Lin Taiping didn′t know what was so funny, nor did he care to find out.

  All he noticed was that the dim, dark room suddenly seemed to light up as if thousands of nterns had been lit.

  All the brightness seemed to radiate from one person. She wore coarse clothing and carried two baskets, following Guo Dalu as she stepped inside.

  Behind her were three others: one adult and two children. The children were neatly dressed, but the adult wore only a leopard skin around his body.

  These people were already quite a sight, but they weren′t the only ones. Besides them, there were also two dogs, a bundle of spears and swords, three or four gongs, and five or six bamboo poles.

  Wang Dong muttered, "I know he′s always wanted to compete with Yan Qi to see who′s more capable and who can bring back more things. But at least he could have spared him some dignity. There was no need to make him lose so badly."

  Yan Qi leaned against the door and smiled, "Even though he lost badly, he lost fair and square. I′ve gone out twenty times, and I′ve never brought back as much as he did in one trip."

  Guo Dalu grinned, "My friends might have sharp tongues, but they′re not bad people. Come on, I want you to meet someone. This young dy is—"

  The girl interrupted with a smile, "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Suan Meitang; this is my cousin, Fei Baozi, and these are my two little cousins, 'Xiao Linglong' and 'Xiao Jingang.'"

  (T/N: 酸梅汤; Suānméitāng, means Sour Plum Soup; 飞豹子; fēi bàozǐ, means Flying Leopard; 小玲珑; xiǎo línglóng, means liltle clever one; 小金刚; xiǎo jīngāng, means little diamond)

  "Fei Baozi"—who was he? There was no need for an introduction. Anyone who saw him would understand immediately.

  But those two children, on the other hand, looked almost identical. Both had rge, bright eyes, both wore their hair in high ponytails, and both had dimples when they smiled.

  And their dimples weren′t on opposite sides—both were on the right.

  Wang Dong couldn′t help but ask, “Which one of you is Xiao Linglong? And which one is Xiao Jingang?”

  The two children spoke in unison. “Guess!”

  Wang Dong blinked and said, “Xiao Jingang is next to Xiao Linglong, and Xiao Linglong is next to Xiao Jingang. Am I right?”

  The children giggled together. Then one of them suddenly ran over, leaned close to Wang Dong′s ear, whispered two sentences, and added with a mischievous grin, “That′s our secret! You can′t tell anyone.”

  Guo Dalu took the other child′s hand and asked, “Xiao Linglong is your older sister, right?”

  The boy shook his head. “No, she′s my younger sister.”

  Before he could even finish speaking, Xiao Linglong had already shouted, “Idiot! I knew boys were dumb. One little trick, and you fell for it.”

  Xiao Jingang′s face turned bright red as he retorted loudly, “Oh, so you′re smart? If you′re so smart, then why do you dress like a boy?”

  That was a sharp observation—women always look down on men, thinking they′re fools, yet at the same time, they can′t help but want to be men. That was, perhaps, the biggest contradiction of all.

  Lin Taiping had been staring at Suan Meitang all this time. Suddenly, he said, “These obviously aren′t your real names.”

  Suan Meitang sighed and replied wistfully, “People like us, making a living performing in the streets, have already lost all trace of our ancestors. What real names could we possibly have left?”

  Lin Taiping let out a sigh as well and said, “What′s so bad about traveling the world as a street performer? Some people wish they could, but they don′t even have the chance.”

  Suan Meitang gnced at him again and said, “It seems like you have a lot on your mind.”

  Guo Dalu suddenly interrupted her, saying, “This dude acts just like a girl.”

  Lin Taiping shot him a gre, his expression already starting to change.

  Suan Meitang quickly ughed and said, “Are you saying only girls can have worries? If that were true, wouldn′t men all be heartless fools?”

  Lin Taiping looked at her, his gaze filled with gratitude.

  Guo Dalu shrugged and said, “Even if men had no hearts, at least they′d still have stomachs.”

  Suan Meitang chuckled. “Now that you mention it, I almost forgot.”

  She set down her basket, lifted the paper covering it, tore off a drumstick for herself, and smiled. “Honestly, women′s appetites aren′t that much smaller than men′s. It′s just that sometimes we feel too embarrassed to eat as much.”

  Xiao Jingang said, “Then why do you never seem embarrassed?”

  Suan Meitang pyfully knocked him on the head with the drumstick. Xiao Jingang grabbed half a chicken and ran off. The monkey on the ground kept hopping around, and the two dogs barked excitedly.

  Wang Dong shook his head and muttered, “It′s been over ten years since this pce has been this lively.”

  Guo Dalu said, “Don′t worry, it′s going to stay lively for a few more days.”

  Wang Dong asked, “A few days?”

  Guo Dalu gazed at Suan Meitang's graceful figure and said, "For many days... I heard they′re on the lookout for somewhere to stay, so I′ve already rented them the row of five rooms at the back."

  Wang Dong nearly choked on the wine he had just sipped and asked, "How much is the rent?"

  Guo Dalu widened his eyes and said, "What do you take me for? A cheapskate? Would I ask them for rent? If it weren′t for me, guests like these wouldn′t even be invited in the first pce."

  Wang Dong stared at him for a long time before letting out a deep sigh and saying with a bitter smile, "I′m starting to understand less and less about this whole situation."

  Guo Dalu asked, "What situation?"

  Wang Dong replied, "Is this house yours or mine?"

  If there′s one thing in the world that can make a zy and slovenly man become diligent, it′s a woman.

  Early the next morning, while Wang Dong was still lying in his "cylinder," Guo Dalu had already gone to fetch water, and Lin Taiping was rummaging around the room.

  Wang Dong couldn′t help but ask, "What are you looking for?"