The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 307 - 296: Successful Mother

Chapter 307: Chapter 296: Successful Mother

The entrance to Qili Village boasted a river, and not just any river, but one teeming with fish. Hence, every household had fishing nets to speak of, and even the poorest of families, if not owning a net, surely possessed a fish basket.

With so many children in the Zhou family, how could they possibly be without a fishing net?

Having figured out a method, Manbao dashed home to search for a fishing net in a puff of smoke.

Naturally, Datou and the rest were eager to join in the excitement. Searching for nets meant they wouldn’t have to pick wheat, and as for asking their parents for work, the field was too far away for them to bother walking over.

Thus, the children divided the labor. One group followed Manbao to look for the fishing nets while another sought out tall, straight sticks.

Just as Manbao dragged out the fishing net, she saw Bai Shanbao standing by, watching her with an unhappy expression on his face.

Manbao belatedly realized and exclaimed, "Oh, is it already 9 am?"

They had agreed to do homework together at that time.

Bai Shanbao couldn’t help but retort, "It’s almost lunchtime and you’re asking if it’s 9 am? Don’t you ever look at the sun?"

Manbao, without lifting her head, replied, "The sun is so glaring; who would look up at it? Besides, it’s always this scorching."

However, being late was indeed her fault... no, this wasn’t just being late, this was breaking a promise. Thus, Manbao cleared her throat apologetically and said, "Don’t be mad, I won’t be late tomorrow."

"What about tomorrow? Aren’t you going to do homework today?"

Manbao hesitated for a moment before admitting, "I want to catch birds first."

Bai Shanbao tilted his head, asking with interest, "Catch birds?"

"Yeah, those sparrows in the fields, there are loads of them."

Bai Shanbao glanced at the net, unsure, "Aren’t fishing nets used for catching fish?"

Fifteen minutes later, a group of children gathered under a small tree, struggling to fit the net over the sticks. Just as they were about to move forward, the net snapped off the sticks and fell.

Everyone: ...

Ms. Qian watched with a glint of amusement in her eyes but didn’t interfere, merely warning, "Don’t damage the net, or else your parents will beat you when they come back."

Manbao protested, "Mom, you’re my mother, you know."

Ms. Qian gave Datou and the others a sidelong glance.

Wiping sweat from their foreheads, Datou and the rest felt grandma was being partial, but they still assured her they wouldn’t damage it.

Even though Manbao had explained, Bai Shanbao remained skeptical, "Can we really catch birds like this?"

Manbao, brimming with confidence, "It should work. Zhou Hu has done it before, so it should work for us too."

Datou and Daya retied the net and then, filled with confidence, they used the sticks to maneuver the net forward. To avoid scaring the birds, all except Datou and Daya, who were the strongest, retreated to the back.

Datou and Daya struggled to hold the sticks until some birds landed on the ground and began to approach slowly...

Just as a bird walked under the net, Datou quickly tilted the stick down and Daya let go at once. The net snapped down, the bird on the ground shrieked in surprise and deftly flew away, flapping its wings. One stick hit a bird, causing it to fall to the ground, but before they could catch it, the bird sprang up in fright and flew over their heads.

Under the net, there was nothing but empty space.

Everyone: ...

Full of ambition, Manbao rolled up her sleeves and said, "Let’s try again."

So, they all picked up the net, ready to have another go.

By this time, Old Zhou had already made two trips back and forth. He set down his bamboo basket, rested under a little tree for a while, and nonchalantly observed their efforts. He couldn’t help but turn to Ms. Qian and say, "I remember Second Son caught birds using this method before, didn’t he?"

Ms. Qian hummed an acknowledgment, adding, "He learned it from Zhou Hu’s father. They played together since childhood, and he picked up quite a few skills from being around Zhou Hu’s dad."

Old Zhou then asked, watching Manbao bustling about, "Why has Manbao suddenly taken an interest in this?"

Ms. Qian, also watching Manbao, said nonchalantly, "She’s growing up. I remember at her age, he was also fond of these things. He was slick at climbing trees. While Eldest could only follow us picking up wheat ears, He was already climbing trees to raid bird nests and catching frogs in the fields."

If it weren’t for their strict rule against the children going near the water, he probably would’ve been able to catch fish as well.

Zhou Silang made it back as if he’d staked half his life on it. He cast an envious glance at Datou and Second Son among the group of kids and thought regretfully, "It’s great to be a kid. I used to look forward to growing up, couldn’t wait to be older, but it turns out that growing up means you have to work."

So, being a child was better; just worry about eating, drinking, and having fun, and not bother about anything else.

Zhou Silang sighed and squatted down next to his father, turning to watch the gaggle of kids causing a ruckus.

Old Zhou didn’t mind resting by himself, but the instant he saw Zhou Si squatting with him, he became dissatisfied. So, slapping his buttocks, he stood up and kicked Zhou Si, "What are you staring at? Hurry up and go load the wheat. Your wife is about to finish preparing lunch; don’t you want to eat?"

Zhou Si, taken aback, slowly got up to load the wheat.

Old Zhou sat down again and waved at him from a distance, "Load mine too."

Zhou Si paused, about to move forward to load his father’s basket, but Old Zhou glanced at him and said, "Fill yours up first, then mine."

Zhou Si’s face dripped with such misery it was almost palpable.

When Zhou Wulang and Zhou Liulang returned, they caught him looking morose as he loaded the wheat. They didn’t pay much attention, loading up their own as they watched Manbao and the others bustling around. "Big bro, you think they can catch any birds?"

"Catch birds? They’ll be lucky," Zhou Si said. "No one but Zhou Hu has ever managed to catch them with that method."

Zhou Hu didn’t keep his method a secret; most of the village knew how he caught birds. Several young people had tried to imitate him, but none succeeded.

Moreover, while birds looked tasty, they didn’t have much meat on them. Who would waste so much time catching them?

If you had the time, you might as well fish in the river; one fish is surely bigger than one bird, right?

If Manbao was after meat, she would probably lose patience after a few failures; but since she was after points, despite failing four or five times, she never gave up hope and was still eager to continue.

However, Old Zhou and Ms. Qian wouldn’t allow them to continue. Zhou Dalang and the others had finished cutting the wheat in the fields and came to pick it up. They joined in loading the wheat, and with their help, the work sped up considerably. Soon, the wheat piles were all cleared, and any stray wheat ears left on the grass were picked up.

Therefore, Old Zhou and Ms. Qian sent the children back home, "It’s time for lunch. With the sun so high, don’t stay out and get sunstroke. What would we do if something happened?"

Manbao and the rest reluctantly followed back home.

Ms. Qian turned to Junior Ms. Qian and instructed, "Herd the chickens over here to eat up the wheat grains left behind in the fields."

Junior Ms. Qian acknowledged with a ’yes’ and went to round up the chickens.

Manbao & Bai Shanbao: ...

The two exchanged glances, utterly disappointed, and trudged home with drooping heads.

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