country bumpkin

Chapter 230 Interesting Stories from a Rural Life

As night fell and the city lights came on, the three girls returned to their grandmother's house before dark. After dinner, they carried small stools to their grandmother's yard and sat up in the sky, gazing at the stars.

A gentle breeze blows, bringing a touch of coolness and blowing away the day's hustle and bustle. This moment of inner peace is the best enjoyment.

Yunya pointed at the stars and said excitedly, "Look, that star is so bright, just like a diamond."

Sun Limei tilted her head back and echoed, "It really is! It feels like you could reach out and pick it."

The youngest, Zhang Haiyan, blinked her eyes and asked innocently, "Are there gods living on the stars?"

Yun Ya and Sun Limei exchanged a smile, and the older Sun Limei patiently explained, "Maybe there are. Perhaps the gods are watching us." As they spoke, they imagined the wondrous world on the stars.

Grandma Mu Shuyun came out of the house, holding a plate of sliced ​​apples, and said with a smile, "Children, eat some fruit, and go to bed early so you can play on the stars in your dreams."

After the three sisters finished eating the apple pieces on their plate, they reluctantly stood up, followed their grandmother into the house, and drifted off to a sweet dream, filled with beautiful anticipation for the stars.

A night without words...

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, a rooster crowed loudly, waking Zhang Haiyan from her sleep.

She gently rubbed her eyes, still too sleepy to get up. She glanced out the window; it was still dark, so she went back to sleep.

So Zhang Haiyan fell asleep again, snoring loudly. This time she had a dream in which a large rooster with colorful feathers chased her fiercely, running wildly all over her grandmother's yard.

She ran for her life, the rooster chasing after her relentlessly. It even flapped its large wings and jumped up to peck at her face. This terrified Zhang Haiyan.

Sun Limei was fast asleep on the bed, one of her thighs resting on Zhang Haiyan's leg, and she remained motionless.

In her dream, Zhang Haiyan watched as the rooster caught up with her. She used all her strength to run faster, but one leg felt like it was filled with lead, and she couldn't take a step.

At this moment, the rooster was already in front of her, and with a flap of its wings, it jumped onto her shoulder and pecked her ear hard.

Zhang Haiyan cried out in pain and woke up with a start. She opened her eyes and saw that she was still lying in bed, realizing that it was just a dream.

She touched her ear; it didn't hurt at all, thankfully it was just pain in her dream. But now she felt one of her legs was numb and she couldn't move it.

She sat up, trying to pull her numb leg out, only to find it pinned down by Sun Limei's thick, large legs.

Zhang Haiyan realized that this explained why she couldn't move her legs in her dream; she was being held down.

She used both hands to forcefully lift Sun Limei's thighs and move them to one side. Sun Limei didn't wake up; she just turned over, climbed back into bed, and continued sleeping.

Zhang Haiyan thought to herself, "How can Sister Yunya endure sleeping in the same bed with my older sister every day? That must be exhausting." At that moment, Zhang Haiyan empathized with Yunya.

Her family was the best; there were only two children in the family, her younger brother was still small and lived with their parents, and she had her own room, which was clean and spacious. Zhang Haiyan was happy with her happy life.

She woke up but didn't get out of bed, lying there lost in thought. She thought about how strange her dream was; how could she dream of being chased and pecked by a rooster? It was unbelievable.

After a while, it was already bright outside, and the sun was peeking out from the east, its red rays shining brightly.

There were already sounds of voices coming from the yard. It was Grandma; she was getting up to cook. Grandpa was going to work after he finished eating.

Zhang Haiyan felt that rural life was pretty much the same as urban life; apart from working in the fields and keeping some small animals in the yard, there wasn't much difference.

Mu Shuyun had already prepared the meal in the kitchen. Kong Tongming quickly finished his meal and went to work.

Zhang Haiyan couldn't sleep either, and it was uncomfortable to sit, so she got dressed, got up, and went to the living room to watch TV.

Hearing the noise from the television in the living room, Mu Shuyun knew that a child had gotten up, so she quickly put down what she was doing and went to the living room to check.

When Mu Shuyun saw that it was Zhang Haiyan, she asked with concern, "Haiyan, why are you awake so early? Are you hungry? Are you cold?"

Zhang Haiyan shook her head: "Grandma, I can't sleep. I feel uncomfortable lying down, so I thought I'd watch some TV."

Mu Shuyun walked to her side with a smile, took a coat from the chair and draped it over her shoulders.

She said gently, "It's still a bit chilly in the morning, why don't you watch TV for a while? Call me if you get hungry later and I'll cook for you."

Zhang Haiyan replied obediently, "Okay, Grandma. You go ahead and do your work! I'm fine, don't worry."

Mu Shuyun then left the house and went to the kitchen to cook pig feed.

Around 7 a.m., Yunya and Sun Limei also got up. They came to the living room and saw Zhang Haiyan watching TV. Yunya said, "Haiyan, you woke up so early today?"

Zhang Haiyan told the two of them about her dream and what happened in it.

Yunya chuckled and said, "Caw caw caw... Swallow, don't be afraid. If a rooster really chases you, just grab whatever sticks, brooms, stools, or anything else you can use and hit it. Once you hit it, it will be scared and won't dare to chase and peck at you again."

Zhang Haiyan looked at Yun Ya with an inquiring gaze. "Really? Have you ever encountered something like this?"

Yunya didn't hide anything and told them all the embarrassing things that had happened to her.

Sun Limei and Zhang Haiyan burst into laughter at her antics, while Yun Ya remained unfazed, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.

Yunya continued, "Last year, it rained once, and a big white goose came to my grandma's fishpond. It caught and ate all the small fish, and I was very angry, so I stole its goose eggs right in front of it. It chased me for several rounds, but in the end, I hid and escaped its pursuit."

Zhang Haiyan opened her mouth wide in disbelief and asked, "Does a big white goose bite? Does it hurt?"

Yun Ya smiled slyly: "It won't bite, but it will twist. It'll pinch a tiny bit of flesh between its teeth and twist and pull hard. Do you think it hurts?"

Zhang Haiyan made a scared expression to cooperate with Yun Ya's storytelling. "Ouch, that must have hurt a lot!"

Sun Limei had never seen a white goose chasing after people before. She looked at Yunya curiously and asked, "Yunya, do you know anyone who still has a white goose? I want to see what it looks like when a white goose chases after people!"

Yunya said, "Okay, after we finish eating, I'll take you to Grandpa's house. He has several big white geese, which he keeps to lay eggs and sell for money."

Sun Limei replied, "Okay." Then she asked, "Yunya, didn't our grandma's family used to have big white geese? Why aren't they here anymore?"

Yunya sighed, "Oh! It was that big goose that kept pecking at me. During the New Year, my uncle killed it and stewed it."

Sun Limei and Zhang Haiyan were both shocked and said in unison, "Is your uncle really that fierce?"

Yun Ya shook her head. "No, it's not that my uncle is fierce, it's that he's too powerful. He just threw a stool at me and killed me instantly."

The two little girls began to admire their uncle again.