Fang Dongqiang, like other children in the village, followed the adults to the fields.
The edge of the paddy field was damp and green, and a group of children surrounded two tin frogs, their giggles startling the sparrows on the edge of the field.
Fang Yu brought her tin frog and proudly let it hop around in the mud.
The frog was wound up like a clockwork toy; its iron belly gleamed coldly in the sunlight, and as it hopped along, it really looked like it had just been caught from the field.
"Call it to catch the bugs!" Fang Yu pointed to the small green bugs crawling along the ridge of the field.
"My second aunt bought one for me too!" Fang Dongqiang squeezed to the front, his voice full of resentment and envy.
Hua Hua squatted down beside them to watch; she was the youngest of the children. Her small body was curled up in a ball, her eyes fixed intently on the tin frog.
“Everyone should go buy some, and lots of frogs will come to catch insects,” another child, who also brought a frog, said, pointing to the bushes.
Upon hearing this, Fang Dongqiang immediately ran to find his maternal grandfather, pulled Fang Meixiang's father over, and pointed at the frog, saying urgently, "Grandpa, I want this too, Auntie will buy it."
"Okay, Dongqiang, we can't have your second aunt buy them all, so Grandpa will buy you one."
Hua Hua saw Fang Dongqiang go to call the adults, so she went to the field and pulled the adults over to look at them.
Hua Hua looked at her father, mother, and grandmother in the field.
After looking at it for a while, he still tugged at the corner of Fang Shugen's clothes.
Hua Hua doesn't talk much yet; she pointed at the frog with her finger.
"You want it too, don't you?"
Hua Hua nodded vigorously.
"Okay, I'll buy you one when I go to town."
Having received the promise, Hua Hua squatted back down in her original spot and quietly continued watching them play.
Fang Meixiang's father, carrying a bag of freshly dug bamboo shoots, rushed to the town's supply and marketing cooperative to buy tin frogs before going to Fang Meili's place.
Fang Meili and Yuan Xinkang are planning to open a department store in his own storefront.
Yuan Xinkang was painting the wall, wearing a homemade hat, his blue work clothes covered in white dust.
Fang Meili and the carpenter were discussing how to make the shipping containers.
"Dad, what brings you here today?" Fang Meili asked as she walked over to her father.
"I came to buy some things. I dug up some bamboo shoots and brought them over. Here, I'll give you some."
Fang Meixiang's father looked around and sighed, "The country's policies are good now; anyone can open a shop."
"Yes," the carpenter said, his plane still in his hand, "we're getting more work now."
"Does Dongqiang go to the fields with everyone now?" Fang Meili asked.
“Yes, they all go to the fields. It’s lively there, with lots of playmates. If they see others have this, they want to buy it too.” Fang Meixiang’s father took out the frog from his pocket.
"This kid! I wonder how happy he'll be to see all this stuff when my shop opens."
There was still work to be done in the fields, so Fang Meixiang's father chatted for a few minutes before heading home.
Fang Dongqiang hopped the frog around on the ground a few times, then asked, "Grandpa, when are we going to the fields?"
"It would be great if you were this enthusiastic about working in the fields," Fang Meixiang's mother teased, watching Fang Dongqiang's playful antics.
The next day, Fang Meixiang's parents took Fang Dongqiang to the fields, and Fang Meixiang came along too.
Are you going too?
Fang Meixiang nodded.
"Alright, you can come along too, sit by the paddy field and take a look."
When they reached the edge of the field, Fang Dongqiang excitedly held up the frog and ran to his friends, exclaiming, "This is mine, it's new!" Fang Dongqiang was afraid that his new frog would get mixed up with theirs.
Hua Hua was also holding a frog in her hand; it was a bamboo frog.
After returning home, Fang Shugen said he would go to town to buy Hua Hua a tin frog.
Fang Shugen's mother started nagging, "Can your family's situation be the same as theirs? Meixiang's younger sister helped her take care of her children since they were little, and she never came back empty-handed after getting married. She treats Dongqiang like her own child. The crazy wife of the third brother's family can still do odd jobs to earn money in her spare time. Huahua doesn't have their luck. She's too busy with farm work to go out and buy toys."
Fang Dongqiang broke off a piece of green bamboo and sat on the threshold to shave it into a slice. His rough hands twirled the bamboo slice, gradually shaping it into the form of a frog.
Hua Hua was still very happy when she saw the frog-like appearance.
She also took the frogs to the field and placed them next to their frogs.
"Ah, you frog are different, you're so ugly."
"Yours won't jump."
Her friends disliked her frog.
Watching the other children wind up their frogs and watch them jump on the ground, Hua Hua quietly moved to the side and stood there.
Around noon, Yu Jihong went home to cook first, and then she came over to take care of Fang Yu.
Yu Jihong came over to check on Fang Meixiang. She knew that the villagers were talking about her behind her back, comparing Fang Meixiang and Hua Mei, saying that the three of them had different fortunes, different fates, and different kinds of madness.
Fang Meixiang was completely unaware that the woman standing next to her was someone who was considered to be of the same kind as her; she was simply watching the children play with a smile.
Fang Yu tugged at Yu Jihong's sleeve and pointed to Huahua's bamboo frog, "Mom, her frog is different. It can't jump, and it's not pretty."
Hua Hua stood to the side, her little mouth pursed tightly, looking at their tin frog with envy.
Yu Jihong squatted down and said softly, "Fang Yu, switch your frog with hers for a bit."
"I don't want to play with her frog, it's ugly and it can't jump."
"It can jump."
Yu Jihong laid the colorful bamboo frog flat, pressed down on the frog's tail with her index finger, and the frog jumped forward.
“She’s just a silly frog, she only jumps once, but ours can jump much farther,” another child shouted.
Yu Jihong reached for the frog herself, "Fang Yu, which one is yours?"
“This one,” Fang Yu pointed to the one in the middle.
Yu Jihong picked up the frog and handed it to Huahua.
Hua Hua isn't very good at forwarding messages yet.
Yu Jihong held her little hand and wound up the toy with her, then put the frog down. The frog hopped forward with a "plop, plop" sound.
Hua Hua raised her eyebrows slightly, opened her eyes wide, and her entire forehead and brows were filled with joy. The frog's jumps were related to her; she had caused them herself.
After letting Huahua play with the frog a few times, Yu Jihong took it back, saying, "I'll bring it over for you to play with next time."
She took Fang Yu's hand and said to her as they walked home, "Fang Yu, if you have anything, let Hua Hua play with it more often."
"Huh?" Fang Yu looked up at Yu Jihong, puzzled.
"Mom will tell you slowly when you grow up. Let her play with it for a while. It won't hurt anything. Look, the frog is still fine. Let her play with it, and Huahua will be happy too."
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