Great Tang Idyll

er investigations that my biological parents were crushed under a coal mine and because I was only an infant, the compensation money was embezzled.
I didn’t hate then, either.
Because I had Grandpa Director.
He also held my hand to go eat liangfen.
He even left behind for me the hope to keep on living.
From then on, I knew that this world didn’t just have darkness and hatred but also warmth and love.”

“You, what kind of person are you?” Wang Juan had no way of reasonably pinpointing Zhang Xiaobao at this time.

“The same as you, someone who has resolve in their heart that is also full of contradiction.
This is ideals versus life.
No more talking.
I hear the sound of footsteps outside.
I hope that arriving will be my family.” Zhang Xiaobao suddenly turned his head as he spoke to look toward the doorway and at that young maiden who was still nodding off.

“How come I don’t hear it?” Wang Juan asked with even greater doubt.

“That’s why you guys couldn’t even catch me.” After answering with a sentence, Zhang Xiaobao stared without blinking at the door site.

“Yingtao,2 you’re slacking off again.
I see that you have a skin itch.”3After Wang Juan heard the footsteps, a voice rose in rebuke.

“No, no, Mistress.
I didn’t slack off.
Little Mister and Little Miss are sleeping.” The maiden fearfully stood up with a lowered head as she explained.

At this time, Zhang Xiaobao and Wang Juan both saw a woman under the age of 20 wearing a pink-dyed sash and green clothing standing in the doorway.
Perhaps this woman really didn’t want to punish the maiden or maybe she saw that the two children were looking over with wide eyes but she changed in expression from before.
Smiling, she briskly walked over in front of the couch as she fondly gazed at Wang Juan and Zhang Xiaobao.
That smile had no hint of pretense.

“Mom?” Zhang Xiaobao reacted first as he tentatively asked.

There was mayhem now.
The woman grabbed Zhang Xiaobao into a hug at once, excitedly asking the maiden behind her: “My Baolang can say Mom.
Yingtao, did you hear?”

“I heard, I heard.
Congratulations, Mistress.
Little Mister can say Mom.” Yingtao busied herself in agreement.
She could finally not need to worry about being punished.
This one word of Mom from Little Mister could pardon even a capital crime, not to mention the one of dozing off.

“Mom!” Seeing that it really was his biological mother he had encountered, Zhang Xiaobao excitedly used his fat little hands to touch the woman’s face before kissing her as he yelled out Mom again.

“Ai~! Xiaobao, it’s Mom.
My Xiaobao is so thoughtful.
Yingtao, go to the accounting room to get your reward.” Seeing her son like this, any anger the woman had completely disappeared.
To let others be happy along with her, Yingtao who had just been reprimanded could now be rewarded.

As she spoke, she took out a string of items from inside her sleeve and detached a small wooden piece from it to throw towards Yingtao.
Yingtao hastily caught it and upon looking at the wooden piece, was even happier.
This wooden piece could be used to exchange for a knife4 of pork meat that was enough for her family to eat well for several days.
Carefully hiding it away in her chest, she did not leave but stood to the side, waiting for any other orders.

“Mom~!” Zhang Xiaobao energetically kissed the woman again.
He originally wanted to say even more words to make his mother happy but he remembered his own age so he could only keep repeating the word Mom.

Seeing such a scene, Wang Juan didn’t know why but the big eyes under those long eyelashes were suddenly brimming full with tears.
And not knowing if it was out of pity for the experience of Zhang Xiaobao’s previous life or if she had been touched, she couldn’t help calling out: “Mom [in-law].”5

After speaking the two words with a bit of distortion because of the air whistling through her teeth, Wang Juan finally came to her senses.
How could she let herself be affected? At this moment, her mental defenses were actually not up.

Seeing how cooperative Wang Juan was being, Zhang Xiaobao wanted to follow up with a ‘Wife~’ to amuse his mother.
But upon seeing the obvious look of regret on Wang Juan’s face, he could only keep his own mouth shut.
He was afraid that once he finished speaking, Wang Juan would reply to him with a ‘Scram.’ There would be trouble then.

The woman had no presence of mind to see the exchange of looks between the two children at this time.
Her son could say Mom and her future daughter-in-law could call Mom [in-law] now, too.
Two children who originally couldn’t talk and in the blink of an eye were actually so smart—it excited her to the point where she didn’t know what was better to do.
So taking out another wooden piece on which ‘sheep’ was written, she readily threw it to Yingtao.

“Take this to trade for a sheep leg.
Go to the accounting room yourself to get it.
What did you hear just then?”

“In reply to Mistress, I heard it.
Congratulations, Mistress.
Felicitations, Mistress.
Little Mister can say Mom.
The Wang family’s Little Miss can even say Mom [in-law].
With Mistress’ arrival, the two children have grown smarter.” Yingtao knew that she was a special attendant to the two children.
The more the children pleased the adults, the greater her reward would be.
She didn’t think that the two babies who had never spoken before would suddenly become so intelligent.
Trembling as she took the wooden piece, she thought of using the sheep leg to trade for some cloth that could be used to make new clothing for her parents and younger brother.

“Come.
Mom will take you out to play.
Let them see our family’s Baolang and Juan-Juan.6 No family’s children are as good as my family’s.
Today, that group of mischievous children even sent over some toads.
Mom already had them use what was inside to be simmered in a porridge to let you two little guys have a taste.
Mom awarded everyone 20 chicken eggs.”

The woman used one hand to hold Zhang Xiaobao and the other to scoop up Wang Juan, smiling while she spoke as she walked outside.

Seeing how this lifetime’s mother had consecutively awarded the maid servant twice and even used a large amount of chicken eggs as a reward, Zhang Xiaobao could finally experience the status that a child had in a mother’s heart at this moment.
He nestled closely into his mother’s embrace, forgetting about his own mental age as he reached out with his little hand to dab Wang Juan’s delicate nose.
He didn’t even feel any pain when he got bitten.
There was basically no strength with such few amount of teeth.