Chapter 184 Lost (Additional chapter for Yunqi's recommendation votes of 155,000)
Manbao puffed out his chest proudly and said, "I caught it!"
Manbao told the story in detail about how she discovered the bamboo rat and how she used fire to bake it out.
Zhou Wulang then realized that she had been the one who had lit the half-burned fire in the bamboo clump. He was terrified and quickly searched her body. "Why are you carrying a flint? Where's the flint?"
Manbao was stunned and said nothing.
Zhou Wulang searched for it, but found nothing, so he breathed a sigh of relief. "Lost it?"
Manbao could only nod.
Zhou Wulang said seriously, "You are not allowed to play with fire anymore. What if a fire breaks out in the mountains?"
Manbao said unconvincedly: "Didn't you also make a fire?"
"Can you be like us? We are all grown up, and you are only a few years old." Zhou Wulang said seriously: "In short, you are not allowed to play with fire in the future, especially in the mountains."
Zhou Wulang was stern, so Manbao could only reluctantly agree. He looked at the direction they were coming from and asked, "Why hasn't Fourth Brother arrived yet?"
Zhou Wulang also looked towards the main road, slumped in his seat and not moving. "Let's wait a little longer. He should have discovered the letter we left for him by now."
The three of them sat there talking and waiting for someone. Zhou Liulang reached out and pushed the two bamboo rats together. The one they caught was also quite big, but still a little smaller than Manbao's.
Both bamboo rats were plump. Zhou Liulang pinched their necks and weighed them, estimating: "This one must be at least five kilograms, and this one must be at least six kilograms. That's more than a chicken."
Manbao had been dragging the bamboo rat along for a long time and was no longer afraid of it. Hearing this, he asked, "Is bamboo rat delicious?"
“It’s delicious, better than chicken and lamb.”
Manbao swallowed, a little skeptical, "Really?"
"Of course it's true. You've eaten it, too, but you probably forgot."
Most of Zhou Erlang's fields are covered with bamboo. There are many bamboos and bamboo rats. Every autumn and winter, Zhou Erlang would take them to catch bamboo rats.
A few can be caught every year, but because the three sisters-in-law at home are afraid of this thing, they kill them by the river and bring them home. Manbao has never seen a live one, but he must have eaten it.
Manbao has always had a good memory. After Zhou Wulang mentioned this, she really remembered it. So her eyes became brighter as she looked at the bamboo rat. She looked at the sky and became a little impatient. "Let's go home. Killing bamboo rats will take time. After all, Fourth Brother is an adult. He must know the way home."
Zhou Wulang thought the same thing, so he dragged his aching legs to his feet and whispered to Manbao, "Manbao, you must not tell your family that you were missing today, and don't tell them about the fire either, okay?"
Manbao understood and nodded vigorously, "I know. If our parents knew about this, we would definitely be beaten."
Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang nodded. Yes, they didn’t know whether Manbao would be beaten or not, but the three of them would definitely not escape.
Now that they were here, they were not in a hurry to go back. Manbao no longer let Zhou Wulang carry him, but walked forward on his own with his short legs.
Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang each made a bamboo rat.
The three siblings passed through the village and the villagers who saw them were shocked.
It was winter and everyone had nothing to do all day, so they went out to bask in the sun when it was sunny, so there were many people sitting on the roadside in the village.
When the villagers saw the bamboo rats in Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang's hands, their eyes almost turned green.
This is meat, two big pieces of meat at that.
"Wu Lang, where did you catch this bamboo rat?"
Zhou Wulang squeezed the bamboo rat tightly and said, "I caught it on my fourth brother's mountain."
"It's so far, is there any more?"
Zhou Wulang thought for a moment and said, "There should be some, but there are only a few bamboo clumps on my fourth brother's mountain, not as many as on the mountain at the entrance of the village."
"Uncle Jin's family is so lucky this year. Every time the three children go out, they can get two fat bamboo rats like this."
"Yes, Manbao, there is meat to eat again."
The three siblings walked back home amid everyone's envy.
Little Qian got scared when she saw bamboo rats. Although she liked to eat them, she definitely didn't like to kill them. So she turned her head to the side and shouted directly at Zhou Dalang in the room, "Big Head Dad, come out quickly!"
Zhou Dalang rarely sleeps in at home. When he heard the sound, he went out in a daze, "What's wrong?"
Xiao Qian pointed at the bamboo rat in Zhou Wulang and the others' hands and said, "Take it out and deal with it quickly."
Zhou Dalang was immediately cheered up when he saw the two plump bamboo rats. He walked over happily and asked, "Where did they come from?"
"I caught him on Fourth Brother's mountain."
Zhou Dalang took the bamboo rat and called Zhou Sanlang out, saying happily, "Let's go to the river and kill it. By the way, where's Lao Si?"
Zhou Wulang's eyes drifted away, and he said guiltily, "I've fallen behind. I should be back soon."
Zhou Dalang and others didn't care. Zhou Silang was already an adult, so he wouldn't be lost.
He didn't ask Zhou Wulang and the others to intervene. He and the third brother took the bamboo rat to the river and killed it.
As a result, Zhou Silang still didn't come back until they came back with the clean bamboo rats.
Xiao Qian had already started steaming the rice. She glanced at the sky and frowned, "It's almost time for dinner. Why hasn't the fourth brother come back yet?"
Zhou Wulang was also a little anxious, and whispered to Zhou Liulang Manbao, "Fourth Brother, didn't you see the letter I left?"
Manbao was also anxious and whispered, "How about we go back and look for it?"
Zhou Wulang thought for a moment and said, "Don't go. My sixth brother and I will go."
Zhou Silang knew nothing about this. All he could think about was the half-burned fire. He firmly believed that someone must have appeared there.
Zhou Silang searched all the way along the main road and ran all the way to Baimaquan Town, but still found no trace of Manbao. He fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face, and the fear in his heart almost drowned him.
He wiped away his tears, hesitated for a moment, and rushed into the town to inquire. If it was really the man who started the fire who took Manbao away, and followed the road, he would either return to their village or come to Baimaquan Town.
There are many people in their village now, and if they take Manbao with them, they will definitely be discovered by the villagers, but it will be different when they come to Baimaquan Town.
He had to ask if anyone was passing through town with Manbao.
When Zhou Silang came out of the town, the sun was about to set over the top of the mountain. His legs were trembling, but he didn't dare to stop and ran back along the road.
He planned to go back to the mountain and call Lao Wu to go home together, and call the people in the village to come out and look for him together.
Looking at the sun about to set in the sky, Zhou Silang ran away almost for his life. He hoped that the sun would not set. What would happen to Manbao if it got dark?
Zhou Silang rushed back to the big tree and first shouted "Lao Wu" twice towards the mountain. When he heard no response, he looked around and then saw the stone under the tree.
He quickly ran up to take a look. Next to the stone was a large leaf with a lot of mud on it and some claw marks of unknown origin. He looked carefully and found that the first word was a little blurry, but the word "go home" at the back was very clear.
Zhou Silang no longer had the energy to think about anything deeper at this time. He simply put Ye Zi in his arms and turned around to run towards home.
(End of this chapter)
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