“Fragrant, fragrant.” Pang Fu ran with her chubby cheeks jiggling, pointing at Fu Little Five’s pocket while drooling, clearly craving something delicious.
Qingqing Yin followed behind, carrying an even larger bundle, also calling out: “Fragrant, Baby found fragrant, cook.” She gazed eagerly at the elderly couple, waiting for them to prepare it for cooking.
The old couple looked at the disheveled state of mother and daughter, both amused and exasperated—where had they been crawling around?
Grandma Fu removed leaves and grass from Pang Fu’s clothes, then cleaned up Qingqing Yin: “Fufu, are all these edible mushrooms?”
Pang Fu nodded vigorously: “Fragrant, Baba said cook, wow… delicious.” Drool dripped down her chin.
Mainly because Baba was currently explaining to Pang Fu how delicious mushroom soup could be.
“So you know it needs to be cooked?” Grandma Fu glanced at Old Master Fu—should they cook it or not? If they didn’t, the children would be disappointed; if they did, they were afraid to eat it.
Old Master Fu met his chubby granddaughter’s sparkling eyes and couldn’t refuse, silently cursing his son a couple of times.
Fourth Brother Fu… what did it have to do with him?
“Let’s clean them first. I’ll build a stove in the meantime.”
“Alright, I’ll take them to the riverside to clean up.” And wash off all this mud while they were at it—everyone had turned into little mud monkeys: “Do you know how to build a stove? If not, we should really ask the villagers for help.”
Old Master Fu didn’t like hearing that: “I’ve done everything in my youth. Building a stove is no big deal, don’t worry.”
Grandma Fu pursed her lips, fine then: “Xiao Si, it’s sunny and a bit hot today. Bring a change of clothes for your younger brothers. Let’s go to the riverside to see if the water is cold. If not, you can all wash up, and bring your dirty clothes too.”
From the time they were locked in the dark room until now, over a week had passed. Not bathing was one thing, but they hadn’t even washed their faces or feet much.
The usually refined Fu Family members were all feeling extremely uncomfortable.
“Got it, Grandma.” Fu Little Four was a person of action, his small hands and feet moving nimbly. Little Five and Little Six weren’t idle either, helping their older brother.
Old Master Fu also wanted to wash up, but he had no time: “This afternoon, I’ll go to the village and ask if there are any wooden buckets. When they come back from work in the evening, we’ll boil more hot water so everyone can wash up.”
Grandma Fu had been thinking about that too—she couldn’t wash in the river like the boys: “Alright, let’s get started. Once it’s done, we’ll make lunch. The children must be hungry.”
Pang Fu and her mother had no idea what everyone was discussing. They still hadn’t said whether they would cook the mushrooms or not. With identical big eyes, they looked around blankly, waiting for a response.
Grandma Fu was amused: “Mushrooms need to be washed clean before they can be cooked. They’ll be fragrant once cooked. Be good, let’s go wash them at the riverside first.”
Pang Fu nodded: “Wash at riverside.”
Grandma Fu packed all the mushrooms into a basket, took her little granddaughter’s hand, and led the others toward the river.
Old Master Fu stayed home, muttering to himself as he studied how to build a stove.
The river in Gouzi Brigade was a tributary of a larger river, winding around the foothills of layered mountains, flowing from north to south, merging into lakes one after another, which then branched out into tributaries flowing into the sea.
Upstream was Shangou Village, downstream was Xia Gou Cun.
The river flowed swiftly in some sections and gently in others.
The section corresponding to where the Fu Family lived had a faster current and louder sound, so even from a hundred meters away, they could hear the rushing water at home.
Following the small path outside the shed, they passed through a sparse grove of trees and soon reached the river.
Following the flow of the water southward for a while, they finally found a suitable spot. This area was also where villagers usually washed, irrigated, and where children played.
The river was about a hundred meters wide, with a steep cliff on the opposite side. The trees were lush and green, looking somewhat intimidating.
On their side was a shallow bank, scattered with messy rocks. The water grew deeper the closer it got to the opposite shore.
The water was clear and slightly warm, shimmering under the sunlight.
The little ones, seeing it for the first time, were overjoyed. Fu Little Four and the other two could no longer contain their excitement and dashed toward the river.
Seeing this, Pang Fu immediately shook off Grandma Fu’s hand and followed her three older brothers, running with all her might and shouting, “Wait for Baby, wait for Baby!” Afraid of being left behind.
Her small body swayed left and right, making Grandma Fu’s heart race with worry.
“Xiao Si, Xiao Wu, Xiao Liu, don’t run, walk slowly. Keep an eye on your little sister and don’t let her fall. There are so many rocks here—if she bumps into one, it’ll be serious.”
The three brothers quickly stopped and turned back to wait for Pang Fu. “Fufu, don’t rush. Your brothers will wait for you.”
The little milk dumpling was already excited and getting more carried away. Her ill-fitting shoes even fell off as she ran, but her tiny feet stepping on the pebbles didn’t seem to bother her.
Qingqing Yin chased after her, holding the shoes. “Baby, shoes, shoes.”
“No shoes, Qingqing, hurry up!” Pang Fu took a moment to wave back.
Qingqing Yin tilted her head, thought for a second, and casually tossed the shoes aside.
Grandma Fu, who was following behind… Throwing the shoes aside was one thing, but what was with that upside-down way of addressing each other?
Seeing Pang Fu run faster and faster, the three brothers grew anxious. “Little sister, don’t run. Your brothers will wait for you. Walk slowly.”
Pang Fu paid no attention. “No slow walking.”
Despite her wobbly appearance, her footing was surprisingly steady, like a roly-poly toy—she didn’t fall even once.
As she passed her brothers, she deliberately twisted to the side, dodging their hands, and gleefully charged toward the river.
Grandma Fu was frantic behind them. “Water, water, water! You can’t go into the river! Xiao Si, quickly grab your little sister. This child!”
Fu Little Four, limited by his position, didn’t dare run freely and couldn’t catch Pang Fu.
The little milk dumpling giggled twice before plopping into the water with a splash, sending water flying everywhere.
He hurried over. “Fufu, you can’t go into the water. Let’s just play by the river.”
“Oh dear…” Grandma Fu slapped her thigh. “Qingqing, quickly pull Fufu up. Don’t let her choke!”
Qingqing Yin was also startled and rushed into the water to pull Pang Fu out, only to be splashed all over by the little dumpling. “Qingqing, play water!”
Seeing Pang Fu was fine, Qingqing Yin also started laughing and joined Pang Fu in the water, splashing waves a foot high.
Grandma Fu’s temples throbbed. She really couldn’t count on any of them.
The three brothers watched, their hearts stirred. They pretended to go and pull the others out but “accidentally” fell into the water, joining in the splashing.
Grandma Fu…
Forget it. She was just worrying for nothing.
The shallow bank here was very shallow, with the water only reaching Pang Fu’s little belly. The bottom was fine sand and pebbles, so no matter how much they played, the water wouldn’t get muddy. Children loved playing here.
However, this time and season weren’t peak play hours. Otherwise, the water would be filled with men of all sizes, and the shore would be lined with women of all ages.
For now, it was just the six members of the Fu Family here.
“Just play in the shallow water. Don’t go any deeper, okay? Xiao Si, you’re the oldest. Keep an eye on your younger siblings and Xiaoshen, understand? And make sure to scrub yourselves properly while you’re at it. Don’t play too long, or you might catch a cold.”
“Got it, Grandma.” With permission granted, the three brothers completely let loose.
Splashing water at each other, they tumbled and rolled around in the water.
Grandma Fu shook her head with a smile, found a spot to sit on a rock, and slowly began picking and cleaning the mushrooms, occasionally glancing at the five kids who were having a blast.
Honestly, washing things here was really convenient.
The water had a slight warmth to it, not too cold, and with the sun shining brightly, she thought it wouldn’t be suitable for bathing here, but washing hair would be fine.
She’d have the kids’ grandpa come wash up in the afternoon.
The only problem was there was no shampoo, no soap, not even laundry soap. They’d have to get some eventually, otherwise washing wouldn’t feel quite right.
Just as she was deep in thought, she suddenly heard Fu Little Four’s startled cry.
“Grandma, the little sister is fading!”
Grandma Fu ???