Shan Xiaocong listened quietly. When Qi Bazong had finished speaking, he stepped forward shyly and asked with a serious face, "Qi Bazong, do you think I'm capable?"
"Of course, but you still need to work hard."
"Qi Bazong, I will work hard."
After receiving Qi Bazong's affirmative reply, Shan Xiaocong turned to run back, eager to tell his family so his grandmother and parents could also be happy for him.
But he suddenly remembered Erxi and, gathering his courage, asked again, "Qi Bazong, can my friend come too? He's the same age as me."
"Yes, gather here before Chen Shi tomorrow morning."
"Got it, thank you, Qi Bazong."
Shan Xiaocong was happy, happy for himself and happy for his friend. Then he dashed off to run back, intending to deliver the message to Erxi first.
When he reached the Tian family's doorstep, he was careful and didn't rush in. Instead, he called out as usual, "Erxi, Erxi."
"Hey." Inside the house, Erxi, with his arms crossed, was sitting on a not-so-warm kang with his father, talking. Hearing Shan Xiaocong's voice, he immediately darted out of the room.
"Xiaocong, are you looking for me?" Erxi was a little puzzled. They had only been apart for a short while; why was Xiaocong looking for him again?
"Come here." Shan Xiaocong beckoned, pulling Erxi about forty to fifty feet away. Assured that no one from the Tian family could hear, he lowered his voice and told Erxi about today's events.
"Really?" Erxi was a bit excited. "We train for a morning, and get a whole flatbread at noon?"
"Really, it's true. Qi Bazong said it himself."
"That's great. Ever since my family moved here, I haven't had a whole flatbread."
"Keep your voice down. I only brought you out to talk because I was afraid your grandmother and your uncle and aunt's family would hear."
"Mm, thank you, Xiaocong. I was too happy and forgot about my grandmother and that family." Erxi lowered his voice and thanked his good friend in a hushed tone.
"Alright, we don't need to thank each other. I should go home. Remember, we need to be at Master Meng Er's doorstep before Chen Shi tomorrow morning."
"Don't worry, I'll definitely wake up early to find you."
"Okay, I'll wait for you at home."
"Mm."
Erxi watched his good friend's back disappear behind the back building, then he dashed back into his own yard.
Old Mrs. Tian happened to come out to go to the privy. Seeing Erxi return from outside, she immediately said unhappily, "Running outside all day for nothing, wearing out the soles of your shoes, you prodigal thing."
Erxi: "There's someone in our family who doesn't wear out shoes, lying on the kang pretending to be dead all winter and summer. When my father works in the fields, he lies on the kang. When my father goes to the river to fetch water, he's still lying on the kang. He doesn't do anything all day but eats more than anyone else."
"You~"
Old Mrs. Tian did not expect her grandson to dare challenge her authority. She picked up a branch as thick as a child's arm and was about to hit Erxi.
Tian Xingwang had been standing at the door of the room where he and his wife lived, watching. Seeing his mother about to "strike with deadly force" on his son, he immediately put on a stern face and shouted, "Mother, what are you doing?"
Old Mrs. Tian also didn't expect that her attempt to hit her grandson would be caught by her eldest son. She sat down on the ground and started wailing loudly, "Oh, why is my life so bitter? I raised such a wicked son, you three, father and son, are making me angry. Old man, why don't you take me away quickly."
Tian Xingwang looked accustomed to this, saying nothing. Erxi, however, couldn't help but mutter in a low voice, "I wish my grandfather would take away that lazy good-for-nothing who lies on the kang all day."
"Uh." Old Mrs. Tian, mid-wail, didn't know what else to say.
Erxi reminded her, "Grandma, next you should scold my parents for being unfilial, for mistreating you every day, not giving you food or drink, making you thin."
"Uh~"
Old Mrs. Tian remembered, and just as she was about to continue scolding along those lines, she heard Erxi say,
"Then it'll be my Grandma Chen next door's turn. Her first sentence always scolds you: you like to talk nonsense all day. You don't like your eldest son's family, but you dote on your younger son who lies around all day."
Old Mrs. Tian: ...
Erxi: "Even if you don't say anything, my Grandma Chen will continue to scold: An old hen can hatch chicks by nesting, but what has your younger son hatched by lying around all day? Hahaha, he hasn't hatched anything, has he?"
Erxi's imitation was so vivid that even Grandma Chen and her family, who had come out to watch the commotion, didn't realize it. Grandma Chen was laughing so hard that she almost collapsed, and her eldest grandson had to support her.
Tian Xingwang saw Grandma Chen's family come out and nodded with a smile.
Alas, after so many years, he, who once valued face so much, now cared about nothing.
To put it bluntly, what was the use of caring?
If he hadn't stopped her in time today, and his mother's thick branch had hit his son's head, would his son still be alive?
His heart felt colder than the icy wilderness of Liaodong.
Old Mrs. Tian was the first to see Grandma Chen's family come out. The way they looked at her was like looking at a performing monkey.
What to do! It was too humiliating to get up from the ground herself. She wanted her eldest son to help her up, but it seemed difficult.
This brat's gaze towards her today was colder than the ground beneath her buttocks. Old Mrs. Tian knew she had gone too far this time.
The two families had lived next door for several years, and Grandma Chen knew exactly what kind of person Old Mrs. Tian was.
"Alright, it's a cold day, we've seen enough. Hurry inside. Because of that unreliable old woman, it's not worth it for all of us to freeze and get sick."
After Grandma Chen spoke, she led the way back inside.
Old Mrs. Tian also felt a chill, and the ground beneath her was icy cold. She struggled to get up and ran inside.
Tian Xingwang said nothing, but walked towards the woodshed.
"Dad?"
"Fetch firewood to heat the kang."
"Dad, you've finally come to your senses."
"Mm."
"Dad, it's right for you to think this way. This firewood and branches were all picked up by our family, yet we are reluctant to use them. Those who haven't picked firewood use them quite readily. How unfair it is to us!"
"I know."
"Dad, don't forget, otherwise someone will use the branches you picked to smash your son's head."
"She dares!" Tian Xingwang was truly angry. You shouldn't even call her "mother."
The voices of father and son were loud enough for Old Mrs. Tian and the younger son's family to hear.
Tian Xingsheng, unusually, got up from the kang before mealtime.
He looked at Old Mrs. Tian, who had just come in from outside, and began to complain, "Mother, how many times have I told you? You can hit my brother, but you cannot hit Da Niu and Erxi."