Mutated Tao

“Mom, this is delicious too. Try this; I brought it especially for you from the Great Liang.

“Oh, and here are some honey dates. I happened to see them on the way and thought they tasted good, so I bought you two pounds.

“Mom, do you like sour things? I brought you a jar of something sour too.”

Yang Xiaohai finally didn’t have to pretend anymore in front of his biological mother. He reverted to how a child his age should’ve been.

“Oh, and this too!” Yang Xiaohai handed a large bag of silver to his mother.

His mom replied, “Oh my, this is too much! No more, it’s enough!”

Yang Xiaohai became even more enthusiastic, as though he wanted to empty the entire carriage. After his mother stopped him, Yang Xiaohai finally ceased unloading things.

He started telling his mother about the hardships and longing he had experienced over the years. However, she was deaf and had a confused look, and she was clearly unable to hear much. This left Yang Xiaohai with a lot to say but no way to express it.

“Come, you just got home. You don’t know the family yet. Let me introduce them to you.” His mother stood up and pulled Yang Xiaohai towards the other boat people who had gathered around.

“Hello, Second Brother!” Yang Xiaohai greeted the man shorter than him.

Second Brother seemed more reserved and mumbled awkwardly, “Uh... Hey, you’re back? Have you eaten?”

“This is your Third Brother.”

Yang Xiaohai greeted him, “Hello, Third Brother.”

He seemed more mature compared to Second Brother. He patted Yang Xiaohai on the shoulder. “You’ve grown so big. Good to see you. You were as small as a chick when you were little.”

“This is your little sister. Her marriage has been arranged for after the new year, so you must come and celebrate as her brother.”

“Definitely.”

Aside from his immediate family, his mother introduced him to the surrounding boat people one by one. These were his numerous aunts and uncles.

Through her introductions, Yang Xiaohai realized that all the boat people he had encountered along the way were actually his relatives. The family hierarchy was also very confusing. He even had to call a girl younger than him as Grand Aunt.

Yang Xiaohai didn’t mind at all. On the contrary, he was delighted to know he wasn’t alone and had so many family members in the world.

After introducing the elders, his mother pulled him towards the back of the boat to introduce the younger generation.

“These two are your Second Brother’s kids, so they are your nephews,” she said and pointed to two children wearing only dudous.

The two nephews seemed fine apart from being a bit thin. However, the ropes that tied them up made Yang Xiaohai uncomfortable. It looked as if they were raising dogs rather than children.

Yang Xiaohai couldn’t help but glance at the three monkey kids near the carriage. They were also tied up similarly when he first met them.

“Mom, why are my nephews tied up?” Yang Xiaohai couldn’t help but ask.

However, his mother was deaf and couldn’t hear him. She continued to pull him along.

At this moment, Jiang Erlang came over to explain, “You’ve been on land too long to understand. We have to raise kids this way on the water. If they’re not tied up, they might fall into the water. That’s how your Second Uncle died.”

“Is that so? But surely they won’t be tied up forever, right?”

“Of course not. Once they are past the childhood age, they can go to the Dragon King Temple and burn incense. They will then be registered as dragon household members, and can be released.”

“Dragon household? What’s that?”

Jiang Erlang touched his scale tattoo and said, “Those like us are the dragon household, which is like registering in an ancestral hall on land.”

“Oh,” Yang Xiaohai said, nodding in understanding. The rules the boatman mentioned earlier had real reasons behind them.

“Dad! Guess who’s here? Fifth Brother is back!” His Second Brother’s voice sounded from the bow. Yang Xiaohai felt a sudden tension. Dad?

Yang Xiaohai and his mother returned to the bow, where he saw a stern old man. He looked a bit younger than Lu Zhuangyuan, with a thick neck and fish scale tattoos on his hands and body.

“...Dad?” Yang Xiaohai stepped forward nervously.

He saw his father jump over from the other boat, then rolled up his sleeve to check his faint birthmark.

The sleeve was rolled back down, and Yang Xiaohai’s father turned to the surrounding boat people and shouted, “Today, my Fifth Child is back! Great news! No one cooks tonight! The Chi family is hosting a water banquet!”

Amidst the boat people’s cheers, Yang Xiaohai felt moved as he looked at the small old man beside him. His nervousness disappeared instantly.

That night, Yang Xiaohai finally saw what a water banquet was like. The boats spread out and carved out a waterway.

Two small wooden boats laden with dishes moved back and forth along the edge of the waterway, allowing everyone to take food.

Perhaps because the boat people rarely went ashore, there weren’t many seasonings in their food. The dishes mainly consisted of various raw and blanched items.

There were also some dishes from the shore, which were consumed the fastest. These included the hard guokuis that Yang Xiaohai had used as rations on the road.

That night, Yang Xiaohai ate more fish than he had in his entire life. There were all kinds of fish and seafood he had never seen before.

Yang Xiaohai didn’t care what these things were and just stuffed them into his mouth. He felt nothing but joy.

He picked up a long sea snail, sucked from one end, then followed his Third Brother’s example and sucked from the other end. The meat from both ends tasted different, which gave a unique flavor.

He glanced at his father, who was drinking with his uncles in the cabin. Yang Xiaohai turned to his brother beside him. “Third Brother, I remember hearing that our family has four children. Where’s the other one?”

He remembered clearly that the old man had told him there were four siblings.

His Second Brother was eating a bloody shellfish. He answered, “We have an amazing older sister. Our family’s success is all thanks to her.”

“Our older sister was married as a child bride to a wealthy family and often sends money home. Otherwise, your Second Brother and I wouldn’t have been able to get wives.”

“Oh, I see.” Yang Xiaohai felt a bit disappointed since he had not met one family member on this trip back.

“Where does our sister live? I want to visit her,” Yang Xiaohai said, thinking he could make a detour if it wasn’t too far.

“No need! Our sister is coming home in a few days!” His little sister said.

The little girl had been slightly reserved, but she had warmed up to Yang Xiaohai when she saw that he was good-tempered.

His little sister continued, “She said she would bring me something too!”

Coming home? To avoid trouble? Yang Xiaohai thought to himself, as he was aware of the current situation in Hou Shu.