RPS – Chapter 89 Dancing

The heat in the air kept rising without any sign of relief, but despite the sweltering weather, many crops had quietly ripened. The corn and soybeans they had planted earlier were now ready for harvest. During this time, Li Feng’s family had enjoyed plenty of tender corn and edamame—boiled corn, roasted corn, corn with green beans, salted edamame, pickled edamame, stir-fried edamame… Whatever could be eaten, Li Feng never missed out on these delicious treats.

After all, he was pregnant and didn’t have to do any other chores. Whenever he had free time, he simply busied himself making different kinds of food to enjoy. By now, his morning sickness was long gone—though it hadn’t lasted very long to begin with—and his appetite was stronger than ever. He even ate a lot more than usual, always justifying himself confidently whenever someone commented: “I’m eating for two now. Of course I need to eat more.”

The “autumn tiger” heat was the most unbearable, yet it was still the season for the autumn harvest. Fortunately, they only needed to gather corn and soybeans for now. The taro and sweet potatoes wouldn’t be ready until September through December, so not everything piled up at the same time.

The corn cobs were first plucked, peeled, and spread flat in the courtyard to dry. The stalks were cut down during the cooler mornings or evenings, dried, and stacked up for feeding animals or fueling fires. The soybeans were piled aside; though mature at harvest, their pods hadn’t yet split. After a few days of sun-drying, they could be threshed and collected.

Li Feng didn’t help with the harvest at all. At most, he cooked meals or washed some clothes. But with weather this hot, there wasn’t much laundry—most people just wore a thin animal-skin skirt around their waist, which they didn’t even change daily. Only the underpants underneath had to be changed daily, as Li Feng insisted. Still, he only washed his own, Li’s, and a few of the children’s clothes. Everyone else handled their own.

By now, Li Feng’s belly had grown quite large. It was already August, and by his calculations, he must have conceived around April or May. He had fainted and confirmed the pregnancy in June, during the wheat harvest. That meant there were about two months earlier when nobody realized it. Now, he was nearly four to five months along.

With little clothing covering his belly, its roundness was obvious. Li Feng thought it was still smaller than the huge bellies of pregnant women he’d once seen in the streets back in his previous life, but to others, it already seemed quite big. Li Feng’s good appetite was the reason—the baby was growing strong. In the past, even when women were carrying babies, people sometimes couldn’t tell until very late; some were even mistaken for bloating or indigestion until near labor. There were even cases where people thought a woman was pregnant, only for her to die a year later, revealing her belly was filled with nothing but fluid.

But Li Feng’s belly was unmistakably swollen. At times, they could even see the baby’s movements pressing against the taut skin. Everyone believed the child was growing so well because Li Feng ate so well. They all envied him, knowing that a healthy baby was the most important thing.

Only Li Feng himself wasn’t entirely happy. He grew tired just from walking or standing for too long. Sometimes, when he tried teaching the baby to walk, the little one would still be energetic while Li Feng already felt worn out. Then, he’d have to let Li or others continue teaching. He felt regretful—he wanted to personally be part of every step of the baby’s growth. Yet when the baby waddled over to him on his short little legs, all regret vanished. Li Feng realized he was part of the baby’s daily growth—he just hadn’t noticed it himself.

After thinking it through, Li Feng made sure to spend every day with the baby—fanning him while he slept to drive away mosquitoes, telling him stories or playing games when he was bored, making funny faces to amuse him, or asking Li to dance for the baby. Ever since Li Feng had first held the baby in his arms while Li danced, the baby had loved it. Sometimes, he even wriggled his little bottom and kicked his chubby legs in rhythm while sitting in Li Feng’s lap, mimicking Li’s movements. Watching this made Li nervous, afraid the baby might accidentally kick his belly out of excitement.

“You little rascal, you can’t even walk yet and already want to dance?” Li Feng kissed the baby’s tiny nose, smiling warmly as he watched the baby squirm in his arms in time with Li’s moves.

The baby, of course, didn’t understand what Daddy was saying, but he still turned his little face toward Li Feng with a wide smile and called out sweetly, “Daddy.” Just as Li Feng lowered his head, expecting a slobbery kiss, the baby suddenly turned instead, staring at Li dancing and babbling happily, “Eee-ya-ya.” Whenever he got excited, his words all turned into babbles.

Li Feng pouted and “glared fiercely” at Li. Hmph, trying to steal my baby? My baby loves me the most!
Li looked innocent—Hey, you asked me to dance in the first place. You were the one who taught me those moves—the robot dance, zombie dance, moonwalk… all your fault!

Doesn’t matter. I’ll blame you anyway. Look, the baby doesn’t even look at me now—it’s all your fault!

Li could only give in helplessly. Fine, you win. You’re my beloved, so everything is your way. It’s all my fault. Please don’t be mad, okay? He tried to explain with his eyes while still dancing.

Li Feng pretended not to notice. “What’s wrong with your eyes? Twitching? Then stop dancing already.”

The truth was, Li’s dancing was very good. With his tall, lean, half-bare figure, the moves looked even more impressive and eye-catching than Li Feng’s. Especially the iconic crotch-grabbing move—it always made Li Feng blush furiously.

It wasn’t really his fault, though. Each time Li did that move, the look in his eyes and the way his body moved turned the gesture into raw temptation. What should have been an innocent dance step became downright suggestive. At least, that was Li Feng’s complaint. Secretly, though, it was a feast for the eyes—why else would someone as thick-skinned as Li Feng still blush and feel his heart race every time?

Truth be told, they hadn’t “done it” in a long time. Since Li Feng got pregnant, the most they’d done was help each other out with hands and mouths. No real intercourse. No wonder the summer heat left both of them flushed and restless. Only the baby remained pure and innocent, drooling, clapping his little hands, and swaying happily to the dance. But when Li suddenly stopped, the baby tilted his head in confusion. Why stop?

“You said my eyes are twitching? Or what?” Li leaned close to Li Feng’s ear, lowering his voice and drawing out the last syllable with a teasing lilt that made Li Feng’s ears burn red like braised pig ears.

“Hey! Stop it. The baby’s right here!” Li Feng pushed Li away as he tried licking and kissing his ear, glaring fiercely.

Li caught the flirtatious glance Li Feng threw at him and chuckled. “It’s fine. The baby doesn’t understand anything.”

“Daddy, dance… dance…” The baby had learned a few new words lately. Besides “Daddy,” most others were shortened to a single syllable.

Li Feng grinned. “Hear that? Your precious son wants you to keep dancing. Go on, don’t stop now!” Let’s see you act like a rascal again.

Li sighed, planted a quick kiss on Li Feng’s lips, then backed away and tapped the baby’s little nose. “You little rascal, ruining Daddy’s fun. Next time I won’t dance for you!” he teased. Still, after a few warm-up moves, he started dancing again.

Even without instruments or music, Li’s dancing was captivating. Li Feng had taught them a bit of music, but since he was tone-deaf, no one managed to learn much. It frustrated him to the point he almost wanted to whack people with a pointer. He finally understood why teachers sometimes lost their temper. But it was even more miserable for the “students”—how could they complain when their teacher himself was half-baked? He couldn’t sing in tune, and worse, he didn’t really know how to teach music theory either. The only thing he could manage was: “1-2-3-4-5-6-7, do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti,” not even sure if he pronounced them correctly.

In the end, everyone gave up. Only Li couldn’t escape—Li Feng insisted on making him learn, even if off-key. You sing, I’ll correct you. You have to learn it no matter what. And so far, Li hadn’t even finished learning one full song. All he could do was follow the beat Li Feng clapped out. Still, it looked pleasing enough, and the baby enjoyed it. That alone made it worth it. The little one even stuck with Li through the practice sessions. But Li only ever performed once; the rest was just Li Feng’s verbal coaching. Poor Mo—the baby—Li simply didn’t like dancing for anyone other than Li Feng and the baby. And even then, it was only because Li Feng asked. Otherwise, he’d rather play toss-the-baby.

As the saying goes, “In mid-autumn, the full moon brings family reunion.” Li Feng didn’t know how the lunar calendar worked here, so he just followed the solar calendar, marking the Mid-Autumn Festival on the fifteenth of August. Last year, they hadn’t celebrated at all—food had been scarce, and he hadn’t even thought about festivals. But now was different. They still weren’t living in abundance, but at least they could eat their fill. Clothes were a work in progress.

After more than a month, Nuo had gotten more skilled at weaving and already produced several usable pieces of cloth. They were small—since flax fibers varied in length and he hadn’t yet mastered joining and combining threads, the largest piece was only about the size of a table—but it was still an impressive achievement. Everyone’s eyes had lit up when they saw the very first piece. From plants, to rotting into fibers, to painstakingly crafting a crude loom—though crude to Li Feng, the others thought it a marvel of complexity and beauty.

Finally, countless threads became cloth. The hardships along the way didn’t matter anymore when they held that piece in their hands. The larger pieces became baby clothes; the rest, diapers. The baby didn’t need them in summer, but come winter, both he and the newborn would.

After a dozen failed attempts, Nuo finally grasped the trick. The current cloth stretched long across the loom without breaking. Nuo was overjoyed, brimming with pride and confidence. Soon, everyone in the household would have proper clothes. And according to Li Feng, by winter, they could use their stored chicken feathers, duck feathers, bird down, and sheep’s wool to make down jackets and quilts—warm and light. The thought filled Nuo with excitement and motivation.

So much so that now, the first thing he did every morning was rush to the loom. Aside from eating, sleeping, and using the toilet, he wove nonstop. Li Feng tried to stop him, urging him to rest, but Nuo refused. Li Feng could only watch, both upset and heartbroken. Why work so hard? We have plenty of time. We’re not in such a rush. Didn’t we survive without cloth before? Sure, this cloth is wonderfully soft, but there’s no need to exhaust yourself. You’re breaking my heart.

Looking around at his life and home now, Li Feng decided they would celebrate this Mid-Autumn Festival properly—with reunion and happiness. On that day, no one would need to work. Everyone would just follow his arrangements. Especially Nuo, who desperately needed a break. The autumn harvest was just finished, and the corn and soybeans were safely stored away.

Though he wasn’t sure of the exact date, Li Feng figured as long as the moon was at its roundest, it was close enough. He’d been watching the moon for days, and when it finally grew full and bright, he decided: tomorrow would be the Mid-Autumn Festival. Maybe it truly is the lunar Mid-Autumn, he thought. But it didn’t really matter. What mattered was the festive atmosphere, the comfort and warmth it brought to the heart.