The two children went to find the male educated youth on their own initiative. They simply picked hazelnuts together, chatting casually.
Clearly, Tang Sumei, a newcomer, has successfully integrated into the village, attracting frequent glances from the educated youth.
Su Hong nudged her.
"Hey? I heard your second aunt came here specifically to help you find a partner, is that true?"
"What?"
Simple looked completely bewildered.
"Who spread this rumor? This guy has gone way off the mark."
"Huh? Isn't that right?"
Su Hong turned her head and looked at the male educated youth not far away.
"Really not? Then the rumors you were spreading earlier seemed so detailed and convincing."
The old lady also said, "Your second aunt is in a hurry; she wants to finalize things for you in the next few days."
"Hey!"
I was speechless. I knew there would be rumors, but I never expected that in just a short while, only two or three hours, the rumors would be so distorted.
It's such a small place, just between the village and the mountain, it must have been really tough for them.
"Wow, I'm speechless. How did this rumor even start?"
"Won't this turn into me getting married and having a baby tomorrow?"
Su Hong covered her mouth and laughed. She also found it strange. Jian Dan had been so resistant before, how could she have accepted it so quickly? It turned out to be a rumor.
"I knew it! I felt like the way people were looking at me was getting weirder and weirder along the way,"
With a sullen face, she glanced around at the villagers on the hillside but didn't see Tang Sumei. They were all busy villagers, but she wasn't worried. She figured she wouldn't go far with the villagers.
However, she didn't want to be a monkey.
The villagers looked her over but dared not say anything, though she could feel their eager gazes even without turning around.
"Why!"
He straightened up, looked around, and picked up the basket that was half full.
"Sister Hong, I'm going to go check ahead."
Su Hong was too busy to take care of herself, so she just gave a perfunctory reply and walked inside.
This area is the outer perimeter, so it's relatively safe, and you can see villagers everywhere. I walked a little further to the edge, and ahead, Tiger and his friends were crawling on the ground looking for something. I quietly walked over, also peeking out, but I couldn't see anything.
"What are you doing? Treasure hunting?"
"Sister Jane,"
"Shh! Sister Jane, Brother Tiger is catching rabbits."
Even something simple sparked my interest.
Are there any rabbits?
She kept an eye on the Great Eastern Wu more when she went up the mountain. The small wild rabbits and pheasants had grown a bit bigger and were already rampant in her space. She no longer cared about these little things and didn't need them.
However, for children, regardless of age, it's all meat. They only get to eat it a few times a year. Although meat is distributed every few days, every household saves it, freezing it or curing it into salted meat. If they can taste a bit of meat in a meal, that's considered good.
For Tiger and his friends, who were only ten or so years old, that little bit of meat was certainly not enough to satisfy their cravings. When they saw the rabbit, their eyes turned red and their mouths watered.
"Sister Jane,"
They searched for ages but couldn't catch the rabbit. Seeing Jian Dan was like a savior sent from heaven.
"Sister Jane, the rabbit! The rabbit ran away!"
Tiger also turned around.
"Sister Jane, the rabbit has gone into its hole!"
Seeing the children staring at her expectantly, Jian Dan felt bad about disappointing them, so she casually tossed the basket under the tree, rolled up her sleeves, and...
"You guys move aside first, let me see, did you crawl in through this hole?"
"Yes, yes, yes, this is it, but it goes in and won't come out."
Simple thought: Even if you wait until tomorrow, you still won't find it. A cunning rabbit has three burrows; who knows which side path that rabbit has already run off to.
"Leave two people here to keep watch, then you spread out and look around for other cave entrances that are similar to this one. Don't go too far, just stay in the vicinity, from here to there, just this one circle, don't go too far."
They're working together, watch your step!
"Why!"
That was the children's own activity, but with an adult backing them up, they immediately became more assertive.
"Hurry up, Sister Jane, let's go right now."
They were familiar with this hillside, where they often spent time, and soon, the children's shouts echoed from all around.
"There's a hole here,"
"Sister Jane, there's another hole over here,"
"There's one here too, come and see!"
After observing that they had searched almost everything, I followed them around for a couple of rounds.
"Hmm, very good. Leave two or three people to watch each hole. Where are the sacks?"
After assigning the children to different groups, they found a hole, placed a handful of damp weeds at the entrance, lit them, and stuffed them inside, leaving the thick smoke to suffocate them.
"Watch out, make sure the sack is properly sealed!"
Soon, a commotion arose near the cave entrance. The children, all lying on the ground with focused attention, heard everything clearly, instantly becoming tense and excited.
"Watch out, watch out, it's coming out!"
He glanced at it briefly, stuffed the still-smoking weeds into the cave entrance, blocked it with a stone, and then got up and walked towards the children.
After a brief commotion underground, faint, rustling sounds came from the cave entrance, and the children nervously covered their mouths, afraid to make a sound.
Soon, a rabbit's ear slowly emerged, followed by its head. It peeked around, and sensing no danger, quickly jumped out. Several other rabbits followed suit, swaying from side to side.
By the time they realized the animals had jumped into the sack and tried to turn back, the children had already swiftly lifted the sack up.
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