Chapter Nineteenth: The Little Yellow Sparrow

  Li Qin sighed and said, "I'm not joking! Alas, if you don't agree, I won't blame you either. We're not familiar with each other, and I asked you for such a big favor as soon as I opened my mouth. How could you possibly agree?"

  He shook his head, picked up a piece of mutton and put it in the pot to fry, saying: "All the salt has been put away, this meat is very bland even if it's fried, no wonder you don't want to help with this, are you disdainful of fried meat being not delicious?"

  "Humph, I didn't mean to look down on you, there's still some good stuff to pick from! Alright, I've helped with your troubles, so you don't have to...don't have to thank me!" His voice grew softer and softer, the last half sentence barely audible, making him feel embarrassed even himself.

  Sitting beside him, the giant asked: "Are you that Li Lang? I've heard that Li Lang is the most righteous. Tonight, I see it's true. I came from afar, traveling thousands of miles, but a good man like you who always thinks for others, this is the first time I've seen!"

  Li Qin smiled and said: "It's all because of the villagers' kindness, I just casually said it, how can I be considered a good man!"

  "That night you fought the leopard, so brave and fierce! Today, again, you're so chivalrous. If you're not a good fellow, then there's no good fellow under heaven!" The giant said this with a serious expression on his face, absolutely no flattery, and looking at him, he didn't seem like someone who could say flattering words either.

  Li Qin scooped out the fried meat and put it in a bowl, saying: "It's slow. This fried meat is very hot, let it cool down before eating!" He handed the bowl to Jù Hàn.

  The giant took over the meat bowl, blew it, and suddenly said: "You really don't ask me for my name?"

  "If you don't ask, I won't tell, and of course, you won't know!" said Li Qin.

  Jù Hàn was so hungry that he didn't wait for the meat to cool down, and took a big bite. He got scalded and let out a loud "ah", but still chewed with his mouth full of oil. After swallowing the meat, he said: "You really don't ask, do you? I..."

  Before he could finish speaking, someone called out: "Here, here! Is someone treating to meat? I'm looking for Li Lang!" The voice was childish and belonged to a child.

  Li QIN and Ju Han turned their heads together, following the sound, and saw under the moonlight, a small child, one hand holding a large wooden bowl, the other hand holding a small wooden gun, trotting with small steps, running towards Li QIN!

  Li Qin was taken aback and thought: "It's so late, where did this kid come from? Don't his parents care about him?"

  The child ran up, sweating all over his face, but didn't bother to wipe it off. He called out to Li QIN, "Uncle, are you Li Lang?" After asking, he looked at the giant again, unable to figure out which one was Li Lang.

  Li Qin came out from behind the pot and said: "I am Li Lang, my name is Li Qin. Whose child are you? Why are you here so late? Which village are you from? Where are your parents?"

  The child heard that the person in front of him was Li Lang, and a look of delight appeared on his small face. His voice was crisp as he said: "I'm from Shiba Slope Village, I've heard that Li Lang is the most righteous, hosting a banquet for fellow villagers, so I came especially to bother you..."

  He said that the words were obviously taught by adults, but he didn't remember them. However, he was clever and didn't say anything if he couldn't remember, so as not to make mistakes. He put down the wooden gun and raised his hands high with the wooden bowl, saying: "If there is any disrespect, I hope Uncle Li will forgive me. The kindness of one meal, I will surely repay heavily in the future!" With both hands exerting force, he almost touched the bottom of Li Qian's chin with the wooden bowl.

  Li QIN saw this small child, exceptionally beautiful in appearance, with a straight nose and round eyes, his face red and puffy, and a pair of big eyes full of worried and hesitant color, as if afraid that Li QIN would not give him food to eat.

  Li Qinxin thought: "Whose child is this, so well-behaved and lovely." He took the wooden bowl and smiled: "You're just a little kid, how can you repay me? Come on, I'll get you some delicious food, eat as much as you want!"

  As he spoke, he looked around but didn't see any sign of adults. Unable to contain his curiosity, he asked: "You came here by yourself, where are your family members? Why didn't they come with you? Where are they now?"

  The child blinked his eyes and said in a low voice: "Father went out to find work, I don't know where he is. Mother is ill on the bed, with two younger brothers at home, and I came alone!"

  Li QIN looked down at the little boy, and saw that his clothes were tattered and worn out, his pants were a bit short, exposing his ankles, and on his feet was a pair of oversized straw sandals, tied tightly with two grass ropes to prevent them from falling off while walking. He seemed to have been in a hurry, his face covered in sweat, but he didn't even have time to wipe it away, and could only stare at himself blankly.

  Li Qinxin thought: "Poor child, so young and small, if it weren't for the extreme poverty at home and having no one to rely on, who would let him rush here in the middle of the night?"

  "You eat your fill here first, sleep at my place tonight, and I'll send someone to take you back tomorrow!" Li Qin smiled and patted the child's head. His tone was kind, and the child visibly relaxed, a smile spreading across his face as he exclaimed, "Thank you, Uncle Li."

  On the other side, a burly man swallowed a mouthful of meat and said indistinctly: "Don't be deceived by this little yellow kid, Li Lang. Eighteen Slopes is thirty miles away from here. How could he, a mere child with an unshaven face, come here? He's just trying to trick you into sympathizing with him so that you'll give him more food!"

  Li QIN couldn't remember where the Eighteen Slopes were, he glanced at the giant, this guy was wandering around everywhere, he must be telling the truth. He lowered his head to look at the child, but saw that the child's face was red with anger, and his small nostrils kept flaring!

  "The child cried out: 'I didn't cheat! Mother said that a man must not tell lies to deceive people, lest he disgraces the honor of his ancestors!' As he spoke, his eyes turned red, and it seemed that he had never suffered such injustice before."

  Li Qinfang patted him and said, "Alright, don't cry. You've walked thirty miles, it's not easy!" Looking at this child who was only seven or eight years old, he thought to himself that he hadn't had such good skills at that age. The children of poor families have to grow up early, it's really true.

  The giant said: "A real man? A yellow-haired kid with no hair on top and no hair below, actually calls himself a real man? Then how should I call myself?"

  Li Qin smiled and said, "You can call yourself an old man!" He pulled the child to the side of the pot and said, "Rest for a while first, warm up by the fire, it's cool at night, and you're sweating, be careful not to catch a cold."

  The child sat obediently by the stove, his big eyes looking at the bright flames one moment and then at Li Qian the next, occasionally glancing at the giant. Seeing the giant make a silly face at him, the child stuck out his tongue and made a face back at him, which amused the giant so much that he burst out laughing.

  Li Qin poured out the burnt oil, cleaned the pot and put in a large piece of mutton fat, slowly frying it. This time he had experience, so when he did it again, it was done with ease.

  The mutton fat in the pot made a sizzling sound, and the aroma wafted out, the fragrance emitted by the oil was even more intense than the stewed meat, making one's mouth water. The giant had already eaten a large piece of mutton, his stomach half full, he stared at the iron pot with wide eyes, wiped the corner of his mouth, and said: "Even more fragrant than before!"

  The child stood up and walked to Li Qin's side, staring at the melted mutton fat in the pot, his throat moving constantly as he swallowed saliva!

  Li QIN picked up a small piece of yellowish meat residue from the pot with chopsticks and put it in a bowl, asking the child: "Do you like to eat oil residue?"

  The child stared at the meat scraps with wide eyes, but didn't reach out to grab them. When Li QIN asked him a question, he looked up at Li QIN and nodded repeatedly, saying in a soft voice: "I like it!"

  Li Qin pointed at the oil residue and said with a smile: "Then eat it!"

  The child was overjoyed and exclaimed: "Thank you, Uncle Li!" He grabbed the oil residue and put it in his mouth to chew, crunching loudly.

  Li Qin took out a few more pieces of fried dough from the pot and put them in the bowl, saying: "If you like to eat it, have some more, we've got plenty of this stuff!"

  The child was overjoyed and picked up another oil residue from the bowl, but didn't put it in his own mouth. He held it to Li QIN's mouth and said, "Uncle Li also eats!"

  Li Qin nodded and lowered his head, biting into the oil residue with a crunching sound.

  Youzha zi is the yellowish residue left after melting lard, crispy and fragrant when eaten hot. For people who have just solved their basic needs for food and clothing, it has an irresistible temptation, while for the common people of the late Han Dynasty who still haven't solved their basic needs, it's simply a supreme delicacy.

  The child had been living a hard life since he was young, and even meat was rarely seen. Suddenly eating such a delicious dish, his little mouth couldn't stop chewing the oil residue, while saying: "Delicious, really delicious!"

  Li QIN saw him eating deliciously, and couldn't help but ask: "Your name is..." Before he could finish his sentence, he glanced at the giant beside him, and neither dared to ask the child, nor was it good to ask, otherwise it would be boring.

  The giant hesitated to come over, Li QIN glanced at him and he immediately seemed to have gained encouragement, and came up to say: "Li Lang, what a delicious meat dish! It smells really good!" His eyes stared at the oil residue in the bowl, watching the child eat with relish, he swallowed a big mouthful of saliva, his voice super loud.

  Li QIN smiled and said: "In your hometown, do you call the oil residue 'meat crunch'? Why don't you help me out and eat some more for me?" He scooped up all the oil residue and put it in a bowl.

  Jiuhu was overjoyed and said, "I love eating this snack the most in my life... Ah, Xiao Huang'er, your mouth is small, but you eat so fast!" He and the child took turns grabbing and eating the fried dough bits.

  Li Qin looked at the big and small ones, smiled, poured the cooked mutton oil into a clean bowl, and said: "You wait for me, I'll go get you some food." He returned home, put away the oil bowl, took two large pieces of dried meat, and a small basin of millet rice, covered with several large pieces of boiled mutton, and brought them out.

  He handed the dried meat and rice to the giant, saying: "A small token of appreciation, please accept it." He also said to the child: "You come home with me, tomorrow I'll send someone to take you back."

  The giant Han took the small bowl of rice and handed the dried meat to the child, saying: "I'm full tonight, I don't care about tomorrow's affairs, give this to him, his family is not easy." He picked up the rice bowl and devoured the rice and meat.

  But the child refused to go with Li QIN, saying he had to go home, his family was waiting for him, and he was afraid that his mother would worry, and his younger brothers hadn't eaten all day. The child was not very old, but he was very determined, and if he said no, then no, so Li QIN could only hand over the wooden bowl filled with cooked meat to let him take it home.

  The child thanked him and left Fu Jiao Village with dried meat hanging from his chest, a wooden gun tucked into his waist, and a large bowl in his hand, taking small steps.

  Watching the child leave, Li Qin was a bit worried, but the giant said: "This Ma Xiaohuang must be the son of a declining family, not only is he well-educated, but also takes charge early on, and will definitely become someone with great prospects in the future."

  Li Qin hummed and said: "Ma Xiaohuang? How did you know his surname is Ma?"

  Jù Hàn swallowed the last mouthful of rice, stood up, and returned the rice bowl to Lǐ Qín, saying: "The people in Yī Shān Pō village are all surnamed Mǎ. I don't know where this little yellow kid escaped from, but he's naturally also surnamed Mǎ!"

  Zhong Liqin nodded, and the giant said: "Borrowing a phrase from that little yellow kid, one meal's favor will be repaid many times over in the future. Farewell!" After speaking, he turned around and strode out of the village with large steps.

  Li Qin held a bowl and suddenly shouted: "Brother, my family is short of a long worker, can you herd sheep and raise horses?"

  The giant didn't even turn his head and said, "I killed a local tyrant in my hometown, I have a case of murder on me, how can I stay at your house, I don't want to implicate you!" He left the village and walked away by himself.

  Li QIN sighed, thinking: "This big and small one ate my food, but neither of them left their name. Next time I see them again, I must ask, hoping they will say it themselves, it seems impossible."

  Pack up your things and go home to sleep. The next day, get up, make the plaster, he called Xu Xiaoni, went to see Liu Sheng, then planned to enter the city again, and handed over the troops.

  ——

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