Chapter 15

Ruan Xi treated the borrowed books like treasures, carefully placing them in the camphor wood box. Although most people considered these books worthless trash in recent years, after the college entrance exams were reinstated, they became highly sought-after items that many people fought over at recycling stations.

After putting the books away and closing the camphor wood box, Ruan Xi sat down and said to Ruan Jie, “I’ve found a teacher who will only teach you and me. We’ll set a time to study together every day, but don’t tell anyone.”

Ruan Jie was curious, “Who?”

Ruan Xi whispered, “Ling Yao.”

Ruan Jie blurted out, “The fool from the stilt house?”

Ruan Xi raised her hand and lightly slapped her, “Is that how you talk?”

Ruan Jie instinctively shrank her shoulders, feeling embarrassed, “I didn’t mean it. That’s what everyone in the village says. Gao Haiyang and the others always bully him, but no matter if they scold or hit him, he never makes a sound or runs away. He just stands there and lets them hit him. Everyone thinks he’s got a problem and is a fool.”

Ruan Xi took a deep breath, “He just looks innocent and doesn’t like causing trouble. He’s afraid of getting into trouble, so he doesn’t make a sound when bullied. But he’s not a fool; he’s actually very smart, a little genius.”

Ruan Jie blinked, “Really?”

Ruan Xi nodded, “Yes.”

Ruan Jie didn’t understand, “Then why can’t we tell anyone?”

Ruan Xi looked at her, “Because his mother doesn’t want him to interact much with people in our village or get involved in others’ affairs. She’s afraid of causing trouble. If she finds out, she might not be happy. So, let’s keep this to ourselves.”

Ruan Jie understood and nodded, “Okay, I got it.”

After spending so much time here and experiencing many things, Ruan Xi had fully adapted to her current life. She had gotten used to the slow-paced rural life after escaping the high-pressure, fast-paced modern life. Here, there were no entertainment facilities, and communication and transportation were not developed. Every day, she was confined to this small world, only worrying about basic needs, so the time seemed to pass slowly, watching the sun rise and set. She went to bed early at night and got up at dawn with the rooster’s crow, breathing the freshest mountain air.

Every day, she would appear on the mountain path around the same time, walking lightly to learn tailoring from the old tailor. Today was no different. She sat down at the old tailor’s house, working the sewing machine, sewing straight lines, wavy lines, and circles.

In the afternoon, when the sun was slanting halfway up the sky, Ruan Xi would head home and often coincidentally run into Ling Yao.

Today, seeing Ling Yao on the hillside, Ruan Xi waved and called out from a distance, “Yao Yao!”

Ling Yao heard her voice, looked over, and stood up to meet her, his face full of smiles.

It seemed that just seeing her made him very happy, as this bit of joy was rare in his impoverished and bitter life, so he didn’t even try to hide it, letting it show on his face.

When he reached Ruan Xi, he asked, “Did you find the books?”

Ruan Xi nodded, “Yes, I found first to fifth-grade Chinese and math books. I couldn’t find middle and high school textbooks for now, but we don’t need them yet. Let’s start with elementary knowledge and build a solid foundation first.”

Ling Yao responded, “Shall we start tomorrow?”

Ruan Xi relaxed her muscles and took a breath, sitting down on a rock, “Tomorrow won’t work. I have to go with my master to someone’s house to help make clothes, and it might take two days.”

Ling Yao sat beside her, “Then we’ll wait until you return.”

Ruan Xi relaxed her body, lying back on the rock, squinting at the sun setting in the sky, and suddenly said, “I wonder when I can go outside the mountains and see the world.”

The scenes of life in her original memories were very limited. Besides Fengming Mountain and Fengyan Village, the farthest she had been was the town, where she had visited her third aunt’s house for a few days.

Ruan Xi’s words stirred more emotions in Ling Yao’s heart. He lowered his head and carved the slightly rounded wood in his hand with a small knife without saying anything.

Ruan Xi turned her head to look at him, and after a while, she sat up from the rock. She now considered Ling Yao as someone she could confide in, so she asked directly, “Do you miss home?”

If it were anyone else, Ling Yao wouldn’t have responded. He wouldn’t dare say he missed his old home, that life here was exhausting and bitter, or that he dreamed of flying out of the mountains every day, which was why he carved small airplanes. But at this moment, he carved the wood in his hand for a while and replied in a muffled voice, “Yes.”

After responding, the tension building up in his heart for years unconsciously eased a bit. He even started to have some unrealistic thoughts. He stopped what he was doing, turned to Ruan Xi, and said, “If there’s a chance in the future…”

But he stopped there because he knew deep down that there was no future, no chance.

Ruan Xi seemed to know what he wanted to say, but she didn’t show any sadness. Instead, she spoke in a relaxed tone, as if talking about something light, and completed his sentence, “If there’s a chance in the future, I’ll visit your home.”

Perhaps influenced by Ruan Xi, Ling Yao suddenly felt there was no need to be so sorrowful.

He smiled and nodded at Ruan Xi, “Yes.”

He thought it was just empty talk, but Ruan Xi knew he would return to where he belonged one day. He didn’t belong to this mountain and wouldn’t stay here forever. He had his own world.

Changing the subject, Ruan Xi looked at the round piece of wood in Ling Yao’s hand and asked, “What is this?”

Ling Yao raised the wood for her to see, “It’s a pig.”

Ruan Xi laughed, “Isn’t it just a pig? I asked you to carve a pig.”

Ling Yao said, “When I finish carving it, I’ll go up the mountain to find some materials to make paint and dye it pink.”

Ruan Xi tapped the unfinished pig’s nose, “So it’s called Pink Piggy.”

Since she was going out to make clothes for someone and would likely stay overnight, Ruan Xi packed a change of clothes and toiletries at home and informed Liu Xinghua.

Liu Xinghua saw her off and reminded her, “Take care of yourself.”

Ruan Xi smiled, “I can not only take care of myself but also take care of my master, that old man.”

Liu Xinghua lightly slapped her, “He’s your master, and you still call him an old man.”

Ruan Xi stopped bantering with her, quickly kissed her on the forehead, and left with her backpack.

Liu Xinghua’s old friend, Granny Zhao, came over to find her and happened to witness this scene. She laughed, her face full of wrinkles, and teased her, “I think Xiao Xi must be the reincarnation of saccharin. Look how sweet she makes you. Your old face is about to bloom with smiles.”

Liu Xinghua, smiling, glared at Granny Zhao, “You’re the one blooming!”

Granny Zhao didn’t argue with her and asked, “Is Xiao Xi going to the old tailor’s house to learn skills again?”

Liu Xinghua replied, “This time, not only is she going to the old tailor’s house, but she’s also going with him to someone’s house to make clothes.”

Granny Zhao’s eyes lit up when she heard this, “Oh, the old tailor has never taken anyone out to make clothes before, has he? He must really recognize Xiao Xi’s talent. Maybe Xiao Xi will even bring back some wages this time.”

Liu Xinghua felt proud and couldn’t help but smile, saying, “Indeed, before our Xiao Xi, he never took anyone out to make clothes. And think about it, he never officially acknowledged anyone as his apprentice before.”

Granny Zhao looked admiringly, “Xiao Xi is like her father, promising and capable. Your eldest son is truly successful. In our Fengming Mountain area, he’s the only one who became a real cadre.”

Liu Xinghua felt even more proud, her face beaming with smiles, but she said, “Oh, being successful isn’t necessarily a good thing. He’s away from home, traveling all over, and we haven’t seen him for years.”

Everyone understood this, and Granny Zhao said, “There’s no helping it; the army is always busy.”

…

Ruan Xi arrived at the old tailor’s house with her backpack. She had just poured a cup of water and taken a couple of sips when four strong men knocked on the door and came in.

Because the old tailor is now elderly and has difficulty moving, whenever someone wants him to make clothes, they have to invite four strong men over. Two men carry the machine and the iron, while the other two carry the old tailor.

Ruan Xi put down her drinking bowl and saw two men carrying a sedan chair and placing it in front of the old tailor.

The old tailor sat in the sedan chair, holding a wooden smoking pipe.

The sedan chair looked like an old item, just a round chair with sedan poles attached to the sides. Ruan Xi felt she had seen something like it before, and after thinking for a while, she remembered seeing it in palace dramas, where the emperor sat in a similar chair.

Sitting in the sedan chair, looking at the mountain scenery, and smoking a pipe—it was truly like the life of an emperor.

Ruan Xi carried two yellow school bags, one with her belongings and the other with some small tools she needed. She followed the old tailor and curiously asked him, “Master, where did this chair come from?”

The old tailor took a puff from his pipe and leisurely said, “It originally belonged to a wealthy landlord. Later, during the revolution, it was confiscated by the brigade. In the past two years, my legs haven’t been good, so the brigade sent it to me.”

Ruan Xi nodded, indicating she understood.

Without a watch, Ruan Xi didn’t know exactly how long they had been walking since leaving the old tailor’s house. By the time they arrived at the woman in the checkered shirt’s house, it was still before noon, with the sun hanging in the eastern sky.

In this era, on Fengming Mountain, inviting a tailor was considered a big event. As soon as the old tailor’s sedan chair arrived in the village, it attracted a group of children who came to watch. The children knew the old tailor and greeted him without much formality, “Old tailor, whose house are you going to make clothes for this time?”

The old tailor didn’t like to respond and directly said from the sedan chair, “Get lost, kids!”

So the children turned to Ruan Xi and asked, “Who are you? What are you doing with the old tailor?”

Tired from the long mountain walk, Ruan Xi took a breath and said, “Didn’t your family teach you how to speak to elders? Is the old tailor someone you can call by name?”

The children immediately rolled their eyes at her, “None of your business!”

Ruan Xi played her trump card, “Do you know Ruan Changsheng? He’s my fifth uncle.”

The child’s expression quickly faded, and then he turned and ran off, with the whole group following him like a swarm of bees.

A little while later, the leader of the children ran back and said to Ruan Xi, “I know now. You’re the apprentice the old tailor took in. You’re the little tailor.”