As soon as Erdan’s mother left, Feng-ge’er pouted and muttered, “Why should we be the ones paying?”
Renting out toys for two days could earn two wen, and two wen was enough to buy half a catty of rice.
Ji Ning patted his head. “This matter could be big or small. We’re offering two eggs to shut her up and also to show the villagers that our family takes responsibility and acts reasonably. If this really escalates and she claims our toys cause trouble, who would dare to rent or buy from us in the future? Losing big for the sake of small gains—that’s what would truly be a loss.”
Lan-jie chimed in beside them, “But what if other families come to us demanding compensation?”
Ji Ning replied, “That’s why we need to set rules. We’ve already made it clear in advance. From now on, if anything happens, it can’t be blamed on us. Whoever makes a mistake should be held accountable.”
Modern merchants had long mastered the art of disclaimers, turning them into elaborate strategies. Compensation for hitting a chicken and hitting a person were two different things. Resolving trouble with the least amount of money was the ideal outcome.
Feng-ge’er seemed to understand, yet not quite.
But that didn’t stop him from listening to his sister.
He ran outside to find the group of children, conveyed his sister’s message, and added his own embellishments: “Whoever hit Erdan’s chicken, step forward! If you don’t admit it, we won’t play with you anymore.”
One child in the crowd was already terrified.
The others were also a bit confused. At the time, everyone had been playing with Bamboo Tube Cannons, but they were somewhat distracted, thinking about the new toys Ji Ning had made. Their minds weren’t on the toys, so they lost their aim while playing and ended up hitting Erdan’s chicken.
At first, no one realized what had happened. Seeing someone run away, they instinctively followed. Only later did they realize something was wrong.
“It wasn’t me! I didn’t even bring a Bamboo Tube Cannon.”
“It… it wasn’t me either. I don’t know anything.”
“I just ran because I saw Shitou running.”
Shitou quickly denied it too: “I only ran because I saw Hutou running…”
After pointing fingers back and forth, they finally identified the first child who ran: “It was Xiao Douzi who ran first.”
Everyone turned to look at Xiao Douzi, who burst into tears with a loud wail. “I… I didn’t mean to. I just missed my aim and hit it. I really didn’t mean to…”
He cried so loudly that Feng-ge’er’s head began to ache. “Stop crying.”
Xiao Douzi thought he was being scolded and cried even harder, unable to stop.
“Stop crying!”
Feng-ge’er shouted so loudly he nearly strained his voice.
Xiao Douzi immediately stifled his sobs, hiccupping as he tried to hold back his tears.
“What’s the use of crying?” Feng-ge’er snorted. “Hurry up and have your parents take you to apologize. Otherwise, don’t even think about buying toys from our family in the future.”
Xiao Douzi didn’t dare say a word. Ever since Ji Ning’s toys appeared, Feng-ge’er had become the leader of the village children. His words carried more weight than the adults’, and everyone hoped to rent toys from his family to play with.
He obediently prepared to go home and ask his parents to take him to Erdan’s house.
Feng-ge’er’s eyes darted around, and he decided to go with him—before leaving, Ji Ning had quietly instructed him to make sure the apology was actually delivered.
At first, Feng-ge’er didn’t understand why, but after following Xiao Douzi to his home, he realized the reason.
Xiao Douzi’s parents refused to take him to apologize because it would require offering two eggs as compensation.
Although Ji Ning had said that as long as they went to apologize, they could rent toys from her for free for two days, Xiao Douzi’s parents calculated it over and over in their hearts and still felt they were losing money. Sure, Xiao Douzi had scared someone’s chicken, but the chicken was only frightened. They claimed it was brooding and laying eggs—who knew if that was true? Even if it was, the eggs hadn’t actually broken. The Erdan family got two eggs for free, and while the Ji family said they were covering the cost, they hadn’t spent a single cent. This free toy rental was just lending them out—afterward, Ji Ning’s things could still be sold, couldn’t they? The only one benefiting was Xiao Douzi.
As for toys, missing out on playing for a couple of days wouldn’t cause any real harm.
In any case, they felt they were the only ones losing out.
Xiao Douzi nearly cried himself to the point of fainting: “But… but then they won’t play with me anymore.”
His parents scoffed: “So what? If they don’t play with you, find someone else. People forget easily. In a couple of days, they’ll have forgotten all about it. Go on, don’t bother us. We still have to go check on the seedlings in the fields.”
Feng-ge’er watched silently from the side. After returning, he told Ji Ning about the matter, his face full of disdain: “How come adults are even less reasonable than us kids?”
Even the child realized he was in the wrong, yet the adults didn’t take it seriously.
Ji Ning chuckled: “It’s quite normal. Adults tend to weigh gains and losses more heavily than children.”
Feng-ge’er let out an “Oh,” then asked, “So what do we do now?”
Ji Ning shook her head: “This matter won’t stay hidden from the villagers. Let’s just wait and see.”
There was no need to wait and see. By dinnertime, the children had already spread the news far and wide. Everyone knew that Xiao Douzi had scared Erdan’s family’s chicken, yet Xiao Douzi’s parents didn’t take it seriously and refused to apologize.
The Ji family had long since become outsiders in this matter. Whenever villagers mentioned the Ji family, they praised them for being honest and decent. Even though it wasn’t their fault, they were still willing to make concessions. Though it wasn’t much, their attitude spoke volumes.
Under the large locust tree at the village entrance, many villagers gathered, holding their rice bowls as they ate.
Xiao Douzi’s parents were no exception. Their home was right next to the large locust tree, and they always went under the tree. After all, they were all familiar with each other, knowing each other’s family situations. They were all equally poor, and the food they ate wasn’t much different. Holding their bowls, they could enjoy their meals while chatting about the village’s gossip.
That is, as long as the gossip wasn’t about their own family.
As soon as Douzi’s father sat down, someone asked, “Has your Douzi gone to apologize yet?”
Douzi’s father’s face darkened: “What’s it to you?”
“Hey, we’re just asking. Your Douzi made a mistake—how can he not apologize? We’re all neighbors here. That’s not good.”
“Come on, didn’t you hear Douzi crying all afternoon? He’s been throwing a tantrum at home and even got a beating.”
…
When Ji Ning brought her toys under the large locust tree, everyone looked at her and greeted her with smiles: “Ning-jie is here? What new toys do you have today?”
Ji Ning shook her head: “Hello, uncles, aunts. No new toys today, just the same ones as before.”
“That’s what I thought. How could there be new toys every day? She’s just a ten-year-old kid…”
Ji Ning smiled, placed the wooden box under the tree, and arranged the finished Bamboo Joint Puppets on top of it.
She hadn’t been idle these past few days. Besides working with clay, she had been making Bamboo Joint Puppets. Each puppet was different—their facial features varied, their poses were slightly different, and the items they held in their hands were even more distinct.
This time she placed ten completed Bamboo Joint Puppets on the crate: six armed for battle, currently the most popular type, and three carrying flower baskets, made according to Lan-jie’s preference and quite popular among the girls. The baskets could hold flowers, as they didn’t care for watching fights, preferring to see the puppets huddled together.
The last puppet was entirely different, holding nothing in its hands, but Ji Ning had woven it a skirt and clothing from grass rope, which could be swapped out.
Commonly known as the Northern Song Dynasty rudimentary version of a BJD doll.
Author’s Note:
None