"Second Brother, let's go to the other side of the mountain to find seeds," Xingxing said, pointing to one of the hilltops.
"What kind of seeds are we looking for?" Zhou Erfu asked casually as he walked up the mountain path, leading the way.
"It's a seed, a seed that fell to the ground," Xingxing said, somewhat bewildered.
"Sister, finding seeds on the mountain is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Don't make things difficult for your second brother. I'd rather hunt a wild boar or a wolf than find seeds on the mountain." Zhou Erfu shook his head, showing no interest in finding any seeds at all.
Xingxing was a little disappointed. The seeds planted in the soil would grow into edible fruits, but she didn't give up. "Second brother, it's not good to plant the seeds too early. Once they grow into seedlings and bear fruit, they'll be easier to find. Then we can come back and look for them, okay?"
"Okay, if you haven't forgotten, I'll ask my second brother to help you find it. I'll definitely find it for you." Zhou Erfu agreed without hesitation. His younger sister asked him in a coquettish tone if it was okay, and he naturally agreed without hesitation. However, she was young and would definitely forget about it in a few days.
Before long, the group found a place with honeysuckle vines. Those who had hoes used them to dig, and those who didn't used sharpened sticks.
Zhou Erfu is strong and works very efficiently. Xingxing sat beside her, her chubby little hands supporting her chin, watching intently. After a while, perhaps her hands went numb, she stood up, shook her hands a couple of times, and then started to walk around the neighborhood with her short legs.
"Xingxing, don't go too far. There are wild animals in the mountains that can snatch children. You can't run away when we're not looking." Zhao Guihua had already dug up three vine seedlings. She dug a few times and then looked up again, afraid that Xingxing would get lost.
Xingxing paused in her steps, turned around, and chuckled. She had indeed intended to wander around by herself, but she hadn't expected her mother to discover her so quickly.
"Mother, I just wanted to find out where there are more vine seedlings, I didn't mean to run around." The little girl had rosy cheeks and big, bright eyes, and looked very well-behaved. But that's a lie. When her eyes were darting around, she was actually thinking of doing something sneaky.
"Sweetie, sit for a while. After we've dug up all the vine seedlings here, we'll look around again." They had almost finished picking all the honeysuckle and chrysanthemums in the mountains last year, so they knew exactly where these two flowers grew. Why would they need Xingxing to lead the way again?
The little girl is becoming more and more lively. She can't sit still and always wants to do something. I have to keep an eye on her and coax her to stop her from running around.
Xingxing is still very well-behaved. After being caught once, she sat obediently and dared not move. However, she would occasionally sigh in a serious manner.
After all the vine seedlings in the first spot were dug up, the group set off to dig elsewhere. They hid the dug seedlings in a secluded place and took them back together on their way back.
Honeysuckle is dug up at the foot of the mountain or halfway up the mountain, but chrysanthemums have to be dug up on the mountain peak next to the mass grave. There are some elsewhere, but the mountaintop has the most, so they went directly to the mountaintop.
However, after digging up some chrysanthemum seedlings on the mountaintop, Zhou Erfu and Zhou Sifu suddenly ran away with Xingxing. To be precise, Xingxing kidnapped Erfu and Sifu.
She called the two strongest men aside and said to them, "Behind the crooked tree next to the grave, there's a hole, and there's a big python in the hole."
Zhou Erfu and Zhou Sifu exchanged a quick glance, showing no fear whatsoever. Their eyes gleamed as they pondered whether to dig with a hoe or a sharpened stick.
Xingxing knew they were bold, so she secretly told them alone, "The python hasn't woken up yet in this weather; it's still sleeping."
Yes, snakes, frogs, and other animals hibernate, and they have a long time before they wake up, so you can dig without worry.
What are we waiting for? If we don't leave now, when will we? Let's grab my little sister and slip away while Mom isn't looking.
Zhou Erfu, carrying Xingxing, darted into the bushes and ran down the mountain, with Zhou Sifu following closely behind.
"Where is that hole? I've looked around and only see a few graves over there, but I can't find the hole. Could it be that the soil collapsed and covered the entrance when it rained?" Zhou Erfu analyzed as he searched.
Zhou Sifu was always fast; he had already run around those graves several times before finally finding the python's den next to a crooked pine tree.
"It's here! It was hidden by the leaves. No wonder I couldn't find it." Zhou Sifu wiped his sweat. If he hadn't accidentally stepped on the pile of decaying leaves and felt a slight unease under his feet, he wouldn't have found it yet.
"Hurry, hurry, dig! If Mother comes looking for us, she definitely won't let us dig anymore." The elders always overthink things. If they see that the python has made its nest on the grave, they will definitely think that the python was created by some dead person. They can't touch it, or they will have bad luck.
Many people in the village are superstitious.
But Zhou Erfu and Zhou Sifu had grown incredibly bold; like newborn calves unafraid of tigers, they didn't care what they were transformed into—as long as they could eat meat, that was all that mattered.
Xingxing frowned as she watched them digging so hard into the snake cave. She pointed to a pile of stones on the left side of the snake cave entrance and said, "Second Brother, Fourth Brother, come and dig here, not there. Dig this way instead."
Zhou Erfu and Zhou Sifu paused in their digging, looking puzzled. Zhou Erfu asked suspiciously, "Xingxing, are you sure you should be digging over there?"
Zhou Sifu thought for a moment and decided to trust Xingxing. He analyzed, "Why is Second Brother still questioning Xingxing? How could Xingxing be wrong? No matter what kind of animal digs a hole, it's always winding and crooked. It can't be a straight path. I reckon the python must be hibernating in this spot. It'll be faster if we dig directly here."
That seems to make sense. Zhou Erfu scratched his head. "Then, let's dig here."
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