Moreover, Qian Xiabai had said that she feared water, although the water in the fields was scarce, it was still water!
Alright, seeing the serious look on her grandmother’s face, Ruan Jiaojiao knew she wouldn’t be allowed to go down into the fields, so she didn’t fuss and obediently sat on the spot spread with tattered cloth.
Ruanlin Family’s matriarch gave her a few more instructions before turning back to continue working in the fields.
Xiu Xi followed behind her, occasionally looking up at Ruan Jiaojiao after planting each row of seedlings, his movements deft, showing that he was no stranger to this type of work.
Ruan Jiaojiao, bored out of her mind, propped her little chin and watched them busily at work, when Little Fatty somehow appeared beside her, holding a chipped porcelain bowl, presenting it to her as if offering treasure: "Sister, this is for you to play with."
Ruan Jiaojiao curiously looked over.
She saw that the bowl contained a small amount of water, muddy and turbid, with two small mudfish the size of little fingers swimming at the bottom, stirring the muddy water into an even murkier mess.
Little Fatty, fearing she might not see the mudfish, poked the water with his finger.
The mudfish wriggled, splashing muddy water all around.
"What’s so fun about that, they don’t even make a sound. Sister, look at this, brother caught it for you," said Ruan Wei from the other side, holding a large green frog, its bulbous eyes and chubby body tied with a straw around its hind leg.
"Sister, you can play with this, it can jump too!" he said and gave the frog a prod, making it leap forward before he quickly pulled it back with the straw.
"..." Ruan Jiaojiao felt exhausted.
Thanks! But she didn’t play with these things anymore ever since she became a cat!
Yet the two brothers stood there, holding their gifts, looking expectantly at her as if waiting for praise, and even though Ruan Jiaojiao felt tired, she forced a sweet smile and said, "Thank you, brothers, Jiaojiao really likes it."
The two little brothers immediately beamed with joy and placed their gifts beside her before returning to work.
Once they left, Ruan Jiaojiao released the frog and poured out the mudfish, then lay back on the cloth, kicking up her little feet and looking around, enjoying the lovely moment.
As she enjoyed herself, she eventually fell asleep.
When she woke up, she found the sun was really hot.
Ruan Jiaojiao got up, saw the Ruan Family still working, and wanted to pour them some water to drink; but when she opened the kettle, she found it was empty, guessing most of it had been used for washing something for her to eat.
"Grandma, grandma," she called to Ruanlin Family’s matriarch, waving her little hands.
"What is it?" Ruanlin Family’s matriarch looked over and walked towards her, with the others also turning their gaze her way.
"Grandma, there’s no water left, I’ll go fetch some for you," Ruan Jiaojiao said. Having finally found something to do, she felt quite happy.
Seeing her eager demeanor, Ruanlin Family’s matriarch couldn’t bear to tell her that they would all be going back for lunch in an hour or two, so she turned to Ruan Chi and said, "Chizi, accompany your sister back home."
Ruan Chi, who had been looking for an excuse to slack off, immediately dropped the seedling he was holding and ran from the fields to Ruan Jiaojiao’s side. The other boys also wanted to rest, but they hadn’t expected Ruan Chi to be so quick, leaving them somewhat disheartened and envious as they watched him walk away with the tea kettle, leading his sister home.
On the way back, Ruan Chi, contrary to his lackadaisical attitude in the fields, seemed as if the wind was beneath his feet, pulling Ruan Jiaojiao home urgently. Ruan Jiaojiao, although she wasn’t carrying anything, still couldn’t keep up with him.
By the time they finally reached their doorstep, she was panting unevenly.
However, as soon as Ruan Chi stood at his own doorstep, his expression changed, becoming rather solemn.