Drinking Wine (Part Five)
The hermit’s hut is amidst human habitation, yet devoid of hubbub. How can this be? The heart is far away, biased towards solitude. I’ll gather chrysanthemums under the eastern fence, carefree, gazing at the southern mountains. The mountain air is crisp, and the flying birds return together. There’s true intention here, yet I’ve forgotten my words.
Liu Chang’an’s life is similar to Tao Yuanming’s depiction, completely identical in its tranquility and mental state, perhaps even more carefree, since Liu Chang’an has never paid attention to the issue of being prosperous or declining.
Just like his current living environment, many people would sigh and lament, “Alas, the world is full of sorrow!” But Liu Chang’an can sleep soundly, waking up naturally, still feeling at ease.
After getting up, Liu Chang’an habitually swept the willow branch, then drank a bag of soy milk.
Soy products can effectively supplement the protein needed by the body. For someone as impoverished as Liu Chang’an, this is a precious commodity.
Liu Chang’an can confirm that soybeans originated in China. Before the modern era, he had not seen large-scale soybean planting records in regions outside of East Asia.
“The earliest soybeans weren’t called soybeans, but ‘菽’ (zhū), which is a grass radical with an uncle character added. ‘豆’ (dòu) is a type of bronze vessel. Look at this ‘豆’ character – the top horizontal stroke is a pot lid, the middle oral radical is a pot mouth, and the bottom resembles a burning fire. It’s just that later on, people used ‘豆’ to refer to the cooked and fermented ‘菽’, and it became the name of this plant.” Liu Chang’an said to the little girl who brought him soy milk, “Before my birth, over a hundred years ago, the Shanrong tribe attacked the State of Yan, and I persuaded the Hegemon King Qi to send troops to assist. We fought all the way to the depths of the Shanrong tribe’s stronghold in the mountains, and I brought back the high-quality soybean varieties I found. Soybeans then rose to become a staple crop, although people back then didn’t drink soy milk. Soy milk had to wait until the stone mill was promoted…”
“Older brother Chang’an, you’re not studying and just reading random books!” The little girl clearly showed no interest.
“Who said that?”
“My mom!”
After that, the little girl ran away.
Liu Chang’an went out for a run, avoiding the Baolong Center area, and ran to the vegetable market to buy some soybeans, which were a bit old but not spoiled. The small market didn’t have genetically modified soybeans, which were only used for oil extraction and other industrial purposes.
The vendor was a bit annoyed, thinking to herself, “This young man has been picking and choosing for half a day, as if he’s looking for gold!”
“Scattering beans to form an army!”
Liu Chang’an carelessly scattered some soybeans on the wall. He, of course, didn’t have the ability to actually scatter beans to form an army. He just hoped that the scattered soybeans might take root and sprout, growing into a patch of soybean sprouts that could be eaten. After steaming them, they would make a great side dish, Mao dou, with wine.
This kind of hope usually falls through, and he might even forget about it himself, but Liu Chang’an often did this sort of thing.
After arriving at school, Liu Chang’an habitually sat back in his original seat, with Gao De and Ann Wan looking at him.
“Forgetting each other in the river, until we meet again.” Liu Chang’an stood up, preparing to return to his seat.
“I’ll find you at noon,” Ann Wan said seriously.
Liu Chang’an nodded, not asking what it was about, as Miao Yingying and Lin Xinhui arrived together. Liu Chang’an returned his seat to Miao Yingying, while Gao De slightly shifted his fat body, trying to sit closer to the edge, then continued doing his homework, thinking, “Why waste limited learning time on romantic gossip?” Miao Yingying and Lin Xinhui were discussing romantic matters, which Ann Wan had told Gao De about earlier.
Miao Yingying sat down with a slight smile, feeling a bit embarrassed, thinking she was being used as scissors to cut the red string, having her own romantic issues, and realizing being forced apart and unable to sit together was a hard thing to bear. Miao Yingying wanted to swap seats with Ann Wan, as Ann Wan’s seat was just across the aisle from Lin Xinhui’s.
Liu Chang’an returned to his seat, lifting his leg to avoid Lu Yuan’s seemingly careless stretch into the aisle.
On his desk, someone had drawn a toad with ink.
Bai Rui glanced at Liu Chang’an, knowing it was Lu Yuan’s and Qian Ning’s handiwork. She wouldn’t bother with these things, and instead was happy to see Liu Chang’an’s reaction.
Bai Rui picked up her language textbook, covering half her face, lifting one hand to support her forehead, and sneaking a peek at Liu Chang’an from an unnoticed angle.
“This toad is really ugly.”
Liu Chang’an was muttering to himself, and Bai Rui coldly laughed, “You’re self-aware.”
Liu Chang’an put down his backpack, took out his pen, and drew some bowls and pots next to the toad. Bai Rui was puzzled, but couldn’t help admitting that Liu Chang’an’s drawing skills were quite impressive. Bai Rui herself could draw, and this simple thing was surprisingly well-done, giving off a sense of comfort.
But what was he doing? Normally, people would get angry when humiliated, but Liu Chang’an just…
After drawing the bowls and pots, Liu Chang’an drew a knife and fork, then a large fire in front of the toad, with a roasting rack above the fire, holding a featherless swan!
It was precisely because the feathers hadn’t been plucked that it was clear it was a swan. If the feathers were plucked, who knows what kind of bird the toad was roasting – a chicken or a duck, or maybe some other silly bird?
Bai Rui pursed her lips, getting more and more annoyed as she looked at Liu Chang’an. He was dead set on eating swan meat, even if it meant acknowledging the toad!
Liu Chang’an suddenly glanced at Bai Rui, who quickly sat up straight, thinking he hadn’t discovered her peeking, with her hair covering her eyes.
But Bai Rui couldn’t help sneaking another peek, and Liu Chang’an had written a “白” character on the roasted swan.
“White”? Was it Bai Rui or White Swan? Bai Rui was unsure, and her eyes were fixed on Liu Chang’an’s pen tip.
Liu Chang’an didn’t move his pen for a long time, and Bai Rui almost couldn’t bear it, raising her head to find him smiling ambiguously, with a hateful gaze.
Bai Rui’s face flushed, and she stared at Liu Chang’an with a blank expression, then lightly lifted her head, naturally saying to Lu Yuan, who was also paying attention, “Is my sugar good to eat?”
“Good to eat,” Lu Yuan replied, still confused. Bai Rui had a cousin working in Taiwan who had recently returned to Junsha and brought back a lot of snacks. Bai Rui was still complaining that her cousin was treating her like a child, when in fact she wanted cosmetics.
Bai Rui didn’t say anything else, naturally turning around, and using her peripheral vision to notice Liu Chang’an, that scoundrel, who had written a single “白” character and was now reading a book, flipping to a page with an illustration of a “seasnake”. Suddenly, Bai Rui felt a chill, as she had an intense fear of these soft, smooth, and slimy creatures since childhood.
Liu Chang’an was a bastard, and Bai Rui clenched her fist, pounding the desk, hoping the college entrance exams would come soon and end her days of sitting with Liu Chang’an.
“Snakes can mate for six to twenty-four hours, and people say that snakes are lustful. On the other hand, they believe eating snakes can prolong life… In the past, there were many seasnakes, but now they’re scarce. In the early years, along the coastal areas of southern Fujian and Guangdong, there were often tens of thousands of seasnakes emerging from the sea to mate, their bodies entwined and slithering, a truly magnificent sight. Unfortunately, most of them have been eaten by people hoping to prolong their lives.” Liu Chang’an sighed, talking to himself as he read his book, which he usually enjoyed for its extrinsic associations.
Bai Rui’s brain was filled with the image of countless seasnakes described by Liu Chang’an, combined with the greasy food she had eaten that morning, making her feel nauseous. She quickly rushed out of the classroom.
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