Chapter 18

The next day, Wang Yong woke up to find himself lying on the kang (a traditional Chinese bed). He seemed to have drunk too much with Da Wei yesterday and had fallen asleep on the floor, but somehow ended up on the kang. A strong sense of thirst made Wang Yong feel as if his throat was on fire, and his head throbbed as if pierced by needles, a clear sign of a hangover. He rubbed his head, somewhat regretting the amount he had drunk the previous night.

Wang Yong got up and poured himself a cup of spiritual spring water, then drank it in one go. The sweet and cool spiritual spring water immediately soothed his burning throat and refreshed his heart. His headache seemed to lessen, and Wang Yong stared blankly at the now empty cup, surprised that the spiritual spring water had such a hangover-relieving effect. Since it worked, he decided to drink more. He drank three large cups of spiritual spring water, which completely cleared his head, making him feel energetic and vibrant, with no signs of having drunk too much.

It was already past seven, so he picked a tomato from the small world and made a bowl of tomato and egg noodle soup. After finishing the bowl of soup, Wang Yong, feeling satisfied, walked out of the house. He first went to the chicken coop to give the chickens some cracked corn for breakfast and filled the water trough with spiritual spring water. As soon as the water was released, a group of large and small chickens rushed over, surrounding Wang Yong, who had not yet moved away. Some of the bolder chicks even jumped onto Wang Yong and then into the water trough. More clever ones followed, using Wang Yong as a stepping stone. Wang Yong had to quickly run out of the chicken coop and go to the greenhouse.

The weather was nice today, with a gentle breeze and bright sunshine. The early morning chill had been dispelled by the sun rising to the treetops. Wang Yong pressed the switch to roll up the straw curtains of the greenhouse, allowing the vegetables inside to bask in the sun. A light breeze gently brushed his face, tickling like a lover's hand. The warm sun made him feel lazy and unwilling to move. Sparrows and magpies flew through the orchard, gathering food for the winter. Wang Yong leaned against a tree, squinting in the sun, half asleep. Suddenly, he heard someone approaching and opened his eyes to see Wang Qian, who made him frown.

The only person who could make Wang Yong react like this was Wang Qian, the new favorite at home. Since this girl came to Ban Shan Village, not only had the family "defected," but even the villagers had been charmed by her sweet words and youthful beauty, praising her so much that she was content to stay and spend the Mid-Autumn Festival with her grandparents before returning to Beijing for school. Her cleverness was not surprising, given that she had been accepted into the psychology program at Beijing University.

Wang Qian tiptoed towards him, and Wang Yong pretended not to notice, continuing to squint. When she was close enough to scare him, Wang Yong suddenly stood up and shouted, "Ah—" then patted the grass leaves off his buttocks and walked towards his grandfather. Wang Qian, startled by Wang Yong's sudden movement and shout, trembled and fell to the ground. After a while, she recovered and, seeing Wang Yong leisurely walking with his grandfather, felt a surge of anger. She let out a loud cry and pounced on Wang Yong, claws and all. After a bit of roughhousing, they started bickering.

"Big lazybones, stinky drunkard, I had to carry you and Da Wei to the kang last night, and I was drenched in sweat. If I hadn't, you would have slept on the floor. How are you going to thank me?" Wang Qian lifted her head and looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, a playful look on her face as if expecting him to thank her properly.

Wang Yong looked at Wang Qian, who was basking in her own self-importance, and decided to satisfy her wish. After all, she was his sister, and she had indeed put in a lot of effort last night. As the older brother, he should show some appreciation. So, he lifted his head at a 45-degree angle, raised his chin, and said, "Thank you."

Seeing Wang Yong's arrogant look and hearing his sarcastic "thank you," Wang Qian felt deeply wronged. She had helped her grandfather carry the "bad brother" to the kang, cleaned up the table, and spent an hour doing chores. When she left, she even made sure to close the door for him. Now he was teasing her. The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt, and her eyes began to well up with tears. Her long eyelashes fluttered, and a tear formed in her bright eyes, quickly rolling down her fair cheeks, past her pouting lips, and over her round chin, finally landing in the grass.

Wang Yong was taken aback. Why was she crying now?

Grandpa also saw and was puzzled. Why was she crying when she was fine just a moment ago? In the eyes of the elderly, the older one should always yield to and take care of the younger one. Not only did Wang Yong not yield, but he also made her cry. How could he not be punished? So, Grandpa pretended to hit Wang Yong a few times on the head and quickly comforted his granddaughter, "See, I've taught your brother a lesson. He won't dare to bully you again."

This only made Wang Qian cry even harder, burying her face in her grandfather's chest. This left both Grandpa and Wang Yong at a loss. Finally, whether it was because of the numerous conditions and benefits Wang Yong promised or because Wang Qian had cried enough, she stopped. Both Grandpa and Wang Yong breathed a sigh of relief. They looked at each other, and from each other's eyes, they understood: women are hard to please, and it's best to avoid them.

Wang Qian suddenly smiled slyly, her tear-streaked face radiating an indescribable pride. "But you promised to always yield to me, to give me the best food first, to do all the hard work, and to be available whenever I need you. No backing out! Grandpa, you be the witness."

Wang Yong was truly at a loss. Women are not to be provoked! Men must remember this, or they will surely suffer.

At this moment, voices were heard from the foot of the mountain. They looked and saw that it was Da Wei's father, Gao Guoqing, and his grandson, Mingming, coming over. Speaking of Da Wei's nephew, who was not yet four years old, he was definitely the most peculiar child in Ban Shan Village.

One day, Mingming saw a funeral in the village where a person was lying on a board, and a group of people were kneeling in front of the person, wailing. He thought it was fun and joined in, kneeling and pretending to wail. His grandfather, angry, slapped him on the buttocks, turning his pretend crying into real crying.

The next day, Mingming wanted his grandfather to play with him. He saw his grandfather lying on a reclining chair, motionless, and started pulling him with his small hands. After a while, with no response, he remembered what he had seen the day before. Thinking it was fun, he filled his toy basin with sand, stuck three sticks in it, and knelt down to cry. At first, his grandfather didn't pay attention, but when he heard Mingming crying and remembered the previous day, his face turned black with anger, almost causing a stroke.

Another time, when Mingming was about two and a half, he would cry and misbehave, and his grandmother would pull his ears, saying, "Mingming, your dog ears are not listening." Mingming had a good memory, especially for names. One day, his grandfather went to play cards and didn't return for dinner. His grandmother took him to call his grandfather back. As soon as they arrived and she put him on the kang, before she could say anything, Mingming grabbed his grandfather's ears and imitated his grandmother, saying, "Guoqing, your dog ears are not listening! Come home for dinner." Everyone in the room burst out laughing.

Since Wang Yong had been visiting their supermarket frequently, he was familiar with the boy. Seeing him holding a large date, Wang Yong teased him, "Mingming, give Uncle one, will you?"

The little boy, hearing this, spread his legs and exposed his little penis, saying, "Just one!"

Everyone burst out laughing. Wang Qian was laughing so hard that tears streamed down her face, and she had to hold her stomach, leaning on Grandpa. His grandfather, angry, raised his hand but didn't hit him, gently patting him and saying, "You silly boy."

But the little boy knew that "silly" was not a good word. Hearing his grandfather call him silly, he lifted his head, reached out, and said, "Guoqing, your dog ears are not listening?"

This made even his grandfather laugh.

Finally, Wang Qian took Mingming away, saying she would take him to pick more dates, which saved him from his grandfather's wrath.

"Guoqing, what brings you to the mountain?" Grandpa asked.

Gao Guoqing smiled bitterly and said, "It's all because of my precious grandson. Yesterday, when you and Qianqian came to the store to buy soy sauce, Qianqian gave him some dates. He ate two, and we each had one, leaving two. He wouldn't give them to anyone, even when sleeping. This morning, he ate one and, seeing only one left, didn't want to eat it. Then he said he wanted to play with a pretty aunt. I guessed he wanted to get more dates from Qianqian. He was so persistent that we came to your place. Your aunt said you were on the mountain, so we came over."

Grandpa chuckled, "This little guy is a real smart aleck! The dates are from the new variety of trees Wang Yong bought. They produced a lot this year. Go and pick some more for him."

"Sure, I won't be shy," Gao Guoqing said.

"You don't need to be. Wang Yong has caused enough trouble at your place!"

"Grandpa, that was years ago. Why are you bringing it up now?" Wang Yong said, annoyed.

Gao Guoqing continued, "Years ago? The day before Da Wei went to technical school, you two stole alcohol from the store, remember?"

This reminded Wang Yong. Da Wei was going to a technical school in Zhili City, and Wang Yong said he would throw a farewell party. Da Wei said there was no need for Wang Yong to prepare anything, so they took a bottle of liquor, a pack of cigarettes, some sausages, and a can of food from his parents' store when they weren't looking. They went up the mountain, found a sheltered spot, and started drinking and eating. It was Wang Yong's first time drinking, and the first sip burned his tongue, making him stick it out. Da Wei laughed at him. When Wang Yong lit a cigarette and took a puff, he choked and coughed, and it was Wang Yong's turn to laugh. They both got so drunk that they passed out. When it got dark and they hadn't returned home, their families searched the village with flashlights, causing a commotion. When they found the two, they were still sound asleep. Seeing the empty cigarette pack and liquor bottle, everyone knew what had happened. The next day, Da Wei was taken to Zhili by his father, and Wang Yong stayed at Grandpa's for over half a month.

Seeing Wang Yong's embarrassed expression, Grandpa laughed and said, "This little Mingming is quite like you two when you were young!"

Gao Guoqing agreed, "That's true. This kid is stingy with everyone, never giving anything to anyone. But with Da Wei and Wang Yong, he's closer than with his own parents!"

Just as they were talking about Mingming, his cries and Wang Qian's laughter came from the chicken coop. The three of them quickly went to see what was happening. When they arrived, they saw Wang Qian holding a branch to block an angry rooster, protecting Mingming, who was crying, while she laughed uncontrollably. Seeing Wang Yong, she waved him over for help. Wang Yong quickly ran over and chased away the rooster, which had bright, aggressive feathers. He then asked Wang Qian what had happened.

It turned out that after Wang Qian and Mingming picked some dates, the little boy heard a rooster and wanted to see it. Wang Qian took him to the chicken coop, where they saw a rooster fighting a squirrel. The rooster, with its strong, colorful body, chased the squirrel around, even up a tree. The squirrel couldn't escape the rooster's "pursuit." The rooster flew up to the branch and continued chasing the squirrel until it left the chicken coop. Wang Qian exclaimed, "This is a fighter rooster!" Mingming, excited, kept shouting, "Fighter rooster!" Wang Qian grabbed some cracked corn from the warehouse and threw it to the rooster, and a group of chickens rushed over to eat. Mingming, seeing this, wanted to feed the chickens too. Wang Qian gave him some corn, and he ran to the rooster, which was standing aside, watching. The little boy, timid, pulled back his hand each time the rooster tried to eat. After a few tries, the rooster got angry, fluffed its feathers, and prepared to attack. Mingming, scared, threw all the corn and a group of chickens rushed over. Some that didn't get any corn surrounded Mingming and called out. One chick suddenly jumped and pecked Mingming's little penis, causing him to cry out in pain.

Seeing what had happened, the three quickly pulled Mingming over to check his injury. Fortunately, the chick was small, and the injury was not serious, not even breaking the skin. With everyone's comfort, Mingming slowly stopped crying. Suddenly, he choked out, "Fighter rooster! Fighter rooster!" pointing to the rooster.

It was truly a mix of laughter and tears.

These days are quite busy, and the update times are uncertain. However, I will try to update daily.

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