Cheng Yaoyao's feet slipped and she fell backwards. With a splash, water splashed all over her face. She closed her eyes in fear. But she didn't fall into the river. A pair of strong arms caught her steadily.
Cheng Yaoyao opened his eyes in shock and met Xie Zhao's eyes. A few drops of water rolled down along the deep contours of his cheeks.
Seeing Cheng Yaoyao in a daze, Xie Zhao asked, "Did you sprain your ankle?"
He wanted to teach the little baldy a lesson in a cool way, but he almost lost face in the end. Cheng Yaoyao shook his head and struggled to get down.
Seeing this, Xie Zhao immediately carried Cheng Yaoyao to the shore, put her on a big rock on the shore, and half-knelt down to check her feet. He held her white ankle with his big hand and gently turned it: "Does it hurt anywhere?"
Cheng Yaoyao said: "It's not twisted."
Xie Zhao still checked carefully, and only breathed a sigh of relief after making sure that Cheng Yaoyao was fine, and wiped the water droplets off Cheng Yaoyao's feet.
Lin Lulu saw the two of them being so intimate, her face was pale, and she looked at Xie Zhao in disbelief. She had kept Xie Zhao in her heart since she was thirteen years old, and even though Xie Zhao had always been indifferent to her, Lin Lulu did not lose heart: she believed that even if Xie Zhao was a stone, she would warm him up one day.
Now, seeing how Xie Zhao treated Cheng Yaoyao, Lin Lulu realized that she was very wrong. He was not a stone that could not be warmed up. When Xie Zhao looked at Cheng Yaoyao, there was a fire burning in his eyes, leaving no room for others.
Lin Lulu bit her lip tightly and shouted unwillingly: "Thank you, Third Brother!"
Xie Zhao finally looked over and whispered something to Cheng Yaoyao. After a while, Cheng Yaoyao nodded reluctantly. Xie Zhao was about to stand up, but suddenly squatted down again, picked up her shoes and put them on, then stood up and walked over.
Lin Lulu looked at Xie Zhao from a close distance, and her heart began to beat again. After seeing this wild and cold man being so gentle to Cheng Yaoyao, she couldn't let go of Xie Zhao.
Xie Zhao looked at Lin Lulu: "What's the matter?"
"I..." Lin Lulu was furious when she came, but faced with Xie Zhao's distant and indifferent tone, she was unable to say anything for a while, and her fingers habitually twisted around the ends of her braid.
Xie Zhao said: "It's alright, I'm leaving now."
"Wait!" Lin Lulu blurted out, "Why didn't you come to the cinema that day?! I... I waited for you all night."
Xie Zhao said: "I said I would not go."
Lin Lulu looked at him resentfully: "Xie San Ge, we grew up together, are you really so heartless?"
Xie Zhao frowned. It's not that there weren't some girls who showed affection to him, but most of them were reserved and shy, so he just avoided them. But Lin Lulu was unyielding. She had grown older in the past few years, but she wasn't sensible anymore. Every time she saw him, she always looked resentful, as if there was something going on between them.
With a murderous gaze behind him, Xie Zhao said to Lin Lulu, "Don't come to me again in the future, and don't send me anything. I won't accept it. If someone sees you, it will be bad for your reputation."
Lin Lulu was so embarrassed that her face was boiling, but she still asked unwillingly: "Just because of Cheng Yaoyao?! Aren't you afraid of bad influence if you don't avoid suspicion like this?"
Xie Zhao said frankly: "She is my object."
Lin Lulu's eyes suddenly turned red. In the past, the two of them had never broken this layer of window paper, so she could continue to pester him with a thick face. Now Xie Zhao's words were so harsh, it was like a knife stabbing into her heart.
Lin Lulu blurted out: "She is from the city, she will leave sooner or later! Women from the city are the best at deceiving people, she is using you! She...she..."
Under Xie Zhao's gaze, Lin Lulu's voice gradually faded away. Xie Zhao did not blame her, but the look in his eyes made her feel more uncomfortable than scolding, it was complete indifference.
Xie Zhao stopped looking at her, turned around and strode towards Cheng Yaoyao.
Lin Lulu looked at his broad, straight back, tears rolling down her cheeks, murmuring, "She was just lying to you, how could you be with her... It was obviously me who liked you first."
Just at this moment, Cheng Yaoyao turned around, his face full of life, and easily crushed the last bit of Lin Lulu's courage.
Lin Lulu covered her face and ran away.
Xie Zhao picked up the mosquito net that was about to drift away in the river, squeezed out the water, went ashore carrying a bench in one hand, and then walked back to Cheng Yaoyao.
Cheng Yaoyao sat on a big rock, wiping the water off her clothes with a handkerchief, her eyelids drooping, her butterfly-like eyelashes densely framing her peach blossom eyes. Xie Zhao took the handkerchief and helped her wipe it, the silk shirt absorbed the water, and stuck to her body when it was soaked, her skin was faintly visible.
Xie Zhao's throat moved and he said in a low voice, "It can't be cleaned. Go back and change it."
Cheng Yaoyao snatched back the little handstring, turned her back to him, and acted as if she didn't hear him.
"Sister." Xie Zhao squatted in front of Cheng Yaoyao and looked at her like a big dog that had made a mistake: "Don't be angry."
"Don't be angry?" Cheng Yaoyao raised her hand. Although Xie Zhao reacted quickly, his chin was still hit by her palm, leaving a red mark. "She has asked you to go to the movies, and you still want me not to be angry!"
Xie Zhao said: "I didn't agree."
Cheng Yaoyao jumped up with a cold face: "So what if there is no agreement?!"
Xie Zhao couldn't understand why Cheng Yaoyao was angry, and reached out to hold her hand: "I didn't promise her. She gave me the movie tickets, but I didn't accept them. Be good..."
Cheng Yaoyao slapped his hand away: "Go away!"
Xie Zhao frowned: "Sister, don't lose your temper."
Cheng Yaoyao kicked him on the knee. Xie Zhao's knee was as hard as iron, and Cheng Yaoyao's toes were hurt. His eyes turned red immediately: "Big liar, you promised me not to talk to the bald girl, but you still met her behind my back!"
"..." Xie Zhao saw Cheng Yaoyao's red eyes and immediately softened his tone: "Okay, I was wrong."
Xie Zhao grabbed her feet and rubbed them: "It doesn't hurt anymore."
Cheng Yaoyao was still angry, and Xie Zhao said with a hint of enlightenment: "I will never talk to her again..."
Cheng Yaoyao's eyes trembled, and Xie Zhao stretched out his arms to hold her in his arms, squeezing her slender waist like a kitten, and after a few strokes, she became soft.
Xie Zhao wanted to hold her in his arms: "I only love you."
"Of course." Cheng Yaoyao hugged Xie Zhao's neck with great pride. His anger quickly subsided. He tilted his head and thought for a moment, "Actually, I don't dislike the little bald guy either."
"Huh?" Xie Zhao was a little surprised.
Cheng Yaoyao said: "Really, not only do we not hate each other, we even have a little sympathy for each other."
"..." Xie Zhao couldn't tell whether she was being sarcastic or sincere, so he just looked at her silently.
Cheng Yaoyao smiled sweetly and raised Xie Zhao's chin with his fingertips: "The little baldy has good taste, just like me."
Cheng Yaoyao's smile was radiant, and the meaning in her words was even more heartwarming. The two hadn't been intimate for a long time, and Xie Zhao's breathing suddenly became heavy, and he reached out to grasp her fingertips.
Cheng Yaoyao ran away first: "We still have to go pick ginkgo trees! Hurry up, we have to cook when we get home!"
The veins on Xie Zhao's forehead were throbbing. He adjusted his breathing for a while before getting up, carrying his things and following Cheng Yaoyao.
The two of them went to the forest. The autumn wind was blowing, and the leaves of the ginkgo trees in the forest turned golden. Ginkgo fruits were hanging on the branches, each as big as an almond.
Cheng Yaoyao reached out and pulled one, and the ginkgo leaves fell all over her like golden butterflies. She quickly picked a handful, but she had nothing to hold them. As she was hesitating, Xie Zhao had already taken off his shirt, tied his sleeves into a knot, and handed it to her: "Put it in this."
Cheng Yaoyao spread his shirt on the ground, put the ginkgo nuts on it, and turned back to pick them. Ginkgo nuts have trace amounts of toxins and taste bitter, so no one in the village likes to eat them. Only greedy children would pick a few to cook at home. Therefore, the tree was full of fruits, and in a short while he had picked a large bag full of them.
Cheng Yaoyao wiped his hands happily and turned to look for Xie Zhao, but saw Xie Zhao in a bitter melon field nearby: "What are you picking?!"
Xie Zhao waved to her, and Cheng Yaoyao ran down the ridge. There were many rotten bitter melons on the ground, and Cheng Yaoyao carefully avoided them and ran to Xie Zhao's side.
Xie Zhao stuffed a red object into her mouth: "Hmm! ... sweet, a little bitter. What is it?"
"Bitter melon seeds." Xie Zhao showed her what he had in his hand. The orange-red bitter melon was ripe and bursting, revealing the bright red seeds inside. It looked very tempting.
This large bitter melon field was filled with rows of melon racks, on which hung many yellowed old bitter melons. This year, there was a bumper harvest of bitter melons, and two truckloads were shipped to the city for sale. Anyone who wanted to eat the remaining bitter melons could come and pick some. But there were many vegetables in Tianshui Village, and no one liked to eat them, so many bitter melons rotted in the fields.
Cheng Yaoyao sucked a little flesh off the bitter melon seeds. It tasted good, so he took it and ate it: "It's delicious. How did you know it's edible?"
Seeing that she liked them, Xie Zhao picked two good melons from the melon rack and said, "When I was a child, I didn't have sweets to eat. This one has a little sweetness. I often give it to you."
Cheng Yaoyao felt distressed and pinched a bitter melon seed and stuffed it into Xie Zhao's mouth: "This one is very sweet, I like it too."
Xie Zhao held the sweet bitter melon seeds in his mouth. Cheng Yaoyao only felt a little wet and hot on his fingertips. He immediately pulled his hand back, and his ears inevitably turned red.
Cheng Yaoyao's lips were also stained with a little red, but she didn't notice it. Xie Zhao looked at her deeply and said, "Well, it's really sweet. You can try it too."
Without waiting for Cheng Yaoyao to refuse, Xie Zhao half-forced her to share the sweet bitter melon seeds.
The slippery bitter melon seeds roll on the tip of the tongue, and the sweet juice slides into the throat. The bitterness completely disappears, leaving only the deep love.
The bitter melon seeds were a bit strong, Cheng Yaoyao's mouth turned red from eating them, and it was a bit painful when touched. Xie Zhao, on the other hand, was in high spirits, carrying a bunch of things in each hand, and followed the angry Cheng Yaoyao home.
Grandma Xie smiled for a long time at the things the two brought back: "You are not children anymore, and you still eat this!"
Cheng Yaoyao washed her face as soon as she came back. She secretly wiped her mouth with the cool spiritual spring water. It was still numb, so she said, "Bitter melon can reduce internal heat!"
Xie Zhao put his things away and remained calm when he heard the words, as if nothing had happened.
While hanging up the mosquito net, Grandma Xie said, "It's been dry lately, so we need to eat something refreshing to reduce internal heat. We'll be digging lotus roots in a few days. Zhao'er, find some bones and we'll make lotus root soup."
"Are there any lotus roots in the village?" Cheng Yaoyao helped Grandma Xie to pull up the mosquito net.
Grandma Xie said, "The lotus pond in the village mainly produces lotus seeds, and lotus roots are less abundant."
Cheng Yaoyao didn't understand: "Wouldn't it be more expensive if the production volume was small? How would we divide it? Should we buy it earlier?"
Xie Fei was eating bitter melon seeds and smiled when she heard this: "Lotus root is free."
Grandma Xie added: "We can eat it anyway."
Cheng Yaoyao was even more confused and turned to ask Xie Zhao.
Xie Zhao's long legs were on the ladder, repairing the wall. He had a nail in his mouth, and he narrowed his eyes and smiled when he heard the words.
Grandma Xie and Xie Fei also laughed and kept Cheng Yaoyao in suspense, leaving him completely confused.
"If you don't want to tell me, then don't tell me! I will know it soon anyway." Cheng Yaoyao didn't want to listen.
Jianjianmai sneakily climbed onto the table and sniffed a bitter melon with his pink nose. Although he was still young, his talent as a tangerine cat was already evident. He would eat anything except those that he couldn't eat. Cheng Yaoyao had seen him chewing tomatoes from the vegetable garden. If he didn't finish his meals, he had to cover them with a lid, otherwise he would be the one to cause trouble.
The bitter melon burst open, revealing the bright red flesh and seeds inside. The stubborn nose twitched, and he took a lick, tasting the sweetness, and then he stuck his little round face in and started eating. When Xie Fei screamed and grabbed its tail and dragged it out, it had already eaten a flaming red lip, and was still swearing at the bitter melon.
Grandma Xie was so angry that she slapped her thigh and said, "Stubborn! Stubborn! You want to try everything. Yesterday I didn't watch you and you drank the water from the chicken trough. All day long you either drink bath water or fight with chickens for food. Am I hungry for you or something?"
Jianjian thought that Grandma Xie was calling him, so he ran to her side and said, "Yeah! Yeah!"
Grandma Xie couldn't help laughing, picked it up and wiped its mouth and furry face: "Be good, grandma cooked eggs for you. We don't eat bitter melon. Cats won't grow up if they eat bitter melon!"
Xie Fei said, "Maybe the goat milk my brother made was too strong, so Jianjian was thirsty and drank the dirty water."
Xie Zhao nailed the planks, lifted his long legs and nimbly jumped down from the wall, saying, "Its basin is full of water, that's the problem."
Grandma Xie rubbed her stubborn hairy head and said, "What's going on? I'm not thirsty, so why would I snatch the chicken's water?"
There are spiritual springs in the chicken food and bath water. How can the kitten not like to drink it? Cheng Yaoyao peeled the ginkgo fruit with a guilty conscience and said, "The cat may like to drink running warm water. I will add water to it later."
Cheng Yaoyao was the most idle in the family. Grandma Xie agreed and warned Jianjian: "You can't do this anymore in the future, okay?"
"Yeah! Yeah!" The little fat boy kicked his short legs stubbornly, with a righteous look on his face.
After that day, Cheng Yaoyao added some spiritual spring water to Jianjian's water basin every day, and the kitten really stopped drinking water from the chicken trough. But the habit of drinking bath water still could not be changed. If there was any fresh food at home, it would try it, and its body became more and more plump.
A few days later, all the villagers flocked to the lotus pond to watch the lotus root digging. Cheng Yaoyao also went to watch the excitement. Only then did he understand what Grandma Xie meant by what she said that day.
The lotus leaves in the lotus pond are withering and dying, which is like "leaving the withered lotus leaves to listen to the sound of rain". The water surface is sparkling, reflecting the cold sunlight, and the river bottom is dark and sticky silt.
Lin Dafu stood on a big rock holding a loudspeaker and said with a smile: "Everyone, it's time to dig lotus roots once a year! This year, it's still the same old rules. One person from each family will go digging. How much you dig depends on your own ability! Those who don't dig are not allowed to cry!"
The men, women, young and old in the village gathered around the lotus pond and burst into laughter. In the long and boring autumn and winter, digging lotus roots is a rare entertainment activity in Tianshui Village. It is also related to competition, which is even more exciting.
Every household had strong young men or experienced men. It was quite cold, and everyone went into the water with bare chests and rolled up trousers. Xie Zhao was the first to go into the water. While others were scrambling to get in, he was still taking off his coat.
Cheng Yaoyao hugged his still warm coat and said, "So this is what you guys were trying to keep me in suspense about! How many lotus roots can you dig?"
A smile flashed across Xie Zhao's eyes: "I'm afraid you can't eat it."
"Hmph, hurry up and go down, everyone else has started digging!" Cheng Yaoyao said anxiously.
Xie Zhao smiled faintly, rolled up his trousers slowly, and went into the water. His long, straight legs stepped into the mud, the water was above his knees, Xie Zhao did not rush to bend down to touch it, but walked slowly in the water for a few steps, as if he was confirming something.
Xie Zhao wore a white vest, military green pants that tightly hugged his strong waist, and his muscular tan shoulders made women blush and their hearts beat fast. The sun shone on his handsome face, melting his cold outline. Cheng Yaoyao looked at him proudly. This man was like a rough jade, polished by time, and finally showing his brilliance.
There was another man named Lin Jiajun in the field. He first touched a lotus root, raised it and shouted, "I found it! I found it!"
Lin Lulu and Wang Guilian said happily: "Well done!"
Lin Jiajun waved the lotus root towards Cheng Yaoyao for a long time, his face dancing with joy. He was so happy to have shown his face in front of Cheng Yaoyao.
Cheng Yaoyao stared at Xie Zhao, feeling a little anxious. Xie Zhao was walking slowly, why don't you bend down to touch him? Just as he was thinking, Xie Zhao suddenly stopped, stepped on his feet, and then bent down to touch him.
The muscles in his slender, brown arms bulged, and after half a day, a plump, white lotus root node as thick as an arm emerged from the water.
Cheng Yaoyao was so happy that he blurted out: "Xie Zhao is awesome!"
Xie Fei couldn't help but whispered in agreement: "Brother is the best!"
There was a lot of noise on the shore, so Cheng Yaoyao's voice was ignored. However, Xie Zhao looked over as if he had telepathy, and there seemed to be a smile in his eyes.
The lotus pond was very large, and the people who were trying to pick lotus roots were spread out and occupied a small area. Some people found lotus roots one after another, but some people were unlucky and only found two or three thin lotus root nodes after searching for a long time. Only Xie Zhao kept picking one after another.
The weather was cold, and the lotus pond was even colder. The water was soaking up to my thighs, and the mud under my feet was very strong, so finding lotus roots was actually quite strenuous. Gradually, some people couldn't stand it anymore, gave up digging lotus roots, and climbed ashore.
The woman on the shore quickly put clothes on him and served him ginger soup that the team had prepared long ago. The man sighed, "Hey, no, no, the water is too cold!"
Others also came ashore one after another, and only Xie Zhao and a few young people were still groping in the water. Some of the young people didn't dig up many roots, and they were too embarrassed to come down, but Xie Zhao had already dug up a huge pile of lotus roots.
In the end, Xie Zhao was the only one left in the field.
Cheng Yaoyao was a little worried: "Will Xie Zhao be frozen like this?"
Xie Fei said: "No, my brother stays up until dark every year!"
Cheng Yaoyao's legs were sore from standing so long, but Xie Zhao didn't seem tired at all. He was full of energy and dug out another lotus root from the place where others couldn't reach it just now.
The others drank ginger soup and said, "This year, it's Xie San who holds on to the end again!"
"You can't refuse to accept it!" Lin Dafu laughed loudly and said to Tian Li: "Xie San, come up here!"
Xie Zhao lifted his elbow to wipe the sweat off his face and said, "I still have strength!"
The men all uttered "fuck" in unison, expressing their feelings in a crude but powerful way.
Lin Dafu shouted again: "Alright! You have been so impressive in front of the girl, come up here quickly! It's cold this year!"
Everyone smiled knowingly and looked at Cheng Yuanyao. Their eyes were not malicious but teasing.
Cheng Yaoyao's ears turned red. She was not one to show her shyness in front of others, so she shouted to Xie Zhao confidently, "Come up!"
Xie Zhao then stopped and waded ashore. Lin Daguan and his men came up to him and beat him up: "You are so good, boy. Every year you are the one who carries the weight to the end!"
"This must weigh about 100 kilograms!"
Xie Zhao took the ginger soup and drank it all, saying without any humility: "Not bad!"
Everyone laughed even louder, and Xie Zhao also had a smile on his face. His sharp eyebrows and eyes were washed by sweat, revealing the unique vigor and vitality of young people.
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