TNIBFT -Chapter 37 Telling Stories to the Children

“Hehe…”

Ye Shuangxue grinned, but her first reaction was to take a few steps back to put some distance between herself and Ye Tian. She hid behind the door, peeking out with half her little face, and said, “I’m eating my own portion… maybe… maybe I shouldn’t go to the school after all?”

“I can recognize those characters, but I just don’t want to.”

The little girl wore a troubled expression.

Ye Tian, while packing up, spoke seriously: “No way. If you can’t read, you’ll be illiterate—just an eye-opener, a slip-through from compulsory education.”

“What fish?”

The little girl was completely puzzled.

Ye Tian didn’t bother arguing with her. He quickly finished packing and urged, “Hurry up and let’s go!”

“There’s only one teacher for ten or twenty villages. If he refuses you, going to school will be a problem. Stop whining.”

Carrying bundles in both hands, Ye Tian pulled Ye Shuangxue by her collar as they headed out.

At the yard gate, the old man’s ox cart was waiting.

Ye Yunting and Ye Hanjiang stood in the snow wearing their new padded coats, each with a small backpack on their back. The two children looked completely refreshed—their hair neatly combed, their faces rosy and bright—anyone would love them at first sight.

Seeing Ye Tian step out, the old man driving the cart laughed heartily, “This person has really changed!”

A few days ago, Ye Tian had been sloppy, and his abuse of the children was notorious across the nearby villages. His vices—eating, drinking, gambling, and women—were well known; he was considered good-for-nothing.

But now, in just a few days, he had built a house and was sending the children to school. A completely good man.

People who once hated him now found him polite to everyone, as if he had become a completely different person.

“Yes,” Ye Tian said, lifting his daughter and placing Ye Shuangxue on the ox cart. Then he bent down to carry Xiao Jiang onto the cart as well, saying, “Now that I’m a father, I can’t be careless.”

Just as he was about to lift Ye Yunting, the little boy dodged Ye Tian’s hands, grabbed the cart’s yoke with both hands, and leapt up himself. Ye Tian looked at the eldest’s back and smiled, taking it lightly, and climbed onto the cart himself.

“Creak!”
“Creak!”

No one spoke. The wheels of the cart made soft creaking sounds as they pressed into the snow.

The three children, sitting in the cart, were already drowsy—their sleepy state would definitely affect their upcoming school entrance exam.

Ancient schools weren’t like those in the modern world.

In the past, compulsory education meant that if you didn’t attend elementary school, the teacher would have to come to your home and persuade you every day. But in this era, the schoolmaster selected promising students—opportunities to study were not for everyone. Just the mere practice of “Shu Xiufu” alone would prevent ninety percent of children from having a chance to learn.

The sunlight was blinding. Across the vast white landscape, golden rays sparkled brilliantly. Ye Tian clasped his hands together, pulled his shoulders in, and looked at the three children: “Want Daddy to tell you a story?”

The moment they heard “story,” the three children immediately turned their attention to Ye Tian.

“I want to hear! I want to hear!” Xiao Jiang’s big eyes sparkled, fully engaged.

Ye Shuangxue, unimpressed, said, “Are you just telling us a story so we’ll study properly?”

The little domineering girl looked at Ye Tian with a knowing expression, as if she had seen through him, a smug smile tugging at her lips.

Ye Yunting turned his head to look elsewhere, not participating at all.

Ye Tian sighed inwardly. The eldest was precocious, and having spent the past two years looking after his younger siblings, he carried too much weight. His resentment toward the original Ye Tian ran deep, and it would take a long time before that hatred faded.

The ox cart moved slowly; the neighboring Lingfeng Village was at least half an hour away.

Ye Tian looked at Xiao Jiang’s eager eyes and smiled: “Do you all know Sun Wukong?”

“Who is that?”

“Is he really strong?”

The two kids’ faces were full of innocence. Ye Tian knew that a childhood without Sun Wukong wasn’t complete.

Seeing that his eldest son didn’t react much, still staring into the distance and not joining their conversation, Ye Tian realized the older boy was eavesdropping. With a mischievous grin, he said, “That’s the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong. Legend has it, he was born from a spirit stone beside Flower-Fruit Mountain in the East Sea, which absorbed the essence of heaven, earth, sun, and moon. One day…”

Ye Tian spoke with great enthusiasm, spitting words with vivid gestures.

He told the story from Sun Wukong’s birth, his apprenticeship and learning, the treasure raid at the Dragon Palace, all the way to the havoc he caused in Heaven.

Ye Shuangxue clutched Ye Tian’s sleeve tightly, her big eyes sparkling as if they might shoot fire, continuously urging, “And then?”

“Did the Great Sage win?”

“He can perform seventy-two transformations—he has to be the strongest!”

The little girl’s eyes shone brightly as she tugged at Ye Tian’s arm until it ached, gesturing with her tiny hands, mimicking the various actions. Ye Shuangxue had never realized how fun and magical the story could be.

Xiao Jiang was also excited: “Sun Wukong fights the big bad guys! Those villains deserve it—they bullied Sun Wukong…”

Tears welled up in Xiao Jiang’s eyes as he fumed at the Celestial Army for attacking Flower-Fruit Mountain.

Ye Yunting lowered his head, furrowing his brows. Ye Tian’s story was so captivating that he momentarily forgot his own predicament. He lifted his head and asked Ye Tian in a low voice, “Why did they want to kill the Great Sage?”

After asking, Ye Yunting immediately realized his mistake, his face turning red as blood.

He felt the injustice of Sun Wukong’s fate: born a deity, yet mocked by all.

But seeing his younger siblings completely engrossed, Ye Yunting comforted himself—after all, it’s just a story. Once it’s over, they wouldn’t ask him to tell it again. Meanwhile, his little sister’s face was flushed with excitement as she hugged Ye Tian’s arm, sometimes thrilled, sometimes pouting. His younger brother buried himself in Ye Tian’s embrace, crying sadly.

Ye Tian would turn to tease his daughter one moment, then soothe Xiao Jiang the next. The scene was harmonious, though Ye Yunting felt like an outsider.

His siblings had already forgotten the old Ye Tian; only he could not forget the words Ye Tian had spoken, the things he had done.

Ye Tian had called them born lowlifes, repeatedly making them take the blame, mocking and beating them along with others. In those moments of despair, time seemed frozen, and hatred took root more easily. The cruel, malicious image of Ye Tian was etched into his heart.

A cold northern wind blew, making Ye Yunting shiver and finally bring himself back to reality.

The old man driving the cart, curious, turned his head and asked, “Little Ye, did Sun Wukong die in the alchemy furnace?”

“Could his master have come to save him?”

“His master must be an important person.”

“Yeah.”

Ye Shuangxue nodded in agreement, her face full of anticipation as she looked at Ye Tian.

Ye Tian jumped down from the ox cart and said mysteriously, “If you want to know what happens next, wait for the next installment.”

“Tch!”

“Hey!”

Everyone expressed their disappointment at once. Ye Tian bought two strips of pork from the village’s butcher stall, about three jin each, holding them in his hands. The old ox-cart driver looked at them and chuckled, “This apprenticeship gift is quite thoughtful. Plenty of stuff here—Confucius would surely be pleased.”

“A gift is never too much.”

Ye Tian smiled and climbed onto the ox cart, looking at the three kids: “Study hard at school. No matter what problem you have, remember to tell your father first when you get home.”

A few minutes later, the old ox-cart driver let Ye Tian and the three kids down. Ye Tian carried his packages to Master Tao’s house in the village.

Outside Master Tao’s house stood a few tall pine trees, their green needles weighed down with white snow. At that moment, the sound of reading could be heard from the courtyard.

“Knock, knock…”

“Could you open the door?”