Bai Chao's feet stopped instinctively. He gazed at the Wang family's courtyard, hesitating for several moments before continuing on his way.
He couldn't go now—Grandfather and Mother were still waiting for the food he'd bring, so he had to go to the fields first.
Most of the village's paddy fields were below the village entrance, where the land sloped gently downward, the paddies spreading out in terraced sheets. At the far end of the fields lay a stretch of gravelly land that couldn't be cultivated, and beyond that ran a great river, with many villages scattered along its banks both upstream and down.
The lives of common folk were inseparable from mountains and water. With mountains, water, and diligent hands and feet, life could slowly get better.
The sun had been blazing for days, the wild grasses by the roadside had gone limp, and the dirt roads had hardened like brick. Bai Chao was walking downhill, which made his feet somewhat uncomfortable. He took tiny steps, afraid that one careless fall would ruin both himself and everything in his back basket.
Bai Chao spotted Grandfather and Mother bent over hoeing the fields while he was still some distance from their family's paddies. Though his load wasn't heavy, the sun was truly fierce, and he was drenched in sweat.
"Mother, Grandfather, I'm here~" he called out loudly, a smile spreading across his face. He had finally arrived.
Hearing his voice, the two in the field looked up together. Seeing Bai Chao with his already bent back, Mother stopped her work, pulled a few bundles of straw from the mulberry tree on the ridge, spread them at the field's edge, and sat down herself, waiting for the food Bai Chao had brought.
Grandfather didn't stop until Bai Chao set down his basket and took out the food inside. Only then did he toss his hoe aside and come over.
"Grandfather, have some water." Bai Chao first poured him a bowl of Scented Fish-Leaf Infusion. Grandfather took it, drank, handed the bowl back exactly as it was, and asked for another pour.
Bai Chao poured him another bowl and watched him gulp it all down. Looking at the beads of sweat on Grandfather's forehead and forearms, he thought, no wonder Grandfather could drink a whole big bowl in one go—the water he drank all turned to sweat and ran right off.
He himself didn't need to drink much water in a day, because he didn't sweat much. But he could eat lots of candy every day, because he had money now.
He had thirty copper coins—he could buy three packets of candy.
"Ai, look at you, your head soaked in sweat. When your father comes back, I'll have him make you a sun hat. Wear it when you go out—shelter from the rain when it's wet, shade from the sun when it's hot—it'd always be more comfortable." Mother was holding a piece of old cucumber. As usual, she had picked out the Germ-cut Pork for Bai Chao, and now nodded toward the spot beside her, gesturing for him to come sit next to her.
They were resting under a mulberry tree at the moment. The leaves had grown sparse these past few days, but they still offered some shade—better than being out in the direct sun.
After Bai Chao sat down, Mother took another big bite of cucumber. The crisp, sweet flesh slid down her throat, and even her parched, smoking throat felt soothed. Only then did she continue, "When we get back, tell Grandmother to soak some beans and sprout them. In a few days we'll have cold-tossed bean sprouts. Didn't we buy vinegar? Perfect for making cold dishes. This heat makes a person's head spin—if we don't have something appetizing, eating has no kick to it at all."
"Oh."
Bai Chao answered obediently, though at first he was a little confused. He was just wondering how sand could sprout beans when an image formed in his mind, and he understood at once—so it meant burying soybeans in sand to let them sprout.
Grandfather, sitting nearby, had no reaction either—vinegar isn't as precious as soy sauce, and a catty a month could hardly be called extravagant.
The weather was scorching hot, but by the ditch, in the shade of the trees, an occasional cool breeze would drift by. As a light breeze blew over, Bai Chao propped his head up and enjoyed the touch of coolness. Once his mind felt refreshed, he began showing off about what had happened during the day.
"Mother, I embroidered a little flower today, and Grandmother said I did great."
"You embroidered a flower? Chao brother, how impressive." Mother wasn't really listening at all; she just gave a perfunctory compliment and left it at that.
Grandfather, on the other hand, had his eyes light up and immediately said, "You really embroidered a flower? Then I'll have to take a good look when we get home. If it's truly pretty, you could do embroidery work to sell in town—it could fetch quite a bit of money."
"Father." At Grandfather's words, Mother's brow furrowed, and she glanced at him several times, but in the end, the words in her mouth never came out.
She only thought to herself that the children's grandfather was just like this—the moment he heard about making money, his brain went muddled. He should think for a moment: how could a little simpleton possibly embroider anything good? He must have just jabbed a few random stitches into the cloth, making a rough shape at most.
Bai Chao didn't linger in the fields long. Once the two of them finished eating, they were called back home. He didn't dawdle on the way either—his mind was set on going to that villain boss's house to dig up flowers.
The household Bai Chao was heading to was surnamed Wang, and the head of the family was called Wang Laizi.
Wang Laizi didn't have a proper name. His parents had died early, and no one called him by his childhood name anymore. He was himself a scab-covered man, and few in the village cared for him, so they simply called him Wang Laizi all along.
But Wang Laizi was diligent with his hands. He had built his own house and opened up his own fields, and even saved up money to marry a lame brother. The brother bore him a son. Aside from being disliked by the villagers—people avoided them like they were plague gods—the family's life was actually getting by all right.
When Bai Chao reached the path to the Wang family, he didn't hesitate at all and went straight into their yard. Few households in Baihua Village had built courtyard walls; most people just fenced their yards with bamboo, and planted all kinds of flowers around the fence. In spring and summer, when the flowering season was at its peak, every household was surrounded by blossoms.
"Villain boss? Are you home?" Bai Chao stood beside that cluster of yellow sweet potato flowers, tilting his head to peer into the house. He called out carefully, and not long after he spoke, a head popped out from the doorway of the kitchen. Looking closely, the little face on that small head was full of surprise.
Wang Xiaoniu crouched at the door of his family's kitchen, his eyes bulging as big as an ox's. In all his life, he had never seen anyone dare to come into their yard—never mind the yard, no one even came near their house.
Even the tax-collecting officers wouldn't come; they would only stand far off and shout for his father to bring the money over.
Slowly, leisurely, and full of hesitation, Wang Xiaoniu shuffled out. He looked warily at the person in the distance and spoke somewhat fearfully, "Luo family's simpleton husband, have you come to hit me?"
"Nope." Bai Chao didn't think at all about why the boy would ask that. He just replied earnestly, then pointed at the sweet potato flowers beside him and said, "Can I dig up one of these? I can trade you candy for it."
"You want a flower?" Wang Xiaoniu's expression relaxed quite a bit at this, but instead of continuing to chat, he turned his head and went back into the house. When he came out again, he was holding a hoe.
When Bai Chao saw the hoe in his hands, his eyes lit up at once. With a hoe, in just a little while he would have a beautiful flower.
Bai Chao reached out and compared their heights, seeing that Wang Xiaoniu barely reached his chest. Feeling generous, he took the hoe to do the digging himself. But the moment he took the hoe, a roar came from behind him, startling him so much his hands trembled.
The person roaring at him was in front of him in the blink of an eye. Before he could say anything, the hoe in his hand was snatched away and thrown aside, and he himself fell to the ground.
He had been pushed—pushed down, no less.
Bai Chao felt terribly wronged and was just about to scramble up and ask why he'd been pushed when the husband in blue robes came hobbling up to him, pointing at him and cursing: "Husband of the Luo family, don't go too far! That day you beat my child so badly he came home with a big bump on his head, and today you chased him all the way home to bully him again. Do you really think we're afraid of your family?!"
Bai Chao still hadn't come back to his senses, but the pain in his backside made him feel unbearably wronged. He scrambled to his feet and, holding back tears, shouted, "Big bully! I don't want your flowers anymore!"
Bai Chao ran off, tears falling as fast as his footsteps. He was going back to tattle—he was going to tell Grandmother that a bully had picked on him.
The Luo family lived at the very back of the village, quite far from the village entrance. As Bai Chao ran, his pace slowed and the grievance in his heart diminished. "That bully's leader really did have a big bump on his head. Did I do that?"
The bump on Wang Xiaoniu's head was above his brow bone, near his hairline, quite noticeable. Knowing he hadn't been pushed for no reason made Bai Chao feel a little better, but his mood stayed foul. On his listless walk home, he even ran into a woman who called him "the Luo family's silly husband." Furious, he looked her up and down and cursed outright: "Big water buffalo! A big water buffalo—round, short, and black!"
"Hey, you little fool, how dare you curse at me!"
"I'm not cursing you—you ARE a big water buffalo, you ARE a big water buffalo!"
She was a big water buffalo, but he was no silly husband—he was very clever!
By the time Bai Chao got home, he was wilted like an eggplant hit by frost. He only told Grandmother to sprout some beans, then headed off toward the big ditch. Grandmother propped her chin on her hand and watched him for a long while but didn't follow, only muttering that she'd question him when he came back.
Before long, Bai Chao returned, clutching a few pale purple morning glories in his hand and smiling again. So Grandmother didn't ask what had happened earlier—she just figured that was how children were, sunny one moment and rainy the next, no need to fuss over it; he'd be fine on his own soon enough.
Bai Chao was in a bad mood that day because someone had told Grandfather that he'd been cursing at people, and Grandfather had disciplined him as soon as he got home. But his luck held—before Grandfather could scold him much longer, a visitor arrived, and one bringing money to the family, no less.
The visitor had come to buy a big rooster. After picking for a long while, that household chose the most impressive rooster in the family, and naturally the price wasn't low—nearly one hundred twenty wen.
"Ha, I knew this year would bring no shortage of happenings in the village. See? Isn't this just what the roosters are for?" Grandfather laughed until his eyes narrowed into slits, the wrinkles on his face growing deeper.
Last year, several households in the village had encountered great joy—their wives and husbands had all become pregnant. Everyone knew that expectant mothers should eat stewed chicken, but Grandfather had kept one extra trick up his sleeve.
According to village custom, if a child was born unruly, they would be taken to have their birth characters read to see whether any hardships awaited them before the age of ten. The ages of three, six, and nine were considered the most critical, known as The Three-Six-Nine Age Thresholds.
Children were most prone to dying young before the age of three, so every household took this very seriously. If the fortune-teller found that a child faced misfortune, a ritual would have to be performed to ward it off, and performing the ritual required a big rooster—the bigger and redder the comb, the better.
"You old man, how do you know their child is definitely in danger?" Grandmother still had a smile on her face. Over a hundred wen—twenty more than selling it at the market—who wouldn't be pleased? But she still felt this business was rather unreliable.
Nothing was certain. When it came to raising chickens, hens were better—hens laid eggs that could be sold for a good deal of money.
Grandfather shot her a look. "Fool! You can't walk just one road. Besides those having babies, aren't there a few folks celebrating big birthdays this year? I don't believe a son-in-law would show up bringing a hen—of course carrying a big rooster looks more respectable. Just you watch—at the village chief's father's big birthday next month, our rooster will sell, and at a fine price too!"
Grandfather was delighted, and somehow the rest of the family was persuaded by him and grew delighted as well. But after dinner, Bai Chao couldn't feel happy at all.
Grandfather and the others were going out to watch the excitement, leaving him alone at home, because Grandfather said that as a little child, his "fire" was low, and going out would attract filthy things that would make his body feel unwell.
"Chao brother, don't be afraid. Mother will just go take a look at the baby and come right back." Mother comforted him again before heading out. Bai Chao actually didn't mind—this was home, and he wasn't afraid. Still, he tugged at Mother's clothing and said quietly, "Mother, come back soon."
"Don't worry, Mother will be back in a little while."
Once everyone had left, Bai Chao grew bored and simply lay down on the long bench under the corridor outside their room. He had been carefully mulling over the day's events, but his mind slowly grew hazy and drowsy, and he fell straight asleep.