Chapter 11: Who Is Teasing Whom

"Ange, you look so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, what are you staring at?" Great-Aunt led a few gorgeously dressed older cousins to the entrance. Since women were not allowed inside the ancestral hall, they were just peering in from the doorway. They happened to see Zhu Ping'an looking up at the top of the hall with great interest. It had to be admitted, the bright-eyed, fair-skinned, and adorable little bear cub was quite eye-catching.

At first, Zhu Ping'an didn't realize his Great-Aunt was calling him. Ever since he had transmigrated, he had only heard himself being called "Zhi'er" or "Little Zhi." Hearing someone call him "Ange" for the first time, he didn't react immediately.

"Ange?" Great-Aunt called again.

Only then did Zhu Ping'an realize she was calling him. "Ange"—this form of address sounded much better than "Little Zhi." In the Ming Dynasty, calling someone "Ge'er" or "Jie'er" was quite common in towns and cities, though it was relatively rare in the village. How should he put it? It was probably a trendy way of addressing people; he had seen such forms of address before when reading *Dream of the Red Chamber*.

"I'm looking to see if our ancestors are sitting on the clouds, ready to wave hello to us," Zhu Ping'an turned his head and said, looking quite serious.

When in a position, one must fulfill its duties; as a child, he could only play the part of a child well.

"Pfft." The 8-year-old cousin from his little aunt's house couldn't help but giggle, her delicate little hand covering her mouth with a silk handkerchief. "Is our little cousin a bit slow?"

The little cousin was wearing a pink pleated skirt that swayed slightly with her laughter. She was very pretty, a budding, innocent little lolita.

The 12-year-old cousin from his eldest uncle's house waved her fair hand and lightly flicked the little cousin's forehead, laughing, "Nonsense, how could our little cousin be slow?"

"Children's words are harmless, let the wind blow them away." Great-Aunt hurriedly spat to ward off bad luck and said, "Don't say such things. Ange is very smart; he’s going to be a top scholar in the future, right, Ange?"

As she spoke, Great-Aunt began to tease Zhu Ping'an.

Village children were usually dirty, and city children weren't as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as he was. Such a fair-skinned, adorable little bear cub was quite rare.

"Mm, yes," Zhu Ping'an thought for a moment and answered earnestly.

*Giggle, giggle, giggle.*

The cousins laughed even more heartily, and even Great-Aunt was amused by Zhu Ping'an's serious expression.

It seemed that, in their eyes, teasing a little bear cub was the most interesting thing to do.

They all started teasing Zhu Ping'an with gusto, especially Great-Aunt, who was the most enthusiastic. In the city, she couldn't just tease other people's bear cubs at will, and her eldest nephew was too stiff—much like Brother Dachuan—so he wasn't fun to tease.

"Ange, Great-Aunt asks you: which came first, the chicken or the egg?" Great-Aunt asked, squatting at the doorway with great interest.

Was this a question that adults in every era used to tease children?

Actually, whether the chicken or the egg came first was a fun question, a logical proposition similar to "a white horse is not a horse." A chicken is a type of poultry, and an egg is the ovum of that poultry. In terms of terminology, the chicken is defined first, and then the egg exists. In terms of physical reality, if one says the chicken came first, then where did the chicken come from? It hatched from an egg, and thus one enters a cycle. Who came first and who came later was just a little game for adults to tease children.

Being teased was boring, but pretending to be a bear cub to tease others was a different story. In reality, wasn't it the same? You take your shiny-coated pet dog for a walk in the morning, but who knows what the dog is thinking? "Oh, Brother Golden Retriever, Sister Husky, good morning. I'm out walking my human servant again."

Playing the pig to eat the tiger had almost become a habitual, mischievous hobby for Zhu Ping'an.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

"Grandmother came first," Zhu Ping'an answered with a straight face.

*Pfft.*

The group of women laughed uncontrollably.

"Why did Grandmother come first, Ange?" Great-Aunt asked.

"Because whether it's a chicken or an egg, Grandmother is in charge of them. If Grandmother buys the chicken first, then our house has a chicken first. If Grandmother buys the egg first, then our house has an egg first."

Great-Aunt immediately looked at Zhu Ping'an with renewed interest, feeling quite amazed. She had asked many children this before, and every single one of them had been thoroughly confused by her. This was the first time she had heard such an answer.

Great-Aunt vaguely felt that Zhu Ping'an might be extraordinary in the future.

The cousins were amused by Zhu Ping'an's words and giggled. *What a silly boy,* they thought. *We asked you about the chicken or the egg, what does that have to do with your grandmother?* They couldn't help but feel that this bright-eyed little cousin was silly and fun, so they weren't about to be outdone and started teasing him too. They asked things like why people have two legs, or why ducks have two wings but can't fly.

Zhu Ping'an cooperated by saying things that made them roar with laughter, while internally, ten thousand *grass mud horses* were galloping past.

"Little cousin, why don't you ask us a question too?" The little cousin tilted her head, thinking of an even more fun idea to tease Zhu Ping'an.

"Sister, can I choose not to ask?" Zhu Ping'an shook his little head and asked seriously.

"No, you have to ask," the little cousin giggled and nodded earnestly.

"Alright then." Zhu Ping'an furrowed his brows, putting on a thoughtful expression.

Hearing that Zhu Ping'an was going to ask a question, not only were the cousins interested, but even Great-Aunt leaned in to listen.

What kind of question could a bear cub who had just stopped wearing split-crotch pants ask? The fact that Zhu Ping'an had fought to stop wearing split-crotch pants had been told by Chen-shi to Great-Aunt and the others as a joke, which had amused them to no end at the time.

"Grandfather climbs a tree to pick strawberries. He can pick one basket in one day, and two baskets in two days. So, how many baskets of strawberries can Grandfather pick if he climbs the tree for three days?"

Zhu Ping'an raised his head and said the question in a naive tone, looking as if he were racking his brains.

The cousins scoffed internally. *Seeing you rack your brains like that, we thought it was a difficult question. Who knew it would be so easy? Well, counting to three might be hard for you, but for us, it couldn't be simpler.*

"Oh, that's so easy! Three baskets of strawberries."

"Little cousin is so silly, Grandfather can pick three baskets of strawberries in three days."

The cousins answered in unison, looking bored because the question was too simple.

See, this was the gap. Another case of intellectual crushing.

Zhu Ping'an shook his head.

*Huh?*

What? It was wrong?

The cousins were very confused, and even Great-Aunt didn't quite understand. If he picks one basket a day and two baskets in two days, then three days must be three baskets. How could it be wrong? Could it be that this little guy hadn't even mastered addition and subtraction within three?

"How is it wrong?" the 8-year-old cousin kept asking.

Zhu Ping'an tilted his head 45 degrees upward, rolled his eyes, and spoke with the unique, haughty tone of a child.

"Grandfather can't pick even one basket while climbing a tree."

Hearing this answer, the cousins certainly wouldn't accept it. The little cousin insisted it was impossible and said Zhu Ping'an was just messing around.

"What do you mean? How could he not pick even one basket?"

"Exactly. If you're going to say Grandfather is lazy or something, that's not fun, little cousin."

"Cheating isn't for good children."

Zhu Ping'an raised his head even higher, looking quite smug.

"Because strawberries grow on vines on the ground, there are no strawberries on trees. So Grandfather can't pick strawberries by climbing a tree."

Hearing this, the little lolitas looked at each other, speechless.

Zhu Ping'an took the opportunity to slip away. *Having finished the deed, he brushed off his clothes and left, hiding his merit and fame.* He didn't want to be questioned any further.

(End of chapter)