“Today, with salted fish as the betrothal gift, I humbly beseech the gods to see…”
“There are no mice—it’s me, Papa.”
A dusty-faced Chu Mingse poked her little head through the crack in the door. “Papa, where are those drawings you made before? I remember they were on this shelf.”
Chu Qingyuan opened the door and stepped into the room that served as his carpentry workshop. Along three walls stood floor-to-ceiling wooden shelves, holding tools, blueprints, and various finished pieces and materials.
Chu Mingse stood by the shelf piled with drawings, her face streaked with dust like a kitten’s whiskers, frowning as she flipped through the papers.
“Which drawing are you looking for? Come here, let Papa find it. These have been sitting too long, all covered in dust—you’ll choke.” Chu Qingyuan reached out to pull her over, but she was already sneezing from the floating particles.
Chu Mingse rubbed her nose and ducked behind Chu Qingyuan.
“I don’t think the Plain Sedan Chair Brother Zhaoxue uses now is any good.” She furrowed her brow, remembering the wounds on Pei Zhaoxue’s palms and the veins that bulged on the backs of his hands when he pushed. “It’s too heavy, the wheels chafe his hands, and it moves like a little mountain.”
“No wonder he doesn’t like going out. If we could make a lighter, more nimble sedan chair—one that even I could push—then he’d surely be willing to go out more often.” Chu Mingse pressed close behind Chu Qingyuan, watching him organize the drawings on the shelf. “Don’t you think so, Papa?”
“Sese is quite right.” Chu Qingyuan patted Chu Mingse’s head and sighed. “It’s your father’s oversight—I completely forgot about that.”
“Meow!”
A furry shadow suddenly darted down from the shelf. Chu Qingyuan started, instinctively shielding Chu Mingse in his arms. “What was that?”
“Little Chestnut!” Chu Mingse wriggled free to poke her head out and called. Little Chestnut meowed and ran to her feet.
“Where did this kitten come from?” Chu Qingyuan released her and watched as Chu Mingse scooped the cat into her arms.
Chu Mingse explained the whole story, then looked up at Chu Qingyuan with hopeful eyes. “Can we keep it? I’ll take good care of it!”
She had always fed the stray cats in the alley before, but had never thought of raising one herself, worried she wouldn’t be able to care for it properly. Papa and Mama already worked hard enough taking care of her alone—she couldn’t add another burden to them just because she wanted a cat.
Now that she was older, she could take care of a kitten herself, which was why she’d brought it home.
“This isn’t something Papa can decide alone. Come, let’s go ask your mother first.”
Like Chu Qingyuan, Qu He never stood in the way of what Chu Mingse wanted to do.
The couple wrote a cat-hiring letter, prepared dried fish, salt, and tea, and brought Chu Mingse along to formally “hire” the cat from Ah Hua.
Ah Hua happily accepted the salt and tea. Since the hiring was rushed and there was no time to prepare a proper little sedan chair for the cat, Qu He used the embroidered pouch she had sewn for Chu Mingse as a bag to carry the kitten home.
Before Chu Mingse left with Little Chestnut in her arms, Ah Hua pulled her aside and whispered, “Ergou Ge actually knows he was wrong—he just can’t swallow his pride. I think he’ll definitely come to make up with you by the day after tomorrow at the latest.”
“He has to apologize to Brother Xuetuan first,” Chu Mingse insisted, holding firm to her principles. “You must make that clear to him, or I won’t make up with him.”
Ah Hua nodded with a troubled expression, the joy of successfully placing Little Chestnut in a good home completely gone, replaced by the dilemma of being caught between two good friends.
Still, she figured that Brother Er Gou, whether he liked it or not, would definitely go apologize just to get Sese to talk to him again.
After they said their goodbyes, Chu Mingse personally carried Little Chestnut back to the front door of her home.
She set him down at the threshold and nudged his little bottom to make him walk inside on his own. “Go on in, Little Chestnut, get familiar with the house.”
Little Chestnut raised his short little paws, stuck his bottom up in the air, and hopped over the threshold, letting out a proud “meow.”
“Amazing, Little Chestnut! You can jump that high!” Chu Mingse showered him with praise, then picked him up again and carried him into the kitchen for the final step of the cat adoption—registering him in the household before the Kitchen God.
Qu He lit incense and candles at the stove, while Chu Qingyuan respectfully arranged the dried fish that had been used as the adoption offering.
Chu Mingse placed Little Chestnut in front of the stove, took the lit incense stick from Qu He’s hand, and bowed respectfully toward the stove, reciting:
“I humbly bow before the Kitchen God. Sese has sincerely adopted a kitten from Ah Hua, with white paws and golden eyes, named Chestnut. I pray to the gods to protect him from illness and misfortune.”
She was a little nervous, reciting each word slowly, but thankfully she didn’t make any mistakes. “With salt and fish as the offering, I humbly ask the gods to see this and grant him entry into our household.”
With the final words spoken, she inserted the incense into the burner, bowed once more, then happily scooped up Little Chestnut and gently pressed his furry front paws against the stove.
“There! Now Little Chestnut is officially part of our family!”
Chu Qingyuan and Qu He clapped along in support. “Welcome, Little Chestnut!”
Qu He said, “I’ll teach you how to make some treats cats love, and from now on you’ll be in charge of cooking for him, alright?”
Chu Mingse nodded eagerly, and Chu Qingyuan cleared away the items by the stove, leaving the kitchen to mother and daughter.
Little Chestnut crouched obediently in front of the stove, watching Chu Mingse and Qu He bustle about. When the aroma hit his nose, he grew impatient and meowed urgently, standing up and pawing at their calves.
Chu Mingse gently reasoned with him, and for every word she said, Little Chestnut meowed once in response, the two of them chatting away merrily, filling the house with lively noise without a single quiet moment.
By the time Little Chestnut had eaten until his belly was round and full, wobbling out the kitchen door, a wooden climbing frame that Chu Qingyuan had made from leftover scraps was already set up in the courtyard. Little Chestnut dashed over excitedly to sharpen his claws.
Chu Qingyuan was still sanding a wooden name tag carved with Little Chestnut’s name, planning to hang it around his neck shortly, so that when he wandered outside, others would know he was their cat and wouldn’t think of trying to become his second owner.
Chu Mingse crouched beside him, watching him work, and hinted, “Father, you haven’t taught me any woodworking in such a long time.”
Chu Qingyuan understood, glancing at her with a smile. “Didn’t you say your hands hurt, and you only wanted to carve little figures for fun? Why do you want to learn woodworking again now?”
Chu Mingse gave an ingratiating smile. “I want to make a new Plain Sedan Chair for Brother Xuetuan together with you.”
Hearing this, Chu Qingyuan felt a bit jealous. Although he had asked Sese to look after Pei Zhaoxue more, seeing her take such initiative and care still left him with a slight “lump in his throat” as a father.
He grunted twice. “Oh, so you want to learn carpentry from your father just to make a Plain Sedan Chair for Brother Xuetuan? But before, when I merely asked you to sit beside me and keep me company for a few hours of woodworking, you were already fussing to run off?”
“Father, you’re the best.” Chu Mingse felt guilty, unable to argue with him, so she simply flopped into his arms and began to act spoiled without any logic.
“Alright, alright, has your father ever refused anything you wanted?” Chu Qingyuan worried that the tools in his hands might hurt her, so he raised his arm high and shooed her away. “Get up now, go play somewhere else.”
Chu Mingse didn’t move at all, just staring at him with wide eyes. Chu Qingyuan relented. “In a bit, your father will go refine the blueprint for your Brother Xuetuan’s Plain Sedan Chair. Shall I call you to join?”
“Great, I’ll wait for you!” Chu Mingse was delighted, and only then did she get up and run off to play with Xiaolizi.
She resolved to keep this a surprise, not revealing a single word to Pei Zhaoxue. Once the new Plain Sedan Chair was finished, she would push it straight up to him and try to invite him out!
Holding a little secret that made her excited just thinking about it, she brought Xiaolizi and her writing supplies, and proudly knocked on the door of the Pei residence.
The doorkeeper had long been instructed, urged by Steward Wang to wait at the door, ready to open it for the young girl next door the moment she arrived.
So the moment Chu Mingse’s hand knocked once on the Pei family’s door, it swung open with a whoosh.
The doorkeeper beamed and hurriedly welcomed her in, taking the small bundle containing her writing supplies. “I’ll carry these for you, miss. What brushes and paper do you usually use? Steward Wang has instructed that whatever you need, we’ll prepare a set and keep it in the young master’s room, so you don’t have to carry things back and forth and tire yourself out.”
Steward Wang had shown the utmost care toward this young miss from the Chu family. If he weren’t afraid of startling her, he would have brought out the shoulder sedan and had her carried all the way in.
“No need, the brush was made by my father himself, the ink was ground by him, and the paper was cut by him too. This little bundle isn’t heavy at all.” Chu Mingse shook her head politely. “Thank you and Uncle Wang.”
The doorkeeper hadn’t expected to be thanked as well, and smiled a little sheepishly. “You’re too kind, miss. I’m just following orders.”
He glanced at the young girl walking closely beside him, feeling a hint of admiration. In the past, when he went to deliver messages to the young master, one look from those cold, glassy-jade eyes would make him tremble all over and run off with his head down. Yet this young girl, who wasn’t even as tall as his leg, wasn’t the least bit afraid of their young master.
Not only was Chu Mingse unafraid, she was extremely excited. The moment the doorkeeper pushed open the door to the side chamber, she snatched back her little bundle and dashed inside.
“Brother Xuetuan!”
Pei Zhaoxue, who had been at the desk, finally turned to look at Chu Mingse. A single glance, and his expression couldn’t help but shift.
A fair-skinned, doll-like little girl came running over with a fluffy little cat perched on her head, its soft fur bouncing with each step—utterly adorable.
Pei Zhaoxue restrained himself and looked away, barely managing a faint “Mm” in response.
He had left an empty seat beside him, with a high-backed chair set there. Chu Mingse climbed up and sat down, just barely able to reach the tabletop.
“Wow, was this prepared specially for me?” Chu Mingse’s eyes widened in delight, and the little chestnut kitten atop her head wore the exact same expression—four round eyes all fixed on Pei Zhaoxue.
Pei Zhaoxue glanced over a couple more times without changing his expression. “Steward Wang prepared it.”
That was what he said, but if he hadn’t given his nod, Steward Wang wouldn’t have dared to come in and arrange things even with ten times the courage.
“Then I must thank Uncle Wang properly!” Chu Mingse happily set out her paper and brush, and noticed that a sheet of Pei Zhaoxue’s calligraphy had already been placed before her—clearly left specially for her to copy.
“And thank you too, Xuetuan gege!” Chu Mingse leaned sideways, pressing herself a little closer to Pei Zhaoxue in a familiar, affectionate way.
Pei Zhaoxue remained unmoved, saying calmly, “Practice your calligraphy.”
Chu Mingse was truly an obedient student. The moment she heard the instruction, she buried her head in copying, falling quiet without another word.
The little chestnut kitten, tired of sleeping on her head, hopped onto the table and used Pei Zhaoxue’s left arm as a pillow, curling up to sleep soundly.
Pei Zhaoxue remained undisturbed, earnestly flipping through the book in his hands.
Chu Mingse stole a glance at him, and seeing that he wasn’t paying attention to her, quietly slipped one of the pages he had written on the desk into the stack of her own practice paper.
Her father had told her to secretly sneak out a page of Xuetuan gege’s calligraphy, saying that his mother missed him very much and wanted a page of his writing to remember him by.
Chu Mingse didn’t understand why she didn’t just write a letter to Pei Zhaoxue herself to say she missed him—wouldn’t a mother and son exchanging letters be better than stealing a page of calligraphy?
She didn’t understand, but since her father had told her to do it quietly without being discovered, she would play the little thief just this once.
Author’s note:
None