NOVPUBAfter the break, life returned to normal. Zhu Ping'an rode his old yellow cow with his backpack toward the school, followed reluctantly by Zhu Pingjun.
As they passed a small courtyard with a wooden gate, a large yellow dog stuck its head out and barked at the two.
"In the sky, dragon meat; on the ground, dog meat." This was Zhu Ping'an's first reaction upon seeing the large yellow dog. Please forgive the bluntness of a foodie.
"Bite! Bite! I'll send you to school!" Zhu Pingjun threatened the large yellow dog while holding his backpack, projecting his own displeasure onto the dog.
The large yellow dog didn't understand human language, but it could tell from Zhu Pingjun's bared teeth that he wasn't complimenting its strong physique and sleek fur. So it barked and lunged at Zhu Pingjun and the others.
Zhu Pingjun was startled by the dog's enthusiastic action, causing him to fall onto his buttocks. Luckily, the dog was tied up; otherwise, it would have left enthusiastic paw prints on Zhu Pingjun.
"Jun Ge, are you okay?" Zhu Ping'an wanted to get off the yellow cow to help Zhu Pingjun, as he had seen him fall quite hard.
Before Zhu Ping'an could get down, Zhu Pingjun got up from the ground, dusted himself off, and grumbled about why he didn't die from the fall; if he had, he wouldn't have to go to school anymore. Uh, how much does he hate school?
After two days of absence, the troublemakers in the school were particularly enthusiastic, especially the chubby boy Li Xiaobao, who brought snacks from home to share with Zhu Ping'an and a few nearby kids. He boasted about how many fish he had caught and how big they were.
The teacher's lessons were the same as usual; in addition to teaching the Three Character Classic and the Hundred Family Surnames for recognizing characters, he also took the time to teach Zhu Ping'an a few phrases from the Analects.
The scheming little girl Li Shu, who had cried after Zhu Ping'an spanked her, and the bun maid Hua'er, once again appeared right on time during Zhu Ping'an's break.
With new clothes, a new hairstyle, and new accessories, the only thing unchanged was their usual proud and haughty demeanor.
When the bun maid Hua'er saw Zhu Ping'an leading the old yellow cow down the hillside, she shot him a look of resentment, as if she held a grudge.
"Good morning." Zhu Ping'an casually walked past the two, greeted them, and then tied the old yellow cow to a tree trunk by the river.
"Good morning your head! We've been waiting for half a day!" The scheming little girl snapped at Zhu Ping'an angrily.
"Oh, sorry. The teacher ran late today." Zhu Ping'an nodded apologetically.
"Here." The bun maid's tone was almost identical to that of the scheming little girl, as she remembered vividly how Zhu Ping'an had spanked her.
However, when she saw Zhu Ping'an take the food box, her big eyes revealed an expression of anticipation, which was fleeting but still caught Zhu Ping'an's attention.
There must be something wrong with the food in the box.
Zhu Ping'an took the food box, placed it on a rock, and sincerely said to the two little girls:
"I thought about it for a long time. Um, I shouldn't have spanked you yesterday. Um, how can you just spank a girl's bottom…"
As soon as Zhu Ping'an mentioned spanking, both little girls reflexively glared at him with indignation, especially the scheming little girl, who looked ready to pounce on Zhu Ping'an and bite off a piece of his annoying chubby face.
"So, um, after all, I was wrong too, so let me tell you a story today," Zhu Ping'an said, sitting on a stone with a serious apologetic attitude while holding a food box.
"Cough, cough, don't worry too much about it; we made mistakes too. Just hurry up and eat so you can tell us the story," the cunning little girl said, appearing magnanimous in forgiving Zhu Ping'an, but constantly urging him to eat.
Alright, I'm giving you the opportunity; it's your fault for not seizing it, so don't blame me, Zhu Ping'an thought.
"Before I talk about the Eagle Shooting, let me first tell you a story about climbing a mountain," Zhu Ping'an said with a silly smile.
The two little girls switched to story-listening mode, munching on snacks while sitting in a row.
"The story happens right around us; the Woniu Mountain behind us is particularly tall. It's said that at the top of the mountain, there are ten thousand-year-old spirit mushrooms that can cure all diseases," Zhu Ping'an said in a cheerful tone.
"That's a lie; there's no medicine that can cure all diseases," the cunning little girl scoffed.
"That's why it's a legend," Zhu Ping'an said leisurely. "At the foot of Woniu Mountain, there was a couple deeply in love. They were childhood sweethearts, and it was just about time for them to discuss marriage. However, the girl suddenly fell ill with a strange disease that couldn't be cured. So, the boy decided to go up the mountain to pick the thousand-year spirit mushroom to cure her, but the girl was worried and insisted on going with him."
"Coincidentally, some people nearby also wanted to go up the mountain to pick the thousand-year spirit mushrooms, so they formed a group of more than ten people to climb to the top together. When they reached the foot of the mountain and wanted to climb to the top, the weather suddenly turned bad, and it started to rain heavily. But they were determined to go up the mountain anyway. So, they left the girl to watch the campsite," Zhu Ping'an's tone gradually became somber at this point.
The little girls listened intently, still chewing on their snacks.
"But after three days, they hadn't returned. The girl started to worry, thinking it might be due to the weather. As she waited, on the seventh day, they finally came back, but her childhood sweetheart was the only one who hadn't returned."
Upon hearing this, the little girls stopped chewing their snacks, feeling a bit tense.
"After everyone returned, they told her that on the first day of climbing, her childhood sweetheart unfortunately died! They hurried back for the seventh day, thinking he might return to find her. So everyone formed a circle and placed her in the middle. As it approached midnight, suddenly her childhood sweetheart appeared, covered in blood, and grabbed her to run outside. The girl screamed in fright and struggled desperately. At that moment, her childhood sweetheart told her… a mountain disaster happened on the first day of climbing! The heavy rain washed away the mountain rocks, and everyone died except for him… Who do you believe?" Zhu Ping'an's voice became even lower, deliberately carrying a creepy tone.
The little girls turned pale with fear and huddled together, screaming like two hamsters in a cute little ball.
In stark contrast to the frightened little girls was Zhu Ping'an's silly smile. This ghost story was relatively mild; he was just afraid of scaring them, not telling them about the little red string or the midnight bus, and similar stories.
After a while of screaming, the little girls finally regained their composure. Looking at Zhu Ping'an's silly smile, they suddenly realized that this silly little chubby boy was doing it on purpose.
"Zhu Ping'an, you jerk!" the cunning little girl stepped forward and unreasonably kicked Zhu Ping'an. 𝘯𝘰𝑣𝘱𝑢𝘣.𝑐𝑜𝑚
Zhu Ping'an easily dodged and retorted confidently, "You guys were the ones who tampered with the food box first."
"How did you know?" the curious little maid Hua'er asked, "You didn't even open it."
"Ah, silly Hua'er!" the cunning little girl's face darkened.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Ping'an's chubby face broke into a grin as he spread his hands, "I wasn't sure at first, but now I'm certain."
Teasing the little girls and listening to lessons, time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was time for the two villages to compete for water; the Confucius Academy even took a special day off.
