Chapter 111: The Folk Artist – Ice Spinning Top

The two of them brought the items into the space and organized them. Zhou Sinian helped pour out everything from the burlap sack onto the ground.

In those days, most families were reluctant to exchange their grain, but they had been eating wild mountain goods since childhood. Since these were freely available from the mountains, they didn’t feel too distressed about trading them. As a result, most of what they exchanged for were mountain goods.

There were plenty of hazelnuts, pine nuts, and walnuts. There was only a small bag of red dates—these were considered precious and were usually saved for newlywed daughters-in-law when they joined the family.

They had also exchanged quite a lot of peanuts. There was half a sack of soybeans, which were an oil source, so people were usually unwilling to trade too much of them.

The bulk of their haul consisted of various mushrooms. They were neatly strung together with grass stems, carefully categorized, dried, and cleaned with no signs of insect damage. It was clear that Aunt Huang had meticulously sorted them.

There was also nearly a full burlap sack of wood ear mushrooms, varying in size. Once soaked, they would yield a considerable amount.

Surprisingly, there was also a small bag of dried Schisandra berries. Ming Dai placed them on the medicinal herb shelf in the space’s warehouse.

She planned to organize these items into gift baskets and sell them during the New Year to make some money.

As for the hazelnuts, she decided to keep them. They hadn’t found any hazelnuts in the mountains so far, and Ming Dai intended to explore the possibility of making hazelnut candy.

While Ming Dai was making plans, Zhou Sinian was examining the baskets that Aunt Huang had brought along.

These had mostly been added as a bonus when people exchanged mushrooms. A few of them looked particularly delicate, and Zhou Sinian seemed to like them very much.

By the time Ming Dai finished her calculations, she saw that Zhou Sinian had already taken all the baskets apart. He was now busy trying to weave them back together, but unfortunately, he wasn’t successful.

Ming Dai squatted down to take a look. The baskets seemed to be specially made as toys for children, featuring somewhat complicated patterns. Zhou Sinian had dismantled them but had forgotten the steps to put them back together.

Seeing his stubborn expression, Ming Dai knew that if he didn’t figure it out, he would probably be frustrated for the rest of the day. Since she also needed baskets for her gift sets, she called out to Zhou Sinian, suggesting they take the broken baskets and visit Liu Dazheng’s house.

She packed some of their homemade pickled spicy cabbage and freshly made cornmeal pancakes into a basket and headed out.

Zhou Sinian followed with a bamboo basket on his back, holding the dismantled baskets in his hands.

As they passed by the entrance of the educated youth quarters, they saw two people coming out as well—Qi Zhijun and Liu Yan.

With all the busyness lately, Ming Dai had almost forgotten about the troublesome people in the front courtyard.

Unlike Liu Yan, who looked radiant and full of joy, Qi Zhijun appeared as if the very backbone had been taken out of him, looking completely dejected.

Liu Yan saw Ming Dai and brushed her fingers over the red headscarf on her head. “Ming Zhiqing, do you think my headscarf looks nice? Brother Jun bought it for me.”

Brother Jun?

Ming Dai raised an eyebrow. So, they were together now.

Qi Zhijun heard Liu Yan showing off but didn’t refute her. Instead, he just stared blankly at the pile of snow in the corner of the wall.

Before Ming Dai could say anything, Zhou Sinian frowned at Liu Yan and bluntly said, “It’s really ugly!”

Liu Yan’s smug expression immediately stiffened. Her eyes turned red as she looked at Qi Zhijun in grievance.

Qi Zhijun, clearly lacking the courage to confront Zhou Sinian, avoided Liu Yan’s pitiful gaze and continued looking dazed, as if his soul had left his body.

Ming Dai quickly grabbed Zhou Sinian, who looked like he was about to say more. “Why are you speaking the harsh truth out loud? Sorry about that, Liu Zhiqing, we have something to do, so we’ll be going now.”

After saying that, she pulled Zhou Sinian away by his sleeve.

Zhou Sinian allowed himself to be dragged along, but before turning away, he still shot Liu Yan a fierce glare. Then, he turned back to Ming Dai with a sulky expression.

“Ming Dai, she looks terrible with that red headscarf. I look way better than her!”

Ming Dai responded half-heartedly, “Yes, yes, you look the best!”

Satisfied, Zhou Sinian adjusted his own headscarf, straightened the bow, picked up the basket, and strode forward.

When they arrived at Liu Dazheng’s house, they saw him sitting at the doorway of the main house, weaving something. Through the low wooden fence, Ming Dai called out, “Uncle Dazheng, is it convenient for us to come in?”

Hearing her voice, Liu Dazheng looked up. Seeing that it was the two of them, he seemed quite pleased. “Come in, come in! The door’s not locked.”

Ming Dai led Zhou Sinian inside.

“Ming Zhiqing, Zhou Zhiqing, are you in need of something again?”

Zhou Sinian still remembered Liu Dazheng and had a good impression of him. Though he didn’t say anything, he still gave a polite nod in response to the greeting.

Ming Dai glanced at the basket Liu Dazheng was weaving. It was the perfect size for the gift baskets she planned to make.

Ming Dai asked, “Uncle Dazheng, how many of these baskets do you have?”

Liu Dazheng didn’t stop weaving as he replied, “I should have about twenty or thirty. If you want baskets, just take them for fun. These don’t make me any money.”

Ming Dai smiled and said, “Uncle Dazheng, I’ll take all of these baskets. Could you also make twenty more for me?”

Liu Dazheng hadn’t expected her to need so many. “When do you need them?”

Ming Dai thought for a moment. “A week before the festival. Someone asked me to find baskets for them. Their factory wants to use them for holiday gifts—these are both elegant and practical.”

Liu Dazheng nodded in agreement. “The baskets I weave, if taken care of, can last for three generations!”

Ming Dai grinned. “Exactly! Last time, I gave someone a holiday gift, and they liked the basket more than the gift itself. That’s why they asked about it. Uncle Dazheng, if this works for you, I’ll let them know.”

Liu Dazheng considered the bamboo he had stored. “No problem, I can have them ready a week before the festival!”

Ming Dai nodded and lifted the basket in Zhou Sinian’s hands. “Uncle Dazheng, I brought some cornmeal pancakes and my homemade pickled spicy cabbage for you to try. Here’s one yuan as a deposit.”

Liu Dazheng gratefully accepted the pancakes and the small clay jar of pickled vegetables, but he refused the money. “Ming Zhiqing, keep the money. Just bring me some food when you can. I wouldn’t have anywhere to spend the money even if I took it.”

Ming Dai thought for a moment and agreed. If he had money, his nephew would just take it from him anyway.

“Alright then. Give me your hand, and I’ll check. If needed, I’ll prescribe you some medicine to strengthen your body.”

Liu Dazheng quickly nodded, set the food aside on a wooden bench, brushed off the bamboo shavings from his clothes, and extended his hand.

Ming Dai placed her fingers on his wrist, then switched to the other hand after a moment.

“You’re still coughing at night, aren’t you?”

Liu Dazheng nodded. “I cough a few times at night, but it’s much better now.”

Ming Dai nodded. “You don’t need to take medicine anymore. Just simmer some Sichuan peppercorns with pears and drink the liquid. Do you have Sichuan peppercorns and pears at home?”

Hearing that he didn’t need to spend money on medicine, Liu Dazheng was delighted. “I have frozen pears. The brigade leader gave me some a few days ago. Guoqiang said he’d bring more once I finish them. I also have Sichuan peppercorns—wild ones from the mountains.”

Ming Dai nodded. “Alright. Thaw the frozen pear, cut it into small pieces, and boil it with four or five Sichuan peppercorns for ten minutes. Let it cool before drinking. You can drink this all winter. Since cold foods aren’t good for you, replacing frozen pears with this drink would be a better option.”

Liu Dazheng carefully memorized her instructions. “Got it, Ming Zhiqing. I understand. Thank you.”

Ming Dai waved her hand dismissively. “We’re from the same village—no need to be so polite. I won’t take the baskets for now. I’ll come by with a cart another day to pick them up all at once.”

Liu Dazheng nodded in agreement.

As they continued chatting, Zhou Sinian grew bored. His gaze drifted to the basket Liu Dazheng was weaving. It looked simple enough, so he decided to give it a try.

He started pulling apart and reweaving the strands, but by the time Ming Dai and Liu Dazheng noticed, he had completely taken apart a perfectly finished basket.

Ming Dai felt a little embarrassed. “Uncle Dazheng, I’m really sorry about this. We’ll buy this one.”

Liu Dazheng waved it off as if it was nothing, but his eyes focused on Zhou Sinian’s hands. Though the basket had fallen apart, Zhou Sinian’s weaving wasn’t bad. He just didn’t know how to secure the locks, which was why it unraveled.

Feeling an itch to teach, Liu Dazheng immediately started instructing Zhou Sinian on weaving techniques. Zhou Sinian listened intently and, under Liu Dazheng’s guidance, quickly reassembled the basket.

Soon, the two of them were fully immersed in an impromptu weaving lesson. Ming Dai, on the other hand, barely understood a word of their technical discussion and soon started feeling drowsy.

Zhou Sinian, however, became increasingly excited. Before long, he had finished weaving all the baskets they had brought with them.

Liu Dazheng recognized them—they were baskets he had originally made himself.

Proud of his work, Zhou Sinian eagerly pulled out the wool sweater from his basket and showed it to Liu Dazheng.

Since Liu Dazheng rarely left the village, he had almost never seen a sweater before. The deep red-purple color immediately caught his eye, leaving him stunned.

Carefully, he reached out and touched the soft, fluffy yarn, unable to hold back his admiration. “This color is really beautiful!”

Zhou Sinian’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Right? Right?”

Finally! Someone who appreciated his sense of style—a true kindred spirit!

From that moment on, Ming Dai was completely forgotten. One of them taught basket weaving, while the other eagerly demonstrated how to knit a sweater.

Liu Dazheng, whose hands were covered in calluses, worried that he might snag the delicate yarn. To solve this, he cut strips of fabric to use as thick threads and whittled bamboo into knitting needles, following Zhou Sinian’s instructions on the basic knit stitch.

Zhou Sinian turned out to be a better teacher than Ming Dai, and with Liu Dazheng’s natural dexterity, they quickly produced a neatly knitted, multi-colored fabric swatch.

Ming Dai glanced from one to the other, feeling an odd sense of disorientation.

By noon, Zhou Sinian still showed no intention of leaving. He and Liu Dazheng were deep in discussion about how to incorporate knitting techniques into bamboo weaving.

Liu Dazheng, too, stared at Ming Dai with hopeful eyes. He didn’t say anything, but it was clear—he didn’t want Zhou Sinian to leave either.

Ming Dai was speechless.

In the end, she had no choice but to let Zhou Sinian stay and continue his artistic collaboration while she went home to cook for these two folk artists.

When she returned with food, Liu Dazheng was already calling Zhou Sinian “Brother Sinian” with great enthusiasm. In their hands was a newly woven basket with an unusual design.

Ming Dai stared at them, then muttered to herself: I call you ‘Uncle,’ but you call him ‘Brother.’ Does that seem right to you?

For lunch, she had prepared coarse grain steamed cornbread and stir-fried potherb mustard with scrambled eggs. It was a simple meal, yet Liu Dazheng looked as if he was about to cry—he hadn’t had company for a meal in a long time.

Zhou Sinian, watching him, seemed to be reminded of himself. He gave Liu Dazheng a hearty slap on the shoulder—perhaps a little too hearty. If Ming Dai hadn’t caught him, Liu Dazheng would have face-planted straight into his bowl.

“Good brother! I’ll visit often from now on!” Zhou Sinian declared.

Liu Dazheng winced from the pain but nodded enthusiastically, clearly delighted.

Ming Dai looked at him, then thought of Huang Dalian’s sons, Tiedan and Goudan.

She had to admit, Zhou Sinian had made some real progress. He was getting along well with both the elderly and young children. It was just the people in between—his peers—that he still found utterly annoying.

After the meal, the two men continued their animated discussion for so long that Ming Dai couldn’t stop yawning.

As Zhou Sinian finally stood up, satisfied and ready to leave, Ming Dai was already on the verge of falling asleep.

Under Liu Dazheng’s reluctant gaze, the two of them headed home.

On the way, Zhou Sinian carried the newly woven basket in his hand, admiring it as he walked.

When they reached the entrance of the village, they saw a group of children playing in the snow. Tiedan and Goudan were among them.

The other children, upon spotting the two adults, stood at a distance, not daring to come closer.

Tiedan and Goudan, however, had long been won over by Zhou Sinian’s impressive stone-catching skills. The moment they saw him, they eagerly ran up to them.

“Aunt Xiao Ming!”

The two boys called out loudly. Then, they glanced at Zhou Sinian and scratched their heads awkwardly, unsure of how to address him.

While Ming Dai chatted with Tiedan, Zhou Sinian’s attention was drawn to the item in Goudan’s hand. He looked at it with curiosity.

“What is this for?”

Goudan raised the whip and wooden top in his hands. “We’re playing ice spinning top. Do you want to join?”

Ming Dai and Tiedan also turned their heads upon hearing this.

Zhou Sinian placed his basket into the back carrier, then reached out to take the wooden top, examining it carefully. “How do you play this?”

Goudan hesitated, glancing at his older brother. He was still too young to spin the top properly. He could only wait for his brother to get it spinning before jumping in to give it a few extra lashes for fun. But more often than not, his interference caused the top to stop, and his brother had to step in to rescue it.

Summoning his courage, Tiedan pointed to the object in Zhou Sinian’s hand. “This is an ice spinning top. You use the whip to strike it and make it spin.”

Zhou Sinian placed the wooden top on the ground and gave it a few strikes with the whip. The top wobbled slightly but failed to spin.

Frowning, he handed the whip to Tiedan. “You do it!”

Tiedan swallowed nervously, took the whip, wrapped it around the top, and with a forceful motion, threw it downward while pulling the whip back. The top spun swiftly on the snowy ground. He then cracked the whip a few more times, making it spin even faster.

Zhou Sinian’s eyes lit up with excitement. Sensing his eagerness, Tiedan tactfully handed him the whip.

The moment Zhou Sinian took it, he lashed out forcefully. With a sharp swoosh, the wooden top shot out more than ten meters away.

Tiedan and Goudan stood frozen in shock.

Ming Dai burst into laughter at Zhou Sinian’s incredulous expression.

Feeling that he had lost face, Zhou Sinian unhappily gripped the whip and turned to glare at Ming Dai.

Tiedan and Goudan immediately activated their “loyal puppy” mode, scurrying over to retrieve the wooden top.

Seeing Zhou Sinian’s accusing gaze, Ming Dai quickly stifled her laughter and cleared her throat lightly. “You’re using too much strength. Try hitting it more gently. Let Tiedan teach you.”

Tiedan, who had just picked up the top, overheard her words and nervously glanced at Zhou Sinian.

After a moment of hesitation, Zhou Sinian handed the whip back. “Teach me!”

Tiedan, still in disbelief, took the whip and carefully wrapped it around the wooden top again. As he placed it on the ground, he explained the proper technique to Zhou Sinian. His voice grew louder, his face flushed red with excitement.

Oh my god, I actually get to be the crazy guy’s teacher today!

Tiedan was thrilled. He felt as though he had finally washed away the shame of nearly being scared to tears by Zhou Sinian before.

Under Tiedan’s guidance, Zhou Sinian gradually grasped the technique. Taking back the whip, he began to strike the top himself.

Soon, the wooden top spun rapidly under his skilled whip strokes, turning faster and faster, even bouncing slightly from the ground from time to time.

Gradually, other children gathered around, watching Zhou Sinian’s impressive performance.

Ming Dai also observed, unable to help but marvel—Zhou Sinian truly had an incredible ability to pick up new skills.

Eventually, he found spinning a single top unsatisfying, so he commandeered all the children’s tops on the scene. With precision and ease, he began whipping eight tops at once!

One by one, the wooden tops spun in place, colliding with each other. Just as they were about to topple over, Zhou Sinian’s whip would flick out and bring them back to life.

The watching children gasped in amazement, their eyes filled with admiration, almost drowning Zhou Sinian in their worship.

He was having so much fun that even when the distant calls of parents summoned the children home for dinner, he was still reluctant to stop.

With great reluctance, he returned the toys to their owners and followed Ming Dai home.

Ming Dai comforted him, “We can make our own when we get home. You can make as many as you want!”

Zhou Sinian’s joy returned instantly. His bright eyes, like an eager wolfdog’s, sparkled as he looked at Ming Dai. “Ming Dai, you’re the best!”

Feeling a little flustered, Ming Dai turned her head away and quickened her pace. “Of course, I’m great! Now hurry up and go home! It’s freezing!”

Once home, they searched through the firewood pile for suitable pieces of wood and took them inside.

Ming Dai explained the key points of making a spinning top and let Zhou Sinian carve the wood himself.

Meanwhile, she went to his little storage room and found the steel balls he had removed from his old bicycle.

She also fetched some colored chalk from the storeroom.

Outside, Zhou Sinian had already finished carving one top.

Ming Dai used a hammer to embed a steel ball into the bottom of the wooden top, then painted colorful rings on its surface.

Zhou Sinian repurposed an old bicycle tire to make a whip and eagerly tested out the new spinning top in the living room.

With a firm strike of the whip, the top spun rapidly, steady and fast. The colors on its surface blended into a beautiful, swirling pattern.

“Ming Dai, look! I made a rainbow!”

Ming Dai, intrigued, wanted to try as well. Zhou Sinian handed her the whip and went back to making more tops.

By the end of the night, they had crafted ten tops of various sizes and colors.

From then on, their pastimes in the space were no longer just watching the little lambs fight—now, they had a new activity: spinning top competitions!

Zhou Sinian declared that today had been an incredibly fun day!