"Who are you going to report to? Who dares to catch me? Besides, I didn't enter anyone's lady's chamber. This is my own girl's room, yes, it's my boo's space," Chengmo boldly protested.
"You know it's the lady's chamber, the girl doesn't marry you, so not yours, yet you still entered. Have you ever seen a gentleman freely entering and leaving a lady's room? You're shameless and unreasonable," Xiangbei retorted, brushing him off.
"We definitely will be married soon, I already ask my Grandpa send people come, and,"
"Okay, Okay, Pause, we now don't talk about this topic, I have something to do more important,"XiangBei didn't bother to argue with this immature guy and simply grabbed her backpack, walked over, and gave Chengmo a meaningful look. "Hold this, keep up, I'll take you to see your gift."
"Isn't this the gift for me? Is there another one? Is it even better?" Chengmo suddenly transformed into Buddhist monk Tang Seng reciting scriptures, talked incessantly like a chatterbox. "I knew Xiangbei always treats Bro Mo GeGe the best. Is this delicious? What did Xiangbei draw on it? This big smiling face is so cute, and is the one flapping its wings a little bee?"
"A little bee? Yes, it's a little bee. Look how diligently it flies around, learn from it," Xiangbei felt that the little bee on this delicious cake was indeed cuter than the little cockroach. She casually took a woven cover from her backpack and covered the cake.
"Miss Lin, good morning. Are you up and busy so early? Have you seen Tong Xi?" Xiangbei encountered the hunters who were already busy.
"Good morning, Miss Bei. Good morning, Esteemed Guest. Everyone is up because there are many prey and fur to process. Tong Xi and Big Fool went out the west gate to the mountains earlier," the girls from the Lin and Chen families greeted Xiangbei with smiles. They hadn't met Chengmo before, and suddenly seeing such a handsome gentleman made them shy and curious.
"Yeah, sisters, you must be busy. I'll go find them near the kiln." This wasn't the best time to introduce Chengmo, so Xiangbei bid them farewell and quickly headed towards the bamboo workshop.
Opening the workshop door, they could see the kiln glowing red through several rows of glass products on the grid racks.
Tong Xi was watching the kiln closely, waiting for the glass to melt, while Big Fool was sitting there, waiting to take his medicine if he didn't have something sweet.
Despite being immersed in the creation of the crystalline world, he was still the same old Big Fool who wouldn't take his medicine without something sweet.
Xiangbei turned around, took the cake tray, and said to Chengmo who was following closely, "Now, close your eyes. You'll see a magical and fantastical gift."
When Chengmo, gently pushed into the room, opened his eyes, his breath was immediately taken away by these delicate, translucent vessels, more crystalline than glass, purer than crystal, and each with unique shapes!
Xiangbei left him to admire them slowly and walked to the kiln, lifting the bamboo cover.
"Sister! Big Fool didn't eat anything sweet. This white thing is so pretty. Big Fool wants something sweet," Big Fool exclaimed.
"Big Fool is very clever. This white thing is called cake, it's a delicious sweet treat. But if Big Fool eats the sweet cake, he must listen to Brother Xi and take his medicine properly, okay? Sister will make more for Big Fool later," Xiangbei explained.
The moment the cake was cut, its sweet and fragrant aroma captivated everyone's attention, including Xiangbei herself. It was this aroma, belonging to a distant place, to the future, and to the familiar taste of the past.
No one noticed Chengmo, who slowly approached Big Fool. His face was filled with shock and disbelief, as if struck by a thunderbolt. He squatted down, staring intently at Big Fool's face, and softly spoke, "Is it you, Brother? I'm Mo, your younger brother."
Several people lifted their heads from the cake. Unlike Tong Xi and Xiangbei's astonishment, Big Fool looked at Chengmo with a pure smile on his face and shoved the wooden spoon, scooped with cake, into Chengmo's mouth, saying, "Eat something sweet, Mo, is the sweet treat Sister made delicious?"
"Brother, it's you, it's really you. I won't eat," Chengmo turned his head away, avoiding the wooden spoon Big Fool was trying to feed him again, feeling nervous and anxious as he kept asking, "How did you end up here? Why do you speak so strangely?"
Xiangbei, recovering from her immense surprise, reached out and placed her hand on Chengmo's shoulder, gently suggesting, "Ah Mo, I don't think he has truly recognized you. He's been injured and doesn't remember anything. You should stand up first, and I'll explain slowly."
Chengmo stood up and sat down in front of the kiln with Xiangbei. Tong Xi joined them after administering the medicine, while Big Fool continued his glasswork alone.
Tong Xi helped him collect various cast iron utensils of different shapes and sizes from the kitchen, workshop, hunting tool pile, and every nook and cranny of the village. They moved them to the kiln, where Big Fool, like a modern artist in his element, joyfully created a multitude of unique pieces. In his own world, he was happy.