RPS – Chapter 91 Tofu

Other than Li Feng, everyone else stretched their necks and widened their eyes in anticipation. Even the baby was staring curiously with big round eyes. When Nuo brought out the mooncakes, eight pairs of eyes went round as saucers. As the bowl covering the plate was slowly lifted, everyone unconsciously leaned forward. But once they clearly saw what was inside, they all let out an, “Oh, so that’s what it is.”

What they saw was a plate of mooncakes that were fairly round, but they looked so much like steamed buns that no one held much hope for the other plate either. They thought it would be the same. But when Li Feng opened it, those eight pairs of eyes turned to look again in unison, and then came the children’s exclamations: “Wow, these are so pretty!” As for the adults, they were stunned speechless, their expressions full of surprise. Li Feng was delighted—he had known they would react like this.

These mooncakes weren’t as exquisite or beautiful as those in his previous life, but they were still quite nice. On each one, Li Feng had carved many designs: simple sketches of little animals, flowers, lucky clouds, and so on. He had even shaped the entire mooncake into a flower, following the custom of his past life. Regardless of taste, they certainly looked good.

“What are you standing there for? Come on, give them a try!” Li Feng cut the mooncakes, first serving the children. The rest he left for the others to take as they pleased—after all, they were family, there was no need for formality. “The ones with red dates on top are sweet, filled with steamed candied dates. The ones with salted meat have salted meat inside. The plain-looking ones are filled with egg yolk. Take whichever you like!” Remembering that Li didn’t care for sweet things, he handed him a salted meat one and an egg yolk one.

The dough was made from leavened flour. After baking, while not as soft as bread, it wasn’t too hard either. Fragrant and tender, it carried the aroma of the flour and the filling inside. The taste was quite good. Of course, that was partly because it was everyone’s first time eating mooncakes—they had no basis for comparison. Only Li Feng himself knew that his mooncakes tasted more like baked flatbreads than real mooncakes. Still, fortunately, everyone seemed to like them very much, especially the children. Whether sweet, salty, or plain with egg yolk, they happily tried them all, eating with great delight.

As for the adults, they had already eaten dinner, so after two small slices each, they stopped. Only Nuo kept eating, holding a salted meat piece in his left hand and an egg yolk one in his right, crumbs all over his mouth. Bu, sitting next to him, occasionally passed him water and wiped his face. Li Feng couldn’t help but laugh secretly at the sight.

The poor baby was the only one who couldn’t eat, and he could only watch. Li Feng dared not give him any; what if he choked? The baby was still so small. Li Feng was always especially careful when feeding him, never daring to give him anything too hard or too big. He remembered seeing news stories about careless parents giving babies peanuts or jelly, leading to choking and even death. He wouldn’t risk it—this baby was his treasure, the family’s little bundle of joy, their lucky charm. He couldn’t afford even the slightest mishap. So the poor baby could only drool while gnawing on his own fingers, until Li Feng pulled his hand away.

The baby’s lips pouted, eyes watery with grievance as he looked at Li Feng. He wasn’t allowed to eat mooncake or even suck his fingers—how pitiful! His big eyes glistened as if to say, “Daddy, I’m so poor.” Li Feng chuckled, pinching the baby’s round little belly. “You little glutton, didn’t you just eat your fill? The steamed egg is already sitting in your little tummy. Look, it’s so round.” He rubbed the baby’s plump tummy. It felt like there wasn’t any space left. The baby had indeed eaten a lot today. Li Feng quickly rubbed his belly more to aid digestion—he didn’t want the little guy to feel unwell later. Truly, this little one was insatiable.

“Giggle… Daddy…” The baby laughed, clutching at Li Feng’s hair hanging over his chest. Li Feng tickled his small tummy while rubbing it, making him squirm with laughter.

With the playful tickling, the baby soon forgot all about the food. He played happily with Li Feng, while the other adults joined in, making faces or dancing to amuse him. The baby clapped and laughed, especially delighted when Li Dad danced.

“Hey, since today is the Mid-Autumn Festival, just sitting here looking at the moon is boring. Why don’t we dance instead?” Nuo suggested after finishing his mooncake. The moon was indeed beautiful, but they couldn’t just sit staring at it all night. They were full, so it was the perfect time to move a bit.

“Great idea! You all dance, I’ll watch with the baby and keep the beat!” Li Feng said, shaking the baby’s rattle drum. He couldn’t dance himself. Even if he could, he wouldn’t—his dancing was far too embarrassing.

Everyone agreed. The children especially cheered, and soon they and Nuo were dancing wildly in the courtyard, moving however they pleased. The rattle drum Li Feng shook was so off-beat that even he couldn’t follow it, but that didn’t matter. It was just for fun. The baby bounced and wiggled along, tiny legs kicking, waist swaying—adorably cute.

Li tried a few steps Li Feng had taught him, but he quickly noticed no one else was following. Still, he danced on, completely undisturbed by the chaotic crowd around him. Li Feng wasn’t sure if he was imagining it, but somehow every move Li made seemed full of temptation. He remembered seeing MJ dance before—full of energy and allure—but Li’s version seemed almost roguishly seductive.

A small bonfire burned in the courtyard. The group danced around it, the crackling flames swaying with the wind. They were utterly absorbed, even without music, carried only by the beat of Li Feng’s rattle drum. Nothing could dampen their joy drifting through the night air.

“From today on, every year on this day, we’ll be together—dancing around the fire, eating mooncakes and fruit, and living happily!” Li Feng, holding the baby, made a promise to the moon glowing softly above them.

After the festival, life went on. The weather stayed hot, and Li Feng’s belly grew heavier day by day. The baby became livelier and more mischievous, especially since he wore less clothing in the heat. He wanted to play outside every day and hated being cooped up indoors. So Li Feng took him out daily, teaching him to walk and talk, singing to him, and telling stories—everything from fairy tales to Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf.

Though playful and mischievous, the baby was very obedient with Li Feng. He clung to him dearly. If separated too long, he would cry for “Daddy” until Li Feng held him. No one else could calm him down. So even if others took him out, the moment he called for his father, they had to rush home.

Earlier, when harvesting flax from his own home, Li had already told the clan leader about it and brought samples. Once the cloth was woven, he showed it as well. He suggested everyone collect flax whenever they saw it, as it could be made into clothing. Li Feng even used it for gauze, perfect for steaming buns or filtering soybean milk.

The clan leader was shocked and delighted—this was a major discovery. Li explained that it was a group effort: he and Bu made the spinning machine, Nuo did the weaving, while Li Feng’s role he only mentioned briefly, not emphasizing that most ideas came from him. He didn’t want Li Feng attracting too much attention, or worse, suspicion. After all, being too unusual could be seen as unnatural, even monstrous. The family also repeatedly reminded one another never to speak of it outside. Even the millstone at home was credited to Li and the others.

By now, nearly every few households shared a millstone, taking turns using it. Most of what Li Feng and his family discovered or invented had been quietly passed on to the clan, not directly through the leader, but via Li, Ka, and the children spreading the word here and there. People didn’t question the details—so long as it was useful and brought food, drink, and comfort, that was all that mattered.

Recently, Li Feng didn’t know why, but he craved tofu intensely. There were piles of soybeans at home, yet no tofu to be had. He craved it so much he would lie in bed, touching the baby’s soft cheeks and muttering about eating tofu. Li had no idea what tofu was, and the baby certainly didn’t. He only knew that Daddy often pinched his cheeks or belly, saying “tofu, tofu.” Now, though he couldn’t pronounce everyone’s names yet, the baby could already say “tofu.” Every day the courtyard rang with his little voice, “toufu, toufu.”

His soft little tongue couldn’t enunciate clearly, and it came out slurred, “toufu, toufu,” making Li Feng even more wistful. One day, as Li Feng lay listlessly in bed, the baby crawled up, staring at him with big dark eyes. “Daddy, Daddy, toufu, toufu…” In the baby’s mind, “tofu” meant kisses, cuddles, and caresses. Daddy was always saying “tofu,” so why wasn’t he eating his tofu?

Pulled back to reality by the baby tugging at his hair, Li Feng looked down at the little round face like tender tofu, rubbed it, kissed it, and nearly wanted to take a bite. “Baby, why do you tease Daddy so much? Always saying ‘tofu, tofu’…”

The baby didn’t understand, only knowing Daddy was playing with him again. “Daddy, Daddy, play, play…” He flopped onto Li Feng’s chest, pouting. The room was stuffy. He’d just woken up, but Daddy hadn’t. He wanted to go outside and play.

“Alright then. Since we don’t have any tofu to eat, let’s go play outside. And if your Daddy Li hasn’t found gypsum today, we won’t let him have dinner, okay?” Recently, since Li Feng had been muttering about tofu nonstop, Li had taken it to heart. After asking carefully, he now went out hunting while also searching for a whitish, semi-transparent stone. If he found it, Li Feng could finally make tofu.

Though Li Feng wanted tofu badly, he forbade Li from going deep into dangerous places. At most, he could keep an eye out while hunting. Still, Li Feng knew Li wouldn’t listen. So now, in front of Li, he never mentioned tofu again—he didn’t want Li to risk himself.

Li Feng didn’t know if there was any gypsum nearby. He didn’t need much—he had no use for it other than making tofu.

“Li Feng, look! Is this it?” Li called before he even reached home. Every day he brought back many stones for Li Feng to examine. Since Li Feng had only given him a rough description, Li couldn’t be sure. So he picked up anything that looked even remotely similar. This time, he had half a basket full again.

“Put that down quickly. I told you not to carry so many back each time. It’s too heavy—you’ll wear yourself out!” Li Feng hurried to help him set down the basket, which was indeed crammed full of rocks, big and small.

He handed Li a towel to wipe off his sweat—an unfinished scrap of cloth too small for diapers, now repurposed as a towel. “Drink some water. Next time, don’t carry so many. If you don’t listen, I won’t take any of them!” Li Feng, with his heavy belly, gently wiped the red marks dug into Li’s shoulders. They were especially prominent on his bare skin. Li Feng’s fingers traced them tenderly, his heart aching. If he had known, he wouldn’t have said anything. Why crave tofu at the cost of Li’s suffering? He stayed at home doing nothing, only thinking of food, while Li worked so hard. The more he thought about it, the more guilty he felt. Would Li think him selfish? Would he resent him?

Sensing his heartache and melancholy, Li clasped Li Feng’s hand, squeezing his slender fingers. Though softer now, they still bore old calluses and tiny scars from past work. “It’s alright. It doesn’t hurt. Just check if there’s gypsum inside.”

Li Feng leaned into Li’s arms, resting his chin on his bare shoulder. “Don’t let yourself get hurt again. Not even a mark, promise?” Perhaps it was the pregnancy, but he found himself more easily moved to tears.

“Alright,” Li soothed softly, rubbing his back.

They poured the stones out. Li Feng, unable to squat anymore because of his belly, sat on a small stool to examine them. “Ah! This is gypsum! We found it! Wonderful—now we can finally make tofu!”

Li smiled, watching his joy. So Li Feng really had wanted it, only holding back out of worry for him. How endearing—so stubborn yet so tender. He cared deeply, just not with words.

“Wait, and this one… What’s this? Could it be…?” Li Feng held up a dull gray stone. Could it be iron? Truthfully, he had never seen iron ore before. Even on TV, it looked no different from ordinary rocks. With only his eyes, he couldn’t tell. The only way he knew to identify iron was with a magnet. But here and now, he had no way to test it. Still, he had a hunch. Was it possible this plain-looking stone was iron? He had no proof, just intuition. But could his gut be right?