"Wow, there are so many little fish in the stream!" Xingxing was very surprised to see a group of fish smaller than chopsticks in the stream when she came last year after a drought.
"What tiny fish!" Ruru exclaimed, her eyes wide with amazement.
"These small fish aren't good to eat, they're too small." Zhou Erfu had already gone into the water and was very excited, practically shouting as he spoke.
Oh my god, he was so bored! Being confined to the private school every day, either reciting or copying books, was too torturous. It's so much more comfortable back in the village; he feels like he's finally alive again.
“The water is a bit deep here,” Zhou Sifu glanced at the deepest part, quickly took off his shirt, and went into the water in his pants. “Hiss, the stream is too cold.”
The deepest part of the stream reaches just up to Zhou Sifu's neck, so it's generally not dangerous for people to drown. But for children as big as Ruru and Xingxing, someone has to watch them, otherwise it would be dangerous for them to go into the water.
"What kind of weather is this? You dare to immerse yourself in water like that? Aren't you afraid of getting sick from the cold?" Zhou Erfu laughed and scolded, then ignored Sifu and went to catch loaches.
"Second Brother, over there, there are lots of loaches over there." Xingxing hopped along with her short legs, pointing to a patch of water plants.
Zhou Erfu immediately went to the spot the star pointed to, took a tool with several bamboo tubes in it and stirred the grass. Soon, five or six loaches as thick as a thumb ran into the bamboo cage.
Before long, they had strung up more than a dozen loaches with thin twigs. Xingxing and Ruru were overjoyed, shouting with delight, their eyes sparkling.
Ruru was alright, standing obediently on the shore watching.
Xingxing felt itchy and really wanted to go down and play in the water, but she remembered her mother saying that she couldn't go down into the stream to play. The weather was still cool, and if she got her clothes wet, she would get sick.
"Second Brother, when summer comes, Xingxing can go down to play in the water, right? Right?" Xingxing asked loudly.
"Uh, I don't know either. I'll have to ask Mother. If she says it's okay, then it's okay." Zhou Erfu didn't dare to agree to her casually. What if something went wrong? Wouldn't he be scolded to death by his mother?
"Oh, it's no big deal. With us brothers watching over things, how could we let Xingxing get flooded? There are three streams in our village. The deep parts are dangerous, and the water level rises when there's a heavy rain. The water can be very rapid. The adults and children in the village all have to learn to swim."
The people of Yegou Village are all from the north and are not good swimmers, but after a few years, they have witnessed the power of the floods and the men have made a point of learning to swim. They have to learn, because who in the south who lives by streams and rivers doesn't know how to swim? If you don't know how, you'll be laughed at.
Furthermore, the neighboring prefectures suffered from floods last year, which made people feel even more that they should learn to swim. Although swimming is not very useful during floods, having this skill always gives people more confidence.
Even if all else fails, catching fish in the water is still better than others.
"Yes, Xingxing wants to learn to swim too. Fourth Brother, please teach Xingxing quickly, Xingxing wants to come down too." Xingxing, this little bear, quickly took off her shoes, her two chubby pink little feet stepping on the grass, her hands clutching her clothes, hesitating whether to take off her clothes like Fourth Brother.
No, no, Fourth Brother is a boy, so it's fine for him to show his upper body, but she's a girl and can't just take off her clothes. If she doesn't take off her clothes, they'll get wet, and if Mother finds out, she'll definitely be unhappy.
Before the little dumpling could figure out what to do, she heard her mother's voice, "Daughter, you and Ruru shouldn't get too close to the water. Move a little further in. Erfu, why didn't you keep an eye on things?"
Zhao Guihua rushed over in a flurry, and when she got closer and saw Sifu in the water, she jumped up and down in anger, "Sifu, who told you to go into the water? What kind of weather is this to make you jump into the water? What if you get frostbite? Get up right now! If you're itching for a beating, just say so."
"I'll get up right away, Mother, don't be angry." Zhou Sifu jumped out of the water with a splash, but didn't dare to come towards his mother. He ran off to catch loaches with Erfu.
Suddenly, he looked into the distance and exclaimed, "Hey, isn't that Second Aunt, Daya, and Dafeng? Why are they covered in blood? What happened?"
Zhao Guihua subconsciously turned around and was shocked to see Chen Caocao carrying a bamboo basket, her hair disheveled. Because she was going up the mountain, she deliberately wore old clothes and tattered pants with the most patches. Now her clothes were soaked with blood, her straw sandals had fallen off, and her feet were covered with grass clippings and bloody mud.
Holding her son Dafa in one arm and leaning on a cane with the other, she walked forward with difficulty, her back hunched. Behind her followed Daya, covered in blood. The mother and daughter had blank expressions, but their eyes were filled with deep-seated hatred.
Zhao Guihua's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly ran over with Xingxing and Ruru by her side.
"Second Brother, Fourth Brother, Xingxing's shoes! Xingxing isn't wearing shoes! My feet hurt! My feet hurt so much!" Xingxing was being dragged along, and her delicate little feet immediately stung when they stepped on the pebbles.
Zhao Guihua was anxious and uneasy. When she heard Xingxing cry out in pain, she immediately let go of her hand and turned around to shout at Erfu and Sifu, "You two stop catching the mudfish. Quickly bring your sister's shoes over and put them on her. I'm going to check on your second aunt. Xingxing and Ruru are in your care. Go home now and stop causing trouble here."
After saying that, he went straight after Chen Caocao and her two children.
Erfu and Sifu knew what was important, and quickly went ashore. Erfu carried the cage in one hand and picked up Xingxing's embroidered shoes in the other. He took a few steps to Xingxing, squatted down, and put the shoes on her.
"My feet are dirty, there's sand under my feet," Xingxing pouted, her big eyes watery.
Zhou Erfu sat down on the ground, put Xingxing on his lap, picked up her little feet, wiped the soles of her feet clean with his palm, and only put her shoes on after making sure there were no injuries.
Then Erfu ran back with Xingxing in one arm, and Zhou Sifu quickly picked up Ruru and followed.
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