CHAPTER 46: CHAPTER 45: NEW FRIEND

The wooden horse was only palm-sized and hand-carved. It wasn’t very exquisite, yet it looked lifelike.

Zhao Zhitong’s eyes sparkled. "Wow, your little wooden horse is so beautiful! May I take a look?"

"Y-yes," Wei Shulan said, surprised and flattered. She picked up the wooden horse and handed it to Zhao Zhitong. "Here, for you."

"Thank you," Zhao Zhitong replied.

In her past life, she had many toys, a whole pile of dolls and figures. But since coming here, she had none.

Therefore, Zhao Zhitong dearly cherished this little wooden horse, continuously praising it. "It’s really beautiful! Where did you buy it? I want to buy one too."

Wei Shulan suddenly became quite reserved and said softly with her head lowered, "It wasn’t bought. I made it myself."

Upon hearing that Wei Shulan had made it herself, Zhao Zhitong was extremely surprised. "Wow, you made it yourself? Really? You’re so talented!"

Then, looking at Wei Shulan with starry eyes, she requested, "Could you carve one for me too? I’ll trade you some tasty candy."

She then took out a small handful of candy from her pocket.

Wei Shulan was slightly taken aback and looked at Zhao Zhitong without saying a word for quite some time.

She must think it’s not enough,

Zhao Zhitong thought, preparing to take out a few more pieces of candy from her space.

Just then, Grandpa Bai in the space began to speak, "Young girl, if you want someone to carve a little toy for you, you have to offer something they like in exchange."

Grandpa Bai has a point, Zhao Zhitong thought. So she said, "If you don’t like candy, I can trade something else with you. What would you like?"

Wei Shulan, startled, looked at Zhao Zhitong and waved her hands repeatedly. "No, no, that’s not it! I can make one for you. What design would you like? Do you want a little wooden horse too?"

Seeing that she had agreed, Zhao Zhitong happily stuffed all the candy into her hand. "These are all for you! This candy is super, super sweet."

Then, she propped her little head on her hand and thought for a moment before exclaiming excitedly, "How about a pig? Can you carve Peppa Pig?"

Seeing Wei Shulan’s bewildered expression, Zhao Zhitong launched into the story of Peppa Pig. "Once upon a time, there was a happy pig family. There was Papa Pig, Mama Pig, sister Peppa, and little brother George..."

It was the first time Wei Shulan had heard such a novel story. Zhao Zhitong narrated it vividly, even mimicking a pig’s OINK from time to time, which made Wei Shulan laugh uncontrollably. For a moment, both girls were completely absorbed, forgetting everything around them.

They didn’t even hear Qiao Muchen when he called out to Zhao Zhitong.

It was only when Scholar Meng returned that they reluctantly stopped their conversation. They made a pact that after school, Zhao Zhitong would draw pictures of Peppa and George to show Wei Shulan.

So, as soon as school ended, Zhao Zhitong immediately packed her things and impatiently dragged Wei Shulan to her house.

As a result, Zhao Yue, who had planned to ambush Zhao Zhitong outside the school and draw a mustache on her face, completely missed her.

...

Country Gentry Wei’s family had a large estate. Wei Shulan, the daughter of Country Gentry Wei’s second younger brother, had her own small courtyard.

When the two little friends arrived at Wei Shulan’s home, they put down their luggage boxes. Wei Shulan then found some paper for Zhao Zhitong so she could draw Peppa Pig.

However, Zhao Zhitong couldn’t use a brush very well yet, and her artistic skills were, shall we say, uniquely expressive. One could only imagine how startling the finished drawing was.

Wei Shulan held the drawing, standing speechless in the courtyard for a moment. "..."

Zhao Zhitong blushed a bit but still stuck her neck out and said stubbornly, "I-it’s just that this brush isn’t good! I usually draw really well."

Suddenly, she had a bright idea. "I know! I’ll use a stick to draw it for you on the ground. My drawings on the ground look great!"

After saying that, she scampered off to find a tree branch.

And so, the two little ones got to work: one drew on the ground while describing the image, and the other held a piece of wood, trying her best to carve according to Zhao Zhitong’s description.

Time passed bit by bit. Gradually, the initially unremarkable piece of wood began to take on the rough form of Peppa. By this time, however, the sky had already darkened.

Zhao Zhitong gazed at Wei Shulan, her eyes sparkling with admiration. "Wow, you’re so amazing! You must have Lu Ban’s hands!"

Wei Shulan looked puzzled. "What are Lu Ban’s hands?"

"It means hands as skilled and talented as Master Lu Ban’s!" Zhao Zhitong explained. "Lanlan, you have hands that can turn the ordinary into the magical. It’s a very beautiful, very wonderful gift."

Wei Shulan’s eyes gradually brightened. Listening to Zhao Zhitong’s compliments, she blushed shyly and said, "Really? B-but... they all say that it’s degrading for a girl to like crafts. My father doesn’t like me touching these things either. But I really, really enjoy it, so I still do it secretly."

Zhao Zhitong looked astonished. "Don’t listen to their nonsense! That’s not true at all. You have to keep doing it. I’m learning medicine from my grandfather, you know! In the future, I want to be a really, really great physician. We’re not lowly at all!"

At that moment, a true light shone in Wei Shulan’s eyes. Zhao Zhitong is different from other children, she thought. She knows so much, and she speaks so kindly.

Deeply encouraged, Wei Shulan said firmly, "Okay!"

The two new friends were very reluctant to part, but it was already late, and Zhao Zhitong had to go home.

However, the Peppa Pig carving wasn’t finished yet, so Wei Shulan promised to bring it to Zhao Zhitong at school once it was done.

Only then did the two youngsters wave each other a reluctant farewell.

***

Zhao Zhitong had made a new friend and was overjoyed. She hummed a little tune and skipped all the way home.

Her second cousin, Sun Daqing, had come to pick her up from school today. Seeing his little cousin so happy, he couldn’t help but grin foolishly too.

This was mainly because he had eaten several pieces of candy with Zhao Zhitong today. Even now, his mouth still felt pleasantly sweet.

While those two were joyful, a certain little someone, who had first been ignored and then stood up, was not happy at all.

The reason? Zhao Zhitong had been so engrossed in chatting with Wei Shulan that she had completely forgotten her arrangement to read books with Qiao Muchen after school!

...

Today, Qiao Muchen felt thoroughly wronged. During lunchtime at school, he had specially saved the seat next to him for Zhao Zhitong.

However, Zhao Zhitong, wanting to sit with her deskmate, had let his kind gesture go to waste.

When school ended, he had been all ready to take her home to read books together. But instead, she had run off directly to Wei Shulan’s house.

So, he waited gloomily in his study until it was almost dark, but Zhao Zhitong never came.

And when did Zhao Zhitong finally remember?

It was only when she cheerfully left the Wei family’s house and was skipping past the Qiao Clan’s front gate that it suddenly hit her.

She hesitated outside Qiao Muchen’s house for a long time. After all, it was my fault, she thought. I should go apologize.

So, she knocked on the Qiao Clan’s main door.

The person who opened the door was Grandma Qian. When she saw it was Zhao Zhitong, she smiled and said, "Oh, it’s the Zhao Family’s young lady! Quick, come in, come in."

Zhao Zhitong didn’t run cheerfully inside as she usually did. Instead, she stood at the doorway without moving.

She peeked into the courtyard a few times but didn’t see Qiao Muchen. Feeling a little guilty, she asked, "Grandma Qian, where’s Qiao Muchen?"