“Si Bao, how did you all end up like this?” Lin Ruxia was about to step forward to pull them closer, but the thought of the lice on Ba Bao’s head—and the claim that every child in the village had them—made her instinctively take a step back. “Don’t move!”
“Mom, we’re sorry! We didn’t mean to dirty our clothes!” Si Bao misunderstood her reaction, thinking she disliked them for being filthy.
Lin Ruxia did dislike dirt—but not the mud on them. It was the lice that bothered her. Still, she didn’t explain and instead asked, “So what happened to get you all covered in mud?”
“Just now, the village head’s son, Da Hu, brought a group of boys and blocked us on the field ridge. They wouldn’t let us pass and forced us to walk through the rice paddies. Then Si Bao started fighting with Da Hu, and in the end, everyone fell into the field. Mom, it was me who told them to stay on the ridge—if you’re going to punish someone, punish me!” Wu Bao said.
“No, I was the one who started fighting Da Hu. Punish me instead!” Si Bao declared bravely.
“Don’t hit big brother! Waaah—!” Twelve Bao unleashed his signature wail. Ten Bao and Eleven Bao quickly joined in, and the three of them cried so loudly it echoed through the entire courtyard, as if Lin Ruxia were about to beat them to death.
Lin Ruxia covered her ears and shouted, “Stop!”
Surprisingly, it worked. The crying ceased immediately.
“I never said I was going to hit you!” she continued quickly.
“Ruxia, what’s wrong with Twelve Bao and the others? Why are they crying like that?” Mother Song rushed out after hearing the commotion.
“It’s nothing, Mom. They dirtied their clothes and thought I’d hit them,” Lin Ruxia said helplessly.
“If their clothes are dirty, just wash them. We don’t hit children in this family,” Mother Song said, taking Lin Ruxia’s hand.
Lin Ruxia immediately tried to pull away, wanting to keep her distance—she hadn’t forgotten that everyone here might have lice.
But Mother Song misunderstood, thinking Lin Ruxia disagreed. She held her hand tightly and continued, “If you don’t want to wash their clothes, you can make them do it themselves as punishment. But you must never hit them. That’s our family rule!”
“Alright, Mom, I understand. Can you let go now?” Lin Ruxia quickly agreed.
Only then did Mother Song release her, and Lin Ruxia immediately stepped back.
“Zhi Cheng’s wife, get your children out here!” Just as Lin Ruxia was about to send the kids to bathe, the production team leader’s voice came from outside.
“Team Leader, what brings you here?” Mother Song hurried out, shooting Lin Ruxia a meaningful look. Lin Ruxia, however, was completely confused and didn’t understand what she meant.
“Autumn Auntie, you need to give us an explanation. Look at what your grandsons did to our newly planted seedlings—who wouldn’t be angry seeing this?” The team leader arrived with a group of villagers, holding several broken rice seedlings.
“What are you saying? My grandsons are upright children! And what proof do you have that they broke these seedlings?” Mother Song retorted.
“The village head’s son, Da Hu, said so.”
Da Hu and the others had gone home to clean up after falling into the field. Only Si Bao and his group had hidden outside, afraid of being punished, until Liu Bao and the others found them.
“Then call them here and confront them!” Lin Ruxia finally understood Mother Song’s earlier look—but she refused to cover things up. “Team Leader, I was just about to go find Da Hu and ask why they blocked Si Bao and the others on the ridge, causing their new clothes to get covered in mud!”
She deliberately acted furious. “When I asked Si Bao earlier, they refused to say anything. It wasn’t until I gave them a beating that they cried and told me everything!”
The villagers exchanged puzzled looks—but when they recalled the earlier cries, they realized they had come from the Song household. Suspicion toward Da Hu immediately grew.
“What do you mean Da Hu blocked them on the ridge?” the team leader asked, now confused.
“Wu Bao, come explain what happened,” Lin Ruxia called.
Five mud-covered children shuffled out nervously. Under everyone’s gaze, Wu Bao stammered through the whole story.
After listening, Lin Ruxia said, “Team Leader, all the children involved share responsibility. You can’t blame only our Si Bao and the others.”
The leader’s anger subsided somewhat. After thinking it over, he agreed and had all the involved children brought in.
At first, Da Hu and the others refused to admit anything. But Lin Ruxia warned that if they were caught lying, the punishment would be even worse—and even frightened them by mentioning the police. The children, unable to withstand the pressure, finally confessed everything.
It turned out the conflict started the previous day. After returning from town, Song Dabao and the others bragged about riding a bus and eating at a state-run restaurant. Today, Si Bao and the others showed off to the village children, attracting admiration.
Da Hu, who had only ever ridden an ox cart to town, suddenly lost his “status” as the most worldly child. Jealous, he gathered a few friends to teach Si Bao a lesson.
Originally, they just wanted to force Si Bao to walk through the rice paddies to assert superiority. It wouldn’t have been dangerous if done carefully, but Si Bao refused, afraid of dirtying his new clothes. When Da Hu insisted, Si Bao got angry, and the two began pushing each other. Others joined in, and eventually one slipped—causing everyone to fall into the muddy field.
“Since all of you were involved, all of you will be punished,” the team leader declared. “We cannot allow anyone to damage crops!”
He continued sternly, “For the next two months, all children involved must participate in labor. Those over five years old must cut two bundles of pig fodder daily in the hills. This won’t count toward work points. For children under five, parents can either do it for them or pay money instead. The money will be used to buy fertilizer for the production team.”
“Team Leader, can my Huzi pay instead? He’s never done farm work!” Da Hu’s mother pleaded.
“No. They’re already five years old and still behaving like this. They must be taught a lesson,” the leader said firmly.
“How much to pay instead?” Lin Ruxia asked, glancing at the younger kids. She had no intention of cutting pig fodder—she didn’t even know what it looked like.
“One yuan and two jiao per child.”
“Alright, thank you, Team Leader.” Lin Ruxia handed over 3.6 yuan.
After everyone left, Mother Song sighed painfully. “You shouldn’t have admitted anything. Now we’ve spent money and offended the village head. What if he makes things difficult for us later?”
“Mom, if they did something wrong, they should accept punishment. Letting it slide will only encourage worse behavior,” Lin Ruxia replied calmly.
“Liu Bao, Qi Bao, go eat first,” she said, then turned to the five muddy children. “You five, boil water and take baths. I’ll get clean clothes for you.”
She had originally planned to make them new clothes today, but all the events had delayed her. She decided to get some from the marketplace instead.
In the kitchen, she saw the younger children working together—passing firewood, blowing on the fire, carrying water.
Watching them, she couldn’t help but sigh. Poor children really grow up fast.
But she also felt a bit comforted seeing them cooperate so well.
Half an hour later, the water was boiling. As Si Bao tried to lift the lid while standing on a stool, Lin Ruxia quickly stepped in. “I’ll do it.”
The children obediently stepped aside.
After they finished bathing, Lin Ruxia noticed they washed their bodies but barely touched their hair. She resisted the urge to step in. Better to just shave it all off later, she thought.
She gathered their muddy clothes, planning to secretly use a washing machine from the marketplace and only pretend to wash them by the river.
Back in the hall, the noodles had gone soggy but were still warm. She urged them to eat.
Ba Bao soon returned with Jiu Bao, who now seemed willing to shave his head—clearly influenced by Ba Bao.
“Who usually cuts your hair?” Lin Ruxia asked.
“Grandpa,” Wu Bao answered.
“Your grandpa knows how?”
“Yes! Grandma said he apprenticed at a barbershop when he was young.”
“Then this afternoon, we’ll have him shave all your heads,” Lin Ruxia decided.
“Mom, why do we have to shave our heads?” Liu Bao protested.
“You all have too many lice, and there’s no easy way to get rid of them. Don’t worry—it’ll grow back quickly. In a month, your hair will look even better,” she reassured them.
“Really?” Qi Bao asked.
“Of course.”
“Alright then…” he reluctantly agreed.
“Finish eating, then go do your own things. I’ll wash your clothes,” Lin Ruxia said, watching them devour the noodles. “And eat more slowly.”
“Mm-hmm!” they nodded while eating.