Sanwang let go of his younger brother, wiped his tears and tried to speak. However, his throat felt like it was blocked by a stone and he couldn’t wipe away his tears.
Xue Mingliang could tell at a glance that Sanwang was very frightened, so he praised him, “Young man, you are good at swimming, but you probably didn’t run or stretch before going into the water. Nevertheless, you used all your strength to save your younger brother back then and that alone deserves praise. You are a good older brother.”
Sanwang sniffed slightly, his mind still clouded with guilt and fear.
Xiaowang thanked Xue Mingliang.
Xue Mingliang asked curiously, “Aren’t you afraid?”
Xiaowang, “What should I be afraid of?”
Xue Mingliang was about to answer that he should fear death, but felt that he shouldn’t say this to mere children. He smiled and touched Xiaowang’s head instead, “What a brave child.”
Xiaowang choked and fainted as soon as he got in the water. He didn’t feel anything else except coldness and anxiety. When he woke up, all he felt was the cold as he saw his Little Third Brother hugging him. With that sight, he was just glad that his Little Third Brother managed to get out of the water, so he didn’t fear anything else beyond that.
For him, the most terrifying thing would be when his parents no longer wanted him.
When he woke up now, he was quiet, neither crying nor fussing. Instead, he held Sanwang’s arm and patted him, comforting the older boy, “Brother Sanwang, don’t be afraid. If we don’t tell mother and father, you won’t be beaten.”
Sanwang cried even harder as he was really scared.
He hugged Xiaowang as he thought to himself, I was wrong, I won’t try to show off ever again...
Xue Mingliang was very amused just by looking at these two children, so he said, “You guys keep warm, I will make some ginger soup for you.”
He saw that Lin Lan’s chopping board and knives were neatly arranged. Plus, the onions, ginger and garlic were also in a small basket nearby. He took them out directly before peeling and slicing them. Then, he lit a fire and boiled some water in a pot to make the ginger soup.
While he was busy, Lin Lan rushed back from outside with Maisui.
As soon as she entered the door, she saw a handsome young man she didn’t know lighting the fire. She couldn’t help but be stunned for a moment.
Xue Mingliang immediately stood up and said to Lin Lan, “Auntie, don’t worry, the two brothers are fine.”
Lin Lan nodded at him, thinking he was a brave young man that lived in the village. She thanked him and went inside to look after the children without bothering to introduce herself further. She got on the kang and held her two sons in her arms together along with the quilt. Just when she was about to speak, she burst into tears of distress.
Xiaowang stretched out his hand to touch Lin Lan’s face, but he felt that his whole body was cold, so he didn’t move.
Lin Lan wiped her tears and choked with sobs, “The river is very slippery after it thaws. Why did you two kids go there to play?”
She and Maisui stayed outside for a while, but she didn’t know why she had an uneasy feeling the entire time and couldn’t cheer up. Seeing that she was not in the mood, Maisui said that it was better to go home. There were too many people and it was no fun anyway since there was a queue. Caihua and Yanyan finally got the opportunity to go out to play, so they naturally didn’t want to go home and decided to play more while inviting them to hang out longer.