Grandfather chased after the shoe, picked it up, and examined the sole and upper several times over, muttering under his breath, and even shot a glare at Bai Chao standing at the kitchen doorway.
"Rotten kid, how can you not know to take care of your things."
Seeing that the old man wouldn't let it go, Grandmother stepped over in two quick strides to stand in front of Bai Chao, shielding him, and said in a low voice, "You stubborn old fool, that's a shoe, not a child. What's the big deal about dropping it once? You've stared at it long enough—it's picked up, isn't it?"
At this moment, Grandmother was still worried that Bai Chao might be upset by Grandfather's words, but Bai Chao was a clever little thing. Hiding behind Grandmother, he noticed that Grandfather was just grumbling with his mouth and had no intention whatsoever of going over to punish him, so he wasn't scared at all anymore.
He was overjoyed to have shoes that fit, bouncing several times as soon as he put them on, hopping up and down the steps in the courtyard, as if confirming that the shoes on his feet really did fit.
"Grandmother, walking feels so comfortable now." At this moment, Bai Chao felt comfortable not just in his feet but in his heart too.
Big Brother worried about his knee injury, Grandmother was willing to buy him shoes, and Grandfather would only glare without ever actually hitting him. Once again, he confirmed that Big Brother's family were all good people~
After bouncing around a few more times and confirming that the shoes fit well, he no longer had to grip the soles tightly with his toes when walking. Both his feet felt lighter, and he happily hopped and skipped wherever he went.
Seeing how happy a pair of old shoes could make the child, Luo's Mother said nothing. If she'd known, she should have bought shoes the very day the child arrived—then he wouldn't have suffered these past few days.
Father Luo had just washed his face and was about to call everyone to set out the meal; after breakfast, they still had to work hard.
If they worked hard for a full day today, they could go to town tomorrow. Never mind that Chao brother needed clothes made—their own family needed new clothes too. They hadn't had new clothes made in two or three years; their work clothes had been patched who knows how many times and were truly looking shabby.
Today's breakfast still included yesterday's leftovers, but there wasn't much rice left over. Luo's Grandmother stir-fried a bowl of lard rice for Bai Chao with the leftover rice, while everyone else ate coarse flour steamed buns with potatoes and pumpkin as before.
Today was another cloudless, blazing sunny day. This kind of weather these past few days brought both joy and worry. Good weather meant the grain dried quickly, with no worry about dampness discoloring it and lowering the price. But such weather made people suffer—even wearing a bamboo hat was useless. Not only did their necks and faces get tanned pitch black, but the sweat on their bodies never stopped all day, each person becoming like a spring, constantly seeping water.
Today's work wasn't as heavy as yesterday's, so the family couldn't help but eat a little more slowly. After all, mealtime was also rest time—any chance to relax a little longer was worth taking.
Bai Chao first scooped a mouthful of lard fried rice into his mouth. It was so fragrant that he chewed many times before swallowing. Only after eating two mouthfuls did he realize he was the only one eating fried rice with oil. He had been in this home for several days now, and this was the first time his food was different from the rest of the family's.
Hesitating for a long while, he scooped up a spoonful and held it to Grandmother's lips. Grandmother naturally refused to eat his food, but he was stubborn and simply wouldn't pull the spoon back. Left with no choice, Grandmother ate it.
Grandfather was gnawing on half an old pumpkin at that moment. Seeing that Bai Chao had no intention of feeding him at all, he huffed inwardly, thinking that the old hag had won over this little dark boy at home—all the good food went only to her.
Father Luo and Luo's Mother were quite pleased to see it, though. These past few days had been busy ones for the family; they had been out working all day, leaving just the grandfather and grandson pair at home. Children were like this—whoever they grew close to, they were good to. The boy had only spent a few days with Grandmother and already knew to be good to her. Once the whole family lived together for a long time, he was sure to be good to them as well.
It didn't matter that the child wasn't very bright—as long as he had a conscience and a filial heart, that was enough.
Luo Yang was fully convinced that after Bai Chao fed Grandmother, it would be his turn. Naturally, he wasn't coveting a bite of fried rice—he simply took it for granted that Bai Chao would give him some. Who knew he wouldn't?
Just like his grandfather, Luo Yang muttered "heartless little thing" in his heart, then spoke up to his grandmother. "Grandma, how come I don't have any?"
"There was only that little bit left—not even a fistful of leftover rice. How am I supposed to split that? Look at your size—are you really going to fight Dengxin'er for food?" Grandmother truly thought her eldest grandson was upset and craving fried rice, so she explained while looking troubled.
But Bai Chao couldn't be bothered with all that. He was sitting next to Luo Yang, and he reached out and pinched the man's arm, then waved his own little arm in front of him, echoing Grandmother's words: "Are you really going to fight Dengxin'er for food?"
"Hahahaha! All right, all right, no fighting needed—tomorrow everyone gets something good to eat." Father Luo couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.
At his age, he had only gotten one son, and he always envied other families teasing their daughters and brothers. Now he could be said to have a brother of his own too—and one who was quite skilled at amusing him.
After the meal was finished, everyone got back to work. Bai Chao understood what Father Luo had meant earlier.
The next day, the family was going into town to sell their grain. Once the grain was sold, they would have money and could buy good things to eat.
"Tomorrow is the fifteenth of the eighth month—a big occasion. We must have something good to eat, no matter what." Grandmother said this with both cheerfulness and confidence.
Ever since the family fell into debt, everyone had been tightening their belts. After three or four years of living in poverty, they could finally catch their breath.
Thinking that good days were finally ahead, Grandmother couldn't help glancing at Bai Chao, who was curled up on the steps in the courtyard catching ants. She thought to herself that this little simpleton was actually rather lucky—if he had come to the family last year, he would have had his share of hardship.
Still catching ants to play with, indeed. At this time of year, one had to catch swamp eels in the fields, hunt for cicadas in the plots, and cut white grass in the mountains. As long as you had hands and feet, you had to work—there was no idleness at all.
Bai Chao's carefree days lasted only a short while. As soon as Grandmother finished cleaning the pots and dishes in the kitchen, he had work to do: he had to go wash clothes with Grandmother, pick eggplants and chili peppers to bring home and dry for vegetables, and turn the drying grain every half hour.
The whole family busied themselves, inside and out, and by the end of the day there hadn't been a single moment of rest. Even when the moon hung high in the night sky and the light over the village changed color, everything turning hazy around them, the family still hadn't gone to rest.
Bai Chao had actually been lying down for a while now, but he couldn't fall asleep. First, he was excited because tomorrow he could go to the market, and second, the sound of the winnowing basket whirring around in the courtyard was rather noisy.
His fathers hadn't rested yet either—they were still winnowing grain, separating the blighted grains from the good ones under cover of night, so the grain could be carried to the grain shop to sell.
In the end, sleepiness overcame Bai Chao, and he drifted off, completely unaware that in the Luo family's courtyard, figures kept busy until the moon reached its peak.
The next day, the ones from the Luo family going to the market were Luo Yang, his mother, and Bai Chao.
Luo Yang was strong, and his mother was good at haggling. As for Bai Chao, he could do nothing at all—he just wanted to go, and surprisingly the family indulged him.
Since arriving at Baihua Village, Bai Chao had never wandered around the village in daylight. As the group made their way toward the village entrance, he discovered that the main road through the village was quite wide; it was only the smaller paths leading to each household that differed.
Some households had paths in front of their gates that were not only wide but paved with stone bricks. Some had wide roads too, but mere dirt paths. And some had only narrow trails, so tight that even a single-wheel cart would struggle to pass.
But no matter what kind of path lay before their gates, every little courtyard was beautifully decorated, always with a splash of color—worthy of the village's name.
After seeing so many courtyards and paths, Bai Chao secretly compared them with his own family's. The comparison left him nodding in satisfaction.
Their house wasn't particularly spacious, but it was all clean and tidy, and stepping out of the front courtyard led directly onto a wide road to the village entrance. Once the family bought a big horse, he could ride a carriage right up to their front door.
When the three of them reached the village entrance, Bai Chao noticed an osmanthus tree that seemed as tall as the sky, the ground beneath it carpeted with fallen osmanthus flowers. He crouched down, picked up a few blossoms, and immediately held them to his nose, breathing in their scent with such enjoyment that his eyes narrowed into slits—he clearly loved the fragrance of osmanthus.
Seeing how much he liked it, Luo's Mother told him they had an osmanthus tree at home too.
"There's an osmanthus tree right in front of Eldest Grandfather's gate. It was planted back when your Grandfather was still a child. Never mind that the tree wasn't divided up when the family split—even if it had been, Eldest Grandfather's would be the same as their own. You can have as many flowers as you want."
"Really?" Bai Chao's eyes lit up at the news that they had an osmanthus tree at home!
Now he knew how to show his family he wasn't a little fool.
"Mother, I know how to make osmanthus cakes. I'll make osmanthus cakes for you all, okay?" Bai Chao was so delighted he even started walking backwards, his eyes sparkling as he watched the mother and son.
Both mother and son were skeptical of Bai Chao's claim, but they said nothing for now, because nothing mattered more than getting the child to walk properly.
"Chao brother, watch where you're going, or you'll fall again." Even if the road underfoot was flat and wide, people didn't have eyes in the backs of their heads—walking backwards was bound to end in a tumble.
When Luo's Mother said this, Luo Yang glanced at his knees and even pointed at them. Bai Chao instantly behaved, though he slowed his pace and fell in behind the two of them. Still, he stubbornly insisted until they agreed that he would make osmanthus cakes.
"Fine. Today when we buy sugar and get home, you can make them." Luo Yang finally agreed, seeing how persistent he was, then shot his mother a glance.
Sugar wasn't cheap, after all. It had been a long time since the family had bought any.
Luo's Mother caught her son's look, first nodding to him, then couldn't help letting out a sigh.
Their Luo Yang was a child who had grown up never wanting for food and with all kinds of snacks besides—these past few years had truly been hard on him.
Fortunately, there was no need to shortchange the other child anymore. She had carefully worked out the accounts: with this year's grain harvest plus the sale of the fattened pigs at year's end, they could pay off the remaining debts and still have a good sum of silver left over. The family would no longer have to scrape by.