Chapter 37: Tuo Tuo Snatches Candy

Xiu Niang was in the kitchen, feeding the fire and cooking, when she heard Qiu Sheng shout excitedly from the courtyard, “The ox cart is finished!” “Our family has our own ox cart now. We don’t have to borrow from next door anymore.”

Xiu Niang came running happily out of the kitchen with her spatula in hand. She stroked the body of the cart, obvious excitement on her face. “Qiu Sheng, hitch the ox up. Let our family’s ox cart get on the road.”

“Got it.”

Qiu Sheng led the ox over and set the shafts onto it. The water buffalo swung its tail uneasily, stamping all four hooves as it lowed again and again. “Moo—”

Dou Ming, who had been glared at several times by Hua Qi, had finally found someone to take it out on. He smacked the ox on the head and snapped fiercely, “What are you mooing for? Pull the cart properly! Watch it, or I’ll beat you up!”

The water buffalo lowered its head fearfully. It stopped moving around and resigned itself to pulling the cart forward at a slow pace.

Xiu Niang grabbed Qiu Sheng’s arm and said excitedly, “Look, look, our family’s cart can move. Come on, come on, let’s get on and try it.”

The water buffalo did not walk fast. Xiu Niang jogged a few steps, braced herself on the cart plank, and jumped onto the cart with Qiu Sheng. Before the water buffalo could even leave the courtyard, Xiu Niang jumped back down and said joyfully, “Our family really has an ox cart now!”

Tuo Tuo and Xiao Cong clung to the side of the ox cart and climbed up. Dou Ming did not want to stay with Hua Qi right now, so he jumped onto the cart too. Qiu Sheng drove the ox, and after circling the village twice with them, he headed straight for the west side of the village. Qiu Sheng’s wife’s family lived on the westernmost side of the village.

Yun Shan had cried so hard for so long that he had long since fallen deeply asleep in Hua Qi’s arms. Even Qiu Sheng and Xiu Niang’s excited shouts just now had failed to wake him.

Xiu Niang advised from the side, “Don’t blame Dou Ming. He knew there was something fun and wanted to play with his little brother too. That’s a good thing. Who could’ve known a cicada would fall into Yun Shan’s mouth?”

Hua Qi lowered his head and looked at Yun Shan, who was sleeping sweetly in his arms with his little mouth pouted. His black-grape-like eyes were closed now, and there were still teardrops clinging to his eyelashes. Hua Qi’s brows knit tightly, and he said in a low voice, “I don’t blame him.” He just felt that his own reaction when Yun Shan cried earlier had been a little strange.

Yun Shan cried when his bottom felt uncomfortable, and cried when he was hungry too. Hua Qi could hear Yun Shan cry several times every day. But he had never heard Yun Shan wail at the top of his lungs for that long before. His little voice had even gone hoarse from crying. Hua Qi only felt as though his heart had twisted into a knot. If he could have suffered that fright in Yun Shan’s place, he would have been more than willing.

This kind of feeling had never appeared in his more than eight hundred years of life as a snake.

“Before this, I even thought Dou Ming was steady. Not at all like the thirteen- or fourteen-year-old children in the village who climb trees to steal bird eggs and go down to the river to catch fish every day. I didn’t expect he’d also be a naughty rascal who climbs trees to catch cicadas.” Xiu Niang smiled as she continued slicing eggplant.

Dou Ming, steady? Hua Qi chuckled softly. Dou Ming was already five hundred years old and still pounced on butterflies on the mountain every day. If anything, during these days in the human world, his mischievous nature had restrained itself quite a bit.

The westernmost side of Dongwang Village was covered in wide stretches of farmland. Three mud houses standing among the vast fields were especially conspicuous.

Beside the bamboo fence, two patched-up boys were lying head-to-head on the ground.

Qiu Sheng stopped the ox cart and called, “Da Mao, Er Mao.”

The two dirty-faced boys climbed up from the ground and shouted in unison, “Uncle.” When they saw the ox cart, they were clearly excited. With dirt all over them, they ran forward and started climbing onto the cart.

Xiao Cong noticed that Er Mao’s shoes had already been mended. This time, his big toe was obediently tucked inside the shoe.

Once the two boys climbed onto the ox cart, they were beside themselves with excitement. They shouted noisily from the cart, “Dad, Mom, Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle is here.”

“I heard, I heard.” Wan Niang quickly came out of the kitchen. Seeing Qiu Sheng, she said warmly, “Stay for dinner tonight. I’ll wash two extra handfuls of rice.”

Qiu Sheng jumped down from the ox cart and hurriedly waved his hands. “No, no. Xiu Niang already made my meal.” He scratched his head and said, both excited and grateful, “Sister-in-law, this is our family’s ox cart. If the family needs to use an ox cart, just come to my house. Xiu Niang is always home.”

“Your family’s ox cart?” Honest and simple Wang Da Shan, his elder brother-in-law, came forward to touch the ox’s horns, then squatted to look at its hooves. “This is a good ox. I heard Xiu Niang say it only cost nine taels of silver. It’s really worth it!”

“Because this ox has a bad temper, I got a bargain. Otherwise, where could nine taels of silver buy an ox like this?”

Qiu Sheng said quietly, embarrassed, “I specially drove it over to let Big Brother, Sister-in-law, Father, and Mother see. This money of ours was well spent. From now on, if the family has any use for an ox, don’t be too embarrassed to ask. The family was able to lend us two taels of silver. Xiu Niang and I both remember that.”

The sun hung in the western sky. Cooking smoke was drifting from the kitchen. Little green persimmons hung from the large persimmon tree in the courtyard. A large yellow-and-white cat slowly walked along the base of the wall, followed by two kittens of the same color.

Da Mao and Er Mao led Tuo Tuo and Xiao Cong to talk in the corner outside the kitchen.

Da Mao asked, “Tuo Tuo, is your family really poor? How come you never wear clothes?”

Er Mao said, “Yeah. How come your family can’t even afford one piece of clothing?”

Tuo Tuo snorted. “It’s not that we can’t afford it. Wearing this in summer is cool.”

“Oh.” Da Mao and Er Mao paused for a moment. Er Mao took out a tiny piece of candy from his clothes. It was only about the size of a thumbnail. He asked, “Have you eaten candy before? My aunt bought this for me.”

“I have one too.” Da Mao quickly took out his own candy.

Tuo Tuo had never seen the candy in Da Mao and Er Mao’s hands before. His eyes widened as he asked curiously, “Is it good?”

“It’s super good.” Da Mao peeled open the candy wrapper and licked it.

Tuo Tuo pressed his lips together. “You have two pieces of candy. Give one to me and Xiao Cong, and you two can share one.”

“No!” Er Mao immediately refused. “I only have this one piece. Da Mao only has one too.”

“If you give me candy to eat, next time I’ll give you something to eat too,” Tuo Tuo coaxed the two human children.

“What do you have to eat?” Da Mao asked.

Tuo Tuo promised, “Meat. We eat meat every day. If you give me candy to eat, tomorrow you can come to Xiu Niang’s house and eat meat.”

“You’re lying! My aunt’s family isn’t rich enough to buy meat.” Da Mao warily hid his candy behind his back.

“Who’s lying to you? Our meat isn’t bought with money. Dou Ming hunts it from the mountain every day. We really eat meat every day. Right, Xiao Cong?” Tuo Tuo turned to look at Xiao Cong.

Xiao Cong nodded.

Da Mao and Er Mao looked at each other and discussed quietly, “The meat Auntie brought last time was wild boar meat, and she said it was hunted from the mountain. Tuo Tuo probably isn’t lying to us.”

After the two brothers finished discussing, Da Mao handed the candy in his hand to Tuo Tuo.

Tuo Tuo immediately shook his head and said, “You licked that one. I want Er Mao’s candy.”

“Aren’t they all the same?” Da Mao muttered, pulling his hand back.

Er Mao gave his candy to Tuo Tuo.

Tuo Tuo impatiently peeled open the candy wrapper, bit the candy in half, gave one half to Xiao Cong, and put the other half straight into his mouth. The candy was delicately sweet, a little different from the sweetness of honey.

After Xiao Cong licked it once, he knew what candy tasted like. He wrapped the half piece of candy back in the wrapper and stuffed it into his pocket. He wanted to take it back so Little Temple Master Yunshan could taste it too.

Da Mao and Er Mao could not bear to eat theirs in one bite. The two of them leaned their heads together and took turns sharing it, one lick from you, one lick from me. Neither of them could bear to put the candy into their mouths.

Tuo Tuo crunched the candy to pieces and swallowed it in one gulp. Turning his head, he saw that Da Mao and Er Mao’s candy was still there. “You don’t like eating candy? Why aren’t you eating it? I’ll help you eat it.”

Without waiting for Da Mao or Er Mao to speak, Tuo Tuo snatched the piece of candy from Da Mao’s hand. Disdainfully, he wiped it with the candy wrapper first, then tossed it into his mouth.

After Da Mao and Er Mao reacted, both of them opened their mouths and began bawling one after the other.

Tuo Tuo’s cheeks bulged, his face full of surprise. “Why are you two crying?”

“You stole our candy!” Da Mao and Er Mao charged at him, wanting to pin Tuo Tuo down.

Tuo Tuo slipped between Da Mao and Er Mao like a loach, turned, and ran.

“Stop right there! You stole our candy!” Da Mao and Er Mao chased him while crying.

The sound of the two children crying drew the attention of the adults in the courtyard. Sister-in-law Wan Niang shouted, “Da Mao, Er Mao, don’t you two bully Tuo Tuo!”

Tuo Tuo ran at the very front, Da Mao and Er Mao chased behind him, and Xiao Cong trailed at the very back.

Although Tuo Tuo was plump and soft, he had always loved moving around, so he was very nimble when he ran. Qiu Sheng watched as he grabbed onto the ox cart, stuck up his bare white bottom, tucked both feet upward, and very quickly climbed onto the ox cart.

Da Mao and Er Mao chased him to the side of the ox cart and wanted to climb up too, but Wan Niang grabbed each of them by the collar and pulled them back. “What are you two doing!”

“Tuo Tuo stole our candy. Boohoo.” Da Mao cried to his mother.

Wan Niang knew that Da Mao and Er Mao’s candy had been bought by her elder sister. And each of them had only gotten one piece. Her heart ached as she stroked Da Mao and Er Mao’s heads. “Next time we go to town, Mother will buy you candy.”

Dou Ming grabbed Tuo Tuo by his skyward braid and looked at the ginseng spirit with a face full of disdain. “Why did you steal a child’s things?”

“I saw they weren’t eating it, so I helped them eat it.” Seeing Da Mao and Er Mao crying so miserably, Tuo Tuo knew he had done wrong. He bent down slightly and jumped off the cart, then stood in front of Da Mao and Er Mao and said, “Tomorrow, come to Xiu Niang’s house to eat meat. Tomorrow I’ll go up the mountain and find honey for you. It’s as good as candy, even sweeter than candy.”

Er Mao looked at Tuo Tuo through tear-blurred eyes. “Really? You liar! Waa—”

Tuo Tuo stamped his foot. “Really! Ask Xiao Cong if you don’t believe me.”

Xiao Cong stood helplessly to the side and nodded. “Really. Tomorrow we’ll bring honey down from the mountain for you to eat.”

“Can we still eat meat tomorrow?” Da Mao asked.

Tuo Tuo said, “Yes. Come to Xiu Niang’s house tomorrow and look for me.”

Wan Niang hurriedly said, “What meat are you eating? You two stay obediently at home.”

Qiu Sheng stopped her and said, “If Tuo Tuo says there’s meat, then there’s meat. Sister-in-law, Tuo Tuo’s older brother—Dou Ming—can hunt.” Qiu Sheng introduced Dou Ming to his wife’s family and joked, “Their family doesn’t lack meat. Let Da Mao and Er Mao eat their fill.”

Qin Niang was strolling around the village when she heard people say Qiu Sheng’s family had an ox cart now. Qin Niang curled her lip. If they could afford to buy an ox cart, why had they come to her family to borrow money? Qiu Sheng did not even look at what kind of days his family was living compared to what kind of days hers was living. How had he had the nerve to ask to borrow money?

Qiu Sheng’s family had an ox cart, but instead of coming to her house to say something, why had they hitched up the ox cart and gone to the west side of the village? Instead of being close to his own family, he was closer to those refugee in-laws? Qin Niang became even more dissatisfied with Qiu Sheng and his wife.

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