CH 45

Chapter 45 – The Soul Painter

Madam Liu asked Bai Shan Bao to tell her what he learnt in school.

The little boy was very experienced in dealing with his grandmother. He told her what Mr Zhuang said, and the lesson in class but kept mum about his and Man Bao’s plan to catch bugs to scare his second paternal cousin.

Madam Liu knew in her bones that her grandson wasn’t totally honest. After all, Mr Zhuang had unprecedentedly brought up the topic of a magistrate’s responsibilities.

It was certainly not without a reason, but instead of asking too many questions, she beckoned her grandson over and told him what a magistrate was and his duties/ responsibilities.

Bai Shan Bao listened attentively and decided to tell Man Bao the next day, mumbling that he knew more than her.

When Madam Liu saw that her grandson was listening carefully and was not as rebellious as before, she provided more details and spoke in a gentler manner.

Bai Shan Bao asked questions when he didn’t understand and told her about Man Bao’s allegations that their magistrate was a bad man and had overcharged them for entering the city.

Only then did Madam Liu understood the reasons for Mr Zhuang’s lessons on the ants and the autumn rain.

Madam Liu said, “The county needs money to build roads, repair dikes, and build water conservancy projects. So, if County Magistrate Fu is planning to do these public works, there is nothing wrong with him increasing the entry fee.”

Bai Shan Bao understands this. After all, everything requires money.

His mother told him that they moved to the mountains because the clan bullied them as she was a widow, and Shan Bao, an orphan. The clan wanted to plunder all their properties.

His mother said all their properties would generate revenue. In the future, he needs money for his education and to undertake examinations, to marry a wife, and to be an official. All the money must be reserved for him.

From that time onwards, Bai Shan Bao realised that money was very important. Even those as powerful as the clan’s patriarch who was already a grandfather was shamelessly trying to rob them of their money.   

Madam Liu felt they made the right decision to move to Qili Village.

Although there were more teachers in the clan school and Longzhou has more resources than the village, but Shan Bao was always isolated in the clan school and the events at home had somewhat affected him.1

Although he is smart, he refused to take his lessons seriously, and he gets into mischief, fights, and brawls in school. The most important thing is that the teachers in the clan school don’t treat him fairly.

In the long run, they will turn him either into a profligate son of a rich family, or a cynical and embittered person. Madam Liu doesn’t want to see either.

If she could raise her son on her own as a young widow, she could naturally raise her grandson.

Madam Liu’s gaze was firm; they had taken the right step. The best thing was that there was such a teacher like Mr Zhuang in this mountainous area. Perhaps, this was their Bai family’s fortune.

She beckoned her daughter-in-law and said, “Although we are close to old seven’s (aka Master Bai) family, we can’t always live in his house since we have decided to live here for a long time.

“I think we should buy a piece of land in the village and build a small house and move there, so that the two families are close to each other, can look after each other and have their own home. Wouldn’t that be comfortable?” 

Zheng didn’t have any opinion; she was used to listening to her mother-in-law.

On the other hand, Bai Shan Bao had a lot of ideas. He was playing on the side, and when he heard what his grandmother said, he ran up to her and said, “Choose one by the river, then we’ll bring the water into my house and dig a big pond. I want to raise turtles.”

“Why are you still thinking about raising turtles?” In their previous home, Shan Bao injured his second uncle’s grandson’s head over a turtle. Because of this, his grandmother compensated with so many gifts to the extent that Zheng still felt heartache when she thought about it.

Bai Shan Bao insisted, “I want to raise a tortoise. When it’s big enough, I’ll give it to grandmother so that she can stew soup to drink.”

The expression on Zheng’s face was a slightly hard to describe, but Madam Liu knew what her grandson meant, stroked his hair and laughed, “Fine, fine. When the time comes, I’ll dig a pond for you to raise turtles. What else do you want? Just tell grandma all your requests so that it’s easier to plan.”

Bai Shan Bao thought for a while and said, “I need to think about it.”

“That’s fine. When you are ready, let me know.”

Madam Liu shouldn’t come forward personally to purchase the land and build a house. She had to discuss the matter with Master Bai.

Bai Shan Bao didn’t have to worry about this. After he reviewed his homework for the day, he took out his brush and drew his imaginary courtyard.

He could be a soul painter as no one could understand his drawings except for the artist himself!

He wasn’t aware of this, so the next day, he joyfully showed Man Bao his masterpiece and told her that this would be his new home.

Man Bao turned the drawing upside down a couple of times, stared at it for half a day, scratched her face and asked, “Where’s the front?”

Then, Shan Bao set the picture right for her and said, “Look at it this way. Look, this is my room. I’m going to make a swing here so I can wake up and sit on the swing, and dig a pond with turtles here. This way, I can sit on the swing and watch the turtles at the same time, and here, this one is a turtle.”

Man Bao had never seen a turtle and asked, “Can we eat turtles?”

“Yes, turtles can live for a long, long time. I plan to fatten it up and give it to my grandmother to stew soup, so that my grandmother will have a long life.”

Man Bao’s eyes lit up, “Really?”

Shan Bao nodded, “Of course it’s true, when I was in my old home (i.e native place), they all said that turtles represent longevity!”

“Then how many do you have? Can you sell one to me? I also want to raise a turtle.”

Shan Bao asked, “Why do you want to raise a turtle?”

“Give it to my mother to eat. My mother is always sick. After she eats the turtle, she can also live a long life, so she won’t always be sick.”

Bai Shan Bao felt that turtles were rare. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gotten into a fight with his paternal cousin over a turtle.  However, he just made friends with Man Bao, and it was difficult to reject her request.

So, he hesitated and said, “I’ll ask my mother to buy one more. If we can get an extra one, I’ll give that to you. If we can’t, then when my turtle has babies, I’ll give you its babies to raise.”

Man Bao corrected him, “It takes two turtles to have a baby, one male and one female.”

“Who said that?”

“Chickens and pigs are like this, and so are humans,” said Man Bao, who, despite her young age, actually knew a lot and listed them all for him, “When my hens hatch chicks, my mother has to check the eggs, saying that only the eggs laid with the roosters can give birth to chicks.

“In spring, my nephew, Da Zhu went to the next village and invited a male pig to marry the sow so that it could give birth to piglets. People also have to marry wives before they can have babies.”

“So, you have to buy two turtles, one male and one female, so they can have babies. One in a year, 10 in 10 years, and then, we’ll eat the two grown turtles, and continue to raise the others which will continue to give birth to babies…” Man Bao kept counting and was shocked, “Wow, we’ll have a lot of turtles then.”

Bai Shan Bao felt Man Bao made sense, so he would tell his mother when he returns home in the evening.

Seeing that he was willing to listen to her advice, Man Bao became more animated and pointed to his blueprint, “Apart from keeping turtles in the pond, you can also grow lotus roots. Do you know what lotus roots are? There are many of them along the banks of the river downstream from our village. They bloom beautifully in the summer. Lotus seeds are delicious, and so are the lotus roots.”

Man Bao became excited, “Let me take you to dig lotus roots. I’ve been there last year, and I already know how to dig.”

Bai Shan Bao asked, “Didn’t we agree to catch cabbage worms today?”

Man Bao said nonchalantly, “We’ll catch them later. Let’s dig up the lotus roots first, lotus roots are more beautiful than worms.”

Bai Shan Bao didn’t really want to catch bugs, so he nodded.