Chapter Thirty: Taking on an Apprentice

“Dad! Little Tao is pulling my hair again!” Hong Tao was in the middle of stretching Jin Yue’s hair for an experiment, only to be met with fierce resistance from the little girl, who immediately opened her mouth to complain.

“Don’t shout, don’t shout. Your dad is playing chess with my dad right now. If you shout, your dad will lose, and then he’ll go home and spank you! Hey, you have a rice grain on your face, let me get it for you.” Hong Tao released her hair and, instead of touching it, made up a story to touch the little girl’s cheek, taking the opportunity to observe her up close. In his previous life, although he had lived in the same building as this little girl and they’d been classmates until the fifth grade, it seemed he’d never really looked at her closely before. He had touched her, but only to grab her arm and throw her to the ground or something like that—never paying attention to how it felt.

“My dad says you’re learning well now—you can do arithmetic and recognize words. Isn’t it fun not to go to daycare?” Jin Yue, oblivious to any ulterior motives, leaned in curiously, her big eyes blinking as she asked.

“What do you mean, ‘learning well now’? Your Brother Tao has never been bad! Have I ever bullied you? Last time, when dumb Kai from unit one snatched your candy, wasn’t it me who got my uncle to get it back for you? I’ve always protected you in secret, like an undercover agent—I’m a good person!” Hong Tao stroked the little girl’s cheek—it was so soft—then touched his own. Not bad, but still not as tender as hers.

“That candy was eaten by you! And your uncle pulled my braids!” Jin Yue had a good memory; she hadn’t forgotten an incident from a year ago.

“That wasn’t pulling, it was just touching. Besides, my uncle stood up for you and made that Kai cry. The candy was his reward for helping you. And the candy was given to me by my uncle—I didn’t snatch it from your hand, right?” Hong Tao couldn’t reason with a child and could only circle around her arguments. After all, this wasn’t the first time he and his uncle had teamed up to take candy from a little girl.

“Your uncle is a bad kid too! My sister says he’s always punished at school and gets into fights!” Since she couldn’t win against Hong Tao, Jin Yue switched to talking about his uncle.

“That’s right! He’s a bad kid, but I’m not. If he bullies you again, I’ll protect you!” Hong Tao didn’t want to dwell on his uncle’s reputation—too notorious to salvage—so he chose to drop it strategically.

“Da Jiang was asking why you don’t go to daycare anymore. His paper gun was taken by Er Mao, and he cried all afternoon. Can you ask your uncle to get it back for him?” Jin Yue was still too young to follow a train of thought; before finishing one story, she jumped to another.

“I’ll fold him a few more paper guns—out of map paper. I’ll give you a sheet later, you can take it home for your sister to use as a book cover, it’s perfect!” Hong Tao was running out of topics. Even if he had any, he wasn’t about to have a serious conversation with a four-year-old girl. There was no way to do that. All he could do was distract her with things and steal a few glances for himself.

“Can you fold frogs?” The prospect of paper folding instantly cheered Jin Yue up. She kicked off her shoes and climbed onto Hong Tao’s little bed, kneeling by the desk, waiting for him to fetch the map paper.

Hong Tao drew two large sheets of paper from under the mattress. These were different from normal white paper—they were covered in scattered lines and felt thick, smooth, and sturdy. This kind of paper was called copperplate at the time and was reserved for printing premium things. Calendars weren’t popular yet, so ordinary people rarely saw it. Hong Tao had it because his eldest uncle, who worked at a military print shop, brought home misprinted maps. His youngest aunt and uncle wrapped their books with it, but more than half ended up as Hong Tao’s toys, courtesy of his grandfather.

He cut the paper into small squares and began folding paper guns, teaching Jin Yue how to make paper frogs, cranes, and lanterns as well—while taking the chance to touch her chubby little hands. One was scheming, the other was innocent, but they played together harmoniously. The only pity was the wasted copperplate paper: Hong Tao wasted little, Jin Yue wasted plenty.

“Well then, Brother Hong, it’s settled. On behalf of Jin Yue and her mother, thank you and Little Tao. Look at these two children playing so nicely—Little Tao is really acting like an older brother now, entertaining his little sister. But it’s strange; how did he change so suddenly? In the past, Jin Yue would have cried several times by now, wouldn’t she?” At that moment, Jin Yue’s father and Hong Tao’s father emerged from the study, laughing as they entered Hong Tao’s room. Seeing the two children folding paper at the desk, they felt gratified—and puzzled.

“Ah, children all go through stages. Some change early, some late—no one can say for sure. Don’t worry. If Little Tao dares bully his sister again, I’ll deal with him!” Hong Tao’s father was more puzzled than Jin Yue’s, but he always chose to see his son in the best light. What he couldn’t understand, he put down to the laws of nature.

“Xiao Yue, are you coming home with Daddy, or do you want to stay and play?” asked her father as he opened the door.

“I want to stay and play! I’m folding cranes!” In the past, Jin Yue would’ve dragged her father home, but now she didn’t even look up, fully absorbed in folding her paper.

“Good, that puts my mind at ease. Little Tao, take good care of your little sister from now on! I’ll find some fun things for you—bullet casings! Want some?” Jin Yue’s father seemed very pleased and even promised Hong Tao a reward. Bullet casings were prized; all the boys wanted them at the time. Having come from the army himself, he surely had a stash.

“Thank you, Uncle…” Suddenly, Hong Tao sensed something was off. Jin Yue’s father had said several times to look after his daughter and even offered bullet casings as a bribe. What was he up to? Why should he be saddled with their child? Suspicious as he was, Hong Tao still had to put on a look of delighted surprise.

“Dad, what did you promise Uncle Jin?” As soon as his father had seen Jin Yue’s dad out and lingered in his room, Hong Tao knew trouble was brewing.

“Well, here’s the thing: Uncle Jin wants Jin Yue to self-study with you. Seeing how much you’ve improved lately, he thought, since you’re the same age as Jin Yue, you could teach her as well. I’ve already agreed.” His father was now a bit wary of his son and avoided using a commanding tone.

“…If you’ve already agreed, I guess I have no choice. But she’s not going to be with me all day, is she? She’s not going to daycare anymore?” Hong Tao wasn’t especially opposed to teaching Jin Yue to read, but he was sure his father hadn’t told him the whole story.

“I’ll talk to your grandfather. From now on, you’ll take Jin Yue to your grandmother’s for lunch at noon. Don’t run around with her—just play at home when you’re free. That’s it.” His father hurried back to his study, clearly uncomfortable but unable to refuse his friend, so he’d volunteered his son instead.

“Well, you really sold me out clean, didn’t you! Aren’t you worried about your own son’s studies?” Hong Tao called after his father’s retreating back, knowing his good days were over. But his father just closed the study door and pretended not to hear.

“Great, now I have a little spy following me around!” Hong Tao understood his father’s predicament. He looked at Jin Yue, who was oblivious to the adults’ conversation and still struggling with her sheet of paper, and sat down helplessly. He didn’t object to studying with her, but he dreaded having a little girl tagging along all day—she’d definitely be a handful, and would probably report his every move to Uncle Jin. There would be no secrets left!

“What about when I go to school? Do I have to take her too?” Another problem occurred to Hong Tao. His grandmother could feed Jin Yue, but school wasn’t his house, and Mr. Bai wasn’t obliged to look after his neighbor’s child.

“Let her play at your grandmother’s. You’ll be back after two classes!” His father, from the study, replied, clearly having everything worked out.

“Fine, you might as well stop reading the paper and drinking other people’s tea!” Hong Tao couldn’t help but admire his father’s ability to outfox his own son—he was always tougher on his family than on outsiders.

Complaints aside, the very next morning Uncle Jin dropped off Jin Yue at Hong Tao’s house. Apparently, she wasn’t just having lunch at his grandmother’s—she had to eat breakfast too, and since Hong Tao exercised at school, Jin Yue had to go along. As a former soldier, Uncle Jin had no objections to his daughter getting up early to work out with Hong Tao; in fact, he thought it was high time. For him, it was just morning drills—good for the child, in every way. Cold weather, biting wind—none of it mattered. Kids should toughen up from an early age if they wanted to grow up sensible.

The old man at the school gate was curious to see Hong Tao bringing a girl who looked even younger to exercise, but after asking a few questions about her, he let them in. Hong Tao had no choice but to jog around the track with Jin Yue, unable to go off and play on the bars. He couldn’t just leave a little girl standing in the cold, watching him show off. If she got tired, he had to stop and rest in the guardhouse, then run some more.

The biggest problem was fishing. Either he took her along—which he couldn’t refuse, as she’d cry if left behind—or he’d have to let his secret catfish-eating habit become known by the next day. After weighing his options, Hong Tao decided to bring her with him. He hadn’t planned to hide it from the family forever anyway—it wasn’t a crime, after all. He believed he could persuade his father. The real challenge would be his mother and grandfather, but difficult or not, he had to face it. He couldn’t give up just because things got a little complicated.