The phrase 'so ashamed he wished to dig a hole and hide' probably described him perfectly in that moment.
It was impossible to just slip away now. He shuffled over awkwardly, offered Fourth Grandfather He a deeply sheepish smile, and stammered, "Fourth Grandfather He, you... you're here already!"
Fourth Grandfather He had originally thought Fang Zichen wanted to slaughter his old companion. He hadn't expected Fang Zichen to just hang it up, scold it a bit, and be done with it. He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Fang boy, are you alright?"
Even if he was, he was too embarrassed to say so.
Fang Zichen shook his head, his face burning with a heat as if he'd been caught red-handed in some shameful act. He felt all the blood in his body rush to his head, making him so feverish with embarrassment he thought he might start steaming.
Fortunately, Liu Dali arrived with a group of children.
"Guaizai, where are you?"
The children, including Liu Dali, really enjoyed playing with Guaizai nowadays.
Before, they just thought Guaizai was a good-looking child, small, short, and appearing soft and cute. They all wanted to play with him, but Guaizai had been scared off by Ma Xiaoshun, Zhou Dazuo, and others. He would run away at the sight of people. Furthermore, Zhao Ger was always busy. Guaizai had to follow Zhao Ger, either foraging for wild vegetables or gathering firewood, so he simply had no time.
After spending some time with Fang Zichen recently, his courage had become as big as his head.
He taught Liu Dali and the others how to read. The children also knew this opportunity was hard-won, so they studied very seriously.
A couple of nights ago, He Xiaodong returned home, ate dinner, and hurried out into the yard. His mother saw him holding a tree branch and scratching marks on the ground. Thinking he was playing, she scolded him a few times.
The yards outside farmhouses were just dirt. When stepped on often, they became firm and not muddy. However, children, being naturally playful, often used sticks to dig holes in the yard. Leaving aside how unsightly the pitted and bumpy surface looks, during rain, the holes would collect water, making it difficult to walk.
He Xiaodong said wrongfully, "I wasn't playing."
"Still saying you weren't? I saw you! Are you talking back? Is your butt itching for a spanking?"
"I was writing characters," He Xiaodong said.
He Xiaodong was a ger. He had two older brothers and was the youngest in the family. His mother doted on him quite a bit. However, since he was a ger, he still needed to have proper manners; otherwise, after marrying into another family in the future, he would suffer mistreatment from his in-laws.
His mother was very surprised. She came over to look. Although she was completely illiterate, she had seen characters before and could recognize them to some extent.
These crooked 'things' on the ground really did seem to be characters.
"What characters are these? Who taught you?"
"This is my name," He Xiaodong said, pointing to each one in turn. "This is 'He', this is 'Xiao', this is 'Dong'. Guaizai taught me."
Hearing this, his mother was even more astonished. "Guaizai taught you? That Guaizai who lives in the old residence of the village chief?"
He Xiaodong: "Yes!"
Then it was confirmed.
Guaizai's father was Fang Zichen, and the young man knew how to read.
His mother stood up, her face alight with excitement, and called out toward the house, "The child's father, the child's father, come out quickly!"
He Xiaodong's father called from inside the house: "What's the matter?"
"Our Xiaodong knows how to write characters!"
A clattering sound came from inside the house, as if a stool had fallen over. His father rushed out: "Really?"
He Xiaodong said happily: "Really!"
The villagers had no money. Those around them were all country bumpkins with their faces to the soil and backs to the sky. None of them knew a single character. Without money, they couldn't hire a tutor or enter an academy. Without some opportunity, perhaps their whole lives would remain just like that until the end.
He Xiaodong's father didn't even recognize his own name. Now, not only did He Xiaodong recognize characters, he could also write them. The whole family was extremely excited.
He Xiaodong's mother wanted to take a few eggs to thank Zhao Ger. However, the family had only managed to save a few eggs, it really wasn't a presentable gift. She had no choice but to wait until market day in a few days to buy a pound of meat in town.
His father then instructed He Xiaodong to always be good to Guaizai. He was the older one; as an elder brother, it was his duty not to bully his younger brother, but rather to protect him.
He Xiaodong agreed.
Even if his parents hadn't said anything, he wouldn't bully Guaizai.
Guaizai was obedient, good-looking, and would even share candy with him. His father had also once molded a little rabbit for him and was kind to him. There was no way he could bully Guaizai.
Similar scenes unfolded simultaneously in several households.
Although a few villagers were prone to gossip and stirring up trouble, most were not bad at heart.
In one home, a parent stir-fried peanuts. In another, they roasted sweet potatoes. Elsewhere, someone stewed soybeans. Each of them instructed their children to bring some the following day to share with Guaizai and to be sure to thank him properly.
Although these were all worthless things, they were, after all, tokens of their goodwill.
They had been bringing snacks for several days in a row, and today was no exception. After hearing that Guaizai and Fang Zichen had come to the shallows area, Liu Dali led the children to find them.
Fang Zichen was extremely grateful to them.
He promptly gathered the whole group of children and left.
While resting by the roadside, the children presented their treasures, pulling out all their snacks in one go.
Watching them eat sweet potatoes as if they were braised pork, Fang Zichen sighed.
He threw a stone into the field opposite them. A flock of sparrows flew out, chirping noisily.
His eyes shifted thoughtfully, and he suddenly beckoned to Liuliu.
"Uncle Fang."
Fang Zichen gestured with his hands. "Go home and fetch a shallow bamboo basket, the kind with a low rim, like the one outside your dad's room that's holding the ginger. Do you know the one I mean?"
Liuliu nodded. "I know the one!"
Liuliu went home to get the basket. Fang Zichen then sent Guaizai home to fetch a handful of rice.
Zhao Ger had just seen the Village Chief off when Guaizai came running through the door.
"Village Chief Grandpa," Guaizai called out.
He was sweating profusely, the fine hair on his forehead damp and stuck to his skin, his little face as red as an apple.
The Village Chief couldn't help but pat his head: "Good boy. Where is your father?"
Guaizai replied: "Outside."
The Village Chief had come to find Fang Zichen to ask him about the Prefectural Exam. He had originally intended to come yesterday, but just as he was about to leave, his wife stopped him. She said that since Fang Zichen had been away for several days and had only just returned, he likely wished to spend some private time with his fulang and child. She questioned why the Village Chief would intrude and be a disturbance.
The Village Chief thought that the matter was not so urgent as to trouble Fang Zichen immediately. He felt it was only proper to let the man rest and settle in after his journey. Therefore, he decided against going. He arrived after lunch today, but as it happened, Fang Zichen had just departed before he got there. The timing was simply unfortunate.
After seeing the Village Chief off, Zhao Ger asked: "What is your father doing outside?"
"Guaizai doesn't know either!" As he spoke, he ran into the kitchen, lifted the lid, and tried to grab some rice from the rice vat. However, the vat was too deep. Even with his whole body leaning over it, he couldn't reach the rice. He grew anxious and had to call for Zhao Ger: "Daddy, come here~"
When Zhao Ger led Guaizai over, Liuliu had already returned.
Once everything was ready, Fang Zichen used a wooden stick to prop up the bamboo basket, scattered some rice underneath it, and tied a rope to the stick.
Zhao Ger could roughly guess what he was trying to do. Guaizai squatted to the side and asked, "Father, what are you doing?"
"Father is catching sparrows to make roast meat for you, okay?" Fang Zichen said.
Guaizai's eyes lit up, and he was so happy he immediately hugged the dog in his arms tightly. The dog whimpered twice in discomfort.
"Okay! Guaizai loves meat, meat is yummy, good to eat."
Fang Zichen said, "Zhao Ger, go home and get some oil and salt."
"Are you sure you can catch them?" Zhao Ger sounded somewhat doubtful.
It wasn't as if no one in the village had ever had ideas about these sparrows before. But the sparrows were too alert and flew too fast, they would fly away as soon as people got close, making them impossible to catch.
"Are you doubting me?" Fang Zichen glared at him, brimming with arrogance. "Have you forgotten who I am?"
Zhao Ger: "......"
No comments:
Post a Comment