Chapter 372: The Martial Arts Field in The Village
During lunch, Mo Fei experienced a taste of the strict discipline in Yang Yi’s family. Everyone at the table was eating their meals quietly. Even when they spoke, it was only a few simple words. For example, Yang Huan praised Yang Yi for the delicious food, and then fell silent under the stern gaze of Yang Chonggui, continuing to focus on eating.
The only one who had the privilege to speak was Xixi. The little girl was not affected by the atmosphere at all. She was telling her grandfather and father about the new things she encountered during her “adventure” in the yard while pointing at the dishes she wanted to eat.
Yang Yi was about to serve Xixi some dishes, but unexpectedly, Yang Chonggui’s movements were faster. With a snap, he reached out with his chopsticks and served a large portion into Xixi’s bowl, which piled up like a small mountain.
“Grandpa, I can’t eat all of this. It’s too much!” Xixi held a small spoon, a bit unsure where to start.
“Eat more, it’s good for your growth.” Yang Chonggui said to his granddaughter with a smile.
Xixi didn’t like having so much food piled up in her bowl all at once, as she might spill them. For example, if the meat she likes fell to the floor, it would make her sad.
Fortunately, Yang Yi came to his daughter’s rescue. Under Yang Chonggui’s murderous gaze, he took half of each dish from Xixi’s bowl and said, “Give these to Papa. If you want more later, Papa will serve you again.”
Eating without talking, lunch was finished quickly, and after a busy period, it was already afternoon.
Yang Yi was called out by some familiar young men from the village to go for a drive, so Mo Fei took Xixi upstairs for an afternoon nap. The little girl didn’t get enough sleep in the morning and started yawning during lunch.
The entire fourth floor was theirs, with two adjacent large rooms. However, there was very little furniture! In the room they were currently staying in, there was only a bed, a wardrobe, a desk, and two chairs.
Moreover, in the entire room, only the bed and bedding where Mo Fei and Xixi slept on were new. The table and wardrobe were moved from Yang Yi and Yang Qing’s old room. They were relatively clean, but they looked very old. There were even ballpoint pen doodles on the table that Yang Yi had drawn before.
The room next door was even more rudimentary, with only the bed that Yang Yi used to sleep on. It was not in use for the time being, but a mattress was left for good luck.
Just now, when Yang Yi was there, Mo Fei didn’t feel anything. Now that Yang Yi was not there, just her and Xixi, Mo Fei felt that the room was a bit empty, and a sense of strangeness suddenly arose.
Of course, Mo Fei wasn’t expressing any dissatisfaction. She knew that the current condition of Yang Yi’s home was already good enough. According to Yang Huan’s previous introduction, the original house was the oldest and most rundown in the village, with three small rooms crowded for a family of five.
Compared to the houses she saw on the way today, Mo Fei felt very lucky. At least she was living in a building. Although the tiles were said to have not been laid yet, it was still better than those dark, dusty old houses where a kick might send dust flying. Not all old houses in Anqing Province could be called Huizhou-style architecture!
“Xixi, what do you think of Grandpa’s house? Is it fun?” Mo Fei turned to Xixi, stretched her arm out of the blanket, and gently touched her daughter’s little face.
“It’s fun! Mama, Grandpa said he’s going to take me to a really fun place this afternoon!” The little girl turned over and faced her mother with a sweet smile, “And, let me tell you, Grandpa’s house has two little cows, very small cows, not as big as their Mama…”
Mo Fei finally breathed a sigh of relief. Listening to Xixi’s description, Mo Fei knew that Xixi didn’t care about the simplicity. She was still immersed in the constant discovery of new things.
Indeed, children don’t have as many twists and turns as adults. They are very easy to satisfy.
That’s how Xixi is now. As soon as something fun is mentioned, she gets excited and loses all her sleepiness.
“Then you go to sleep quickly. When you wake up, you can go play with Grandpa!” Mo Fei smiled and playfully tapped her daughter’s nose with her finger.
“I don’t want to sleep, I want to go play with Grandpa.” The little girl started to act cute.
“No, if you’re not good, Grandpa won’t like you anymore!” Mo Fei pretended to be unhappy.
“Well, okay, I’ll go to sleep,” Xixi obediently closed her eyes. However, her thin eyelids were still fluttering a bit, probably because her eyeb.a.l.l.s were rolling inside, thinking about who knows what.
……
Around four o’clock in the afternoon, Yang Chonggui held Xixi’s hand, leisurely walking along the country road. The little girl had just woken up, but she was full of energy and kept looking around curiously.
But as they pa.s.sed by some houses, people were also curiously looking at her. Xixi’s clothes and appearance were very different from the other children in the village, naturally attracting people’s attention.
Sometimes, Xixi felt embarra.s.sed being stared at, and quickly took a few more steps, sticking close to her grandpa.
“Old Yang, which family’s child are you bringing with you?” Finally, an old man of the same generation as Yang Chonggui asked, “Is this your eldest’s child?”
“Yes, it’s Tiezi’s child. Isn’t she pretty?” Yang Chonggui raised his eyebrows proudly. He used to be very serious and had a “fierce reputation”, so much so that the younger generation dared not initiate a conversation with him.
But once the conversation started, the neighbors in the village started chiming in: “She’s pretty, city kids are always pretty!”
“Old Yang, your family is doing well now! Tiezi is giving you money to build a house, driving a big car back, marrying a city girl, and having children…”
“But how come I remember this is the first time he brought her back? I’ve never heard before that your family’s Tiezi has a child.”
“Yes, he didn’t bring her back before. There was no house built at home, no place to live. I was afraid of wronging the child.” Yang Chonggui smiled, brushing it off, not wanting to reveal the real situation to them. And when he mentioned this, the anger in his stomach towards Yang Yi came up again.
“Grandpa, where are we going?” Fortunately, Xixi’s childish voice pulled him back from his thoughts of how to deal with Yang Yi, this “unfilial son”.
“We’re almost there!” Yang Chonggui pointed ahead, “After we take a turn, we’ll be there!”
After taking a turn, the scene in front of her suddenly became clear. There were no more crowded, small houses, and a wide, flat field appeared in front of Xixi.
“Hou, huo!” It wasn’t yet time for spring plowing, and with the approaching Spring Festival, most young people had nothing to do. On the field, there were two people wrestling, but others turned a blind eye. Let alone break up the fight, they didn’t even glance at them. They just played with their stone locks or other weapons.
Yes, weapons. There were also several weapon racks here. However, compared to the ones in the Yang family’s main hall, the quality of the weapons here was slightly inferior. But knives, spears, swords, halberds, axes, yue, hooks, forks, and so on, all 18 types of weapons were available in full variety.
“Yang Xi, this is the village’s martial arts field, personally built by your Grandpa.” Yang Chonggui proudly introduced to Xixi.
He wanted to hear his granddaughter’s admiring call.
However, Xixi didn’t cooperate. She anxiously pulled at her grandpa’s sleeve, pointed at the two men rolling around on the ground, and looked up, saying, “Grandpa, they’re fighting, fighting is not good.”
“They’re not fighting, they’re just practicing martial arts, learning from each other.” Yang Chonggui quickly explained.
“Chang’an, Dapo, that’s enough. Stop right there. it’s the middle of winter, and you’ve messed up your clothes. When you go home, your mother will surely give you a good scolding!” Yang Chonggui shouted loudly, his voice booming like a winter thunder.
At this moment, the young and old men in the martial arts field noticed Yang Chonggui’s arrival and greeted him one after another.
Just now, Mu Changan and Li Shupo, who were just practicing their martial arts, two young faces still quite green, quickly let go of each other and got up from the ground. They looked as if they had done something wrong, bowing their heads and respectfully calling out, “Teacher Yang.”
Teacher Yang?
Xixi blinked curiously.
The scene in front of her was quite magical. Many people were greeting Yang Chonggui, and most of the young people were calling him “Teacher Yang” with a sense of awe.
And Yang Chonggui was like an emperor in disguise on a private tour, one hand holding Xixi’s, the other hand behind his back, nodding and walking past, looking radiant.
“Practice well, a man should practice martial arts, so in the future, when you wander the world, you won’t be easily bullied!” Yang Chonggui reached out and patted the shoulders of Mu Changan and Li Shupo, encouraging them.
The two young men received his encouragement for the first time, and their bodies stiffened as if they had been touched by Medusa.
But Yang Chonggui was still not satisfied, because Xixi was only curious, and had not shown any surprise or admiration in her eyes.