The next day, Qin Yi waited until his two older brothers woke up before getting out of bed. He went from being his mother's shadow to being a shadow following his two brothers. After breakfast, he went out to play with them.
When they reached the empty lot at the east end of the village, Wang Gensheng was already standing in the same spot as yesterday. Seeing Qin Yi, he waved excitedly:
"Da Tou, here, here!"
Qin Yi immediately left his two brothers behind and ran to Wang Gensheng:
"Gensheng, are we building the bamboo hut today?"
"Yes… but the bamboo hut from yesterday was destroyed during the fight," Wang Gensheng said a little sadly.
"No worries. This is perfect—we can build a better one together from scratch."
"Yeah, okay." Hearing this, Wang Gensheng was no longer sad; instead, he was filled with anticipation.
"How do we start?"
"First, we need some suitable materials. For the bamboo hut, we need qualified bamboo. For us, just find wooden sticks of similar thickness and length," Wang Gensheng said carefully, speaking each word deliberately.
"What counts as a suitable stick?"
"Hmm… I can't really explain. Let's look together. Once we find some, you can compare and pick the right ones," Wang Gensheng said, scratching his head.
"Alright." Qin Yi nodded in agreement.
It was normal for young Wang Gensheng to struggle with explanations.
The two ran to the northern part of the empty lot, close to the forest.
It was clear Wang Gensheng played here often and knew the area well.
After a few steps, he stopped, crouched down, picked up a branch from an unknown tree, stripped off the small leaves, removed the thin end, and handed it to Qin Yi:
"Just like this."
Qin Yi took it, measured its thickness—about the size of a grain of rice—and its length, roughly half an arm.
"I got it."
Seeing Qin Yi measure so carefully, Wang Gensheng scratched his head and said,
"Actually, you don't have to be that precise, as long as it's roughly right."
"Okay, then let's start."
The two bent over and began searching seriously.
"Gensheng, how about this one?" Qin Yi held up the first stick he found, feeling unsure. Wang Gensheng nodded:
"Yes, Da Tou, you're smart—every stick you pick is perfect."
Proudly, Qin Yi nodded:
"Isn't that obvious?"
Although Wang Gensheng thought something seemed off about that, seeing Qin Yi's expectant look, he still nodded firmly:
"Yes, right."
In less than half an hour, they had found three to four hundred suitable sticks.
Standing in front of the pile, Wang Gensheng said with joy,
"The preliminary work is done. Next, we prepare the rope. We don't need real hemp rope—it would be a waste. We can use this grass instead."
He handed the grass to Qin Yi:
"Try it. See? It's very tough, perfect for tying like a rope."
Qin Yi tested it and nodded:
"Really is. What kind of grass is this?"
Wang Gensheng scratched his head again:
"Ah, I don't know… it just works, that's all."
"How did you find it?"
"I tried all the grass in the lot and found this one," Wang Gensheng said matter-of-factly.
A little like Shennong testing herbs—impressive.
There was plenty of this grass around, and soon they collected enough.
"Then let's start." Wang Gensheng led Qin Yi back to their original spot, put down the sticks and grass, and said,
"First, we need a flat area. Look at this place—it's level and solid. Perfect. The grass is sparse, so it'll be quick to clear. Let's use it."
"Isn't this the same spot as yesterday?" Qin Yi asked, glancing around in confusion.
"Is it? Even better then! No need to fix the foundation, we can start building the hut directly."
Qin Yi felt Wang Gensheng was becoming more and more unreliable. Was it too late to regret this?
…
"The main sticks should be tied like this, so it will be sturdy."
"But won't there be gaps in between? What if it rains or is windy? Can people even live in a house like this?"
"Ah… I don't know. I'll ask my dad and tell you tomorrow."
"Okay."
Qin Yi lowered his head, practicing knots, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Wang Gensheng stand up and nervously asked,
"Da Shan, what are you doing?"
Hearing this, Qin Yi immediately stood, side by side with Wang Gensheng, and looked toward Da Shan.
However, Da Shan's hesitant expression didn't seem threatening.
Remembering his father's instructions from yesterday, Qin Yi tried speaking gently:
"Big brother Da Shan, is something wrong?"
Da Shan breathed a sigh of relief, knowing how to respond. He smiled broadly, patted his chest, and said loudly,
"From now on, Da Tou and Gensheng are my true little brothers. If anyone bullies you, come to me, I'll defend you."
Qin Yi smiled sincerely and nodded:
"That's great! Thank you, big brother Da Shan."
Having achieved his goal, Da Shan nodded with satisfaction and turned to leave.
Just then, Shuanzi and Zhuzi hurried over, looking nervous. Reaching them, they glanced at Da Shan who had done nothing and left, puzzled.
"Da Tou, did Da Shan do anything to you?"
Qin Yi explained with a smile:
"Nope, big brothers. Da Shan came to reconcile and said from now on, Gensheng and I are his little brothers. If we're bullied, he'll help us."
Shuanzi snorted:
"You only have two real older brothers. What kind of brother is he?"
Zhuzi agreed:
"Yeah! If Da Tou gets bullied, he doesn't need him to defend him. Hmph, annoying."
Qin Yi didn't argue and sent them off with a smile:
"I'm fine. You better go back, or your spots in the game will be gone."
Shuanzi and Zhuzi hurriedly looked back. Sure enough, someone was taking their spots, so they ran back quickly.
Wang Gensheng looked at the direction they ran and said enviously,
"It's great to have two older brothers."
Qin Yi knew Wang Gensheng's family situation. He was the only child. Three years ago, his mother had died in childbirth, and Wang Gensheng's father hadn't remarried.
Interestingly, after moving to Qinjia Village six months ago, the village matchmaker had not suggested a wife for Wang Gensheng, despite his good family and skills.
"Da Shan said he'll treat you as a true little brother, right? My dad also told us to treat you and Da Shan as true brothers. Now you'll have four brothers, right?"
Wang Gensheng nodded with a smile:
"Oh, that's right! I remember my dad telling me the same thing last night. So I'm never alone again. I have brothers now? Hehe…"
He ended with a silly giggle.
Watching Wang Gensheng, Qin Yi regretted it again.
He's so foolish—can he really teach me well?
Is it too late to regret now?
(End of Chapter)