w.a.n.g Dahu and Li Qingran didn’t tell anyone. Early the next morning, they took a bus on the long road to town.

Perhaps it was because Li Qingran never went anywhere too far, he seemed a little uneasy. w.a.n.g Dahu clutched the other boy’s small hands. The whole way, he kept pointing out the window and talking non-stop, helping the other boy quickly relax and reveal a rare expression of happiness on his small face. w.a.n.g Dahu’s heart was full of excitement, thinking that bringing the other boy out to cheer him up really was the right decision! w.a.n.g Dahu led the other boy straight to the “department store”. The mall was located in the center of the town, between the bustling streets. It could be said that they sold the greatest collection of all your needs in all of Nanhua County, so it was very crowded. w.a.n.g Dahu’s group of two was like a couple of small flexible fish, squeezing through the crowd.

They went to a booth that sold cultural and educational supplies. The large gla.s.s cabinet next to the counter displayed a variety of stationary. The two people went over the selection before finally deciding on twenty Chinese pencils, four white rubber erasers, gridded paper[1], Suan Cao paper[2], as well as pencil cases, pencil sharpeners, rulers and other objects.

“Auntie…” w.a.n.g Dahu stood on the tips of his toes and innocently pointed at the shelf behind the salesperson. “How much is that backpack?”

“Fifty five dollars for one, but if you want to buy, Auntie will knock off five dollars.”

w.a.n.g Dahu nodded his head, then turned his head to ask Li Qingran, “Do you like it?”

“No…” When he heard that the price was over fifty yuan, Li Qingran face was a little blue, and he hurriedly shook his head.

w.a.n.g Dahu revealed a toothy grin and laughed with the salesperson, “Auntie, I want this backpack and the black one next to it. I’ll pay for one hundred ten yuan for these two, combined with the stationary from before, how does that sound?

“Alright!”

“Brother Dahu…” Li Qingran saw that w.a.n.g Dahu really wanted to buy and anxiously tugged his sleeve, “I have a cloth knapsack at home, it can be used as a book bag. Don’t waste your money!”

“Don’t worry.” w.a.n.g Dahu leaned in close like a thief and whispered in the other boy’s ear, “Brother Dahu has money, today we have to shop ’til we drop!”

Putting everything securely into a large bag he brought from home, w.a.n.g Dahu threw the bag on his back and pulled the other boy to continue shopping. Very quickly, Li Qingran became severely distressed for a while. At the children’s clothing store, w.a.n.g Dahu bought fix or six outfits for the other boy. Everything was in that year’s most popular style. Wearing a yellow plaid s.h.i.+rt, knee length khaki pants, coupled with a pair of small leather sandals, the child immediately lost his rustic appearance and was so delicate and lovely. w.a.n.g Dahu’s eyes shone, he held the other boy and madly rubbed him[3], “Ah, ah, so cute, really too adorable.” Li Qingran was hugged by the other boy, his small face flushed as the surrounding people laughed. It was so embarra.s.sing that he wanted to find a hole to crawl into. The two strolled around until noon, then went directly to a restaurant in the mall and bought two steaming sets of dumpling soup. After eating, they took another stroll. When they saw that it wasn’t early anymore, they began to head back home.

The two little guys covered in layers of things walked down the road drew countless people’s attention.

Li Qingran’s little face was a bit nervous. He looked like he was scared of their things being stolen.

They went to the bus station and bought tickets for the 3:00 pm ride. Right now it was just past 12:00 pm, so they would have to wait for a while. w.a.n.g Dahu registered their things ahead sent it ahead before leading Li Qingran to a nearby place selling popsicles. Whether it was the city train station or the bus station, the surroundings were very busy. The Nanhua Country was no exception, there were large and small hotels, inns, fruit stands, and gift shops all around. Suddenly, w.a.n.g Dahu’s[4] gaze fell on one of them. He silently thought for a while before whispering something in Li Qingran’s ear and pulling the other boy inside.

“Jadeware” was a small antique store.

Speaking of antiques, they were once popular in Nanhua County. More than a decade ago, not far from the Nanhua County, a local archaeological study unearthed an ancient tomb. It seemed to be some kind of ancient high official, so it became a great sensation. At that time, there were a lot of people who came to “pick up leftovers,” intending to get rich overnight. That said, there really were people who were able to dig up funerary objects. During that period of time, antique shops sprouted like mushrooms after a rain, each one claiming that their wares were “genuine”. This “Jadeware” was also opened at that time. Right now business wasn’t doing well, so most of their goods were jade jewelry.

In the store, w.a.n.g Dahu looked left and right and noticed that this store wasn’t very big. It was only about 50 meters squared, with gla.s.s cabinets lining the area, displaying all sorts of jade and bronze jewelry, as well as a small amount of porcelain. There weren’t too many styles, and only two female staff members who were chatting. Seeing two children enter, the women didn’t even bother to look up. w.a.n.g Dahu didn’t mind, he pulled Li Qingran’s hand and looked around curiously.

“Beautiful big sister*.” w.a.n.g Dahu raised a hand and smiled, pointed at a small gourd shaped jade pendant and asked, “How much is this?”

*Doesn’t mean actual blood relations.

Whether it was because w.a.n.g Dahu’s smile was too innocent or because of the words “beautiful big sister” that made her mood good, one of the salespersons smiled gently and asked, “Where are all the adults? Why did they let you come in by yourself? This jade pendant is 200 yuan for one. If you like it, tell your parents to buy it for you.”

w.a.n.g Dahu chuckled, stood on his tiptoes and asked a few more questions.

The salesperson kept teasing the small child, they answered all of w.a.n.g Dahu’s questions.

Li Qingran stood behind him, staring intently at w.a.n.g Dahu’s excited face with a slightly worried frown.

“Big sister.” w.a.n.g Dahu’s voice suddenly became embarra.s.sed. “My mom’s birthday is next week, I want to buy a present for her, but I only have fifty dollars, can you help me choose?” While speaking, he shyly took out a crumpled red envelope from his trouser pocket.

Look! Such a filial child! So small but already knows to use their new year’s money to buy mom a birthday present.

In the blink of an eye, the two saleswomen’s good impression of w.a.n.g Dahu escalated.

However, there wasn’t much money. Buying jade was unlikely, it could only buy plastic or rough stone.

“Little friend, what do you think of this? Agate ruby bracelet, it will definitely look good on your mother.”

What agate? Who are you trying to cheat?!

w.a.n.g Dahu secretly cursed in his heart, but he revealed an expression of disbelief.

“Big sister, do I have enough money to buy this?”

“Seeing you so filial, I’ll sell this to you cheap!”

The saleswoman smiled and wrapped the bracelet for w.a.n.g Dahu, even deliberately using colored paper and tying it with a pink bow. When the two people were about to leave the store, Li Qingran suddenly pointed at something on display in the window and shouted, “Big brother, I want that!”

It was a courtyard shaped bonsai as tall as half a person, engraved with mountains, pavilions, and bridges… At a glance it was an exquisite work of delicate art.

w.a.n.g Dahu’s face immediately exposed his dilemma and he whispered, “That, that’s too valuable, big brother can’t afford it!”

“No way, no way!” Li Qingran’s small face revealed a spoiled expression, “People* really like that rock!”

*Speaking in third person is considered cute.

“Don’t you already have a lot of rocks at home? They’re all things you picked up. I don’t understand why you like these kind of things.”

“But that rock looks just like the moon, it’s not the same,” Li Qingran insisted, “I want it!”

“Don’t you dare! If you keep being so stubborn, I’m going to leave you here. I won’t care!” w.a.n.g Dahu pretended to leave. Li Qingran quickly grabbed his clothes, his red eyes teared up.

“Alright, alright, isn’t it just a rock? Big sister will give it to you!”

“But…” w.a.n.g Dahu hesitated.

“It doesn’t matter, there’s plenty you can pick up on the road, no problem!”

The entire bonsai was filled with ornamental rocks, taking one out wasn’t worth anything.

“Is this it?” The salesperson smiled and pointed.

“Next to it, the one shaped like a half moon.”

The rock was about the size of an adult’s palm, the shape was indeed special, it looked like a crescent moon[5].

“Little friend, your interests are quite special!” The salesperson personally handed the rock to Li Qingran and couldn’t help but pinch his small tender white face.

The two people exited the store and went straight to a corner without people. w.a.n.g Dahu finally couldn’t hold back anymore, he put his hands on his hips, faced the sky, and laughed loudly. He laughed proudly, just like a rich household that made a fortune overnight. Li Qingran was a little worried and frowned, softly calling, “Brother Dahu?”

“Ha ha, Ran Ran.” w.a.n.g Dahu hugged the other boy and energetically twirled a couple rounds, “We’ve hit the jackpot!”

Li Qingran didn’t know why the other boy cared so much about a rock, but seeing w.a.n.g Dahu so excited, he couldn’t help but laugh along.

“Ran Ran, your acting earlier was very good!” w.a.n.g Dahu excitedly kissed the small face twice, “You have the talent to be an actor!”

“>>>___

The two people picked up their luggage and rode the bus on the long road back home.

They reached home at 5 pm.

After carefully putting away their things and locking the door, they headed to w.a.n.g Dahu’s grandparent’s house for dinner.

At this time, w.a.n.g Dahu spent almost every day with Li Qingran. The two elderly people just thought the two went to play somewhere, they didn’t know that their precious grandchild took another family’s Li Qingran on a shopping trip in town.

Translator’s Notes:

There were unnecessarily long paragraphs this chapter that kind of intimidated me…

[1]This kind of gridded paper is similar to having dotted lines in order to practice handwriting. It looks like this:

[2]These are blank paper pads for note taking. I think Suan Cao is just the brand.

[3]As I understand it, this particularly refers to when you stick your face against someone/something and rub and it’s super awkward. Here’s a quick sketch:

[4]Actually, the author puts “Li Qingran” here, but there’s evidence to support that the author means w.a.n.g Dahu. Especially since the next line says “he whispered in Li Qingran’s ear”… How do you whisper in your own ear?

[5]Yes, it does say crescent moon literally one line after Ran Ran calls it a half moon… sigh.

How many of you were fooled by their acting? Hahaha… I was… (gullible).