Call Me Daddy

“San Ya, Si Ya, quickly make some steamed egg custard for your brother, and prepare a bowl of rice porridge as well.”

She then looked at her beloved son.

“We’ll eat egg custard and rice porridge. Once we’re done, I’ll go find them and make sure they include you in their games from now on.”

At that point, Er Niang’s expression had turned quite indifferent. This was just another example of a pampered child. In comparison to this unruly little fatty, the previous pampered child seemed less annoying.

She was about to excuse herself when Aunt Lin pressed on her shoulder and subtly shook her head. It was better if Aunt Lin spoke about leaving at this moment, as Wang Shi was rather petty and sensitive.

“You’re busy. You are the first household we’re visiting, and I still need to take my young miss to visit a few more neighbors.”

Though Wang Shi was initially displeased at being interrupted while calming her son, she felt a bit proud upon hearing that they were their first visit.

Since she was preparing egg custard and rice porridge for her son, she wondered if the young girl next door might be tempted to ask for a taste. If she refused, it would seem petty; if she agreed, her son would get less to eat.

Swallowing her calculations, Wang Shi forced a smile, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then watched them leave.

***

Once they had stepped out of the Xu family’s gate and walked a few paces away to ensure no one in the courtyard could hear, Aunt Lin advised Er Niang.

“It’s better to offend a gentleman than a petty person. Unless you’re prepared to completely sever ties with petty people, it’s best to be cautious in your dealings with them.”

Seeing Er Niang deep in thought, Aunt Lin added, “Currently, the temperament of the families of Officers here is mostly straightforward. When your father gets promoted and you interact with the wives of higher-ranking officials, it will be different. They may speak pleasantly, but you can’t take their words at face value. Sometimes what they say is true, sometimes false, or a mix of both. When you speak, you must be mindful of your words… But don’t worry. You’re clever, and we can take our time to learn and observe.”

Aunt Lin thought that as the master gradually rose in rank, Er Niang would also gradually learn. There was no need to rush teaching her too much now; without a suitable situation, learning numerous tactics might be counterproductive.

Er Niang listened, somewhat understanding but also puzzled.

Why did it seem like the wives and young ladies from wealthy families were so bothersome? Even talking seemed to have so many complexities.

Next, they visited the Xu family across the street.

The head of the Xu family now was the old lady Xu. Aunt Lin had learned that Old Lady Xu had arrived 6 months ago. At that time, Xu Dazhu had just been promoted to an Officer. When Old Lady Xu arrived, she had brought along her widowed eldest daughter-in-law and the two children from that daughter-in-law, seeming prepared to settle down here.

As for Xu Dazhu’s wife, she had lived with her mother-in-law in their hometown for many years, and the couple had spent only a few days together each year. It was said that she had passed away from a serious illness the year before. Now, Xu Dazhu’s three children were all looked after by Old Lady Xu and his elder sister-in-law.

Considering the timeline, Xu Dazhu’s wife had been dead for over a year, so Old Lady Xu was probably soon going to find a new wife for her son.

Old Lady Xu and the elder sister-in-law both appeared to be relatively easy to get along with, though they weren’t very talkative. After Er Niang placed the gifts, returned the dishes, and exchanged a few pleasantries, she moved on to the next household.

The first and last visits were important. Since Er Niang had a favorable impression of Yang Liu Shi, she had decided to visit the Yang family last.

***

“Who are you looking for?”

After a round of visits, Er Niang’s legs were sore, and her smile had frozen. As she knocked on the door of the Yang family’s house, she couldn’t help but rub her cheeks to ease her facial muscles.

To her surprise, the door was opened very quickly. Before she could lower her hand, the door swung open, and a boy who was a head and a half taller than her peered out.

If it hadn’t been daytime, Er Niang thought she might not have seen his head. The boy was so tanned that his white eyes and teeth seemed to shine brightly.

Er Niang’s eyes widened in astonishment. Her eyes were already large, and at that moment, they looked like two black grapes.

“I know! You must be the new little sister from next door, my mother mentioned!”

Yang Qiwu leaped three feet into the air and turned to run inside to tell his mother. But then he remembered that he hadn’t fully opened the door yet. So, he ran halfway and then came back to open the door completely.

“Come on in with me!” He said, darting back into the house with the agility of a monkey.

At lunchtime, Yang Qiwu had heard his mother rave about the new little sister next door, praising her good temperament and good looks. She said if they had had a daughter back then, she would have been as charming as the girl from the next house.

Yang Qiwu scoffed at his mother’s comments. He thought she was just obsessed with having a daughter. She didn’t consider that with her and his father’s looks, their daughter wouldn’t be exceptionally beautiful. And as for temperament, among the seven brothers, none of them were exactly angels. If they had a daughter, his mother would probably be worried about how to marry her off.

As for his mother’s opinion of the new little sister, Yang Qiwu didn’t take it to heart. His mother always found something to admire about every girl from other families, even the extremely annoying girls from the Xu family, whom she always described as pitiful.

Yang Qiwu made a face and, as he ran to the back courtyard, couldn’t resist glancing back.

This little sister was so fair; like the bit of flour his mother had hidden away. Her eyes were truly large, almost like the frog he had caught from the field a few days ago. Well, she’s a little bit cute.

When Er Niang and Aunt Lin reached the second courtyard, Liu Yinghua was dragging her youngest son by the ear and heading outside.

“This child really doesn’t know how to behave; how can he run inside and leave the guests behind?”

Seeing Er Niang staring at her with wide eyes, Liu Yinghua quickly let go, replacing her expression with a warm and maternal one as she scolded her son affectionately.

How could she let the cute little girl see her irritated side? She was a loving, gentle mother. The earlier scene had been an accident.

“We’re all neighbors and will be living near each other for many years. There’s no need to be so formal.” Aunt Lin said with a smile, then handed over the gifts prepared by the master’s family.

“Aunt Yang, these are some local specialties my father and I brought from our hometown. They aren’t anything valuable; please accept them.”

Er Niang glanced at Yang Qiwu, who was making a face and showing his teeth while standing behind Aunt Yang. She suppressed the urge to laugh.

A boy with features like a piece of black charcoal was indeed quite amusing.

“Alright then, Aunt won’t be formal with you. Come, come, sit down. We don’t care for those formalities.”

Liu Yinghua placed the gifts on a nearby table and affectionately pulled Er Niang to sit beside her.

“This is my youngest son, Yang Qiwu. You can call him Seventh Brother Yang or Old Seventh in the future.”

Liu Yinghua pointed to her son, then continued, “I have six other sons, but unfortunately, they aren’t home. I’ll introduce them to you another time.”

“I have an older cousin, so everyone at home calls me Er Niang.” Er Niang introduced herself softly.

Liu Yinghua paused for a moment upon hearing that. Many families nowadays were too lazy to give their daughters proper names, opting instead for titles based on their order, such as Da Ya, Er Ya, Da Niang, Er Niang, and so on.

(T/N: Da = Eldest; Er = Second; San = Third; Si = Fourth; and so on.)

Since a girl’s name was considered private, it was mostly used by her family before marriage. Afterward, outsiders would more often use her husband’s surname. For instance, Liu Yinghua was often called Aunt Yang or Yang Liu Shi. After a hundred years, her gravestone would likely bear only the name Liu Shi.

However, families that valued their daughters would give them a proper name, even if it was only used for a few years and might only be mentioned by her husband later on.

Er Niang…

She really thought that the new Officer valued his daughter a lot. Could it be that men were so insensitive that they missed such details?

As she thought about this, Liu Yinghua looked at Er Niang with even more tenderness.

Her biological mother had passed away early, and while her father cared for her, he was also quite careless. Over the years, she must have suffered quite a bit and endured many hardships.

“From now on, consider me as your own aunt.” Liu Yinghua patted Er Niang’s small hand.

Some of the domestic matters would be taught to her by the maidservants around her, but there was a difference of two generations; the grandmother’s generation and the mother’s generation were not the same. Liu Yinghua felt that this girl was pleasing to her. If she weren’t worried about scaring the girl away by being too forward, she would have liked to formally adopt her as a goddaughter and treat her as her own.

While she was speaking, Liu Yinghua suddenly glared at her youngest son.

What is he doing here while we’re talking about girlish matters? He has no sense of propriety!

Yang Qiwu, who had been glared at for no reason, helplessly rubbed his nose.

He should have been outside, not inside. It turned out that he was the one out of place.

Fine, I’ll leave. I’ll leave if that’s what they want!

***

Yang Qiwu left in a huff.

As he reached the door, he quickly turned around to make a face at his mother. At that moment, Liu Yinghua was looking down at Er Niang’s exceptionally obedient face, while Er Niang, feeling a bit shy from being looked at, turned her head to glance outside.

The two of them made eye contact, and Yang Qiwu maintained his grimacing, tongue-out face.

Pfft—

The little girl couldn’t help but laugh out loud and quickly covered her mouth.

Yang Qiwu’s face turned red, but given his dark complexion, it was hard to tell how red he really was.

Seeing Er Niang smiling with her eyes narrowed, Yang Qiwu bounced around like a cat with its tail stepped on, and in a few quick steps, he vanished from sight.