country bumpkin

Just as the children were having fun playing in the water, a child was calling for help 200 meters away from the group of children.

"Help! Someone's fallen into the water!" A boy's crying voice came over the loudspeaker.

The adults washing clothes were immediately startled by the shouts. They all got up and ran towards the direction from which the sound came.

Kong Xiangyao and his friends rushed over like madmen, eager to see what was going on.

When we arrived at the scene of the accident, it was already surrounded by layers of people. There were adults, children, and the elderly.

There lay a little boy, about six years old, on the ground, his clothes and hair soaked. He lay there quietly, motionless.

An elderly woman sat on the ground beside him, weeping uncontrollably. Beside the boy was a middle-aged man who was busy performing CPR.

The man was soaked to the bone, but he ignored the river water dripping from his hair and desperately tried to save the boy.

He performed chest compressions for a while, then stopped to perform artificial respiration. He repeated this process back and forth until the boy responded, at which point he stopped, completely exhausted.

The wailing old woman stopped crying when she saw her beloved grandson respond. The boy then vomited up some river water and finally came back to life.

The boy burst into tears, and only then did the onlookers realize that the child was alive. Everyone immediately gave the middle-aged man who had saved the child a thumbs up.

The old woman immediately knelt down, intending to kowtow and thank the middle-aged man. The man stopped her.

The man gently helped the old woman up and said, "Auntie, you don't need to be so polite. I think anyone would have helped in this situation."

The old lady thanked her profusely, saying, "My benefactor, which village are you from, and what is your name? I will definitely have my husband go to your house to thank you properly when I get back."

The man waved his hand, "No need, ma'am, don't be so polite. I'm just a farmer who knows how to build walls. It's not easy for any of us ordinary people, we should all help each other."

The old lady bowed and said, "Since our benefactor is unwilling to reveal his identity, I will not force him. However, my son is a butcher in town who slaughters pigs and sells meat. If you need any help in the future, please come to my son. Our whole family will remember your great kindness."

The middle-aged man politely declined, but then told the old lady to keep a close eye on the child and not let him play in the deep water area.

The little boy choked on the water and was scared, so he promised his grandmother that he would never play in the water again.

While the grandfather and grandson were talking, the middle-aged man who had saved the child quietly left.

Among the onlookers was a woman from the same village as the middle-aged man. She exclaimed, "Oh my! I recognize him! Isn't this man who saved people Master He Dongxu from our village?"

The old woman searched everywhere for her benefactor, and couldn't help but look for him. So she quickly asked the man who had spoken earlier, "Hey... fellow villager, you said you know my grandson's benefactor?"

The woman didn't mince words and said frankly, "Yes, he's our village's bricklayer. His bricklaying and tile-laying skills are top-notch. Wealthy people in our village and in town all hire him to build their houses."

The old lady carefully inquired about her benefactor's village and home address, and had her grandson memorize it with her before carrying her grandson home.

Once the person was rescued, the crowd lost interest and dispersed to go about their own business.

Kong Xiangyao, who had been watching all of this, stood there in a daze, lost in thought.

His friend tugged at him, "Hey, Yaozi, let's go, what are you thinking about? You're just spacing out."

Kong Xiangyao snapped out of his daze and said to his friends, "It's nothing, I just admire that hero who saved people. Oh, let's go!"

A dark-skinned boy, a head taller than Kong Xiangyao, said to his friend, "I want to get to know that Master He."

The other person looked puzzled: "Why do we need to know him? Let's hurry back and continue playing in the water."

The little black boy shook his head: "He was so brave to save people, I admire him very much, and I want to learn his skills."

After saying that, the little boy ignored his friends' advice and walked towards the direction of the village where Master He lived, as the woman had said.

Upon arriving in the village, the little boy inquired everywhere about Master He's house. After finally finding it, he mustered his courage and knocked on the door.

He Dongxu opened the door and was somewhat surprised to see a boy who looked to be about ten years old.

The little boy blushed and blurted out his thoughts, hoping to learn bricklaying from Master He.

He Dongxu looked at the determined-looking child in front of him and nodded with a smile: "Okay, it's good that you have this intention. From now on, you can learn from me."

The little boy was so excited that he almost jumped up. From then on, he began to learn the craft from Master He and kept Master He's spirit of bravely saving people in his heart.

The little black boy is now Li Dazhuang. The drowning child who was rescued is now the deputy mayor.

After the drowning child returned home, his parents found out He Dongxu's address and went to his house to offer him a thank-you fee, which He Dongxu's family refused to accept. The child's parents promised to owe He Dongxu a favor and that they should contact him if they needed any help in the future.

Later, the deputy mayor was busy with work and forgot about the incident.

When He Dongxu's family faced hardship, his young apprentice, Dazhuang, remembered his promise. He needed to ask the deputy mayor for help, but He Dongxu sternly warned his apprentice not to take advantage of the favor, or he would disown him as an apprentice.

Li Dazhuang had no choice but to do his best to help his master's family through their difficulties. He himself was also married with three sons and a daughter, and they were not well-off. He could only help his master when his own family was fed and clothed.

He couldn't offer much financial help, but he would help his master's son, Shunzi. He often helped him with work, especially when the foreman assigned tasks; he would speed up the process, finish his own work, and then do Shunzi's work.

Farmers are kind-hearted people who know how to be grateful. They all have a grateful heart.

Although their abilities are limited, they continue to help those who have helped them in the past.

Doing your best is a virtue.

Life went on uneventfully until many years later, when the town was undertaking a renovation project for old houses and needed a large number of skilled bricklayers.

Li Dazhuang's construction team was also involved, and the person in charge of the project was the deputy mayor who had been rescued years ago.

While inspecting the construction site, the deputy mayor unexpectedly met Li Dazhuang. After a conversation, the deputy mayor learned that He Dongxu's family had suffered a misfortune and that Li Dazhuang had been doing his best to help his master's family over the years.

He felt deeply guilty, realizing he shouldn't have forgotten his promise from back then.

Therefore, the deputy mayor decided to give Li Dazhuang's construction team more work in the project and recommended Li Dazhuang to be a team leader.

Li Dazhuang, relying on the skills he learned from Master He over the years and his hard-working spirit, completed his work exceptionally well.

He also took Shunzi with him to do some light, high-paying jobs.

In this project, Li Dazhuang not only increased his income, but also gained more recognition.

His life and that of his master's family gradually improved, but of course, all of this happened later.

This virtue of gratitude and mutual assistance continues to be passed down in the town.