Bai Chao followed along as they made a full circuit around the house, and when they reached the privy, he saw two big hogs in the pigsty snorting and shoving at each other. He swallowed hungrily, licking his lips and looking around, but even after examining the entire privy area, he didn't catch sight of the tall horse he'd seen during the day.
"Where's the big horse?" Bai Chao wondered if the horse had been let out to graze, which was why it wasn't at home.
Luo Yang hadn't expected the kid to be so unceremonious—actually striking the pose of an inspector surveying his territory as he took stock of the family assets. He found it amusing, yet also felt this was good; at least it proved the boy wasn't entirely a fool, and still knew that a household ought to have wealth.
"That's not a horse, that's a mule. And the mule isn't ours either—I took it back to its owner."
As if Bai Chao cared whether it was a mule or a horse—in his eyes they all looked the same. He only knew one thing: "It's not mine?" Bai Chao immediately became a bit unhappy. He grumbled away for a long while, and finally, glaring indignantly at the man, his dissatisfaction burst right out: "Big meanie."
Bai Chao said this both carefully and quietly, but the man still heard him.
"Ha." This time Luo Yang genuinely laughed. Who said he was dumb? Wasn't he pretty clever, knowing to be upset that the family's big animal was gone?
Bai Chao's temper came quickly and left just as quickly. Before Luo Yang could even say anything, he spoke up again. "Then when will we have one?"
"We will, very soon." Luo Yang wasn't just saying that to placate him. He'd done the math in his head—the family really would have a big animal soon enough.
Over these past three or four years, their family had paid back seventy to eighty taels of silver, and by this year, once the debt was cleared, they could start saving money. Mules and horses in their prime were expensive, but foals under six months weren't. For a dozen or so taels, they could surely buy a good young horse. If he and his father worked a bit harder, they could buy one by the end of next year.
As the two came out of the privy and passed the kitchen, they heard the sound of spatula clanging against wok, and the aroma from the pot drifted to their noses. Luo Yang couldn't help swallowing.
What a rich smell of meat—his mother was stir-frying cured pork.
The family hadn't eaten meat in over ten days.
The Luo family's back courtyard didn't require going around the side of the house; the main house had a small door in the corner adjoining the kitchen. Going straight through the small door, past an old shrine, one reached the main hall, and exiting the front door brought them to the front courtyard.
As the two passed the kitchen doorway, Luo Yang couldn't help calling out to his mother, grinning widely. The person trailing behind him, though hesitant, also softly called out "Mother" in a small voice, then put on a smile just like Luo Yang's and followed him along.
That little "Mother" from behind made Luo Yang stumble in his steps. He hadn't expected the kid to adapt so quickly. He himself was still in a daze, still not quite used to having a husband. But Luo Yang's awkwardness lasted only the blink of an eye, invisible to anyone else.
Bai Chao's call of "Mother" made Luo Yang uncomfortable, but it made Luo's Mother happy. Without the slightest hesitation, she took out the half piece of cured pork she had set aside earlier and sliced it all up.
There was a big happy occasion in the family today—no need to be so frugal. Let's eat meat to our hearts' content.
Coming out of the main hall, they found Father Luo doing bamboo-weaving work in the corner, while Luo's Grandfather was nowhere in sight, off who knew where.
Luo Yang casually asked his father where Grandfather was, and without waiting for a reply, led his husband off to his room. His father trailed behind them, eyes following the two the whole way, resting his chin on his hand as he watched them and answered, "Your grandfather went to your great-uncle's house."
With a sudden extra person in the house—the child being his son's husband, no less—everyone was feeling a bit awkward for the moment.
Luo Yang didn't respond to the words drifting in from the courtyard; he had only asked in passing. Dinner was almost ready, so Grandfather couldn't possibly have gone out to the fields.
Luo Yang's room was in the east wing, an adobe room. The family had built him a brick house for when he married, but he found brick houses stuffy and hot in summer, not as comfortable as the adobe one, so he had never moved over.
Thus the most impressive room in the house had become mere storage, filled entirely with odds and ends.
Bai Chao began looking around as soon as he entered the room. This was where he would be living from now on—he had to take a good look.
There was nothing of value in the room, just a bed, a wooden cabinet dotted with wormholes, a bamboo chest, and two stools.
Fortunately, though simple, the room was clean. The packed earthen bricks had been swept spotless, and the bedding, though not folded, was laid out neatly. It was easy to see that this big fellow had good habits in his daily life.
By the time Bai Chao finished surveying the room, Luo Yang had finished putting away his own things.
"You can sleep here tonight. Don't be afraid—my mother will sleep with you tonight." Luo Yang had already thought it through. Whatever things would be like after the wedding was one matter, but the two of them hadn't yet gone through the ceremony, so sharing a bed wasn't appropriate. For the next few days he would sleep with his father, and let his mother sleep with this brother in his room.
"Mm." Bai Chao nodded obediently. Just seeing that clean, tidy bed already made him sleepy, but his stomach was hungry too. He wished nightfall would come quickly—once he'd eaten his fill, he could crawl into a cozy bed and sleep.
It had been a long time since he'd slept properly. However well-hidden a street corner was, a bit of clothing would always show; however remote a ruined house was, there were always beggars who would find him. He could never sleep soundly, always waking in fright from dreams of being captured again, or being beaten awake and driven out of whatever derelict shelter had kept him from the elements.
Farm folk ate simple meals on ordinary days, and in less than half an hour dinner was ready. Just as Luo's Mother was calling everyone to set the table, Luo's Grandfather returned—carrying a basket of eggs, no less.
Earlier, when Luo Mancang's family had gone back, they had taken Luo's Grandfather along with them. The family had some eggs stored away, originally meant to be sold at the Mid-Autumn Festival on the fifteenth for a bit more money. But now that the family had gained a frail husband, they decided to give them to him first to help build up his health.
In the Luo household, the kitchen was separated from the main hall by just a door. On fine days they set the table in the back courtyard; in bad weather they ate in the main hall. But most of the time, everyone simply took a bowl, ladled food into their own bowls, and ate wherever they pleased.
In the eighth month, the summer heat had eased, and the faint autumn breeze was very pleasant. But today being a special occasion, Luo's Grandfather had the food carried into the main hall.
For tonight's dinner, the staples were the same as usual—one big pot of steamed cucumber, pumpkin, and potatoes—with the addition of one large platter of cured pork stir-fried with dried vegetables. And today that platter had visibly more slices of meat than usual, enough for everyone to have several pieces.
Luo Yang was a strapping young lad, and at the height of his craving for meat, he didn't hold back at all. His first chopsticks picked up a slice of meat and into his mouth it went. As he chewed, grease filled his mouth, and he felt as satisfied as land parched for half a month in the June heat suddenly drenched by a sweet rain—his whole body felt refreshed.
The rest of the Luo family was much the same, though they didn't gobble their food down. Instead, they chewed each bite of meat as long as they could, so the taste would linger in their mouths a little longer.
Bai Chao was eating meat at this moment too. The meat in his bowl had been placed there by Luo Yang's parents. Afraid the boy was too shy with strangers to pick up his chopsticks, the couple had put meat in his bowl with their very first bites, one after the other.
It was the same for the whole family—only after a few slices of cured bacon had gone down did they start talking, and the conversation revolved entirely around Luo Yang's marriage.
"This matter should be done sooner rather than later. Yangzi, tomorrow take two sacks of corn to sell and buy some meat and vegetables. Changfu, you go notify your in-laws and your wife's uncle's family. Let's set the date for the twelfth."
Luo's Grandfather was the one who managed the household, and he set the date directly. But Luo Yang's parents both felt it was a bit rushed.
"It's already the tenth today. Only one day to prepare—isn't that a bit too rushed?" Father Luo thought they should leave at least four or five days. One day was really too tight.
Luo's Mother nodded along with her husband; she also thought it was too rushed.
Luo's Grandfather didn't agree with the couple at all. He glanced at the little fool who took no interest in anything and just buried his head in his food, then sighed. "What kind of look is it, a grown person living under the same roof as Yangzi with no name or status? This should be done sooner rather than later. Besides, the autumn harvest is only days away. Once they're married, he can be introduced to people properly and help out with the work."
When Luo's Mother heard this, she thought to herself: what could such a small child possibly do? But she didn't say it out loud—she just planned to find an excuse later to keep him inside to help.
And so Luo Yang's marriage was settled just like that. The two people concerned, however, didn't say a word, just buried themselves in their food. Bai Chao was eating a cucumber at that moment, and he felt that his tongue found the taste of this vegetable unfamiliar. That meant his home must be very far from here—it probably didn't have this vegetable.
It seemed he really couldn't go home anymore.
The tears came just like that, without warning. Bai Chao sniffled and cursed his own head.
"So stupid." His head was truly useless—it couldn't even remember where home was, couldn't even remember his father's name. He only knew that he was a child who had a papa, because when certain words echoed in his mind, he knew very clearly that they were things his papa had once said to him.
The child eating with his head down kept anyone from seeing his tears, but his unconscious murmurs at night betrayed his sorrows, and brought tears to Luo's Mother's eyes.
"Papa…"
"Oh, you poor child." Luo's Mother gently stroked and patted the little brother who was clinging tightly to her arm, her eyes growing moist involuntarily.
The way he called out "Papa" was so sweet and attached—one could easily imagine how doted upon he must have been at home. If it weren't for the day they had killed the human trafficker, how would he have ended up alone in a strange land, covered in wounds?
The next day, the Luo family members each went about their work early. Only Bai Chao stayed asleep, even after the mother and daughter-in-law of the Luo family returned from the fields. Luo's Grandmother was about to wake him immediately, but Luo's Mother stopped her. "Mother, let him sleep. Wake him when breakfast is ready."
"Ah, we've picked up a little ancestor to look after," Luo's Grandmother sighed. She couldn't quite stand seeing a child in the family so lazy, but having lived most of her life, she naturally knew that to put on weight, a person needed not just good food but good sleep too.
That brother was skin and bones; if he wanted to gain weight, of course he'd need to eat and sleep well.
When Bai Chao woke, he instinctively curled up a little, and only when a clean, pleasant scent reached his nose did he come back to himself. He wasn't on the street, wasn't in an abandoned house—he had a home now.
"Heh, Chaochao's got good luck." Bai Chao gave his head a gentle shake, feeling utterly delighted. The sun was already shining into the room, and no one had come to wake him. It seemed this family really were good people.
He'd struck it lucky.
But Bai Chao, convinced of his good fortune, had no idea that his luck was far from over.
The Luo family had no plans for a grand banquet for Luo Yang's wedding—just enough food for three or four tables, which a single day was plenty of time to prepare. Even the wedding clothes were ready-made: they simply wore the outfits Luo Changfu and his wife had worn at their own wedding.
Luo's Mother's clothes from her youth were too big on Bai Chao, but being too big was no problem—he just looked a bit empty in them. Luo Yang's outfit was even more comical: he was taller than his father and broader in frame than his father had been in his youth, so his wedding clothes weren't just stretched tight—his wrists and ankles stuck out entirely. He looked not only ridiculous but rather embarrassed.
Fortunately, everyone at home today was family, and no one laughed at him. Everyone simply ate and drank their fill while Bai Chao went around getting to know everyone's faces, learning that they were his own relatives, and that was that.
As the sky darkened, the feast wound down. After the relatives who had come from afar were settled in, Luo's Mother quickly pulled her son aside for a few quiet words, then ushered him into the bridal chamber.
Bai Chao was sitting obediently at the edge of the bed. He knew that tonight the person sleeping beside him would be Big Guy, not Mother. He looked at the bed behind him, even reached out to measure it with his hand, then shook his head happily and said, "It's fine, there's room for me."
The bed wasn't small—even with Big Guy sleeping in it, there was still room for him.
Just as Bai Chao was rejoicing, a creak sounded by his ear. The door opened and quickly shut again—his groom had entered the room.
It was now late, and candles had been lit in the room—red candles, specially bought at that. By their flickering light, Bai Chao watched the person slowly approach him. He had been about to scoot over to make room for the man to sit beside him, but the approaching figure simply crouched down right in front of him.
"Brother Chao."
"Call me Chaochao."
Bai Chao didn't like the title "Brother Chao." He had no such name in his memory—Father must never have called him that. He didn't like it.
Luo Yang was taken aback. The two of them had only just met; "Chaochao" felt far too intimate to him. But the person before him had clear, bright eyes and a face full of innocence—he really couldn't muster any other kind of thoughts. So he obediently called him as asked, then said, negotiating, "Chaochao, there's something I'd like to discuss with you."
Luo Yang then slowly laid out what was in his heart, and the expression on Bai Chao's face slowly shifted—from puzzlement to delight, and finally to a satisfied nod.
"Mm! I agree!"