Chapter 23 - Eldest brother, the master of love

Once the Lantern Festival (the 15th day of the first lunar month) passed, Xiao Jiu had to go back to school. However, Xiao Jiu wanted to slack off and avoid going, claiming that he still wasn't fully recovered. Zeng Wenxiu considered that her son's health was of utmost importance, so she decided that he could go to school in the next semester. In Zeng Wenxiu's mindset, not attending school was out of the question. Xiao Jiu managed to gain half a semester's respite from his mother, and he was quite delighted about it. In fact, he was already physically well, though his Yang Spirit hadn't fully recovered yet. Still, it didn't prevent him from going to school. Now that Zeng Wenxiu had money, she stopped setting up her street stall. She said that it was okay for Xiao Jiu not to go to school and somehow bought a set of textbooks for a whole year. She asked Xiao Jiu to practice calligraphy and study at home. Xiao Jiu was not allowed to play until he finished his homework. Every day, Zeng Wenxiu would go to other first-grade students and ask what homework the teacher had assigned. Then she would come back and give tasks to Xiao Jiu, which left Xiao Jiu somewhat speechless. This situation was even worse than going to school. But words, once spoken, were like released wind and couldn't be taken back. Xiao Jiu had no choice but to endure this bitter pill. His mother also bought brush calligraphy copybooks, writing brushes, and paper, insisting that Xiao Jiu must write two pieces of calligraphy with a brush every day when he had time. This was because his mother had seen Er Mao from the stonemason's family at the foot of the mountain practicing calligraphy with a brush every day and thought it was a good thing. So she imitated it and bought the calligraphy supplies, asking Xiao Jiu to practice every day. Xiao Jiu really wanted to go down and give Er Mao's mother a good beating. Who asked her to always show off in front of his mother? In the end, it was he himself who suffered. There was no way out. Under the coercion of his mother with a stick, Xiao Jiu could only obediently write and practice. Xiao Jiu wondered in his heart if his mother had a violent streak. His eldest brother was already in his twenties, but his mother didn't care about his feelings either. She would grab him and give him a good beating. His eldest brother didn't dare to fight back when his mother hit him and could only endure it obediently. Xiao Jiu thought that he was too young to withstand many blows from his mother's stick, so he might as well obediently study and write. His eldest brother's behavior during the Spring Festival had been noticed by his mother. After his two sisters, their husbands, and his aunt left with his second brother, his mother directly interrogated him about where the remaining money was. Fortunately, his eldest brother had become more cunning and wiser. He divided the money into three parts and hid them in three different places. Only one-third of the money was confiscated by his mother. Otherwise, the two brothers would have become like beggars, with not a single cent on them. Xiao Jiu gave his eldest brother a thumbs-up and said that he had become smarter. Liu Heping proudly said that after suffering so much, he surely had to learn to be more careful. Liu Heping didn't dare to stay at home for long. He took some money and went to a friend's house to play cards. Xiao Jiu was left to suffer at home, and he couldn't help but scold his eldest brother for not being a true brother. When there were benefits, he was the younger brother, but when there were no benefits, he ran away as fast as he could, leaving Xiao Jiu to face their mother, the "tyrannosaurus." Finally, one day, his mother went to a wedding banquet. Initially, she wanted to take Xiao Jiu with her, but Xiao Jiu refused to go no matter what. He finally had a day of freedom and wouldn't let his mother control him again. However, his mother called Liu Heping, his eldest brother, back to keep an eye on Xiao Jiu. She also warned Liu Heping that if he dared to take his younger brother and do something reckless, she would break his legs. Then she told Liu Heping to stay at home honestly and take care of his younger brother and cook for him. Liu Heping quickly agreed, saying, "Mom, don't worry. With me here, I won't let my younger brother run around." Zeng Wenxiu replied, "That's exactly why I'm not very放心." After much persuasion, Liu Heping managed to coax his mother away. Not long after his mother left, Liu Heping asked his younger brother how they should spend the day. Xiao Jiu said, "Let's go to the town and have a good meal. I'm too lazy to cook." Liu Heping agreed. The two brothers connived with each other and didn't take their mother's words to heart at all. As soon as their mother left, they also went out and headed for the town. When they arrived in the town, they first watched a movie, bought some snacks and fruits, and ate while watching. By the time the movie ended, it was already noon. Liu Heping was engrossed in the movie, while Xiao Jiu was more focused on eating and didn't watch it much. Xiao Jiu looked around and saw a young couple on his left eating river snails. The man seemed to be Liu Jianguo from his village, a bachelor, and the woman seemed to be the wife of Chen Erbao from the neighboring village. Xiao Jiu shook his eldest brother's arm and pointed at the couple in another row on the left, saying, "Look, who's that?" Liu Heping looked over and saw that Liu Jianguo from their village was passionately kissing a woman, seemingly oblivious to everything around him. Wasn't Liu Jianguo a bachelor? They had played cards together a few days ago, and he hadn't heard that Liu Jianguo had a girlfriend. Xiao Jiu said, "That woman is the wife of Chen Erbao from the neighboring village. What do you think their relationship is?" Liu Heping was taken aback. Chen Erbao's wife always put on an air of nobility. No one would have expected her to be involved with Liu Jianguo, a bachelor. If Chen Erbao came back and found out, he would surely make Liu Jianguo pay dearly. Xiao Jiu said, "Let's not worry about it. Don't meddle in other people's affairs. Just treat it as watching a show. Don't go around spreading the word. It might lead to a serious incident or even a loss of life." Afraid of encountering an awkward situation, Xiao Jiu pulled his eldest brother away before the movie was even over. They went to a restaurant and the two brothers ordered eight dishes. Liu Heping ordered two bottles of beer for himself and a bottle of orange juice for his younger brother, and they began to eat ravenously. After the meal, Xiao Jiu pulled his eldest brother and started strolling around the street. Xiao Jiu said to his eldest brother, "Let's see if there are any storefronts for rent. We can open a store and start a business. Otherwise, you have nothing to do all day, just playing cards like a loafer. It will be difficult for you to marry a wife." Liu Heping said, "Little brother, you don't understand. Nowadays, beautiful girls are into loafers. If you're too honest, they think you have no prospects. Look at Liu Jianguo. He can even get together with Chen Erbao's wife. Chen Erbao is an honest man, but he married a beautiful wife who ended up sleeping with someone else." What was so good about Liu Jianguo? He wasn't even good-looking and was the first when it came to doing sneaky things. Calling him a loafer was even being generous. Yet, he could still pick up beautiful girls. Xiao Jiu had nothing to say in response. Xiao Jiu said, "It can only be that the woman was blinded by something. What kind of taste does she have? She even wants a bachelor like Liu Jianguo. I even wonder if there are no decent men in the world." Liu Heping said, "You're still inexperienced. This is called 'a toad falling in love with a swan' or 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder.' It's not strange at all." Xiao Jiu said, "You talk so glibly, but why haven't I seen you bring a sister-in-law home?" Liu Heping said, "Little brother, don't be in a hurry. Your big brother is only 22 years old, in the prime of his youth. I can't give up the whole forest for just one tree." Xiao Jiu spat on the ground and said, "If you can't find one, just admit it. Don't act like a love expert. It makes me want to puke when I hear it." Liu Heping said, "You don't believe me, do you? See that hair salon up ahead? Your hair is long. You can get a haircut there. Watch how your big brother flirts with girls. Learn from it. It will be useful when you grow up." Xiao Jiu didn't believe it and followed his eldest brother to the hair salon up ahead to get a haircut. The person cutting hair was a girl in her twenties. When the girl saw the two of them come in, she said, "Do you two want haircuts?" Liu Heping said, "Do we come here just to look at you if we don't want haircuts?" This made the girl blush. Liu Heping then said, "I'm not getting a haircut. My younger brother is." Xiao Jiu sat down, ready to get a haircut. He wanted to see how his so-called "love expert" eldest brother would flirt with girls. Liu Heping then said, "This place has just opened recently, right? Why haven't I seen it before?" The girl said, "I learned how to cut hair in Guangdong. My parents are old and didn't want me to go out, so I opened this hair salon in the town to earn some living expenses." Liu Heping asked again, "You look at most eighteen or nineteen years old. How are you so skilled?" The girl blushed and said, "I'm not that young. I'm already 23." Liu Heping said, "You're even a year older than me. I really can't tell." Liu Heping started chatting with her and managed to find out the girl's name. The girl's name was Zeng Cuicui, and she was from the same village as her uncle. Under Liu Heping's questioning, the two of them chatted enthusiastically. They left Xiao Jiu, the customer there for a haircut, on the sidelines. Xiao Jiu also admired his eldest brother's ability to talk. In just a few words, he had found out the girl's name and family background clearly. If they kept chatting like this, he wouldn't even need to get his hair cut. Xiao Jiu could only cough and said, "Should I leave first? You two can chat to your heart's content. You can even go watch a movie and have a meal together." The girl immediately blushed and said, "I'm sorry. I got so carried away chatting that I forgot about it."