Her Cultivation Diary-Chapter 1881 - 1686: Tug-of-War

Fetching the nets was already nothing new for Qiaoqiao.

The family was large, so every few days they had to set them. The pond by the house, the pond in the distance, the big pond in the mountains... and now there was the vast riverside beach.

The harvests from the nets became more plentiful: crucian carp, carp, white fish, silver carp, bighead carp, loaches, eels, crabs, small shrimps...

In short, just like the fisherman's haul, there was everything, all in abundance.

Just sometimes the quantity of a single type might be too small to make a dish, so it had to be released back, or kept for a couple of days.

As a result, Qiaoqiao was even too lazy to start a livestream.

Moreover, Teacher Xin had advised that if there were kids from outside the area, it was best not to show faces. Qiaoqiao was a well-behaved child, carefree and decided to give his little friends a break!

After all, he'd sold many things recently, with even more benefits, so taking a break for ten days or half a month wouldn't matter, right?

However, what was commonplace to the rural folks was indescribably exciting and filled with anticipation for the city kids.

They'd mostly watched their grandpas fish or stepped into the shallow waters of the river during holidays to catch little crabs.

This fantastic trick of placing the long, long, long net into the water at night and having a full harvest the next day opened up a new world.

Now, three kids and a dog were buzzing around Qiaoqiao, their chatter becoming a cacophony, making the parents' heads spin, but Qiaoqiao was triumphantly satisfied—as an elder brother, taking care of the kids was truly rewarding.

At around 6 o'clock, the riverside beach was thick with water vapor, streaks of dazzling sunlight hadn't yet descended completely, but nonetheless, everyone was already sweating along the way.

Chen Xi and Chen Chi had been tidying the livestock sheds early in the morning, Zhang Wang's family was at the fermentation pool using machines to mix the fertilizer, only the sturdy female warrior Tie Lian and the town's uncle were busy collecting pasture, working like a furnace.

They casually called out:

"Qiaoqiao, the boss said you brought friends, today we won't collect duck eggs, you'll come to the reed marshes to gather duck eggs this evening."

Chickens mostly obey, they lay eggs in fixed spots every time.

But ducks were evidently much more indulgent, this reed marsh with its lush green leaves, secluded and cool beneath, with thick piles of grass, was just the environment they liked for laying eggs.

When they first moved over, there were quite a few ducks that especially liked laying eggs by the riverside beach.

Once duck eggs got soaked, they had to be collected quickly, which added a lot of tasks. Eventually, it was Da Wang leading the dogs to keep an eye on them, which made them much more obedient.

Qiaoqiao shared this matter, and now the nets hadn't been lifted yet, the kids exclaimed in excitement, evidently there was an added anticipation!

Even the kids' mothers were restless:

"Are there a lot of duck eggs? Can you gather them all? Would you like us to help?"

Quite a lot indeed, around two hundred ducks, with most laying eggs...

And though the kids could gather duck eggs, carrying them was not too reassuring.

Qiaoqiao was smart now: "Yes! We want Aunties to join in!"

Lun Chuan said with a smile: "Every day's schedule is quite packed, if there's time after gathering duck eggs, we'll take you to pick water caltrops."

But the men of the house were somewhat unhappy.

They also didn't want to give up picking water caltrops and asked: "If they come to gather duck eggs and pick water caltrops in the afternoon, can we fish here?"

Originally, Lun Chuan's plan was to start fishing here at 4 a.m., fish till around 9 a.m., then leave as the sun rose high and the temperature increased, which should yield two catches.

But...

"Can't really get up at 4 o'clock."

Just getting the kids ready took an extra half hour compared to others.

Plus, He Kuang and Qin Yun, those two leisurely kings, couldn't complete their work without dragging to the deadline.

The grandmothers and maids had no objections. Seeing Lun Chuan asking around, they'd wave him off: 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"The scenery's so nice here, sitting around daydreaming is comfortable. They'll do their thing; we'll do ours. Xiaolun, take a break, you don't need to be with us the whole time."

With this big group rushing around, with noisy kids, having someone accompany all day would be quite consuming.

A few days into the routine, they were able to handle things themselves.

"Alright," Lun Chuan didn't hesitate: "Then we'll go pick water caltrops tomorrow afternoon—it's too cold in the morning, perfect in the warm afternoon."

The adults go on with their talk, while Qiaoqiao was already leading the kids to find the rope left yesterday, shouting solemnly: "Time to lift!"

This particular net was newly bought by Lun Chuan yesterday, longer than what the family previously had, reaching a length of 12 meters.

Now laid out in the water, Qiaoqiao grasped the rope and pulled hard, finding it somewhat difficult.

This indicated a big catch inside.

Qiaoqiao planned to step back a few paces, wrap the rope twice for an easier pull, but seeing the kids standing beside with clenched fists, fixated on the water, he loosened the rope from his hand.

"Do you know how to do tug of war? If you do, grab the rope. I'll say to pull hard, and we'll all pull backward together, okay?"

"That sure works!"

He Tuo was eager: "I'm strong, I'll stand last."

Qiaoqiao didn't believe it! He was the strongest!

"But if you stand last, I can't see the water in front of me..."

He Tuo promptly changed his position: "Then you go last, I'll go first."

The girls wouldn't back down either: "I have great strength too, I want to be first."

"Me too! I'm strong! Our class won a tug of war!"

They used to be harmonious, but now there was a dispute, and everyone discussed until Big Brother Qiaoqiao settled it:

"You three can play rock-paper-scissors."

Little Ten tilted its head beside them, puzzled at why people suddenly became so indecisive.

Previously, when lifting nets, it only needed to leap and bark for encouragement beside, and would get a couple small fish from the owner.

"Humph!" it let out a short snort, obviously impatient, but alas, no one paid attention amidst the kids' chatter.

Fortunately, the kids were gracious in their victories, once rock-paper-scissors ended, no one cheated, everyone took their places—

Qin Beibei

He Tuo

Yun Danqing

Qiaoqiao.

Qiaoqiao grabbed the rope: "Lift!"

The kids tensed their arms, cheeks flushed, leaning back, feet firmly planted on the grass, truly exerting every ounce of their strength!

And Qiaoqiao pulled hard too.

With his lead, everyone stepped back step by step, the net gradually approaching the shore from the shallows, and through the muddy waters, a hint of the harvest bounty was visible.

Qin Beibei shouted: "So many! So many!"

Little Ten was wagging its tail anxiously, circling back and forth, and now seeing the outline of the net was visible, it barked:

"Woof!"

Then swiftly dashed forward, biting the rope equally fiercely and pulling hard.