"GULP!"

"GULP!"

Two successive gulps of what sounded like water were chilling to hear.

Another full cup of white liquor had been poured into Huai Xu's stomach.

He smacked his lips and glanced at Second Uncle before whispering to Zhou Li, "It's so bitter, not as good as the one made from wheat. Do you know what they make this stuff with?"

"Sorghum and wheat."

"No wonder it tastes awful. It's made from sorghum! Back in the day, if we had wheat flour, who would eat that stuff?"

"Drink less."

"You also noticed Brother Nan's Second Uncle can't handle his liquor anymore? HEHEHEHE!" Huai Xu grinned and continued whispering, "That'll teach him to bully you!"

"..."

Second Uncle truly couldn't handle it.

After dinner, he sat in front of the television for a while, then staggered upstairs to his room, bumping into tables and chairs, making them CLATTER loudly.

Grandma, being elderly and slightly neurotic, couldn't stand the CLATTERING. Unfortunately, she also had a fiery temper and scolded him thoroughly. At that moment, Second Uncle just trudged forward, ignoring her completely, his expression clearly stating, I'd lose if I listened to a single word of that.

Definitely related to Brother Nan, no doubt.

Before heading upstairs, he even carried a bucket up, seemingly aware that he had drunk too much.

Elder family members naturally had their own rooms, while unmarried youngsters stayed in shared rooms—what Brother Nan jokingly referred to as the male and female dormitories. However, Second Uncle's room was also on the second floor.

That night, around eleven, Huai Xu, busy helping Zhang Hao level up, was the first to hear Second Uncle's groans. When they went to his room, they found him curled up in agony on the bed.

"My stomach hurts a bit..." Second Uncle said with difficulty.

So, Brother Nan immediately rode the tricycle to get the village doctor. The doctor gave Second Uncle some medication. Brother Nan and Zhou Li then stayed up with him to monitor his condition. They needed to decide whether to take him to the town hospital the next day or rush him there in the middle of the night.

However, just a minute after taking the medicine, which probably hadn't even reached his stomach, he felt better and drifted off to sleep in a daze.

Brother Nan was speechless but still stayed with Zhou Li watching over him until midnight, worried he might start hurting again or that his airway might get blocked by vomit.

「May 2.」

The morning mist still shrouded the village. The temperature was cool but not cold, and a red sun was already visible in the distance. It seemed to Zhou Li that he had just packed his spring/autumn jacket in his backpack, and suddenly it was high summer.

Due to the overnight watch, he woke up a little late. Brother Nan did too. Second Uncle, however, woke up quite early.

Sitting at the table grooming her hair and glancing sideways at Second Uncle, Brother Nan said, "Let me finish combing my hair, and I'll take you to the hospital. You definitely have a stomach ailment."

"It's just from drinking too much; it irritated my stomach. No need for a hospital visit." After saying this, Second Uncle added reflectively, "Ah, getting old..."

"You still drink that much with a stomach problem! You're insane!"

"Want breakfast? It's in the cupboard."

"Don't change the subject." Brother Nan, adjusting the 'antenna' on top of her head with her fingers in front of the mirror, said, "I'm going to tell them in the group chat, tagging your son, daughter, and wife. I'll tell them your stomach's messed up, that you almost died from drinking last night. That's it for you, Second Uncle, you're done. You can't drink for the rest of your life."

"Who almost died? It's just a stomachache!"

"You're done, you're done..."

"What's with this 'done, done'?!"

"You're done, you're done..." Brother Nan placed the mirror back next to the television, her mouth still endlessly repeating these three words, making Second Uncle increasingly anxious.

"Look, you can rant all you want, but don't talk nonsense in front of them!"

"I will say it! How can I not? Did you see how scary you were last night? If I don't say it, Grandpa and Grandma will." Brother Nan had already pulled out her phone. She sat down on the chair, even crossing her legs nonchalantly. "You're done, you're done. Let me tell you, I'm going to get the whole family to keep an eye on you. From now on, during family meals on holidays and festivals, you'll be ousted from our table. You can go sit with your wife and daughter, Big Aunt, my mom, and your mom."

"Are you making such a fuss, Li Nan, just because I encouraged your little boyfriend to drink a bit?"

"No!" Brother Nan turned, looking at him seriously. "This is for your own health, don't talk nonsense!"

With that, she tapped the screen.

BANG!

Second Uncle's phone rang.

Brother Nan lifted her chin slightly. "I've already sent it. Wait a moment. I also took your photo last night. If I don't post it, I'll feel like I stayed up for nothing."

THUD. THUD. THUD...

Several sounds in a row.

Second Uncle's face turned ashen.

Actually, it wasn't the first or second time his stomach had ached from drinking, but it had never been as severe as last night. He had been provoked by the kid who drank alcohol like water. Towards the end, he himself had started drinking it like water, and that's why the pain was so intense. Previously, whenever he had a stomachache, he would quietly go out and lie on the couch to sleep, enduring the pain silently, without telling his family. He also hadn't told them that his liver function wasn't very good either.

His addiction to alcohol was simply too strong.

He knew that if he spoke up, he would likely end up being monitored and cut off from alcohol.

And now...

If only I, Li Xianzhi, had known, no matter what anyone said, even if someone held a cleaver to my neck or tried to force me to jump from upstairs, I would never have encouraged Xiao Zhou to drink.

THUD. THUD. THUD. THUD...

WeChat began to bubble with activity.

Second Uncle caught a glimpse of Brother Nan's fingers flying over the keyboard. His lips trembling, he reached into his pocket and turned off the sound on his phone.

Before long, Brother Nan also put her phone away and walked outside. She saw Grandpa sitting on a small stool making nets for catching lobsters and asked in confusion, "Didn't we keep two nets from last year?"

"We have more people this year," Grandpa said cheerfully.

"We can just take turns using them."

"What if we all hook a fish at the same time?" Grandpa's hands kept moving. "It's better to make a few more, one for each person. It's more fun when you hook your own fish and net it yourself."

"You just have too much free time."

Brother Nan pouted and went back inside to have breakfast.

「Half an hour later.」

A few classmates had already been waiting for the two of them for a long time.

Brother Nan tied up her hair and grabbed a big ball of wool.

Zhang Hao hurriedly picked up a bundle of bamboo strips placed by the doorway. The others grabbed nets or buckets, creating quite a bustling scene.

「Datian.」

Datian is a piece of farmland shared by many families. It's filled with water like a reservoir, about a meter deep, and located at the highest point, also serving to store water. Usually, after winter, it begins to collect water. If there isn't enough rainfall during the rice planting season, water is released from Datian to the lower fields. After the water is drained, the field reveals many ridges and boundary markers.

"There are tons of lobsters here. Fewer people come fishing nowadays. When I was younger, you had to fight for a spot on the ridges by the fields. If you couldn't get one, you had to go into the water and fish in the middle. Back then, the edges of the field and the field itself were crowded with people," Brother Nan said. "It seems like there were especially many people around when I was in middle school, right, Jiang Han?"

"Mm-hmm," Jiang Han agreed.

"When I was in elementary school, I used to earn money every May Day by fishing for crayfish," Brother Nan said with a few sneaky chuckles. "Back then, a lot of kids would follow me. I'd lead them in fishing, and we could catch a lot. After catching them, we'd carry them in back-baskets—everyone carried one. Then we'd ride bicycles to town early in the morning to sell them. We could make several hundred yuan at a time. After selling them, I'd take everyone to a noodle shop in town for a meal. They could eat whatever they wanted. Then, I'd give them a few yuan each and stuff the rest into my own pocket, HEHEHE..."

"Were they okay with that?" Zhou Li asked.

"They were more than okay! They were actually thrilled, thinking I was very generous for treating them to a meal at a restaurant, HAHAHA..."

"..."

Zhou Li noticed Jiang Han's embarrassed expression.

Indeed, there were very few people around Datian, only a few kids fishing. Brother Nan directly occupied an entire ridge, having the girls tie lines to the bamboo strips while she tied on the bait, as the large intestines used for bait had a strong smell.

Zhou Li also bent down to help her.

Brother Nan's grandpa is truly adorable.

These bamboo strips were processed on both ends to prevent hands from being cut. Additionally, one end was carved with a sawtooth pattern so the line wouldn't slip off, while the other end was sharpened for easy insertion into the soil. In contrast, the other children just used randomly bent twigs, tying their lines at branch junctions, which looked thoroughly unprofessional.

Zhou Li felt a sense of superiority.

Soon, the ridge was filled with rods made from bamboo strips. Strands of red woolen yarn slanted into the water, trembling in the wind, causing constant ripples on the water's surface.

The wool was red, bright red.

Zhou Li couldn't help saying, "Isn't this a bit much? Will the crayfish really fall for it?"

Huai Xu immediately frowned. "SHH! Don't talk!"

"..."

That old monster, simply unbeatable.

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