Chapter 70: A Lively Reunion Festival Morning

The little demons reminded them again and again, telling Tuo Tuo and Xiao Cong that they absolutely had to remember to bring the Little Temple Master back up the mountain that evening for the Reunion Festival.

Tuo Tuo hoisted a basket of pomegranates onto his back and waved. “We’ll definitely remember. We’ll come tonight.”

When he thought of how the little demons on the mountain only had the fruit in the forest and the animals on the rear mountain to eat, nowhere near as plentiful as the food in the human world, Tuo Tuo had an idea. He wanted to bring human food back for the little demons to try.

After thinking for a moment, he said, “I’ll bring you human food tonight. Xiu Niang said there’ll be good things to eat today.”

“Okay!” The little animals nodded happily, then watched Xiao Cong and Tuo Tuo head down the mountain with great reluctance.

Tuo Tuo said to Xiao Cong, “We need to make Hua Qi cook more food. We’ll bring it up the mountain tonight.”

“Then you go tell Hua Qi,” Xiao Cong replied softly.

This morning, Hua Qi had still been mocking him in that strange, sarcastic way. Tuo Tuo had no desire to get anywhere near Hua Qi. “This morning he called me a ginseng pig. He doesn’t like me, so I’m not talking to him. You go tell him.”

“I’m not talking to him either,” Xiao Cong said. “Dou Ming ate a whole bag of peanuts, and Hua Qi got mad this morning. He’s so scary when he’s angry. I… I don’t dare go.”

“Yeah,” Tuo Tuo agreed. “He really is scary.”

At that moment, the two little demons reached a consensus.

Tuo Tuo brought up the plan that had been delayed earlier. “We absolutely can’t let Yun Shan stay close to Hua Qi all the time. Otherwise, in the future, we won’t be able to get by on Yunling Mountain anymore. Yun Shan will definitely listen to Hua Qi.”

“I think what you’re saying is very right,” Xiao Cong said in wholehearted agreement. At first, he had thought everything would be fine as long as he did not provoke Hua Qi. Who would have thought that even without provoking him, trouble would still happen? Hua Qi was a big demon who just loved bullying little demons.

“We still have to take good care of the Little Temple Master.” Tuo Tuo grew melancholy. “But you have to go to school, and I have to weave cloth. We don’t have time to take care of the Little Temple Master. Hua Qi is still the one with the most free time.”

“There’s Dou Ming,” Xiao Cong said. “After he takes me to school, he can come back and take care of Yun Shan.”

Tuo Tuo looked at him strangely. “You’re already three hundred years old. Why don’t you dare go to the neighboring village by yourself? Why do you still need Dou Ming to take you? I heard Shuanzi say the neighboring village is really close. You just walk for a little while and you’re there.”

Xiao Cong blushed. So what if he was three hundred years old and did not dare go to the neighboring village by himself? Dou Ming was five hundred and still could not count. He and Dou Ming were supposed to help each other.

By the time they came down the mountain, Qiu Sheng’s courtyard was already packed with people.

There were not only people from their own Dongwang Village, but also quite a few from the neighboring Xilai Village. They had all heard that Xi Jue’s family had fresh meat and pomegranates for sale, and at low prices too, so they had come early to wait.

The crowd shouted back and forth. One person said, “I want three.” Another said, “Give me two.” The whole courtyard was a noisy mess.

Tuo Tuo pushed away a hand that had reached over to pick through the pomegranates and shouted at the crowd, “Line up! Everyone line up! It’s too noisy to hear.”

Fifth Auntie pulled Qiaozi along and took the lead, standing by the table. She called to the people behind her, “Everyone line up. Come one by one, one by one. Don’t rush.” Then she turned her face back and said to Tuo Tuo with a smile, “Get me four. Pick the big ones. Here, here’s the money.”

Xiao Cong took the money and counted it once. After confirming that it was six copper coins, he nodded to Tuo Tuo. Tuo Tuo then took four pomegranates out of the back basket one after another and handed them to Fifth Auntie.

Seeing that the pomegranates in the basket were almost gone while there was still a long line stretching all the way to the gate, Xiao Cong took out the pomegranates, grabbed the two back baskets, and was about to run outside. He could not miss a chance to earn money. Every person waiting in line meant at least three copper coins.

“Don’t go. I’ll go.” Hua Qi grabbed Xiao Cong by the collar and jerked his chin toward Yun Shan. “You watch Yun Shan. I’ll go.”

Yun Shan had changed into new clothes today. He was dressed all in red, with little silver ingots sewn along the edges. Hua Qi felt that when Yun Shan smiled in this outfit, he looked even more like the chubby baby in a New Year painting than Tuo Tuo did. He was good-looking, adorable, and festive too.

He handed Yun Shan to Xiao Cong. As soon as he went out, he came face to face with Landlord Zhang, who had brought Zhang Mancang to deliver festival gifts.

As soon as he saw Hua Qi, Landlord Zhang’s face immediately broke into a smile. “Huaniang, your home is quite lively.”

“We’re selling things, so it’s very lively.” Hua Qi had a very favorable impression of humans who generously gave him incense offerings, so his tone became much gentler when he spoke. “We’re selling pomegranates. Later, we’ll be selling meat too.”

Landlord Zhang craned his neck and took a look. He saw quite a few people in the courtyard holding big pomegranates. The bigger the pomegranate, the more seeds it had, and the better the omen. Landlord Zhang became interested too. “I’ll buy pomegranates as well.”

Hua Qi asked expectantly, “How many are you buying?”

Landlord Zhang said, “I’ll buy a whole basket.”

Excellent. Hua Qi was very satisfied. This human really was generous. He would definitely pack this basket extra full for him. The more he packed in, the more he sold. “I’ll go up the mountain and pick pomegranates right now.”

“You, a woman, are going up the mountain?” Landlord Zhang looked at Hua Qi in shock. No matter how brave Huaniang was, a woman should not go up the mountain alone. If she encountered a wild beast, even a strong man might not be its match, let alone a woman.

“It’s fine. Just wait.” After Hua Qi finished speaking, he ignored Landlord Zhang and quickly ran toward the mountain.

Landlord Zhang lifted the hem of his robe and chased after him for a few steps, but in just those few steps, Huaniang had already gone several zhang away. He could not catch up at all. Landlord Zhang sighed inwardly. She truly was an extraordinary woman. Without realizing it, his indescribable admiration for Hua Qi deepened by another degree.

Mancang had long since slipped into the courtyard. He came to Tuo Tuo’s side and reached out to pull his hand. “Tuo Tuo.”

“You came just in time. Xiao Cong went to take care of Yun Shan, so help me collect money,” Tuo Tuo said, directing Mancang to work.

This was the first time Mancang had ever been given this kind of job, and he was very happy. He took the copper coins and counted them one by one with great seriousness, afraid that if he counted wrong, this interesting job would be taken away.

Landlord Zhang stood by the gate, gazing after Hua Qi’s figure from afar. But where was there any figure left? There were only the distant mountains and a man walking toward him head-on.

The man had a wild boar with long tusks slung over his shoulder and several rabbits in his hand, his face expressionless. A boy followed behind him, looking about thirteen or fourteen, both hands filled with wild chickens and wild ducks.

Landlord Zhang knew at a glance who these two were. He had heard that Huaniang’s husband and eldest son were skilled at hunting. These two had to be Huaniang’s husband and eldest son.

Landlord Zhang’s gaze moved back and forth between the wild boar on Xi Jue’s shoulder and the wild chickens and wild ducks in Dou Ming’s hands. Only, the words “skilled at” were probably too modest. Even saying they were masters of hunting did not seem worthy of these two people’s abilities.

“Xi Jue is back!” Bailing, who was standing inside the courtyard, called out cheerfully.

With that one shout, she drew everyone in the courtyard’s attention straight to Xi Jue.

Fifth Auntie quickly stood in front of the small table usually used for buying meat and shouted at the top of her lungs, “Line up, line up! Everyone come line up. Hurry up. If you’re late, you won’t be able to buy any meat.”

Someone cursed Fifth Auntie in their heart for being too shrewd. By standing at the very front of the line, she could pick anything she wanted. They hurriedly squeezed into the line too.

Everyone in Dongwang Village knew that when the boy from Xi Jue’s family said he was not selling meat anymore, then he was not selling meat anymore. If you wanted to buy meat, you had to be early.

Xi Jue did not even glance at Landlord Zhang. He and Dou Ming walked straight into the courtyard.

Xiu Niang, who had been watching the commotion, stood up and said to Dou Ming, “Pork is good. Cut me some meat later. I’ll mince it and fry meatballs.” Qiu Sheng had already been chased out by her earlier to buy tofu and yellow wine. The morning had been lively from the start, making people happy from the bottom of their hearts.

Xiu Niang moved the large chopping board leaning in the corner over and placed it on the table.

Dou Ming took a sharp knife and deftly cut from the wild boar’s neck all the way down to its tail. The pork opened out to both sides, revealing the full mass of organs inside.

It was Mancang’s first time seeing such a scene, and he let out a frightened scream.

Only then did Xiu Niang remember that she had not driven the children indoors.

The pomegranates had already been sold out, so Xiu Niang chased Tuo Tuo, Xiao Cong, and Mancang into the house together. “Go play inside. This is scary, so you’re not watching. Tuo Tuo, help me watch Chun Hua.”

The courtyard was so lively that Tuo Tuo did not want to go back inside at all. Even after he went into the house, he opened the window and stuck his head out to watch the excitement.

Yun Shan and Chun Hua lay on the kang. Xiao Cong sat between them holding a pellet drum. One moment, he shook it at Chun Hua. The next, he shook it at Yun Shan.

Hearing all the liveliness outside, Mancang felt unbearably curious too. But he did not dare look, so he sat by the window and asked Tuo Tuo, “What are they doing outside now?”

“Several people want the pig’s tail,” Tuo Tuo said, puzzled. “What’s so good about pig’s tail? It’s bare and ugly.”

Mancang wondered what pig’s tail tasted like. But after carefully searching his memory, he could only remember the fragrance of pig trotters.

Landlord Zhang, dressed in silk robes, was completely out of place in the farmhouse courtyard. He did not enter the courtyard, only stood by the gate and looked inside at the bustle.

A carriage was parked outside the courtyard. It was the very carriage Landlord Zhang had ridden over in, and inside were the festival gifts he had prepared for Hua Qi. He had already been here for quite a while, yet the gifts still had not been given out. He smiled and shook his head, then continued looking into the courtyard.

Xi Jue swung the knife and cleanly chopped apart the rib rack. He did not speak much, and when he worked, he was willing to put in effort.

Landlord Zhang thought that with a husband like this, Huaniang’s life had to be quite good overall. This single morning would earn them seven or eight taels of silver.

This time, once Dou Ming had sold half the pig, sure enough, he was unwilling to sell any more. He put down the knife in his hand and said loudly, “None left. Come earlier next time.”

A villager from Xilai Village said, “We’ve been waiting in line for so long. Little brother, there’s still half a pig left. It’s a major festival, so you shouldn’t let us go home empty-handed.”

The villagers of Dongwang Village knew exactly how this worked. Even if half a pig remained, as long as they said they were not selling, you could talk until your lips wore out and the boy still would not pay any attention.

Just then, Hua Qi came back carrying two back baskets. He held one basket of pomegranates in each hand, looking rather relaxed.

Landlord Zhang’s heart ached for him, and he immediately ran over to take the baskets.

Hua Qi became even more satisfied with this human. Not only was this human generous with incense offerings, he was also very attentive.

He handed the baskets to Landlord Zhang, then, seeing no sign of Tuo Tuo in the courtyard, asked Dou Ming, “Where are Xiao Cong and Tuo Tuo?”

Landlord Zhang’s hands sank, and his waist bent with them. This basket of pomegranates really was not light. It had to weigh several dozen jin. Even a sturdy man like him would need to use eighty percent of his strength to lift the basket. Huaniang truly was strong.

“They’re inside,” Dou Ming replied.

“Tuo Tuo, come out and sell pomegranates,” Hua Qi called loudly toward the house.

Tuo Tuo immediately jumped down from the kang and darted outside.

By the time Mancang reacted, Tuo Tuo was already gone from the room. He quickly got off the kang, put on his shoes, and chased after him.

“Sell us some meat. It’s a major festival, so it’s not good to let our families have no meat to eat,” the villagers from Xilai Village continued persuading them.

Hua Qi was in a very good mood today. From early morning, wealth had been rolling in. It had not been in vain that he had asked Xiao Cong to embroider little ingots on Yun Shan’s clothes. They really had attracted riches first thing in the morning.

“Sell it. Dou Ming, sell all the meat. Since it’s a festival, and they’re from the neighboring village, don’t let everyone go back empty-handed,” Hua Qi said generously.

“I still want to eat it,” Dou Ming said, his face full of unwillingness.

“If you want to eat, go catch another one.” Hua Qi glared at him. “Earn more money so we can buy cloth and make clothes for our Yun Shan.”

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