Chapter 112: The Newly Appointed Big Brother and Ice Spinning

Aside from his acupuncture treatments, Zhou Sinian maintained a regular routine.

In the mornings, he visited Liu Dazheng to discuss bamboo basket weaving techniques. In the afternoons, he played ice spinning tops with the children who came looking for him. At night, he continued knitting sweaters.

Of all these activities, Zhou Sinian enjoyed playing ice spinning tops the most.

Though he never said it aloud, his expression gave him away whenever the children came to his house to play. The joy on his face was unmistakable.

The village children were quickly won over by Zhou Sinian’s exceptional spinning top skills. Although they were still too afraid to talk to the “madman,” they dared to gather around and watch.

As soon as Zhou Sinian’s colorful spinning top made its debut, it instantly captivated the children of Liujiawan.

Their excitement grew even more when he brought out the largest spinning top—one so heavy that most children couldn’t even make it spin. Yet, Zhou Sinian handled it effortlessly, performing skillful tricks that left the young onlookers in awe. Before long, he had a group of enthusiastic admirers hanging on his every move.

Amidst the fun, Zhou Sinian quietly whispered to Ming Dai, reminding her not to lend the colored chalk to the other children. He wanted hisspinning tops to be the most dazzling ones in the village.

Ming Dai readily agreed. As long as he behaved, she would agree to anything.

When Zhou Sinian went out to play, Ming Dai didn’t follow him all the time. When she stayed home, she focused on preparing medicinal herbs or rolling herbal pills in her space.

Before long, Zhou Sinian successfully secured his position as the leader of the Liujiawan children.

A group of children started competing to become his followers. In the end, Aunt Huang’s grandsons, Tiedan and Goudan, stood out and earned Zhou Sinian’s favor. They came over every day at the same time to call him outside to play.

When Ming Dai heard the children calling Zhou Sinian “Big Brother,” she felt utterly confused. The seniority in the village was completely messed up.

Oh well, everyone could call him whatever they wanted.

The villagers soon noticed that the “madman” had been playing with the children lately.

Some worried parents immediately called their children home and locked them inside, forbidding them from going out.

The more easygoing parents allowed their children to watch from a distance but warned them not to get too close. If the madman showed any signs of aggression, they were to run away immediately.

As for Aunt Huang’s family, they had no objections. After all, Xiao Ming was there to keep an eye on things.

She even made Tiedan and Goudan call Zhou Sinian “Uncle” and forbade them from calling him a madman.

However, Tiedan and Goudan firmly refused. “He’s our Big Brother! Calling him Uncle is too distant!”

Their little grown-up attitudes amused Aunt Huang’s family greatly. Wanting to show their appreciation, they brought the two children to the educated youth quarters and gifted some homemade pickled vegetables to thank Zhou Sinian for playing with the boys.

Zhou Sinian still found these two little mud-covered potatoes somewhat unappealing, especially Goudan, who always seemed to have a runny nose.

But among the group of kids, these two at least seemed clever enough to barely make the cut. So, with reluctant acceptance, he allowed them to become his followers and gave each of them a piece of fruit candy.

Even though it was the type of hard fruit candy he didn’t particularly like, the two children were overjoyed.

This meant they had earned their Big Brother’s approval!

In no time, because they were constantly running errands for Zhou Sinian, Tiedan and Goudan’s status among the village children skyrocketed to the top.

During this period, Zhou Sinian’s condition also improved significantly. He became more cheerful, his moments of clarity lasted longer, and he rarely muttered incoherent words anymore.

Ming Dai adjusted his herbal bath formula once again, expanding the range of acupuncture treatments until his whole body looked like a porcupine.

Liu Laosan delivered a letter and a package from the capital.

Director Niu was very pleased with the local specialties that Ming Dai had sent and subtly expressed her desire for a long-term cooperation.

Ming Dai had no objections. Building a good relationship with Director Niu’s family meant she wouldn’t have to worry about a steady supply of medicine when she opened a clinic in the village.

Besides, what she sent wasn’t anything too conspicuous—many other educated youths did the same.

For instance, Fang Rou had also been sending out a lot of goods recently. It was obvious that these weren’t just ordinary gifts.

Liu Laosan had told her all of this. As the village’s only “driver,” he had access to news even before the village gossip team did.

That day, Ming Dai was at Aunt Huang’s house, watching Zhou Sinian and the children play the stone-catching game.

Five stones were no longer challenging enough for them, so they had moved on to eighteen.

Seeing that they were having fun, Ming Dai pulled on Aunt Huang’s sleeve as she worked on sewing shoe soles. She lifted the corner of a basket, revealing the newspaper inside.

Aunt Huang glanced over, and her needle nearly pricked her own hand.

Two stacks of banknotes!

Aunt Huang’s eyes lit up with excitement as she silently asked for confirmation. Ming Dai nodded.

“They sent the money directly, but they want me to deliver the goods to Song City after the New Year. Can you see if Uncle can write a receipt for me? Zhou Sinian and I will take the items there.”

Aunt Huang stared at the basket with excitement. “Oh my, this is the first time I’ve seen this much…!! I’ll go call your uncle right now!”

Ming Dai nodded and covered the basket again.

Before long, Liu Dazhu, who had been cleaning the stables, was dragged inside by Aunt Huang in a mysterious manner.

“What? What? I’m not done yet!”

Aunt Huang twisted his ear. “Don’t act like you’re working hard! You think I don’t know? You were sneaking a smoke! My son was the one doing all the work!”

Exposed, Liu Dazhu rubbed his nose and dared not argue. He simply followed along as she pulled him forward.

Aunt Huang carefully shielded the playing children from view, then lifted the corner of Ming Dai’s basket for a quick peek before covering it again.

Liu Dazhu had seen money before, so while he was slightly surprised, he quickly realized it must be the payment for the tiger bone.

Ming Dai explained the buyer’s request once again.

After considering it for a moment, Liu Dazhu said, “It’s doable, but there’s a small issue. The commune had previously advised against letting him leave the village. Last time I took him to the county, I did it quietly. You both should be careful—deliver the goods and come straight back.”

Ming Dai’s eyes flickered slightly before she nodded. “Uncle, don’t worry. We won’t waste time. We’ll be back the next day.”

Liu Dazhu nodded. “Alright. Once the tiger bone is brought down, your aunt will accompany you to receive the goods. When the snow melts in early spring, you can go.”

Ming Dai agreed.

Liu Dazhu then casually asked if she wanted to join them for ice fishing.

Ming Dai was surprised. “We can go already?”

Liu Dazhu chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, we checked two days ago. The Yudai River has frozen solid. It’s safe for fishing now.”

Ming Dai quickly nodded. “We’ll go! Do we need to prepare anything?”

Liu Dazhu waved his hand. “No need. Just bring a basket. We have fishing hooks and everything else. Tomorrow morning, your aunt will come get you. Just follow along.”

Ming Dai smiled and agreed, feeling a surge of anticipation.

After Zhou Sinian had his fill of playing, the two returned home.

After dinner, Ming Dai took out the tanned sheepskin that Aunt Huang had prepared. She cut and sewed two sets of knee pads.

Both of them were quite frail now, so it was best to have some protection before heading onto the ice for fishing.

As soon as Zhou Sinian heard about fish, he immediately thought of what Ming Dai had mentioned before—wanting to raise fish in her space.

“Ming Dai, let’s catch some fish to raise,” he suggested eagerly.

Ming Dai thought for a moment. “As long as we’re close enough, I could grab some with my space ability. But it would be too obvious. We’d have to wait until no one is around.”

Zhou Sinian excitedly urged, “Let’s sneak out and do it!”

Ming Dai shook her head. “No, the Yudai River is too far. Most of our time would be spent traveling. Don’t forget, last time we had to take a horse-drawn sled to get there.”

Zhou Sinian glanced at his little storeroom. “Then let’s take the dog sled!”

Ming Dai looked at him skeptically. “And where exactly are you going to get the dogs?”

Zhou Sinian nodded confidently. “I can borrow them!”

Ming Dai’s excitement grew. “Alright! Then go borrow them tonight. We’ll leave early in the morning!”

Zhou Sinian thumped his chest in assurance—no problem at all!

Ming Dai then took him to tidy up the pond, which had long been used as their personal bathhouse.

Zhou Sinian firmly insisted that they had to keep one section of the pond reserved as a bath for future little lambs or whatever other animals they might raise.

So, Ming Dai divided the two ponds in half.

But then she thought—if even the sheep could have a bathhouse, why couldn’t she have a swimming pool?

With that in mind, she further divided the ponds into four sections—one for each of them. Perfect!

Since they were going ice fishing the next day, the two were so excited they couldn’t sleep. Zhou Sinian got up and took out the sled, giving it another wipe-down.

Meanwhile, Ming Dai ran through all kinds of fish recipes in her mind—until she ended up making herself hungry.

Finally, she simply got up as well and made two bowls of handmade noodles. After eating, the two finally went back to sleep.