Face to Face

When the school bell rang, the children respectfully bid farewell to Mr. Zhuang. After he waved, they happily ran out.

Of course, Manbao was no exception. She ran out with her books, and Bai Shanbao was even faster. He met the servant who had come to pick up Manbao.

Mrs. Liu had learned that the children from each family went home by themselves after school, and their house was not far from the school.

She knew that in order for Shanbao to integrate quickly into the school, no special arrangements could be made. So, they had agreed not to pick him up today.

Shanbao was delighted and said that he would play with his classmates. So, Mrs. Liu didn't send anyone to pick him up but instead sent a servant to watch by the river. If Bai Shanbao went to play by the river, the servant would bring him back.

Seeing that Manbao still needed someone to pick her up, Shanbao felt very proud and said that she was still a child who hadn't been weaned.

Manbao said, "You haven't been weaned either." I stopped drinking milk at eight months. "Hmph, Big Head is here to help me carry my books."

"That's right, I'm here to carry books for my little cousin."

Although they said that, Manbao decided that when she got home, she would tell her mother not to pick her up from school anymore.

Feeling that she was being looked down upon, Manbao sternly ordered Big Head, "We're going to dig lotus roots." Big Head, lead the way!

Big Head felt that Manbao was just a child with all sorts of ideas. She was so small, yet she wanted to dig roots. Was she going to dig roots or bury herself?

But after glancing at Bai Shanbao, he felt that he couldn't lose face in front of his young cousin. "So," he said, "Little cousin, let's take the books home first. We still need to go back and get the hoe."

Manbao's head was held high, but she hesitated and asked, "Do we need a hoe to dig roots?"

Big Head confidently said, "Yes, lotus roots are in the mud."

Bai Shanbao looked at Manbao with disdain, thinking she was silly. Even he knew that you needed a hoe to dig things out of the soil.

He felt a sense of camaraderie with Manbao, considering them to be of the same generation. He also acknowledged his seniority over Big Head, so he waved his hand and said, "Alright, let's go."

Observing them from the side, Bai Erlang noticed that they were heading in a different direction. He couldn't help but scratch his head and ask, "What should we do?"

Bai Erlang gritted his teeth and said, "Follow them." If it's just the three of them, we're not afraid. "We're older than them."

The other two friends also felt confident that they could defeat the three of them, so they grabbed the sack and followed.

Big Head led them back to the Zhou family's house, set down the books, and surveyed the front and back of the house. Seeing that there were no adults at home, she knew that her grandmother must be in the vegetable garden. Today, the family was going to harvest Chinese cabbage, and such important matters had to be decided by their grandmother.

Manbao and Shanbao were urging her, and as children, they were very anxious.

Big Head had no choice but to find Er Ya, who was cooking in the kitchen, and asked her to locate Fourth Uncle and bring him back from the field. Afterward, they were supposed to go to the lotus flower field by the river to find them.

Er Ya looked at the cooking rice and ran off.

Big Head then took out a thick stick and said, "Since the hoe is gone, let's use a stick."

Manbao and Shanbao had no objections. As long as they could go, it was fine.

So, they walked toward the river. They followed the riverbank until they reached the end of the village, then a little further, and there was a river beach. The river flowed out into a vast wetland at this point, then meandered around before resuming its course downstream. The children didn't know where the river would go, but they heard that it flowed into the mountains.

Manbao had thought more than once about following the river to see where it went, but Big Head was aware of her dangerous idea. As they walked, she warned her, "You can't follow the river." If you do, you'll never see us again. And you can't go near the water. "If you fall in, my arms are short, and I won't be able to catch you."

Manbao didn't know if she had listened, but she nodded.

When they arrived, Shanbao took a look and saw that there were many tall wild grasses and sparse lotus leaves near the riverbank.

Although it was referred to as a river beach, the ground near where they stood was hard because it had rained yesterday. There were also numerous small puddles of water, and the water was crystal clear, enabling them to see the bottom of the puddles.

Bai Shanbao squatted down and looked, even reaching out to compare the size of the puddle.

Big Head only took a glance and said, "It must be the village head's cow that came here to eat grass."

He sighed, "The grass here is so green, tall, and delicious."

Bai Shanbao curiously asked him, "Have you eaten it?"

Big Head thought he was silly, "Cows eat it. Have you eaten it?"

"How do you know it's delicious?"

Big Head was stumped.

Manbao and Shanbao were both drawn to the small puddles on the ground and momentarily forgot about digging lotus roots. Big Head didn't remind them and allowed them to play there.

After all, the river water had receded, and this large area had become dry land. No matter how they fell, as long as they didn't land in the water, they wouldn't fall into the river.

The two friends, who hadn't seen much of the world, were running around in the tall reeds. When they saw small fish swimming in the puddles, they exclaimed in surprise.

The Bai family's servant, who had been assigned to keep an eye on the young master from afar, observed the two children squatting on the ground. Their heads were almost touching as they chatted near a small puddle. He decided not to approach them for the time being.

After all, the distance from the river was quite long.

He could only give them another three-quarters of an hour to play. After that, they had to go home no matter what.

As the servant shifted his position and momentarily diverted his gaze, Bai Shanbao had already surmised that Big Head had informed Manbao about his whereabouts. He expressed strong opposition, stating that if she did it again, he wouldn't play anymore.

Manbao assured him that such a situation wouldn't happen again, so the two children made up. However, because Manbao cheated, this time it was Shanbao's turn to hide, and Manbao had to find him.

Manbao knew that the grass here was too tall, making it difficult to find someone, but she understood the benefits of surprising the enemy. So, she randomly chose a direction and shouted, "I see you, I see you." "Don't move!"

So, Bai Shanbao, feeling guilty, shifted slightly, and Manbao found him.

Bai Shanbao was not happy. Before Manbao could reach him, he turned and ran in another direction.

Three other children were squatting there. Before they could finalize their plan to trap Bai Shanbao in a sack, he ran up to them.

Bai Erlang's actions were faster than his brain, and without thinking, he grabbed the sack and attempted to cover Bai Shanbao's head.

The two friends wondered why they had to cover his head with a sack when they had already seen his face.