Chapter 15: Xiao Qi, Don’t Go Past the Walls
Qian Xiao Qi got up early in the morning and even specially rummaged through the treasure chest to fish out a broad brimmed hat. Song Liang Zhuo was disturbed awake from the sound of her moving back and forth. Looking outside the window at the dawn sky which was just turning white, he felt a bit helplessly irked.
Xiao Qi stuck her head out, seeing that Song Liang Zhuo was already awake, hurriedly put on the white gauze hat for him to look at, and even twirled in a circle as she asked smiling: “How is it? This way a parasol isn’t necessary and my hands can be used to hold other things.”
“Good.” Song Liang Zhuo rubbed his forehead: “What else do you want to take?”
“If there’s any wild fruits or flowers I can pick them!”
“At this time of the year, where would there be wild fruits?”
Xiao Qi blinked: “That’s true.” An instant later she laughed again: “Then just treat it as an accessory hat to wear. As long as it looks nice.”
Song Liang Zhuo lied down again, speaking warmly: “Waking up so early, be careful that you don’t complain of being tired when you arrive.”
“How would I be tired going out to play?”
Xiao Qi hid behind the curtain and changed into a cool cotton cloth, the outer layer was a light purple gauze, inside was white embroidered bloomers. If the skirt got in the way, she could probably directly lift it up. Xiao Qi twirled in a circle satisfied and ran to the outer room: “Why is Official Song still sleeping? Hurry up!”
“The rest of them haven’t woken up yet. Moreover, we still have to eat breakfast before heading out.”
Xiao Qi ran to the door and took a look, and say with a ingratiating smile: “Why don’t we head out first? Just have them follow soon. Or you can just throw me there first and come back to get them?”
Song Liang Zhuo slightly wrinkled his brows as he looked towards Xiao Qi who was full of excitement: “You’re in this much of a hurry?”
Xiao Qi kicked the ground: “I’ve been bored for a long time.”
Song Liang Zhuo thought back to the past two years in which she waited in front of the government office gates early in the morning every day and his heart warmed. He smiled mildly: “That’s fine too. We can eat breakfast outside on the way.”
Xiao Qi hurriedly called Lu Liu to come in to help do her hair. While she washed her face she didn’t forget to say: “I want to eat the deep-fried breadstick on the east street of Qian fu.”
“Are you going back to your maternal home or going out to play?”
Qian Xiao Qi shot a glance at Song Liang Zhuo who seemed to be slightly off, but still expressionless, and swallowed her saliva: “Fine, I won’t eat. When I get home I’ll make it for it myself.”
Song Liang Zhuo rubbed his forehead and also washed his face.
Only the top of Xiao Qi’s hair was combed back and loosely pulled behind her head into an luxuriant bun, the rest of her hair was scatter over her shoulders. Looking at it, she appeared a bit mischievous and a bit laid-back, it really suited her personality and also showed the intention to go out to play.
Song Liang Zhuo unhurriedly brushed his teeth. Seeing her curved eyes staring at him, he laughed inside and calmly called again for the manservant to prepare a bamboo hat before lifting his feet to walk towards the outside. Xiao Qi ran to catch up. Seeing the bamboo hat in his hand she reached out to touch it, saying: “Can I wear this for a while?”
“Don’t you have a hat?”
“The two are not the same ah!”
Xiao Qi saw that Song Liang Zhuo didn’t reply and reached out to give a tug, then gave another tug, until Song Liang Zhuo loosened his grip and she grabbed it, laughing. She examined it, then tried wearing it, and muttered: “I wonder who wore it before. It looks so familiar.”
Who else could it be? And who was it that always ran to the government office entrance to gift a bamboo hat during rainy days? She doesn’t have even the slightest bit of modesty that a girl should have.
So basically, QXQ lost her memory, but it was her that gave SLZ this hat. SLZ still doesn’t know that QXQ lost her memory so he thinks she’s boasting about giving him the hat.
Xiao Qi rubbed the bamboo hat and pouted: “Official Song, you sure treat yourself well. This bamboo hat was made using spotted bamboo, and even uses carapace. No wonder I thought it looked nice!”
Exact type of spotted bamboo is Phyllostachys bambusoides f. lacrima-deae
Xiao Qi shook and cried in surprise: “And, and it has even been soaked in a mental alertness boosting scent? Aiyah! Official Song is so extravagant. You can’t bear to even give Ha Pi a mouthful of meat yet you wear something so luxurious. Tsk, tsk. Corrupt, corrupt!”
Song Liang Zhuo watched as the comments Xiao Qi made became more and more unreasonable. He reached out to take the bamboo hat back and stepped up the footstool and entered the carriage.
“Hey, Official Song!” Xiao Qi followed and climbed up as well. Just as she sat down her stomach gave a rumble of a growl.
“Ah, it thundered.” Xiao Qi covered her stomach and contracted it a little. She shot a glance at Song Liang Zhuo and asked: “Official Song, what are we going to eat?”
Song Liang Zhuo closed his eyes. After half the day, he finally replied: “Eat something edible.”
Xiao Qi spat. Who doesn’t know to eat something edible ah? If it’s not edible she definitely wouldn’t eat it! Qian Xiao Qi shot a glare at Song Liang Zhuo who was resting with his eyes closed. She rubbed her stomach and also yawned.
The carriage swayed out for a period of time and Song Liang Zhuo stopped hearing the sound of Xiao Qi muttering. Finding it strange, he opened his eyes and saw she had cleverly sat so that she could take a nap on the padded cushion side of the carriage.
Seriously, say go and you go! You can even sleep like this!
The Chinese saying is ‘think go and you go’ which means you act on impulse. The author probably changed it a little to emphasize QXQ’s selfishness on demanding SLZ walk up and take her out, then falling asleep herself, lol.
Song Liang Zhuo shook his head helplessly and lifted the curtain to tell the coachman to detour to the east street of Qian fu.
Qian Xiao Qi was woken up by the noise from her own stomach. She opened her eyes to see Song Liang Zhuo looking at her with a strange gaze. Xiao Qi wiped the corner of her mouth and asked, puzzled: “What is it?”
Song Liang Zhuo’s forehead twitched: “Do stomachs usually growl this loud?”
“I didn’t eat my fill last night.”
“How come you never eat your fill?”
“Right!?” Xiao Qi blinked: “Say, Official Song, how come I can never eat my fill?”
Eh, if I knew would I still ask you?
Song Liang Zhuo sighed and passed the deep-fried breadsticks that were tied together with thin hemp thread over. Xiao Qi took it and first gave it sniff, before smiling with delighted squinted eyes: “It’s from the street where my house is.”
Xiao Qi happily took a bite. Glancing at Song Liang Zhuo, she took out one stick and passed it over: “You eat too.”
Song Liang Zhuo shook his head; “I already ate.”
Xiao Qi glanced at Song Liang Zhuo whose mouth was completely clean and asked: ‘What did you eat?”
“Steamed buns.”
“Why do you like eating steamed buns?” Xiao Qi wrinkled her brows with horrid disgust.
Song Liang Zhuo, seeing this expression of hers, suddenly felt his heart fill. His lips smoothed as he asked: “What’s wrong with steamed buns?”
“I don’t like things with stuffing, who knows what kind of things they wrap inside. Urgh, filthy.”
Song Liang Zhuo rubbed his head and sighed. No wonder she kept bringing fried breadsticks and soy milk everyday for two years like it was just one day. They ate to the point that even Adviser Lu frowned.
This is unclear who is doing the eating. Either SLZ ate 2 years worth of fried breadsticks, or everyone at the governmental office shared the food. Even though an ‘advisor Lu’ is mentioned, sometimes it might be referring to a god or something.
The carriage gradually came to a stop and Xiao Qi hurriedly finished eating the last half stick. Taking out a handkerchief to wipe her hands, she spoke with her mouth stuffed: “Have we arrived? What kind of scenery? “
Song Liang Zhuo pulled Xiao Qi who was heading out back and passed a small jar of soy milk over. Xiao Qi’s mouth had a bit too much stuck. She chewed for a long time but still couldn’t make any room, and even retched from choking.
Song Liang Zhuo frowned as he lifted open the carriage window: “Spit it out!”
Xiao Qi shook her head and chewed for another while, then lifted up the jar and drank a couple mouthfuls, and even specially opened her mouth to let Song Liang Zhuo see her completely empty mouth and said with smiling eyes: “Can’t suffocate me.”
Song Liang Zhuo felt his temples pulse again and lifted his hand to rub it. Lifting his head again, Xiao Qi had already rushed out like a gust of wind.
“Ah ~~~~” A voice cried.
“Official Song!” A voice grumbled.
“Th, this. Where is this!” A voice demanded.
Song Liang Zhuo slowly and unhurriedly got off the carriage. Looking at the desolate expanse in front of him he took a deep breath, then slowly let it out. With the corner of his mouth hooked he said: “The yellow river shallows, how is it? Isn’t it expansive?”
Xiao Qi looked at the countless meters wide beach in front of her and said with a bitter face: “Are we here to play with sand?”
Official Song nodded.
“I don’t like it here.” Qian Xiao Qi pouted: “There’s nothing here at all.”
Song Liang Zhuo put on the bamboo hat, took off his cloth shoes and set them to the side and took a few steps forward: “Xiao Qi, come and try it. It’s nice and cool, not bad.”
Qian Xiao Qi’s lips twitched. She looked at the shallow, extremely yellow water in the river bank and frowned: “Didn’t this river use to be very wide?”
“It hasn’t rained for a long time this year, right?”
Xiao Qi puffed her cheeks and lifted herself onto her tiptoes to see something slightly black inside the yellow river water and asked with her brows creased: “What is that?”
Song Liang Zhuo looked where Xiao Qi was pointed and gave a soft ‘”eh”. Walking closer, he turned back and said: “Xiao Qi, hurry and come. It’s yellow river fish flow!”
In around June 6th of each year, there’ll be a huge flow of fish on the yellow river. The ‘fish flow’ usually consists of yellow river carps and occasionally some turtles. It’d be so densely packed to the point that some of them are drifting upside-down or sideways. Apparently the fish are really lively so they jump and it’s a spectacular sight.
Xiao Qi hurriedly kicked off her shoes, took off her soaks and lifted her skirt to run over.
A pitch black area in the shallow river water only exposed multiple black fish spines. Xiao Qi ran to the waterside but didn’t dare to jump in and lifted her skirt and ran back. As she jumped with excitement she said: “Official Song, hurry and catch it. Hurry hurry! In a bit they’ll all be gone!”
Song Liang Zhuo turned around and waved the coachman over, calling loudly: “There’s yellow river carp. Uncle Wang should also come and catch some!”
Xiao Qi hauled down his hand and said angrily: “If other people catches it we won’t have any.”
The corner of Song Liang Zhuo’s mouth curved: “It’s but an incense’s worth of time and effort. This river shoal is definitely full of people. Whoever catches some doesn’t count as catching it?”
Xiao Qi blinked. Song Liang Zhuo continued: “Every year around the beginning of June when the yellow river is beginning to swell there’ll be a fish flow. This time seemed to have been a couple days early, wonder if it’s a good sign.”
At that side, Uncle Wang had already finished tying up the horse and was headed over with his bamboo hat. Upon seeing this, Xiao Qi hurriedly pushed Song Liang Zhuo: “Hurry up, in a while everyone will arrive. How will we catch some then?”
Song Liang Zhuo shook his head, lifted his legs and entered the river. Of the fish, there were big ones and small ones. Even though their spines were exposed, wanting to catch them by hand was not an easy task. Song Liang Zhuo clasped his hands several times, but the slippery fish still slide its way out.
But Uncle Wang was able to swiftly fling out two. Xiao Qi anxiously stomped her feet, saying angrily: “You should hurry up. Look at him, he’s already caught two!”
Uncle Wang heard and said with a smile: “If Madam likes it then you can just take them. Da ren probably hasn’t entered the water before. Although it looks like there’s a lot of fish, they’re still in the water and also extremely spirited.”
“I don’t want yours!” Qian Xiao Qi turned around and saw that in the distance there were already people entering the water and agitatedly gestured: “Official Song, do this. Swing it outwards like this. Look at how Uncle Wang catches it!”
Song Liang Zhuo watched Xiao Qi gesture with her waist bent on the river shore and laughed softly: “Go find something to hold the fish so that the fish will be flipped ashore in a while don’t end up sliding back into the water.”
“Ok!” Xiao Qi turned in a circle. This motion evidently reminded Song Liang Zhuo of Ha Pi who liked to circle around twice before lying down, as he couldn’t help but laugh again.
Uncle Wang, seeing Xiao Qi’s appearance also laughed and shouted: “There’s some coarse cloth stuffed under the cushions in the carriage. Madam can take that to use.”
Xiao Qi hurriedly ran back again, poking her toes through her shoes and climbing onto the carriage.
Song Liang Zhuo worriedly watched Xiao Qi’s silhouette, until he saw her crawl out butt-first from the carriage and gave a light laugh, then stooped down to continue catching fish.
Song Liang Zhuo, as expectedly, didn’t let Xiao Qi down. By the time she ran over dragging a rag behind her he had already splashed out a skinny little carp. Xiao Qi didn’t avoid it either. On the shore she tied the four corners of the rag together, then pinched the tail of the little fish and threw it in. Afterwards, her sparkling eyes locked onto Song Liang Zhuo again.
Song Liang Zhuo gave a light cough: “Help collect Uncle Wang’s too.”
Xiao Qi was a bit unwilling, and pouted without moving while looking at the five, six large fishes on Uncle Wang’s side. Song Liang Zhuo felt it was funny, and gestured with his chin, saying: “In a bit other people will definitely take them. If you collect them, Uncle Wang can even give you one.”
Xiao Qi was evidently still a bit unwilling. She has never wanted other people’s things before.
No matter how good it is, if it’s not hers then she doesn’t want to touch. But turning around and seeing that people were heading this way, she thought that Uncle Wang was still closer to her than other people, so pouted unwillingly: “Uncle Wang, I’ll help you collect them first. I don’t want yours, I remember how my fish looks.”
Uncle Wang laughed heartily: “Then I must thank Madam.”
Xiao Qi uncomfortably curled her lips, closely examining each one before throwing the fish into the cloth bag.
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Credits: Translated by Chiyomira, Edited by Sonia