Chapter 7: Liu Er Tiao's Homework After Class

  "Quick, Second Brother! Come and hold down this stubborn cow with your elder brother. I don't believe we can't get it to drink that bowl of garlic soup!" Lao Shi panted as he instructed the just-returned Er Tiao. In order to feed the sick cow that bowl of garlic soup, he and Yi Tiao had been exhausted. Who would have thought a sick cow could still have so much strength?

  "Cow!!" Liu Er Tiao exclaimed with excitement, putting down his book and quickly running to the side of the cow, saying: "Dad! When did our family also have a cow?! What are you guys doing?"

  "We'll talk about this later, you first hold it down with your brother, right, like that, one person per horn! Don't let go!" Liu Laoshi took the opportunity to pry open the cow's mouth and poured the garlic soup into its mouth.

  "Alright, Second Brother, let go." Liu Yitiao patted his hands and said to Liu Ertiao.

  Liu Er Tiao approached Liu Yi Tiao and said, "Brother, what's going on? What was that thing you just gave to the cow? I smell a strong garlic flavor!"

  "Heh heh, this cow has gotten a stomach ache. Just now I was treating it with my father. Hmm, these are trivial matters, you don't need to know too much about them. By the way, how's your private school going? Are the foreign teachers better than the local ones?" Not wanting Liu Er Tiao to get stuck on the topic of treating the cow, Liu Yi Tiao subtly shifted the conversation to Liu Er Tiao himself.

  "Alas!" Liu Er Tiao didn't respond, he just shook his head and stopped talking.

  "How did this little kid learn to sigh?" Liu Yitiao thought to himself with a smile. However, as the older brother, he didn't want to see Liu Ertiao looking so worried and upset. He patted Liu Ertiao's shoulder and said: "What's wrong, why are you looking so worried? Is it something about school or did you encounter some difficulties at the private academy? Don't worry, tell big brother and I'll help you solve it."

  Liu Er Tiao shook his head and said: "You can't help me, big brother, unless you're good at couplets."

  Will Liu Yitiao be able to couplets? Obviously not. Because he had never attended a private school before. He just recognized a few characters, how could he couplets?

  But now Liu Yitiao is absolutely capable of doing it.

  Couplets originated from poetry, and Liu Yichang's mind had no less than a thousand poems.

  Liu Yitiao smiled easily: "Then you try to say it, one person's wisdom is short, three people's wisdom is long, maybe big brother me can really figure it out?"

  "Is that so?" A glimmer of hope flashed in Liu Er Tiao's eyes. His elder brother had always been all-powerful, and he had never thought that an illiterate person could possibly match couplets. Liu Er Tiao said: "Brother, listen carefully, the upper phrase given to us by the master is: a single horn sharp, six corners eight sides."

  "A single horn, sharp and pointed, with six sides all around. Hmm, this is a riddle that describes the shape of an object. Sharp, hollow, six-sided... I think it should be a six-sided pavilion.

  Liu Yitiao squatted on the ground, using a dry branch to draw a rough outline of a hexagon. He stared at it for a long time, deep in thought: "This riddle should also use an object as a metaphor, but what object would be good? It's quite difficult... these days' teachers are really something, how can they give such a hard assignment to a young student?"

  After listening to Liu Yitiao's muttering, a hint of brightness appeared in Liu Ertiao's eyes. He grabbed Liu Yitiao's arm and shouted loudly: "Brother, you are really amazing! At that time, the master was sitting under the Liulijiao Pavilion, pointing at this couplet with his hand. Have you already come up with a matching couplet?"

  Liu Yi Tiao waved his hand and said, "The next couplet, how can it be so fast? Your brother is not a god. Even if he were a god, he would have to consider the situation. Without a corresponding situation, the couplet... Wait, you just said that when your master came up with the first line, he used his hand and pointed at the pavilion corner?"

  "Ah!" Liu Er Tiao nodded blankly.

  "Could this be a hint? Hmm, it's possible." Liu Yitiao thought for a moment: "If I use my hands to match, what should it be? One hand, hmm, solo against solo, doesn't match. What about both hands?" Liu Yitiao stretched out his hands and muttered: "Ten fingers on both hands, four long and six short. If I clench two fists, five fingers three long and two short, does it fit the rhythm? Hmm, no good, it's not smooth when recited, need to revise again, how to revise?"

  "Hmm, got it!" Liu Yitiao stood up from the ground and said: "Ertiao, we can give him a pair: two fists clenched, five fingers short and three long! How about that? Isn't it neat?"

  "Triangle, triangle, six sides all around; two fists bulging, five fingers short and long. Brother, you're so talented! I admire you!" Liu Er Tiao excitedly blurted out a classic phrase that would be passed down for generations, which was of course taught to him by Liu Yi Tiao in his free time.

  "It's just a word game. Alright, since it's out now, let's not think about it anymore, let's go eat."

  "Ah!" Liu Er Tiao nodded vigorously and followed Liu Yi Tiao into the main hall. There, Mrs. Liu had already prepared the meal.

  Liu He's wife saw them coming in and said to them: "There is warm water at the door, you two brothers quickly go wash. Look at your hands, they are dirty. Really, on such a cold day, what can't be said in the house, why do you have to squat outside?"

  "Stop nagging, it's just a small matter, can't you hurry up and serve them rice!" Old Liu said on the side. However, his tone was a bit rushed, and he glared at her with a red face, almost scaring little Hui to tears.

  "What are you yelling about? You scared the child. I know you're not happy today, but it's your own fault for trying to get a good deal and ending up with a sick cow. And besides, didn't they say that one of them can be cured? What's there to yell about? If you have the guts, go find Wang Shuai and argue with him. The other day he beat his dog like that and I didn't see you yelling at him." Mrs. Liu started to retort back to Old Liu, sentence by sentence.

  "You're a good-for-nothing wife! Do you think I don't want to spend more money to buy a good cow?! Do you think I didn't want to rush up and take revenge that day?! I wanted to!! But can I? If I spend all the money, what will happen to our family? If I rush up, what will happen to you all?"

  "Brother, Mom and Dad are fighting again, you go in and persuade them, they both listen to you." Liu Er Tiao pushed Liu Yi Tiao, looking at him pitifully.

  "Again?" Liu let out a helpless sigh, this family wasn't very harmonious either.

  Hearing someone knocking on the door outside, Liu Yitiao said: "Ertiao, you go and open the door to see who has come. I'll go in first and persuade Father and Mother."

  "Uh-huh!" Liu Er Tiao nodded and ran out.

  Liu Yitiao stepped into the house. Liu Laoshi and Liu He's wife saw him come in, and they all fell silent.

  Liu Yitiao walked up to Mrs. Liu and took over the sobbing but trying-not-to-cry Liu Xiaohui from her arms, saying to Old Mr. and Mrs. Liu: "Dad, mom, you both stop quarreling now, it's not worth it for such a small matter. It's just five taels of silver, we can earn it back in a few days. Besides, it's the New Year, all this quarreling is unlucky. Here, this is the money I earned from selling vegetables today, except for ten cents tax, there are ninety-eight cents left, with this money, we can have a good new year."

  "And then there's Wang Shuai..." Before Liu could finish his sentence, he heard Liu Er calling out happily from outside the door.

  "Uncle Yang! How did you come?!"