Twenty-seven Flying Eaves and Wall-Climbing Luo Xiaosan
Just as Li Wei had predicted, Luo Da went home with Li Wei and her little group after school the next day, much to the surprise of his brother Luo Er, who stared at him intently, making Luo Da feel a little awkward.
Li Wei glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, thinking to herself that this guy probably thought of himself as a phoenix from that movie. He was a little unaccustomed to suddenly reverting to being a flightless bird. It seemed she would have to remind him when she had the chance that he was no good bird.
Moreover, even though Luo Da only came to learn kung fu a few days ago, the others were immediately outclassed by him.
No matter what the action was, as long as Grandpa Cheng taught him once, Luo Da could immediately remember it and do it almost perfectly. This made Grandpa Cheng pat Luo Da's head and praise him: "Not bad, not bad, a rare smart child."
Li Wei realized that her role as supervisor and teaching assistant was completely ineffective with Luo Da; she couldn't even get a chance to give Luo Da a little push with her little pointer.
Moreover, she didn't really remember the moves her grandfather taught her very well; she was only slightly better than the others except for Luo Da. So Li Wei simply let go and made the most of the situation, letting Luo Da supervise the others, which freed her up to practice the piano.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are!
Hanging high in the sky, it shines like a jewel.
Squeak squeak squeak squeak, squeak squeak squeak squeak
Squeak squeak squeak squeak, squeak squeak squeak squeak
...
It was a piece of music that couldn't be simpler. Li Wei practiced it over and over again. She became more and more proficient, and it sounded better and better.
Li Wei had taught this children's song to twins before they started school. So, as Li Wei played it more and more fluently, Li Lin, who was fiddling with the new hair ornaments Li Wei had made for her, was also drawn over. She pulled up her little stool and sat down next to Li Wei to watch her sister play the violin.
Li Lin watched for a while and thought her sister was just pulling the strings back and forth. It was really very simple. So she got a little itchy to play: "Sis, can I play for a bit?"
Li Wei was playing in the alley and ignored her.
Li Lin asked her sister twice, but she ignored her. Unable to resist the urge, she reached out to touch the zither.
Li Wei was on guard against her. Seeing the little hand reaching out, she quickly turned away and scolded, "Go away. Go play somewhere else. I don't have time for you."
Li Lin pouted unhappily and muttered, "What's so great about it? I don't care."
Li Wei ignored her and continued making squeaking noises.
Li Lin, having been rebuffed by her sister, changed her target and went over to Wu Feng, who was practicing horse stance, to flirt with her: "Wu Feng, how about we go find Gu Liwei to play jump rope? Yesterday she said her mom bought her a really pretty dress in the city, shall we go take a look?"
Li Wei cursed inwardly: What a good-for-nothing! All he knows is eating and dressing up!
Wu Feng was also somewhat tempted, and relaxed her guard, glancing at the foreman, Luo Da, in front of her. Before she could even ask for leave, Luo Da ruthlessly lashed her with his whip, continuing to stand in a horse stance without saying a word to her.
Wu Feng grinned, but didn't dare to say a word, and continued to stand still. Li Lin, however, was unhappy and glared at him, shouting, "Luo Jianhua, why are you hitting people? I'm going to tell my grandpa!"
She felt that the only person who could keep Luo Da in check was her maternal grandfather; as for her sister, she was at most not afraid of Luo Da.
Luo Jianhua remained motionless as if he hadn't heard anything.
Li Wei couldn't keep up the fussing any longer, and said to her sister unhappily, "Li Lin, what are you yelling about here? Can't you see everyone is doing serious business? Go play somewhere else!"
Li Lin still didn't dare to speak up in front of her sister. Who was her sister? She was a tough woman who dared to argue with their parents and beat her up whenever she wanted without even asking their permission. Even her maternal grandfather sided with her sister. Based on Li Lin's past experiences, she didn't dare to mess with her sister.
But... Li Lin suddenly realized that she had become an outsider. This feeling was very unpleasant, and it made little Li Lin feel terrible.
Li Wei noticed Li Lin's displeasure and, before she could throw a tantrum, said, "I'll give you two choices: either go see Gu Liwei's new dress, or practice martial arts with them. If you cause trouble here, hmph!"
The threat was written all over his face.
Li Lin wasn't one to suffer a loss easily. She curled her lip and said disdainfully, "I'm going to find Gu Liwei. I'm ignoring you all, hmph!" Then she ran off.
Li Wei's hands continued to creak, but she was disappointed. This brat was so useless; all she cared about was beauty.
Li Wei arranged for Luo Da and the others to train five times a week, with Wednesdays and Sundays as rest days.
The day after his first Wednesday off, Li Wei noticed that Luo Da had a bit of a bruise on his face. After a moment's thought, she realized that Luo Da had probably gone off to practice with someone during his break. His schedule was pretty packed, wasn't it? She wondered if it was one of those guys who had beaten him up in the woods the other day.
Given that he not only gave them free lessons, but also paid for their water and drinks, the others were fine with it; they were all good kids. But Luo Da was the only one who never listened to orders and even seemed to look down on him.
So Li Wei made a deal with Luo Da: she would learn kung fu, but she would have to give something in return. She wouldn't charge him money; he could help herd sheep after class.
This is the only source of dairy products for her family, and it's also an essential ingredient for her to grow taller and maintain her beauty.
So every day, after finishing his homework with the others and practicing his kung fu with a few sheep, Luo Da would lead them to graze on the riverbank meadow, becoming a shepherd boy. Li Lianhui and Luo Er thought this was really interesting and insisted on going along, thus the three shepherd boys were born.
But gradually Li Wei noticed something was wrong. Why was the goat producing less and less milk the more she released it? One morning, Li Wei tried to squeeze the goat's breasts with a small basin for a long time but couldn't get much milk out. She looked at the goat's breasts in frustration. She looked at them every day but couldn't see any changes, so she simply gave up.
After the training was over that evening, Li Wei had them line up in the makeshift shower stall her grandfather had made at her house and take showers one by one. Erpangzi and Wu Feng went home to change clothes. As for Luo Da and Luo Er, Li Wei saw that Grandma Luo was a bit too busy taking care of the three children, so she simply let them each take a set of clothes and leave them at her house. Her mother had just bought a washing machine, so she didn't have to do it herself. Therefore, the two brothers had clean clothes to change into after showering.
Li Wei couldn't stand the people around her being dirty every day, especially since they sat in front of and behind her all the time. So she worked very hard to encourage their hygiene habits. To this end, Li Wei sometimes even used a comb and scissors to cut the hair of a few boys, and her skills became increasingly impressive.
He secretly rejoiced that if all else fails, he could become a hairdresser.
Today, Li Wei urged the children to take a shower and change their clothes. Without Li Wei having to say anything more, Luo Da took the sheep away on his own initiative, and Li Lianhui and Luo Er happily followed along to play.
Li Wei threw all their clothes into the washing machine. After thinking for a while, she decided to go and see how they were herding sheep and how they managed to drain all the sheep's milk.
Carrying a small bamboo basket, I went to the small river at the entrance of the village.
Li Wei had intended to just go and take a look, but if Luo Da and the others saw her empty-handed, she figured Luo Da would definitely suspect she was a exploitative landlord like Zhou Bapi. It was better to find a cover. Besides, she also wanted to collect a few pebbles so that her grandfather could build a small pond for her to raise some goldfish and turtles in a few days. She had seen them for sale at the free market on Changjiang Road last time.
Li Wei, carrying her basket, glanced around the riverbank at the village entrance. She didn't see many boys, and feeling annoyed, she knew Luo Da wasn't an honest fellow. Looking closer, she saw her sheep, tethered in the grove on this side of the river, heads bowed, grazing on the grass. But where were all the shepherds?
Li Wei looked around and saw a group of children of all ages playing on the other side of the river, but she wasn't looking for them. In the deeper, slower-flowing river further away, three naked children were splashing around, sending water flying everywhere.
Although Li Wei's eyesight is very good now, the distance is a bit far, and they are all naked, so there are really no physical characteristics. Although the number matches up, it is not certain.
As Li Wei picked up pebbles, she slowly moved towards the three naked children. However, the children darted around in the water like eels, making it difficult to identify whether they were the same kids she knew.
Finally, Li Wei saw the clothes on a large rock on the shore. Who else could it be but Luo Da, Luo Er, and Li Lianhui!
Li Wei was furious. They had just finished showering and then ran out to play in the water. What a pointless shower! Li Wei glared at the pile of clothes, wishing she could take them all so they couldn't go home. But she really didn't want to be that pig, even though the little brats weren't exactly beauties.
Fortunately, the water wasn't deep, only up to their waists, so there was no danger. Besides, there were adults washing clothes not far away.
While searching for pebbles with beautiful colors and patterns, Li Wei thought to herself that even if they weren't very diligent in herding the sheep, at least they were letting them graze. In particular, she noticed that after playing for a while, Luo Da actually went over and moved the sheep to another tree to tether it to graze, probably because he was worried that the sheep wouldn't have enough to eat.
So why are sheep producing less and less milk?
The cool, refreshing stream water was delightful. Li Wei, wearing her homemade denim shorts and a white t-shirt bought at the free market, strolled along the stream, finding joy in the experience. The sand and pebbles at the bottom of the stream tickled her feet, which felt very comfortable. She gradually put aside her thoughts about the goat milk and focused on watching the children search for pebbles.
As the sun began to set, the boys started getting dressed and coming ashore one by one. Li Wei suddenly noticed that the stream was getting muddy. Looking upstream, she saw a large flock of sheep being herded across the river to drink water by an old man.
Li Wei hurriedly went ashore, thinking that she would wash her hands and feet after the sheep had all crossed the river, and that the boys would probably be getting ready to go home by then.
And so, Li Wei watched as a flock of sheep slowly crossed the river, and the water quickly became clear again. She then washed her hands and rinsed her little feet, which were clad in plastic sandals, by the river. She dipped her bamboo basket filled with pebbles into the water to remove the mud and sand, and then stood up to see that the boys had already put on their clothes and were talking about something.
When Li Wei looked up at the grove of trees where the sheep were tethered in the distance, she suddenly understood why her sheep were not doing their job and did not produce milk.
There was a large sheep with beautiful horns, rubbing against her sheep and behaving intimately, while the old shepherd was using a small stick to drive the ram to catch up with the flock ahead.
Oh my god, it seems her sheep is in a relationship!
If they were to have a child together, Li Wei wouldn't object; it would be perfect to have a few more little lambs.
Li Wei followed Luo Da and the others home, ignoring Luo Da's bewildered expression. Once home, she told her mother about having the sheep have lambs. Her mother readily agreed and immediately told her father to take the sheep to Old Li's house, the only sheep farmer in the village, to find mates for her lambs.
These things weren't Li Wei's concern, but it also meant that she wouldn't be able to drink goat milk for the next five months. She mentioned it to her mother, who was chopping dumpling filling, and her mother didn't even think about it: "What's the point of drinking that stuff? It has a strong goaty smell. I don't think Xiaolin and Xiaohui like it. Your grandfather only drinks it because he's afraid of wasting things. Don't think I don't know that you use the leftovers to wash your face, hands, and feet. So, it's okay if you don't drink it."
Li Wei's bathtub was not seen by her mother, otherwise she would have had even more questions.
"I love drinking it, Mom. Shall we buy another one? I want to grow taller." A glass of milk a day keeps the doctor away, making Chinese people strong!
“Grow taller? Who told you that drinking goat milk will make you grow taller? Why aren’t there any big goats? I might believe you if you said cow milk makes you grow taller.” Mom’s cleaver gleamed coldly as she stared at the minced meat on the cutting board without stopping, not even glancing at Li Wei.
"My mom isn't scary, what's scary is that she's uneducated," Li Wei said helplessly. "Oh, then buy me a cow, I'll definitely look like a cow, really."
Mom could tell it wasn't a nice thing to say, and her tone turned unfriendly: "Go away, go play somewhere else, don't cause trouble here." She chased Li Wei away.
I figured skipping a few days of goat milk wouldn't affect her growth, so I'll wait and see. Li Wei thought to herself while practicing her erhu to pass the time. If things really got too bad in a few days, she'd just buy a sheep herself. After all, she already had a shepherd boy; it would be a waste not to use him.
My mom's pork and celery dumplings were ready in the evening. She filled a big bowl and asked Li Wei to take them to Grandma Luo in the front yard. They're neighbors, and we all get along well, especially Grandma Luo's zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) for the Dragon Boat Festival—they're filled with dates, peanuts, mung beans, and all sorts of things, with perfectly pointed corners that look beautiful and taste delicious. Unlike my mom, who only makes glutinous rice or millet dumplings, they're all big, clumsy-looking dumplings, as round as Aunt Luo's waist.
When Li Wei saw this bowl of dumplings, she figured it was barely enough for Luo San and Luo Er; Grandma Luo probably wouldn't get any. It seemed a bit small, but then she noticed her mother hadn't made that many either. On her way out, she detoured to their steamed bun and mantou production workshop and grabbed a few steamed buns and bean buns. That would be enough; Grandma Luo wouldn't need to cook dinner.
When Li Wei arrived at Grandma Luo's house, the old lady was tending to her vegetable garden in the front yard. Li Wei greeted her loudly, "Grandma Luo, my mom asked me to bring you some dumplings." The old lady was a little hard of hearing.
When the old lady saw Li Wei arrive, she smiled and said, "Look at your mother, she thinks of me even when she's eating something. Please thank your mother for me, Xiaoming."
"Grandma Luo, you're too kind. Where's Xiao San?" I can't find Luo San, that little rascal who needs a rope to be tied up.
"That brat is sleeping inside. Otherwise, I wouldn't dare let him go. He's so naughty, there's no end to him." Grandma Luo suffered greatly at the hands of her mischievous son.
Li Wei followed the old lady into the house, put the dumplings and buns into the small bowl that the old lady took out, said goodbye to Grandma Luo while carrying the bowl, and walked home.
Her house and the Luo family's house were diagonally opposite each other, one in front and one behind. The Luo family's house, like Uncle Lin's, was located by the roadside. Li Wei turned into the alley in front of the Luo family's house and was walking along the Luo family's courtyard wall when a small tile suddenly fell from the sky, almost grazing Li Wei's scalp, giving her a big fright.
Who is this? So inconsiderate! Or is someone intentionally trying to attack me?
Li Wei quickly jumped aside and looked around; no one was there. Then she looked up at the high place where the tile had come from and was furious.
On the roof of the small storage shed built against the courtyard wall of Grandma Luo's house, Luo San, that naughty boy who was supposedly sleeping inside, was sitting on the roof, holding a small tile and grinning at her!
That's terrible! Doesn't this kid know that hitting someone on the head with a tile can cause serious injury? I didn't see any ladder or anything when I went into the yard, so I have no idea how he climbed up there. The house may not look big, but it must be at least two meters high.
Li Wei wanted to call Grandma Luo to get Luo San down, but then she thought about Grandma Luo's legs and decided against it. She figured she had nothing else to do anyway, so she might as well treat it as exercise. She wondered where Luo Da had gone; otherwise, he'd be a master at dealing with his brother.
Li Wei went around the courtyard wall to the alley near her house. Uncle Lin had piled up a lot of sand and stones on the path behind the Luo family's house, which would be perfect for stepping onto the small roof. Li Wei put the large bowl on a stone and, as she climbed the wall, thought fiercely, "Luo Xiaosan, you just wait! You dare to hit me with anything? Wait till I get up here and see how I deal with you!"
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