Tree Hole Self-Rescue Guide

The wind in July is lazy, even the clouds are hot...

Gu Qiu and Wang Changling picked all the watermelons in the field at once, and stood up, holding their backs. They looked at each other and laughed.

"Brother, is your waist okay? Let's go sit down by the field and rest for a while, and then we can pull out the seedlings later." Gu Qiu pointed to the edge of the field.

"Okay." The two sat on the ground drinking water and chatting.

"You can't refuse to accept your age. When I was their age, I worked in other people's fields picking watermelons. I could bend over for a whole morning without any problems."

Wang Changling sighed as he watched the children sweating profusely and moving watermelons back and forth.

"Yes, we were able to endure hardships back then. Look at these kids, they only use brute force and don't know how to combine work and rest. Just wait and see, you won't be able to lift your arms when you get up tomorrow." Gu Qiu pointed at Gu Ye's hands that were shaking like a sieve and laughed.

"Come on, stop for a moment. Let's take a break first, eat some watermelon and then finish it in one go." Mo Yang took a watermelon knife, picked up a round watermelon and cut it quickly, breaking the watermelon into several pieces. He picked up the watermelon at hand and took a bite. It was crispy and sweet. He handed a big piece to Mo Wan and Li Yue who were sitting in the car, and asked Mo Zhichun and Wang Can to take it to the two main forces at the edge of the field. The children were self-sufficient and could take more after they finished eating.

"Dad, where did you get the cigarettes? Didn't you promise me to quit smoking?" Wang Can asked angrily as he looked at Wang Changling with a cigarette stuck in his ear.

"Xiaocan, you are wrongly accusing big brother. It's my fault. I gave the cigarette to big brother. Big brother refused for a long time, saying that he was quitting smoking. But you have to be considerate of people who are addicted to smoking. You know the withdrawal reaction. Many habits cannot be changed immediately. You need a process. Occasionally having a cigarette to smell can help you get through it for a while."

"Xiaocan is so caring. Who says only daughters are caring and considerate?" He is just flattering the horse. There is still a long way to go to get closer to his eldest brother and nephew.

"Uncle, cousin, my dad is a social idiot, don't be angry. Yesterday, he saw the workers who were harvesting melons in the field resting by the field, smoking, chatting and laughing, and thought it was a standard practice in the field."

"My dad doesn't smoke, he just wants to be close to you. He keeps learning those tricks and always makes a fool of himself." Mo Zhichun came to his father's rescue.

"Ah, it's nothing. Awkwardness is the first step to getting acquainted. We'll get to know each other better and get along with each other slowly in the future." Wang Changling handed the cigarette to Gu Ye, took the melon from his son's hand and took a bite.

"The melons grown at home are still the sweetest."

"The melons that I harvest myself are especially sweet," Wang Can added.

A watermelon was quickly finished, and the rinds were collected in a basin to feed the chickens. Then I continued to work, and by ten o'clock I was done, with only a mountain of watermelon vines left at the edge of the field. I went to the vegetable field next door to pick a cucumber, washed it with well water, and strolled back to the lower part of the building to rest.

Xu Xiaoxiao and Mo Zhichun took out two folding round tables from the house and set them aside. Mo Wan brought a pot of steaming mung bean soup from the kitchen. Mo Zhichun took the bowl from Li Yue's hand, spread it out on the table, and used a wooden spoon to scoop soup for everyone.

Pei Qiubai originally wanted to help, but was pushed out of the kitchen by Mo Zhichun, and then sat obediently in the yard waiting.

Gu Ye was very thirsty and wanted to drink cold tea. Mo Yang's 800-word essay about drinking cold water after exercise was freshly published, which directly discouraged him. Gu Qiu and Wang Changling nodded from time to time to give positive emotions, which greatly satisfied the old man's self-confidence.

He raised his eyebrows at his wife and daughter who had escaped to another table early. See, his son and son-in-law are still better.

Li Yue and Mo Wan huddled together and whispered to each other.

"Your dad is really a fool with luck, picking up two treasures. He has grown older in recent years and likes to be lively. Today he recognized a godson, and tomorrow he will have to show off to Old Man Ling."

"Then mom is even more amazing, picking up three treasures. Dad has a good life like this. The children can spend time with you during the winter and summer vacations, and learn some new knowledge. In life, there must always be some hope."

"Yes, my previous hope was that by helping one more child, one more person would be able to walk out of the mountains, but I often ignored your feelings. Fortunately, you have Gu Qiu to accompany you. You should blame your parents for these years." Li Yue touched Mo Wan's head, which was already covered with white hair.

"How can I blame you? I have love that most people don't have. I'm very lucky. Those brothers and sisters have always treated me like a younger sister. No one dared to bully me when I was in school." Mo Wan hugged his mother's arm and explained the facts.

"I posted photos of picking watermelons in my family group, and my brothers and sisters blamed me for not sending messages earlier to help. I was busy with the barbecue party in the evening."

"They live a good life, which is more important than anything else. Whether they come back or not is just a meal."

After lunch, everyone went back to rest. Gu Qiu found two trees in the orchard and hung his sleeping bag. The sunlight was cut and sprinkled on the sleeping bag through the gaps between the branches and leaves. Mo Wan zipped up the sleeping bag to isolate the mosquitoes outside and fell into a deep sleep.

Gu Qiu moved a recliner to the side, fanned himself with a palm-leaf fan, yawned, placed the fan on his face to block the sun, and fell asleep to the noisy sound of cicadas.

Xu Xiaoxiao and the others spent the whole afternoon doing homework in the classroom. When the alarm rang at 17:00, they finished their homework and moved the desks to the yard to store the food.

Gu Ye took Mo Zhichun and Wang Can to the door to meet people.

"Shuozi, this is Zhizhi, right? I haven't seen you for half a year. You're almost as tall as your mother, about 1.7 meters tall." Zhao Guoqing gave Gu Ye a bear hug and asked Mo Zhichun beside him.

"Uncle Zhao, Aunt Zhao, Sister Xiaoxiao, this is my cousin Wang Can." Mo Zhichun introduced Wang Can to everyone.

"This is my cousin. He's very strong. Here, this is a gift for meeting you." Zhao Guoqing took out a red envelope from his pocket and stuffed it into Wang Can's hand.

"I, I can't accept it." Wang Can resisted.

"Children are thin-skinned. You are too enthusiastic, strange uncle."

"Xiaocan, take it. Your Uncle Zhao is not a stranger." Gu Qiu patted Wang Can's shoulder.

"When someone comes to give you a red envelope later, just take it. These uncles and aunts were all my grandfather's students in his early years, and they are like family to me. It would be bad if you don't accept them. Anyway, let the adults deal with their own affairs." Mo Zhichun advised.

"But it's up to you whether to change your name or not. If you're not used to it, just call them what you want. They will understand. Just think of yourself as the mascot of the event." Mo Zhichun was obviously at ease with this kind of situation. While talking to Wang Can, he was directing the uncles and aunts to park their cars in the garage.

The guests came into the yard with their families, carrying large and small bags. They didn't let the children help carry the things, and they ran faster than rabbits.

Mo Zhichun and Wang Can closed the door and walked behind the crowd.

"Sister Mo, why do those uncles and aunts call Uncle Gu Shuozi?" Wang Can couldn't help but wonder.

"That's because they wrote their names to introduce themselves privately back then. My dad wrote Gu Shuo, with Huo and He written reversed. My mom looked it up in the dictionary and found that Shuo was the closest name. So everyone called my dad Shuozi. Later, my grandfather corrected his mistake. My dad thought Qiuzi sounded too ugly, so he followed everyone else and called him that."