Zacaojing | Play Diary

2025.4.23

Invited You and Sister Feibi to play on the bread truck.

You and Feibi didn't know each other, but they often appear in my scattered diaries. Probably because of this, they became curious about each other and looked forward to meeting.

I bought cake with You, and also brought the cartoon candle that Sister Feibi gave me last time.

Drove the car to the field behind the house, opened the folding tatami, just enough for the three of us to sit. Before that, we had dinner together in the village, hosted by Sister Feibi. She said she had money recently.

You and I each took out the cakes we bought and let Sister Feibi choose the one to eat first. You bought tiramisu and raw milk cake, I bought pudding and coconut-coated cube-shaped cake like sugar cubes. After carefully examining each cake, Feibi hesitated and still couldn't pick. I couldn't help but choose my coconut cake for her 😄 because I wanted to eat it the most. Then we placed a pudding in front of each person and lit a bear-shaped candle (Sister Feibi explained its origin, but I don't remember clearly).

We chatted. Sister Feibi talked about a teacher she met when she was an exchange student in Japan. At graduation, the teacher gave her some money to eat good food.

'I was young and didn't know how to spend. I used that money to buy very expensive tea leaves and gave them back to the teacher. Now I regret it; I should have eaten it to match the teacher's intention. Back then, I also couldn't bear to go to concerts, thinking that buying CDs would save money and I could listen forever. But it's not the same.'

'Your teacher was really nice.'

'Yes, I think one of the nice humans I've met.'

'Are you still in touch?'

'We used to write emails. But when I was studying in France, my father suddenly passed away. At that time, I felt there were too many things to write about, and it was too long, so I stopped contacting.'

'Actually, writing emails is quite convenient. If you don't write, your teacher might not be around next time. How old is he?'

'I was in my twenties, he was in his forties to fifties. Now I'm in my forties, he must be nearly seventy?'

The invisible and powerful time, though it belonged to Sister Feibi's timeline, seemed to affect me too. If I were her, I would write an email immediately when I got home.

You listened to our casual chat, occasionally chiming in. We sat in this small space for three hours, the chubby bear candle burning down to its neck. I had confidence that they would like each other.

2025.04.24

Woke up. It was drizzling outside. At times like this, if I were lying in the car, it would be great. I thought. So I started packing my luggage. Sleeping bag, egg-crate pad, pots and pans, milk, two lousy power banks.

While I was packing, Yanzi brought me the bracken she picked yesterday at Xipo. I thought, I'm going out and can't continue soaking it, so I took it to Xiao Yang. I pushed open Xiao Yang's door; Old Li was also there. He saw me and said, 'Xiao Jing, come to my house for dinner tonight. We're slaughtering a chicken today.'

Before he said 'chicken,' my mind quickly thought he was going to say 'sheep' or 'pig' or some large animal. When I heard 'chicken,' I found it amusing.

'Your family slaughters one chicken and calls so many people?' Xiao Yang, lying nearby, teased him.

'You're not coming, so mind your own business.'

Old Li's home is in Eryuan County, 40 kilometers away. I thought it would be perfect for camping.

Old Li drove Aruna, I picked up Yang Mi. Xiao Qi took a guest on a rural tour of Eryuan today, and she would probably join dinner at Old Li's.

We gathered at the milk fan shop. Old Li and Aruna arrived first, sitting at the door eating popsicles.

'I want this,' I pointed to the soft milk fan ball the sister was making.

'I want this too,' Yang Mi followed me in and pointed too.

'Make yourself at home?' Old Li laughed at Yang Mi and me.

Hehe, I saw the busy sister, her smile seemed carved on her face, and I felt at ease.

I also took a piece of milk cake, thinking I could cook with it in the car tomorrow. Yang Mi paid for it first because in the car she said she would buy me something at the milk fan shop. I only wanted her to buy yogurt or something; the milk cake was too expensive, I should have paid for it myself.

Then we headed to the market. Old Li said there would be no other dishes at home except chicken. So he told us to buy groceries and each of us would make one dish.

Aruna planned to stir-fry water bamboo with meat.

Yang Mi eats light food. Old Li disapproves of her cooking and says, 'When we worked together, she made dishes; even if she called me to eat, I wouldn't.'

'Xiao Jing, make two dishes, and there must be meat,' he ordered.

He thinks highly of me.

'I won't cook; I'll buy roast duck,' he added.

Yang Mi and I had been to Old Li's home before, during his housewarming party.

Entering the house, no adults were home. The four of us messed around in the kitchen, like kids secretly inviting friends home to cook.

The chicken to be slaughtered was already stewed and sitting on the stove.

'Let me take you to my old home,' Old Li said after setting the dishes. Then he carried two plates of cut watermelon and walked about 500 meters.

'This is the house,' Old Li pointed to a very tall brick house. By very tall, I mean it looked like an ancestral hall from the outside.

After entering, Old Li's grandma (his grandmother's mother) was working. She wore Bai ethnic clothing, with earrings combining gold pendants and jade, very beautiful. In the yard's cattle shed, four yellow cattle were kept; Old Li said they were for meat, not milk. There was an apple tree in bloom. A plum tree grafted from a persimmon tree already had many green fruits. And in the middle of the yard, a small seedling protected by a basket—I didn't know what it was.

Grandma walked into the house. I guessed she was getting some goodies.

'She has a lot of good snacks,' Old Li said.

After leaving the old home, Old Li drove us around nearby to find a campsite for me for the night.

'There used to be many reeds here, more beautiful,' he said as we passed a small lake under construction near his home.

Finally, I chose the ancient grove I had been to before as the campsite. Fields on the left, a stream on the right, surrounded by dense trees.

After choosing the campsite, we went home to cook. Old Li was in charge of washing and cutting vegetables. When the last ray of sunset shone on the fields outside the kitchen window, Xiao Qi came in with the guest. Xiao Qi helped Aruna stir-fry the water bamboo with meat. Xiao Qi, who always says she can't cook, was quick and even flipped the wok. When it was my turn, I was flustered, not knowing whether to put the meat or the beans first.

After dinner, Old Li suggested going to soak in hot springs. I knew the hot springs he meant: iron-sheet rooms, 15 yuan per person, one room each. A few years ago, not long after he joined Cangshan Hiking Family, he took me and Jason there. At that time, I thought to myself, Old Li is nice, really simple.

Yang Mi, Old Li, Xiao Qi squatting outside the hot spring room.

There is a strong will in my mind to record this day. The specific reason is unclear; I guess it's related to 'time.' Perhaps looking back from far in the future, today will be precious.

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