Chapter 308: Datou Suddenly Grows Clingy
Wen Yao’s sudden gasp startled both Old Madam Luo and Old Man Wen.
“What’s wrong now?” Old Man Wen asked with a shudder, terrified that Wen Yao had forgotten something critical or was about to start making another batch of new contraptions.
With all these piled-up matters occurring one after another, Wen Yao had completely forgotten about extracting oil.
“Earlier, you mentioned that every household could plant beans. In our village, except for the fields planted with sweet potatoes and regular potatoes, all the other land was sown with beans. If we can’t use up such a massive amount of beans, what are we going to do?” Old Man Wen remarked.
Wen Yao wasn’t worried in the slightest now: “Grandpa, just put your heart at ease in your belly! Never mind not being able to use them up—I’m even worried we won’t have enough! Grandma’s workshop needs quite a lot, and her soybean paste has to be sent to the capital now too.”
At the mention of this, Old Madam Luo’s spine straightened instantly, and she cast a look filled with pride at Old Man Wen.
Old Man Wen grunted twice in sheer defeat. With no other choice, the money his old wife was earning now far surpassed his, so he didn’t dare act stubborn either.
Preoccupied with thoughts of the oil press, Wen Yao didn’t linger at the old compound, heading back home with Datou and Nanny Shi.
The moment she reached home, Wen Yao ducked straight into the study, purchasing a book regarding oil presses from her spatial storage to begin studying it.
Having finished washing up, Datou saw the light in the study still burning and ran over.
Right now, only he and his sister were left at home. Though Datou had grown accustomed to the days without his eldest brother and father around, he still couldn’t help missing them much of the time.
Seeing Wen Yao still in the study at this hour, he wanted to come keep her company.
“Sister,” Datou pushed the door open gently, poking his small head in as he called out.
Wen Yao instinctively wanted to hide the book, but seeing it was Datou, she set it back down on the desk and beckoned to him.
Datou ran inside with pitter-patter steps, not forgetting to shut the study door behind him.
Reaching the desk, he saw that Wen Yao was reading.
Datou was long unfazed by Wen Yao’s books. Although they differed slightly from the books at the academy, he had been reading these exact types of books ever since he learned to read, so he didn’t find anything amiss about it.
“Sister, what are you reading?” Datou climbed onto the stool beside Wen Yao, looking curiously at the opened page of the book, which happened to explain the principles of extracting oil with an oil press.
Tilting his head, Datou asked, “Extracting oil? Sister, can oil be extracted from beans too?”
Picking up the book to continue reading, Wen Yao answered as she read, “That’s right. Not just soybeans, but the sunflower seeds and peanuts our family grew can be used too! There are also rapeseed seeds and sesame. Look, isn’t it written right here?”
Wen Yao pointed to the column listing materials suitable for oil extraction, where those several items were clearly recorded.
“Wow.” Datou wore a face full of wonder. The sister and brother huddled their heads together to continue reading. Having thoroughly studied the working principles of the oil press, Wen Yao wanted to sketch out the blueprint.
“Sister, I’ll grind the ink for you!” Datou volunteered enthusiastically. Though he was barely as tall as the desk, he still tried his best to help out.
Wen Yao gave his small cheek a pinch and pulled out her charcoal pencil.
“Brush pens aren’t easy to draw with—I’ll use a charcoal pencil instead. You can play off to the side, or grab a sheet of paper to draw along with me if you like,” Wen Yao said as she began tracing the diagram.
Modern oil presses operated mechanically. Fortunately, this book recorded the entire evolutionary process of the oil press, ranging from the earliest primitive version to the later mechanical versions. However, Wen Yao kept the later pages hidden away, leaving only the primitive design; otherwise, explaining what mechanical operation meant to Datou would take quite an effort.
Leaning over the desk, Wen Yao traced the blueprint until Nanny Shi came over holding an oil lamp. Seeing the sister and brother still busy at work, she couldn’t help but advise, “Miss, Young Master, the hour is late. It is time to rest. The Young Master still has school tomorrow.”
Taking a look, Wen Yao realized it was indeed very late. Pausing her pencil, she shot Datou a glare: “Off to sleep with you.”
Datou didn’t budge his rear end in the slightest: “Sister, aren’t you sleeping?”
“I’ll wait a bit. I’ll sleep once I finish drawing. Go sleep right now,” Wen Yao said.
Unmoved, Datou sat on the stool dangling his small feet, saying to Nanny Shi, “Nanny, I’ll wait for Sister so we can go together.”
Wearing a troubled expression, Nanny Shi looked at Wen Yao: “Miss, look at this…”
With no alternative, Wen Yao could only lay her pencil down, knowing she wouldn’t finish drawing anytime soon anyway, so she compromised.
“Fine, fine, fine. Come on, off to sleep.” Wen Yao packed her things up and led Datou outside by the hand.
Datou allowed her to hold his hand, hopping along cheerfully. Reaching his room door, however, he didn’t step inside, but looked up at Wen Yao with his head tilted: “Sister, can I sleep with you today?”
His large eyes blinked, looking exceedingly pitiable.
Only now did Wen Yao sense that his mood was somewhat off, asking, “What’s wrong?”
Lowering his head, Datou said softly, “I miss Dad and Big Brother.”
A wave of sadness hit Wen Yao unexpectedly as well—never mind Datou, even she missed Wen Xiuyi and Wen Jun.
This feeling of a family being separated was truly unpleasant to endure.
At this thought, Wen Yao held Datou’s hand and bypassed his room entirely, heading straight toward her own room, saying to Nanny Shi as they walked, “Nanny, you go rest. I’ll take Datou to sleep with me today.”
“Yes, Miss.” Nanny Shi curtsied, handed the lit lantern in her hand to them, and returned to her own room.
Lying on the bed at bedtime, Datou nestled close to Wen Yao and spoke up suddenly: “Sister, will you leave home in the future too?”
Wen Yao froze for a moment, turning her head to look at him: “Why do you ask that all of a sudden?”
Yet Datou looked at her, suddenly leaning closer to hug Wen Yao’s arm, resting his head on her shoulder as he murmured softly, “I really like Dad, Big Brother, and Sister. Let’s not separate as a family, okay?”
This out-of-the-blue sentence left Wen Yao utterly perplexed, assuming Datou was suffering from separation anxiety just like her, missing their father and big brother.
Patting him gently time after time, Wen Yao coaxed, “We like Datou very much too. Our family will never be separated.”
As the sound of breathing beside her gradually stabilized, Wen Yao carefully slipped her arm out from Datou’s embrace. Watching his movements and seeing that he hadn’t woken up, she carefully climbed off the bed, walked to the outer room, lit the oil lamp, and brought out the blueprint and book to finish drawing the final section.
The next morning, Datou woke up in Wen Yao’s bed. He froze for a second before recalling what had happened the previous day. Noticing that Wen Yao wasn’t on the bed, Datou—for reasons unknown—swiftly put on his clothes and shoes, running outside.
It was only when he saw Wen Yao’s busy figure in the kitchen that he came to a halt, staring blankly at her bustling form.
“Young Master, you are awake! Why didn’t you call for this servant?” Nanny Shi hurriedly emerged from the kitchen.
“Good morning, Nanny,” Datou called out, then trotted into the kitchen on his little feet, clinging to the edge of the stove just as he used to, watching Wen Yao prepare breakfast.
The only difference was that previously he had been so small and thin that he wasn’t even as tall as the stove, whereas now he could see the contents of the pot clearly without even standing on tiptoes.
