Shen Yan raised the card to look at it, then raised his hand and knocked on the door. “Is anyone there?”
Two low, hoarse coughs came from inside, growing closer. Then, the wooden door, full of character, opened from within. In the doorway stood an old man with graying hair and a cold, stern expression.
“Who are you?” the old man asked in a weathered voice.
Su Youli carefully held onto Shen Yan’s pants, tilting his face up to look at the grandfather, who seemed a bit fierce.
“Hello, we’re here to film a show. Is this the place shown in this photo?”
Shen Yan handed the card to the old man. The old man, advanced in years and with some astigmatism, took a small cloth bundle from his inner pocket. When he opened it, inside were glasses with slightly damaged temples. After confirming it was correct, he stepped aside to let the big and little figures in.
“Come in.”
The old man’s back was bent as he led the way.
Once they were in the yard, the old man stopped, raised his arm, and pointed to a door beside the main house. “You’ll stay there for the next two days.”
Shen Yan wanted to ask about washing up and using the toilet, but when he turned his head, the eccentric old man had already stepped into the main house, and the door closed with a *creak*.
There were three wooden houses in total, with the main house in the middle being the largest. In the front yard, some flowers and plants were growing, and a row of terracotta pots lined the eaves. The house was old, but clean and tidy, with no strange smells. Shen Yan was used to staying overnight in all sorts of difficult environments when filming, so he didn’t mind.
But Su Youli was very young, and he was afraid he wouldn’t be comfortable here. Shen Yan crouched down. The little one was blinking his big, grape-like eyes, curiously taking in everything around him.
“Youyou, we’ll be staying at this grandpa’s house for two days. Is that okay?”
Su Youli nodded obediently, not fussy at all. He carried his little backpack and took Shen Yan’s hand as they entered the room. The floor wasn’t very smooth. Fortunately, it wasn’t packed dirt, but relatively clean cement. The furnishings were simple: a wooden bed, a cabinet that served as both a wardrobe and a table. Shen Yan had difficulty maneuvering with his suitcase.
Su Youli said, “Heave-ho!” and ran outside, bringing back a small stool. He placed it under Shen Yan’s bottom for him to sit on.
Shen Yan patted his head, first tidied the bed, then settled Su Youli on it. Su Youli sat on the edge of the bed, resting his chin on his hands, watching seriously as his big brother unpacked. Tang Dou, who had been keeping a close eye on them from nearby, was a little worried. The eldest young master of the Shen family had likely never experienced hardship and probably had complaints about this house.
But as he watched the young master efficiently take clean bedding from the suitcase and change the sheets, he couldn’t help but see him in a new light. After changing the bedding, Shen Yan carried Su Youli outside and walked around the yard. On the right side of the yard was a chicken coop with a few chickens inside. Beside the chicken coop was a duck cage. Su Youli’s ears perked up, and he kicked his little legs to get down from his brother’s arms.
Shen Yan put him on the ground. Su Youli crouched down. As a three-head-tall little one, he was short, so crouching brought him to about the same height as the duck cage. Inside were five little ducklings, their calls very small and young. They were nesting on dry straw. Although Su Youli had grown up in a small town, his little baba, Su Siwen, was a bit of a germaphobe. Qin Kun had to beg him for a long time before he agreed to let them have Su Yuanzi.
These little ducklings were just as cute as the ones that accompanied him during bath time, their short yellow down even more realistic. Seeing that he liked them but was afraid to reach out and touch, Shen Yan thought his little expression was adorable. He was already thinking about maybe building a small farm near home. They had plenty of empty land anyway.
“Youyou, you stay here and play with the chicks and ducklings for a while. I’ll go get some water to wipe down the room.”
Su Youli stood up and trotted after his brother. “Big Brother, I’ll help too.”
The production team had probably contacted the landlord beforehand, as clean towels and a basin had been left at the door for the guests. They had brought their own towels, so this new one could be used as a cleaning rag. Shen Yan carried the basin to the faucet, filled it with water, and carried it into the room to wipe down various surfaces.
Su Youli had nothing to do. He spotted a broom leaning behind the door, picked it up with both hands, and started diligently sweeping the floor. Shen Yan was quite surprised that the little one knew how to sweep. He even knew to sweep from the edges toward the middle, gathering the trash together. When he asked, Su Youli told him that his big baba had taught him.
Shen Yan felt both proud and sad. If Youyou had grown up in the Shen family, he wouldn’t have needed to learn such things. But seeing that the little one wasn’t fussy and even helped out, Shen Yan thought it was good for a boy to be like this. Take now, for instance: in such rough conditions, not only was Su Youli not a burden, but he even helped with chores.
After an hour, the two brothers had finally cleaned the place where they would sleep for the next two nights. They were about to go out and see how the other families were doing when they saw the homeowner, who had been hiding in the main house all this time, now sitting in the yard smoking a pipe. Shen Yan led the little one over to greet him, introduced themselves, and then politely asked,
“Grandfather, what is your surname? We’ll be bothering you for the next two days.”
The old man with graying hair wore a black, button-up, long-sleeved shirt with frog buttons. The cuffs and collar were washed white. He held an old-fashioned pipe in one hand, took a few puffs, and exhaled a thick, pungent cloud of smoke. The cameramen following them were also a bit embarrassed.
How could this old man smoke right in front of the camera?
None of them dared say anything, faced with the old man’s fierce expression. They would have to rely on post-production blurring.
“I’ve already been paid. No need to talk about ‘bothering.'”
He had rented the side room to the production team for 2,800 yuan for three days and two nights. Growing grain in the village for a year might not even earn that much. Since someone was smoking in the yard, Shen Yan didn’t want Youyou to stay there. He was about to pick him up and leave. Su Youli lay on his big brother’s shoulder and carefully glanced at the old man sitting in the wicker chair. His clear eyes met a pair of cloudy ones. Su Youli blinked a few times.
His little Daddy had said to be polite when seeing elderly people. Although the little one was a bit scared, he still raised his small hand and slowly, very softly, said, “Grandfather, goodbye.”
The fierce old man was still smoking, two streams of smoke puffing from his nose. Su Youli’s eyes widened. After leaving the small courtyard, Shen Yan followed the village paths, soon spotting Mi Huan and Mi Le.
Mi Le was gnawing on a corncob, his face covered in kernels. When he saw Su Youli from afar, he jumped up happily. “Youyou! Youyou!”
Su Youli was also happy to see him. Mi Le was the second good friend he had made since coming to Beicheng.
By the time Su Youli trotted over, Mi Le had already brought out all the freshly boiled sweet corn from his “home.”
He scattered corncobs as he carried them, and Mi Huan chased behind him, picking them up.
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