Chapter 59 ☆ Bathtub (Part 2)

As soon as Cheng Yaoyao got home, she scooped water from the well to wash her face and hands, complaining, “There were mosquitoes in the grove. They bit me several times!”

“You’re so naughty!” Grandma Xie scolded affectionately. “I have some Tiger Balm in my room. I’ll rub it on you.”

As they spoke, Xie Zhao returned. Cheng Yaoyao and Xie Fei immediately rushed over to count their spoils.

They had actually gathered three and a half kilograms of cicada shells, around fifty to sixty kilograms of mushrooms—all intact morels and chicken mushrooms—and over ten kilograms of wild grapes.

Xie Zhao fetched a few buckets of water and poured the mushrooms into a wooden basin. The whole family worked together to clean them. Most of the mushrooms were hung out to dry in the yard, while some of the broken and particularly tasty ones were used to cook a pot of mixed mushroom soup.

For dinner, I steamed a pot of sweet buns made from cornmeal and white flour, and we ate them with the pickled cucumbers and mushroom soup I made yesterday.

The fresh mushroom soup, seasoned only with salt, was so delicious that it made everyone raise their eyebrows in surprise. The pickled cucumbers were sour and crisp, making a satisfying crunch when chewed, and were very appetizing when eaten with the steamed buns.

The whole family ate happily. Perhaps because of all the exercise today, Cheng Yaoyao even ate half an extra steamed bun. Grandma Xie, in a rare moment of praise, said, “You should eat more. You usually have an appetite as small as a pigeon’s. No wonder you never get enough sleep.”

“……” Cheng Yaoyao puffed out her cheeks, wanting to argue, but thought, *My sleep schedule is normal. It’s you who gets up too early.*

Xie Zhao scooped a bowl of soup and placed it in front of her, saying gently, “It’s hot, so it’s normal to feel sleepy.”

Xie Fei also nodded repeatedly. “Yes, people in the city wake up later in the morning. It’s okay for Sister to sleep a little longer.”

Cheng Yaoyao was satisfied. She picked up the bowl, finding the soup at just the right temperature, and gulped it down.

Grandma Xie held back a laugh, pointing at the two Xie siblings with a stern face. “Just go on spoiling her. I don’t care!”

After dinner, when the table was cleared, Cheng Yaoyao winked at Xie Zhao with great excitement. “What was that good thing you were going to show me?”

Xie Zhao turned around and walked away as if nothing had happened. He carried out a few pieces of wood from a room and brought out a lot of tools. It seemed like he was tinkering with something.

Cheng Yaoyao stamped her feet anxiously, but with Grandma Xie beside her, she had to suppress her curiosity and help string grass beads for a while. After waiting for Grandma Xie to get sleepy and go back to her room, and after Xie Fei had gone to take a shower, Xie Zhao was still sawing wood in the yard.

Suddenly, Cheng Yaoyao pounced on his back. “You just said you were going to make me something good. What is it?!”

Xie Zhao, holding a saw, felt like a wild cat had suddenly jumped onto his back. Afraid of hurting her, he let one hand hang by his side and held her with the other hand behind him, then turned around twice with her clinging to his back.

Unable to hold it in any longer, Cheng Yaoyao wrapped her slender arms tightly around his neck and kicked her legs playfully. “What on earth is it? What is it?”

The softness of her body against his back was hard to ignore. Xie Zhao struggled to speak with a hoarse voice. “Sister, be good and get down first.”

“I won’t. Tell me what it is first,” Cheng Yaoyao demanded, sounding wary. “You’re not lying to me, are you?”

Her rosy lips kept chattering non-stop, and her warm breath brushed against his ears. Xie Zhao clenched his fist, using all his self-control, and whispered, “I’m not lying to you. I’m making you a bathtub.”

“A bathtub?” Cheng Yaoyao was stunned.

Hearing the lack of surprise in her tone, Xie Zhao pursed his lips. “You don’t want it?”

Cheng Yaoyao was silent for a moment, and just when a hint of sadness flashed in Xie Zhao’s eyes, she suddenly screamed, “Xie Zhao, I love you! Mwah!”

Before Xie Zhao could recover from the shock of hearing “I love you,” a warm, flower-soft kiss was planted on his face.

Cheng Yaoyao’s scream startled Grandma Xie, who ran out of the house. “What’s wrong? What’s wrong?”

Cheng Yaoyao jumped off Xie Zhao’s back, ran to Grandma Xie, hugged her arm, and said excitedly, “Grandma, Xie Zhao is making a bathtub for me! I’ll finally be able to take baths again! I haven’t used a bathtub in so long!”

“This child is so energetic. It would be better to have a bathtub; it’ll be more convenient for bathing in the future.” Grandma Xie hugged her with amusement and looked at her grandson.

But Xie Zhao stood in the yard like a statue, frozen in place.

Making a bathtub was no small task. The wood had aged so well that its outer skin had a dark black luster. It took Xie Zhao two days to saw the wood into planks, which then needed to be polished and joined together. Each step required delicate work.

Xie Zhao had to go out to work every day, occasionally helping the team drive a tractor, and could only do carpentry work in the afternoons and evenings.

Every afternoon, Cheng Yaoyao sat on a bamboo chair in the hall, enjoying the cool breeze, reading a book while watching Xie Zhao work. The yard was filled with wooden boards and racks, and sawdust and shavings covered the ground. Xie Zhao wore a vest, his shoulders glistening with sweat, and he occasionally looked up at Cheng Yaoyao between tasks.

Whenever their eyes met, Cheng Yaoyao’s face flushed, and she immediately pretended to be asleep, closing her eyes. Listening to the sound of the saw cutting wood and Xie Zhao’s steady breathing, she eventually dozed off.

Xie Zhao was a skilled carpenter. He even used some extra wood to make a small stool for Cheng Yaoyao, which turned out very delicate. Cheng Yaoyao loved it but wasn’t sure what such a small stool was meant for.

The peaceful days continued for a week or two, until it was the Xie family’s turn to send someone to watch over the melon field. Xie Zhao had discussed this with the team leader, and Li Dafu only cautioned him that with Cheng Yaoyao now living with the Xie family and Xie Zhao having a good job driving a tractor, jealousy from others was inevitable, so it was okay to suffer small losses.

Grandma Xie was too old to stay in the melon field. Xie Fei volunteered, but she was timid and had never spent a night away from home. As for Cheng Yaoyao, a delicate city girl, the Xie family was even more reluctant to let her go.

Seeing Xie Zhao frowning, Cheng Yaoyao quickly offered, “I haven’t seen the melon field anyway. I’ll go! Besides, you can bring your book with you tonight, and I can help you with some of your questions!”

Cheng Yaoyao’s thoughtfulness made Grandma Xie feel both distressed and guilty. In the end, it was Xie Zhao who made the decision to take Cheng Yaoyao to the melon field.

The melon field in Tianshui Village was divided into two parts: one on the mountain and one in the field. The Xie family was assigned to the field at the west end of the village.

It was the fifteenth day of the lunar month, and a bright moon hung in the sky, illuminating the endless melon fields. The green-skinned, patterned watermelons were round and lay nestled on the ridges. A river, like a silver ribbon, ran beside the fields, the gurgling water accompanied by the croaking of frogs and the chirping of cicadas.

A simple shed stood at the edge of the melon field. It was really basic—two bamboo mats formed a triangular roof, and inside was a bamboo couch that could only accommodate one person. It was meant for the melon watchers to rest, but someone as tall as Xie Zhao couldn’t even stretch his legs out when lying down.

The mat was so dirty that its color was unrecognizable, and no one knew how many people had slept on it. Cheng Yaoyao refused to sit on it, even if it meant dying.

Cheng Yaoyao said she wasn’t sleepy, so Xie Zhao spread his coat on the ground for her to sit on. There was a cool breeze, and Cheng Yaoyao applied peppermint oil, so she wasn’t afraid of mosquitoes.

Cheng Yaoyao and Xie Zhao sat on the field ridge, writing math problems in the sand with a branch under the moonlight. They were elementary school problems. Cheng Yaoyao had been teaching Xie Zhao some problems over the past few days.

Xie Zhao frowned in thought. He could solve the problems but had never been to school and didn’t know how to write out the solutions. Cheng Yaoyao said with a serious expression, “Student Xie Zhao, you can’t solve such a simple problem. The teacher is going to punish you.”

In the moonlight, Cheng Yaoyao’s face was cold and beautiful. She said sternly to Xie Zhao, “Stretch out your hand.”

Who could refuse her? Xie Zhao looked at her face, so close to him, and obediently extended his hand, palm up.

Cheng Yaoyao waved the stick she was using to teach and tapped Xie Zhao’s palm. Xie Zhao’s palm was covered with calluses, so he didn’t feel pain or itch, and he didn’t even flinch.

Cheng Yaoyao remained smug: “Are you scared now? I’ll tell you this: if you make the same mistake again, I’ll hit you twice.”

Xie Zhao hummed and let Cheng Yaoyao explain the questions quietly, keeping his eyes on her. Cheng Yaoyao asked a few more questions. Xie Zhao got half of them right and half wrong, and got hit again.

Cheng Yaoyao found Xie Zhao’s thick skin frustrating and finally hit him hard. Even Xie Zhao gasped and grabbed her hand, saying, “Teacher, if you make a mistake, you get punished. If you get it right, will you be rewarded?”

The word “reward” was emphasized, and Cheng Yaoyao felt a jolt when Xie Zhao’s deep voice reached her ears. She thought for a moment and asked, “What reward do you want?”

Xie Zhao looked into her eyes, his lips moving silently.

“Don’t even think about it!” Cheng Yaoyao was furious.

Xie Zhao looked indifferent: “Are you afraid of losing?”

“Who said I will definitely lose?” Cheng Yaoyao couldn’t stand the challenge. She placed her hands on her hips and said, “If I win, I’ll wear my favorite skirt when I go out. You can’t stop me.”

Xie Zhao’s face darkened. Cheng Yaoyao was talking about a sleeveless pink dress with white dots, which outlined her slender waist and showed her snow-white arms. Cheng Yaoyao wanted to wear it that day, but Xie Zhao, who always obeyed her, had insisted she change.

This time, Cheng Yaoyao was the one feeling proud: “So, do you want to bet?”

“Give me a question,” Xie Zhao said firmly.

Cheng Yaoyao hummed a tune and wrote a question in the ground with a branch. It was an extra question from a junior high school math textbook, very difficult, and she didn’t believe Xie Zhao could solve it.

Xie Zhao stared at the question for a long time without moving.

“I’m very fair,” Cheng Yaoyao said proudly. “As long as you write the answer, you win.”

“That’s what you said,” Xie Zhao replied, taking the branch from Cheng Yaoyao and writing a few numbers in the sand.

Cheng Yaoyao’s smile froze. She took the numbers and calculated them again in disbelief. She was dumbfounded.

She stared at Xie Zhao: “Impossible, how did you calculate this?”

Seeing Cheng Yaoyao’s frustration, Xie Zhao gently tucked her hair behind her ear and explained, “I’ve read the book and remember the answer.”

“……” Facing the intense look in Xie Zhao’s eyes, Cheng Yaoyao felt like crying without tears. She understood the meaning of “shooting oneself in the foot.”

Xie Zhao moved closer, and Cheng Yaoyao dodged repeatedly, but eventually had no place to escape.

Xie Zhao looked at her steadily and said, “Sister…”