Chapter 79: Accident at Sailing
Qihang and Ergouzi went to Liangliang and Yingying's house. The four children ate and played, and were very happy.
A few children from next door also joined in, and someone shouted from outside: "The reservoir in the neighboring Fanjia Village has been drained today, get ready to go fishing."
When Er Gouzi heard this, he was overjoyed and immediately ran out the door: "I'm going to pick up screws and clam shells."
Clam shells are the kind of clams found in ponds, which are fleshy and plump. Pick a few, blanch them in boiling water, peel out the clam meat, and stir-fry them with green peppers and garlic sprouts. They are especially delicious.
The snails in the pond are also very large. They are delicious whether fried with the shell or with the meat peeled off. The fish in the reservoir cannot be moved, but snails, clams, loaches, and small diced fish can be caught.
Ergou is older and more adept at this kind of thing.
When the children heard this, they all clamored to go, and Qihang followed them.
Bai Yangfan, who was sitting at home, had no idea about it, and Lu Jingheng, who was busy peeling melon seeds for his wife at the educated youth camp, also didn't know either.
Seven or eight children carried a backpack and headed towards Fanjia Village in a mighty procession.
Fanjia Village wasn't far from Liujia Village, about three or four miles, a walk that even a few children could walk. The reservoir in Fanjia Village was supposed to be drained before the Lunar New Year for fishing, but the sluice gates hadn't been opened, the water flow too low, and by New Year's Eve they still hadn't been opened.
All we can do is wait patiently, inspect the sluice gates after the water is drained, and try to drain the water smoothly next year.
It is called a reservoir, but it is actually not very big, with only about five or six acres of water surface. However, it is arranged in the shape of a "7", so it looks very big.
When the little ones arrived, the banks of the reservoir were full of people. There was really nothing to do in that day and age, so the drying up of the Fanjia Village reservoir was a great fun.
Many young people came from all directions to join in the fun, as it was the first month of the year and they had nothing to do anyway.
It’s better to go out, take a look, chat with people, and kill time.
As luck would have it, Ye Lianlian and Zhang Xiaoming were also there, just to join in the fun. You can't go back to your parents' home on the first day of the Lunar New Year, you have to start from the second day.
When Ye Lianlian heard that the reservoir in Fanjia Village was dry, she said she wanted to eat snails and asked Zhang Xiaoming to pick some up.
Zhang Xiaoming was very obedient and came carrying a backpack.
Picking up screws by the reservoir.
Ergouzi and a few older ones prepared to take off their shoes and socks and go down to pick them up, and asked Bai Qihang to sit on the shore to help them watch the pile of smelly shoes and socks.
Yingying is a girl and doesn't want to go down, so she sits with Bai Qihang.
Qihang was small and sat in the front, Yingying sat behind him, and a pile of smelly shoes and socks were placed aside.
The child's attention was completely attracted by the actions of the people from Fanjia Village catching fish in the water. He didn't pay attention to anything else, and his eyes were ecstatic following the actions of those people.
Catching fish is really a joyful scene. Someone caught a fish but didn't hold it firmly. The fish's tail swung and hit the person in the face. The fish then jumped back into the water.
Even though there was very little water, it was not enough to cover the fish's backs. They still struggled tenaciously to break free from people's hands, jumped into the mud and water, and hid themselves.
Someone was walking slowly in the mud and water, chasing a fish. The mud and water splashed all over his head and face, but he was still chasing it desperately.
The adults and children at the table were talking and laughing happily.
Someone used a triangular net to catch fish, but unfortunately the fish was too big and the triangular net was not strong enough. As soon as the net was lifted out of the water, the fish escaped from underneath.
Of course, there are also those who are more powerful. They use both hands, one hand grabs the fish's head and the other hand grabs the fish's tail, and then throws it onto the shore.
"Bang, bang, bang" sounded like a fish rain, and soon the shore was full of fish with their white bellies turned up, unable to move.
The person picking up the fish bent down and picked up the fish quickly. When the basket was full, he carried it away to be weighed.
Everyone was busy and having fun.
At this time, the fish cannot be distributed casually. A sufficient quantity must be delivered to the people in the supply and marketing cooperative, and only the remaining ones can be distributed by the people in Fanjia Village.
Such a big thing as draining the reservoir could not be concealed, and the supply and marketing cooperative also sent people to catch the fish.
After weighing here, the people from the supply and marketing cooperative put the goods into buckets and prepared to take them away.
There is clean water in the bucket, pour the fish in and they will instantly come alive.
Seeing Bai Qihang sitting there staring at the people catching fish below, Ye Lianlian had a flash of calculation in her mind. The place where he was sitting was about five meters above the bottom of the reservoir.
Coincidentally, there was still water left at the bottom of the reservoir and it had not been completely drained. If Bai Qihang fell in, he would not be drowned, but he would be very likely to freeze to death.
It was so cold, and Fanjia Village was quite a distance away from Liujia Village. She saw clearly that Bai Yangfan hadn't come along. To be more precise, there were no adults in Liujia Village, only a few children.
If Bai Qihang's clothes got wet, he would definitely catch a cold.
Who was it that Bai Yangfan didn't come to see her off when she got married? This revenge was to be taken on her brother.
Qiaomomo pulled a little boy of seven or eight years old next to her, gave him a handful of peanuts, and whispered a few words in his ear.
The little boy nodded in agreement, holding the peanuts and eating them with his mouth full of fragrance.
While everyone's attention was on catching fish, he pushed Yingying on the back. Yingying staggered and knocked Bai Qihang forward, who then slid down along the weeds in front of him.
After all, the child was only five years old. He was knocked down and cried out of fear.
Many people couldn't help but exclaim after seeing it.
"Oh my! Whose child is that? Falling from such a height is no joke. What if he gets hurt?"
"Well, someone, hurry up and catch that child. Don't let him fall into the puddle."
"Stop shouting! They can't hear you from so far away. Let's go down and take a look!"
"Yes, yes, we have to go and check it out quickly, don't let anything happen."
Bai Qihang slid down into the pond like a ball, his feet landing in the puddle first. His face was scratched in several places, and blood was oozing out.
He was crying loudly, shouting, "Brother Ergou! Brother Liangliang! I fell down, come quickly!"
Ergouzi and Liangliang were picking snails and clam shells on the other side of the reservoir. They were frightened by Qihang's crying and hurried over here.
They were still children and could not walk directly across the mud of the reservoir, so they had to walk around the shore.
Why?
Firstly, the people of Fanjia Village wouldn't agree, as who knew if people from other villages would steal their fish. Secondly, the mud was very deep, and since they were small, they would probably get stuck if they went in.
Zhang Xiaoming happened to be not far from Bai Qihang. He heard everyone exclaiming and saw a child falling from above. He quickly walked over and picked him up.
Otherwise, he would fall into the puddle and get soaked, which would be troublesome. Such a young child is wearing many clothes, and if the cotton-padded jacket gets wet, he will definitely catch a cold if he covers himself with it.
It doesn’t matter if your shoes and trouser legs are wet. You can still change them when you get home so you don’t catch a cold.
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