Chapter 9 - Village Life (1/2)
When Hei entered the house, he could immediately notice the warm atmosphere that was perceived inside.
Although Lei Lei and Lei Bai's abode was humble and without luxurious decorations, you could immediately see the love they had for their home and how they cared for it.
It was kept so well that, although there were few pieces of furniture, it didn't give a feeling of poverty but instead of neatness and harmony thanks to the various flower vases probably placed by Lei Lei.
The house consisted of a single floor: at the entrance, there was a large room that served at the same time as a dining room and a kitchen; at the bottom, there were two bedrooms used by the father-daughter couple and a separate room used by Lei Bai for his work.
In the large room, there was a wooden table with some chairs around it. Placed on the table, it could be seen a pot of freshly made congee and a bowl and two chopsticks placed untidily on the table. Some of the congee on the bowl had even fallen on the table.
Seeing this, Lei Lei couldn't help puffing and complaining to her father, ”Dad, you dropped the congee on the table and got it dirty. Why didn't you pay attention?! Then I am the one that has to clean it up.”
”Sorry, Lei, it is that as soon as I heard your scream, I immediately ran outside to check if you were okay. So I hurriedly put down the bowl that was then turned upside down.”
Feeling that it was partly her fault, Lei Lei didn't continue. Taking a breath, she began cleaning and tidying up the table so that Hei and his father could have breakfast.
Hei, who until now had remained silent, was attracted by the smoldering white thing on the table that was emitting a pleasant smell. He didn't exactly know what it was, but the scent made his stomach growl.
With curiosity, he approached and asked, ”What is this white thing?”
Since Lei Lei was busy arranging the table, it was Lei Bai who answered. ”It's called congee, a dish made with rice after a long cooking in water. Haven't you ever heard of it?”
”Uhmm... actually, it's the first time I've seen or heard about it.”
”Really? But it's such a popular dish. What do you usually eat for breakfast?”
”For breakfast? Let's see, meat, fish, insects, and occasionally harvested fruit.”
At the mention of the word insects, Lei Lei gave a little cry of surprise as her father laughed out loud. They certainly didn't expect Hei to have this kind of taste.
”You have a strong stomach, kid! Good, good, as I always say: if it doesn't give you a stomach ache, then it's edible.”
”Daddy, what are you teaching him? What if he starts eating weird things because of you, ugh. I already have to put up with you carrying horrible things to eat from time to time.”
Seeing them discussing so cheerfully between them, Hei thought about the little squabbles with Ye and Xing and how sometimes they teased their mother to amuse her, although it couldn't be too serious as a prank.
There wasn't much difference between his family and the family formed by Lei Lei and Lei Bai, so he also became infected with the cheerful atmosphere and burst out laughing.
At this, the father and daughter couple stopped arguing to watch Hei. They had been surprised by Hei's candid laughter that seemed to contain a pure, uncontaminated joy. This made them both smile and, once they had finished arranging the table, they invited Hei to sit down.
Lei Lei had prepared two bowls full of congee and two small plates also containing congee. She didn't know if Hei's beasts could eat it, but she wanted to make up for the misunderstanding in some way. So she had prepared a dish for them just in case.
”Come and eat Hei, it's better to finish it while it's still hot. I don't know if they can eat it, but I've prepared a portion for your little spider and your little snake.”
Due to her daughter's concern, Lei Bai couldn't help but be proud of her. Lei Lei was a kind and benevolent girl. Every day she tried to help him with their expenses by growing plants and helping him to pick mushrooms and fruits when they went to the forest. She was his pride, and every day, she looked more and more like her mother.
Discovering that Xing and Ye had also been included, Hei immediately sat down and pulled his two little sisters out of their hiding place. All this time, they had remained to observe, but now that they had seen the concern for them, they decided to come out.
At that point, the three of them, together with Lei Bai, started eating. Lei Lei had already eaten, and she wasn't hungry yet, so she didn't eat with them. But she sat with them anyway to watch that strange show and to help Hei how to use chopsticks, making her father laugh even further. After all, he had always eaten with his hands until now, so he wasn't used to eat with chopsticks
Although he didn't show it, since her mother's death, her father had always had a somewhat melancholy air about him. Although she did her best to help him, she hadn't been able to eliminate all traces of that melancholy. However, perhaps because of his sincere appearance or his unusual behavior, Hei had managed to eradicate that melancholy momentarily.
Only this was enough for Lei Lei to be grateful to that strange child who appeared today.
Once they had finished eating, the eaters sighed in satisfaction: the congee had warmed their whole body, and it left a good taste inside them. Even Ye and Xing, who preferred to eat meat, had found the meal of their liking.
At this point, Lei Bai stopped Lei Lei and said, ”Leave it to me, I clean it up here. You go with Hei around the village, don't worry.”
Despite pretending not to notice, he knew that Lei Lei was doing her best to make up for the emptiness left by her mother. Because of this, he wanted to use Hei's arrival to give his daughter some free time and lighten her duties.
Seeing that her daughter insisted on cleaning herself, Lei Bai picked her up and put her out the door. Then he motioned for Hei to come out and closed the door behind them.
”I won't open the door until lunchtime, so it is useless to insist. Accompany Hei on his tour and have fun.”
Disoriented but at the same time amused by her father's strange behavior today, Lei Lei couldn't help but smile and do as her father had said.
”Okay, then. But you prepare the lunch. We certainly can't look bad when we have guests today.”
Once this was said, Hei and Lei Lei started their tour of the village.
The Leaf Village was a village consisting mainly of houses that also served as a place of work for crafts such as blacksmiths and other similar jobs that required a forge or a personal laboratory.
The focal point was the central square that housed the market where people could sell their products on stalls set up during the day. These were mostly used to sell food since it wasn't convenient to transport bulky goods to the market every day or to accept requests for items that required special services such as repairs and more.
In addition to the market, there was also the village chief house. There, the most important inhabitants gathered to discuss how to manage the village.
Although it wasn't comparable to a city, Leaf Village had still about 1000 inhabitants that needed someone impartial and educated to take care of disagreements between villagers or to decide maneuvers about the economy.