Chapter 127: Chapter 73: Harvesting the Fishpond (2)

All at once, the sounds grew louder—shouts, playful curses, and shrieks of surprise, mingled with the SPLASHING of water, filled the air.

The people on the bank shouted excitedly along with them. Since they couldn’t go down into the water themselves, they stood anxiously on the bank, inevitably pointing this way and that, calling out to one person and then another.

Juhua was also swept up in the lively atmosphere. She watched as one large fish after another was tossed into a bucket, while the remaining fish churned the water, leaping to reveal the yellowish-white bellies of carp or the greenish-white of grass carp. She wished she could jump in and catch one herself.

As the commotion grew, Gou Dan couldn’t stay still any longer. He quickly squeezed his way through the crowd. One moment he was shouting in one spot, the next he was running to another to point out where a fish was, always burrowing into the thick of the crowd.

When Meizi saw this, she seethed with frustration. Turning her head, she saw Little Shitou standing obediently by Juhua’s side, not running wild, which only made her angrier.

Seeing Gou Dan’s antics, Juhua glanced down at Little Shitou with an appreciative look. Little Shitou beamed, pressing his lips together in a smile. He clutched her hand tightly, staying close as he peered down at the pond.

Just then, a chubby boy shouted, “This one’s huge! Whoa! Let’s see you get away!” As he yelled, he lunged for it.

Juhua saw a large fish thrash in front of him. It flicked its tail and vanished. From its color, she guessed it was a red carp. When she saw the chubby boy lunge, her heart leaped into her throat, as if she were lunging for that big fish right alongside him—

“Whoa…!” Juhua cried out in alarm at the same time as the chubby boy.

The chubby boy had stumbled and fallen into the water, letting out a yelp at the sudden cold. Juhua, for her part, had leaned forward anxiously, her fists clenched, certain that he was about to catch the carp. But she hadn’t expected him to fall flat in the water instead. If the water hadn’t already been so shallow, he might have plunged in headfirst. Watching so intently, she couldn’t help but cry out in alarm with him.

Little Shitou quickly grabbed her and shouted, “Sister Juhua, don’t fall in the pond!”

Juhua glanced down and realized that she had been so focused she’d unknowingly taken a step forward, nearly lunging into the pond just like the chubby boy. Luckily, Little Shitou had held her back. As she relaxed, she couldn’t help but laugh out loud. ’What am I doing? Getting all worked up for nothing.’

Little Shitou, still holding onto her, started to laugh cheerfully too.

As they were laughing, Juhua heard Liu Xiaomei, who was standing nearby, cry out, “Oh no! My Third Brother fell down! Now you’re in for it. Third Brother, get out of there! Hurry home and change your clothes.” Only then did Juhua realize the boy was Liu Xiaomei’s brother.

He scrambled up from the water, and as he stood, everyone could see his clothes were soaked through. His padded jacket, his rolled-up sleeves, his cuffed trousers—everything was sopping wet and dripping. The people on the bank and in the pond were stunned by his sorry state for a moment before they all erupted in laughter. Meizi stomped her feet, laughing so hard she had to bend over.

The village chief, Li Gengtian, boomed, “Liu Sanshun, run on home and change your clothes before you catch a chill! Everyone else, be careful! We’ll be in trouble if all of you end up like Sanshun. Don’t rush it. We’ll bail out more water; it’s too hard to catch them otherwise.”

Seeing his son’s state, Fatty Liu cursed, “You useless oaf! Can’t even catch one fish. And you still hope to get married?”

The crowd roared with laughter again. Juhua found it hilarious too. ’What does catching fish have to do with getting a wife?’

She glanced over at her brother. He was fine, thankfully. Qingmu looked back at her, and when he saw her watching him, he flashed her a brilliant grin.

Juhua quickly shouted, “Brother, be careful! Don’t fall in the water!”

Qingmu heard her and waved to show he was fine. Zhang Huai, his narrow eyes squinting, also watched her for a long moment. ’He’d never seen her so excited before, but she hadn’t told *him* to be careful. Sigh! I’m getting more and more petty.’

Meizi gave her a strange look. ’She’d never heard Juhua speak so loudly, especially with so many people around. Oh, except for that time her mother got into a fight with Liu’er’s mother.’

Little Shitou followed her lead and shouted, “Dad, you be careful too! If you fall in, you’ll make Mom do more laundry!”

The chatter from the crowd had just started to die down, but his words sent them into another round of laughter. Juhua laughed and patted his head. ’This child. He must have remembered what I told him earlier—that his mother is pregnant and he should try not to cause her any trouble.’

Shorty Zhou laughed. “You little rascal! You’re not worried about your dad getting sick, just that your mom will have to do laundry. Zhao San, your son really plays favorites! And Shitou, even if your dad doesn’t fall in, he’ll still have to change out of those filthy clothes tonight, won’t he? Your mom has to do the laundry regardless.”

Zhao San shot his son a look, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Just then, the chubby boy who had fallen in the water climbed onto the bank. Wow! He really was Liu Xiaomei’s brother, no doubt about it—a perfectly round face, a roly-poly body, and short, too. His wet clothes hung heavily on him—he was still wearing a padded jacket, after all—and he began to shiver.

Liu Xiaomei grumbled, “Third Brother, why weren’t you more careful? You didn’t even catch a fish, just got yourself all wet. Mom’s definitely going to give you a talking-to.” Then, she touched his jacket with a pained expression and said, “This padded jacket won’t be warm now that it’s wet, and we don’t have the money to make you a new one. You’ll just have to tough it out!”

The chubby boy chuckled sheepishly. He saw Juhua standing off to the side, her eyes curved into crescents as she smiled at him. For the first time in what seemed like forever, he actually blushed. He hurriedly said to his sister, “Mei, I’m going home to change,” and then quickly ran off.

Juhua felt a laugh bubbling up as she watched him go. ’You little rascal,’ she thought, ’you nearly made me fall into the pond too. If I’d really tumbled into that mud, now that would’ve been a sight. People would’ve laughed their heads off.’

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep