Chapter 171 Catching Loaches (Additional chapter for Yunqi's 140,000 recommended votes)
Manbao returned home with a bulging belly. Her appetite for dinner was not as good as before. Thinking that food should not be wasted, Manbao gave most of the rice in the bowl to her father.
Old Zhou was extremely surprised. "Manbao, why don't you eat?"
Manbao lowered his head to pick up some vegetables and said, "I'm not hungry."
Qian reached out and touched her belly, then asked, "What did you eat at Bai's?"
"Eat snacks, they are so delicious, so delicious." Manbao savored the taste of glutinous rice balls and suddenly felt that the rice was not so delicious.
So she put down the bowl.
Qian frowned slightly, "Manbao, you are not allowed to eat too many snacks in the future, understand?"
Manbao then realized that he had accidentally let the cat out of the bag, and he responded guiltily with his head dwindling.
Liu also noticed that Bai Shanbao had a poor appetite tonight, but she just glanced at her guilty daughter-in-law and said nothing more.
Shortly after the meal, Bai Shanbao was ordered to drink half a bowl of hawthorn water, while Manbao was given half a bowl of sweet and sour water.
The next day, when the two friends met in school, they whispered to each other, "I hope your mother will bring us snacks every day."
Bai Shanbao also wanted to, but it was impossible.
Liu took over the task of delivering snacks to them again, with fixed times and fixed quantities every day. Whenever Manbao came, the kitchen would provide a maximum of two glutinous rice balls, and any extra would be gone.
The two children returned to their daily routine of eating today and looking forward to tomorrow, but soon they said that snacks were just a small matter because the winter solstice was approaching. Mr. Zhuang took the time to call them into the courtyard and asked, "How are your articles coming along?"
The two children perked up, immediately glanced at each other warily, then nodded at him reservedly and said, "It's all written, just a few minor revisions will be enough."
Mr. Zhuang was amused by the two children's reactions.
This article has been assigned for two months. They read and write in the same place, and he doesn't believe that their article can still be kept confidential.
Sure enough, Manbao felt a little regretful at this time. She shouldn't have asked Bai Shanbao to correct her typos. Bai Shanbao also felt regretful. He shouldn't have shown off his good writing skills by giving her the article to appreciate.
I don’t know if he (she) can write better than me.
The two children decided at the same time to go back and make some changes.
But both of them are capable, and they are writing about the same thing, even using the same data. They have revised it back and forth so many times, but they can't make it any better.
So within two days, they submitted the copied articles that they thought were their best.
Mr. Zhuang didn't look at it immediately. Instead, he put it aside and said with a smile, "Okay, you've finished this long assignment. I'll assign you another long one."
Mr. Zhuang paused and said, "Didn't you dry some Centella asiatica for Jishitang this summer?"
The two children nodded.
"Then you can write an article on this topic."
The two children were confused. "Isn't it just selling Centella asiatica? What's there to write about it?"
Manbao said, "Sir, I not only sell Centella asiatica, I also sell candy, ginger, yams, bamboo baskets, and eggs. Can I write about these?"
Mr. Zhuang didn't expect that his young disciple was already such a seasoned businessman at such a young age. His face darkened. "No, just write Centella asiatica and Jishitang. I don't care what you write, as long as it doesn't exceed the scope."
Manbao and Bai Shanbao couldn't help but frown, so Mr. Zhuang said, "There's no rush for this homework. I can give you more than half a year. Just give it to me before the Ghost Festival next year."
Manbao couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow!" "It took so long?"
"Yes, this is extra homework, so your classwork cannot be reduced. Since tomorrow is a day off, I will give you two more."
Bai Shanbao couldn't help but turn his head and glare at Manbao. It's all your fault. If you hadn't screamed, the gentleman might not have remembered it.
Manbao also lowered his head and pouted, looking very aggrieved.
No matter how much they like reading, they just want to play during their days off. Who likes to do more homework?
But Mr. Zhuang didn't care about that. He gave the two children more homework than other children in the class to show his affection for them, and then waved goodbye to them.
The two children walked out with their heads down, carrying their small school boxes on their backs.
Manbao no longer needs anyone to pick him up, but Daji still insists on picking up Bai Shanbao every day, and he is waiting outside now.
As soon as the young master came out, he went to greet them. Seeing that both children had their heads drooped, he asked with a smile, "Did the teacher assign a lot of homework?"
The two children nodded sympathetically. When they reached the intersection, Manbao said goodbye to Bai Shanbao, "I don't want to go to your house today. I want to go back to my own home."
Bai Shanbao said, "If you don't do your homework, you can't go out to play tomorrow."
Manbao sniffed and said, "But I don't want to do my homework now. I want to go to the river to catch loaches."
Bai Shanbao was cheered up and immediately said, "I'm going too!"
He pulled her and ran towards the village. "I'll leave the book box at your house first. I didn't catch any loaches last time, but I'm sure I can catch some this time."
Daji hurried to follow.
This is the coldest and driest time of the year. The water level in the river has dropped a lot, revealing a large area of moist river mud.
The water in some mud puddles has not dried up, and some small fish will remain in them, so children like to go to the river to touch the small fish, and while touching them, they can't help but touch the loaches.
Fortunately, when it was the coldest here, only a few thin pieces of floating ice would form on the river surface, so the children would be fine as long as they didn't step into the water intentionally.
Many children in the village like to poke in the river mud with sticks, obviously digging for loaches.
Zhou Silang also joined in with his two younger brothers and nephews and nieces.
He was the most conspicuous among the group of children because he was so old.
But there was no way. All the ginger in the house had been sold, and only the seeds were left. The yam seeds and some for their own consumption had also been sold out. They had nothing to do now.
As a well-known leader among the children in the village, how could Zhou Silang not participate in activities like digging loaches?
Not only did he participate, he was also very domineering. With his ten years of experience in mud ponds, he quickly fenced off a large piece of land, asked his younger brother and nephews and nieces to enclose the land, and then rolled up his sleeves and started digging.
No one can come over.
By the time Manbao and Bai Shanbao came running over hand in hand, crying, he had already dug out more than ten.
At this time, he was bending over and groping in the mud.
As Manbao rushed over, he just touched a head. His hand slid forward a little, picked it up and threw it to the ground next to him, right at the feet of the two children.
Bai Shanbao reacted the fastest. He screamed and reached out to grab it, but he used too much force and the loach slipped from his hand and fell to the ground. Manbao also reacted and pounced to catch it, and the two of them bumped heads with each other.
Good night
(End of this chapter)
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