He checked on Yu Nian, then the puppy. Seeing neither man nor dog was seriously harmed, he finally truly relaxed.
“I’ll go cook. You two must be hungry. We’re having chicken soup today.” Tian Yao put the cloth bolts into the house, found the listless pheasant in the yard. With a swift motion of his blade, the pheasant’s head fell to the ground. He found a basin and caught the blood.
Then, cleanly and efficiently, he gutted the pheasant, chopped it into small pieces, and following his Little Dad’s illustrated booklet, put the chicken into the pot.
He lit another small stove separately, boiled the chicken innards, and gave the puppy an extra meal as well.
He knew his own cooking skills, so he followed his Little Dad’s instructions for every step. Moreover, his Little Dad’s artistry was superb; Tian Yao could see everything clearly and understand it perfectly.
Yu Nian sat in Tian Yao’s rocking chair, watching the puppy at his feet. It was eating, its teeth still not quite hard enough, so it took some effort, but it was trying very hard. In the kitchen, Tian Yao was somewhat like a monkey, jumping up and down—one moment tending the fire, the next at the stove, still flipping through something in his hand.
A silly, foolish look. If he hadn’t witnessed Tian Yao’s ferocity when beating those men with his own eyes, he’d probably think Tian Yao was someone easy to bully.
Before long, the fragrant smell of chicken soup wafted from the humble kitchen. This pheasant wasn’t too old, so it lacked the strong gamey odor. Plus, following his Little Dad’s drawings, Tian Yao had pulled scallions from the garden and used leftover ginger to wash away any remaining gaminess.
While waiting for the chicken soup to finish, he used the newly bought flour, leavened the dough, and steamed some fine, fluffy buns for Yu Nian. For himself, he just used cornmeal to pan-fry a few corn cakes.
It was already late afternoon by now. He figured Yu Nian must have been hungry for a while. So as soon as the chicken soup was ready, he moved a small table in front of Yu Nian, set the pot of chicken soup on it, along with several white flour buns.
Before eating, Tian Yao fetched water and meticulously wiped the dirt from Yu Nian’s face, then cleaned his hands for him. Only then did he sit down at the table. “Someone bullied you, why didn’t you call for help?”
Yu Nian just remained silent. After Tian Yao left, he leaned back in the rocking chair and fell into a groggy sleep. The puppy, at his feet, also slept soundly, snuffling.
When he woke, he was a bit disoriented, unsure of the time. Then, the low, short door was pushed open. His eyes turned dark at that moment.
The two men seemed to want to humiliate him one last time before leaving. They looked contemptuously at this tiny courtyard, asking him what it felt like to be pressed down on by a wanton Ger, whether his lower parts were as crippled as his legs, what it felt like for the once high-and-mighty Young Lord Yu to be a live-in son-in-law.
Yu Nian didn’t want to engage with them and simply ignored them. He had heard such words many times before. They had insulted him all along the journey here. Hearing it so often, he had grown numb.
But the two men grew angrier at his indifference, especially since they were about to leave and would have no more plaything to torment. So they seized this last chance to humiliate him viciously.
They threw the blanket Tian Yao had given him to the ground, trampled it until it was covered in mud, and tipped him from his chair, forcing him, like before, to look up at them from the dust.
Listening to their vile, unbearable words, Yu Nian gripped the hairpin in his hand. If that man took one more step forward, he could plunge the sharp end into his foot.
But in the next instant, Tian Yao’s kick sent the man flying. Literally flying. A man that big and brawny, kicked into the wall by a single blow.
Tian Yao waved his hand in front of Yu Nian’s eyes. “Yu Nian?”
Seeing Yu Nian finally focus on him, he handed him the bowl of chicken soup he’d ladled out. “It’s just a bit isolated here. If something happens, it’s hard to let anyone know.”
Yu Nian tasted the chicken soup. He couldn’t understand how Tian Yao, who made such terrible noodles, could produce such delicious chicken soup.
Seeing the look in his eyes, Tian Yao knew what he was thinking. So he handed him his treasured booklet to look at. “This is what my Little Dad painted for me. This volume is recipes. There are several more: one for identifying medicinal herbs, one for sewing techniques…”
Looking at the vividly lifelike yet straightforward, easy-to-understand descriptions in the booklet, Yu Nian could see the ingenious, meticulous mind of the person who created it.
“My Little Dad was a very clever person, wasn’t he?”
Yu Nian actually responded to his words, even if it was just a nod. But Tian Yao was greatly encouraged and began chattering again: “My Little Dad fled famine to Huailing Village. Father fell for him at first sight. Little Dad was a wondrous person; he knew everything, but he couldn’t read.”
“Drink your soup, hurry.” Tian Yao smiled. It was so wonderful to have someone to talk to. He could talk about his Father and Little Dad, let more people know about them, remember them.
He quickly finished the corn cakes in his hand. The puppy was pawing at the table legs, so Tian Yao fed it a few chicken bones.
“It’s still small; eating bones could choke it,” Yu Nian said.
Tian Yao pouted and picked the bones back off the ground. It was good that Yu Nian started speaking to him, but the first conversation wasn’t even for him, but for a dog.
Speaking of the puppy, Tian Yao remembered. “Give it a name.”
Yu Nian just looked down, not speaking.
Tian Yao then said, “I can’t read. If I name it, I’d just call it Little Gray?”
Yu Nian’s mouth twitched. Its fur was grey, so call it Little Gray. Crudely straightforward.
“You’re a scholar; give it a nice-sounding name. It’ll spend more time with you later.”
“Little Gray is fine,” Yu Nian said. After all, it was a dog raised in the village. Any other name would seem superfluous.
Tian Yao rubbed Little Gray’s head. “Then your name is Little Gray from now on!”
“Little Gray, Little Gray.”
Little Gray seemed to know this was his name. Every time Tian Yao called, he’d respond with a bark.
Tian Yao adored him to no end. He scooped the puppy onto his lap and picked a piece of chicken from his own bowl to feed it.
Yu Nian drank his soup quietly, but the white flour bun before him was only half-eaten.
After the meal, Tian Yao washed the bowls clean. Only then did he carry his bolts of cloth over to Yu Nian, showing them off. The colors he chose were one indigo blue and one sky blue, one stain-resistant, one not. “I’ll go to the village and find Aunt Shun, have her make a few outfits for you.”
Not expecting a reply, Tian Yao closed the door and went into the village.
Besides being close to Liu Zhi, he also had good relations with several Aunties who had watched him grow up.
He walked to Liu Zhi’s house. Inside, it was noisy and chaotic. Only after a long while did it quiet down. He then knocked.
Liu Zhi’s eyes were slightly red-rimmed, as if he’d pulled himself together before coming to open the door.
“What brings you here?” Liu Zhi didn’t want him to know about his domestic troubles and only spoke with him in the courtyard.
“I came to return the money you lent me.” Tian Yao gave back the half-string of cash. Liu Zhi didn’t count it, just put it away directly.
He saw the cloth in Tian Yao’s hands. “What’s this for?”
“I want to find someone to make two outfits for Yu Nian.” He had originally wanted to ask Liu Zhi for help, but since his house was a mess right now, better not bother him.
Liu Zhi nodded. “Aunt Shun’s needlework is the best.”
Tian Yao nodded too, then left Liu Zhi’s doorstep. Soon, he arrived at Aunt Shun’s house. The autumn harvest was over now; there were no tasks in the fields. The village’s able-bodied men had all gone to Town to find work.
Tian Yao used to go too, but employers always disliked him for being a Ger and wouldn’t hire him. Over time, he stopped going.
Aunt Shun, bored with nothing to do, was delighted to see Tian Yao and pulled him into conversation.
“Two outfits?” Aunt Shun felt the cloth. She knew Tian Yao was exceptionally good to this husband; the fabric felt different from the ordinary.
Tian Yao nodded. “And if there’s any extra cloth, see if you can make a few pouches or something.”
Aunt Shun acknowledged. “Leave it to me. Give me the measurements.”
Tian Yao looked utterly blank. Aunt Shun burst out laughing at him. “You want clothes made, but you don’t even have measurements? How am I supposed to make them?”
Only then did Tian Yao realize what he’d forgotten. He bolted home. “Auntie, I’ll be right back!”
He ran home. Yu Nian was in the rocking chair, Little Gray at his feet gnawing on the clothes in his bed to play. Tian Yao rushed right up to Yu Nian, startling him.
Yu Nian lifted his eyelids to see Tian Yao’s face right in front of his. “What are you doing?”
“Making clothes, need your measurements.” Tian Yao carried him from the chair back to the room, then went to the other room to find his Little Dad’s sewing basket and located the soft measuring tape.
Body length, arm span, chest and waist circumference, hip circumference.
Every place he measured, he touched. By the time he finished taking all the numbers, he had felt Yu Nian up and down completely.
Yu Nian was unwilling to cooperate at first, but helpless against Tian Yao’s brute strength, he could only let himself be manipulated.
Fortunately, Tian Yao was in a hurry. After measuring and memorizing the numbers, he put Yu Nian back in his original spot and rushed like the wind back to Aunt Shun’s house.
“Auntie, I’m back.” He recited the measurements. “Auntie, for making two outfits and some pouches, I’ll pay you twenty copper coins for the labor.”
Aunt Shun waved her hand repeatedly. “How could it need that much? Just give me the leftover scraps and whatnot. Perfect timing, idle farming season; I could use something to do.”
But Tian Yao pressed the coins into her hand. “No way. Making clothes is hard work. If you feel for me, just make them faster.”
Aunt Shun couldn’t win against him. She grabbed a handful of beans from her cupboard and gave them to him, like she used to coax a child. “Alright, alright, I got it. I’ll definitely make them quick. Our Yao Ge’er sure dotes on his husband.”
Tian Yao’s face flushed red. Ignoring her teasing, he ran back home again like a gust of wind.
Yu Nian wasn’t asleep this time. He watched Tian Yao come back, scoop Little Gray off the ground, and force the poor puppy to chase him around the courtyard. Little Gray, lacking Tian Yao’s boundless energy, after two laps, dove under Yu Nian’s chair for refuge.
“Come out, Little Gray.”
The answer was Little Gray’s smug bark, having found a backer: “Woof.”
“Little Gray, come out.”
Little Gray just showed a pair of moist, pitiful eyes, squatting silently under Yu Nian’s chair.
“It’s still young,” Yu Nian said.
Tian Yao gave up on teasing him. Who told Little Gray that Yu Nian would back him up?
