The silver candlelight shines coldly on the painting screen in autumn, and the light silk fan flutters fireflies. The sky steps are as cool as water at night, and I lie down to watch the Altair and Vega stars. - Du Mu, "Autumn Eve"
This poem by Du Mu was almost tailor-made for Zhu Ping'an. After a good meal, Zhu Ping'an and Li Shu took the naughty child and the little girl to the courtyard to enjoy the cool air. In ancient times, there was no air conditioning, so people were used to enjoying the cool air in the courtyard at night.
The maids have laid out a mat on the floor in the courtyard. It looks like a bed but isn't, and is about 10 centimeters above the ground. It can be regarded as an ancient tatami. It is covered with mattresses, soft and skin-friendly mats, pillows, thin blankets and other bedding. The mat is more than two meters long, so naughty kids and little Lolita Niuniu can play and roll on it without worrying about falling off.
Li Shu had someone sprinkle sulfur powder in the courtyard to repel snakes, to prevent any ignorant little snakes from breaking into the courtyard.
There are several Boshan incense burners placed around the floor. The incense burners are shaped like fairy mountains in the sea. When the mosquito-repellent spices are lit, I don't know how the spices are made, part of the incense mist rises and lingers around Boshan, and part of the incense mist sinks down the mountain like a waterfall. The lower plate of the Boshan burner stores incense soup, and the incense mist flowing down the mountain flows into the incense soup, just like rippling waves in the sea.
Fruit plates, snacks and hot tea are naturally indispensable.
Li Shu embraced the little Loli, holding a small tortoise-shell stork feather fan in her hand, gently fanning the breeze, which was very warm and harmonious.
As for the people around him, there was some discord. Zhu Ping'an was suppressing the naughty kid, using the kid's belly as a pillow, crossing his legs, and looking leisurely and contented.
"You are a good gambler if you admit defeat."
Zhu Ping'an rested his head on the naughty kid's belly, stretched lazily, and praised the kid.
"I'm a man, so of course I'll do what I say." The naughty kid said arrogantly with his neck stretched out.
"Yeah, not bad." Zhu Ping'an curled the corners of his mouth and praised generously.
If you want the horse to run, you have to feed it grass.
"Give me another question. I'm sure I can answer it this time. Humph, when I answer it, it'll be my turn to sleep with your head resting on my head." The suppressed naughty child was once again full of fighting spirit.
"Well, okay. I feel embarrassed for resting my head on you for so long. I'll give you a simple question this time." Zhu Ping'an rested his head on the naughty child's belly, nodded with a slight smile, and said softly.
Upon hearing this, the little maid Baozi, Hua'er and others who were serving nearby couldn't help but giggle, covering their mouths. The son-in-law was going to ask another question... And he didn't seem embarrassed at all. He just looked very comfortable with his pillow, even crossing his legs.
"I don't need you to be simple, just give the questions quickly." The naughty child urged arrogantly and confidently.
"Let me think about it. OK, I got it. Listen carefully. Question: Why can frogs jump higher than trees?"
Zhu Ping'an touched his chin, listened to the faint sounds of frogs coming from all around, and couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips and asked the naughty child a question.
"Why can the frog jump higher than the tree? It's impossible. How can the frog jump higher than the tree? It's impossible at all." The naughty child was stunned after hearing the question. He repeated the question to himself, then shook his fat face hard, and the flesh on his face flickered.
"Brother-in-law, are you stupid? How can a frog jump higher than a tree?! Frogs can't fly!"
The naughty child shook his head vigorously, thinking that his brother-in-law must be stupid. Why did he come up with such an idiotic question? Everyone has seen a frog. A frog can't jump higher than my waist. How tall is the tree? It can't fly, so how can it jump higher than the tree
"Yeah, yes, son-in-law, how is it possible for a frog to jump higher than a tree?" The chubby little maid Hua'er nodded in agreement.
Hearing that the chubby little maid Hua'er agreed with him, the naughty kid became even more confident.
"Are you sure?" Zhu Ping'an narrowed his eyes and smiled slightly.
Hearing Zhu Ping'an's laughter, the naughty kid hesitated again, frowned and began to think hard again.
Thinking about
The naughty kid's eyes suddenly lit up, "I know, frogs jump while standing on the roof."
After saying that, the naughty kid became complacent, his little fat face was raised, as if the whole face was saying "I'm awesome, come and praise me".
"Well, really? Then see if the frog standing on the roof can jump higher than that tree?" Zhu Ping'an asked with a smile, pointing to a big tree opposite.
The tree is right behind the house, and its crown is two or three meters higher than the roof, creating a stark height contrast.
The naughty kid took a look and hung his head. Well, even if the frog stood on the roof, it couldn't jump higher than the tree.
Hua'er's chubby face wrinkled into a ball, and she fell into deep thought again like a naughty child.
Li Shu, who was standing by, looked at the naughty child who was thinking hard, her watery eyes curved into crescents. The little Loli Niuniu in her arms finally thought of the answer, and her big eyes looked at the little brother who was thinking hard with contempt.
"I know. Frogs jump while standing on the roof."
The naughty kid thought he had grasped the key point again, and shouted excitedly, his fat face brightening up again.
Phew...
Li Shu couldn't help but burst out laughing.
The little girl rolled her eyes helplessly at the little brother.
"No, that tree is much taller than the roof..." The naughty child caught a glimpse of a tall pine tree in the distance, which seemed to be much taller than the tallest building in the house. So he drooped his fat face again, and his face became wrinkled like a bitter gourd.
"Brother-in-law, you must have made a mistake. There is no way a frog can jump higher than a tree, even if it stands on the top of a mountain. There are tall trees on the mountain. Brother-in-law, you can't do this. If you give a wrong question, who can answer it?"
After thinking carefully for a moment, the naughty kid came to a definite conclusion. He squinted his eyes and looked down on Zhu Ping'an. He was very sure that his country bumpkin brother-in-law had made a mistake in the question and deliberately used this wrong question to deceive me. Fortunately, I discovered it.
"Did you make a mistake in the question?" Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly.
"Well, you must have made a mistake in the question." The naughty kid nodded repeatedly.
"Oh, then let me ask you, how high does a frog jump?" Zhu Ping'an asked.
"It's about this high." The naughty kid raised his little hand to indicate the height and said affirmatively.
"What about the big tree? How high can the big tree jump?" Zhu Ping'an asked again with a smile.
"Brother-in-law, you are stupid. How can a big tree jump?" The naughty kid looked at Zhu Ping'an with contempt.
"You are stupid. Big trees can't jump, so frogs must jump higher than big trees." Little Loli Niuniu rolled her eyes cutely, thinking that her little brother was so stupid that he was hopeless.
Upon hearing this, the chubby little maid Hua'er opened her mouth in sudden realization, and quickly stretched out her hand to cover her mouth to muffle the "ah" sound. Seeing that everyone's attention was focused on the naughty child, she breathed a sigh of relief. How could she not have thought of such a simple question? Fortunately, no one noticed, otherwise it would have been too embarrassing.
"A dancing competition? I should have thought of that earlier..."
After being despised by the little loli Niuniu, the naughty kid finally realized what was happening and scratched the hair on the back of his head in annoyance.