It was Luo Yan's idea to visit Kong Feng. After playing with Kong Feng for a while, Luo Yan gained a general understanding of the Kong family's situation.
After Kong Feng's father passed away, Kong Dahong was worried that Kong Feng would be mistreated if his sister-in-law remarried, so he took Kong Feng to live in his home.
To everyone's surprise, three years after her brother's death, her sister-in-law still hadn't remarried. Instead, she begged Kong Dahong to let her into the family as a nanny.
Kong Dahong agreed for Kong Feng's sake, and from then on, Feng Dingxiang became Kong Dahong's housekeeper. However, there were actually two other housekeepers in the house, and Feng Dingxiang received the same salary but hardly had to do any work.
Luo Yan sized up Feng Dingxiang, who seemed weak and easily bullied, but her eyes were full of calculation. It was clear from the moment she entered Kong Dahong's house that her intentions were impure.
There's no need to pay attention to this kind of person; getting too close would only cause trouble.
Unfortunately, Kong Dahong's wife had gone to work, so Luo Yan didn't see her. Instead, she saw Kong Dahong's mother, a plump old lady with sharp eyes who looked a bit fierce.
Grandma Kong would scold her youngest daughter-in-law as soon as she saw her.
"You do absolutely nothing all day, just eat your fill, and stand here like a dead man. When other people's children come to visit, your child doesn't even get a sip of water, and you still have the nerve to laugh like that. I spit on you!"
I never agreed to your marriage with that old man, but he wouldn't listen and insisted on marrying such a disgraceful thing as you. Hurry up and cut some watermelon; who are you waiting for to treat you like an official's wife?
Feng Dingxiang didn't dare to talk back. She wiped away her tears and walked to the kitchen, which made Grandma Kong even angrier.
"You start wailing over a single word. Should I buy you a mourning outfit and have you wail for three days at the martyrs' cemetery? That would be something you'd do to be a decent human being."
The old lady was so fierce that Yang Tie and Leng Jian were stunned and didn't dare to play with Kong Feng anymore.
Luo Yan felt that although the old lady was fierce, she was a person of deep feelings. She went over and pulled the old lady Kong to sit in the rattan chair under the grape trellis, took out a piece of Wukong candy, peeled it open and put it to the old lady Kong's mouth.
"What, do you think my old lady's words are too foul? Want me to have a piece of candy to sweeten my mouth?"
Luo Yan smiled and said, "Grandma is so kind, Yan Yan has porridge."
This was the first time Grandma Kong had ever heard a child say they liked her. She awkwardly opened her mouth to take the candy, then turned and asked the nanny to go to her room and bring her plexiglass box.
The nanny brought over an acrylic box that was as long as an adult's forearm, lined with a red cloth, so it was impossible to tell what was inside.
Grandma Kong took out a key from her pocket, unlocked the lock, took out a gold lock from the box, locked the lock again, and asked the nanny to return the box.
Grandma Kong put the gold lock on Luo Yan's head.
"It's rare that you like Grandma, so Grandma will give you a little gift to keep you from just sweet-talking."
Luo Yan had never done anything so profitable before, exchanging a piece of candy for a gold lock. She wanted to return the gold lock to Old Madam Kong, but Old Madam Kong held her hand down.
Feng Dingxiang came over with a slice of watermelon and saw it just then; she immediately became envious.
Grandma Kong squinted at Feng Dingxiang, who was glued to the gold lock, and snorted coldly.
“This is my own stuff. I can give it to whomever I want. If Grandma gives it to you, just wear it carefully. If your family asks you, just say it was a gift from Grandma. If anyone dares to say anything to you, Grandma will talk to them for you.”
Feng Dingxiang placed the tray she was holding on the table and said with a wronged expression.
"Mom, Xiaofeng is your real grandson..."
Grandma Kong snorted coldly, "How many of the things I gave to Xiaofeng have passed through his hands? If I wanted to give them away, do you think I wouldn't give them away myself? Why do they have to go through you?"
Feng Dingxiang fell silent, and Old Lady Kong continued to scold.
"If you like to play dead, go play dead somewhere else and don't get in my way."
Unable to bear hearing his mother being scolded, Kong Feng pleaded, "Grandma..."
The six-year-old child already knew shame, so Grandma Kong shut up, picked up a watermelon and divided it among the children, then fed a piece of watermelon to Kong Feng.
After eating the watermelon, Yang Tie suggested going to the river behind the mountain to catch fish and shrimp.
The children in the compound often went to play in the river. On rest days, Yang Tie would call out to them and they would all respond. Today was not a rest day. Those who went to school went to school, and those who went to kindergarten went to kindergarten. Only the five of them were at home.
Luo Yan, who was already complaining about the wasted space, readily agreed upon hearing this.
Kong Feng is unable to walk, and it's inconvenient for him to go in a wheelchair, so he can only watch longingly.
Yang Tie and Leng Jian went home to get their fishing gear. Xiao Xiu told Luo Yan to stay and wait while he went home to get a bucket and a landing net, and to let Aunt Shi know.
Seeing that her grandson was envious, Grandma Kong pushed Kong Feng's wheelchair back to his room to sleep.
Luo Yan was the only one left in the courtyard, so she took out her senior year Chinese textbook from her bag and started reading.
As she was watching, Luo Yan heard footsteps approaching. She immediately jumped to the ground, ran a few steps forward, and turned around, only to find Feng Dingxiang reaching out to grab her.
"These are my things, give them back..."
Feng Dingxiang pointed to the gold lock around Luo Yan's neck and gave the order.
Luo Yan didn't want the old lady's gold lock at all. She planned to go home and give it to Luo Shicheng so that he could return it to Kong Dahong. But she didn't need to tell Feng Dingxiang about this, and of course, she couldn't possibly give the gold lock to her.
Seeing that Luo Yan seemed not to understand, Feng Dingxiang lunged forward again to snatch the golden lock, but Luo Yan grabbed her wrist and flung her away, causing her to crash to the ground, groaning in pain.
Xiao Xiu ran over with a net and a small bucket, saw this, and pulled Luo Yan away.
Yang Tie and Leng Jian both lived in tenement buildings, and it took a long time to go back and forth. When they ran back to the Kong family's house but didn't see Luo Yan and Xiao Xiu, they ran towards the back door.
Upon seeing Luo Yan and Xiao Xiu waiting at the back gate from afar, Yang Tie and Leng Jian quickened their pace.
Yang Tie led the way out through the back door and walked for more than ten minutes until they reached the Daihe River at the foot of Qingshan Mountain.
The Daihe River, like a jade belt, encircles the green mountains. Its surface is wide and expansive, with clear, shallow water and smooth, lovely pebbles on the riverbed. Fish and shrimp frolic among the water, creating a delightful scene.
Yang Tietong, Luo Yan, and Xiao Xiu said.
"This water looks shallow, but an adult would be submerged immediately if they went in. Don't go into the water recklessly. You can catch some small fish and shrimp by the riverbank to eat."
Xiao Xiu nodded, and Luo Yan, though she could swim, wouldn't dare to show off recklessly, so she obediently nodded as well.
Without needing any instructions, Leng Jian had already expertly started catching shrimp by the river.
During the short break, Luo Yan played in the water while he used a net to catch fish and shrimp and put them into a bucket. When there were too many, he let Luo Yan catch fish and shrimp in the bucket to keep her entertained.
The three boys became addicted to catching fish and shrimp, and soon they spread out and started catching them as they walked, putting a distance between themselves and Luo Yan.
Suddenly, Luo Yan heard a noise behind her and looked at her reflection in the water without making a sound.
It was Feng Dingxiang again, but this time Feng Dingxiang wasn't after the gold lock around Luo Yan's neck. Instead, she lunged at Luo Yan to push her into the water.
Luo Yan dodged to the side, and Feng Dingxiang missed her target, plunging headfirst into the river and instantly swallowed by the water.
Hearing the sound of water, Yang Tie, Leng Jian, and Xiao Xiu all turned to look at each other.
Feng Dingxiang thrashed about in the water, sinking deeper and deeper with each struggle.
Leng Jian tried to rush forward to save the person, but Yang Tie grabbed him.
"The water is deep and cold. Even an adult might not be able to save us, let alone us."
Luo Yan ran to the tree by the river, dragged a long branch over, and stretched it out towards Feng Dingxiang in the water.
Feng Dingxiang grabbed onto a tree branch and was dragged ashore by Luo Yan.
Just as she stood up from the water, Feng Dingxiang exerted all her strength, trying to throw Luo Yan into the water. However, Luo Yan did not move at all. Instead, she pushed Feng Dingxiang back into the water with her small hand.
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