Chapter 71: Wearing a Hairpin

After the people who had come to the courtyard to buy things had left, Landlord Zhang finally called to the pageboys he had brought with him and had them carry the festival gifts into the courtyard.

There was one bolt each of peach-pink and emerald-green satin, two silver hairpins, two sacks of rice, two sacks of flour, and two packages of pastries.

Xiu Niang and Qiu Sheng stared until their eyes went straight. As expected of the richest Landlord Zhang in town. He was so generous. Hadn’t he already given them ten taels of silver yesterday? They had not expected there to be so many things on top of that.

“Huaniang,” Landlord Zhang said with a polite smile, “I came here specially today to thank you. Mancang is the treasure of my heart. If he had truly been taken away by villains, it would have cost me half my life. Fortunately, you found him and brought him back, allowing me to spend this Reunion Festival in peace.”

“I dare not forget this life-saving kindness. Now I have prepared a modest gift, and I hope you will not look down on it.”

“I won’t, I won’t,” Hua Qi said, his face nearly blooming from how widely he was smiling. Oh my, this human really was both perceptive and generous. Not only had he given him offering money, now he was offering him things too.

These two bolts of cloth looked quite good. In the future, he would not have to spend money buying cloth to make clothes for Yun Shan. That would save them a large sum of money. Very nice, very nice.

Hua Qi looked at Landlord Zhang with increasing approval.

“As long as you don’t dislike it, that’s good, that’s good.” Landlord Zhang was delighted that Huaniang was willing to accept his things.

Hua Qi called to Tuo Tuo and Xiao Cong. “You two carry these two bolts of cloth into the room and put them by the kang. Dou Ming, move the rice and flour to the storage room.”

Watching this whole sequence, even Xiu Niang felt embarrassed. Who moved gifts into the house right in front of the person who had brought them?

But when she looked at Landlord Zhang again, there was no dissatisfaction on his face at all. Instead, he was beaming happily.

In her heart, Xiu Niang thought that Landlord Zhang really was a kind and gentle person.

“The day after tomorrow, the four villains will be paraded through the streets, then beheaded in public. It truly relieves the anger in my heart,” Landlord Zhang said. When he mentioned Ma Daming and the others, he was still gnashing his teeth, looking as though he wanted nothing more than to drink their blood and eat their flesh.

“That soon?” Xiu Niang said in surprise. “How many years has it been since we last heard of anyone being executed? They were just caught, and they’re already going to be killed?”

“Vermin like that ought to be killed as quickly as possible,” Landlord Zhang said. He could not reveal the inside story. Those four were getting exactly what they deserved.

“Exactly,” Tuo Tuo chimed in. “Not one of them is a good person.”

“You are very good,” Hua Qi said, lifting his chin slightly as he spoke to Landlord Zhang. “Since you brought me so many things, I will give you something as well.”

A great demon always had to bestow rewards upon the humans who made offerings to him, or perhaps help humans fulfill their wishes. Fulfilling wishes was difficult and would get him entangled in karma. It would be better to simply give him some benefit directly.

“Take this wild pheasant.” Hua Qi picked up the brightly tailed wild pheasant from under the tree and handed it to Landlord Zhang. “In the future, if anything happens, you may come find me.”

You may come find me. Landlord Zhang’s heart blossomed with joy. Huaniang had said he could come find him. What should he do? But she was a married woman. How could he casually come find her?

“What?” Hua Qi looked at Landlord Zhang with a frown. It was only a wild pheasant, yet this human had actually become so excited that he froze.

Landlord Zhang came back to himself and hurriedly stepped forward to take the wild pheasant from Hua Qi’s hands. “No, it’s nothing.” Huaniang had actually given him a wild pheasant. He had never expected Huaniang to take the initiative to give him something.

After receiving Hua Qi’s gift, Landlord Zhang happily took Zhang Mancang back to town.

“The day after tomorrow, let’s go to town and have a look too,” Qiu Sheng said. “I’ve grown this old, but I’ve never seen a beheading before. I wonder if it’s scary.”

“How could a beheading not be scary?” Xiu Niang laughed at him. “In any case, I don’t dare watch.”

Dou Ming minced the last piece of meat, put it into a basin, and carried it into the kitchen. Then he pulled a pastry from one of the pastry packages, held it in his hand, and silently walked out of the courtyard. He was going up the mountain to catch more prey.

Xiu Niang lightly patted Hua Qi and said quietly with a smile, “Don’t be too strict with Dou Ming and the others. What child doesn’t make mistakes?”

“If they make a mistake, they must be punished,” Hua Qi thought. If they really were only a few years old, or in their teens, he would be willing to be lenient. But they were not.

“Here, this is for you.” Hua Qi took out one hairpin and handed it to Xiu Niang. “I saw many women in town wearing these on their heads. You should wear one too.”

“What would I wear it for?” Xiu Niang refused, but there was happiness on her face that she could not hold back. “This is something Landlord Zhang gave you. How could I take it?”

Xiu Niang touched the hairpin, took it in her hand, weighed it, and said, “This hairpin must weigh about five taels. It’s made of silver, and five taels means five taels of silver. It’s too valuable. I won’t take it.”

Hua Qi frowned and said, “I have never seen you wear a silver hairpin. I saw that many women in town have them. If they have one, you should have one too.”

Qiu Sheng blushed and said in a small voice, “That’s because I haven’t earned any money yet. Once I earn money, I will definitely buy Xiu Niang a silver hairpin to wear.”

“You earning money is your business. This hairpin is something I am giving to Xiu Niang.” Hua Qi held the hairpin out and said, “If I’m giving it to you, then it is yours.”

Xiu Niang pushed it away and refused to accept it.

Tuo Tuo ran between the two of them and looked at the hairpin greedily. “If Xiu Niang doesn’t want it, give it to me.”

“Go away. What does this have to do with you?” Hua Qi pushed him to the side. “You only have one little braid on the top of your head. How would you wear a hairpin?”

“How could I not wear it?” Tuo Tuo said. “Isn’t it just stuck into a braid? If you stick it into my braid, won’t that do?”

When Xiu Niang saw that Tuo Tuo wanted it, she took the opportunity to say, “If Tuo Tuo wants it, then give it to Tuo Tuo.” Tuo Tuo was Huaniang’s own child. Whether or not it was suitable for him to wear the hairpin, giving the hairpin to him was the same as giving it back to Huaniang herself. No matter what, it should not be given to an outsider like her.

“I said I’m giving it to you, so I’m giving it to you. Why would I give it to him?” Hua Qi strode forward impatiently and gently inserted the hairpin into Xiu Niang’s bun. “Just wear it properly.”

Xiu Niang stamped her foot and said, “Huaniang, why are you so good to me? A five-tael hairpin, and you just give it away? Xi Jue and Dou Ming still carry firewood down from the mountain every day to sell in town.”

Hua Qi pinched the other hairpin and said, “We’re not short of money now. Xi Jue and Dou Ming don’t have to go up the mountain every day to carry firewood, and they don’t have to sell prey every day either. The day after tomorrow, I’ll take this hairpin to town and sell it. Then we won’t be short of money anymore. Next, we need to properly learn how to farm.” Once he sold the hairpin, he would be able to pay back Yunling Temple’s money.

Qiu Sheng laughed aloud. “Your family is really strange. When other families have good ways to make a living, they’re unwilling to farm. But you’re the opposite. You don’t hunt or sell firewood, and you only want to farm with all your heart.”

Hua Qi laughed softly. What could humans understand? He tossed the hairpin to Tuo Tuo. “I’ll let you keep it for two days. The day after tomorrow, I’m taking it to town to sell.”

He rolled up his sleeves and walked into the kitchen. “Breakfast, breakfast. We’ve been delayed for so long that I’m about to starve.”

Xiu Niang followed him into the kitchen. She could see it now. This whole family simply did not love wealth. She had no idea what they were after.

After getting the hairpin, Tuo Tuo was very happy. He clutched it and ran to the wooden basin by the wall, looking at the water’s surface as he tried to put the hairpin on himself.

Wearing a hairpin was nowhere near as easy as he imagined. He stuck the hairpin into his braid, which was only as thick as a finger. The little red braid that had originally stood straight up on his head immediately drooped backward. He had only shaken his head lightly when the hairpin slipped out of the braid and fell to the ground with a crisp clink.

Tuo Tuo picked up the hairpin, pondered for a moment, then ran to the edge of the kitchen to look at Xiu Niang.

Xiu Niang’s hairpin was firmly inserted into the bun at the back of her head, neat and pretty. Tuo Tuo touched the bare back of his own head and looked at the hairpin with difficulty.

After that, he ran into the kitchen, threw the hairpin onto the small table, and said sulkily, “I can’t stick it in. I don’t want it anymore.”

“Hahaha.” Hua Qi mercilessly laughed at him. “I told you, sending that brain of yours to school would be a waste of money.”

“What does this have to do with going to school?” Tuo Tuo said, unconvinced. “It’s just that the hairpin won’t stay in.”

“The fact that you couldn’t think of how you only have one tuft of hair, that is a problem with your brain,” Hua Qi explained to Tuo Tuo with a smile on his face.

But no matter how one looked at that smiling face, it annoyed demons.

“Hmph.” Tuo Tuo was so angry that he ran off.

“How are you still bickering with a child?” Xiu Niang amused herself on the side for a while before asking tentatively, “You really gave me the hairpin?”

Hua Qi ladled the porridge in the pot out bowl by bowl. “I said I gave it to you, so I gave it to you. Why do you keep asking? If you have time to ask these things, you might as well hurry and fry some meatballs. Last night, I heard Dou Ming thinking about meatballs over and over.”

“I’ll fry them. I’ll definitely fry him plenty.” Xiu Niang carried the bowls out with a smile and called toward the room, “Xiao Cong, time to eat.”

Tuo Tuo, who had been playing under the corridor, immediately ran into the room. He and Xiao Cong, one demon each, carried Yun Shan and Chun Hua into the courtyard.

“We’re not waiting for Dou Ming?” Qiu Sheng asked Hua Qi as he tore open a flatbread.

Hua Qi dragged Yun Shan’s cradle over beside himself and replied, “Don’t worry about him. He can find food on the mountain.”

Xiao Cong tore open two flatbreads and stuffed pickled vegetables into them. He did not eat them himself, but placed them on the spot where Dou Ming usually sat. He wanted to save them and wait for Dou Ming to come back to eat.

Xiu Niang understood what he meant and could not help praising him. “Our Xiao Cong really is considerate.”

Xiao Cong pursed the corners of his mouth slightly and took a sip of rice soup from his bowl before he began rolling a flatbread for himself.

“Yah.” Yun Shan lay in the cradle and played with his little hands. When he saw Hua Qi looking at him, he quickly put his hands down and gave Hua Qi a smiling face.

Hua Qi turned his head to eat, and Yun Shan shoved his hand into his mouth and gnawed on it with great relish, drool dripping everywhere.

Xiao Cong did not dare let Hua Qi make too much food, so in front of Hua Qi, he mentioned it to Xiu Niang. “Today, we met the young masters from Yunling Temple on the mountain. The young masters asked me what we were eating today. I said Xiu Niang was frying meatballs for me.”

“The young masters from Yunling Temple said they wanted to eat meatballs too.”

“So I was thinking, we should bring some meatballs for them to eat.”

Hua Qi, who was drinking porridge, lifted his eyelids and glanced at Xiao Cong. What young masters from Yunling Temple? The only young master of Yunling Temple was right next to him, lying in the cradle. It was merely that the little demons on the mountain had gotten greedy.

“Bring some, bring some. I’ll fry more meatballs today,” Xiu Niang said. “We’ve been so busy and restless all this time that I haven’t had the time to visit Yunling Temple and pay my respects. Xiao Cong, when you bring the meatballs to the young masters, help me ask…”

Xiu Niang suddenly became bashful. “Does Yunling Temple handle giving birth to boys?”

Tuo Tuo opened his mouth and said, “Didn’t we say last time that they don’t…”

“Even eating can’t stop your mouth.” Hua Qi reached out and grabbed Tuo Tuo’s skyward braid, cutting him off. “Eat your meal honestly.”

Qiu Sheng’s face also turned red. “What are you praying for… Girls are just as good. I’d love them all the same.”

Xi Jue looked at Qiu Sheng, then looked at Xiu Niang. He did not know why Xiu Niang was so fixated on giving birth to a boy. To demons, male demons and female demons were all the same. Whoever had the higher cultivation was the powerful one.

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