won't go back."

  He pulled Han Youniang to the edge of the kang and sat her down, opened his own collar, put her hands in his bosom, and said with a heroic and overbearing tone: "Sit still, warm your hands first, look at how frozen you are."

  Han Youniang stared blankly at him, sniffled, and suddenly burst into tears. Yang Ling was taken aback and asked urgently: "Youniang, what's wrong?"

  Han Youniang pulled out a hand from his arms, wiped away her tears and smiled awkwardly: "No, I'm happy, husband, you're really too good to me. It's my fortune that I can marry you."

  Han Youniang felt extremely satisfied, heaven had indeed been kind to her, not only had it returned her husband to her, but he was also so gentle and considerate, without any of the airs of a scholar-official. The world had given her so much, satisfaction and happiness filled her small heart. Looking at her easily satisfied and happy expression, Yang Ling couldn't help but hold her in his arms.

  Breakfast was still corn porridge and salted vegetables. The porridge cooked by Young Nang was a bit more than last night's, after all, Yang Ling had gone hungry for two meals, so even this unpalatable food seemed to have some flavor now. As he crunched on the icy radish strips, he suddenly asked: "Young Nang, how much does one mu of land cost now?"

  "Master, if it's good land on the Datong Xuanfu side, about one mu is worth six to eight taels of silver. Our mountain fields are probably around four taels of silver."

  "Only four taels?" Yang Ling was greatly disappointed, Han Youniang blinked and said incomprehensibly: "Four taels is not a small amount, that's four strings of money, enough for our peasant family to use for two years."

  Yang Ling was startled, he always habitually used his own era's concept to think about the problem, and after asking her skillfully, he only knew that at this time one or two silver coins were worth about 1,000 wen, saying that using it for two years would be considered conservative, some small families who saved money could use it for three or four years, no wonder Nian Niang said it was not a small amount, however, that calculation referred to grain they grew themselves, otherwise one or two silver coins at most would only be enough for one year.

  Yang carefully calculated that one mu of land would yield four taels, and four mu would be sixteen taels, which was not a small amount. It would probably be enough for Young Mistress to use for over ten years. However, judging from the situation yesterday, if Yang himself were not present, it was unlikely that the Yang family members would easily let Young Mistress obtain the land.

  However... if I want to sell the land, no one has the right to stop me. He secretly calculated for a while and said: "Young daughter, I think of selling the land and house, and moving into the city to live".

  Han Youniang's eyes widened in surprise, and she hastily said: "What? This... how can this be? That is the property left by our ancestors, how can we lose it from our hands? Are you worried that our life will be cut off? Don't worry, these days because of your illness, I didn't dare to leave your side. Now that you're feeling better, just focus on reading books and recovering. Since childhood, I've learned hunting skills from my father, in two days I'll go up the mountain to hunt, as long as we can get through this winter it will be fine, and when our land has a harvest, we can pay back the debt."

  Yang Ling bitterly smiled and said: "In the icy snow, you're a woman who's gone to the mountains to hunt, how dangerous is that? These days have been hard on you too. I think with my writing and calculations, once we get to the city, I can at least find some work. I really...can't bear for someone of your age to still be supporting this useless me."

  Han Youniang hastily got up and said in a flustered manner: "Husband, we are husband and wife, how can you say such things? You're a scholar with honors, how can you do something so lowly?"

  Yang Ling said disapprovingly: "What's humiliating about this? Can't even afford to support his wife and that's considered noble?"

  Unexpectedly, Han Youniang heard this and was so anxious that tears came down, crying: "I can't serve my husband well, let a scholar like you do those lowly jobs. In the future, how will I have the face to see my parents-in-law in the underworld? Husband, please, as long as we have a home, we'll have roots. How can drifting away from our hometown and becoming homeless be a long-term plan?"

  Yang Ling saw her tears and was also flustered, hastily putting down the bowl to walk around the table, embracing her in his arms, gently wiping away her tears, softly comforting: "Good girl, don't cry anymore, you crying makes my heart feel uncomfortable. Listen to me, next year's imperial examination is about to take place, our family can't even gather enough travel expenses, how can we go to the provincial city to participate in the imperial examination? Taking this desperate gamble, I can focus on studying with a clear mind. As your husband, I am the youngest scholar of the Xuan Prefecture, do you believe I can pass the imperial examination?"

  Han Youniang nodded hastily: "Yes, I believe that my husband will definitely pass the imperial examination and become a jinshi, then go to Beijing to participate in the palace examination, and will definitely become a high-ranking official in the future."

  Yang Ling laughed and said, "That's it, then why do you still care about these few acres of mountain fields? If we buy land, in the future we'll buy a hundred or so good acres, bring glory to our ancestors, and won't that be even more impressive when we go see Mom and Dad?"

  Han Youniang thought for a moment, then hesitantly said: "What you say is reasonable, sir, but... must we sell the land? Or... why don't I borrow some silver from Uncle to make ends meet, and you just focus on taking the exam with peace of mind. I'll stay at home and tend to the fields. Isn't that a more stable plan?"

  Yang Ling looked at this desolate and remote place, it was as if an economist had fallen into a primitive tribe, cut off from the current system and level of production, the things he understood were not marketable. In his opinion, if he entered the city, he might be able to make some small inventions or creations like those lucky geniuses who traveled through time in books, make a fortune, and secure Han Youniang's food and clothing for life, so he insisted on leaving this place.

  However, he naturally couldn't say this to Han Youniang directly, so he made an excuse and said: "You also saw yesterday, I really don't want to owe a favor to Uncle's family now. Moreover..." He leaned against Youniang's ear and said with a smile: "Who did you mistake me for last night? Have there been some rascals coming to flirt with you these days? How can I be at ease leaving such a beautiful little wife alone here?"

  He only thought that this joke would make Han Youniang blush and laugh, but unexpectedly, after hearing his words, her face suddenly turned pale. She struggled out of Yang Ling's arms, trembling with rage: "Husband, are you saying I'm flirting with others and not being a virtuous wife? The moral code for women is to be faithful to one husband from beginning to end, this is the greatest propriety in human relationships. Although I am the daughter of a hunting family, I also know these principles of being a person, how could I do something so shameful and outrageous?"

  Yang Ling was startled, and didn't expect that just joking around would provoke such a fierce reaction from her. He hastily comforted her, saying: "Nuanniang, you're being too sensitive, I... as your husband was just joking with you, praising how beautiful you look, there's no blame intended towards you, don't be so paranoid, okay? It's fine, let's just say I misspoke, come on, I'll take the punishment, go ahead and hit me."

  Yang Ling grasped Han Youniang's small fist and pounded it against his own chest for a while, seeing that she was still tearfully and resentfully looking at him. Suddenly having an idea, he pretended to cough several times. This trick really worked, and Han Youniang immediately put aside her sulking, hastily supporting him as she said: "Husband, are you feeling unwell? Hurry up and go lie down."

  Yang Ling secretly smiled to herself, it seemed that using this trick on her was indeed foolproof. She pretended to be genuinely weak and had her help him onto the bed, where he half-lay and half-sat, then coughed and said: "I'm fine, I just made a careless joke, didn't mean to say the wrong thing, saw you getting hurt and angry, my words got tangled up, couldn't explain clearly, got anxious in my heart, and...cough cough..."

  "Young lady believes it, Young lady trusts you, everything will be arranged according to your instructions."

  She buried her face in Yang Ling's chest, her arms wrapped around his waist, afraid that he would get angry and have an accident again. She repeatedly agreed, and after a while, she sighed softly: "I'll do whatever you want, husband. It's just... please let me go back to my parents' home for a few days when you're feeling better. I want to tell Father about it. He came to see you when you were unconscious the other day and brought some hunted game, but... our family is very poor, and Father and brothers haven't returned from hunting in the deep mountains these past few days."

  Yang Ling readily agreed, "Of course, this house and property will have to be sold, but it's not easy to find a buyer right away. It'll take some time. In two days, I'll go with you to see your father-in-law."