Chapter 33: Little Fart Spirit

Hua Qi and Xiu Niang had just sent Qiaozi, who had come to ask about the news, out the front door when Bailing arrived right after her.

Bailing familiarly leaned in front of Yun Shan and touched his little face. She asked Hua Qi, “What happened with the tiles later?”

“Qiu Sheng took them to go talk things over with that boss,” Xiu Niang said, worried. She was afraid Qiu Sheng would not be able to hold Xi Jue and Dou Ming back.

“Where’s Tuo Tuo?” Bailing asked about the boy who was learning weaving from her. “I even saw Dou Ming and Xiao Cong this morning and told those two to have Tuo Tuo come find me this afternoon to learn weaving. Why aren’t those two here either?”

Xiu Niang answered, “Qiu Sheng took them all along.”

Bailing blinked. “Why did they only take Tuo Tuo and Xiao Cong? Huaniang, you should have carried Yun Shan along too.”

“How so?” Hua Qi asked curiously. “What use would bringing Yun Shan be for this sort of thing?” A human cub had not the slightest bit of offensive power and could not even speak.

“Exactly. What use would bringing Yun Shan be?” Xiu Niang asked along with him.

Bailing slapped her thigh with a sharp smack and said loudly, “Make a fuss!” “The money we farm folk earn is all hard-earned money. Why should we let those bosses cheat us out of it? Bring the child to their door and cry. A little cub at home needs money for clothes and food too.”

Hua Qi turned his face away, bored. He had thought Bailing might have some good idea, but it turned out to be the same old trick of crying, making a scene, and threatening to hang oneself. He was not going to cry.

Bailing enthusiastically tried to persuade him. “Huaniang, this trick really works. Someone in my maiden village used this method to collect a debt.”

“Not going, not going. With Xi Jue and Dou Ming there, there’s no need for that,” Hua Qi refused.

Seeing that Hua Qi truly was not interested, Bailing instead started talking about Uncle Dayun, who lived in front of her house. “Uncle Dayun brought home a white puppy today.”

Xiu Niang smiled. “Whose family did he get it from?”

“He didn’t get it from anyone’s family. The puppy ran to his house on its own.” Bailing leaned closer and said mysteriously, “Uncle Dayun said this puppy is Auntie Dayun reincarnated. Auntie Dayun told him so in a dream the day before yesterday. This is uncanny. His eldest daughter-in-law didn’t believe it and said it was some other family’s puppy that accidentally ran to his house. But after asking around the village, no family had lost a white puppy. Who knows where this puppy came from.”

Xiu Niang said, “Oh my, then that really is uncanny.”

“Isn’t it? Uncle Dayun even said he’s going to take the puppy up the mountain to fulfill a vow.”

“With something this miraculous, he really should go fulfill it,” Xiu Niang agreed.

“That isn’t all. Yesterday, Uncle Dayun and his eldest daughter-in-law had just quarreled. Today they quarreled again over the dog.” Bailing continued, “His eldest daughter-in-law said the house wasn’t clean and that she also wanted to go up the mountain to pray. She said this dog came in a sinister way and couldn’t be kept. Would Uncle Dayun allow that? He’s missed Auntie Dayun for all these years, and now Auntie Dayun finally entrusted him with a dream. But his eldest daughter-in-law won’t let him keep the dog. They made a scene for half the day and nearly came to blows. Uncle Dayun was so angry he didn’t even eat lunch.”

Inwardly, Hua Qi blamed Xi Jue. If they had not let humans see it, there would not be so many problems now.

Bailing stayed at Xiu Niang’s house for about an hour. Seeing the sun sink lower, she rose to leave. “I won’t keep chatting with you. I have to hurry home and cook. Mao Shan went out to work today, so I have to make a good meal tonight.”

“My family picked seven or eight loofahs today. I’ll get you two to take with you.” Xiu Niang hurried into the kitchen and handed two loofahs to Bailing.

“Thank you, Xiu Niang. I’m leaving. Tomorrow, if there’s nothing else going on, remember to have Tuo Tuo come find me. I’m waiting to teach him how to sort thread.”

Hua Qi replied, “I’ll definitely have him go tomorrow.”

Bailing left cheerfully, and Xiu Niang also began preparing to boil water and cook.

“Waaah—waaah—” Yun Shan, who was staying in the cradle, suddenly began to cry.

Without needing to look at the diaper, Hua Qi, standing nearby, could already smell the stench. He pulled a diaper down from the clothesline, picked Yun Shan up, and placed him on the wooden table under the tree. Lifting the diaper, Hua Qi turned his head aside in disgust.

Yun Shan’s bottom was wet, making him extremely uncomfortable. He cried aggrievedly with his little mouth puckered. Hua Qi coaxed him, “Good Yun Shan, don’t cry. I’ll change your diaper right now.”

He pulled out the dirty diaper and had originally planned to grab it and wipe Yun Shan’s bottom with it, but the damp, clammy feel truly disgusted Hua Qi. He tossed the diaper onto the muddy ground at the side, dipped the clean diaper in his hand into water, and wiped Yun Shan’s bottom clean. Then he pulled another clean diaper from the rope and changed Yun Shan into it.

First, he drew water and rinsed the dirty diaper properly, then carried it over and tossed it into water to soak. The basin also still had the diaper Yun Shan had changed out of that morning soaking in it. Only after Yun Shan finished bathing at night would Hua Qi wash the diapers.

Hua Qi scratched Yun Shan’s little belly and jokingly asked, “Are your intestines straight or what? How can you poop this much? I think you poop two more times a day than Chun Hua.”

Yun Shan answered Hua Qi with giggles, mixed with a string of loud farts.

“Hey, hey, you can’t be serious. You just pooped.” Hua Qi nervously lifted the diaper and was relieved to find that Yun Shan’s bottom was perfectly clean underneath. He pinched Yun Shan’s little hand and tapped his little nose. “Little fart spirit. Where do you get so many farts every day?”

Yun Shan opened his little mouth wide and smiled at Hua Qi.

Xiu Niang heard the commotion outside from the kitchen, and her heart filled with amusement. She had never seen a mother dislike her own child so much.

Boss Wan closed the courtyard and left with a group of workers. When he passed Xi Jue’s group, he turned his head away.

Dou Ming shouted provocatively, “Black-hearted Boss Wan who sells tiles, bullying outsiders on purpose! Selling bad tiles as good tiles, refusing to refund deposits, and bringing hired thugs!”

Boss Wan was so angry that his chest rose and fell rapidly. He forcefully endured the urge to glare at Dou Ming and kept his body turned aside, closing his eyes as he told himself to stay calm, stay calm. If he endured this, the matter would pass. He refused to believe this family would stop eating and drinking just to dig in against him.

After waiting nearly half an hour, Qiu Sheng saw that Boss Wan still had not returned and guessed in his heart that Boss Wan probably would not come back today. Since the sun was also leaning westward, Qiu Sheng said they should go home.

Xiao Cong had sold two jin of the peaches he had brought and collected four wen in total. He ran over and handed the four wen to Xi Jue, feeling delighted. The remaining peaches were divided one to each person, and the basket was empty. Xiao Cong had also kept two peaches for Xiu Niang and Hua Qi.

When Qiu Sheng arrived home, Xiu Niang and Hua Qi had just finished making dinner.

Hua Qi asked about the situation that afternoon, and Xi Jue said unhurriedly, “We shouted the slogans. Originally, someone wanted to buy tiles, but after hearing our slogans, he came over to ask. Once he knew Boss Wan was black-hearted, he left.”

“Well done.” Hua Qi was pleased. This was exactly what they needed to do, ruin their business.

“You didn’t get into a fight, did you?” Xiu Niang asked with concern.

“How could there not be a fight?” Qiu Sheng said. “I stopped them, told them not to fight, that they’d definitely lose out. But I couldn’t hold them back. That group of people wouldn’t listen and insisted on fighting. It was those ten big men from the morning, standing in a neat row. They looked scary. One of them charged at Dou Ming.”

Qiu Sheng clicked his tongue. “Dou Ming can knock down an ox. What’s one big man to him? He grabbed that big man’s fist in one hand. Good thing I shouted that we’d have to pay compensation if he broke his arm. Our Dou Ming is sensible, so he let the man go. Otherwise, that arm would’ve been ruined.”

Dou Ming gave a light snort, still unhappy inside. He quickly finished his rice, tossed down the words, “I’m going up the mountain,” then turned and left the courtyard.

“Why go up the mountain this late? It’s dangerous at night.” Xiu Niang set down her chopsticks with a clack and quickly stood up, shouting toward the courtyard gate, “Dou Ming, don’t go up the mountain. You won’t be able to see in the mountains at night.”

“Let him go.” Hua Qi pulled Xiu Niang back down. “He’s unhappy. Let him go out for a walk.”

“What’s there to be happy or unhappy about? A child even has things weighing on his mind now. While Dou Ming isn’t here, and Xi Jue, Tuo Tuo, and Xiao Cong are all here, Huaniang, I have to advise you.”

Xiu Niang turned and started talking about Hua Qi.

“Dou Ming is such a sensible child. Whenever something happens at home, he’s the first to charge forward. He’s young and doesn’t know what should or shouldn’t be said. Don’t lower yourself to his level.”

“Ah.” Hua Qi dryly agreed and swallowed a large mouthful of vegetables with a gulp.

“And you all shouldn’t be too partial to Yun Shan. Dou Ming, Tuo Tuo, and Xiao Cong, you have to take care of all of them. They all call you Mother.”

Hua Qi thought, Which one of these boys have you ever seen call me Mother? The one who thinks I’m his mother is still a little cub who doesn’t understand anything.

“That’s right.” Qiu Sheng held his bowl and joined Xiu Niang in persuading him. “No matter how many children are at home, you still have to be fair to everyone. Right now Yun Shan is younger, so it’s natural that you should dote on him more. But in the future, the four children all have to be treated the same.”

Hua Qi looked toward Tuo Tuo and Xiao Cong. The two little ones held their bowls and looked as if they wished they could bury their heads inside them. They did not need to receive the same treatment as Little Temple Master. As long as Hua Qi did not bully demons, that was enough.

Xi Jue had just slurped down a big mouthful of rice porridge with sour pickled beans when Qiu Sheng called him out by name. “Xi Jue, I think you’re even more partial than Hua Qi.”

Xi Jue’s hand paused. He lifted his head and swept his gaze over Qiu Sheng, then asked after some consideration, “How am I partial?” He had not spent as much time with these little ones as Hua Qi had. Besides, he had never bullied the demons on the mountain.

“How are you not partial? I still remember the matter with the iron shovels,” Qiu Sheng said unhappily. “Hua Qi is Yun Shan’s birth mother, so of course she treats Yun Shan well. You’re the birth father of Dou Ming, Tuo Tuo, and Xiao Cong. Those three don’t have a mother. If you’re partial too, how are you asking those three children to live?”

How had the matter of the iron shovels become his fault? Xiao Cong had said it himself; they were the ones who wanted to go farm. Why couldn’t Qiu Sheng… Ah, Xi Jue only felt that one mouth was not enough. He opened his mouth, then did not know what to say. Why didn’t Qiu Sheng understand?

The tiger, with strong limbs and a thick, long tail, ran up and down Yunling Mountain twice, yet still felt a knot of pent-up frustration in his heart. He stood at the mountaintop, facing the wind, opened his mouth, and let out a tiger roar. It frightened the animals on the mountain into fleeing in panic in every direction. After roaring out that breath, his heart felt much more comfortable, and Dou Ming lay down to lick his fur.

A gust of wind rose from the flat ground. Within the swirling wind, Hong Shan appeared, leaning on his carved wooden staff. The first thing he asked was, “Why is Dou Ming angry?”

Dou Ming rested his big head on his front paws and told Hong Shan what had happened that day.

Hong Shan stroked his beard and said, “Humans are complicated by nature. When you walk in the human world, you must be more careful.”

Dou Ming lay there listlessly and complained in a quiet voice, “Who made the rule that demons aren’t allowed to strike first? Those people really deserved a beating. Uncle Qiu Sheng said we’d have to pay them money if I broke their arms. They cheated us out of two taels of silver, and I still have to pay them money? I won’t do it!”

Hong Shan patiently listened to the little tiger’s complaints. Only after the little tiger had spoken himself tired did he say, “The human world is naturally different from the mountain. You must listen more, look more, and learn more. Every Temple Master of Yunling Temple spent hundreds of years going down the mountain to travel, which shows that there is too much in the human world worth seeing. Your thoughts are simple, so when you encounter matters, you must not be rash or impatient. In all things, discuss more with Hua Qi and Xi Jue.”

Dou Ming nodded his big head and let the mountain wind blow over him for a while longer before following the small path down the mountain.

“Lord Dou Ming.” The little sparrow flapped its wings and chased after him. “I heard at the foot of the mountain that someone made things difficult for you?”

“We ran into a black-hearted boss who sells tiles.” Dou Ming’s mood was already much better by now, so he was willing to say a few more words to the little sparrow. “We can’t strike first, so there’s no way to snatch the money back. But Hua Qi has already thought of an idea.”

“Tiles?” The little sparrow flapped its wings and flew beside Dou Ming as it asked, “Did it delay building a house for our Little Temple Master?”

Dou Ming curled his lip. “Isn’t that exactly it? We don’t have money in hand right now, so we have to slowly save up money again before buying tiles.”

“That was the money we saved by picking up branches in the woods!” the little sparrow chirped angrily. “How can this person be so bad? I’m going to tell everyone.”

“What use is telling them? You can’t casually go down the mountain. There are hunters living below.” Dou Ming reminded it worriedly, “Don’t go down the mountain. Prey hit by hunters gets sold to restaurants in town. Their skins get peeled off and made into clothes for people, and their meat gets chopped up and stir-fried in a pot.”

The little sparrow shuddered from his fright and promised, “Lord Dou Ming, don’t worry. We won’t run around recklessly.”

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