Tearing down and rebuilding the dilapidated houses of an entire village was a massive undertaking. Wei Bai's sword could only make rough cuts, not do fine carving; the actual crafting of lumber for the houses had to be done by the men of the village.
For several days straight, Wei Bai was busy in the forest. Little Ling also came to help, carrying several tons of wood on her own and occasionally doing a backflip to liven things up for everyone, leaving the villagers dumbfounded.
But with the two eldest of the family away, it was little Shu who suffered.
"I don't want to play at home, I want to find Daddy."
Little Nian started acting up again, rolling around on the filthy mud floor inside the house. It was a heart-wrenching sight for little Shu, as she was the one who washed the clothes.
"Daddy and big sister are busy. Nian has to be a good girl."
Shu took a few quick steps to pick Nian up and patted the mud off her bottom. Who would have thought that Nian would slap her hand back, smearing the mud onto her older sister's face.
"Haha, a big messy face," Little Nian laughed, doubling over.
"You... how can you be so naughty!"
Shu was so angry that tears welled up in her eyes, but Nian paid her no mind and went to play with her youngest sister's horns instead.
The quiet little Xi was giggling happily, but then she was ambushed and started crying and fussing as well.
With Nian on her left and Xi on her right, Shu grew more and more frustrated. She forgot about her own tears, clenched her fists, and shouted at the top of her lungs:
"Stop your noise!"
"!"
Nian and Xi stopped in their tracks at once, huddling together in fear.
"Don't you know Daddy and big sister are busy? You're still making a racket, all you do all day is make noise, you don't know how to be considerate at all!"
Shu, who looked like a six-year-old child, acted like a little adult, with one hand on her hip and the other pointing accusatorially at her two younger sisters.
Little Nian and little Xi didn't dare to talk back. As a result, Shu kept scolding them for a full half-hour. The more she spoke, the angrier she got, until she finally slammed the door and stormed out, yelling, "I'm done with you!"
She left the two little ones staring at each other.
————
The summer sun in Yan was scorching. Shu regretted running out after only a short while. She was a little worried about leaving her two younger sisters at home, but going back now would be a blow to her pride as an older sister, so she ran off to find her daddy.
But where was her daddy?
Shu ran and asked along the way. All the remaining people in the village wanted to show her the way, but she refused them all. Daddy had said that if you can do something yourself, it's best not to trouble others.
So Shu searched and searched, and finally found her daddy.
Wei Bai was squatting in a waterlogged, barren field. He wore a hat woven from straw, and his black shirt was tattered. He was surrounded by a group of sallow-skinned, able-bodied men, holding a stalk of rice in his hand and saying something she couldn't make out.
Shu rushed towards Wei Bai with delight.
The unprepared man was knocked over into the water, but he used the momentum to lift the girl high up.
"Daddy!"
Under the sun, Shu's furrowed brow finally smoothed out, and her smile was brighter than the sunshine itself.
The surrounding men all recognized their benefactor's daughter. They all took a few steps back, leaving space for the father and daughter.
"Why is Shu'er here?"
Wei Bai was filled with warmth. He leaped up and steadied himself.
"Shu missed Daddy."
Shu squirmed and whined in his arms, "My little sisters are so annoying. Shu doesn't want to stay at home anymore."
Wei Bai felt a pang in his heart hearing this. Taking care of them was his responsibility as a father; Shu was still a child herself.
"It's okay," Wei Bai rubbed his daughter's head and smiled. "Shu'er can stay with me today, alright?"
"Mhm!" Little Shu nodded with a grin, but after a moment, she looked hesitant and stammered, "Shu should probably go home."
"My little sisters are still at home."
Wei Bai felt another pang of heartache. He showered her with kisses and hugs and lifted her high into the air, making little Shu dizzy with happiness.
"Ling'er, Ling'er!"
"Yeah, Dad, what's up?" Ling appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.
"You go and look after your two little sisters today."
"Oh..."
Ling glanced at little Shu, her face falling, and left reluctantly.
After settling the family matter, Wei Bai called the men over again and continued his lecture:
"Before you plant the rice seedlings, you must level the ground. Do you understand leveling? And the seedlings, they must be shallow, straight, evenly spaced, and flat..."
"Next are the solar terms. Let me tell you..."
Wei Bai lectured on theory for the entire morning. Fearing that people wouldn't remember, he even made up a rhyming jingle. Shu also tilted her head and listened quietly.
For lunch, the village women brought over various kinds of coarse grains. They brought Wei Bai a few rice cakes made from millet—they were hard and bitter, and one of the few good things to eat here.
Shu didn't need to eat, but she took a bite anyway. She didn't like it; it was far worse than the delicacies in the capital, but she still wrinkled her face and swallowed it down.
A woman noticed this and handed her a piece of malt candy.
Shu looked at her daddy. Only after he nodded did she reach out to accept it and lick it with her pink tongue.
"So sweet." Little Shu grinned, her eyes turning into sweet crescents.
"Sweet, right?" Wei Bai nodded at the woman. As she knelt down with tears streaming down her face, he turned away, holding Shu.
"This is something that saves their lives."
"Ah!"
Shu was shocked and wanted to give the candy back to her, but when she looked around, the woman had already disappeared into the crowd.
Biting her lower lip, Shu said softly, "In the future, Shu will make lots and lots of malt candy for them."
"Haha, is that so?"
"Daddy is looking down on me, Daddy is looking down on me!"
"Not at all, not at all. Little Shu is a big shot who can command the wind and rain. I'm just happy."
"Heehee."
Little Shu beamed in her father's arms. Her gaze fell on the malt candy in her hand. She wanted to take another bite, but just as she brought it to her lips, she pulled it away, tore off a piece, and held it to Wei Bai's mouth. "Daddy can have some too."
"You bet." Wei Bai bit off a small piece. "Thank you, Lord Shu."
"Hehe."
Lord Shu was very pleased. She wrapped up the malt candy and put it in her pocket, planning to give it to her older and younger sisters when she got back.
In the afternoon, Wei Bai taught them how to plant rice, step by step. A busy day quickly came to an end.
This life of working at sunrise and resting at sunset would continue for some time.
That evening, Wei Bai carried little Shu home.
Ling was already sound asleep. The bored Nian was bullying her youngest sister. Poor little Xi, no matter how much she shook Ling, she wouldn't wake up.
This is how you take care of your little sister?
Whatever. Wei Bai didn't expect Ling to be able to do it anyway.
Just as he was about to intervene, Shu, who was in his arms, suddenly said in a stern voice, "Little Nian, you're bullying your little sister again!"
Nian was so scared she shivered and immediately admitted her mistake.
Whoa, little Shu has this kind of skill.
Wei Bai was amused by the sight.
Shu comforted her youngest sister, then gently stroked Nian's little head. She took both their hands and said something to them, then took a piece of paper from her pocket and unfolded it.
"Waaaaah."
"What's wrong? What's wrong?"
Wei Bai, who was just about to go to sleep, sat up with a start. He looked closely and saw Shu wiping her tears with one hand, while in the other was the melted malt candy.
Aiyo, this child...
Wei Bai truly hadn't expected her to save the candy to bring back. He immediately lit the bonfire, got up, and hugged little Shu, letting her lie in the crook of his arm.
"Alright, alright. Didn't Lord Shu say she was going to make lots and lots of malt candy? It's just one piece. In the future, you can have as many as you want."
"How about Daddy sings a song for little Shu?"
Shu didn't speak, just nodded pitifully with tears in her eyes.
Like a cradle, Wei Bai began to gently rock his arms, singing softly:
"The sky is dark, it's going to rain."
"Grandpa takes his hoe to dig for taro."
"Dig and dig, dig and dig."
"He dug up a little loach, oh my, that's so much fun."
"The sky is dark—"
"It's going to rain..."
The song was light and gentle. Accompanied by the gentle rocking, the sobbing soon disappeared, and sleepiness followed.
In her father's arms, on the verge of sleep, the daughter murmured:
"Daddy, what do the words mean?"
"It means that little Shu's power to command the wind and rain is meant to shelter the endless fertile fields of the common people."