More than a month and a half had passed since the incident at the cave. One early morning, a family of three gathered around the table for a meal. The atmosphere was full of warmth and harmony. Jian Wei no longer had to reminisce about how long ago he had last seen such a scene, because this was simply the norm now. Suddenly, Chen Jian said, "Xiner, I spent all of last night thinking. I've decided to have you learn something so you don't spend all day reading that strange book of your father's. Listen to your mother: choose one—needlework, the zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, or cooking. I can teach you any of them."
"No!"
Jian Wei, who had been randomly dragged into the conversation, looked a bit aggrieved and said, "What's so strange about my book?"
"If it's not strange, how come Xiner turned out like that the other day?! You still have the nerve to talk—I haven't even settled accounts with you for what happened that day!!"
"Be a good girl, Xiner, and listen to your mother." Hearing this, Jian Wei lost all his spirit and quickly chimed in with Chen Jian's wishes.
"Dad, you're supposed to be on my side! Anyway, I'm not doing it!!" Jian Xin glared at Jian Wei in annoyance. But Jian Wei didn't dare meddle. Realizing she couldn't count on him, Jian Xin turned instead to Chen Jian. "Hey Mom, how did you even learn all these things? How come I've never seen you do any of them?"
"Well, naturally... That's strange, why can't I remember who taught me? It seems it was your grandmother... Hey, how did you manage to change the subject? Don't try to pull the wool over my eyes! You child, if you don't learn something, how are you going to choose a husband's family in the future? Do you want people from your husband's family pointing fingers at you later on? If you don't learn something, who would dare have you?!!"
"Mom, I'm not getting married at all... No, no, I mean I still want to stay with you both for a long time. And besides, is Mom getting tired of having Xiner around~~?"
"You... you child, how did your mouth get so sweet? Stop trying to change the subject. Hurry up and pick one so your mother can prepare."
"...": Jian Xin didn't want to make a choice. She barely knew what any of these things even were, so how was she supposed to choose?! Whatever they were, they certainly weren't anything good! She didn't want them! Instead of wanting those things, she might as well go "cultivate"!
Seeing that Jian Xin was ignoring her, Chen Jian was about to say more when Jian Wei hastily interrupted, "Alright, alright. Once we finish eating, I'll take you both for a stroll around the Wencheng market, and by the way, we'll buy some fabric for Xiner to make new clothes. Her old ones are practically worn out."
"Yay, yay, yay, yay!" Jian Xin chimed in eagerly. Buying clothes wasn't the point—managing to derail this topic was the absolute best! She bolted down her last mouthful of rice, instantly placed her bowl on the table, hopped off her chair, and vanished from the dining table in a flash.
"You surnamed Jian!! What do you mean by that?! I..." Seeing Jian Xin leave, Chen Jian turned on Jian Wei. But who would have thought Jian Wei would instantly jump to his feet as well? "I'm done eating, I'm going to wash the dishes, you take your time." With that, he bolted off like a gust of wind.
***
After the meal, the family of three walked along the road toward the small county town. The chirping of birds flying across the sky, the sound of the wind rustling by, the shouts of villagers farming, and butterflies fluttering past—these completely ordinary things filled Jian Xin, who had almost never left the mountain in her memories, with immense joy.
"Brother Jian, taking the kid into town!" As they passed a patch of farmland below the mountain, someone pulled themselves up from the wheat fields swaying in the wind and called out a greeting.
Jian Wei greeted him back and said to Jian Xin, "Ah, this is your father's good buddy. Call him Uncle Chen. If our family made it here safely, we owe a lot to Uncle Chen!"
Perhaps in a very good mood, Jian Xin called out sweetly, "Uncle Chen~"
"Hey~ Just like you said, this child really is darling. Let me tell you..."
"Alright, alright, you keep busy, we're heading off!" Seeing that this old pal was about to ramble on, Jian Wei quickly hurried Chen Jian and Jian Xin along. If he let him keep talking, they'd probably still be right here by dark!
***
"Xiner, be careful! Xiner!"
"Wow~ What a huge gate, Mom." Jian Xin pointed at the city gate and shouted happily to her parents. This seemed to be the first time she had ever come here, at least in her memory.
"You... you child, running... running so fast, do you want to run your mother to death?!" Chen Jian said, panting heavily as she looked at Jian Xin.
"Xiner, once we enter the city, you must stay close to your mother. Absolutely do not run around, do you hear me clearly! Xiner!" Jian Wei looked at the excited Jian Xin and urged her nervously.
"I hear you loud and clear!"
"Sigh!" Jian Wei let out a sigh, thinking to himself: *I hope so. If she doesn't cause any major trouble, it'll be a blessing from the Bodhisattva!!*
After going through some inspections, the three of them entered the city. Then they split into two groups: Jian Wei went off alone to buy daily necessities, while the other two went strolling. Thus, at the city gate, the group parted ways in two directions.
"Xiner, see if there's anything you want to eat. If there is, tell Mom," Chen Jian said to her precious daughter. Since they had managed to bring Jian Xin to Wencheng for once, they had to let the child have some fun.
Jian Xin looked around, twitched her nose, a spark flashing in her eyes, and pointed at a nearby sesame seed cake stall: "Mom, I want that! It smells so good!!"
"Alright~"
Arriving at the sesame seed cake stall, Chen Jian queued up for a bit, while Jian Xin kept looking all around, though she didn't run off.
Holding Chen Jian's hand in one hand and a sesame seed cake in the other, Jian Xin took a bite and said, "Mom, this doesn't taste as good as the ones you make~"
"Of course not, look who your mother is!!" Chen Jian said proudly. "Still, you have to finish it. We paid money for it."
"Mm-hmm, but Mom, your skin is so thick. I was just being polite."
"You little rascal..."
Amidst sounds of laughter and chatter, the two of them walked into a fabric shop. As soon as they stepped through the door, Chen Jian called out, "Boss."
"Coming, coming! Is the mistress buying fabric or ready-made clothes?"
"Buying fabric." Chen Jian turned her head to ask Jian Xin, "Xiner, what color do you like? I remember you seemed to like that emerald green the most, right? Then let's..."
"I don't want that. I want that cyan-white color." Jian Xin thought of the old man's appearance and blurted it out. She thought it looked rather nice and fit her aesthetic, giving off the feel of an Immortal.
Chen Jian asked again, "You don't want any other color?"
"No."
"Then let's take a look at those cyan-white ones and the grayish-blue ones."
"This way, please."