Chapter Twenty: Daily Life

Ping'an Village.

Autumn rain was approaching.

“Heaven to earth, rain to wind, mountain flowers to sea trees, red sun to azure sky...”

On a long wooden bench, three figures—one adult and two children—sat in a row, swaying their heads as they recited the pairs of words from the open textbook.

Lu Kun was teaching his eldest daughter the second-grade language lesson, while the younger girl joined in for fun.

...

The mountain rain arrived suddenly, carried by moist winds sweeping from far to near.

Shala-la, shala-la...

The sound of rain was like a wordless ballad, rising from every direction, growing clearer and louder.

The room was dim, but filled with warmth.

Liu Liping watched the father and daughters reading together, unable to hide the smile at the corners of her mouth. As the rain grew louder, she hurried off to find something to collect water.

It was midday; the family had just finished lunch.

Lu Kun had been busy preparing for the evening’s snail and popcorn business, but as he saw the dark clouds rolling in from the horizon, he put his work aside. The rain seemed likely to be fierce, and afterwards the roads would be muddy and hard to traverse. Tonight, he probably wouldn’t be able to go into town.

So, Lu Kun decided to take the day off, staying home to keep his wife and children company and enjoy a rare moment of leisure.

Since Lu Kun began his relentless pursuit of wealth, time spent with his wife and daughters had become scarce. The family was overjoyed to learn he would be at home today.

The eldest, though gentle in temperament, was stubborn and unwilling to lose.

Not content with just first-grade material, she had borrowed second-grade textbooks from older children in the village and begun to study them.

The younger girl was mischievous, always drawn to her sister’s books whenever she had nothing to do.

Her “preparatory squad” status in preschool had yet to become official, though she had already memorized the texts fluently.

“Hui Min, I’ll recite the first line, you follow with the next. I’ll test your dictation later,” Lu Kun said, clearing his throat.

Since his eldest started school, Lu Kun had gradually begun correcting the way he addressed her.

“Yes, I’m ready!” Hui Min’s little face was taut, her hands twisting the hem of her shirt. Though a bit nervous, she answered bravely.

Her responses were halting at times, but accurate nonetheless.

“Daddy, daddy, it’s my turn now, my turn! Test me, quick!” The younger daughter, seeing her sister had finished, hurried to show off.

“Alright, alright...” Lu Kun was even more delighted. The younger girl’s talent for recitation was remarkable; after only a few repetitions, she could recite the entire text smoothly.

“Daddy, since I recited it right, when will you buy me a pretty pencil case?”

The second daughter, Lu Huiying, acted like a proud little princess, her twin braids swinging adorably.

“Hm... If it doesn’t rain tomorrow, I’ll buy it for you,” Lu Kun replied after a moment’s thought, seeing it was no big deal.

A short while ago, the eldest had just started school, and Lu Kun bought her a pretty pencil case, leaving the younger one deeply envious.

“Now let’s do dictation,” Lu Kun suggested. The eldest’s dictation notebook was already prepared.

“Daddy, I’m going to check on Mommy...”

At the mention of dictation, the younger girl’s face fell and she hastily fled.

She was still little, her hands not strong enough, and her writing always twisted and crooked, like a dog’s scrawl. Each time, her homework earned a “B,” nearly bringing her to tears.

The eldest, Lu Huimin, wrote as steadily as she handled life: balanced, upright, with a gentle touch concealing hidden sharpness.

Lu Kun found it remarkable.

Though he hadn’t read much, he had some appreciation for calligraphy.

...

The younger girl went to find Liu Liping, but Liu Liping, annoyed by her getting in the way, shooed her off.

The little one wasn’t angry or upset, but instead ran around the house with a cheerful grin.

Her beloved little rain boots, usually treasured, were already on her feet as she stomped into a puddle, splashing herself.

Liu Liping, holding a fire tong, stormed out of the kitchen, threatening to spank the mischievous child to vent her anger.

“Stop right there! I promise I won’t beat you to death!” Liu stood with hands on her hips, furious.

“I won’t stop! You’re definitely going to hit me!” she replied, then turned and ran.

The younger girl dashed away, Liu gave chase, and Lu Kun, watching their antics, burst into laughter.

The voices of mother and daughter faded in the curtain of rain, while the sound of rainfall grew ever louder.

This mud-brick house hadn’t been repaired in over a year, leaking everywhere.

...

Not long ago, Liu Liping had mentioned to Lu Kun about fixing the old house, but he hadn’t taken it seriously.

After all, they wouldn’t live here much longer.

Lu Kun had long made up his mind: as soon as the ginger business succeeded, he would buy a house in the city and move the family’s household registration there.

If the village wanted to reclaim their two acres, so be it—it wasn’t worth much anyway. If not, he’d let others farm it and pay the public grain; it wasn’t a big deal.

Liu Liping didn’t know what Lu Kun was planning, but seeing he didn’t want to repair the old house, she didn’t press him.

Of course, she wouldn’t take it upon herself to climb onto the roof for repairs.

In the countryside, such work was always done by men; if a woman went up, she’d be laughed at, and neither husband nor wife could show their faces.

Even ten years later, when most men had gone to work elsewhere and only the women stayed behind, they still wouldn’t easily climb up to fix the roof.

Partly because it was dangerous and exhausting, partly because of ingrained customs.

“A woman climbing the roof must be trying to attract other men.”

With such attitudes, even the most diligent women dared not defy tradition.

Recently, the family’s living standards had improved notably.

Liu Liping had bought an old, half-dead hen from a neighbor at a bargain and managed to nurse it back to health; it was now laying plenty of eggs.

Because of this, Liu Liping’s reputation for fortune and prosperity spread.

The villagers could see for themselves: Lu Kun’s family owed a large sum, their youngest son had passed only months ago, yet the couple had already repaid several hundred yuan.

Previously, the village elders had called Lu Kun a “rascal” behind his back, but now they gave him a thumbs-up.

They had watched his transformation: working tirelessly day and night.

Lu Kun’s worries about his reputation worsening were resolved, and even some of his past misdeeds were forgiven by the kind villagers.

Some elders even used his story to teach the younger generation, saying Lu Kun was “a prodigal son turned golden.”

At this moment, this “prodigal” was busy with Liu, strange noises echoing intermittently from the house...

On a rainy day, with nothing else to do, playing the game of making little ones seemed as good a pastime as any...