Chapter 47: The Grand Aunt Knows Everything

"Little Black, thank you," Chen Rui said.

Little Black looked at Chen Rui with disdain. Since the mistress wanted to reward the fish, it certainly wouldn’t stop her. Only you are foolish enough to need my help—fortunately, I’m here, or you would have messed up this simple task. You even tried to persuade the mistress not to keep me, Little Black grumbled inwardly. But I’m magnanimous; I won’t hold it against you.

Perhaps Chen Rui sensed Little Black’s thoughts. She smiled and thanked him again, saying, "I’m so lucky to have your help. Otherwise, I’d have made a fool of myself. Little Black, you’re amazing!"

Little Black, pleased by the praise, immediately raised his head high, his tiger eyes filled with pride.

Up in the treehouse, Bai Xi heard the commotion below and looked out the window, amused. The little admirer was learning quickly—those were exactly the kind of words she used to praise Xiao Shunzi and the others!

Following Bai Xi’s instructions, Chen Rui went to distribute fish to the villagers.

Worried that Chen Rui might forget something, Little Black tagged along. This was a reward from the mistress; he had to keep an eye on it.

Li Lahei was at home weaving baskets.

Not far from the Niuluo pond was a bamboo grove, where the bamboo grew splendidly. In winter and spring, villagers dug for bamboo shoots, a favorite local delicacy. But what everyone liked most was that the bamboo could be cut for weaving all sorts of household items—baskets, trays, hampers, chairs...

Li Lahei was the best weaver in Niuluo Village. When the village organized basket-weaving during the slack season for sale, his work was always fast, sturdy, and earned everyone’s praise.

With the rice harvest approaching, baskets would be in high demand. His back had been aching these past couple of days, so he took the opportunity to rest at home and weave while he recovered.

His wife was sitting under the eaves working on shoe insoles. It was just the two of them at home—their daughter-in-law and son had gone to work, and their grandchildren were off somewhere playing.

"If you’re going to do it, just do it. Why do you have to keep grumbling?" His wife, distracted by Li Lahei’s muttering, missed a stitch and couldn’t help but complain. "No wonder the young mistress says you’re such a nag."

Li Lahei paused, looked at his wife, and said irritably, "I’m just talking to you. How am I a nag?"

"The young mistress says so."

Li Lahei felt stung. "How would she know I nag? You’re the one spreading it around."

His wife hurried to fix the mistake in her insole pattern, but still managed to retort, "I didn’t say anything." Then she added, "Doesn’t matter who said it—if the young mistress thinks you’re a nag, then you are. It’s just the truth."

As they spoke, someone knocked at the door, and Chen Rui entered carrying a basket.

"Uncle Li, Auntie Li, you’re home!"

When they saw it was Chen Rui, they greeted her warmly.

"Rui, what brings you here? Is something the matter?"

Chen Rui didn’t sit but greeted them politely and said, "Nothing important, just that the young mistress asked me to bring you some fish."

Li Lahei was surprised. "Fish? From the young mistress?"

"Yes," Chen Rui replied seriously. "The young mistress and Little Black just caught these at the stream—they’re very fresh. Uncle Li, the young mistress heard your back’s been troubling you and sent these to help you recover."

Hearing this, Little Black glanced up at Chen Rui, thinking, This girl’s pretty clever. The mistress didn’t say those words exactly, but that’s basically what she meant.

After their surprise, Li Lahei and his wife were delighted and thanked her profusely.

Chen Rui counted out two fish, then glanced subconsciously at Little Black outside the door. Little Black gave two confirming grunts, and the couple realized he had come along as well.

"Little Black’s here, too!"

"Yes, the young mistress was worried I’d forget, so she sent Little Black with me," Chen Rui explained happily.

Although the villagers were used to Little Black by now, he was still a tiger, and they couldn’t help feeling a little nervous. At the same time, they were proud—just look at their young mistress, so capable that even a tiger as young as Little Black obeyed her so well.

After a few more words, Chen Rui bade farewell and continued to the next house.

Li Lahei stood in the yard, grinning foolishly with the two fish in his hands. Coming back to himself, he looked toward the eaves and asked, "How’s that insole coming along?"

The insole was for the young mistress, and his wife’s handiwork was quite good.

"If you wouldn’t distract me, it would be beautiful by now," she replied. Luckily, she’d only missed one stitch and had fixed it; otherwise, it would have been mortifying to deliver it to the young mistress with a flaw.

Sensing her annoyance, Li Lahei didn’t mind and kept his cheerful mood. "Did you hear what Rui said just now? The young mistress knew my back was hurting and specially sent her to bring us fish."

His wife shot him a look. "Of course, I heard. My ears aren’t deaf. And she sent one for me, too."

Though she complained about Li Lahei, she couldn’t help smiling broadly herself.

"I’ll have to weave a few more baskets for the village head to sell at the commune, get some money, and see if I can buy some cloth to make the young mistress a dress."

His wife replied, "You need quite a bit of cloth for a dress, and you need ration coupons, too. Where would we get those? Besides, a few baskets won’t be enough."

Li Lahei pouted. "What do you know? Many little things add up. If I save up, I’ll manage."

He sighed. If only Old Ancestor Bai were still around. After all, it was Old Ancestor Bai who taught him his skills. Though he was better than anyone else in the village, he’d only mastered a fraction of what Old Ancestor Bai knew.

After nearly forty years together, his wife knew exactly what he was thinking. She poured him a cup of water and continued working on the insoles. She needed to hurry and make a few more pairs to sell, hoping that, together with the basket money, they might be able to give the young mistress a new set of clothes before winter.

That evening, the Li family ate the two fish Bai Xi had sent, thoroughly delighted.

The couple made sure to tell their son and daughter-in-law that the fish came from the young mistress, and used the opportunity to instruct their grandchildren on the importance of filial piety and respect for her. They must never be rude or behave improperly toward her.

The grandchildren all nodded earnestly, both envious and awestruck—the young mistress was even younger than they were, yet she could already take Little Black fishing.

The next morning, when Li Lahei got up, he accidentally bumped into the corner of the table and, by a lucky twist, his strained back was set right again.

Overjoyed, he immediately declared it was thanks to the young mistress’s good fortune. If she hadn’t sent the fish, he wouldn’t have noticed the scales on the table, and wouldn’t have gone to brush them off, happened to bump into the table, and fixed his back.

When Bai Xi heard about it that afternoon, she was at a loss for words—she hadn’t done anything at all!

But that was a story for another time. Right now, Chen Rui was still making her rounds, delivering fish to each household.

(More to come soon—another chapter is on the way.)