Chapter 25 Oh no, someone has discovered our secret.
“Sister, I remember now.” Xiao Wu shook her shoulders. “Grandma and Auntie said they would take me to see a doctor, but… they buried me.”
Xiao Wu had a fever that day and was in a daze. When he was put into the pit, he felt comfortable because the pit was cool. Later, he lost consciousness. When he woke up, he subconsciously blocked out the memory of that day.
When he woke up this morning, he suddenly felt clear-headed and remembered everything.
Xiao Wu's voice broke into a sob: "Sister, Xiao Wu is scared."
What a pitiful child.
Zhou Mujiao hugged him and gently patted his back.
Zhao Yunjing just came out. He didn't want to disturb him, but seeing this, he went over, sat on the other side of Xiao Wu, hugged him, and took the small knife and bow and arrow from his hand: "When you are feeling better, I will teach you how to shoot arrows."
Xiao Wu nodded vigorously: "Xiao Wu wants to learn hunting too! I'll hunt wild boars to sell and earn money to support my sister!"
Zhao Yunjing said gently, "...I'll take care of hunting wild boars to support the family. You just need to grow up well."
“You’ll raise the 18th, 6th and 9th, and Little Five will raise your older sister. Brother Zhao, let’s go hunting together!”
The little guy was very serious and made the distinctions very clear. Zhao Yunjing was taken aback. He glanced at Zhou Mujiao and nodded helplessly: "...Mm."
Xiao Wu jumped up: "Brother Zhao, then teach me archery now!!"
Zhao Yunjing was pulled along by Xiao Wu, looking back all the way. Zhou Mujiao smiled brightly at him, and he suddenly lowered his head. When he raised his head again, he smiled back at her.
He doesn't smile often, and this time his smile was visibly stiff, his face was tense, and he looked very nervous. When he saw Zhou Mujiao's smile fade, the corners of his mouth slowly drooped.
"Brother Zhao, you have such a beautiful smile!"
Zhao Yunjing froze for a moment, then picked up Xiao Wu and ran off like the wind.
Zhou Mujiao pursed her lips.
Is Zhao Yun Jing happy or unhappy?
Eighteen fell asleep after a short while, and Chu Liu grabbed his ear and said, "Eighteen! Get up and eat!"
"Eat? Sure, let's eat!"
After regaining her senses and realizing that Chu Liu had lied to her, the little girl stomped her feet angrily: "Bad brother! Shi Ba won't play with you anymore! I'll tell my sister not to play with you either!"
She ran out, shouting, "Sister, let's go play! Let's go pick mushrooms!"
"Does Shiba want to eat chicken stew with mushrooms?"
"...Eighteen wants to eat fish. Eighteen hasn't eaten fish for a very, very long time."
Zhou Mujiao remembered the stream at the foot of the mountain: "Okay, let's go catch fish! Shiba, go back and get the bucket!"
Knowing that Zhou Mujiao was going to catch fish, all four children except for Chuliu, who stayed behind to help Aunt Zhao, wanted to go with her.
Aunt Zhao smiled and said, "We're going on the sixth day too. Yun Jing, you should go too. Take a break and relax a bit. But the stream is cold, so don't play for too long or you'll catch a cold."
Eighteen, ever the outspoken one, exclaimed, "Oh, Mother, don't worry! With my sister here, we'll be fine! Mother, let's go!"
Aunt Zhao leaned against the door, watching the children jumping and playing around Zhou Mujiao. She then looked around at the newly renovated Zhao family home and the clothes that Zhou Mujiao had just drawn for her. Her eyes flickered slightly, and after a long while, she slowly let out a breath.
The stream was shallow and clear; you could see right to the bottom. Apart from the smooth stones that had been washed clean, there wasn't a single fish in sight.
Eighteen walked around in the water: "Sister, there are no fish, not a single fish!"
"It will be there. Let's walk forward a bit; the water is too shallow here."
Several children chased and ran in the water, their laughter echoing all the way.
Ahead was a small bamboo grove, through which the stream flowed. The terrain gradually rose, and soon we reached the mountainside, where there was a rock wall. Water gurgled down the rock wall, creating a cloud of white mist.
Although it lacks the grandeur of "a waterfall plunging three thousand feet, as if the Milky Way were falling from the ninth heaven," it is still as beautiful as a fairyland, ethereal and otherworldly.
The children quieted down, and Eighteen murmured to herself, "It's so beautiful! Sister, let's stay here! It's really, really beautiful!"
Suddenly, something bit her foot, making it itchy. She kicked it and moved to a different spot, but was bitten again as soon as she settled down. She moved again, and was bitten once more. Eighteen got angry and kicked it, yelling, "You nasty thing, stop biting Eighteen!"
She kicked a fish the size of an arm onto the shore, followed by a second, a third... all leaping onto the shore. Finally, the biggest fish jumped up and landed right in Shiba's arms!
Eighteen, clutching the fish, cried out in desperation, "Sister, sister, help me!"
The fish was too heavy, and she felt top-heavy and fell down with a thud.
Zhao Yunjing lifted her with his left hand and the fish with his right, and with a splash, they emerged from the water, bringing with them a large school of fish—so many that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe them as densely packed!
This must be their happy hometown where they stepped on fish!
The buckets we brought couldn't hold it all!
Zhou Mujiao made a quick decision: "Fish taste better and are more nutritious when they are fresh. Shiba, pick two to eat tonight, and if you want to eat them tomorrow, come and catch some more tomorrow."
"Eighteen wants this one! And this one too! This one, and that one too!" Eighteen was holding a bucket, with more than a dozen other buckets beside her. "Sister, brother, Eighteen wants them all!"
On the sixth and ninth days of the lunar new year, everyone stared longingly at Zhou Mujiao, and even Xiao Wu quietly held two fish in his arms.
There was no other way; they were terrified of hunger, and the shadow of near starvation would likely haunt them for a long time.
Zhou Mujiao sighed inwardly: "Okay, let's take everything in the bucket and on the shore back with us, and come back after we've eaten. Oh, Brother Zhao, don't you have a fishpond at home?"
"have."
"Then tonight we'll clean the silt out of the fishpond. Once it's clean, we'll catch the fish from the stream and put them in the fishpond to raise. That way, we can catch them whenever we want to eat them."
"good."
Zhao Yunjing carried a full bucket of fish, while Zhou Mujiao carried only grass. Each of the children had two fish, and the family returned home with a full load, their laughter echoing all the way.
"Hey, I saw it, did you see it?"
"I saw it! That unlucky Zhao kid can actually catch fish! And he catches a whole bunch of them at once!"
"Strange, when did fish appear in this stream, and so many of them!"
"Never mind all that, let's catch some fish!"
Two women took off their shoes and went into the water. They had seen with their own eyes that the Zhao family's children were standing in the water picking up fish one by one and throwing them into the bucket. It was clear that there were a lot of fish here, but after a lot of searching, each of them only caught two or three palm-sized fish.
"Too late! Arrest all those surnamed Zhao!"
"Strange, how come that guy surnamed Zhao was able to arrest so many? Is he finally unlucky or has his luck turned around?"
The two women returned to the village dejectedly. On the way, they met other villagers and casually mentioned that Zhao Yunjing had caught a fish in the village stream. Within an hour, the entire Peach Blossom Village knew that Zhao Yunjing's bad luck had turned around and everyone was talking about it.
Zhao Yunjing was completely unaware of this. He took the fish back and immediately went to clean the fishpond, while Zhou Mujiao and Aunt Zhao worked together to kill and dry the fish until sunset.
In the middle of the night, Zhou Mujiao returned home from the restroom and vaguely heard someone mention her name.
The sound was coming from the west wing, which was Uncle Zhao and Aunt Zhao's room.
In the dead of night, Uncle Zhao and Aunt Zhao are still chatting instead of sleeping.
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