I Have Yet to Become a Doll Today

“What time is it?” Bai Youwei asked as she got up.

“Seven o’clock,” Shen Mo replied.

Bai Youwei was a bit dazed. Had she slept that long? Judging by the sky, she thought it was five or six o’clock, but it was already seven… She usually couldn’t sleep well in foreign environments and she didn’t know why she fell asleep the moment she closed her eyes this time.

She had a feeling that this wasn’t a good thing.

Bai Youwei sluggishly got out of bed. Over by the screen were washing utensils: a damp wooden basin, a coarse bristled toothbrush, and a cloth with a musty smell of earth.

She didn’t touch any of these things. Instead, she opened the dollhouse and asked Teacher Chang for their toiletries.

You might as well bring breakfast too.

Teacher Chang had made scallion flower rolls and multigrain soy milk.

Every day in the dollhouse, while idle, Teacher Chang cooked, studied menus and significantly improved his culinary skills.

Over breakfast, Teacher Chang on the door side asked Bai Youwei and Shen Mo on the other side of the door, “Weiwei… is the game this time difficult?”

“Yes, it’s quite difficult. Both Shen Mo and I cannot understand the Fuzhou dialect,” Bai Youwei said as she nibbled on the flower bun, asking Teacher Chang, “Do you speak Min language?”

“Min language?” Teacher Chang shook his head in confusion, muttering, “Isn’t it about archaeological poetry?”

Bai Youwei burst into laughter, “Teacher Chang, have you not had enough fun?”

He had been debating with someone in a poetry contest with great momentum last night.

Chang Weicai smiled awkwardly and admitted: “You two have been taking care of me. I also want to help…”

“If we need your help, we won’t hesitate to ask,” Bai Youwei said between bites of the soft and chewy flower roll, which had a savory and salty flavor followed by a hint of sweetness, “….this is so delicious.”

“Then eat more,” Teacher Chang responded with a smile, “Xiaoshen, you should eat more too. There are still plenty in the steamer.”

“Let’s send some to Du Lai,” Shen Mo suggested to Bai Youwei, “He only has ration biscuits. He probably won’t last a few days.”

“Sure,” Bai Youwei agreed, nodding her head, “Just tell him it’s from the old scholar’s kitchen. He can believe it or not.”

Having allied themselves, they could be more generous, sharing their food and drink was no big deal.

Shen Mo then took some steamed buns to the neighbor.

Teacher Chang later discussed with Bai Youwei: “I’ve almost finished tidying up the vegetable patch on the slope. The place is big, but lacks color. Other than green, there’s nothing else. Shall we plant some flowers …”

If growing vegetables and crops is for food, then planting flowers is purely for their appeal. It wasn’t necessarily important, it was because the old man couldn’t idle around, he always wanted to find something to do, to prove himself valuable.

“Good, in a while Shen Mo and I will dig up a few.” Bai Youwei responded enthusiastically.

The old scholar’s garden was full of peonies and paeonies, which seemed to be top-grade.

Teacher Chang rose, saying, “Then I’ll go and find two shovels for you …”

Before he could finish speaking, a crying sound came from afar—

Teacher Chang was taken aback. Bai Youwei also paused, immediately closed the dollhouse door and quickly said, “Teacher Chang, I’ll go see, we’ll talk about planting flowers later!”

She went to the door in her wheelchair, but was stopped by the elevated threshold.

This ancient architecture was not friendly to her at all.

Shen Mo returned soon, lifting the wheelchair effortlessly out the door.

Bai Youwei asked him, “Where are Du Lai and Fu Miaoxue?”

Shen Mo shook his head, “They’re not in the house.”