Chapter 158: The Uncharacteristic Liu Ertiao

After discussing with Yuan Fang for nearly an hour, Liu Yitiao happily rose to take his leave, placed the string of one hundred and eight guan coins belonging to him around Liu Wuhen's neck, and then leisurely rode Liu Wuhen back home.

The entire journey passed in silence.

Upon returning home, he saw Old Liu carrying a bundle of verdant mulberry leaves into the silkworm room. Liu Yitiao opened the courtyard door, tied up Liu Wuhen, and followed him inside.

The lighting inside the silkworm room was somewhat dim. Aside from the door, the only light source was a skylight on the roof. It seemed rather peculiar, but according to Madam Liu, only in this semi-lit environment would the baby silkworms eat with relish, sleep soundly, and grow robust. Consequently, the silkworm rooms in almost every household across the neighboring villages were built in this exact manner.

Whether there was any scientific basis to this, Liu Yitiao did not know. He was not very well-versed in the species of silkworms, and his knowledge was limited to poetic lines mentioned in textbooks, such as "Spring silkworms spin silk until death."

One must realize that in the twenty-first century, sericulture had grown increasingly distant from people's daily lives. With the advent of cotton, the demand for silkworm cocoons had steadily dwindled. In the countryside, very few people still engaged in sericulture on such a large scale.

Truth be told, throughout his life from childhood to adulthood, Liu Yitiao had only seen live silkworms twice, and both times were when some classmates kept them just for fun.

As soon as he entered the room, Liu Yitiao heard a rustling sound—it was the sound of silkworms feeding on mulberry leaves. It produced a continuous rustling noise that carried a unique charm of its own.

"Dad, Mom!" Liu Yitiao softly called out, walking toward Old Liu and his wife.

"Oh, Yitiao is back," Madam Liu said with a gentle smile, nodding at Liu Yitiao. She then used a pair of scissors to snip the mulberry leaves into pieces, evenly scattering them into the tiered layers of silkworm trays.

The silkworm trays closely resembled giant, flat cakes, all woven from bamboo strips and specifically designed for holding and raising silkworms. As Madam Liu tossed the mulberry leaves in, the entire tray seemed to come alive, and the rustling sound grew even more intense than before.

Old Liu was also sitting next to Madam Liu, organizing a newly gathered bundle of mulberry leaves. Seeing Liu Yitiao enter, he spoke up, "Yitiao, the gifts you requested have all been fully prepared by your father. Go take a look later to see if anything is missing; if it's not enough, we can add some more."

"Ah, got it, Dad." Liu Yitiao nodded. He walked over to Madam Liu and Old Liu, and seeing the writhing, scrambling mass of tender white silkworms on the trays, he could not help but exclaim in astonishment at how numerous they were.

Every single tray was packed densely with a stark white blanket of silkworms. A rough calculation revealed at least two hundred small silkworms in each. Looking further at the trays in the room—row after row, stacked tier upon tier—there were easily over a hundred trays. One hundred multiplied by two hundred made for a staggering figure. One wondered how much silk could eventually be reeled and how much money could be fetched once they all spun their cocoons!

Liu Yitiao reached out a hand, intending to pick one up for a closer look, but was abruptly slapped away by Madam Liu.

"You stinky boy, getting hands-on again! Were there few little silkworms killed by your careless playing in past years?" Madam Liu's expression darkened. She put down her scissors and unceremoniously pushed Liu Yitiao toward the door, saying, "Go on, go on, go play somewhere else. You are not allowed to plot against your mother's precious silkworms."

"Hey, hey! Mom, I was just looking, I didn't mean anything else, Mom," Liu Yitiao explained as he retreated. He had only wanted to satisfy his curiosity and never expected to receive such treatment from Madam Liu.

It was evident that the previous Liu Yitiao had a terribly poor record in this regard; otherwise, why would the usually gentle and loving Madam Liu react so strongly?

"Just looking? Which time before didn't you say the same thing? And what was the result? Mother's silkworms died by the wholesale batch every time, humph!" This was a rare sight of Madam Liu's eyebrows arching in anger. Those silkworms were all her painstaking effort, akin to children she had raised with her own hands, so it was no wonder she was furious.

"You are not allowed to enter the silkworm room from now on!" Madam Liu slammed the door shut, leaving Liu Yitiao stranded outside.

"Yo, Big Brother, did Mom chase you out again?" Liu Eryitiao stood at the entrance of the main room with a gloating expression, watching Liu Yitiao. He deliberately raised his head and pretended to calculate on his fingers, saying, "Let me see, which time is this? Hmm, I must calculate this carefully. Ever since your younger brother can remember, this has already been the tenth time for Big Brother, hasn't it?"

"Oh, is that so?" Liu Yitiao looked at Liu Eryitiao's somewhat punchable little face, slowly walked over to him, and smiled insincerely. "Eryitiao, old man, I couldn't do anything against our mother, but do you really think I'll be helpless against a stinky brat like you?"

With that, Liu Yitiao stepped forward, hooked his arm around Liu Eryitiao's neck, and unceremoniously slapped him lightly on the head a few times. As he patted him, he chanted, "Let you talk! Let you laugh! Let you talk! Let you laugh!"

"Ow, Big Brother, spare my life! Big Brother, Your Little Brother knows he was wrong, Big Brother! Ow!" Liu Eryitiao began to hold his head and beg for mercy. His appearance was as pathetic as it could possibly get.

"Alright, alright, stop putting on that pathetic act for me." Liu Yitiao released his grip, patted Liu Eryitiao's head once more, and said, "Don't I know my own strength? Why are you crying out so miserably? Go on, hurry back to the room and study your books for me. The family still relies on you in the future to bring honor to our ancestors and glory to our lineage."

"Hehe, Big Brother is wise." Liu Eryitiao scrambled close to Liu Yitiao with a cheeky smile and said, "Books can be read anytime, there's no rush. Right now, Little Brother has a question he wants to consult Big Brother about, and I hope Big Brother can teach me."

"Oh?" Liu Yitiao cast a surprised glance at Liu Eryitiao, straightened up, stepped into the main room, and said to him, "Go ahead and speak. However, if it concerns the imperial examinations, you needn't bring it up; Big Brother doesn't know any more about those than you do."

"I know about that," Liu Eryitiao eagerly poured a cup of tea for Liu Yitiao, sat down right beside him, and smiled as he said, "I always used to see Big Brother practicing martial arts and shadowboxing every morning at home, looking terribly formidable. Little Brother has been deeply envious of this in his heart, so I wish to learn a trick or two from Big Brother, and I earnestly hope Big Brother will instruct me."

"You want to learn martial arts?" Liu Yitiao accepted the tea, looked Liu Eryitiao up and down, and wondered if this kid had received some kind of shock. A proper scholar—why on earth would he want to learn martial arts? He then asked, "Why on earth would you suddenly think of learning martial arts? Studying for an official career is such a promising profession; why not focus on that instead of learning martial arts? Were you bullied outside?"

"No, no, it's just a passing fancy. If Big Brother doesn't want to teach me, then forget it." Liu Eryitiao hurriedly waved his hands in denial, his expression turning somewhat desolate.

This kid must have encountered something outside.

Liu Yitiao glanced at him and said, "It's not that Big Brother is unwilling to teach you. Having a skill to fall back on would give Big Brother peace of mind later on, whether you go out on scholarly travels or serve as an official in another region. But right now is simply not the right time for you to learn martial arts. In three months, you will take the provincial examinations, and after that, there is the metropolitan examination. How could Big Brother let you practice martial arts and neglect your proper pursuits at such a crucial time?"

"Oh, I understand, Big Brother." Liu Eryitiao lowered his head, looking thoroughly unenthusiastic.

"Since that's the case, Little Brother will head to the study first," Liu Yitiao said, before standing up and returning to his study with drooping spirits.

What on earth is wrong with this kid, acting so abnormal?

Just then, Old Liu came out of the silkworm room. Liu Yitiao asked, "Dad, during the time I was away, did something happen to Eryitiao? I feel like something is a bit off about him."

"What? Did Eryitiao say something to you?" Old Liu's expression shifted slightly, and he asked Liu Yitiao somewhat unnaturally.

"No, he just said he wanted to learn martial arts from me. When I asked him if something had happened, he just shook his head and refused to say anything." Liu Yitiao looked at Old Liu and asked, "Dad, do you know if something happened to him?"

"No, what could possibly happen to Eryitiao? Every day he goes straight from the private school to home, and he hasn't been running wild outside. He's fine, you're just overthinking it." Old Liu shook his head and gently advised Liu Yitiao.

"Is that so? I hope that's the case." Liu Yitiao nodded, though he still felt deep down that something was not quite right with Liu Eryitiao.

"Alright, stop dwelling on it." Old Liu retrieved a pile of items from the room, placed them on the table beside Liu Yitiao, and said, "These are gifts your father specially bought for your father-in-law and the others. Take inventory of them, and if everything is in order, go over there after dinner. Remember not to drink too much alcohol, lest you lose your manners, and come back early."

"Got it, Dad. I know what to do." Liu Yitiao nodded, temporarily pushing Liu Eryitiao's matter aside, and stood up to inspect the gifts on the table.

The gifts prepared by Old Liu were, well, unflashy and mostly practical.

For instance, this bolt of patterned fabric; then there was this half-leg of pork; then these two boiled chickens; and then...

"Dad, why are these all..." Liu Yitiao pointed helplessly at the items on the table, feeling puzzled. Could this also be some sort of local custom?

"These are all meant for that girl Chuchu to eat and use," Old Liu chimed in. "I heard your mother say that the girl Chuchu is good in every way, except that her physique is far too frail. If she doesn't nourish herself properly, how will she be able to bear children after she marries into our family? Both your mother and I are waiting to hold a grandson next year. See if these are enough; if not, we'll go buy some more."

"Uh, well, Dad, it's enough, it's enough. You are truly wise." Liu Yitiao nodded at Old Liu, though a bead of cold sweat could not help but slip down his temple.