The Luo family's courtyard was spacious, so there was no worry about finding a place to dry clothes—the fence alone could hold quite a few. But the family had strung up a dedicated clothesline, so there was no need to hang clothes on the fence.
After the laundry was done, Grandmother noticed that Bai Chao's sleeves and trouser legs had gotten a bit wet. She wanted to tell him to change clothes, then remembered his clothes hadn't been made yet, so she had him sit in the courtyard to sun himself and wait until his clothes dried before going back inside.
Bai Chao didn't actually feel cold at all—he'd found the icy stream water quite refreshing when he stepped in it. But of course he had to listen to Grandmother, so he obediently sat beside the drying mat, playing with a bamboo pole used for shooing away birds.
Grandfather and the others came back a little after nine in the morning. Breakfast that day included some leftovers from the previous night, which was already a good meal for them.
"This braised pork liver is really tasty, and it's not expensive either. Let's buy more next time—it's a better deal than eating pork knuckle."
"Offal doesn't sell for much; what you're paying for is the braising spices. Too bad we don't know the recipe, or we could make it ourselves."
While Grandfather and Grandmother talked about the braised goods, Bai Chao was still chewing on a piece of braised pork liver. Nodding along, he said very earnestly, "But the braising spices are really expensive. Our family can't afford them."
Luo's Mother burst out laughing when she first heard this, but gradually it began to sting—the family really was poor.
Grandfather and Grandmother didn't have nearly as good a temper as Mother. They immediately spat "ptui, ptui, ptui" and made him say it again. The elders always said that children's words carried power—kids who hadn't lost their baby teeth yet, or those born a bit simple, spoke words that came true.
"Don't talk nonsense. How are we poor? Are you lacking food or clothes?" Grandfather's face grew long as he looked the boy up and down. Seeing the braised meat still being chewed in his mouth, and thinking of the malt candy bought yesterday, his heart bled. This little fool sure knew how to spend money!
Grandmother even went so far as to give him a few shakes, urging him to say it again quickly. "Say something nice. If the Old Man Up Above hears it, He might grant your wish."
"Then our family will slowly get rich, and we'll have meat to eat and candy to eat—there, is that all right?" Bai Chao said perfunctorily. He thought Grandfather and Grandmother were just like fools. He wasn't an immortal—his words wouldn't actually come true.
"Not enough! You have to add nice clothes to wear, a nice house to live in, and saving up lots of silver!"
"Grandfather, you're asking for too much." Bai Chao frowned, but thinking over what Grandfather had said, he slowly nodded. "Then we'll take it slow. We'll have it all eventually." The family's house was indeed poor, they didn't have much silver, and their clothes were tattered—it wasn't an unreasonable request, so he could agree to it.
By now, Luo's Mother had long lost her earlier sadness. Listening to the grandfather and grandchildren's exchange, she was thoroughly amused.
As the saying goes, the old become like children again—so it really was true.
The two elders in the family were practically treating the child like a Bodhisattva, actually begging him for all sorts of things. And the child was silly enough to go along with it—after all, it was just a matter of moving his lips, so he casually agreed, even haggling over the terms.
After the meal, Grandfather and Mother had to get back to work—and hard work at that. The family had no ox, so the paddy fields could only be dug out by hand, one hoe stroke at a time.
Grandfather let out two long sighs before heading out the door. Even if this year's debts could be paid off, they still wouldn't be living comfortably anytime soon—there were plenty of places in the household that needed money.
The hoe in his hand had been used for many years; the iron head was so worn down that it looked over an inch shorter, making it very difficult to work with.
After Grandfather and the others left, Grandmother began her needlework. She was getting old and couldn't manage fine, detailed work anymore, but as long as it didn't involve embroidering patterns, she had no trouble making shoes or clothes.
"Chao, brother, you should watch and learn. If you can't work in the fields, you'd better know your way around the housework. You can't just do nothing and eat idle meals all day." Grandmother glanced at Bai Chao's feet. His mother would worry about the child's shoes, so she wouldn't bother with them.
She planned to first make a set of clothes for someone. It had been several days since the wedding, and he couldn't keep wearing his wedding red—it wasn't proper.
Bai Chao skipped right past the words "eat idle meals" that displeased him, nodded lightly, tugged at Grandmother's sleeve, touched his own collar, and said, "Grandmother, a little flower embroidered on it would look pretty."
"Oh, so you know about embroidery, do you? You certainly only like pretty things. Well then, can you embroider?" Grandmother said this casually, but she was secretly a little hopeful.
Bai Chao was, after all, a young brother. At his age, his family should have taught him quite a few things.
Who knew whether his simple-mindedness was something he was born with or the result of a blow to the head? If he was born that way, it was no matter. But if it was from a head injury, then that damned human trafficker had committed a terrible sin—he deserved to go to hell after death, to have his tongue cut out and swallow knives!
Grandmother's hope actually came true. Bai Chao rummaged through her basket for a long while, dug out a relatively intact piece of blue cloth, and said he wanted to embroider a flower on it to give to Luo Yang when he came back, so he could use it to wipe his sweat while working.
"Hahaha, good, good, good! You go right ahead and embroider. Whatever you embroider, Grandmother will be happy." At this moment, Grandmother didn't care what Bai Chao might produce. As long as the child was thinking of her eldest grandson, she was happy.
Once Bai Chao took up the needle, he was very focused. He didn't want to be someone who ate idle meals, nor did he want to be treated as a fool. He wasn't a fool—he knew how to do everything.
Grandmother busied herself with her own work, glancing over at Bai Chao from time to time. She found that the child's technique had no problems at all. The odd, scattered stitches were gradually being filled in, and it really was starting to look like a flower. The joy on her face grew heavier and heavier.
Grandmother could no longer do fine work now, but her eyes weren't completely gone. She could tell that Bai Chao's technique was steady and solid—his embroidery skills were quite good.
The joy in her heart fully bloomed on her face when a lifelike little flower landed on that piece of blue cloth. Grandmother was so delighted that she immediately moved to grab some melon seeds for him, but Bai Chao refused.
He had candy to eat now; he didn't want melon seeds.
"That candy was expensive—you need to make it last." Thinking of yesterday's candy, Grandmother still felt a pang. They had bought far too much—two whole packets, no less. That mother and son really spoiled the child too much.
The moment Bai Chao heard "make it last," he wouldn't have it. He waved his hands in refusal and patted his chest to show there was no need to save anything. "Big Guy gave me money. I have money."
"……" Grandmother was so exasperated by him, but within moments she was fine again.
She quickly figured it out—they were a married couple, and getting along was better than being sick of each other. After all, this marriage had been arranged in haste, and feelings weren't easy to cultivate. The current situation was the best possible outcome; the children taking a liking to each other mattered far more than a few dozen coins.
The two sat under the veranda in the front courtyard. Though the sun didn't beat directly on their faces, it was still a bit warm—thankfully no longer the stifling heat of midsummer. But the occasional cicada's cry brought back a trace of summer's oppressive weariness, making one's head grow fuzzy and drowsy.
Bai Chao had walked a long way yesterday and gotten up early today. Seeing him nodding off, Grandmother told him to go rest for a while, but he rubbed his eyelids and shook his head.
"I'm not sleeping. I'm taking lunch to Grandfather and Mother in a bit."
Hoeing the fields was hard labor, and an empty stomach meant no strength. Grandfather and the others had gone out to work past mid-morning and wouldn't last until coming back in the afternoon, so someone had to bring them lunch.
Lunch was nothing fancy—just a jar of cool fish-fragrant leaf water and some steamed pumpkin and potatoes. But having something to eat was better than going hungry all day.
By now Bai Chao knew where all the family's paddy fields were. As he set out with the food on his back, Grandmother, still worried, gave him repeated instructions not to take the wrong path.
Bai Chao agreed he wouldn't get lost, but looked displeased. He felt Grandmother was treating him like a fool again—he'd already been to the fields, so how could he possibly not find them?
It was still the busy farming season these days. On his way to the fields, Bai Chao ran into quite a few people, but everyone was busy and had little time to tease him. Instead, it was he himself who, upon reaching the village entrance, had his attention caught by a cluster of beautiful sweet potato flowers.
Yellow sweet potato flowers, their blossoms tender and vivid.
"They're so pretty. If only I could dig up some seeds and take them home." With that thought, Bai Chao began sizing up the house and its location, planning to tell Grandmother when he got back so she could go ask for seeds. But as he was studying the house, he spotted a familiar figure.
"The Ringleader of Villains?" So this was the Ringleader of Villains' house. No need to bother Grandmother then—he could ask for the seeds himself.
After all, he was his boss!