Chapter 31: Birthday and Catching a Thief
Days slipped by quietly, and before they knew it, another year had passed. Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu's new home had been completely renovated in the autumn and was now the most impressive courtyard in Guanjia Village. Guan Yuan had planted flowers and greenery all around the yard, and thanks to the nourishment of the spiritual spring, even in winter the place was full of life.
Today was a special day—not only the start of winter, but also Guan Yuan's birthday. Zhao Shenggu had been busy in the kitchen since early morning. His cooking skills had improved dramatically under Guan Yuan's influence.
Guan Yuan lay lazily on the heated kang, stretching comfortably under the covers.
"You're awake?" Zhao Shenggu came in from the kitchen. Afraid of chilling Guan Yuan, he warmed his hands thoroughly before helping him get dressed.
"Brother, I can dress myself," Guan Yuan protested.
But after a year of living so freely, Zhao Shenggu had let out his youthful, playful side. "Is Xiao Yuan tired of me already?" he asked with a hint of teasing.
"Fine," Guan Yuan sighed, unable to resist his brother's coaxing.
After Zhao Shenggu helped him into his clothes, he covered Guan Yuan's eyes and led him to the table. "Okay, open your eyes." Guan Yuan looked—and there sat a small cake, round and made of white flour, sprinkled with flower petals on top.
Zhao Shenggu looked a little embarrassed. "This is the best one I could make." He had learned from the modern things collected in Guan Yuan’s space that people ate birthday cakes on their birthdays. He'd gotten up in the middle of the night to work on it, and after several failed attempts that looked terrible, he'd finally managed one that was somewhat presentable.
Guan Yuan's eyes instantly grew wet. "It's already wonderful," he said softly.
Zhao Shenggu cut a small piece, and Guan Yuan ate it with tears in his eyes. After he finished the cake, Zhao Shenggu brought out a bowl of longevity noodles from the kitchen.
The two finished their meal and decided to take the whole day off. While Zhao Shenggu was cleaning up in the kitchen, Guan Yuan leaned against his back, his face pressed against Zhao Shenggu's neck. His warm breath tickled, and Zhao Shenggu's voice carried a clear smile: "Xiao Yuan has become such a little clingy one."
Guan Yuan hummed in response. "I'm going to cling to you forever—my whole life."
Zhao Shenggu chuckled. "Alright, I'm happy to let Xiao Yuan cling to me." After tidying up, they had some rare leisure time. Zhao Shenggu lit the new sunken hearth (地炉), and the two huddled together, chatting warmly.
Just then, Guan Shitou burst in from outside. "Boss! They're showing a movie in the village today—are you two coming to watch?" Ever since he'd had a meal at Guan Yuan's place earlier that year, Guan Yuan's cooking had completely won him over. For the sake of good food, he called Guan Yuan "boss" without any hesitation.
The cozy atmosphere shattered. Guan Yuan was annoyed. "What movie? We'd be better off staying home by the fire."
Guan Shitou sniffled. "It's supposed to be really good—it's about fighting the Japanese devils! There are even cannons. You know what a cannon is? It goes BOOM and people just disappear!" He made buzzing noises to imitate the sound of artillery.
Guan Yuan rolled his eyes. This kid looked so goofy.
"Brother, do you want to go?" Guan Yuan asked Zhao Shenggu.
Zhao Shenggu was actually interested—his grandfather had served in the military, so watching such a film would be a way to pay his respects.
Seeing Zhao Shenggu nod, Guan Yuan brightened. "Great, we'll go watch the movie later." Then he turned to Guan Shitou. "When does it start?"
"I heard it starts at dusk, at the village threshing ground. Folks from several nearby villages are all coming here to watch." He shuffled his feet awkwardly. "Uh... Boss... could I maybe have some more beef jerky?"
Guan Yuan waved generously. "Go grab some from the kitchen yourself." This was a new snack they were planning to sell—after all, having only braised meat was too limited.
"Whoohoo!" Guan Shitou cheered, grabbed some beef jerky from the kitchen, heard kids playing outside, and dashed out like the wind.
With the nuisance gone, Guan Yuan leaned back into Zhao Shenggu's arms. "Brother, we've made almost ten thousand yuan this year. It's time we got ourselves a shop, don't you think?"
Zhao Shenggu nodded. This had been their plan for a while, and now was the right time to buy.
"Once we have a shop, we can hire someone to sell for us. Since we make a fixed amount each day, there's no risk of them cheating us. Then we can go to school—and I'm going to sit right next to you." Guan Yuan counted on his fingers, planning for the future.
At the mention of school, Zhao Shenggu's eyes sparkled too. "That's right—Xiao Yuan and I will be classmates." In the countryside at that time, many people hadn't gone to school, so it wasn't unusual for someone Zhao Shenggu's age to start elementary school.
Thinking about sitting in class with Zhao Shenggu, Guan Yuan's face showed a look of longing. Zhao Shenggu found it amusing. "We're together every single day—what's there to look forward to?"
"It's different—we'll be classmates!" Guan Yuan giggled. Honestly, Guan Yuan didn't really like laughing out loud—little kids' giggles sounded like chickens clucking. But with Zhao Shenggu, he just couldn't help being happy. So the courtyard often echoed with Guan Yuan's laughter.
They had a simple lunch, then took an afternoon nap. In winter, it got dark late; after they woke up, darkness fell quickly. The village loudspeaker crackled to life with the village chief announcing the movie.
Zhao Shenggu bundled Guan Yuan up tightly—an ordinary cotton coat on the outside, but thermal underwear from the space underneath, so he stayed nice and warm. Once they were both ready, they grabbed their stools and headed to the threshing ground.
By the time they arrived, the place was buzzing with noise. People from several villages had gathered together, making it even livelier than New Year's. Zhao Shenggu found them a good spot, and they sat down to wait for the movie to start.
Back then, movies were shown by traveling projectionists—just a simple white sheet that brought another world to life. Watching it all, Guan Yuan suddenly felt a strange sense of unreality, like Zhuang Zhou dreaming he was a butterfly. He couldn't tell if this was a dream or reality. He pressed closer to Zhao Shenggu, and the familiar warmth eased his restlessness. Slowly, his heart settled.
As the movie played, the noisy threshing ground fell silent. When the protagonist sacrificed himself for the revolutionary cause, sobs broke out all around.
Guan Yuan sneaked a glance at Zhao Shenggu and saw two streams of tears on his cheeks. He wiped them away. These stories had really happened in those years, so Guan Yuan couldn't bring himself to say they weren't true.
After the movie ended, people were cursing the Japanese devils left and right. Zhao Shenggu felt a little embarrassed about having cried in front of Guan Yuan.
Guan Yuan said seriously, "Brother, I don't want to see you being strong all the time. I want you to let me know when you feel vulnerable—we'll face it together. Besides, I'm actually older than you!" he added lightheartedly at the end.
Zhao Shenggu looked at him—this little kid with such a young face saying such grown-up things—and burst out laughing. "Okay, I get it."
Sensing that Zhao Shenggu was just brushing him off, Guan Yuan pouted in displeasure. The expression only made him look cuter, and Zhao Shenggu laughed even harder.
Guan Yuan: "..."
---
The next morning, Zhao Shenggu suggested Guan Yuan stay home and rest while he went to sell the braised meat by himself. Guan Yuan flatly refused: "No way! Wherever you go, I go. Why should you do all the hard work while I slack off at home? Either we both go, or neither of us goes."
"Don't be silly. The meat's already braised—how can we not sell it?"
"Then take me with you!"
Zhao Shenggu had no choice but to bundle Guan Yuan up like a little roly-poly toy and take him along.
It was cold in winter, and not many people came to buy braised meat early in the morning. They didn't finish selling everything until noon. Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu walked over to the butcher stall. The middle-aged butcher knew them inside and out by now. As soon as he saw them, he asked, "The usual?" When Zhao Shenggu nodded, he skillfully chopped the meat.
Just then, Guan Manxing also came to buy meat. Spotting them, she called out warmly, "Shenggu, Xiao Yuan—buying meat again?" Guan Yuan had no liking for her and ignored her completely. Zhao Shenggu simply nodded.
Seeing how perfunctory they were, a flash of displeasure crossed Guan Manxing's face. But she quickly put on a warm smile again and reached out to touch Guan Yuan's cheek—only to have Zhao Shenggu subtly block her hand.
"Look at this child," she said, "why are you treating me like a thief? I'm your aunt—would I ever harm you?"
Guan Yuan thought to himself, That's exactly who I'm guarding against. Over the past year, Guan Manxing had seen how profitable their braised meat business was and had tried every way to wheedle the recipe out of them. She'd even been bold enough to try making her own braised meat to sell. Unfortunately, it didn't taste good at all—she sold nothing and lost all her money. That only made her more determined to get the recipe from Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu. But they were too careful, and so far she hadn't made a single bit of progress.
"Your meat's ready." The butcher handed the wrapped package to Zhao Shenggu.
Zhao Shenggu said to Guan Manxing, "Aunt, we're going now," then hoisted the meat on his back, took Guan Yuan's hand, and walked away.
Guan Manxing watched their retreating figures, fuming with rage, and stomped her foot in frustration. The butcher scoffed inwardly. He'd dealt with Zhao Shenggu and Guan Yuan often enough to know them well. The woman in front of him—as if she really thought nobody could see through her little scheme.
"What do you want?"
"I'll take this strip of fatty meat," Guan Manxing said, pointing at the trimmings on the counter.
The butcher felt even more contemptuous. He cut off a piece for her.
"Hey, that's too much, too much!" Guan Manxing quickly said. She'd lost money on her failed business, and because the Guan family had been squeezed by the village, she didn't have much cash left. Her life was harder now than before.
"What did you say!" The butcher glared at her with eyes like copper bells. "You're calling this little bit too much? Who am I supposed to sell this tiny piece to if I cut it smaller?"
Guan Manxing had no choice. "Fine, I'll take it all."
Of course, Guan Yuan and Zhao Shenggu knew nothing about this scene.
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