Chapter 86 Mountain Home Hearth 86

Chapter 86: A Mountain Family's Daily Life

After the meal, the chilled melons were retrieved from the well, sliced into large pieces, and shared among everyone.

Xie Baozhu, though from a wealthy background, was not one to fuss over minor details. One moment he was hitching up his long gown and tucking it into his belt, the next he was squatting on the ground, devouring a melon. Several rinds already lay at his feet, being gnawed on by Lucky.

The chilled melons, with their thin skin, red flesh, and abundant sweet juice, were incredibly refreshing.

Qin Banban was the youngest in her family, and even among her close friends like Luo Maier, she was the baby of the group. Today, she had the rare and novel experience of being an "older sister." She pulled Li Maidong to sit beside her and enthusiastically offered her a slice of melon.

Qin Banban: "Here, eat up!"

Li Maidong obediently took it, sweetly calling out, "Thank you, Sister Qin."

*Sister?*

*That sounded nice!*

Qin Banban instinctively straightened her back, her head bobbing proudly, sending her two thick black braids swinging.

She took a bite of melon and then said, "My name is Banban, Banban as in... well, as in ordinary! Li Maidong, what's your name?"

Her name had been chosen by the former Old Scholar Liu. She and her second brother, being twins, had both had their names selected by the scholar at the same time.

As an educated man, the scholar would never have truly chosen a name meaning "ordinary." However, Qin Banban, concerned that Li Maidong might not be literate, opted for a simple explanation to make it easier for her to understand.

To her surprise, the little girl tilted her head and said clearly, "'Embracing benevolence is called fullness, holding righteousness is called excellence①.' My second brother said that 'Banban' refers to a qilin! Sister's name is anything but ordinary!"

The little girl had lovely features—an oval face and large eyes—but she was somewhat dark and thin, likely from years of hard labor.

Qin Banban delightedly asked, "Have you studied too?"

Li Maidong blinked and nodded, continuing, "My second brother taught me some basic texts, so I know that phrase."

She then added, "My name is Li Maidong. Maidong is a type of medicinal herb."

"My mother said that shortly after I was born, I fell gravely ill with a persistent cough. My family thought I wouldn't survive! But then they boiled Maidong water for me, and I recovered! My mother felt this herb was my lucky star, so she named me after it!"

Qin Banban, having studied medical texts and learned about herbs from her father, naturally knew of Maidong.

Her eyes lit up as she asked, "Is it that herb with long, thin leaves and purple flowers?"

Li Maidong's eyes sparkled as she nodded repeatedly, "Yes!"

Qin Banban leaned closer to her and said, "What a lovely name! I have a good friend whose name also has 'Mai' in it!"

The two girls, being of similar age, quickly became fast friends, soon huddled together, whispering secrets. Lucky, having finished the melon rinds at Xie Baozhu's feet, wagged its tail and trotted over to Banban to gnaw on fresh ones.

"This piece has fewer seeds."

It was Qin Rongshi speaking. Seeing Liu Guyu finish a piece, he quickly handed him another he had carefully selected.

But Liu Guyu waved his hands repeatedly, saying urgently, "No more, no more, I really can't eat another bite! You've already given me three pieces! You don't have to force all your leftovers on me just because you can't finish!"

Qin Rongshi: "..."

It was like casting pearls before swine. Qin Rongshi couldn't help but shoot him a glare, but soon realized that glaring at Liu Guyu wouldn't get his attention. Instead, his eyes were getting sore from the effort.

He sighed inwardly, took back the "unfinished" chilled melon, and expressionlessly finished it himself.

Xie Baozhu burped without a shred of decorum, swinging his legs, which he'd stretched straight out, and suddenly exclaimed, "Let's go play in the mountains! It's my first time in the village. Are there any fun places? The weather is perfect today for an outing!"

It seemed the young master was quite whimsical and at leisure; despite the hot weather, he still felt like going out for a mountain hike.

But since he rarely visited, Qin Rongshi naturally didn't refuse.

Cui Lanfang also said, "Go ahead, all you young people go out and play! By the time you return, the pumpkin and mung bean soup will be cooled, just right for a refreshing bowl to beat the heat!"

Xie Baozhu: "Thank you, Auntie! You are so kind and beautiful! No wonder you raised a prodigy like Qin Rongshi and a sweetheart like Little Sister Qin!"

Liu Guyu was quite the smooth-talker himself, but even he rarely laid it on as thick with flattery as Xie Baozhu.

Cui Lanfang was both surprised and delighted, her face blushing shyly. She inexplicably felt much closer to this young master.

"Oh my! You child... Alright, alright, off you go play!"

With Cui Lanfang's permission, Liu Guyu and Qin Rongshi indeed led the whole group out.

Their procession attracted a lot of attention along the way, with many people staring at them.

They particularly noticed that Xie Baozhu's clothes were made of fine, brightly dyed fabric. He wore a jade hairpin, and a jade pendant and sachet at his waist. He even had a servant attending him, and the servant's clothes were better than what the villagers wore!

He was clearly a young master from a wealthy family!

Some eager to cozy up approached and asked, "Scholar Qin, who is this?"

Before Qin Rongshi could introduce him, the very familiar young master stepped forward, hooked his arm around Qin Rongshi's neck, and said like the best of friends, "Hello, Auntie! We are all Qin Rongshi's classmates, specially here to visit the village today!"

"Oh my, classmates! That's wonderful! Please visit our village more often! Our village's Scholar Qin is very clever. It's good you play together!"

The auntie spoke warmly while thinking to herself:

*Dressed so well, clearly a wealthy young master from town, and studying at the Luming Academy! Oh my, his future is surely bright! She should go back and tell her daughter to go up the mountain too, maybe they could also become friends?*

And she wasn't the only one thinking this; many others had the same idea. That half-day, Xie Baozhu had "chance encounters" with quite a few girls and lads on the mountain.

Oblivious, he asked, "Your village is really lively, so many people enjoying the mountains! Quick, let's hurry up, don't let them pick all the mountain fruits!"

At this point, Xie Baozhu started grinning foolishly again. Feicui stood beside him, also beaming goofily. Master and servant started chatting.

"Young master, the villagers are so down-to-earth and kind! So warm!"

"Of course! It must be because I'm handsome and dashing; all these aunties are taken with me!"

Obviously, the master and servant were completely lost in their own little world.

Qin Banban, meanwhile, held Li Maidong's hand and ran ahead. Both girls grew up in the village, accustomed to mountain paths. Though the youngest, they were the fastest walkers.

They chattered away:

"The bayberries on the mountain are ripe! So are the mulberries, plums, and peaches! Let's go pick some! Brother Liu promised to make preserved bayberries for me. I'll share some with you when they're done!"

"Great, great! The preserved peaches from our village are especially delicious too! When they're ripe, I'll ask my brother to bring you some!"

The two girls walked in front, Liu Guyu and Qin Rongshi in the middle.

Xie Baozhu, at the very back, was still chuckling weirdly. Li Anyuan got goosebumps from it. He rubbed his arms, poked Xie Baozhu's arm, and muttered, "...Could you stop laughing? It's kinda creepy."

Xie Baozhu glared at him and said irritably, "Yuan Yuan! If you've got nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all!"

Li Anyuan shrugged and gestured for him to go up the mountain.

Xie Baozhu wasn’t really angry, or rather, his attention was quickly drawn elsewhere.

Xie Baozhu: "Hey... Yuan Yuan, what's this tree?"

Li Anyuan: "A walnut tree. But it won’t bear fruit until autumn."

Xie Baozhu: "What about this one?"

Li Anyuan: "A palm tree. The leaves used for wrapping *zongzi* come from this one. How do you not know this? There’s one planted at the academy!"

Xie Baozhu: "Oh, a palm tree... Hey, the one at the academy is so prim and proper, not as wild-looking as this one! What about this one? And this?"

Li Anyuan: "...A paulownia tree."

Xie Baozhu: "Wow! Yuan Yuan, you’re amazing! How do you know all this?"

Li Anyuan: "..."

It was Xie Baozhu’s first time up the mountain, so everything fascinated him. He poked at this and tugged at that... and then...

"Li Yuanyuan! Li Anyuan! Help me!! There’s a bug on my shoulder, aaaah!! Hurry!! Get it off!! Aaaah, it’s going to bite me!!! It’s crawling into my clothes!! Aaaah!!!"

Li Anyuan: "..."

Li Anyuan rushed over, and Liu Guyu and Qin Rongshi, who were walking ahead, also quickly stopped and turned back. The three of them gathered around Xie Baozhu and finally spotted a small green bug on his green clothes.

It really was just a tiny bug.

Even Feicui (Jade) said weakly, "...Young master, it’s not even as long as my fingernail. You screamed so loudly—that's so embarrassing."

Xie Baozhu scowled and threatened, "You’re done for. You're not getting your allowance this month."

Feicui cried out miserably, "Ah, young master, please don’t!"

Li Anyuan sighed, "It’s just a little green caterpillar that fell from a leaf. It doesn’t bite."

Even Liu Guyu stifled a laugh. When he heard Xie Baozhu scream, he thought it was something like a centipede or a spider, but it turned out to be just a small green caterpillar.

But the young master was raised pampered and sheltered and had never seen a little bug before, so it was understandable... though the sight of such a tall guy jumping into Li Anyuan's arms was just too hilarious—*pfft*—

Liu Guyu couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing.

As they say, the most considerate one is always the little comforter. Banban walked over with a small bamboo basket, handed Xie Baozhu a package of mulberries wrapped in mulberry leaves, tilted her head, and said sweetly, "Brother Xie, have some mulberries to settle your nerves? They’re really sweet!"

The mulberries were deep purple-red, fully ripe, and juice spilled out at the slightest touch.

She first gave a package to Xie Baozhu, then one to Li Anyuan, and finally to Liu Guyu and Qin Rongshi, who were family, acting very much the part of the hostess.

The weather was nice, so the two little girls picked some fruit first, then held hands and stepped on stones in the stream to catch crabs.

Xie Baozhu, interested in everything, immediately dragged Li Anyuan into the water. They tucked their long robes into their belts and rolled up their wide sleeves, not looking very scholarly as they happily waded in.

Not long after—

"Li Yuanyuan! Li Anyuan! Help me! A crab is pinching my hand, aaaah!!!"

The earlier bug scare was a false alarm, but this time a crab half the size of a palm was clamped onto Xie Baozhu’s finger, waving its other claw triumphantly. Xie Baozhu flailed his hand wildly but couldn’t get it off.

Feicui, who had been squatting on the bank with her chin in her hands, jumped up and shouted, "Young master! Young master, don’t be afraid! I’m coming!"

Xie Baozhu screamed even louder, "Aaaah! Feicui! Don’t pull!! You’re done for!! No allowance for you next month either!!!"

It was Li Anyuan who quickly reacted, grabbing Xie Baozhu’s wrist, pulling him down to squat, and then dipping his hand into the stream.

Once in the water, the crab moved its claw and, the next moment, released its grip and quickly crawled under a large green rock.

After the crab escaped, Li Anyuan pulled Xie Baozhu up, checking his fingers as he said, "If a crab pinches you, you can’t just pull it off. The more you struggle, the tighter it grips, and it can draw blood. Soaking it in water is best—it’ll let go and run away when it touches water."

Xie Baozhu pouted, holding up his large, broad, long, well-defined hand, and cried, "My 'delicate, jade-like fingers'! They’re swollen!"

Li Anyuan wiped his sweat and couldn’t help saying, "Classmate Xie, that might be a bit much."

The little comforter was on the scene again, finding some anti-swelling herbs nearby, mashing them, and applying them to his "delicate, jade-like fingers."

The fingers were a bit thick, but Xie Baozhu stubbornly insisted it was because the crab had pinched them swollen.

Although there were some unpleasant little incidents, Xie Baozhu still had a blast. Soon enough, he dragged Li Anyuan back into the water, saying he absolutely had to catch that crab to avenge himself!

So, the freshly applied medicine was quickly washed away by the stream.

Banban didn’t say anything; Banban just sighed.

After playing on the mountain for over two hours, they caught a basket of crabs and picked some mountain fruits. They returned happily and each drank two large bowls of pumpkin and mung bean soup.

By then, it was getting late. Cui Lanfang urged the guests to stay for supper, but Xie Baozhu and Li Anyuan didn’t stay any longer and prepared to leave.

There were plenty of fruits in the mountains, and Xie Baozhu, living in town, couldn’t always enjoy such fresh ones. So, all the fruits they picked that day on Xiaoliu Mountain were given to him to take back. Liu Guyu also gave them some of his recently made meat sauce and bayberry jam.

Just as they were about to leave, Xie Baozhu called out to Li Anyuan. It turned out he had prepared a few winter melons for the Li family and told him to take them back for his family to enjoy.

After a day of fun, Li Anyuan seemed to feel that the group had grown closer. For once, he didn’t refuse and gladly accepted.

Qin Rongshi walked them out to the carriage shed and saw that the family’s blue-and-white mule had cornered two outsider white sheep, with the mule hogging all the feed.

Xie Baozhu screamed, "Ah! My heavenly beauty! My fair beauty!"

It took Liu Guyu a while to realize that "heavenly beauty" and "fair beauty" were the names of the two white sheep.

Hmm, even more unique than his Cuihua (Liu Guyu's animal)!

After all the commotion, the group finally made their way out. Li Anyuan lived far away and had quite a few things to carry, so Qin Rongshi gave him a ride home in the carriage.

After everyone had left, the courtyard finally quieted down.

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Author’s Note: ①: From "The Enlightenment of Rhymes." Finally got a chance to explain the meaning behind the names I carefully chose!

(Suddenly realized that the Li family and Qin Rongshi’s family have the same setup—also an older brother, a second brother, and a little sister.)