Chapter 125: Chapter 72: Draining the Fishpond (Part 1)

Before anyone else could answer, Meizi jumped in, “Oh my! Silly girl, of course they pump the water out with a water wheel. Some of the bigger ponds take several days!”

Zhang Huai glanced at her, his heart aching. ’She’s never seen this kind of excitement before,’ he thought, ’so of course she wouldn’t know how they get the water out.’ After hearing Meizi, he added, “It’s not like they can pump it all out. The water’s deeper in the middle of the pond, so they can’t pump that part. But once most of the water is gone, all the able-bodied men in the village get into the pond. They use basins to bail out the rest of the water, catching fish and digging up mud as they go. Your brother and I will both be going in.”

Juhua asked in surprise, “But isn’t the water freezing? What if you get sick from the cold?”

Qingmu reassured her, “It’s fine. You’re constantly moving, so you don’t feel the cold. You even start sweating! After we’re done, we get out, wash our feet, put our shoes on, and drink a bowl of ginger soup. We won’t get sick.”

Zhang Huai added, “People who aren’t in good health aren’t allowed in the pond either. Like Uncle Zheng—they definitely won’t let him go in this year.” Zheng Changhe’s leg had just healed, so of course he couldn’t go into the cold water.

Juhua finally relaxed.

Qingmu then asked Zhang Huai, “Which pond are they starting with today?”

Zhang Huai raised his hand, pointed south of the village, and said, “They’re starting with the small round pond, and then Tiaozi Pond. They’ll have to do the rest tomorrow—the water’s still pretty deep.”

After a short walk down the village road, they turned onto a path between the fields. Qingmu glanced back at Juhua and warned her to be careful, as some parts of the path were still frozen and very slippery.

Meizi laughed. “This path is wide, so it’s easy to walk on. You’ll have to be careful near Tiaozi Pond, though—the paths there are really narrow. Oh, look! There are so many people!” she exclaimed excitedly.

Juhua and Liu Xiaomei, walking and chatting behind the others, looked up when they heard Meizi’s shout. Ahead of them, under the bright winter sun, a dense crowd had formed a large circle in the vast, desolate fields. The din of their shouts and laughter carried far across the landscape.

As they reached the pond’s edge, they saw that everyone—men and women, young and old—had turned out. The air was buzzing with voices, the crowd surrounding the round pond so tightly that not a soul could pass. The pond itself was even more packed with people: some were bailing water, some were carrying away mud on poles, and others were moving sod bricks. The whole scene was a whirlwind of bustling activity!

Shouts, scoldings, and calls rang out constantly, blending into a continuous wave of chatter and laughter.

“Bianwa, what are you shoving for? You’ll be crying if you fall in the pond.”

“Aunt Yu, we’re over here! Come on over!”

“Old Cheng, my friend, grab a few of those old water bamboo shoots for me. I’ll take them home and plant them in the ditch by my door.”

“Yan, you silly girl, you came out dressed like that? It’s the New Year! Are you trying to worry me to death by catching a cold? Go put on a thicker jacket!”

As Juhua listened to the different voices rising and falling, she couldn’t help but smile.

Suddenly, a little girl about seven or eight years old came running toward them. She had her hair in two neat little buns, a simple velvet flower pinned to one side, and was wearing a brand-new green jacket. She looked utterly delightful.

Meizi smiled at her. “Yan, were you afraid a thick jacket would cover up this pretty new one? You can’t just worry about looking good, you know. Catching a chill is no joke.”

The little girl’s face flushed red; it seemed Meizi had hit the nail on the head. Her gaze fell on Juhua, and her eyes widened in amazement. She was captivated by Juhua’s silvery-red jacket, scarf, and hat. With her face half-hidden by her scarf, only her eyes and brows were visible, and the silvery-red fabric made them look as beautiful as a painting. The girl froze, her mouth hanging open as she stared.

Seeing the envy in her eyes, Liu Xiaomei laughed and said, “Yan, if you want a hat and scarf like Juhua’s, you should go ask her to teach you how to make them.”

Yan smiled shyly, then darted past them and ran off.

Liu Xiaomei tugged on Juhua’s arm and grinned. “That’s Second Uncle Li’s youngest daughter, Changxing’s cousin. Don’t let her age fool you; she’s obsessed with looking pretty. She puts her hair up in different styles every single day and never gets tired of it, unlike us who find even a simple braid too much trouble. She’s a cute kid, though. You just wait. She’s definitely going to come find you and ask how to make that hat.”

Juhua smiled to herself. ’Isn’t it normal to want to look pretty? What little girl doesn’t? Still, it is rare to see a village girl so concerned with her appearance at just seven or eight. Most kids that age only think about playing.’

The group found a slightly less crowded spot and stopped.

Juhua took a closer look at the pond. The water wheels had already pumped out a significant amount of water, exposing the muddy bottom and the roots of yellowed waterweeds near the banks. However, the center of the pond still held a lot of water.

Men were vigorously bailing with basins, tossing water from the middle into newly dug ditches near the bank. The water level in the center dropped steadily, revealing the uneven pond floor.

The village chief, Li Gengtian, was directing people to carry down sod bricks. They used them to build up the higher ground, sectioning off the pond into a series of smaller pools. Then, they would clear each pool one by one—catching fish and digging up the silt!

His pant legs were rolled up high, his own legs caked in mud. He stood in the middle of the pond floor, shouting orders. “Big Mouth! Changxing! Get over here and bail out this pool! Gengtian, you take a few men and clear this mud away! Fatty Liu, what are you doing over there? Stop dawdling and help out! The water on that side is still deep, we need to bail faster!”

He was in the middle of shouting when he turned and saw Qingmu and Zhang Huai. “Qingmu! Huai Zi! Get down here!” he called out loudly. “Help Big Mouth and the others with this pool. Once the water’s low enough, start catching fish. And remember, put the small ones aside. We’re going to put them back later.”

Qingmu and Zhang Huai quickly took off their shoes and socks, changing into straw sandals with wooden soles and tying them on tightly. The special sandals were to protect their feet from being pricked by fallen water bamboo shoots hidden in the mud; there was little else to fear since the pond was cleaned annually. Having been snug in their warm shoes, their bare feet were suddenly exposed to the frigid air, and the shock of the cold made them both shiver.

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep