The youngest son, ready to be pushed along the ice by his father, had already squatted down and assumed his stance.

Zhang Xin pulled him up and said.

"The ice here isn't smooth, we can't skate very far, let's find another spot."

After walking a few steps, he saw another ice hole surrounded by bricks, with the water he had scooped out while fishing frozen into a ring of icicles.

That hole is big enough for someone to fall into.

"Third son, squat down. Dad will push you to go ice skating."

The youngest son squatted down happily; it was finally his turn.

Zhang Xin spotted the direction and accelerated, pushing the child forward. The third child was like a wild horse, quickly being pushed towards the ice floe.

With a splash, the person disappeared above the ice hole, leaving only a hand sticking out.

"We've succeeded! We've finally succeeded. Once we've got the first one, we'll get the second. This time we have to be ruthless and not be soft-hearted."

Zhang Zhicheng ran over like a madman. When he reached the ice hole, only the top of his third brother's head was above water, with his little hand sticking out.

He reacted quickly, grabbed his third brother's hand, and pulled him out of the water through gritted teeth.

Fortunately, the third brother was wearing a cotton-padded coat, which kept him afloat for a while; otherwise, he would have sunk quickly.

Before the third brother could recover from the shock, his eldest brother pulled him out of the water, made him spit out a mouthful of water, and he immediately burst into tears.

Several children saw this and quickly ran over, leaving Zhang Xin standing motionless in the distance.

"That damn boss, he always ruins things. I forgot that I'm not taking him out to play today. He and Ge Qiuqin will stay at home."

That way, I could easily throw all three kids into the ice hole today. The eldest was too old to kill easily, but unexpectedly, he'd become a stumbling block to my plan. Damn it!

"Dad, come quick! Third brother has fallen into the water!"

Zhang Zhicheng sat on the ice with his younger brother in his arms, and turned back to shout to his father in the distance. He didn't know why his father was so far away and didn't hurry over to see his brother who had fallen into the water.

He shouted a few times at the top of his lungs.

Zhang Xin frowned and jogged over, pulling Zhang Zhicheng away.

Zhang Zhicheng swung his arm too hard and fell onto the ice, scraping his palm.

He didn't know why his father was so angry. Was it because he was too slow in rescuing his younger brother?

Although he was in pain, he remained silent.

"Brother, your hand is cut."

The fourth brother ran to his eldest brother's side and said something when he saw his bleeding hand.

Zhang Zhicheng quickly covered his sister's mouth, signaling her to stop talking or she might anger their father and get beaten.

Seeing her older brother's actions, the younger sister finally fell silent. She took out the handkerchief her mother had prepared for her from her pocket, tied it around Zhang Zhicheng's palm, and gestured for him to put his hand in his pocket.

"Damn it, I brought you guys out to play and you didn't even keep an eye on things. You just fell into the water by accident."

Zhang Xin cursed as he pulled his third son to his feet. His youngest son was soaking wet, his clothes sticking to the ice. As he stood up, the sound of his clothes pulling against the ice filled the air.

It made a crackling sound.

The third brother was terrified. The moment his nose was submerged in water, he held his breath and prevented water from entering his nasal cavity.

But the water was really cold, bone-chillingly cold, like needles piercing your skin.

It felt like his aunt and grandmother were pricking him with needles; painful memories flooded his little head.

"Don't cry, or I'll kick you to death."

Zhang Xin stood up and kicked the third brother in the buttocks twice.

The third brother was kicked and staggered forward a few steps before collapsing onto the ice.

The wind was really hurting him; his little hands were purple and red, and the wet droplets stuck his skin to the ice. Afraid that his father would beat him again, he gritted his teeth and dared not make a sound.

He knelt up with a great effort, and a layer of skin was scraped off his palms.

Despite the excruciating pain, he remained silent.

When Zhang Zhicheng saw his younger brother fall, he quickly ran over to him.

She took off her own clothes and wrapped them around her younger brother.

This is a new outfit that Ge Qiuqin bought for him for the New Year. He is reluctant to get it dirty or wear it carelessly.

But the situation was urgent, and no piece of clothing was more important than my brother's safety.

"Don't cry, third brother, your big brother will protect you. Let's go home."

Zhang Xin glared at his youngest son, who hadn't been killed by him, and felt a surge of anger. This eldest son was a jinx, just like his mother.

It's so damn unlucky to deliberately ruin my plans.

"Alright, stop crying. You're never having any fun, all you do is cry. Pack up and go home. Eldest, you carry your little brother and walk back, you two follow behind."

Zhang Xin was afraid that his youngest son's wet clothes would get his own dirty, so he simply had his eldest son hold him.

She led two other children behind her.

Zhang Zhicheng gritted his teeth; he was freezing. His younger brother, wrapped in a cotton-padded coat, was shivering uncontrollably in his arms.

I was wearing a sweater, and the cold wind was blowing, making my scalp tingle.

But he dared not utter a sound, for fear that his father would beat him again.

Zhang Xin followed behind, secretly wishing he could take advantage of his eldest son's inattention and push his fourth son into the ice hole.

On the way back, the ice surface was full of holes that hadn't frozen over, and he regretted not having played there earlier.

He felt inexplicably excited when his youngest son fell into the water, as if the weakness he had shown when pushing his daughter into the water had vanished instantly.

It seems that falling into the water is no big deal; I don't feel any pain at all.

But pushing the youngest daughter into the water at this point would be quite illogical.

The eldest brother will definitely suspect his motives. What if he runs away and tells Ge Qiuqin or someone else?

This would ruin my plans. It doesn't matter if the child dies, the main thing is not to implicate myself.

Zhang Xin thought about it and decided to suppress his inner thoughts.

Zhang Zhicheng carried his younger brother and walked quickly to the bus stop.

His anxious expression was palpable.

Why is this bus so slow? It feels like the most anxious wait he's ever had in his life.

The four returned to the compound, and Zhang Xin pretended to take his youngest son from the eldest son's arms and hold him in his own.

The group went inside. Ge Qiuqin was preparing the dishes and waiting to make dumplings when she saw the four children's disheveled appearance and rushed out to ask:

"What happened? Why do you look like this? Third brother, why is your head covered in ice crystals?"

Zhang Xinzhuang looked somewhat anxious; he had deliberately run a few steps after entering the courtyard and was now panting heavily.

"I wasn't paying attention and fell into an ice hole, but luckily I was pulled out. I'm completely soaked."

Ge Qiuqin's heart clenched upon hearing this.

"Quickly take off your clothes and warm yourself by the stove. Eldest brother, hurry up and get your younger brother a blanket."

She took her youngest son from Zhang Xinhuai and hurriedly took off his clothes.

Clothes soaked with water stand upright like frozen seaweed, making a cracking sound.