In the afternoon, a light rain started beneath the Qingshan Mountains.
Taking shelter from the rain, Luo Wei and Wei Lan sat in a grass shelter at the edge of the field.
“Are you tired?” Wei Lan asked Luo Wei, knowing him well as someone who couldn’t sit still once he got up in the morning.
Resting his head on Wei Lan’s lap, Luo Wei began to doze off. Nowadays, he had gotten into the habit of napping in the afternoon. In response to Wei Lan’s question, he mumbled, “I didn’t do any farming, how tired can I be?”
“Once again, you refused to eat meat today,” Wei Lan said, absentmindedly playing with Luo Wei’s hair. “Wei, why don’t you like eating meat? I don’t think meat tastes bad, do you? Does pork taste bitter in your mouth?”
“Sour,” Luo Wei said, waving his hand to gently push away Wei Lan’s hand. “Stop it, let me sleep for a while.”
Seeing that Luo Wei was really going to sleep, Wei Lan took off his coat and covered Luo Wei with it, saying, “Rest, I’ll watch over you. We don’t know when this rain will stop.”
“This mountain is strange,” Luo Wei said. “The sun was shinning just a moment ago, and now it’s raining again, the mountain God here cannot be trusted. Ah!” Mentioning the rain, Luo Wei remembered something.
“What’s wrong?” Wei Lan asked, thinking something serious had happened when he heard Luo Wei suddenly shout and jump up. He hurriedly asked, “What happened?”
“The quilt got soaked!” Luo Wei said anxiously to Wei Lan.
“Did you leave it out to dry again?”
“It was sunny when I left,” Luo Wei said, looking at the rain outside the grass shelter, feeling anxious. Now that the quilt was all wet, what would they sleep under tonight?
“I’ll go get it,” Wei Lan said, pulling Luo Wei to sit down. “If it’s wet, we still have spare ones, why are you in such a hurry?”
“It’s the thick winter quilt,” Luo Wei shouted at Wei Lan.
“I’ll go right away,” Wei Lan said, running outside the grass shelter.
“Hurry up,” Luo Wei shouted after him. “If it’s already wet, don’t put it on the bed! Why are you so slow? Use your lightness skill!” Watching Wei Lan run for a while, still visible to him, Luo Wei shouted again.
Wei Lan had never imagined that one day his lightness skill would be used to help him go faster to run home to collect a quilt on a rainy day.
Watching Wei Lan disappear into the distance, Luo Wei sat down on the grass mat inside the grass shelter.
When it rained in the mountains, the rain was usually light, but it often brought mist, creating a dreamy atmosphere that made everything appear somewhat surreal. Luo Wei looked at the lush green wheat field for a while, recalling the golden scene in the wheat field last year. He sighed, thinking that this year’s harvest would likely be good too. Old Wei had made several trips into the mountains for their three wheat fields, and in the end, he praised Wei Lan as a natural farmer. Thinking about harvesting the wheat in autumn, Luo Wei also remembered that the old men would come to the mountains to help them. He thought about what kind of food to prepare to entertain these elders who treated them like their own children. Wei Lan wasn’t particular about cooking; he only aimed to satisfy hunger, and taste was not a concern. Perhaps the only dish he could make well was scrambled eggs. Luo Wei yawned. They had plenty of eggs at home now. Should they make egg dumplings for dinner? How did you make egg dumplings again? Luo Wei wondered. Didn’t they need to be wrapped in pork?
Wei Lan ran back home and brought back all the bedding Luo Wei had laid out in the courtyard. Thankfully, he returned quickly, so although the covers were a bit wet, the cotton inside was still dry. Thinking that Luo Wei’s chickens were probably still in the backyard, Wei Lan put away the bedding and hurried to the backyard to check on Luo Wei’s precious chickens.
The fifteen chickens didn’t need Wei Lan’s urging; they had already run back into the chicken coop when the rain started. Seeing Wei Lan squatting in front of the chicken coop, they greeted him with a series of clucking noises.
“It’s true what they say: birds of a feather flock together,” Wei Lan chuckled as he looked at the chickens. “You’re just as smart as your master, even knowing to seek shelter from the rain.”
The chickens flapped their wings in response, perhaps finding Wei Lan’s words a bit silly.
Wei Lan returned to the field with a thin blanket to find Luo Wei. Since it was raining, he figured Luo Wei could sleep outside for a nap without getting too cold. The weather wasn’t too chilly at this time. When Wei Lan arrived at the grass shelter in the field, he saw Luo Wei already lying on the grass mat, wrapped in his own coat, sleeping soundly. Wei Lan didn’t wake Luo Wei up. Instead, he took off his coat from Luo Wei’s body and covered him with the blanket. He folded the coat a few times and placed it under Luo Wei’s head to make him more comfortable.
Luo Wei turned over in his sleep, murmuring something unintelligible, but he didn’t wake up.
Wei Lan sat beside Luo Wei. Nowadays, Luo Wei didn’t sleep as soundly as before. He could wake up at the slightest movement around him. Pinching Luo Wei’s face, Wei Lan noticed that after two years, this man had finally put on some weight. His complexion had also become rosy, and when he smiled, he revealed a deep dimple on one side. With his beautiful face now resembling a ripe red apple, it made people happy just looking at him. Wei Lan kept looking at Luo Wei. He couldn’t get enough of this person. He liked this version of Luo Wei now more than when Luo Wei was the Senior Chancellor’s son. At least this Luo Wei, who was sleeping defenselessly beside him, was no longer aloof. He had become real, flesh and blood, and he could finally know this person’s joys and sorrows. Wei Lan felt that he was willing to live like this for several lifetimes.
When Luo Wei woke up, the light rain in the mountains had already stopped. Outside the grass shelter, the sky was blue again, and the sun was shining brightly. Luo Wei smiled inwardly when he saw the blanket covering him. Wei Lan always worried about him catching a cold. It had been almost a year since he last fell ill, yet Wei Lan still couldn’t help but worry. After stretching lazily, Luo Wei stood up and saw Wei Lan working in the fields again.
“Lan,” Luo Wei called out.
“Awake?” Wei Lan stopped his work and turned to look at Luo Wei.
“Yes, when will you be done?”
“Soon. There are still some stones to clear out here,” Wei Lan replied.
“Oh.”
“There’s water in the lunch box. Drink some. If you’re hungry, have some more steamed buns,” Wei Lan said, then resumed his work. With Luo Wei here, he needed to finish quickly and take him home. The wind in the mountains at night could be strong, and Wei Lan was afraid Luo Wei might catch a cold again.
Luo Wei drank some water but didn’t eat the remaining steamed buns from lunch.
“Have you eaten yet?” Wei Lan asked from the field.
“I’m not hungry,” Luo Wei replied, closing the lid of the lunch box. There was still plenty of food left inside. They could heat it up when they got home in the evening.
Hearing footsteps behind him, Wei Lan turned and saw Luo Wei squatting not far behind him, picking up a stone and throwing it out of the field.
“I’ll help you,” Luo Wei said to Wei Lan, smiling mischievously. “Just throw the stones out, right?”
“If you’re tired, you can stop,” Wei Lan said helplessly. He knew he couldn’t stop Luo Wei. He gave some advices to Luo Wei and quickened his own pace, wanting to finish the work and take this restless man home.
The fragrance of wheat frequently wafted over from the nearby wheat field. Luo Wei occasionally looked up to see Wei Lan sweating profusely as he worked hard. In this simple life, Luo Wei was content. Wei Lan looked back at Luo Wei and said, “Just throw the big ones out. Don’t bother with the small ones.”
Luo Wei looked at the stone in his hand and said, “Isn’t this a stone?”
“I’m talking about big and small,” Wei Lan said helplessly. “With your method, it’ll take a year to clean up.”
“What size is considered big then?”
“Alright, you can take a break,” Wei Lan urged Luo Wei. “Are you here to work or to cause trouble?”
Luo Wei threw the stone at Wei Lan, saying, “You! You can’t recognize a good person’s heart!”
Wei Lan easily dodged it.
“Hey, you’re dodging,” Luo Wei narrowed his eyes.
The two of them began to play in the wheat field. In their world, where there were only the two of them, it seemed that it didn’t matter if they acted like children. Pure happiness enveloped them, and their smiles became pure too.
Boundless Dao 
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