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墨書 Inktalez
Mr. Tang and Great-Grandfather had been entrusted by the revolutionary leaders to secretly protect revolutionary youth and members of the underground party, including the relatively young Taizong. Upon receiving news that someone was planning to capture Taizong, Mr. Tang and Great-Grandfather split up; one went to stop the captors while the other went to inform Taizong and the others to evacuate. After notifying Taizong and the others, Great-Grandfather immediately turned back to assist Mr. Tang, only to find him surrounded. Without hesitation, Great-Grandfather threw a newly purchased oil lamp, hitting one of the assailants who had attacked Mr. Tang from behind. Working together, they finally broke through the encirclement and escaped safely. Mr. Tang jokingly credited Great-Grandfather's oil lamp for their escape, and once they were safe, he bought a new oil lamp to replace the one he had lost. Great-Grandfather treasured that lamp and passed it down to Grandpa Han, who then gave it to Uncle Han. Little did they know that it would eventually be broken by a mischievous child; Uncle Han refrained from punishing the child out of love for his grandson.
Hanno placed a piece of food into Han Dad's bowl, trying to calm him down, and then asked Mom Han, "Is the oil lamp badly damaged? Can it be repaired?"
"It's not serious," Mom Han replied. "Your cousin caught it in time; only a wire got bent, and everything else is fine."
"That's good to hear," Hanno said, turning back to Han Dad. "You heard that, right? The lamp isn't too damaged; it can be fixed. Don't be angry anymore. We wouldn't want Binbin to be scared; after all, he's here seeking refuge."
Han Dad huffed, "He's already learned his lesson; what more can I do?"
Hanno chuckled; Han Dad was even more indulgent towards Han Bin than Uncle Han was.
After dinner, Hanno took a bus to the train station. Han Bin's family was in the Provincial Capital, and she needed to go there to pick him up. Poor brat had called her in tears before she left, begging her to hurry and come get him.
……
When Li Zhoule and Li Yishu discovered a bowl of white rice in the porcelain jar early in the morning, both were taken aback. Sister Han hadn't sent food over in a long time, and this was just a bowl of white rice—something quite ordinary for her—so why did she suddenly decide to send white rice today? Hanno explained: "Because I couldn't finish it; better to give it away than waste it."
Li Yishu stared at the steaming white rice and swallowed hard. "Sister, Sister Han must know we've been eating brown rice; she sent this over because it's rare for us to have white rice."
Li Zhoule took this thought to heart, surprised at how considerate Sister Han was: "Now that we have some money, we really shouldn't be eating brown rice all the time. When we go to the county town next time, let's buy some more white rice for cooking."
Li Yishu was thrilled by this idea and praised Li Zhoule: "Sister, you're so wonderful and understanding! Brother Wen must have accumulated a lifetime of good fortune to marry you."
Li Zhoule's face turned crimson as she shot Li Yishu an annoyed glare. "Stop it!"
Li Zhoule took out a sea bowl and divided half of the white rice for Li Yishu to take over to Wen Family Brothers while she mixed the remaining half with water to make rice porridge, waiting for Li Yishu's return so they could eat together.
After breakfast, Li Yishu headed off to school. With just three months until the provincial examination, Guan Rulin had resigned from his teaching position in order to prepare for the test; Wen Zixia was now acting as the teacher. Once autumn exams were over, they would ask the village chief to help find another scholar to return as their teacher so that Wen Zixia could focus on preparing for next year's exams.
After Li Zhoule and Li Yishu left, she tidied up the house and began her embroidery work for the day. The piece she was working on was a large four-panel screen, embroidered on both sides. One side depicted four beautiful women playing the piano, chess, reciting poetry, and painting, while the other side showcased four young generals dancing with swords, wielding knives, manipulating hammers, and holding guns. The artwork was exquisitely beautiful and filled with an ancient charm, provided by Hanno. Li Zhoule worked meticulously, but after two months, she had only completed one panel.
The yard and the area around the house were lush and green. The sweet potatoes and rice planted in spring were growing well, with the rice beginning to turn yellow, filling the entire courtyard with vitality. As the sun rose higher in the sky, the scorching heat spread across the land, making it feel unbearably hot. Li Zhoule looked up; there were no clouds in sight, nor any sign of rain. She couldn't help but frown; it had been a while since it last rained, and the riverbed had lowered somewhat. Could this year be a drought year? What would they do? They had only just planted Celestial Seeds this year. Although Celestial Seeds were drought-resistant, without water for irrigation, even they would wither away. And what about the rice? It was so close to maturity; how would they manage without water?
Li Zhoule clasped her hands together in prayer, hoping for rain soon; they couldn't let the common people suffer.
...
Hanno arrived at Han Uncle's house to find him still fuming. Han Bin knew he had caused a big mess this time and dared not let his grandfather see him; he hid away in his room. Han Uncle had two sons; his eldest cousin ran a company as a boss and bought a spacious duplex home with four bedrooms due to their wealth, bringing Han Uncle and Aunt Han to live with them. Han Uncle and Aunt Han resided on the first floor of the duplex while Han Bin stayed on the second floor; as long as he didn't come downstairs, he wouldn't be seen by Han Uncle.
The door was opened by Aunt Han, who smiled upon seeing Hanno. "Binbin always comes to you when he gets into trouble; others might think your parents are his real grandparents."
Hanno chuckled in response. "Where's Han Bin? Tell him to come out and walk with me."
Aunt Han replied, "Since you're here, why not stay a while longer? Have lunch before you leave."
Hanno declined politely. "No thanks; my parents are waiting for me and Binbin at home. Next time I bring him back, I'll stay for dinner."
Aunt Han considered it and agreed; there wasn't anything special prepared for lunch today anyway. It would be better to wait until next time when they could prepare a nice meal for Hanno. She went upstairs to call her grandson while Hanno chatted with Han Uncle for a bit, managing to make him laugh and easing his anger somewhat. When he saw his grandson come downstairs again, he merely snorted coldly and ignored him.
Hanno quickly took his leave, leading the brat away from his cousin's house.
"You little rascal! Let's see if you dare to touch anything recklessly again."
Han Bin replied defensively, "I didn't mean to mess with anything! I knew that was grandpa's treasure; I just wanted to take a look. I didn't expect it to be so fragile that it broke like a piece of wire with just a light touch."
Hanno's lips twitched slightly. "That kerosene lamp is an antique from decades ago! You have to handle it carefully; didn’t you see your grandfather kept it in a box? Only you would lack any sense of weight."
Han Bin pouted, "Second Grandpa isn't mad at me, right?"
"He's already passed that," Hanno said, giving Han Bin's nose a gentle pinch. "But you still need to be honest this time, understand?"
"I understand," Brat replied sulkily, his expression mirroring that of the Wolfy character on his backpack.
Hanno chuckled lightly; it seemed this child had learned a lesson. It was good for him, preventing him from becoming a spoiled brat who feared nothing.
Brat's stomach grumbled twice, and he shyly said to Hanno, "Auntie, I'm hungry."
Hanno looked surprised. "You didn't have breakfast?"
Brat replied, "I didn't dare go downstairs."
"Did your grandma and mom not bring you anything to eat?"
Brat shook his head. "Grandpa wouldn't let them."
Hanno remarked, "Well, now you understand fear, don't you?"
Brat pouted. "I didn't mean to! Grandpa is too scary."
Hanno flicked his forehead lightly. "Your grandpa is quite kind. If it were someone else, they would have spanked you hard."
Brat immediately released Hanno's hand and covered his bottom with his chubby hands, looking up at Hanno with fear in his eyes. "Auntie, you won't hit me, will you?"
"I'm too lazy to bother with you, little brat," she said, ruffling Brat's hair. The soft texture felt nice against her palm, and she couldn't help but give it another playful tousle. "Come on, let's go get breakfast."
"I want to eat McDonald's," Brat suggested.
"Suggestion denied, eat less junk food," Hanno coldly opposed, even though she often frequented those fast-food restaurants herself and particularly loved spicy wings and grilled wings.
Brat pouted. Hanno ignored him, scanning the area until she spotted a Cantonese Dim Sum Restaurant and led Brat inside.
During her years in the southern city, Hanno would go for Cantonese dim sum every weekend—dim sum was served from early morning until one or two in the afternoon, so no matter what time you went, there was always something to eat. For someone like Hanno, who often slept in until nine or ten o'clock, it was a blessing, a salvation for their stomachs, freeing them from the existence of stomach issues. She ordered a bowl of Fish Congee, sharing half with Brat, along with shrimp dumplings, Rice Noodle Rolls, and a char siu bun... Hanno loved meat and also ordered Steamed Pork Ribs with Black Bean Sauce.
Brat ate heartily; he had never tried Cantonese dim sum before and found it incredibly delicious. He looked at Hanno and said, "Auntie, these are so tasty! Bring me here again next time."
"If you behave well, I'll bring you back."
Brat nodded eagerly. "I'll be good! Don't forget your promise. People who don't keep promises end up with long noses."
"Only liars get long noses," Hanno replied.
Brat insisted, "Not keeping a promise is also lying."
"Alright, I will keep my promise. Is that good enough?" Hanno dodged the rice grains flying from Brat's mouth. "Now eat properly."
"Oh." Brat was thrilled to have her promise and buried his head back into his food while Hanno heard someone calling her.
"Ms. Han!"
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