Chapter 18: What Is His Background?

After breakfast one day, Miao Miao tidied up the clothes and bedding she had accumulated over the past few days, placing them in a basket. She said, “Ah Xun, I’m going to the river to wash clothes. You can rest at home today or just wander around the village; whatever you like.”

With that, she slung the basket over her back and headed towards the door. 

However, Ah Xun suddenly snatched the basket from her back and lifted it, saying, “Miao Miao, I’ll go with you.”

Knowing that having Ah Xun by her side made everything more enjoyable—even if he was quiet—Miao Miao agreed, “Okay, then let’s go together!”

Miao Miao skipped ahead, leading the way, while Ah Xun followed quietly behind.

When they reached the creek, it was still early, and there was no one else around. The morning sun was gentle, a cool breeze brushed against their faces, and there was a comfortable level of humidity in the air. The fragrance of flowers and grass mixed with the sound of flowing water made their hearts feel at ease.

Miao Miao squatted down by the clear creek, splashing the water with her hands and called out, “Ah Xun, come over! The water feels so refreshing!”

She laughed brightly, her round, big eyes squinting into crescent shapes, revealing her neat, white teeth and shallow dimples. The sight made Ah Xun feel as if his heart was filled with honey.

In this beautiful moment, Miao Miao felt inspired and began to hum a folk song:

“Spring breeze blows, flowers smile, raindrops fall, sunlight shines, butterflies dance, birds chirp, my love, when will you come?”

Ah Xun hadn’t had any nightmares for several days and hadn’t had a chance to hear Miao Miao sing for a while. Now, hearing that sweet voice again brought him joy. 

He walked over to Miao Miao’s side and praised, “It sounds really nice.”

Suddenly, Miao Miao realized something; the lyrics seemed a little inappropriate! She quickly stopped singing, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment, and said to Ah Xun, “I—I wasn’t singing for you! I was washing clothes!”

As she reached for the washing stick to start, Ah Xun took it from her. “I’ll do the washing.”

“You’ll wash?” Miao Miao’s eyes blinked in surprise. It was unheard of for a man to wash clothes.

“No need, I can do it…” She stretched out her hand, trying to take the stick back from him.

“Miao Miao, I have my clothes in here too. You’ve taken care of me for so long, and now that my injury is better, how can I still make you wash? Teach me how to do it instead.”

“Well, it’s just that, where do you find men washing clothes? Even the old widowers in the village have their wives help with the washing,” Miao Miao said.

Ah Xun shook his head and tried to take the stick again, accidentally brushing against Miao Miao’s hand.

“Ah!” Miao Miao’s hand was touched by his, and it was the first time in her life that something like this happened. She panicked and pulled her hand back.

Despite the unintentional act, Miao Miao felt a little shy. Since he wanted to wash, she decided to let him do it!

“Fine, go ahead! Just splash some water, turn the clothes around, and hit them with the stick hard to clean them. You can rub and toss them in the river; that should work.”

After saying that, Miao Miao felt a bit embarrassed and moved to the side, sitting by the bank and resting her chin in her hands, watching the fish in the water.

The sound of the stick pounding against clothes echoed nearby. Miao Miao secretly peeked at Ah Xun. The warmth from their previous touch seemed still present, making her heart race.

She felt differently about Ah Xun; he was not like other men. The feelings in her heart were also unlike any she felt for others.

“Splash!” Miao Miao was brought back to reality by the sound before her.

Looking over, she saw a few large fish swimming, startled by the movement from Ah Xun washing the clothes. 

“There are fish! Such big fish!” Miao Miao exclaimed excitedly, “I haven’t eaten fish in a long time! If only I had brought a fishing net!”

Ah Xun set down the stick, stood up, and came over to Miao Miao’s side. He, too, spotted the big fish swimming by.

He turned and looked among the large trees nearby, then encountered a straight, thin branch, bending down to cut it. Quietly and swiftly, he stepped into the water.

“What are you doing?” Before Miao Miao could react, Ah Xun quickly and skillfully thrust the branch into the water. When he pulled it out, he had speared a large, fat fish right through the middle!

“Wow…” Miao Miao was stunned, “Ah Xun, you’re amazing! How do you do that?”

Ah Xun was taken aback; he hadn’t even realized how he did it; it felt as if the series of actions were ingrained in him.

“I don’t know.”

Miao Miao only thought about how incredible he was without dwelling on the question for long. “Quick, there are more!”

Ah Xun tossed the fish onto the bank, turned around, and speared another one accurately. 

In a matter of moments, they had caught five fish.

At that moment, two village women came over to wash clothes, and upon seeing Ah Xun catching fish with a branch, they gasped in amazement.

If the fish in the river hadn’t been scared away, they would have insisted on staying longer!

With Ah Xun’s skills, Miao Miao felt assured that they would have fish to eat in the future.

Miao Miao set about gutting and cleaning the fish right there. Meanwhile, Ah Xun had nearly finished pounding the clothes.

They even handed out one fish each to the onlooking village women. They planned to take one fish to He Shun’s family, another to Da Hu’s family, and keep one for themselves.

Miao Miao shook the clean clothes and prepared to pack them into the basket to head home when she glanced down and exclaimed…

“Oh my! Ah Xun! You’ve ruined my clothes!”

In the fields, several village women were gathered, discussing the day’s events.

“Have you heard? Big Brother Ah Xun can fight! He caught fish in the river, hitting the bullseye every time!”

“I’ve noticed his capabilities! Just watching him carry things for us, you can tell he’s stronger than my big yellow dog. Miao Miao must have a good life following him!”

The news of Ah Xun’s fishing skills spread throughout the village. 

The chatter among the women was quick and fierce but exaggerated beyond measure.

In the pigpen, one woman fed the pigs while dramatically describing Ah Xun’s feats to several others: “Did you know? That silly big guy must be a master from the martial arts world! He used his skills to catch fish. With one use of inner strength, he ‘popped’ out five big fish.”

“Oh my, what is his background?”

Later, unless Miao Miao intervened to clarify the overblown rumors by saying Ah Xun used a branch to spear the fish, he might have been mythologized as a celestial being. 

However, even though it was just a branch, it was enough to earn the admiration of the villagers.

That day, Miao Miao took Ah Xun back to the river to catch a few more fish. They gave two to Ju Fang and took the rest home to He Shun’s family.

Zhang Guihua made a large pot of fish stew and baked some flatbread that soaked up the fragrant fish broth. It was incredibly delicious!

At the dinner table, Miao Miao and Xiangxiang enjoyed their meal greatly.

He Shun watched the well-mannered man at the table, lost in thought.