bookbashuk Chapter 65 An Unexpected Encounter on an Autumn Outing
Chapter 65 An Unexpected Encounter on an Autumn Outing
On the ninth day of the tenth lunar month, after the Double Ninth Festival, the autumn colors in Sichuan have deepened.
The children at Sunflower Kindergarten are going on an autumn outing to the countryside today. This is the first time in Xiao Qingyi's life that she has left her family to participate in a group outing. At 6:30 in the morning, she got out of bed by herself and put on the sportswear that her mother had prepared the night before—a pink sweatshirt with a little rabbit printed on the chest, paired with white sweatpants and pink sneakers.
"Is Yiyi nervous?" Ye Yier asked softly as she tied her hair into pigtails.
Xiao Qingyi shook her head, then nodded, her little hand tightly clutching the jade rabbit paperweight—she now habitually kept it in her small bag close to her body, as if it would give her courage. "A little bit... but Yiyi must be brave."
Her little backpack was bulging: a lunchbox prepared by her mother, a water bottle, wet wipes, and three fossilized seashells carefully wrapped in soft cloth. This was the "seabed from millions of years ago" she had promised to show the children.
Three buses were waiting at the kindergarten gate. Teacher Zhang stood by the bus door, calling out names one by one: "Wang Xiaoming!" "Here!" "Li Duoduo!" "Here!" "Li Qingyi!"
"Here!" Xiao Qingyi answered loudly, carrying her schoolbag as she boarded the bus. She chose a window seat, took the jade rabbit paperweight out of her bag, and held it in her palm.
The car started and slowly drove out of the city. The scenery outside the window gradually changed from high-rise buildings to fields and villages, with golden rice paddies shimmering in the autumn sun and distant mountains covered in colorful forests.
"Yiyi, look!" The little girl Duoduo sitting next to me pointed out the window, "So many birds!"
Xiao Qingyi looked in the direction she was pointing and saw a flock of geese flying south in a V-formation. She suddenly remembered the poem Li Chengqian had taught her and blurted out, "Geese fly south, a fine autumn day."
Duo Duo looked at her in surprise: "Yi Yi can recite poems?"
"It was the Crown Prince who taught me," Xiao Qingyi said, then realized she had let something slip and quickly added, "It was...it was the older brother in my dream who taught me."
The world of children is full of imagination, which Duoduo found strange. Instead, she said enviously, "The brother in your dream is so nice; he can even teach poetry. In my dreams, there are only big monsters."
The atmosphere in the car gradually became lively. Teacher Zhang stood up and led the children in singing nursery rhymes. Little Qingyi also sang along, her voice still young but exceptionally earnest.
An hour later, the bus stopped at Nanshan Park in the suburbs. There was a wide open grassy area, several tall ginkgo trees that cast golden leaves all over the ground, and a small stream that flowed by.
"Children, we've arrived!" Teacher Zhang clapped her hands. "Today we're going to have a picnic, play games, and observe nature here. But remember the rules—you can't leave the group alone, you can't go near the water, you can't…"
The children shouted in unison, "Don't run around!"
During the group activity, Xiao Qingyi, Duoduo, and Wang Xiaoming were grouped together. Their task was to "collect five different kinds of leaves." The three little ones took their small baskets and carefully searched the grass and bushes.
"This! Ginkgo leaves look like fans!" Xiao Qingyi picked up a golden ginkgo leaf.
"This is a maple leaf, it's red!" Wang Xiaoming proudly held it up.
Duoduo found a heart-shaped leaf and smiled happily.
As the small basket gradually filled up, Xiao Qingyi suddenly noticed something moving in the grass not far away. Curious, she walked over and parted the grass—it was an injured little bird, its wings drooping, shivering.
"The little bird is hurt!" she whispered.
Duoduo and Wang Xiaoming also came over. When the little bird saw people, it flapped its wings in fear but couldn't fly.
"Shall we call him teacher?" Wang Xiaoming said.
Xiao Qingyi shook her head. She gently squatted down and said in the gentlest voice, "Little bird, don't be afraid, we won't hurt you." She took out a small handkerchief from her pocket and carefully picked up the little bird. The little bird trembled in her palm, but seemed to sense the kindness and gradually calmed down.
Teacher Zhang rushed over upon hearing the news and was somewhat surprised to see what had happened: "Yiyi is so brave. We'll hand it over to the park rangers; they'll take care of it."
Xiao Qingyi nodded, but was reluctant to let go. She remembered how everyone had taken such good care of her sister Sizi when she was sick. She whispered to the little bird, "You must get better soon so you can fly back to the sky to find your friends."
During the picnic, Xiao Qingyi opened the lunchbox her mother had prepared—the rice was shaped like a little bear, accompanied by carrots, broccoli, chicken nuggets, and a few cherry tomatoes. The children sat together, exchanging food.
"Yiyi, your mom's cooking looks so good!" Duoduo said enviously.
Xiao Qingyi generously offered her a cherry tomato: "My mom cooks so well. But..." She thought of the exquisite pastries from the Tang Dynasty, "The pastries my grandma made were even better; they were shaped like flowers and little animals."
"What grandma?" Wang Xiaoming asked, his mouth full of food.
Xiao Qingyi paused for a moment, then said, "It's...it's the grandma from my dream."
The children were very interested in the topic and began to share their amazing experiences in their dreams. As Xiao Qingyi listened, she suddenly realized that she might not be the only child with "special dreams".
After lunch, it was free time. Xiao Qingyi took out the three fossilized seashells from her schoolbag and carefully spread them out on a soft cloth.
"Look, this is the seabed from millions of years ago," she said earnestly. "These seashells were alive back then, swimming in the sea. Later... later they turned into stone."
Duo Duo's eyes widened: "Really? How did you know?"
"Brother Tai told me," Xiao Qingyi said. "Brother Tai knows a lot. He's compiling a very impressive book that will record all the places in the Tang Dynasty."
"What is the Tang Dynasty?" Wang Xiaoming asked.
Xiao Qingyi thought for a moment: "It's a... wonderful place. There I have my loving father and mother, my elder brother the Crown Prince, my elder brother Tai, and many older sisters. They are all so good to me."
Her eyes sparkled when she spoke of the Tang Dynasty. Although the children couldn't understand words like "Father Emperor" or "Crown Prince," they could feel the warmth and joy in her words.
"Yiyi's dream is so interesting," Duoduo said, resting her chin on her hand. "I want to have a dream like that tonight too."
Xiao Qingyi smiled and carefully put away the fossilized seashell. She suddenly missed the great families of the Tang Dynasty, the fragrance of flower tea in the Lizheng Hall, the swings in the East Palace Garden, and the gentle voice of Sister Wu when she taught her to write.
During afternoon playtime, Teacher Zhang organized the children to play "Eagle Catches Chicks." Xiao Qingyi was chosen as the "mother hen" to protect the "chicks" behind her. She spread her arms and tried her best to stop Wang Xiaoming, who was playing the "eagle." Although she was panting heavily, she managed to keep a single "chick" from being caught.
After the game, Teacher Zhang patted her head and said, "Yiyi is very responsible and protected the other children very well."
Xiao Qingyi wiped the sweat from her forehead and said earnestly, "Because I'm the older sister. My brother, the Crown Prince, said that older sisters have to protect their younger brothers and sisters."
Teacher Zhang smiled: "Your brother, the Crown Prince, teaches very well."
As the sun set, the autumn outing came to an end. The children boarded the bus one after another. Xiaoqing sat by the window, holding a basket full of leaves and her jade rabbit paperweight in her arms. As the bus started moving, she looked back at the receding Nanshan Park, a strange feeling welling up in her heart—just like every time she left Tang Dynasty, a little reluctant to leave, yet also looking forward to the next meeting.
Back at the kindergarten gate, the parents had been waiting for a long time. Ye Yier saw her daughter get out of the car, her little face flushed from the sun, but her smile was brighter than the sunshine.
"Mommy!" Xiao Qingyi rushed over, "Today was so much fun! Yiyi protected the little birds and even acted as a mother hen! The other children also loved Yiyi's seashells!"
She chattered on about her day's experiences, and Ye Yier listened patiently, her heart filled with tenderness. Even after getting in the car, little Qingyi was still saying, "Mommy, Yiyi wants... wants to take her kindergarten friends to the Tang Dynasty. Is that okay?"
Ye Yi'er was taken aback, then said gently, "That's Yi Yi's special dream, you can't take anyone else there. But Yi Yi can tell the story from her dream to the other children."
"Yes!" Xiao Qingyi nodded vigorously. "Yiyi wants to draw lots of pictures, drawing Father Emperor, Mother Empress, Crown Prince, Prince Wei, and all my sisters, to show to the other children!"
That evening, Xiao Qingyi actually started drawing. She used crayons to draw Li Shimin in a dragon robe, Empress Zhangsun in a phoenix skirt, Li Chengqian in a purple robe, and Li Tai in a blue robe, as well as princesses in skirts of various colors. Although her brushstrokes were immature, she captured the characteristics of each person—Li Shimin's majesty, Empress Zhangsun's gentleness, Li Chengqian's composure, and Li Tai's scholarly air.
Ye'er looked at the paintings, her heart filled with emotion. Her daughter was connecting two worlds in her own way.
What Xiao Qingyi didn't know at that moment was that on the very day of her autumn outing, undercurrents were surging in Jiangnan during the Tang Dynasty.