Since his little sister was born, Little Shitou had been playing outside much less. On top of that, Mr. Zhou was keeping a close eye on him and assigning him a lot of howork. So, he usually stayed ho, reading and writing while keeping his sister company. He didn’t even get to play his fill over the New Year holiday.
But he was just a little kid, after all—he had only turned eight over the New Year. There was no changing his playful nature.
That day, after copying several pages from the calligraphy model Mr. Zhou had given him, he suddenly felt restless. He glanced at his sleeping sister on the bed behind him and sighed, thinking, ’When will my sister grow up? Once she’s older, I can take her out to play with .’
Just as he was thinking this, Gou Dan’s hushed voice called out from the courtyard, "Shi Tou, Shi Tou!" Little Shitou had warned him before to speak quietly when he ca over, as his sister might be sleeping.
Little Shitou ran out of the house and whispered to the panting Gou Dan, "What’s up?" While speaking, he grabbed him and pulled him toward the kitchen door, farther away from the room where his sister was sleeping.
Gou Dan grimaced as he was pulled along. Once they were a good distance away, he replied in a normal voice, "You’re still practicing your writing? Why don’t you co out and play for a bit? School’s going to start again soon. You haven’t co out to play at all this year, you haven’t even been to big sister Juhua’s house. How about we go play at her place today?"
Little Shitou felt a prickle of excitent. He wasn’t very interested in playing elsewhere, but he was definitely interested in going to big sister Juhua’s house. The last ti, Juhua had taught him several mnemonic rhys for arithtic and told him lots of stories.
Just as he was hesitating, his mother ca out of the kitchen and said to him, "If you want to play, just go. Isn’t your sister asleep? I’m done with my chores, so I can watch her."
Little Shitou was overjoyed. He smiled and said, "Then I’m off to play at big sister Juhua’s house!"
Hearing this, Shi Tou’s mother frowned slightly. "You’d better not go there," she said. "Your big brother Qingmu is getting engaged, and the family is preparing the betrothal gifts. Big sister Juhua is probably very busy. Don’t go and cause trouble for her. Why don’t you and Gou Dan go play at Bianwa’s house for a while?"
Little Shitou blinked, then nodded. "I get it. I’ll go after big brother Qingmu’s engagent is over."
Seeing that her son understood the situation, Shi Tou’s mother smiled and nodded.
So, Little Shitou and Gou Dan started wandering around the village with no particular destination—neither of them was interested in going to Bianwa’s house.
As they were roaming about bored, they suddenly saw Granny Hua coming from up ahead. She turned onto a side path and headed toward the Sun Family’s house.
Little Shitou glanced at her but paid her no mind. Gou Dan, however, stared at the old woman with a look of disgust. His mother had said that there was nothing wrong with his sister marrying big brother Changming, it was just that this old woman was too detestable. Lately, his mother had been constantly teaching his sister how to get along with this woman after she married into the family.
Because of this, he’d heard a lot about her and his mind was filled with animosity toward the old woman. He watched her swaying walk for a mont and was about to look away and suggest to Little Shitou that they go find Li the carpenter’s young son, Futou, to play with. But then he saw Granny Hua suddenly stop in her tracks, a look of hesitation on her face.
She thought for a long while, sighed, and turned to walk back. After a few steps, she stopped to think again, then turned back around and continued toward the Sun Family’s house.
Gou Dan grew suspicious. He tugged on Little Shitou’s sleeve and said, "Co on, let’s go over there and see what that old woman is up to!"
Little Shitou looked at Granny Hua’s back and asked with a mix of disdain and confusion, "Isn’t she your relative? She’s about to be your sister’s mother-in-law, and you want to spy on her? I can’t be bothered. You go if you want to. With that kind of free ti, I’d rather go ho and practice my calligraphy."
Gou Dan said angrily, "Who cares if she’s a relative? Look at her, she’s probably up to sothing shady. If we see what she’s doing, we can be prepared."
Little Shitou asked in surprise, "Prepared for what? Since when did you get so nosy?"
Gou Dan asked, annoyed, "What if she’s saying things about my sister? My sister’s about to marry into her family. No way, you have to co with and see. Don’t you hate that old woman too? If she’s up to no good or bad-mouthing soone, we can teach her a lesson."
Hearing this, Little Shitou, though still a bit hesitant, was finally interested. He grabbed Gou Dan and said, "Wait. Let’s pretend we’re just playing. We’ll follow from a distance and not look directly at her."
So, the two boys started searching the ground, picking up pebbles and twigs. They put on an air of mischief, laughing and joking, all while watching from the corners of their eyes as Granny Hua entered Sun Jinshan’s courtyard.
Gou Dan asked, "Should we go in too? We can pretend we’re looking for my mom."
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