House Dad's Literary Life

Chapter 454: Mo Henian’s Pride

What Mo Fei was worried about now was whether Yang Yi would be able to handle her father while she wasn’t at home.

However, it seemed she had been worrying unnecessarily. At that moment, Yang Yi was already engaged in an animated discussion with Mo Henian in the study.

Yang Yi’s study was bright and airy during the day. The spring breeze gently stirred the gauze curtains, making them ripple in waves, while the white mist rising from the boiling mountain spring water added to the room’s charm.

Unlike on the first day, when Mo Henian was displeased with Yang Yi in every way, today, although Mo Henian still wore a stern expression, his tone was not as harsh, and he even guided Yang Yi relatively gently, teaching him another method of brewing tea with a gaiwan1

.

“This requires proper technique. Look at me. You have to pay attention to the way you hold it when pouring, the position of the lid, and the right amount of force and angle. That way, the tea leaves won’t fall out, the tea will pour smoothly, and you won’t burn your hands!”

Mo Henian taught seriously, and Yang Yi studied just as intently. He didn’t pretend to know more than he did. He truly didn’t know this tea-brewing method the old man was talking about and had only seen it on television before.

But Yang Yi understood tea, was nimble, and learned quickly. Before long, he could complete the tea-pouring motion with three fingers: his thumb and middle finger pinched the rim of the bowl, while his index finger lightly pressed against the lid.

Seeing that Yang Yi had learned it quite well, Mo Henian was relieved. However, he showed no expression of approval and offered no praise, merely saying indifferently, “You need to replace this tea bowl. The rim of the gaiwan and the edge of the lid should be wide, and the lid knob should also be high. Otherwise, it’s easy to burn your hands.”

“Mm, I’ll go pick out a better one later.” Yang Yi nodded obediently, readily taking the advice, even though with his skill, he was unlikely to burn himself.

Mo Henian took two sips of tea, then felt the urge for a smoke and took a smoothly polished tobacco pipe from inside his clothes. It was the one Yang Yi had given him yesterday. Mo Henian hadn’t wanted it at first, but Mo Fei had persuaded him, and the pipe was indeed quite good. It was said to have been made from briar root from a tree over sixty years old.

It was completely handmade, with an intact grain and no flaws, and its exterior was polished so finely that it was as exquisite as agate. Needless to say, the old man liked it; even Xixi thought it was a very beautiful toy and wanted it!

Mo Henian smoked his pipe while drinking tea and flipping through “Journey Under the Midnight Sun”.

This book was the one mentioned in the reports from a few days ago that had deepened his prejudice against Yang Yi. As it happened, he saw a sample copy on Yang Yi’s bookshelf, so he took it down to read.

Now, based on what Mo Henian had personally seen and heard, he felt that Yang Yi wasn’t as bad as he had imagined. At the very least, he couldn’t find any trace of the “devil” described in those reports.

So, the old man really wanted to see where the “devil” mentioned in the newspaper was in this book.

But as he continued reading, Mo Henian became deeply immersed in the story and the oppressive social circumstances described in the book. He frowned, occasionally revealing a thoughtful expression.

“Did you live in Taiwan before?” Mo Henian finally couldn’t hold back and asked.

“No. I’ve never even been overseas.” Yang Yi shook his head.

“Then how do you know so much about the situation in Taiwan during that era?” Mo Henian asked suspiciously. “The unfinished buildings, single-parent families, the difficult circumstances faced by single mothers like Xi Wendai, and this!”

The page Mo Henian had opened showed the scene from the beginning of Xiao Yicheng and Jiang Li’s relationship, when they had just confirmed their feelings for each other. The hairstyle he was pointing to, with medium-length hair, bangs falling over the forehead, and the hair on both sides swept backward, was indeed one of the more popular women’s hairstyles in Taiwan during that era.

“These things would probably be difficult for someone with no experience at all to describe!” Mo Henian said, but for some reason, his gaze toward Yang Yi had become much warmer.

Perhaps it was because he could relate to it.

He was particularly deeply moved when reading this work because the era described in the book was precisely when he was still studying in Taiwan. At a young age, he had experienced Taiwan’s economic bubble bursting, witnessed countless companies go bankrupt, lived through Taiwan’s confusion and turmoil, and also seen the dark examples described in the book of people forgetting family ties and humanity in their pursuit of profit.

“Uncle, I was still very young during the era you’re talking about, and I was living in the countryside in Anqing. How could I possibly have experienced it?” Yang Yi said with a smile. “I just read some books and carefully studied the social conditions in Taiwan at the time.”

Yang Yi also took nearly ten sociology books about research into Taiwan’s society from the bookshelf in the study and showed them to Mo Henian.

Looking at so many books, Mo Henian believed him about eighty percent. Still, he wanted to pick at a few details and test Yang Yi, so he asked, “Back in the early 1980s, there was a serious mass-suicide incident in Taiwan that caused a huge stir around the world. Do you know about it?”

Yang Yi nodded and said, “I know. It was because the stock market had plunged, leaving them deeply in debt, and they couldn’t accept the situation, so the entire family of six died by suicide…”

As if they had found a common topic, Mo Henian and Yang Yi began discussing the social conditions in Taiwan at that time, and Mo Henian’s satisfaction with Yang Yi also seemed to be gradually increasing.

As for the “devil” side of Yang Yi described in the entertainment newspapers, Mo Henian was a highly educated man, after all. Having read the novel himself, how could he not see that it was simply a dramatic portrayal for the sake of the story? He wasn’t going to judge an author’s character based on the content of one book.

……

In the afternoon, Chuntian Kindergarten was holding its fun sports meet. Yang Yi invited Mo Henian to go watch Xixi’s event. The old man was initially a little reserved, but when he thought that it was his granddaughter’s competition, Mo Henian pretended to be impatient and said, “Fine, I’ll go! Otherwise, you’ll keep nagging me!”

Although he acted as if he were only reluctantly going, the old man had actually dressed up carefully before leaving the house. He wore a Hawaiian-style shirt with a coconut tree print on it, and instead of a windbreaker, he simply draped a wide scarf with an Indian-style pattern around his neck. His lower half was still the same jeans and cowboy boots, and he topped it all off with a white cowboy hat. Walking around the streets of China like this, he was bound to attract plenty of attention. This grandpa was just too stylish!

When Mo Henian appeared at Chuntian Kindergarten, he immediately replaced Yang Yi as the new favorite among the children. However, instead of rushing over and clinging to him as they did with Yang Yi, the children simply gathered around him curiously, their innocent eyes filled with admiration.

It was the first time they had seen someone dressed like this. The hat, scarf, and boots were especially novel to them, and murmurs of “So cool!” rose one after another.

“This is my Grandpa, my grandpa!” Xixi squeezed out from among her little friends, cheering as she threw herself into her grandpa’s arms, then proudly introduced him to the other children.

Xixi wasn’t wearing a dress today. Instead, she wore a pullover and athletic pants in a wine-red tone, with a soft, slightly shiny cotton-fleece texture that made her look full of energy. Of course, the most important thing was that the little girl’s arms and calves were slender and long, so whatever clothes she wore, they always looked neat and flattering on her, without making her look bulky at all.

Chen Shiyun shouted from among the crowd, “Xixi, isn’t your grandpa fierce? I don’t think he’s fierce at all. He’s even very handsome!”

Mo Henian’s stern face, which he had kept up for several days, finally couldn’t hold anymore. After being praised by the child, he couldn’t help letting a little smile bloom. He tugged on the brim of his hat, gave Chen Shiyun a cowboy salute, and said, “This little girl has good taste. Not bad, not bad!”

“How is Grandpa fierce? Grandpa has always been very nice!” Mo Henian added, gently patting the little girl in his arms on the bottom as if reproaching her.

“Hehe!” The little girl lay against Mo Henian’s shoulder and laughed a little shyly.

“Super cool! Grandpa, can I wear your hat?” Chen Shiyun grew bolder and bounced excitedly as she asked.

“I want to wear it too! I like this hat too!” Lan Xin squeezed through the crowd and quickly called out.

“You can’t all wear it at the same time. You have to line up and take turns.” Xixi climbed down from her grandpa’s arms, squeezed in front of him, and helped her grandpa maintain order.

“Okay then…”

Being so popular, Mo Henian naturally felt very proud in his heart. The frustration of being outshone by Yang Yi at home earlier was swept away. He generously took off his hat and handed it to the children, not forgetting to glance at Yang Yi.