Chapter 11
The next day, Chu Jiujiu really did not go to see Han Shengyi again, because she went to the lotus pond with Chu Shao.
After she had stayed in the village for just one day, she was chased to the mountain by a dog. Chu Shao was quite helpless and had to take her there. Chu Shao got on the boat with the other lotus pickers, and Chu Jiujiu played by the lotus pond.
Chu Shao said that the lotus pond was the property of the production team and no one was allowed to pick the lotus flowers or move them. Chu Jiujiu could only sigh at the vast lotus pond.
I really want to pick one to play with.
Chu Jiujiu spent the entire morning digging in the dirt, pulling weeds, scratching at tree trunks, and catching ants by the lotus pond. The pond was much more boring than the mountain; there wasn't even a mushroom that could change color. After playing for a while, Chu Jiujiu sat down on the ground and began fiddling with her necklace.
In just two days, Chu Jiujiu transformed from a delicate city kid into a country clay doll.
She looked at the necklace and felt something was wrong.
It was bad luck for her to be chased by a dog, and it was also bad luck for her to be targeted by a bee, but it didn’t make sense for her to be chased by a frog!
As soon as she put on the necklace, the area within a few meters around her was suddenly filled with the sound of frogs. Chu Jiujiu felt it was noisy and ran back a few steps. The necklace bounced on her chest and hit her ribs, which was very painful. She took the necklace off again, and then not long after, the frog sounds became much quieter and returned to the same normal volume as other places.
Holding the necklace, Chu Jiujiu frowned, looking bitter and resentful.
Come to think of it, the fat rabbit seemed to have jumped towards her only after she put on the necklace...
Chu Jiujiu initially thought that this necklace was something that could allow her to go back, but in fact it was just an ordinary necklace that could not open a door. Now it seems that it has the effect of attracting animals, provided that it is worn around her neck.
However, the results of attracting animals can be both good and bad, depending on whether she can defeat the attracted animals.
If I wear this and attract a pack of hungry wolves...
Chu Jiujiu shuddered and immediately decided that she would never wear this necklace easily again.
Holding the necklace, Chu Jiujiu looked around and found that there was no one nearby. She quickly put the necklace around her neck, then took a few steps and ran to the lotus pond and squatted down.
This is probably how we attracted the fish yesterday. I heard that the fish in the lotus pond are bigger and fatter. As long as we attract one, we’ll have lunch today!
The bottom of the lotus pond was covered with silt and the water was very muddy, unlike the clear stream water where you could see the bottom at a glance whether there were any fish. Chu Jiujiu squatted for a long time until her legs were numb. Finally, she saw an irregular ripple emerging from the water.
Oh! Oh! There's hope!
It seems to be a big one!
Chu Jiujiu quickly took off the necklace and stuffed it into her pocket. She thought that she would not eat too much at once. This one fish was enough for her. Taking it off would avoid attracting other strange creatures.
Chu Jiujiu carefully lay down beside the lotus pond, placed both hands on the water surface, waited for the right moment, and quickly scooped it up!
The morning was over and the lotus pickers came back one after another. The temperature had been getting higher and higher in the past two days. It was unbearable to stay on the boat all day. At lunch time, they returned to the shore, took a nap, and waited until the hottest noon was over before going back on the boat to pick lotus seeds.
Chu Shao was sitting among a pile of lotus pods. In front of him was an uncle rowing a boat. From a long distance away, he could hear Chu Jiujiu's crying.
Chu Shao stood up when he heard this, and almost kicked down a few lotus pods. The uncle rowing the boat was cheerful and not anxious at all. He even felt like teasing Chu Shao: "Your sister has a good voice, she has the style of a female warrior."
Chu Shao: “…”
Chu Jiujiu was crying miserably. A woman came to deliver food and heard Chu Jiujiu's heart-wrenching cry. She ran over and saw Chu Jiujiu. She was stunned for a moment and said in a helpless tone, "Oh, you can't break it, you can't break it!"
Chu Shao ran over here as soon as he got off the boat. When he arrived, several lotus pickers had already gathered here.
They are all coming up with ideas.
"Baby, hold it, it will let go in a while!"
"Don't listen to him. It should be put in the water."
"What if it runs away in the water?"
Chu Shao squeezed through a group of adults and finally saw Chu Jiujiu who was surrounded. She raised her arm, and her index finger was tightly bitten by a turtle. The turtle was a bit heavy, weighing two kilograms. Chu Jiujiu was afraid that it would bite off her finger, so she had to support the turtle's butt, looking pitiful.
The boatman came over at this moment. Seeing this scene, he immediately laughed, "Wow, what a big turtle!"
Chu Jiujiu: “Woo wow wow wow wow…”
Chu Shao: “…”
With the help of a group of adults, mainly the onlookers, the persistent turtle finally let go. Chu Jiujiu's fingers were bloody. She held up her fingers that were so painful that they had no feeling, and ran towards Chu Shao crying. Chu Shao felt a little distressed to see her like this, but mostly amused.
The woman who brought the food poured some water and washed Chu Jiujiu's wound. She then plucked a handful of Imperata root and pressed it on Chu Jiujiu's wound. Chu Jiujiu, with tears in her eyes, choked up and said, "Auntie, thank you."
The woman's heart softened at her words of thanks, and she said softly, "According to seniority, you should call me Third Aunt."
Chu Jiujiu called her Third Aunt again. At this time, someone came over carrying the big turtle. Chu Jiujiu was scared when she saw the big turtle. She immediately abandoned Third Aunt and hid behind Chu Shao. Seeing how scared she was, the man scratched his head and said, "Hey, you caught this turtle. Can you give it to me? My mother-in-law is sick and needs some nourishment."
Before Chu Jiujiu could say anything, Third Auntie was already unhappy. "This turtle is so valuable, and you let them give it to you for free? How can you be so shameless?"
"Who said it was given away for free? I can exchange it."
Chu Jiujiu listened to their conversation and stopped crying. She asked, "How do we change?"
The man thought for a moment and said, "How about I give you ten kilograms of food?"
Now a pound of coarse grains costs 1.8 cents, and ten pounds costs one dollar and eighty cents. The price of buying turtles in the town is about the same, 70 cents to one dollar per pound. Chu Jiujiu's turtle weighs two pounds, so the man didn't take advantage of her.
Chu Jiujiu's eyes moved between him and Wang Ba, "I don't want food."
The man was stunned. "What do you want?"
He couldn't afford the lion's high asking price, so he just gave up buying it.
"Uncle, you know, my brother and I are both boarding at grandma's house. It doesn't matter to me that grandma doesn't give us lunch, since I don't work anyway. But my brother can't stand it. He's still growing. Take this turtle. When you come to pick lotus seeds next time, bring some lunch for my brother, okay?"
The lotus pickers around felt very sad when they heard this. It was really not easy for these two children.
Auntie San was heartbroken, but she didn't forget to tell her, "Silly child, the lotus seeds will be picked in three or four days. Your brother will only have a few meals left."
The man quickly said, "It's okay, it's okay. Chu Shao still has to go to the fields later, so I'll take him with me. So, kid, your brother will eat with me from now on until the rice is harvested, okay?"
The brigade hadn't announced when the harvest would begin, but it was coming soon. Chu Jiujiu had heard that harvesting rice was extremely tiring, and that families would devise various ways to prepare delicious meals for the men just to give them the energy to work. Chu Jiujiu did some mental calculations and immediately smiled, "Uncle, you're so kind!"
Oops!
The man is so beautiful that it makes me want to scratch my scalp.
Third Aunt looked at her kindly and took out a steamed bun from her basket, "Jiujiu, have this."
Others were also healed by Chu Jiujiu's smile, and they gave her and Chu Shaosai food. Holding the food, they walked to a shady place. Chu Jiujiu said proudly, "Grandpa, look, this bite of mine was worth it, right?"
Chu Shao picked up the steamed bread mixed with wild vegetables and handed the best cornmeal steamed bread made by his third aunt to Chu Jiujiu. After a long while, he spoke.
"You don't have to worry about these things from now on. I will support both of us."
Chu Jiujiu was eating steamed bread, pretending to be confused with her big watery eyes. When Chu Shao said this, his eyes were looking at the ground. Chu Jiujiu could not see the determination in his eyes, there were some deeper things in his eyes. She thought Chu Shao was unhappy again, so she had to calm down.
After that day, Chu Shao no longer brought her to the lotus pond. She was chased by dogs in the village and bitten by turtles by the lotus pond. It seemed that wherever she went, there was no peace. So Chu Shao simply asked her to go back to the village, come over after lunch, and go back quickly after lunch.
Chu Jiujiu only did as she was told on the second day. On the third day, Chu Shao waited for a long time, but Chu Jiujiu did not show up.
The man even called out to him, "Chu Shao, eat quickly. You still have to work after you finish eating."
Chu Shao had no choice but to sit down and eat.
Chu Jiujiu didn't come because her necklace testing business was in full swing. Chu Jiujiu found that putting on the necklace after seeing an animal was safer than wearing the necklace and waiting for the animal. It was worn for a short time, so it wouldn't attract anything. And knowing what the animal was was much better than encountering an unknown animal.
For example, today, Chu Jiujiu saw a pheasant flying over, and she quickly put on her necklace. After a while, the pheasant flew over stupidly.
Chu Jiujiu was not skilled in catching chickens, and in the end, she beat the chicken to death with a stick in a panic.
Because she was afraid that the pheasant was just fainted, she picked up a big stone and hit the pheasant's head several times. Finally, she felt relieved when the pheasant's head was smashed.
Poor pheasant, I hope there is no Chu Jiujiu in heaven.
…
Han Shengyi was watering the vegetable garden with farmyard manure. He was indifferent to the stench that others tried to avoid. He was watering seriously and didn't notice that an uninvited guest had come to the vegetable garden. After watering a row of vegetables, he straightened up and saw Chu Jiujiu standing opposite him.
In his hand was a pheasant that looked horribly dead.
The two looked at each other, and Chu Jiujiu smiled dryly, "You didn't expect that I also have a talent for catching pheasants."
Han Shengyi: “…”
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