On the way home, the thing I heard people talking about the most was that this morning, a kid who was catching fish in Xiatang Village fell into the river and drowned.

Brother Jun: "Is that kid so unlucky? He's so careless. It's so easy now. His life is lost."

When Xiaojie and I heard Brother Jun say such words, we both felt that he looked so "sophisticated".

Xiaojie hurriedly asked him: "Have you ever gone to the river to catch fish alone?"

Brother Jun: "I've never been there. How dare I go alone? What if I encounter danger? It's safer for me to follow my eldest brother and my second brother."

Seeing Brother Jun's glib look, Xiaojie and I both laughed.

Yes. We are not very courageous. I remember when I was young, it was almost this season. The adults said: Now that the rice seedlings have grown taller, there are bad guys hiding in them during the day, digging up the gall of children and selling them as bear bile. After dark, the bad guys

He ran out to catch the children. He even said in a serious manner: I heard that the gall of several children in other places was dug up and sold.

Although at a young age, we had a vague feeling that adults were lying to us and playing scary "tricks" in order to prevent us from going out to play. But we were still worried about what if it was true. What if we were unlucky and just encountered it.

He is a "sarcastic" bad guy. Therefore, it is better not to play in the field and go home early before it gets dark.

Adults use such white "lies" to educate us on safety. However, in that era, we don't know whether any children were "taunted", but we often heard about children being stolen and sold by human traffickers.

As for those children who climbed branches, climbed over courtyard walls, jumped from high hurdles, and broke their limbs and ribs, there were also many who were bitten by dogs, burned by boiling water, and played with fire and burned plastic oil paper.

Those who were burned... those who accidentally drank fly poison (sweet) and were poisoned to death, those who accidentally ate wild mushrooms and were poisoned to death, those who ate fruits that had been sprayed with pesticides and were poisoned to death, those who were drowned while swimming, will

Some people were electrocuted to death after inserting their little fingers into the power cord strip, some were thrown to death while climbing on a tractor, some were hit and killed while crossing the road... there are so many bloody examples.

It is really a "fateful" thing for a child to grow up healthily and safely.

Back home, everyone worked together to sort out the small fish and cook them for the black tiger to eat. Then cut open and wash the big fish, fry them in oil until fragrant, then add chili, ginger, pepper, and dried pickled cabbage and stir-fry.

Add water and cook. Sprinkle with salt and cook. A big pot of spicy pickled fish is the best "reward" for us.

After eating, I was cleaning up. Suddenly someone patted my courtyard door.

"Brother Jun, go and see who is knocking on my door." Xiaojie has arranged for Brother Jun to check who is knocking on the door.

Soon Brother Jun came back. But his face looked a little ugly.

"What's wrong, Brother Jun?" I asked him.

Brother Jun suddenly ran over and hugged me, bursting into tears.

Xiaojie also gathered around and asked with concern: "What's wrong with Brother Jun?"

Brother Jun calmed down a bit, and then said intermittently: "The person just now brought a message to say, Haike'er, he, he fell into the river..."

After hearing what Brother Jun said, Xiaojie and I were both shocked. We looked at each other, and then we both thought it was impossible.

I gently touched Brother Hajun’s head, and then asked him: “Did you hear clearly?”

Brother Jun: "I heard you clearly. The one who brought the letter said that my uncle, uncle, aunt and father-in-law... everyone is searching along the river, but they haven't found Haike'er yet. Please inform us to help us find her."

Xiaojie: "Then, let's go and help find him quickly."

Me: "Let's go."

We locked the door and hurried to our uncle's house in Xiatang.

Because we were so full just now and walked so fast, everyone’s stomachs hurt when we walked. When our stomachs hurt, our walking speed slowed down.

Xiaojie: "Why did this Haikeer fall into the river?"

I was also thinking that Haike'er is our eldest cousin. Although he is a few months younger than Brother Jun, he is still the eldest brother of their family. He also has a younger brother Haifan'er. This Haike'er is so well-behaved and sensible.

You were so obedient, why did you fall into the river? He is a veteran at "catching fish". To be honest, my fishing skills are not as good as his.

Haikeer, who often says his name is Haike, wants to be a marine scientist when he grows up, specializing in studying the sea and seeing why the fish in the sea are so big. He said that he saw the fish in the sea from the "Animal World"

Fish are bigger than cars. The largest fish we can catch is only half a catty, which is considered the "King of Fishes".

Haike'er also likes to watch "Sichuan Opera" and "Peking Opera". Whenever "Sichuan Opera" or "Peking Opera" programs are played on TV, he has to hum a few lines...

And Hai Fan'er is really "annoying". He likes to lie and doesn't like to study. He also relies on his being the "youngest son" to do things in secret. Especially if he likes what we have in our hands, if

He wanted it, but if we didn't give it to him, he would roll around, cry and fuss, and even get his clothes dirty. Then the adults came out and took a look. He would either say that we beat him, or that we were "stingy"

"Jia Zi" (a miser) wouldn't let him play with us. The adults would either beat or scold us, or force us to give him our things to play with. They also said: "Brothers are more important than younger brothers! Look at how little he is."

of.

Bah! What a little guy. He is very clever, and "bullying the big with the little" is his usual tactic. Our things often go without return, which makes us feel a little "empty" when we see him.

Slowly I walked to my uncle.

As soon as I arrived at the house, I saw my aunt sitting on the ground with disheveled hair, sobbing. It seemed that she was tired of crying. Haifan'er also looked like he had done something wrong. He was sitting obediently on the threshold stone, looking very dazed.

It's pitiful.

Me: "Auntie. What's going on?"

Aunt: "Haike'er fell into the river and was swept away by the water. No one has been found yet."

I cried while talking, with tears and nose running down my face.

I asked my aunt here. Xiaojie and Brother Jun squatted down next to Haifaner.

From my aunt's intermittent crying, I roughly understood.

Here's the thing.

There was a heavy rain last night. Everyone went to bed early. In the evening, Haike'er and Haifan'er discussed that they would go to the river to "fish" at dawn. Because according to their experience, as long as there is a heavy rain, there will definitely be fish in the river the next day.

When the floods rise, those fish will be washed down, making them easy to catch.

As soon as it dawned, the two brothers picked up a dustpan and a small plastic bucket and set off quietly. They came to the ditch next to the field and caught a lot of fish. But Hai Fan'er was not satisfied, so he called Hai Ke'er.

Go to the big river and try. He said that he heard from people that when the water recedes, some big fish will be left on the tidal flats on the river bank before they can return to the big river. They call this "picking up dried fish"

". Ask Heike'er to try his luck too.

As a result, the two brothers broke through the "boundary" and caught Dahe from the small ditch. However, when they arrived at the river, they did not see any "big dried fish". Haike'er said that he was a little dizzy when he saw the water in Pinghe, so he planned to go back.

Xiaogou went to catch it, but Hai Fan'er said that if he kept looking along the river, he might find a "big dried fish". But Hai Fan'er couldn't resist it, so they walked along the river one after another.

Suddenly, Haifan'er saw that the ridge of the river embankment under Heike'er's feet collapsed. Heike'er fell into the river along with the ridge, and all of a sudden there was no trace of him. Heike'er didn't even say a word.

When he said it, he just said "ah" and was swallowed up by the river before he could finish "ah". Haifan'er was so frightened that he collapsed in the mud and burst into tears. After crying for a while, he still didn't see Haike.

The boy got up from the river and ran home quickly.

I ran home and told the adults what had just happened. The adults were frightened when they heard it. They called their uncle and father-in-law and went to the river to look for them. The neighbors heard my aunt's cries and spontaneously went to the river.

Help find it.

But when we went to the river and saw the river full of water, where was the shadow of Haike'er? Auntie said those people were afraid of death and didn't bother to look for her. They just looked far away from the river bank and stayed far away from the water's edge.

Because they were afraid that they would fall into the river accidentally. Some of them advised their aunt to take Hai Fan'er back and take good care of him. Don't beat him or scold him. Haike'er might be in bad luck.

, don’t get rid of Hai Fan’er again. So she brought Hai Fan’er back.

While crying, she complained that the people who helped her were not serious about finding help, and called Haike'er a "harmful person" who had eaten the family's food for twelve years in vain...

I quickly walked over and pulled Xiaojie and Brother Jun. They immediately stopped asking Haifan'er.

Xiaojie: "Brother, let's go find him quickly."

Aunt: "That's right. You three old cousins, please go to the river and help me look for the rabbits. Don't just look for the rabbits on this side of the river, but also look for the rabbits on the other side of the river. Look closer and search carefully. There are no cracks in the corners.

I have to find every seam..."

I led my two brothers out of my aunt's house quickly and walked to the river. As I walked, I thought, this river is so dangerous in the first place, and we don't even know how to catch fish. In this situation, I took the two brothers to the river.

I took my younger brother to the river. What if something goes wrong? Besides, so many adults have already looked for it, but they haven’t found it. It’s probably the worst possible outcome.

I suddenly stopped.

Xiaojie and Brother Jun: Brother, what’s wrong?

Me: "Do you think the river is dangerous?"

Brother Jun: “Of course it’s dangerous!”

Xiaojie: "It's very dangerous."

Me: "Then what's the point of going to the river?"

Xiaojie shook his head. Brother Jun looked at me and shook his head, and then said softly: "It's useless. We are not good at water. We are not adults."

Me: "You guys go back. Xiaojie, you and Brother Jun go back and read and do your homework. Don't go anywhere. I'll just go and check it out by myself."

Xiaojie: "Brother, please be careful."

Brother Jun: "Brother, don't go near the river. Just stand further and watch."

The brothers went back.

I walked alone along the river, separated by a field, and found the "Jiejiashan Bridge" from Xiatang. Standing on the bridge and looking around, I saw nothing except the endless flood of the river.
Chapter completed!