Chapter 72: Yun Shan Licks the Grease

Dou Ming had gotten upset at home, so he went to the rear mountain and took his anger out on the animals there. In less than two hours, he caught an even bigger wild boar and three pheasants.

When he carried the wild boar down the mountain, someone saw him again.

A villager asked with a laugh, “Dou Ming, are you still selling meat? My family didn’t buy enough. It won’t be enough to eat, so I want to buy some more.”

“Not selling.” Dou Ming refused at once and quickly sped up toward Qiu Sheng’s courtyard. If he sold it all to these humans so they could have meat for the festival, was he supposed to spend the festival with no meat himself?

Xiu Niang was in the kitchen with Hua Qi, frying meatballs. The fragrance drifted all the way to the courtyard gate, where Dou Ming caught the scent.

“What tasty stuff are you making?” He darted nimbly into the courtyard, as if he had nothing on his shoulder, his whole body light and easy.

Dou Ming carried the wild boar and held the pheasants, wanting to squeeze into the kitchen, but the wild boar was too large and got stuck in the doorway. He hissed, then walked back under the tree and impatiently dropped the wild boar from his shoulder onto the chopping board with a bang. The pheasants in his hand were tossed casually onto the ground.

The sudden noise badly frightened Yun Shan, who was playing with his hands, and Chun Hua in the cradle.

Chun Hua began crying in a tiny, delicate voice, as if she had suffered endless grievance.

“Waaah—waaah—” Yun Shan was not polite about it at all. He pulled down the corners of his mouth, opened wide, and started howling. Unlike Chun Hua, who seemed wronged and shed quiet tears, Yun Shan’s loud cries clearly announced to everyone in the courtyard—he had been bullied!

“Yun Shan, don’t cry...” Dou Ming wanted to pick him up from the cradle and comfort him, but Hua Qi rushed out of the kitchen and shoved him aside.

Hua Qi held the wailing Yun Shan in her arms and coaxed him softly. “Good Yun Shan, don’t cry. Mom is here. Just now, Dou Ming put the wild boar on the table. Yun Shan, don’t be scared. Mom is here.”

Tuo Tuo ran to Hua Qi’s side and stood on tiptoe to look at Yun Shan. He felt regretful. If he had known, he would not have dragged Xiao Cong into the room to look for red string. Another good chance to get close to the Little Temple Master had been snatched by Hua Qi again.

Qiu Sheng had also been startled by the huge noise Dou Ming had made just now. Seeing Dou Ming standing there at a loss, he laughed and teased while taking Chun Hua out of the cradle. “Dou Ming didn’t eat breakfast this morning. Look how hungry he is. The moment he comes back, he bolts straight for the kitchen.”

Qiu Sheng did not know, but Hua Qi did: Dou Ming must have eaten something on the mountain. The reason he bolted straight for the kitchen after coming back was definitely because he had been tempted by the smell. Thinking this, Hua Qi glared fiercely at Dou Ming. Keeping her voice low, she said in an unfriendly tone, “Next time, set things down gently. If you scare Yun Shan again, I won’t let you off.”

Dou Ming shrank his head and replied, “Got it.”

Xi Jue walked over and saw Yun Shan crying with his mouth wide open. His heart ached terribly. Without the slightest mercy, he slapped Dou Ming on the head and said in a deep voice, “Don’t scare children.”

Dou Ming blinked, then edged closer to the cowshed.

The water buffalo had originally been lying leisurely beside the cowshed. When it saw Dou Ming coming this way, it immediately got up and shrank back inside.

After Hua Qi held and coaxed Yun Shan, then carried him around for a while, Yun Shan was fine. He stopped crying and reached his little hands toward Hua Qi’s face.

Hua Qi pretended she was going to bite his little paws. He did not pull them back and only smiled foolishly at Hua Qi. His smile made Hua Qi a little worried. With such a silly Little Temple Master, would he know to run away if he encountered a great demon in the future? Not all demons were as kind as they were.

Hearing Yun Shan’s laughter, Xiao Cong went over and tugged at Dou Ming’s sleeve, saying quietly, “This morning, I saved you flatbread and pickles. Xiu Niang is frying meatballs.”

When he heard there was food, Dou Ming immediately cheered up. He ran to the wooden basin and washed his hands, then slipped into the kitchen. First, he pinched a meatball from the basket and stuffed it into his mouth all at once, chewing with his cheeks puffed out.

“Is it good?” Xiu Niang asked Dou Ming with a smile while stirring the meatballs in the pot.

Dou Ming’s mouth was busy eating the meatball, so he had no time to speak. He just nodded hard.

His nodding filled Xiu Niang with delight. “I fried lots of meatballs. Dou Ming, eat as much as you want at noon.”

Dou Ming kept nodding.

Xiu Niang said, “Next time you put down something heavy, you have to be careful. Children’s souls are light, so they get frightened easily.”

After Dou Ming finished the meatball, he said obediently, “Got it. I’ll pay attention next time.” He could not scare the Little Temple Master again.

He found the flatbread Xiao Cong had saved for him in the cupboard and ate it in big mouthfuls, pairing it with meatballs fresh out of the pot. He only ate one tofu ball off to the side, then stopped touching them and ate only meatballs.

Xiu Niang picked up a small plateful for him and told him to take it outside for Xiao Cong and Tuo Tuo to taste too.

After Hua Qi finished comforting Yun Shan, she placed him in Tuo Tuo’s arms, then turned and went back to the kitchen to help Xiu Niang.

When Dou Ming saw her, he took a detour. The path from the kitchen to the tree was originally a straight line, but he insisted on circling almost half the courtyard. Qiu Sheng could not help laughing when he saw it. These children were all afraid of Huaniang.

Dou Ming put the plate on the table and craned his head to look at Yun Shan. Yun Shan was blowing spit bubbles, with still-damp teardrops hanging from his eyelashes.

Dou Ming reached out to grab Yun Shan’s little hand.

Seeing the back of Yun Shan’s hand shining with grease, Tuo Tuo said in disgust, “Your hands are covered in oil. Don’t touch Yun Shan.”

Dou Ming quickly pulled his hand back, casually wiped it on his clothes a few times, then reached out again, still wanting to touch Yun Shan.

In that short moment, Yun Shan had already started eating his own little hand. Maybe he had smelled the fragrance, because he kept sticking out his little tongue and licking the back of his hand.

“You can’t eat oil yet, right? Don’t eat that.” Dou Ming grabbed Yun Shan’s little hand and looked left and right, wanting to find a handkerchief to wipe it clean.

Yun Shan was licking happily when Dou Ming grabbed his hand. Dissatisfied, he cried, “Ah-ya—” and tried hard to pull his little hand back. But how could his strength compare to Dou Ming’s? His little hand was still firmly held in Dou Ming’s grasp.

Yun Shan felt wronged. His little brows drew together, and the corners of his mouth slowly turned downward. It looked like he was about to cry.

Tuo Tuo thought, Great chance. He immediately patted Yun Shan lightly and coaxed, “Yun Shan, good little darling, Tuo Tuo is here. Tuo Tuo will protect Yun Shan. Don’t be scared, little darling~”

Tuo Tuo quickly pushed Dou Ming’s hand away. “What are you doing? Let him lick.”

Once his little hand was free, Yun Shan relaxed his tiny brows, and the corners of his mouth stopped drooping. He put his hand by his mouth and continued licking it happily, mouthful after mouthful.

Tuo Tuo thought excitedly that those few sentences really were useful. He knew how to become the demon closest to the Little Temple Master!

Dou Ming said, “Xiu Niang said Yun Shan is still little and can’t eat other things.”

Tuo Tuo said, “It’s just a tiny bit. It’ll definitely be fine. Xiao Cong has fed Yun Shan pomegranate juice several times, and nothing happened at all.”

“Don’t feed Yun Shan random things. Be careful he eats something that upsets his stomach,” Xiu Niang’s voice came from the kitchen.

“She’s talking about you,” Dou Ming whispered to Tuo Tuo.

“Go away.” Tuo Tuo rolled his eyes and ignored him.

Dou Ming snorted and sat down at the edge of the table far from Tuo Tuo, calling Xiao Cong. “Come, eat meatballs. The meatballs smell so good.”

“Get me one,” Tuo Tuo said.

Dou Ming pretended not to hear and looked at Tuo Tuo provocatively. A hundred-year-old ginseng spirit dared to tell a five-hundred-year-old tiger like him to go away? Then he just would not let Tuo Tuo eat these meatballs.

“Hmph.” Tuo Tuo put Yun Shan down, ran to Dou Ming’s side, and muttered, “If you won’t get one for me, I’ll get it myself.”

The hand he had just stretched out was smacked down by Dou Ming with a slap. “You’re not allowed to eat.”

“Why?” Tuo Tuo widened his eyes. “Xiao Cong can eat, so why can’t I?”

A wicked smile appeared at the corner of Dou Ming’s mouth. “No reason. I just feel like it.”

Seeing that Tuo Tuo and Dou Ming were about to start arguing, Qiu Sheng wanted to speak up and mediate, only to discover that Xi Jue beside him seemed not to hear the two little ones quarreling at all. He was carefully fitting the convex and concave parts of a bench together.

His own father was not saying anything, so why should Qiu Sheng? Qiu Sheng simply pretended he had not heard either and lowered his head to continue the work in his hands.

Dou Ming was obviously bullying Tuo Tuo. Tuo Tuo thought it over, and among the demons in this courtyard, the only one who could stand on his side was Xiao Cong, but Xiao Cong’s relationship with Dou Ming was even better.

A wave of sorrow suddenly surged up in Tuo Tuo. He went back to the cradle and solemnly picked up Yun Shan. Only the Little Temple Master was his support!

Xiao Cong poked Tuo Tuo from behind and handed him a meatball. “Eat.”

“Dou Ming won’t let me eat,” Tuo Tuo said aggrievedly.

Xiao Cong shook his head and leaned by Tuo Tuo’s ear to whisper, “I’m giving it to you. Dou Ming won’t say anything.”

Dou Ming merely looked over and did not target Tuo Tuo again.

Tuo Tuo took the meatball, feeling heartsore. Sure enough, Xiao Cong and Dou Ming had the best relationship after all. As he ate the meatball, he looked down at Yun Shan. Little Temple Master, ah, you are my true support!

“Ugh~” Tuo Tuo, who had just bitten into the meatball, was forced into retching by a wave of stench. He wanted to swallow the meatball in his mouth, but the sour stink filling the air around him made it impossible to get down. He tried hard several times and still could not swallow it. In the end, he could only spit out the meatball in his mouth and call for help beside him. “Xiao Cong, save me! Yun Shan’s poop stinks so bad.”

It seemed that his tiny backer could not be relied on either.

Listening to the lively sounds in the courtyard, Xiu Niang felt happy from the bottom of her heart. If Xi Jue’s family had not been here, then this Reunion Festival would only have been her, Qiu Sheng, and Chun Hua, who could not speak. Just thinking about it felt lonely.

She scooped a bowl each of meatballs and tofu balls into a basket, then carried it outside and said to Qiu Sheng, “Qiu Sheng, these two bowls of food are for Father and Mother.”

“Okay.” Qiu Sheng quickly patted off his clothes, took the basket, and left the courtyard.

Xiu Niang turned her head and saw that the plate on the table was empty. Dou Ming was cutting pork. Tuo Tuo and Xiao Cong stood off to the side watching, and the two little ones surprisingly did not know to be afraid.

“You two aren’t scared?” Xiu Niang picked up the plate on the table and asked Tuo Tuo and Xiao Cong.

Tuo Tuo said, “Not scared.”

Xiao Cong said quietly, “Not scared.”

“You really are bold.” Xiu Niang took the plate into the kitchen. Then she hurried out again, opened the door to the storage room, and grabbed two handfuls of dried shiitake mushrooms.

Dou Ming brought the knife down, cutting the pig’s tail off right at the root.

Tuo Tuo poked it twice with his short, chubby fingers and said, “I want to try what pig’s tail tastes like.”

Dou Ming said disdainfully, “Isn’t all pork the same flavor?”

Xiu Niang soaked the shiitake mushrooms, then quickly lit another stove. After the water began bubbling, she carried a wooden basin into the kitchen and ladled hot water from the pot into the basin, scoop by scoop.

Hua Qi continued frying meatballs and asked curiously, “What are you boiling hot water for? Are you giving Yun Shan and Chun Hua baths at noon too? The water drying outside is enough.”

Xiu Niang smiled and said, “How could it be for bathing them? Boiling hot water makes it easier to pluck chicken feathers.”

Hua Qi scooped the meatballs out of the pot, then followed her out to watch the bustle.

Xiu Niang first cut off the bright tail feathers from one pheasant, then tossed all three pheasants into the wooden basin together.

Dou Ming handed the knife to Tuo Tuo. “You chop the meat. I’m going to help pluck the chickens. Chop it finer. It’ll be used for frying meatballs.”

“You can’t.” Xiu Niang hurriedly stopped him. “How old is Tuo Tuo? Letting him hold a knife is too dangerous.”

Tuo Tuo lifted the knife high with one hand and chopped heavily onto the meat, instantly splitting it in half. He swung the knife back and forth for Xiu Niang to see. “Xiu Niang, look. It’s not dangerous at all.”

“How is it not dangerous?” Xiu Niang’s heart clenched watching him, afraid Tuo Tuo would fling the knife out. She hurriedly said, “Stop swinging it. Put the knife down. You don’t need to chop the meat. Wait for your Uncle Qiu Sheng to come back and let him do it.”

“No need.” As Tuo Tuo spoke, he began chopping the meat. He was small, and standing beside the table to swing the knife took effort, so he even knew to go fetch a little stool.

While he went to move the stool, Xiu Niang quickly took the knife into her own hand. “Tuo Tuo, go play. Watch Yun Shan and Chun Hua. You’re not needed here.”

“Is he bad at chopping?” Xi Jue stood up straight and asked Xiu Niang. “He hasn’t done this kind of work much. I’ll do it.”

“Okay.” Xiu Niang handed the knife to Xi Jue.

Tuo Tuo stood there holding the stool, staring in frustration. He was not bad at chopping at all. Xiu Niang was the one who would not let him do it.

Xi Jue was strong. Holding the knife in one hand and bracing the table with the other, he swung the knife down with bang after bang.

Xiu Niang had only finished plucking half the feathers from one pheasant when Xi Jue had already chopped a whole basin of filling.

Next Chapter >