Li Lanzhen quickly asked the water buffalo.
"Is that place far from your village? Is it above or below your village? How did you find it?"
The water buffalo glanced at his mother and said.
"Auntie, that place is upstream from our village?"
The river formed a bay there.
After passing through that bay and going up the mountain, there is a valley. It's about two miles to the south gate of Youzhou City.
However, the entrance to that bay is very well hidden; people usually don't notice it when crossing the river.
The water buffalo's mother looked at her youngest son and asked him.
"Water buffalo, how did you get there? And how did you find it?"
The water buffalo looked at his mother guiltily, then glanced at his brother.
He chuckled as he spoke.
"Mother, we have no food to eat since my brother injured his leg."
The river has risen so high that it's impossible to catch fish or shrimp near our village.
Later, I walked upstream along the river, digging up wild vegetables I saw on the mountain and scooping up aquatic plants floating on the riverbank.
As we walked along, we saw a pheasant fly by on the mountain.
I thought I'd catch it and make it into soup to nourish my older brother and sister-in-law.
He glanced at his mother again as he spoke.
"I kept chasing the pheasant, but it kept running further and further away. Every time I was about to catch it, it would jump up and run away."
Finally, it landed on a big tree. I chased after it and climbed up the tree, only to find that the tree had fallen horizontally, and the river was right under the tree.
I dared not go any further. I looked up and saw that the pheasant was stuck in the branches of a tree and could not move.
I was so happy when I saw it, so I slowly crawled over and caught the pheasant.
They tied the pheasant's wings and legs to the vines on the tree and threw it into the basket.
Then I couldn't get down from the big tree.
The water buffalo mother patted the water buffalo on the back.
"How could you be so reckless? If anything were to happen to you, I... I would..."
She began to sob softly as she spoke.
The buffalo patted her arm.
"Mother, I'm back safe and sound."
Bao Ya asked, "Uncle, why are you afraid to come down? This tree is very big, are you very high up?"
The water buffalo said, "No, I was chasing the pheasant with my mind solely on catching it."
No one noticed that it was a very large tree lying horizontally on the river, and that the trunk was very close to the water.
At that moment, I was standing in the middle of this big tree, with rushing river water on both sides. If I jumped in, I would definitely lose my life.
Behind me is the big river next to our Xiahe Village.
Looking up again, I was surprised to find myself in a river bend.
The river water flowed into this area, forming a calm crescent-shaped bay.
This huge tree, for some reason, grew horizontally and blocked the river's inlet from flowing into Moon Bay.
At that point, I wasn't so scared anymore, and I slowly retreated.
Seeing that it was still early, I thought I'd go check out Moon Bay to see if I could catch any fish or shrimp.
His older brother exclaimed "Oh!" as if suddenly realizing something.
"Water Buffalo, so the big fish and pheasant you carried back half a basket that day were caught in that Moon Bay."
The water buffalo nodded and said.
"Yes, when I arrived at Moon Bay, I saw that the water flow was gentle, and after observing for a while, I found that there were many big fish in it."
I used the fishing method my father taught us to weave a simple net out of vines and tied it to a stick.
He burst into laughter as he said this.
"I didn't expect to catch such a big fish with just one net."
The buffalo family laughed happily. No wonder the buffalo came back that day and said mysteriously that he had found a great place to catch fish.
Li Lanzhen was also very happy at this moment.
First, the bay is upstream of Xiahe Village, so you don't have to go through Shanghe Village. Second, the entrance to the bay is very well hidden.
This suggests that not many people have discovered that place yet.
Furthermore, after climbing the mountain from that bay, it turned out to be surprisingly close to Youzhou City.
Han Mingjiang stood up abruptly and slapped the water buffalo on the shoulder.
"Great, brother, let's go now."
Li Lanzhen also stood up and held the water buffalo's mother's hand, saying...
"Big sister, I want to take the water buffalo out for a few days. Don't worry, I'll take good care of him."
The water buffalo's mother said, "Okay, okay, I'm at ease with you taking him out. You two go ahead."
Li Lanzhen took out a pound of cornmeal, a pound of millet, ten eggs, and half a pound of brown sugar from the cloth-covered basket on her back.
He put these things on the table and said to Aunt Buffalo.
"Big sister, please keep these things. My nephew's wife is about to give birth, and I won't be able to come in time. These things can help her recover during her postpartum period. I will come to see you when I have time."
Water Buffalo's mother held Li Lanzhen's hand, tears welling in her eyes, her lips trembling, before speaking again after a long pause.
"Girl, thank you so much. I won't dare give you so much next time."
You also fled from famine; where would you have so much stuff?
Look at all this good stuff! What kind of family could afford to eat this? We can't possibly bring it out to attract attention!
Li Lanzhen knew that she was doing this for her own good, so she smiled and patted her hand.
"I won't let anyone know. You are my eldest sister. I only have one brother in my family, so from now on you will be my eldest sister."
I'll be a frequent visitor to your home.
The water buffalo's sister-in-law hurriedly went into the house and took out a bundle.
He handed the bundle to the water buffalo and said, "Uncle, take this bundle. Inside is a change of clothes and two flatbreads."
Li Lanzhen said, "Water buffalo, take the cakes out and put them down."
Pointing at Han Mingjiang, he said, "There's still food in your cousin's basket."
Without saying a word, he took the bundle off the water buffalo's back and placed the two flatbreads on the table.
Li Lanzhen and Han Mingjiang slung their baskets over their shoulders and prepared to leave with their water buffalo.
Bao Ya held Li Lanzhen's hand, speaking with reluctance.
"Grandma, when will you come to our house again?"
Once my brother catches some silver fish and dries them, Bao Ya will save them for you.
Dried silver fish are delicious stir-fried with wild vegetables.
If you have eggs, scrambled eggs would be even more delicious.
He even drooled a little as he spoke, which made everyone burst into laughter.
Li Lanzhen patted her head and said.
"Bao Ya is staying home and listening to her grandma. When her great-aunt has time, she will come to see Bao Ya."
My great-aunt would also bring Bao Ya malt candy to eat.
They were all preparing to take Li Lanzhen to the small dock in the village.
Li Lanzhen didn't let them go. Later, Buffalo's mother said that her eldest son and daughter-in-law should stay at home, and her two grandsons should also stay at home. She would go and see Li Lanzhen off by herself.
Water Buffalo and his mother, along with Li Lanzhen and Han Mingjiang, chatted and laughed as they walked through the village and arrived at the village's small dock.
Han Bingjiang glanced at the small dock and saw that the place where they had placed their rafts was empty and there was nothing there. He pointed there and exclaimed in surprise.
"Mother, our raft is gone!"
The water buffalo also rushed over in a panic. He clearly remembered that he had tied the rope on the raft to the wooden stake at the dock.
But now there's nothing on this wooden stake.
Water Buffalo's mother also looked in alarm at the small dock and indeed there was no wooden sign that Li Lanzhen had mentioned.
She exclaimed, "Has the raft been lost?"
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