Song Tan’s Chronicle - Chapter 10

Song Tan’s grandfather, Song Youde, was a genuine old farmer, now 79 years old.

He had a lung condition and often had trouble breathing, so he hadn’t done much work in recent years.

His daily routine included tending to his vegetable garden and playing cards with a group of old men in the village. He had an old smoking pipe that was rare in the area. Every year, people would come to collect the old tar from his pipe to treat sores.

His grandmother, Wang Lifeng, was strong and healthy, and a great cook. She kept the family vegetable garden neat and tidy, and every year people from the village came to exchange seedlings with her.

She was truly the pillar of the Old Song family.

When Song Tan left the courtyard and walked past the vegetable garden, she saw an old red brick house standing at the foot of the mountain. The yard at the front door was paved with cement, with an osmanthus tree in the corner under which a few chickens were sunbathing and scratching the dirt.

Guarding the gate was a very fierce big white goose. It had been squatting at the gate corner, but when it saw people approaching, the tuft of goose-yellow feathers on its head bobbed visibly.

It stared with round little eyes, flapping its wings and waddling towards them while honking loudly.

Behind her, Little Qiao also spread his arms and rushed forward, shouting, “Honk! Honk! Big White, here I come!”

Then, he skillfully squatted down.

Like two old friends, they hugged each other.

Little Qiao’s arms were around the goose’s long neck, and the goose’s wings were around his back—it was a deep bond!

Song Tan was speechless.

This kind of “human and nature” moment left her without words.

Grandma Wang Lifeng came out of the kitchen and was very happy to see Song Tan: “Tan Tan, when did you come back?”

Then she looked at Little Qiao: “Qiao Qiao, don’t let Big White get your sweater dirty.”

Little Qiao looked up and responded, “Honk!”

The clever goose also raised its head and echoed, “Honk!”

Wang Lifeng laughed heartily: “This child… Tan Tan, have you eaten? Grandma will get you some cookies.”

Song Tan quickly went over: “I came back last night, and I went to town this morning. I haven’t eaten yet.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Lifeng hurried even more: “I’ll get you some more food!”

This was exactly the effect Song Tan wanted—since the food was expired, it was better to deal with it quickly!

She looked around the yard. Her grandparents were diligent people, and the place was clean and tidy, with only a few chickens in the corner.

With a thought, she squatted down, and a small grain of spiritual energy gathered at her fingertip. As soon as it appeared, Little Qiao’s best friend, Big White, immediately abandoned him, flapping its wings and rushing over at top speed!

Its flat feet slapped on the cement ground, its yellow-capped head stretched forward eagerly.

Not only Big White, but also the five sunbathing chickens in the dirt pit went crazy, running towards Song Tan. The leading rooster’s shiny neck feathers stood up, and its red comb quivered with the intensity of a battle!

Even Little Qiao was astonished, his mouth wide open.

Song Tan thought this was bad—she knew spiritual energy was good for farming and raising animals, but she didn’t expect it to be this attractive!

If they all rushed at her, her clothes would be ruined!

She quickly withdrew her hand, but the flock was already unstoppable!

Just then, she felt a cool breeze sweep past the back of her head. A large broom swept across, scattering the charging chickens and goose, causing them to flap and squawk in a mess, finally calming down.

Wang Lifeng took a breath: “I just fed them cabbage, why are they so crazy!” She worried, “This scare might stop them from laying eggs for a couple of days.”

Song Tan felt a bit guilty.

But Wang Lifeng just grumbled a bit. Seeing her increasingly pretty granddaughter and Little Qiao, she was filled with joy:

“Come, come, these are cookies your aunt bought me. Eat more!”

Probably fearing they wouldn’t have enough to eat, she filled half a plastic bag with cookies. Song Tan thought, with this, at least half of Grandma’s expired food stock was cleared!

Little Qiao happily tried to open the bag, and Song Tan didn’t stop him. She just took the bag and gave Little Qiao a cookie: “Qiao Qiao, give one to your big brother goose.”

The expiry date was glaringly clear, showing it had expired last September.

Little Qiao happily agreed: “Okay!”

Both siblings, intentionally or not, ignored the pain on Wang Lifeng’s face.

Her grandson was silly, and she felt bad for the cookies, but there was nothing she could do. She looked at Song Tan:

“You’ve lost some weight. Is work in the province okay? How long are you staying this time?”

Song Tan didn’t hide the truth but chose her words carefully: “Grandma, I’m back this time to take care of my health, so I might rest for a while. When I start planting vegetables, you have to help me!”

Wang Lifeng understood this as her granddaughter wanting to stay home for a while. She thought young people didn’t really know how to farm, and just found it interesting.

She laughed loudly: “Of course, my granddaughter planting vegetables! I’ll definitely help you!”

In a few days, though, she wouldn’t find it so amusing.

Song Tan looked around: “Where’s Grandpa?”

Wang Lifeng thought for a moment: “Probably at the village square playing cards. His card game is almost out of style; it’s hard to find enough people…”

A group of trembling old men played for a dollar a game, nodding off as they played…

Wang Lifeng was happy to have him out of the house.

“He picks and nags at home,” she said, pretending to dislike him.

In reality, the old couple had been together for decades. They met when Song Youde was seven or eight, herding cows for a landlord. Their bond was deep.

Song Tan wandered around, seeing Little Qiao squatting with Big White: “Big White, eat a big piece… How is it? Sweet? It’s a milk cookie.”

“I’ll eat a small piece…”

Song Tan didn’t stop him, though she noted he was experienced in eating these expired treats.

She then looked through the plastic bag. It was filled with various cookies and candies, all expired, some as far back as the year before last.

She picked out an oat cookie, remaining silent for a long time. Not even the goose deserved this.

However, she did take a liking to Big White.

Such a loud honker, brave and sensitive—it was the farthest from her when she used spiritual energy but reacted the fastest! Perfect for watching over the house and pigs.

When the pigsty on the hillside was done, she’d borrow Big White as a pig shepherd!

Paired with two big yellow dogs, as the poem says, “Leading with yellow, supporting with blue,” it would be quite the scene!

Few people in the village raised geese because they ate a lot and were noisy… Their loud honks could be heard over the hills, genuinely disturbing the peace.