Mr Wu said with a smile, “Ah Qi is still young. Sister-in-law, you don’t have to be so strict with him! Haha, he is still a child and it is a child’s nature to be playful!”
Miao Cui Lan politely replied with a smile, “Don’t try to help him say good words. The more you do, the more playful he will become!”
As the three of them laughed, Lu Zhong invited Mr Wu into the house and said with a smile, “There’s no need to bring anything when you come over!”
Mr Wu raised the two pheasant birds in his hands and smiled, “I am here to trouble Sister-in-law again! It seems like my luck today wasn’t bad when I made my round up the mountain. I am too lazy to deal with these birds, so I came here! Oh right, I heard that both of you adopted a baby girl. I’m also here to take a look!”
Miao Cui Lan had just returned from selling beancurd. When she heard his words, she immediately went up and took the two pheasants with a smile, “What is there to be troubled? Take a seat, I will go prepare the dish! It won’t take too long!”
Lying on the brick bed of the house, Lu Xiao Shu had already opened her pair of big black eyes and was listening to the movements outside. This Mr Wu seemed to be very close with her father and mother, and both of them seemed to respect him a lot!
Lu Xiao Shu felt that her father’s temperament was already gentle, so when he was polite towards Mr Wu it was an innate thing. However, even her mother was speaking to him in a respectful tone, *tsk, tsk, tsk*, he must be amazing!
In a blink of an eye, two figures entered. Lu Xiao Shu did her best to open her eyes wide to take a better look at the stranger beside her father. He was slender and thin, about thirty plus years old, wore a navy green long-sleeved robe, had a bronze skin tone, and distinctive facial features with an especially high nose bridge. His pair of squinty eyes seemed to conceal the brilliance in his eyes, and he also had a faint smile on his face which added a little softness.
He was someone who gave off a comfortable vibe. He had an unusual aura as if he had an invisible layer of pureness surrounding him, and any filth in this world would not be able to come close to him. In other words, he was refined which made others not dare to belittle and neglect him.
Lu Xiao Shu was subconsciously awed with respect and she thought that this Feng Ye Village was a place with many talented individuals in hiding. Her father did not seem like an ignorant villager, and Mr Wu was even less so. She had heard that he was a teacher in this village, could he be a hermit?
Lu Xiao Shu got interested and could not help but steal a few more glances at Mr Wu. After living for so many years, she could finally see what a hermit looked like! Sure enough, he looked awesome…
“Haha!” Mr Wu started laughing and walked towards the brick bed before sitting down. He then smiled at Lu Zhong and said, “This child is not afraid of strangers. Her eyes are wide open as she keeps looking at me.”
Lu Zhong smiled and sighed, “Yes! This child is sensible. She doesn’t cry much, and if she isn’t sleeping, her pair of black eyes will just look around as if she’s curious about everything around her!”
Mr Wu leaned over and looked at Lu Xiao Shu as he smiled, “She is really a lovely girl brimming with energy!” While he said that, he saw her pinkish cheeks that were irresistibly lovable. He could not help but to reach out his fingers and poked her cheeks again and again.
Lu Xiao Shu got very annoyed that she spat out little bubbles from her mouth. She shook her head and waved her hands in protest, as she thought to herself: How could a hermit not have any manners? Conduct yourself properly! Do you know your manners! How can you behave like a rascal who liked to poke my face! Earlier on, she was still awed with respect for him, but his actions were so disappointing that all her respect was gone!
Mr Wu could not help but burst into laughter, and said, This little girl has a big temper!”
Lu Zhong replied with a smile, “That’s right, she’s like that. She dislikes people touching her the most, and would rather be in a daze by herself.”
“…”, Her father’s words made her feel at a loss. She had the soul of an eighteen-year-old teenager, how could she like it when others treat her like a little baby — coaxing her in their arms, patting her butt, and saying mushy words like “good girl” and “good baby”? In contrast, of course she would rather lie down obediently — but not dazing off stupidly! God knows how bored she was!
After hearing Lu Zhong’s words, Mr Wu’s finger that was poking the baby face stiffened slightly. He chuckled and retracted this hand. Seeing that Lu Xiao Shu was slowly calming down, he subconsciously shook his head and smiled. He then turned to Lu Zhong and started talking about something else.
Lu Xiao Shu raised her ears to listen, she thought that they would be discussing poetry, other knowledgeable stuff, or even other skills that any well-educated would have — Don’t hermits love to talk about all those?
Who knew that all they were discussing about was how the crops in the rice fields were growing well, the hard beancurd and beancurd skin were selling very well and they could start making more, and the reeds at the eastern field were growing taller and could be harvested and weaved into straw mats in a month or so. There were a mix of small talks which Lu Xiao Shu found boring, and the hermit image she had initially was completely shattered.
Miao Cui Lan’s movements were swift. Soon, the two pheasants were prepared properly. One was preserved with salt and kept in a wooden barrel to maintain its freshness for Mr Wu to eat tomorrow. As for the other bigger one, they would be eating it tonight.
Villagers usually did not pay much attention when it came to food; moreover, the fresh wild animal could become very tasty through simple cooking. She sliced the pheasant, mixed it with bamboo shoots, beancurd skin, softened mushroom and black fungus, then stir-fried with ginger, shallot, garlic, one whole red chilli, anise, cooking wine, before garnishing with coriander. The cooked pheasant was poured into a porcelain pot and served. She also made stir-fried lettuce with garlic, and cold mixed beancurd and beans as sides. Finally, dinner was ready.
When Lu Xiao Shu smelled the fragrance from the dishes, her stomach craved to have a bite. But what a pity, a toothless child like her could not!
In a blink of an eye, it was August. Lu Xiao Shu was almost half a year old; she could roll around as and when she liked, and was also capable of sitting up right. Sometimes, she could also stand up by supporting the wall, and her small mouth also grew three or four baby teeths which were visible when she smiled at her parents.
Lu Xiao Shu could finally bid farewell to those idle days. She was elated and filled with anticipation to be able to walk and run daily. Her sister, Lu Xiao Xue, was already wearing their mother’s handmade shoes on her little feet. With the help of her parents, she was able to walk in a wobbly manner.
In fact, Lu Xiao Shu actually liked her pretty elder sister. She treated her well and was very kind. Even the little doll that she refused to let Xiao Yu take was generously offered to her to play. Due to that very fact, Lu Xiao Shu decided to protect her elder sister in the future. Her elder sister also had a similar appearance to Lin Dai Yu, which meant that she would definitely attract bullies!
(TLN: Lin Dai Yu, a character from a popular Chinese television series adapted from a classic novel)
She was not like that annoying and nasty kid, who kept calling them “Younger Sister” and “Second Younger Sister”. Whenever Lu Xiao Shu heard it, she would be super annoyed and scold: you are ‘two’!
(TLN: 二 refers to ‘second’, ‘two’, and ‘stupid’. Chinese jokes aside…moving on)
On August 15th, a bright full moon hung on the night sky. The cherry blossoms, jujube trees, loquat trees, and persimmon trees were blooming in the courtyard. Anyone who was nearby could see them clearly from far away.
After dinner, the Lu family set up a table in their courtyard. On the table, there were mooncakes, candied seeds, peaches, oranges, freshly picked grapes, and more. The family and Mr Wu sat down to admire the moon.
Lu Xiao Shu and Lu Xiao Xue both sat on a chair respectively. Lu Xiao Qi was very mischievous, hence, he sat in a baby rocking chair that would restrict his movements. She was depressed by this seating arrangement but after being reprimanded by her mother, she did not dare to protest anymore. Like Lu Qi, she was subconsciously afraid of their hot tempered mother.
Mr Wu pulled Lu Qi and pointed to the moon. He then asked with a smile, “Ah Qi, what do you think it looks like?”
Lu Qi blinked his eyes a couple of times and replied, “It looks like the big cake that mother just baked!” That made everyone laugh.
Listening to the laughters, Lu Qi felt a little embarrassed. He smiled and asked, “Did I say anything wrong?”
“No, no! You’re right! It looks exactly like a big cake. Haha, a big cake!” Mr Wu smiled.
Lu Xiao Shu rolled her eyes and despised her idiotic brother who only thought about food! If Mr Wu were to ask her, she would definitely say it looked like a jade plate. A jade plate was worth a lot of money which could be sold to buy a lot of good food and fun toys. Compared to a big cake, it was so much better…
“You only know how to eat!” Miao Cui Lan’s comment reflected Lu Xiao Shu’s inner thoughts. She looked at Lu Qi with a smile and said, “Are you not afraid of becoming a joke in front of Mr Wu!”
Mr Wu pulled Lu Qi close and smiled, “What Ah Qi said isn’t wrong. He’s still young anyway!”
“This boy is going to become used to being playful!” Miao Cui Lan took the opportunity to smile and said, “I was thinking, when the two girls grow older next year, they wouldn’t need their brother to watch over them anymore. It’ll be good for him to go to school and learn from you. Mr Wu, what do you think?”
Lu Qi would be six years old next year. In a village, it would be too early for a child to attend school as many would be over ten years old or older before they could settle themselves down to study. However, Miao Cui Lan had high hopes for her son to be successful, hence she asked about it.
Mr Wu took a look at Lu Qi and smiled, “Of course! Learning should start from young to help develop their character and build a stronger foundation. Those elite children from wealthy families receive education when they are two to three years old.”
Miao Cui Lan was overjoyed. She quickly got up and bowed to Mr Wu, “Really? That’s great, thank you! “
“Sister-in-law, you don’t have to be so polite. Haha. In my eyes, Ah Qi is like my biological nephew. Even if you didn’t ask about it today, I would have in one or two years’ time!” Mr Wu quickly stood up and requited.
On a whim, Mr Wu smiled and pulled Lu Qi to teach him to recite a poem.
Before my bed the moon shone brightly. Like frost upon the ground. I lifted my head and looked at the moon. When I lowered my head, I thought of home.
Lu Qi did not understand any of the difficult characters, how would he know what “shone brightly” and “thought of home” meant? Even when Mr Wu was teaching him how to pronounce those characters, it was difficult for Lu Qi to learn. He could only follow sentence by sentence, and the way he recited the poem sounded forced.
Miao Cui Lan did not understand the poem either, but since “poem” was something only educated people understood, she could not help but to feel a little nervous and afraid that Mr Wu would find her son slow-witted.
As they were reciting, Mr Wu’s voice gradually brought a little imperceptible melancholy. His eyes darkened, and he sighed softly. Lu Xiao Shu leaned her head forward to listen, but she suddenly thought of the parody version of the poem – “Pig head looking up at the bright moon, and his pants tore when he looked down” She could not help but start giggling.
“This girl is being silly again!” Her giggles attracted the attention of everyone. Miao Cui Lan could not help but laugh.
“Ah Ah,” Lu Xiao Shu protested. How was she a silly girl, which part of her was silly?
Mr Wu also let out a chuckle and went quiet. He then gently patted Lu Qi’s back and said, “Go play by yourself.” Lu Qi cheered and he slid down from the stool before running under the tree to catch the crickets.
“Mr Wu, are you missing home? Haha, speaking of that, we are neighbours for so many years but we still do not know where you are from!” Lu Zhong said with a smile.
