NOVPUB
Chapter 447: Chapter 308: Correctly Deveining Shrimp_3
Jiang Ning walked, silently casting a spell.
"Psychopaths who like to hurt others shouldn’t stay in crowded places."
He flicked his fingers, and the spell shot backwards.
A mentally ill young man was chasing a child, who dodged left and right in fear. Just then, the "mentally ill" person’s body stiffened as if shot and fell straight down.
Passersby seeing this hurried over to check the situation.
...
By then, Jiang Ning had already gone far away.
About two hundred meters from the Huishui River to the river dam lay rice paddies interspersed with many pits and ponds, some of which were connected to the river water.
Xue Yuantong said, "These small channels are especially good for digging for shrimp."
Following the path down the river dam, Jiang Ning approached the pits and hollows near the river.
Jiang Ning, dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and wearing flip-flops, looked like a countryside youth.
The path below the river dam was all dirt. Fortunately, the weather was clear and the ground was dry. If it had rained, the mud would have made it extremely difficult to move forward, likely sucking off shoes.
Trees, green grass, and wheat fields, Geng Lu walked through the countryside feeling light-hearted.
Xue Yuantong passed a large pit pond with quite clear water. She stood by a big tree and described:
"This pit was dug by an excavator."
The pit pond was rectangular, about twenty meters long and seven or eight meters wide, with the water surface about twenty centimeters above the ground.
"The water looks so clean. Can you swim in it?" Geng Lu asked curiously.
Xue Chuchu shook her head, "Absolutely not, these kinds of pits are the most dangerous and the easiest to drown in."
"You see, the edges of the pit are steep because they were dug by the excavator. Once you get into the water, it’s hard to get out."
"The water looks clean, and at a close look, it seems you can see the bottom, making one think it’s shallow, but once you get in, you’ll realize how deep it really is."
Not being familiar with this, Geng Lu responded doubtfully:
"How deep is this pit?"
Xue Chuchu thought for a while, then took Tongtong’s bamboo pole to the edge of the pit pond.
Xue Yuantong worried for her, so Xue Chuchu said, "You guys stand back and watch carefully."
She carefully approached the edge of the pond, extending the bamboo pole towards the water surface until it nearly fully submerged before touching the bottom.
Xue Chuchu pulled out the bamboo pole and stood it next to Jiang Ning. 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝒐𝒎
The part of the bamboo pole that had been submerged was much taller than Jiang Ning.
Geng Lu looked surprised: "Over two meters deep."
"Yep, many kids have fallen in and disappeared immediately," said Xue Chuchu.
Geng Lu looked back at the pit pond, feeling the calm water surface was like a gaping mouth that swallowed people, and she shivered:
"So scary."
They left the pit pond and continued forward. The riverside was planted with many trees, which made the woods especially comfortable, with occasional bird calls.
They walked along the path by the edge of the pit ponds, passing one after another.
"Tap tap tap." A woodpecker frenziedly pecked at a tree.
Geng Lu took out her cellphone and snapped a photo from a distance.
Crossing through the woods, the view suddenly opened up, and the ground in front of them was still a series of pit ponds. These pit ponds, closer to the river water, were not so regular, odd and strangely shaped.
Near the pit ponds grew clumps of pasture, some with yellow flowers, some with pink, and the eastern sunlight sprinkled down, reflecting off the water, a vibrant scene.
Xue Yuantong remarked, "These are natural pit ponds, not like the ones we just passed that were dug by excavators; those are dead pit ponds."
Xue Chuchu added, "Dead pit ponds generally don’t have fish or shrimp."
"Let’s start digging for shrimp!" Xue Yuantong spread her legs and swung her bucket.
She took the lead, running to the edge of the pond, scanning around with her eyes.
Xue Yuantong had good eyesight. Soon, she found a lobster hole at the water’s edge.
"Come on, come on!"
Jiang Ning and the others got closer.
The lobster hole was located at the edge of the pond, above the water level, with a ring of mud around it that looked different at a glance.
"I told you, there’s definitely a shrimp in there," Xue Yuantong confidently stated.
Xue Chuchu said, "Right, this is a standard lobster hole."
Jiang Ning asked, "So, who will be the first to dig for the lobster?"
Xue Chuchu voiced her opinion, "This lobster hole entrance is quite narrow, suitable for someone with slim arms."
Xue Yuantong crossed her arms and proudly said, "Correct, that would be me."
She was already planning to make her move, intending to astonish Jiang Ning.
At that moment, Geng Lu mustered her courage, "I want to try."
As soon as she said this, the three of them looked at her.
Geng Lu said, "I’ve never dug for shrimp before."
Xue Chuchu examined the lobster hole again, confirming with her experience that it was 99% likely a lobster hole and not a snake hole.
"Then give it a try, but be careful not to get pinched," she advised kindly.
"Okay, okay," Geng Lu glanced at Jiang Ning, handing him her cellphone.
She squatted down, her hand reaching towards the lobster hole.
Xue Chuchu, who had dug for shrimp before, observed, "Your posture is wrong, you can’t reach deep enough, lean to one side."
"Oh, oh." As a newbie, Geng Lu didn’t quite understand, but after Xue Chuchu’s instruction, she decided to change her position.
Geng Lu now started digging for shrimp.
The lobster hole tilted inward toward the pond and had a certain curvature; she could only lean to one side as she squatted.
Geng Lu practiced yoga and was very flexible. She pressed her chest completely against her thighs, her hand struggling to reach into the lobster hole.
Watching this scene, Xue Yuantong quietly said, "It’s all squished."
