Back to 1988 73

Chapter 73: Little Thief

The matter of Bai Luochuan secretly washing his underwear in the early morning could be hidden from others, but not from Mi Yang.

Those who did the small handicraft of book restoration, like Mi Yang, sometimes had to piece together an entire ancient book that was so rotten it was almost like dust. Not a single detail the size of a grain of rice could be missed. He had long since trained a good pair of eyes. The room was only so big, and Bai Luochuan had made a little splashing sound. When he went in and took a look, he knew what had happened.

Bai Luochuan’s face was still a little red, and he didn’t dare to meet Mi Yang’s gaze when he saw him.

Mi Yang ate breakfast with him. As he thought about the few books he had picked out yesterday, he also thought about the popularization of knowledge about puberty. In his heart, he had always thought that he was a little older than Bai Luochuan. Now, he subconsciously wanted to help him solve these little troubles of a young man.

After breakfast, the two of them went back upstairs. Mi Yang closed the door and was about to sit down and talk to him.

Mi Yang glanced at the bathroom. Bai Luochuan immediately tensed up.

Mi Yang asked him, “Are you nervous?”

Bai Luochuan said, “Huh?”

Mi Yang moved a chair and sat in front of him. “Didn’t we learn about this in class? Actually, this is a normal phenomenon.”

Bai Luochuan was guilty and didn’t dare to meet his gaze, just casually said “mm.”

Mi Yang sat there and, with a stiff upper lip, began to explain physiological hygiene to him. The textbook said too little, and the few sentences were all about anatomy. It was also the usual Chinese-style reservedness, without any details or special precautions.

“You have to pay attention to hygiene and wear looser clothes. Also, try to distract yourself as much as possible. Don’t do it too much. It’s not good for your body.” Mi Yang said for a while, then half-jokingly, half-seriously scared him, “If you do it too much, you won’t grow tall.”

Bai Luochuan suddenly said, “How do you know so much?”

Mi Yang was taken aback and said vaguely, “My dad found me a couple of books. I saw it in the books.”

Bai Luochuan asked him, “Why are you reading these?”

Mi Yang said, “I’m preparing in advance.”

Bai Luochuan looked at him this time and asked, “Have you used them yet?”

Mi Yang sat there, forcing the conversation, and said a little awkwardly, “Soon, I guess. Anyway, I’ll be able to use them sooner or later.”

Bai Luochuan leaned a little closer to him and whispered, “Let me tell you, I had a dream last night. I can’t tell you the specifics, but at the beginning, I just felt a little hot, and then it was very comfortable. It was like there was a fog in the dream, so I couldn’t really see anything, but I did go in…”

Mi Yang’s face was burning from his words. He moved back a little and scratched his face. “That’s, that’s normal. Anyway, it’s usually like that.”

Bai Luochuan, who was sitting opposite him, looked at him for a while, then stood up and smiled. “I know all of this. I’ve also read books before. Don’t you worry about me. I was just teasing you.”

Mi Yang: “…”

The young master Bai got up and went out, looking much more relaxed than Mi Yang, not affected at all.

Mi Yang began to doubt the books on puberty psychological counseling. Including himself in his previous life, he would have been a little embarrassed to look at these things. But the young master Bai was so open and honest that it made Mi Yang feel that he was the one who was wrong.

Bai Luochuan took the key and opened the door to the study. He found the few books he had picked out yesterday for Mi Yang. He probably thought the books had been sitting for too long and put them in a clean box before letting Mi Yang take them. He also repeatedly reminded him, “Be careful when you’re restoring them. These books are old. You should wear glasses. Don’t get anything in your eyes.”

Mi Yang nodded in agreement and took the books back to Mi Hong’s.

Mi Hong was very interested in these two ancient books. He touched the cover. “A medical book from the Qing Dynasty. The condition is not bad. The two in your hand are quite good.” He tapped it with his finger and suddenly asked, “Who asked you to restore them?”

Mi Yang said, “It’s Bai Luochuan’s grandfather. He has a very large study. He said I could take whatever I wanted to practice.”

Mi Hong said indifferently, “He said it’s for practice, but the payment for the restoration should be calculated separately.”

Mi Yang was taken aback. “Do we have to ask his family for money?”

Mi Hong glanced at him, a little dissatisfied. “Why are you always helping the Bai family? You might as well just be surnamed Bai.”

Mi Yang’s face flushed.

Mi Hong said, “A craftsman makes a living with his craft. Even an apprentice never works for free. Although our line of work doesn’t have a patron saint, rules are rules. It’s normal for a child like you to be too shy to ask. I’ll go and ask.”

Mi Hong put down the book and went to the main hall to make a call. Mi Yang quickly followed. Mi Hong had already started to dial.

Mi Yang whispered, “Grandpa…”

The call to the Bai’s house was answered, and Old Bai’s voice came through, “Hey, Old Mi, you old fellow. Why did you think of calling me today?” His voice sounded familiar, with a hint of a teasing smile.

Mi Hong said, “My grandson went to your house to restore books. He brought the work home. He’s just a child and doesn’t know anything. I saw it and naturally had to ask the employer’s requirements clearly.”

Old Bai chuckled. “What requirements? That pile of stupid books of mine is just sitting there, getting moldy. They’re useless. Let the children play with them. You helped me repair the doors and windows of the old residence a couple of years ago. I haven’t even thanked you yet.”

Mi Hong said, “That’s not the rule.”

Mi Hong asked the other party clearly. When he spoke, he was like the book restorer in the book market again, his voice indifferent but his words clear and specific, like a businessman. Old Bai, on the other hand, was very casual. He probably got tired of listening after a while and said casually, “Alright, alright, my ears are hurting from listening. How much do you want?”

Mi Hong glanced at his grandson standing beside him and replied, “No money. How about you give us one book for every five we restore? Don’t worry, we won’t break up any sets. There are rules in the trade. We’ll just pick a few single volumes.”

The old Mr. Bai said, “Alright, let’s do that!”

Mi Hong hung up the phone and educated the child, “In the future, if you encounter anything, say it in advance. Although it might seem a little distant, it’s much easier to handle than the trouble that might come later.”

Mi Yang nodded. “Is it like this with everyone?”

The corner of Mi Hong’s mouth lifted, and he rarely joked with him, “No, you don’t have to be so formal with your own wife.”

Mi Yang was still nodding. Mi Hong glanced at him. “Do you have a little girlfriend?”

Mi Yang repeatedly shook his head. “No, no!”

Mi Hong said, “Then you have someone you like.”

This was said with certainty. Mi Yang’s face flushed, and he looked away, trying to change the subject. “Grandpa, you, you also went to repair the doors and windows of the Bai family?”

Mi Hong said, “Yes. The Bai family’s old residence was renovated a couple of years ago. They got some good wood but didn’t trust the craftsmanship of other families, so they came to me. I just helped them repair it. Many families in the town went to help. The Bai family is a good employer. They’re very generous with their money.”

Mi Hong said it without any hesitation, not feeling that he was inferior in any way.

Mi Yang had just wanted to change the subject and immediately said, “Yes, I also saw the people who were tidying up the courtyard. It seems they just hired people from the town.”

Mi Hong nodded, glanced at his little grandson, and suddenly said, “Who is it that you like?”

Mi Yang’s face turned bright red, and he stammered, refusing to say. In the afternoon, Mi Yang buried his head in his book restoration and didn’t mention this matter. Fortunately, Mi Hong had just said it casually and had no intention of pressing the matter, which made Mi Yang secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

At night, Mi Yang walked back to his other grandmother’s house under the moonlight. Shanhai Town was quiet at night, and the sound of his footsteps on the stone path was faint. Mi Yang kicked a small stone and walked forward slowly, thinking.

Since coming back from riding the horse that day, he had been thinking.

He seemed to have, from some point, felt that he should stay by the young master Bai’s side.

This habit was too natural. It was only when he was suddenly awakened that he realized that some things had changed. He had started to care about the distance between them, and he had also started to watch his growing figure, and the subconscious desire to take care of him, and the natural way he would restore books for him and his family…

Mi Yang sighed and looked up at the round moon in the sky. The moonlight was clear, leaving people with nowhere to hide.

He seemed to like him, just a little.

Mi Yang took two steps, then said to himself, “Not necessarily. Maybe I’m just used to it.” He repeated it a couple of times, as if to convince himself.

As he was walking, he was almost at the old Mrs. Cheng’s house when he suddenly heard a rustling sound from the small courtyard outside, and there was also the faint sound of talking.

Mi Yang said warily, “Who! Who’s there!”

It was quiet for a moment, then there was another sound, as if someone was about to run.

Mi Yang took out his flashlight and turned it on to the brightest setting. He hadn’t needed it on the way, but now that he had run into a little thief, he thought of using it to intimidate them. He said loudly, “I see you! Hey! You’re still running. I’m talking to you…” He had originally wanted to shout for help. It was close to home, and a shout would bring out the neighbors to help. But when the strong light of the flashlight shone on them, Mi Yang himself stopped.

The one who was covering his eyes from the light was also a boy of about his age, fourteen or fifteen, who was holding his arm to block his face and shouting in a low voice, “Don’t, don’t! Don’t shout. It’s one of us!”

Mi Yang was so angry he laughed. He lowered the beam of the flashlight a notch but didn’t move it down, still shining on the boy’s face. He got closer. “Stop blocking. I know who you are.”

The boy was a little embarrassed. He lowered his hand and scratched his face, not daring to look at him. He looked left and right. “Well, I just ate too much at night and came out for a walk… just, just to look around.”

Mi Yang said, “You just happened to walk to my little vegetable garden?”

The boy cleared his throat.

Mi Yang said, “Wang Bing, tell me. What are you doing here in the middle of the night?”

Wang Bing scratched his head and couldn’t say. Mi Yang then swept the beam of his flashlight over his whole body, and it soon landed on his bulging pants pocket. Wang Bing immediately covered his pocket and didn’t say anything.

Mi Yang wanted to laugh. He knew this all too well. The Wang Bing in front of him was the boy who had led the group to say things about him when he was picking bamboo on the hill. He was also one of his childhood friends. He was not a bad person, just very loyal and always liked to hang out with people and stand up for them. Wang Bing wanted to be the leader, so he had to do some “big things” that a leader should do. In those years, young people would secretly watch Hong Kong movies at home together. Wang Bing’s family had a DVD player, and since the adults were not at home during the summer vacation, they would get together to watch movies even more. Mi Yang remembered that he had also watched them with them before. It seemed to be something like “Young and Dangerous.” He couldn’t even remember the title.

He only remembered that Wang Bing had been bragging at the time. Seeing the big brother in the movie smoking, he insisted that he had also learned to smoke.

A group of half-grown children whose hair had not yet fully grown jeered and asked Wang Bing to smoke for them to see.

The town was only so big. How could Wang Bing dare to buy cigarettes himself? If he did, the sixth grandmother who sold the cigarettes would be able to tell half the town within ten minutes that the Wang family’s boy had gone bad and had learned to smoke.

But he had already made the boast. What could he do? Wang Bing had heard a rumor from somewhere that you could roll up dried old loofah vines and smoke them like cigarettes. The taste was very similar to cigarettes, and it was even stronger.

He had caused a lot of trouble for the families in the town with small vegetable gardens that summer vacation, pulling up a lot of their loofah vines. Even the old loofahs that Mi Yang’s other grandmother’s family had left to grow seeds had been pulled up by him—Mi Yang remembered that at that time, he had even begged him to pull up loofah vines for him, being very humble and begging him not to tell anyone that he was smoking “fake cigarettes.”

Mi Yang held back a laugh and deliberately put on a stern face. “Tell me. What did you steal?”

Wang Bing’s face flushed, and he stammered for a long time, “Just, just a little vegetable. I’ll tell Grandma Cheng later, okay!”

Mi Yang nodded. “Alright then. Let’s go. Let’s go and tell my grandma now.”

Wang Bing immediately grabbed Mi Yang’s arm and begged him in a low voice, “Don’t, don’t, Mi Yang. I’m begging you. This is really not something I can talk about. But I promise you, it’s not worth much. Just a handful of that.”

Mi Yang was surprised. “You know my name?”

Wang Bing: “…”

Mi Yang said, “I thought you still called me the young master from the city.”

Wang Bing wiped his face, aggrieved. “I was wrong. I apologize to you, okay?”

Mi Yang then turned off his flashlight. “Alright then. I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything.”

Wang Bing was taken aback. He had thought Mi Yang was going to deliberately make things difficult for him and had already thought of what to say to beg him. Hearing him say that he was not going to bother with it, he was a little surprised.

Mi Yang looked at him, curious. “You’re not leaving?”

Wang Bing immediately said, “I’m leaving, I’m leaving!” He then shouted in a low voice to the vegetable patch, “Hey, Zhao Haisheng! Let’s go!”

A person immediately rolled out from there. He was a little fatter than Wang Bing, round and sturdy. Hearing him, he immediately agreed and also fled.

Mi Yang glanced at them and thought to himself, This is even a group crime.

Stealing a loofah, what a big production.