An Unreliable Dad

As Bai Yang observed the villagers' way of life, his every move was being watched by others, too.

In a treehouse, an old man with a white beard sat across from Old Man Mu by the window. Between them sat a jar of wine and a bowl of some unknown beans. They drank as they watched Bai Yang.

"Where exactly did this young man come from?"

Old Man Mu furrowed his brow as he watched Bai Yang stop to inspect everything he saw below.

"I asked around. Hu Zi and the others ran into him by chance in the jungle. His background is unknown, but judging by the way he acts, he doesn't seem to have any designs on us," the white-bearded old man said calmly.

"Why are you so sure he won't have designs on this place?"

"Haha, Old Man Mu, you're overthinking it. What do you think he could want from a bunch of mountain folk like us? Take the candy he gave us, for instance. Even in the city, only a handful of wealthy families could afford to enjoy it, right? Its value alone would be enough to buy our entire village. So tell me, what could he possibly want from us?"

Old Man Mu had no answer. They had never heard of or seen rock sugar like that before, clear as crystal. They couldn't even imagine who might be able to enjoy such a delicacy, yet the young man had handed over a whole heap of it. With that kind of extravagant generosity, there really wasn't anything here worth coveting.

Still, the older and wiser you got, the sharper your instincts became. Old Man Mu couldn't shake the feeling that there was something strange about Bai Yang's arrival.

"You really do overthink things. I know what I'm doing. From what I can tell, the young fellow is probably a descendant of some powerful family in a faraway land. He left home to have some fun and ended up here. His presence can only benefit us."

"I hope you're right..."

Old Man Mu was troubled, but he had no way to argue back.

Bai Yang had no idea he was being watched. Or rather, he was being watched every moment of the day. Wherever he went, the villagers gathered around him, staring with curious eyes.

Even if he had known, he wouldn't have cared. He wasn't doing anything shameful, so why should he be afraid of people watching?

Several hours slipped by as he wandered around the village. He'd gained a clear impression of how the people here lived. Though he hadn't yet encountered the world beyond this place, he could already sum up the village in four words:

Poor and backward!

Their food consisted mostly of roasted meat and fruit, gathered at risk of life and limb in the jungle. If that wasn't poverty, what was? They didn't even use chopsticks to eat, and salt was their only seasoning. If that wasn't backwardness, what was?

After one round through the village, the novelty had worn off. Back in his room, he gestured to the girl who had stuck close behind him, telling her he wanted to rest. Once he'd sent her away, he shut the door.

Bai Yang was certain there were no surveillance cameras or anything like that here. He slipped back to Earth.

Less than a minute after he returned, his phone began ringing with notification alerts. His father had called him more than ten times. There was also a call from an unknown number and a text message.

Thinking something had happened, Bai Yang immediately called his father back. It was around eight in the morning here.

"Hello, Dad. What did you need?"

"You little brat, what are you playing at? You move out for one day and then vanish on me?"

Hearing that his dad still had the energy to complain, Bai Yang relaxed. He answered calmly, "Didn't I text you yesterday? It was my first day at work, and I went out to eat with my coworkers. I had a little to drink, then came home and went to sleep. Anyway, what did you need, Dad?"

Bai Jianjun grumbled a few more times, then his tone changed, growing a little sheepish. "Ahem, brat, um... do you have any more of that wine?"

"What?" Bai Yang didn't understand.

"That 'Monkey Wine' you gave your mother the other night, the kind you wanted her to get tested. Do you have any more?"

Bai Jianjun raised his voice.

"What do you mean?" Bai Yang still wasn't following.

Bai Jianjun gathered his thoughts and continued. "Here's the thing. You said that wine was Monkey Wine your country friend had come across by chance. I got curious, so I drank it..."

"And then?"

"What do you mean, 'and then'? I'll just tell you straight: the wine was great. It made me feel wonderful all over, like I'd gotten ten years younger. Ahem... Why are you asking so many questions, kid? The point is, I drank it all. It's gone. If you want it tested, you'll have to bring more back!"

Bai Yang didn't even notice that he'd graduated from college and was still being called a kid. Once he understood, cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Uneasily, he asked, "Dad, how could you just drink that stuff? Are you okay?"

He couldn't forget how he'd drunk a bowl, gotten a nosebleed, and passed out. If something happened to his dad after drinking it, Bai Yang would regret it for the rest of his life!

"What could be wrong? I'm fine. Just tell me, do you have any more?"

"Fine, fine, you're the boss. I've got a little left. Are you home? I'll bring some over right now. Oh, wait—is Mom at work yet? Tell her to wait..."

Relieved that his dad was all right, Bai Yang hung up without waiting for Bai Jianjun to answer.

His dad had always liked a little tipple, and he'd never been able to break the habit. Bai Yang couldn't believe he'd even drink something that hadn't been tested.

Scratching his head, he went looking for something to put the wine in, but couldn't find a suitable container. He went straight out on his motorcycle to buy a bottle of mineral water at the supermarket. Then he realized he needed toiletries as well, so he bought those too.

Back at the villa, he'd drunk half the bottle of mineral water and couldn't manage any more, so he poured the rest out. Then he filled the bottle with wine from the jar and hurried home.

His parents were eating breakfast when he arrived, so he joined them without hesitation.

Afterward, he took out the mineral-water bottle filled with emerald-green wine and found the jug from last time. Sure enough, it was empty. He poured some into it and handed it to Zhen Guoping. "Mom, this is for testing. Don't let Dad drink it. I don't have much left, either."

"You know what your father's like. When he heard about Monkey Wine, he lost all sense. The day before yesterday, after you left, he waited until I was asleep and sneaked a drink," Zhen Guoping said, giving Bai Jianjun away in a single sentence.

Bai Yang was speechless.

He handed the rest to his mother and warned her, "Mom, this stuff hasn't been tested. We don't even know if it's safe to drink, so keep an eye on it. At least wait until we get the results before giving any to Dad. And make sure he only drinks a little. If anything happens to him, I'll be beside myself..."

"Brat, do you think I don't know not to overdo it with good things?" Bai Jianjun grumbled from the side, though he couldn't take his eyes off the bottle of wine.

Zhen Guoping held up the mineral-water bottle to Bai Jianjun, then turned and headed out to work with it.

"Hey...? Hey...! Hey..."

As Zhen Guoping carried it off, Bai Jianjun let out a sigh that rose and fell in a whole string of pitches.

"Dad, you're my own flesh and blood. This is all for your own good. You can't just eat or drink things you don't understand," Bai Yang said helplessly, looking at Bai Jianjun.

Bai Jianjun rolled his eyes at him, then his expression changed. He wriggled his eyebrows and said, "Brat, come clean. How much of that stuff do you still have?"

"What are you planning?" Bai Yang hunched his neck.

Bai Jianjun leaned back against the sofa and lifted his chin. "Tell me, brat. How much do you want?"

Bai Yang looked up at the sky and sighed. This really wasn't about money. He said helplessly, "You decide..."

As he spoke, Bai Yang wondered if something was wrong. Why did every conversation between him and his dad always end up being about money? Something definitely wasn't right...

"I'll transfer it to you in a bit, brat. And don't blame your old man for being greedy. That stuff really is amazing. Just a little made me feel like I'd gotten ten years younger. The other night, I..." Bai Jianjun slapped Bai Yang on the back of the head. "You don't know a thing."

Then he walked off.

Bai Yang was left staring after him in bewilderment.

"What did I do? You didn't even tell me anything. I don't know a thing, okay?"

Shaking his head, he took out his phone and opened the text message. It was from Wanbao Pavilion Auction House, inviting him to attend their Autumn Auction and watch his ginseng being auctioned in person. If he confirmed, someone would deliver an invitation. The other missed call had also come from Wanbao Pavilion.

Bai Yang replied with just three words: No time. A text came in right after, but this one was from his dad, who had transferred ten thousand yuan to him in hopes of securing a long-term supply of the "Monkey Wine"...

Once that was settled, he returned to the villa he was renting, then went back to the village on the other side.

If you wanted to learn a completely new language from scratch without a teacher to guide you properly, the best way was to immerse yourself in an environment where it was spoken. Bai Yang figured he'd be spending most of his time in this village for a while...

(Please recommend and favorite, everyone!)