When the sun climbed directly overhead, Mother Yuan finally gave the word to wrap up work and go home for lunch. The moment Li Xia straightened her back, her waist felt like a rusted iron axle, creaking and groaning intensely. However, at the thought of going home to eat and rest, that bit of pain was instantly thrown to the back of her mind, and her eyes welled up with warmth. She practically stumbled as she ran toward the edge of the field, paying no mind to the muddy water splashing all over the legs of her pants.
Beside the ridge of the field ran a shallow little ditch, its clear water diverted from the river, revealing the grass and stones at the bottom. Li Xia hurriedly dipped her feet inside. As the cool water washed over the crevices of her toes, her mud-caked feet instantly felt much more refreshed. She squatted down, intending to wash away the mud on her calves as well, scooping water with her palms to splash the back of her legs. Just as her hand brushed her calf, she touched a soft, slimy protrusion, stuck to her skin like a glob of unformed jelly.
Li Xia’s heart gave a sudden thump, and she slowly turned her head to look—this single glance almost frightened her out of her wits. There, clinging tightly to her calf, were three dark-brown, unrecognizable bugs, their bodies engorged round from sucking blood. That slimy texture traveled along her fingertips straight to her scalp.
“Ah—!”
A piercing, high-pitched shriek suddenly exploded across the fields, startling the distant sparrows into flapping their wings and flying away, even causing the blades of grass on the ridge to tremble slightly.
Mother Yuan, who was walking over with her shoes in hand, felt her heart tighten violently upon hearing her youngest daughter’s heart-wrenching scream. Forgetting to even put on her shoes, she ran barefoot along the ridge, ignoring the sharp pain of the hard soil pressing into the soles of her feet as she kept moving forward. “Fifth Sister! What’s wrong? Did you fall or get bitten by a snake?”
“Mom! My legs… there are so many bugs!” Li Xia’s voice shook uncontrollably as her tears cascaded down like broken strings of pearls. She clutched the hem of her shirt tightly, not even daring to touch her own legs.
Mother Yuan squatted down to look. First she let out a sigh of relief, then she couldn’t help but chuckle. “Oh, I thought something terrible had happened. These are just leeches, they’re incredibly common on the ridges of the fields.” As she spoke, she extended her rough hands, pinching the head of one leech between her thumb and forefinger. With a gentle tug and a flick, the leech was ripped off and casually tossed into the nearby grass, her movements as practiced as picking vegetables. In no time at all, the three leeches were cleared away, leaving only three tiny blood spots on her calf, slowly seeping with traces of blood.
But the moment Li Xia heard the word “leech,” the blood rushed straight to her head. Every single hair on her body stood on end, her arms shook uncontrollably, and her tears fell even harder. In her past life, she had rarely even seen insects, let alone bugs that sucked human blood. The mere thought of that soft, slimy texture just now made her stomach churn violently.
Seeing how pitifully she was crying, Mother Yuan reached out to pat her back, softening her voice a bit. “Alright, alright, it’s fine now. Mom has picked them all off for you.”
“Is… is it really completely gone?” Li Xia sobbed, her eyes filled with terror, still wanting to inspect her legs one more time.
“Gone, gone. Mom already checked, not a single one is left.” Mother Yuan let out a helpless sigh; this girl had been timid since she was small.
Li Xia didn’t dare to walk barefoot on the ridges of the fields anymore. Hurriedly putting on her cloth shoes, her steps felt as unstable as a robot as she nudged her way home step by step. By the time she arrived, the food was already laid out on the table—the corn porridge was steaming, accompanied by a plate of stir-fried green vegetables. But she had absolutely no appetite. Turning around, she went to the water jar to draw water, then restarted the fire in the stove to heat it up.
Once the water was hot, she carried a wooden basin and hid inside the kitchen cubicle, sliding the door bolt shut tightly. She poured the hot water over herself from head to toe over and over again, rubbing herself with soap repeatedly. Even when her skin turned bright red from the scrubbing, she still felt uneasy.
She was even terrified that a leech might have crawled into her scalp. After coming out, she found a fine-toothed comb and began scraping her scalp and hair bit by bit. With every single stroke, she would meticulously check the comb to see if anything was on it, acting as though she wouldn’t be at peace until she had scraped off a layer of her own skin.
“What’s wrong with her?” Eldest Sister, who had come home early to cook, walked out carrying a bowl. Seeing Fifth Sister sitting beneath the sun, endlessly scraping her hair with a fine-toothed comb, she couldn’t help but frown, turning to ask Third Sister beside her.
Third Sister rolled her eyes in Li Xia’s direction, her tone dripping with disdain. “What else could it be? She’s had the wits scared out of her by a few leeches! What’s there to be afraid of with those things? Which child in the village hasn’t been bitten before? Only she acts like some pampered daughter from a landlord’s family, washing her hair and taking a bath the moment she gets back. It’s not like she’s the one fetching water from the well, yet she certainly knows how to make a fuss!” In her eyes, Fifth Sister simply didn’t do enough work and was coddled into being too delicate.
“You should speak less!” Eldest Sister glared at her. “Fifth Sister hasn’t liked running around outside since she was little, so she rarely sees snakes, bugs, mice, or ants. To suddenly see leeches sucking on her body, isn’t it perfectly normal for her to be scared?”
“Normal? From what I see, she just doesn’t do enough work!” Third Sister raised her voice a pitch higher. “Mom is biased too! When we were her age, we had already followed everyone down into the fields to plant seedlings long ago. Fifth Sister is already eight years old, and this is her very first time in the fields! If Mom hadn’t been afraid of the villagers gossiping, she probably wouldn’t have had the heart to make her come!” They were both daughters, so why should Fifth Sister get away with doing less work? She had been harboring a grievance in her heart for a long time.
“You girl, why are you always competing with Fifth Sister?” Eldest Sister reached out to swat her. “Fifth Sister didn’t offend you, so why is your tongue so unforgiving?”
Sitting in the courtyard, Li Xia heard Third Sister’s words crystal clear, yet her heart was too numb to feel any ripples. At the thought of having to go down into the fields again in the afternoon and face those leeches hiding in the muddy water, she felt as though life were no longer worth living, and even breathing brought a suffocating sensation.
When Mother Yuan woke up from her afternoon nap and saw Li Xia still sitting on the threshold in a daze, with the fine-toothed comb still in her hand, she couldn’t help but let out a sigh. “Fifth Sister, don’t go down into the fields this afternoon. Go to the riverbank to pick pigweed, then come back to feed the pig and chickens, and cook dinner. You know how to cook rice, right?”
Li Xia snapped her head up, her eyes lighting up instantly as if grasping a life-saving straw. She nodded vigorously. “Mom! I know how to cook! I’ll definitely cook it perfectly!” Forget about cooking, even if she were told to pick two extra baskets of pigweed, she would be completely willing.
Hearing this from the side, Third Sister’s temper flared up instantly. Stamping her feet, she shouted, “Mom! You’re too biased! Why does she get out of going to the fields? I’m not going down to the fields this afternoon either!”
“You dare!” Mother Yuan’s face darkened, and her tone turned harsh. “All you know how to do every day is compare yourself to Fifth Sister, obsessed with competing over everything.” Having said that, ignoring Third Sister’s aggrieved expression, she turned around to tidy up the kitchen.
Third Sister bit her lip, her eyes turning red, yet she didn’t dare to talk back to Mother Yuan again.
“Fifth Sister, there’s food left for you on the table. Hurry up and eat it while it’s hot; it won’t taste good once it gets cold.” Eldest Sister walked over, pulling Third Sister up and signaling her to stop making a scene before leading her into the house.
Sitting by the table and looking at the corn porridge in her bowl, Li Xia felt a complex mix of emotions. She knew Third Sister was indignant, and she knew she had taken an advantage, but she truly had no other choice. The mere thought of the feeling of leeches sucking on her body made her shudder with uncontrollable fear. Forget it, let’s just worry about the present for now; at least I don’t have to go down into the fields this afternoon. She picked up her chopsticks, taking small sips of the porridge, silently praying in her heart that these kinds of days would pass quickly.