After finishing their meal, Xiao Yunying picked up a bucket, then thought for a moment and grabbed a basket, and led the children to the riverbank they had mentioned.
This place is near the foot of the mountain, and the terrain is a bit special. The river is wide but narrow, and the shallowest part only reaches Luoyang's knees.
Further downstream, the river narrows and deepens, and because the terrain is much lower, the current appears to be much faster than here.
The villagers usually wash their clothes down there because the water is too shallow and contains a lot of silt. After flowing through this section, the silt will sink to the bottom of the river, and the water above will be much cleaner.
On the river, several boys around ten years old had taken off their shoes and socks, rolled up their trousers, and were walking back and forth in the water looking for fish.
There are no big fish in shallow water, so Xiao Yunying led the children down a little deeper and stopped. After observing the water from the shore for a while, they could see the shadows of fish and decided to catch them there.
Xiao Yunying filled a wooden bucket halfway with water and set it aside. Luo Li anxiously asked from the side, "Stepmother, can I go into the river?"
"No, the river water is cold in the morning. You're too young. What if you catch a cold?"
Luo Chen said, "Can I go? I can swim."
"No, that won't work either. Do you think you're that much older than Luo Li? Even if you can swim, it won't work. If you catch a cold, we'll have to spend money to treat you."
Luo Li looked at the water: "How can we catch fish if we don't go into the water?"
"I have my own way of doing things, you just wait to eat fish."
Xiao Yunying put the basket into the water, sprinkled a few pieces of bread crumbs on the surface, and held the two ends of the basket with both hands, waiting quietly.
Before long, several fish swam over, sucking water and eating bread with their protruding lips. Xiao Yunying seized the opportunity and quickly lifted the basket on her back.
She was still too slow, mainly because she didn't have enough strength. Water leaked out from the gaps in the basket, and there were only two fish in the basket, both common carp.
He poured the fish into the bucket and handed out the basket: "Anyone want to try?"
She realized that their desire to eat fish was a pretense; their real intention was to have fun.
Luo Chen said, "I'll do it. Ali is too small to carry it."
Xiao Yunying gave Luo Li and Luo Yang a few slices of bread and asked them to help spread bread crumbs, while she sat on a rock with Luo Xin in her arms, teasing the fish in the bucket.
She deliberately pointed at the fish's lips with the little girl's finger to scare her, making the little girl burrow into her arms, while Xiao Yunying laughed louder and louder.
Exclamations of surprise came from Luo Chen's side from time to time. He was weaker and inexperienced, so he missed twice, but on the third try, he caught a fish that weighed more than a pound.
Luo Chen's way of catching fish attracted the attention of many children. Two children approached and called out "Luo Li," then called each other "brother," and even took the initiative to greet Xiao Yunying.
Xiao Yunying recognized the two children in her memory; they were Fang Rou's twins. They didn't look exactly alike, so they were probably fraternal twins, about the same age as Luo Li, and not yet six years old.
Their full names are Yang Lei and Yang Kai, and their nicknames are Shi Tou and Shi Zhu.
Her appearance leans towards a gentle, square shape, especially the heroic air between her brows and her large eyes.
Fortunately, unlike Yang Tianfu, the Yang Tianfu she remembered was not as good-looking as his younger brother Yang Tianyun; he was just an ordinary-looking person.
Seeing the two brothers staring at him expectantly, Luo Chen offered them his spot and handed them the basket: "Want to try? You two can each hold one side."
The two brothers hesitated to take it, glancing furtively in Xiao Yunying's direction. Luo Chen placed the basket in their hands: "Use it, it's alright, my stepmother won't say anything."
The two brothers then began to act. Luo Yang sprinkled breadcrumbs into the water, saying, "Big brother, you've started calling your stepmother 'stepmother' too."
Luo Chen felt a little uncomfortable with her younger brother's teasing tone: "She was our stepmother to begin with."
Luo Yang raised his voice: "I didn't say she wasn't, why are you so anxious?"
"I'm not in a hurry. Stop talking, you're scaring the fish away."
Luo Yang smiled but remained silent, lest he anger his elder brother.
Luo Li had long since stopped watching the fishing. He glanced at Xiao Yunying a few times, then broke off a piece of bread and put it in his mouth.
It smells so good, it's so delicious! Why would you throw something so tasty into the water to feed the fish? That's such a waste.
As he thought this, he stuffed bread into his mouth.
Xiao Yunying had been glancing at the water's edge out of the corner of her eye. After Luo Li ate two slices of bread, she couldn't help but say, "Luo Li, you eat whatever is given to the fish. Do you even know if it's edible or not? Aren't you afraid of getting a stomachache? Didn't you eat enough this morning?"
Luo Li exclaimed, "Can't we eat this?"
"You can eat a lot, but aren't you feeling stuffed?"
Xiao Yunying pretended to take out an oil paper from her bosom and opened it. Inside were unwrapped fruit lollipops. The sticks were made of paper, so she wasn't worried about anyone noticing anything.
He gave one to Luo Xin, put one in his own mouth, and then took five more and called over Luo Li: "Eat these. You're not allowed to run or jump while walking. Go and distribute these to them. No bread allowed."
"I understand, stepmother."
A few children ate lollipops, put down their baskets, and sat by the river, saying they were there to catch fish. Later, it turned into a picnic and outing.
Xiao Yunying took out unpackaged pork jerky and amber walnut kernels one after another from her bosom, which aroused Luo Xin's curiosity and made her press her chest.
Mom's clothes can hold so much! This place looks so big, is it because it's filled with lots of things?
Luo Xin's subtle actions reminded Xiao Yunying that the child was young, not stupid, and she should know when to stop.
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