Chapter 70: Little Horse
After listening to Jay Chou’s songs a few times, they arrived in Shanhai Town.
By the time Mi Xue got out of the car, she could already skillfully call Bai Luochuan “brother.” This time, she said it very enthusiastically, especially the last “goodbye,” which was soft, crisp, and sweet.
Bai Luochuan casually waved at her, then turned to Mi Yang. “I’ll come and see you in a couple of days.”
Mi Yang nodded and walked away, holding his little sister’s hand.
Mi Yang first took the little girl to see their grandfather, Mi Hong. Mi Hong had been living in the small courtyard for the past few years and rarely came out. He had opened a small vegetable patch in front of the house and, unless necessary, would generally not leave this small courtyard. He had probably also calculated that the children would be coming for the summer vacation and had prepared some fruits and pastries in advance. A pot of rock sugar pears was also stewing on the small stove in the kitchen, for them to eat to cool down.
Mi Xue was a little shy. She hadn’t been to Shanhai Town many times, and most of the time she had come back, it was Cheng Qing who had brought her. This was the first time she had come back with her brother. Seeing her unsmiling grandfather, the little girl immediately hid behind him.
Mi Hong didn’t mind. He just served them some pear soup and gave them some pastries to eat, with no intention of having them stay for dinner.
After eating half a bowl of soup, Mi Xue started to sweetly call him “Grandpa.” Children were easy to please. Sharing a little food and making her feel his kindness was enough for her to open up and trust him.
The corner of Mi Hong’s mouth moved, and he made a smiling expression.
After leaving their grandfather’s house, they went to their other grandmother’s house. The old Mrs. Cheng’s preparations were much more abundant. She had started calling Cheng Qing a few days in advance, wishing she could time it to the minute to prepare food for the children. The coffee table in the living room was filled with dried fruits and snacks. When she saw Mi Yang and the others come in, she first hugged her grandson, then lowered her head and kissed her granddaughter, doting on them.
The third aunt, Cheng Ru, came in from outside and said with a smile, “Yangyang is back? Go to the room and have a look. Third Aunt has prepared new clothes for you and Xiaoxue. Your grandma insisted that I bought them too big, but I told her you would definitely grow taller this year. Go and change and show the old lady.”
Every year when Mi Yang came back, his aunts would prepare a lot of things for him. Perhaps because he was the first child born in this family, his aunts were used to doting on him, and they paid more attention to him than to his little sister. This time was the same. There were two or three sets of new clothes on the bed in their bedroom. Mi Xue’s were two little dresses, and his were much more formal, with a shirt, pants, and a jacket, and even a thin cardigan.
Cheng Ru said, “Didn’t you say you wanted to go fishing in the mountains last time? I’ve already talked to your uncle-in-law and asked him to find someone to go with you. It’s cold in the mountains, so you have to wear something thicker.” She watched as Mi Yang put on the jacket, her eyes lighting up. She pushed him out for the old Mrs. Cheng to see. “See, what did I say? Isn’t it just right? Yangyang has grown taller!”
The old Mrs. Cheng looked at him seriously for a while, then smiled and nodded. “He is taller. It’s good that he’s taller. Yangyang has grown up.”
Cheng Ru then went to change Mi Xue into a little dress. Perhaps because of the natural blood ties to her family, Mi Xue started to call people after a short while, her voice low and crisp. When the old Mrs. Cheng gave her a milk candy to eat, the little girl held the candy and smiled, her eyes curving. But she only ate one piece and secretly stuffed the other piece into her brother’s pocket.
The old Mrs. Cheng saw that the brother and sister had a good relationship and also smiled as she sat there.
At dinner, Cheng Ru showed off her skills even more. She was the most fiery of the four sisters, but she was also the smallest. Mi Yang went to help her in the kitchen, but Cheng Ru didn’t let him. Mi Yang smiled. “Third Aunt, let me learn from you secretly. When I learn it, I’ll also make it for my mom. She always praises you as the best cook in our family, at a chef’s level.”
Cheng Ru said proudly, “Of course. But if you want to talk about delicious food, then it’s your grandma’s cooking that’s the best. In the future, have the old lady teach you a few of her signature dishes. You’ll be able to use them. You don’t know, men who can’t cook can’t even get a wife now!”
Mi Yang’s face reddened from her words. “Third Aunt, it’s still early for me.”
Cheng Ru said, “Prepare in advance. We can’t lose at the starting line.”
It was the first time Mi Yang had heard of such a starting line, and he was amused. As he chatted with her and helped with the cooking, Cheng Ru had him try his hand at the last dish. Seeing that Mi Yang was doing a good job, she praised him for having a talent for it.
A lot of food was prepared for dinner. The old Mrs. Cheng specially served a portion of pork rib and lotus root soup and placed it on the side. She said to Mi Yang, “Take this to your grandfather in the evening. I remember he was the one who taught me to make this dish before.”
Mi Yang agreed. For some reason, he suddenly thought of the three-stringed lute in his grandfather’s house, still in its original place, wiped clean. Mi Yang thought, Perhaps Mi Hong doesn’t like to eat lotus root and pork ribs anymore. The person who liked to eat it is already gone, and his three meals a day have also lost their taste.
After dinner, Mi Yang went to deliver it. Sure enough, Mi Hong’s expression was indifferent. He just told him to put it down and had no intention of picking up his chopsticks.
Mi Yang wanted to stay and talk with him for a while, but Mi Hong said, “I’m tired today. You can go back first. Come back tomorrow morning.”
Mi Yang stood up, thought for a moment, and then said, “Grandpa, I’ve brought two sets of tools. Some are bought, and a few are ones I’ve polished myself. I’ll bring them over for you to see tomorrow. If you like them, you can also keep a set.”
Mi Hong said, “Alright.”
The old man had visibly aged these past two years. Although his back was straight, the wrinkles on his face had increased, and he had become more and more reticent.
Mi Yang and his little sister were staying at their other grandmother’s house. The old Mrs. Cheng had tidied up a bedroom for them with a large and a small wooden bed. Mi Xue was fine during the day, but at night, the child was still a little shy. She held her cloth doll and went to Mi Yang’s side, whispering, “Brother, I miss Mom.”
Mi Yang then turned over and gently patted the little girl’s back to comfort her. “It’s fine. Grandma is Mom’s mom. She’s also your relative.”
Mi Xue said “oh” and started to play with the buttons on Mi Yang’s pajamas. After playing for a while, she slowly fell asleep.
Although she was shy at first, when her cousins from her other aunts’ families also came for the summer vacation, Mi Xue became happy again. Except for the third aunt, Cheng Ru, who had a son, the others were all female cousins—Cheng Chun had a pair of twin daughters who had just started middle school, and Cheng Ge had a little girl about the same age as Mi Xue. Mi Xue was very happy playing with them, and soon they were all playing cat’s cradle together.
The third aunt’s son was also young. He had recently developed a slight case of pseudo-myopia, so Cheng Ru had gotten him a pair of glasses to wear to try and correct it. The moment Mi Yang saw him with glasses, he remembered what this cousin would look like in the future. It was a similar type of frame, which he would wear until he was an adult, looking very scholarly.
With so many children, the old Mrs. Cheng’s house was like a kindergarten, very lively.
Seeing that Mi Xue had already adapted to life at her grandmother’s house, Mi Yang was relieved and went to his grandfather’s side. He would sometimes even stay the night to spend more time with Mi Hong.
Mi Hong was noncommittal about his arrival. When Mi Yang stayed, he would also prepare a place for him to stay. Most of the time, he would teach Mi Yang to restore books and also guide him in identifying them. Mi Hong still had a few old books and had some skills. When he was explaining to Mi Yang, he could draw some things that were not in the books on a piece of paper.
Mi Hong said, “My father was an appraiser of gold and silver certificates back then. Later, during the chaos of war, the gold and silver certificates were no longer useful, so he went to work in a pawnshop for more than ten years. He saw a lot of things and had a good eye and hand. These things I’m drawing for you, you should look at them carefully. If you look at these few places, you won’t be wrong.”
Mi Yang nodded. “Mm.”
Mi Hong said again, “Other things are too expensive. I’ve only touched gold a few times. But for things like the authentication of ancient books, I can still be accurate. In the early years, when the book market was flourishing, there were dozens of shops around Liulichang and Fulong Temple. The buying and selling of ancient books was also a gamble. If you were right about a book, you could make a small profit.”
Mi Yang’s heart skipped a beat. “Grandpa, have you been to Beijing before?”
Mi Hong glanced at him and said calmly, “I was listening to a lecture.”
This was something he was not going to talk about. Mi Yang listened seriously. Mi Hong was a craftsman but also a small merchant. What he taught was miscellaneous but refined, and he didn’t say a single extra word. What he taught Mi Yang was not so much a skill as it was the means of survival he had learned in his half a lifetime of wandering.
The old man saw that Mi Yang was learning seriously. He didn’t say anything, but when Mi Yang was about to leave, he picked two pomegranates that had just started to bear fruit from the tree and said to him, “This is a new pomegranate tree that was planted this spring. It’s a small pomegranate for ornamental purposes. You can’t eat it. You can play with it.”
Mi Yang chuckled. “Okay!”
Mi Hong saw him out of the small courtyard. “You don’t have to come in the afternoon. Go to the mountain and get two bamboo strips. I’ll teach you to draw a fence tomorrow.”
Mi Yang agreed, a little impatient.
He went back at noon and gave Mi Xue a small pomegranate. The small, red-skinned fruit was very cute, and the little girl was overjoyed. Seeing that Mi Yang still had one in his pocket, she pestered him, wanting it.
Mi Yang pinched her nose and smiled. “I can’t give you this one. It’s for someone else.”
The little girl bit her finger and asked, “Who is brother giving it to?”
Mi Yang said, “To your Brother Bai.”
The little girl thought for a moment and nodded. “Okay. Besides me, brother is the best with him.”
Mi Yang couldn’t help but laugh. This was too familiar. The young master Bai had said the exact same thing, just with a different expression. The little girl was reluctantly compromising, while the young master Bai was arrogantly approving.
In the afternoon, Mi Yang went to the small hill behind the house. It was a little hard to walk, so he went alone without his little sister. The climate here was a little humid, and there were also some bamboo trees, but they were not as tall and thick as in the south, standing there thin and weak, each one green and verdant.
Mi Yang chose for a while and selected one. He was about to start when he heard someone talking beside him.
“A young master from the city, right? Looks like it.”
“What are you doing? Look… hey, I’m talking to you. You’re the little young master from the city, right?”
At first, Mi Yang didn’t think they were calling him at all. It was only when a small piece of bamboo was thrown at his feet that he looked up, stunned. “Are you calling me?”
The three or four boys standing opposite him were about the same age as him. They had been running around since the beginning of the summer vacation and were much darker than him. At ten or so, they were just starting to look like young men and also had the arrogance of their age. They tilted their chins. “That’s right, we’re talking to you!”
Mi Yang recognized them. These were the playmates he had grown up with. No, his only childhood friend now was Bai Luochuan. Strictly speaking, he and these playmates had no interaction. Although he came to Shanhai Town every winter and summer vacation, he spent most of his time learning from Mi Hong. The little time he had left was also completely occupied by the young master Bai, and he had no time to make new friends.
As Mi Yang was thinking, the few boys opposite him looked him up and down. Suddenly, the one in the front snorted. “You even wear a hat when you go out. So delicate! Hey, haven’t you seen bamboo in the city? You’re looking at it under the sun in the middle of the afternoon?”
Mi Yang: “…”
Mi Yang had a headache. When Bai Luochuan had come back then, his group of playmates had seemed to reject the young master Bai in the same way. He had never expected that it would be his turn one day.
The few boys opposite him were more curious than hostile. They stood not far away and kept watching. Mi Yang still wanted to have a good relationship with his former playmates and tried his best to find a topic to blend in. Slowly, he was able to chat with them a little.
Just as the playmates in Shanhai Town were slowly getting closer to Mi Yang and were starting to ask him what kind of bamboo he was looking for, intending to help, they heard the sound of a bicycle braking sharply. The sound was a little loud. Mi Yang looked up and saw Bai Luochuan on a brand-new mountain bike, stopped at the bottom of the hill. He looked up, squinting his eyes at him, and rang the bell a few times, shouting, “Hey, what’s there to talk to them about? Come down and let’s go!”
The gazes of the few opposite him on Mi Yang immediately became unfriendly, and they even looked at him as if he were a “traitor” or an “undercover agent.”
Mi Yang: “…”
The leader sneered, “Go on down. You young masters from the city can’t stand the sun. Be careful your face doesn’t peel and you cry from the pain when you go back!”
“You’ve been looking at a few stupid bamboo stalks for half a day and don’t know which one to choose. And you still want to go up the mountain to play!”
“That’s right. Go back to your city. Who are you looking down on!”
Mi Yang was dumbfounded by the ridicule of the poor playmates in Shanhai Town!
Bai Luochuan had already come up. The mountain bike he was riding was quite professional, with a very cool paint job, the kind that boys liked the most now, and it had attracted a lot of attention as soon as it arrived. But they had already drawn a line just now, so the few boys didn’t stay long and soon ran off.
Bai Luochuan had only heard the last couple of sentences when he came up. He even raised his eyebrows at Mi Yang and asked, “What, you didn’t make any friends?”
Mi Yang: “…”
This is all something you should be enduring, you know!
The young master Bai obviously didn’t know and was still proud. “Forget it. Don’t bother with those people. You get on. I’ll take you to Grandpa’s. I have something good to show you.”
Mi Yang said in a muffled voice, “What is it?”
Bai Luochuan said, “A very cool little baby. You’ll know when you get there.”
Mi Yang looked at his mountain bike and didn’t know how to get on.
Bai Luochuan said, “Just step on the back, and then you can hold onto me.”
Mi Yang tried it. “Is this okay? It won’t break, will it…”
Bai Luochuan said, “Hold on tight!” He then accelerated and rushed down. Mi Yang was startled and could only bend down and hold on tightly to the other. The young master Bai in front chuckled and rode even faster.
When they arrived at the Bai family’s old residence, Mi Yang went in with him and saw the cool little baby at a glance.
It was a small black horse, its coat shiny, with a small patch of white fur on its forehead. Its pair of black, bright eyes were very beautiful. Hearing someone come, its two pointed little ears twitched alertly.
