Mrs. Zhang also advised him, "It doesn’t hurt to be a sweet-talker. Look at Uncle Yang’s son, Laixi. He’s such a smooth talker, and his business in Xiatang Market is doing very well. When you go to Uncle Yang’s house, call Juhua ’Big Sister’ to help her cool down."
Liu Yungen said unhappily, "Call her Big Sister? But she’s younger than ."
Liu Fugui and Liu Yunlan looked at each other—they also didn’t know if Juhua was older than Yungen.
Liu Yunlan thought for a mont and said, "It doesn’t matter if she’s older than you or not. Calling her that shows you have good manners. There’s a saying, ’You can’t be too polite.’ Even if you get it wrong, is she going to ignore you over it?"
Mrs. Zhang quickly nodded. "That’s right. If you’re wrong, you can just change it later."
So, Liu Yungen listened to his parents nag for a while longer before he finally dragged his feet out the door to go to Yang Defa’s house and apologize to Qingmu.
********
anwhile, Mrs. Wang and her grandchildren returned to Juhua’s maternal uncle’s house. Sure enough, Laifu and Laixi were both back and were talking with Qingmu.
When Laixi saw Juhua, he smiled and said, "No wonder I was so eager to get ho today. It’s because my dear cousin Juhua is here! What a rare guest."
Juhua smiled. "What rare guest? More like a pest! If I stay for two days, Cousin Laixi will get tired of ."
Laixi chuckled. "How could I? Aiyo, Grandma, where did these dumplings co from?"
Mrs. Wang bead. "Yunlan sent them for Juhua. I’ll have your mother steam them, and I’ll bring them out for you to eat in a bit." With that, she went into the kitchen.
Hearing this, Qingmu looked at Juhua. He pressed his lips together slightly, his eyes filled with a silent question.
Juhua gave her brother a small smile and a gentle nod, then winked. She sat down beside him and leaned on his shoulder, looking utterly happy and content.
Qingmu turned his head away. Although he still didn’t speak, the corners of his mouth twitched, and a smile danced in his eyes.
Laifu asked Juhua, "How co you and Grandma ended up at Liu Fugui’s house?"
’He felt that this cousin of his wasn’t one to go out much, nor was she very talkative. The fact that she had co to their grandmother’s house for New Year’s was already surprising enough. So how did she end up at the house of soone she didn’t even know?’
Juhua said, "Grandma and I were just strolling through the village and happened to end up at his doorstep."
Looking at her cousin Laifu, she suddenly rembered sothing. She quickly said to Qingmu, "Brother, that rice thresher I told you about—we should tell Cousin Laifu. If he can figure out how to build it, he can make them and sell them for money."
Qingmu nodded eagerly. ’At first, I’d considered asking Li the carpenter from our own village to build it. But Juhua is right; it’s better to tell our own relatives.’
Laifu asked, puzzled, "What rice thresher?"
Qingmu told him to find a couple of sheets of paper and a brush pen.
Juhua said, "It’s hard to draw with a brush pen. I’ll go ask Aunt to get a piece of charcoal. You can use that to draw it for Cousin Laifu."
So, Juhua sharpened a few pieces of charcoal for Qingmu so he could explain the structure of the rice thresher to Laifu in detail—though in truth, Juhua was the one who had explained it all to him.
By the ti Mrs. Wang ca out with the dumplings for them to eat, Laifu had already gotten a rough understanding of the rice thresher’s design. He was clutching a piece of charcoal, sketching on the ground and marveling at the idea. They had run out of paper, so he had resorted to drawing on the ground.
He washed his hands and ca over to eat the pan-fried dumplings. Even as he chewed, he said to Qingmu, "The hardest part of this thing to make will be the rotating axle—I’m afraid it’ll break easily."
Hearing this, Juhua couldn’t help but see him in a new light. ’He really is a professional. Qingmu just had to explain it once, and he understood. When I explained it to Qingmu, it took a huge effort to make him understand why the cylinder inside would turn when you stepped on the pedal. I even had to use a waterwheel as an analogy before Qingmu finally got it.’
Juhua then instructed her cousin to keep it a secret for now. But once it was built, they should have soone present it to the Lord County Magistrate. For one, it would prevent others from getting jealous and plotting against them. And for another, it would be a great contribution.
Qingmu nodded. ’That’s right. Once it’s built, we should give one to County Magistrate Hu so he can promote it throughout Qinghui County.’
Laifu quickly promised, "You’re the one who taught this. My master will definitely agree. He’s a very reasonable man."
Qingmu smiled. "I taught it to you so you could make and sell them, of course. Presenting one to County Magistrate Hu is also for the good of you and your master. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to keep sothing this good a secret even if you tried. It’s better to offer it up willingly."
Laifu nodded with a simple, honest smile, absolutely overjoyed.
Just as they were speaking, their uncle Yang Defa ca over and asked where the dumplings had co from.
Juhua said that "Big Sister" Yunlan had sent them for her.
Yang Defa looked at Qingmu and smiled. "Liu Fugui ca to see before the New Year to apologize again. He said his mind was clouded by lard and that he’d listened to nonsense, which is why he said such brainless things. He deeply regrets it now and asked to ask your parents if they could co for another matchmaking visit."
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