Transmigrated as an Unwanted Ugly Girl

Chapter 452: Chapter 237: Gathering Water Chestnuts (Part 2)

Before Big Mouth Zhao could answer, Guizhi quickly advised, "It’s better if you don’t go down. Falling in the water is no joke. If you go in, none of us on the bank will be able to relax."

Li Changming also said, "Harvesting water bamboo shoots looks fun, but it’s really not all that great. Didn’t you hear Changxing say his legs went numb from sitting? For your shoots, you can just wait for Qingmu’s family to come and have him do it. Or, if your dad doesn’t dare to go in, I can help you pick them."

Meizi nodded vigorously from the side. She didn’t dare let Juhua go in either; after all, Juhua had fallen in the water before.

Liu Xiaomei jutted her chin toward the pond and said, "Why go to all that trouble? Isn’t there someone right here in the pond? Juhua, just let my Third Brother help you. You’ve got a few lotus seed pods in your fishpond, too. It’s time to pick them while they’re still tender."

Juhua laughed happily. "Yes! I’ve been wanting to pick them for a while, but I just can’t reach. Isn’t it strange? With so many lotus leaves, how come only a few seed pods grew?" Not many lotus flowers had bloomed in the pond this year, so her wish to see more of them hadn’t come true.

Regarding this point, no one in the group could offer an explanation.

Just then, the two people harvesting water bamboo shoots in the pond were already clumsily turning around, trying to paddle back. It turned out their wooden tubs were already full of shoots. They couldn’t pick any more, or they risked capsizing.

Behind them, a winding channel had appeared. The messy water bamboo shoot vines were tossed and piled together, completely losing their original neat appearance of blanketing the water’s surface. It was clear at a glance that the area had been churned up, looking quite conspicuous amidst the vast green expanse of leaves covering the rest of the pond.

Everyone on the bank stared at the two wooden tubs slowly approaching the shore. They could even make out the water bamboo shoots piled up behind the harvesters, each one with its four curved horns and a plump belly.

Everyone watched with smiles. A light breeze blew across the fields, no longer sweltering but carrying a hint of refreshing coolness. The willow branches overhead swayed with the wind, even brushing against people’s faces. The reeds by the shore were also a bit messy, trampled by those who had been breaking them off. The wooden tubs slowly neared the reeds, which made things easier. The two men grabbed the long leaves of the reeds and used them to pull themselves closer to the bank.

Seeing everyone on the bank staring at them with such anticipation, Li Changxing and Liu Sanshun grinned like victorious warriors returning home. When they reached the shore, Li Changming and Big Mouth Zhao each grabbed a wooden tub, holding them steady so the two could get out.

After sitting for so long, how could they move properly? They struggled for a good while. With Li Changming and Big Mouth Zhao half-supporting and half-carrying them, they finally managed to get the two onto the bank. They stumbled a few times, nearly falling over.

Xiu watched Liu Sanshun with concern. Seeing he was still all smiles and boisterously gesturing to Big Mouth Zhao about how hard the tubs were to control, he said, "It’s way harder than rowing a boat! If you don’t believe me, you go try it."

Li Changxing saw the group of girls rush toward the wooden tubs, all starting to fill their baskets and hampers with the water bamboo shoots. Meizi was even loudly directing them: "Juhua, you and Mei take the tender ones. Xiu, Zhuzi, and Lin Zi, you guys get the old ones. I’ll get the ones in this tub with Sister-in-law Guizhi." For a moment, crisp laughter drifted across the fields.

He said plaintively to Zhuzi, "Hey, Zhuzi, you could at least ask how I’m doing! I’m the one who picked these water bamboo shoots, you know. How can you just toss me aside now that the work is done?"

Hearing this, Juhua pursed her lips to hide a smile. ’Right now, everyone finds these water bamboo shoots way more appealing than you,’ she thought. Liu Xiaomei also gave a sly, clever smile and whispered to Zhuzi, "Go on and humor him—the poor boy’s feeling left out!" Everyone chuckled at that.

Having been called out, Zhuzi shot Li Changxing a glare, but she couldn’t bring herself to be mean. She said to him, "Why don’t you walk around a bit to get the feeling back in your legs? Once we’ve washed these water bamboo shoots, we’ll let you have the first bite, how about that?"

Li Changxing, having been placated, dropped his mournful act. He looked at Lin Zi and laughed. "Let me have the first bite? Look, Lin Zi’s already eaten several!"

Juhua heard this and looked up. Sure enough, Lin Zi was chewing on a tender water bamboo shoot—the tender ones were easy to break open to get to the white flesh inside. Juhua quickly said to her, "Lin Zi, eat later. These shoots need a good washing. Don’t be fooled because they grow in the water; they’re actually very dirty. There might even be little bugs stuck to them." These kinds of aquatic plants were also prone to parasites.

Zhuzi chided her younger sister, "Look at you, so greedy. You can’t even wait a minute?"

Lin Zi stuck out her tongue, put down the half-peeled water bamboo shoot in her hand, and went back to packing the old ones.

Xiu filled a basket and carried it to the water’s edge to wash. She shook the basket back and forth, making the water bamboo shoots inside knock and rub against each other. Then she dipped it back into the water, and the murky water floated out.

But the basket, heavy with shoots, was really a struggle for her to carry. Seeing this, Liu Xiaomei quickly called to Liu Sanshun, "Third Brother, go give Xiu a hand! She can’t lift it."

Liu Sanshun walked over and smiled at Xiu. "You go on and keep busy. Leave this to us guys. Big Mouth, get to washing! Juhua, did you want to try harvesting shoots in the tub?" As he spoke, he took the basket from Xiu’s hands, crouched by the water, and started washing. He asked Juhua the question because he’d heard from Big Mouth Zhao that she wanted to give it a try.

When Xiu saw Sanshun come to help, she couldn’t help but blush again. She had just softly murmured, "Thank you, Sanshun," but saw that he had already turned his head to talk to Juhua and hadn’t heard her at all. She could only watch enviously as Juhua joked and laughed with Sanshun. ’Juhua is so poised,’ she thought. ’When will I ever be that composed and not blush?’ She didn’t stop to think that, in the past, Juhua used to be even less outgoing than her.

Juhua didn’t want others to worry about her, so she said apologetically to Liu Sanshun that she was just curious and wanted to see what it was like, not that she was dead set on harvesting the water bamboo shoots herself. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)