Xiao Huzi, dressed in Meng Anci's clothes, lay under the ginkgo tree, feeling the cool breeze on his body.
"Auntie... what do you mean by a good person?"
Jin Shanyao sat to the side, holding a bowl, and thought for a moment. "It's hard to define; it depends on whose perspective you're looking at."
Xiao Huzi tried to ignore the bowl of shaved ice and slowly said, "If you're hot and thirsty, and someone next to you eats three bowls of shaved ice without offering you a single bite, tell me... is she a good person or a bad person?"
Jin Shanyao up some ice cream and put it in her mouth, her eyes squinting happily. "From my perspective, why should I share my ice cream with others? From your perspective..."
Xiao Huzi looked at her, waiting for her to continue.
Jin Shanyao, her eyes crinkling, "It's because you're jealous..."
Xiao Huzi's eyes welled up with tears. "Auntie... I think a good person is someone who, when someone is thirsty, doesn't eat three bowls of ice cream in front of them. That's called kindness..."
Jin Shanyao couldn't help but laugh out loud, and poked Xiao Huzi's cheek with her bent finger, "Good boy... you can't eat cold food now. I'll treat you to something tomorrow when things stabilize."
Xiao Huzi swallowed hard and nodded, "I want watermelon flavor."
"No problem... I'll have Qing He put the watermelon in the well to cool beforehand..."
Xiao Huzi felt his saliva dripping down his neck. No... we can't talk about this anymore, the more we talk about it, the more he wants to eat!
When Meng Anci returned, he saw Jin Shanyao and Xiao Huzi chatting and laughing... This scene made his eyes darken.
He then smiled and said, " Xiao Huzi's here?"
Xiao Huzi lay limp, weakly saying, "Brother Anci, you're finally back! I almost died today."
Meng Anci put down her bag and walked up to him. Noticing his pale face, she asked, "What's wrong?"
"Don't even mention it... it's a long story."
Jin Shanyao became interested upon hearing this and pricked up her ears to listen to their conversation.
Xiao Huzi sighed softly, "My mom has recently developed a craving for pancakes, and she's been eating them for six or seven days in a row... My dad couldn't stand it anymore, so he told me to say I wanted to eat rice."
I figured he was my own father after all, and as his son, I should stand up for him, so I went along with his wishes... Guess how I found him??
Meng Anci sat down beside him, pinching his wrist to check his pulse. "What's wrong?"
Xiao Huzi tried to get up but had no strength, so he said angrily, "I treat him like my own father, and he tries to play tricks on me."
During dinner, I said to my mother, "These pancakes are delicious, but we can't eat them all the time. How about we have rice instead?" Guess what my father said?
Xiao Huzi lowered his voice, mimicking his father's tone, "You child... your mother's pancakes are so delicious, I can never get enough of them, but you're always making a fuss..."
Meng Anci and Jin Shanyao were both shocked and didn't react for a moment.
Xiao Huzi continued, "I immediately lost my temper... I said, 'Didn't you want to eat rice?' My dad glared at me."
She denied it, saying, "When did I say I wanted rice? Don't blame me. I just love your mother's flatbreads, they're so soft and fluffy, so delicious."
Xiao Huzi took a deep breath, "I can't stay in this place for another day..."
Meng Anci guessed, "So you ran away from home again?"
"No, not at all... I told my dad, 'You like pancakes, right? I like them too... From now on, we'll eat pancakes every day. Anyone who says they want rice is a coward.'"
So my dad hit me... and made me stand outside...
Jin Shanyao frowned. "You're usually quite clever. Why are you being so foolish now...? The sun's so bright, are you crazy?"
Xiao Huzi pouted, his face filled with anger. "He framed me, I can't let this go unpunished. If I don't fight him to the death, he'll think I'm easy to bully. But I just didn't expect... I fainted after standing for only a short while."
Meng Anci affectionately patted his head, "This summer's heat... you stood outside like a fool, your skin got completely sunburned."
A dark glint flashed in Xiao Huzi's eyes. "I've thought it all out... Once my father dies, I'll remove him from the ancestral grave, start a new page in the family genealogy from my name, and have my mother buried separately from him."
Tiger's father came to see his son and heard this as soon as he entered the yard. He shouted angrily, " Xiao Huzi... are you asking for a beating again?!"
When Xiao Huzi saw his father approaching, he merely tilted his head and said, "Oh ho... who do we have here? It's just the old man who betrayed his son."
"Tell me... what kind of 'wicked scheme' do you have this time? Hurry up and use it while I'm lying here unable to move, otherwise you won't be able to control me."
Wang Jinlian pushed aside Tiger's father and came in carrying large and small bags.
"Son... your dad already told me that it's him who wanted to eat rice, it has nothing to do with you. That's why I came here specifically to apologize to you."
Xiao Huzi scoffed, clearly unconvinced by this excuse. "What good is that flimsy apology... a tael of silver?"
"You look like you're worth a tael of silver..." Tiger's father pretended to hit him, but Wang Jinlian pretended to stop him.
Only Xiao Huzi was preparing for the fight. He struggled and shouted, "Mother, don't block him, let him hit me..." Then he turned to Jin Shanyao, "Auntie... extort... fifty taels for medical treatment from him."
Jin Shanyao and smoothed things over, "Alright, alright... Xiao Huzi has just recovered and needs to rest."
Wang Jinlian handed Xiao Huzi's clothes to Qing He and pulled her aside to talk, "I don't know what happened this year, the child's father went down to collect silkworms... but he didn't collect much at all."
Tiger's father glared at his Xiao Huzi and continued, "Many farmers' silkworm cocoons were stored at home, but because of the high temperature, they all turned into fluttering moths. Silkworm farmers have suffered huge losses, and the price of cloth is likely to go up."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Huzi tugged at the Jin Shanyao his sleeve, gesturing for her to bend down and come closer.
"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Xiao Huzi whispered in her ear, "Do you know how to draw cooling talismans? I buy them from you for one penny each and sell them to farmers who raise silkworm pupae."
He looked into Jin Shanyao's eyes and said earnestly, "I've noticed your business hasn't been doing well lately. Why don't you come with me? I'll show you how to make big money."
Jin Shanyao was amused by his mature demeanor and burst into laughter. She reached out and cupped his chubby little face, about to tease him, when she heard a cry of pain from behind her.
Her laughter stopped abruptly. She turned around at the sound and saw Meng Anci lying on the ground. She immediately released Xiao Huzi and hurried over. "What happened?"
Despite the pain, Meng Anci obediently told Jin Shanyao, "It's nothing... I just lost my balance and twisted my ankle."
Jin Shanyao knelt down and held his ankle. "Does it hurt?"
Meng Anci nodded, "A little..."
What about this?
"Fine..."
Jin Shanyao helped him sit down on the recliner, "His bones are fine, he'll feel better after a while..."
Xiao Huzi squinted, staring intently at Meng Anci. "Brother Anci, did you fall flat on your face? I heard Sister Anzhi say that falling flat on your face means there's incomplete development of the cerebellum or cerebrum. Why don't you go see Sister Anzhi?"
Meng Anci's ears turned bright red. She pushed her Jin Shanyao and said, "Auntie, I'm fine... You two chat." After that, she stopped talking and just sat quietly to the side.
After his fall, Jin Shanyao had long forgotten about her grand plans with Xiao Huzi, and was now listlessly fanning Meng Anci with her palm-leaf fan.
At the same time, I chatted with Xiaohu's parents, saying, "This year might be tough, you should stock up on some food..."
Tiger's father sighed, "I'll go buy some in a bit. I heard the price of grain is going up too."
Wang Jinlian said worriedly, "I didn't take the notices posted by the government office in the first half of the year seriously, but... I don't know how bad the drought is. If it's a severe drought, we'll be in big trouble."
Jin Shanyao comforted her, "Don't worry, Qingzhou Prefecture is nestled between mountains and water... even if there's a drought, it won't last long."
Xiao Huzi stared at Jin Shanyao fan, filled with envy... Then, speechless, he looked at his parents, wanting to learn from them... to see how they took care of their child.
You guys are something else, all you know is fighting...
Tiger's father immediately saw what his son was thinking and joked, "If you can pass the imperial examination and become a scholar... your mother and I will take turns fanning you."
Xiao Huzi, his thoughts exposed, snorted softly... thinking to himself, "Two stupid birds trying to breed an eagle!"