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The next morning, Yezhi arrived at Zhou Xiaomu's house bright and early.
"Brother Zhou!"
"Sister Ye, Sister Ye!" Zhou Xiaomu, dressed in split-crotch pants and with two streams of mucus hanging from his nose, rushed into Yezhi's arms. Yezhi was worried that Zhou Xiaomu's mucus would get on her clothes, so she took out a handkerchief to wipe it clean.
"Yezhi is here!" Brother Zhou warmly welcomed Yezhi inside.
"Brother Zhou, what did you need me for last night?"
Brother Zhou pointed to a rocking chair placed in the corner of the yard and the seesaw beside it. "I just wanted you to take a look and see if there's anything wrong so I can fix it!"
Yezhi walked over to the rocking chair, gently stroking its fragrant wooden surface, marveling at Brother Zhou's craftsmanship. This rocking chair was almost a work of art, with natural and rustic wood patterns that also had a unique sheen. Yezhi plopped down onto it, leaning back and joyfully exclaimed, "Brother Zhou, this rocking chair is amazing!"
Seeing Sister Ye having fun, Zhou Xiaomu bounced over to the rocking chair like a little cannonball. The rocking chair swayed back and forth unpredictably as Yezhi and Zhou Xiaomu laughed together, their cheerful sounds echoing in the yard, attracting the attention of the Cart Master passing by with his horse-drawn carriage.
"What’s going on? You’re both laughing so hard!"
Holding Zhou Xiaomu, Yezhi's eyes lit up as she enthusiastically called out, "Cart Master, you came at just the right time! Help me transport some things to school!"
Brother Zhou came out of the house with two finished sets of cricket paddles and handed them to Yezhi. "Why not try out the seesaw?"
"Brother Zhou, your craftsmanship is outstanding! I won’t try it; let the kids test it themselves!" Yezhi said as she tucked the cricket paddles into her large cloth bag while speaking to Brother Zhou.
After confirming what needed to be transported, the Cart Master helped Yezhi and Brother Zhou load the rocking chair and seesaw onto the cart with some effort.
Riding in the stagecoach, they arrived at Team Dam with a clatter. As soon as Yezhi jumped off the cart, she heard the kids reading aloud.
The Old Accountant, busy at Team, set down his ledger and helped Yezhi unload the seesaw. Looking at the long and sturdy wooden boards and a peculiar triangular wooden box, he asked with a smile, "Yezhi, what strange new thing have you made this time?"
"I asked Brother Zhou to make two items for the kids to play with during breaks!" Yezhi replied quietly.
The Old Accountant frowned disapprovingly and said, "The primary task of kids is to study well. Yezhi, aren't these playful things just distracting the kids?"
Yezhi couldn't help but worry if she could explain the concept of "work and rest balance" clearly to Uncle Accountant. Besides, she wasn't the kids' teacher and didn't have absolute authority.
"Uncle Accountant, Comrade Yezhi has thought this through; the students need some break time!" Xiao Cheng appeared at the classroom door, and Yezhi nodded vigorously. The Old Accountant asked incredulously, "Really?" Yezhi gave Xiao Cheng a look that said, "It's up to you," and climbed onto the carriage to head home.
Yezhi and the Cart Master worked together to move the rocking chair into their yard. The Black Treasure, who had been lazily lying on the Big Wooden Platform, suddenly rolled down excitedly and ran over to Yezhi with open arms. Yezhi shouted, "Black Treasure, wait!" while lifting her foot to stop him from getting too close. After placing the rocking chair between two apple trees, Black Treasure exchanged hugs with Yezhi and the Cart Master.
"Black Treasure, you're getting stronger!" the Cart Master laughed as he patted Black Treasure's sturdy back.
Black Treasure grinned widely and mimicked the Cart Master’s back patting. The Cart Master exclaimed, "Oh! Alright, alright, Black Treasure, let's stop that!"
Seeing the Cart Master in such a predicament made Yezhi laugh heartily as she proudly said, "Uncle, you shouldn't compete with our Black Treasure, this natural strongman."
The Cart Master chuckled along and walked around the yard before being led by Yezhi to visit the backyard. "Yezhi, what are you planting these Yellow Flowers for?" he asked, pointing at the yellow-green flowers.
"They're for eating; these Yellow Flowers are delicious! I'll pick some for you to take home and try. You can make soup or stir-fry with them; just be careful because these Yellow Flowers can be toxic if not prepared properly," Yezhi explained while demonstrating how to pick them.
With a basket full of Yellow Flowers, they returned to the front yard. At that moment, Black Treasure was lying on the rocking chair, swaying back and forth happily. The Cart Master found Black Treasure's antics amusing while Yezhi sighed; it seemed that after claiming the Big Wooden Platform, Black Treasure was now going to take over the rocking chair as well.
After seeing off the Cart Master, Yezhi took out six goose feathers she had found at One Egg's house and made a homemade cricket bat. After sewing for quite a while, she finally finished it. She packed the cricket bat into her bag and headed to the classroom before the kids' break ended.
"Sister Ye!" A group of kids cheered upon seeing Yezhi arrive, surrounding her excitedly. Xiao Cheng willingly gave up his spot at the podium for Yezhi.
Yezhi took out the cricket bat and ball to explain how to play. Just as she finished speaking, One Egg jumped up and snatched a bat from her hands before running outside to play. Er Niu hugged another bat tightly while shouting, "This is for our female classmates; no stealing!"
With something fun to do, the kids rushed eagerly to the dam. Suddenly, Dogzi shouted loudly, "Sister Ye, come quick!"
While talking with Xiao Cheng, Yezhi was teased by him: "Comrade Yezhi truly deserves to be called the kid king; I heard she used Sugar Balls to win over all the kids in the village!"
Yezhi felt her face heat up; Zhoujiatun was too small to keep secrets. Xiao Cheng had been there for nearly two months and had better connections than she did with her own Black Treasure. Countless people chatted about Zhoujiatun's happenings in front of him daily.
"Sister Ye, what's that wooden board outside?" Dogzi shouted but didn't see Yezhi come out, so he rushed back to the classroom to get someone.
Yezhi was pulled by Dogzi to the dam, where the kids were divided into three groups: One Egg led about ten boys who were clumsily playing with a cricket bat; Er Niu led the girls who were also happily playing cricket, but they were all beginners. As long as they could catch the ball, the kids' screams and laughter would soar into the sky. Meanwhile, Er Zhu and Zhou Da were figuring out how to use the seesaw.
"Zhou Da, Er Zhu, lift the long board level, then you two sit on each end of it," Yezhi directed them to sit on the seesaw. After Er Zhu and Zhou Da climbed on, Er Zhu pushed off with his legs, instantly breaking the balance of the seesaw. The two quickly became more and more excited as they played. Yezhi shouted, "Take it easy; this is new!"
The kids surrounding Er Zhu and Zhou Da had their hearts racing with excitement. They couldn't hear what Yezhi was saying and only wanted to pull Er Zhu and Zhou Da down quickly.
Seeing Xiao Shuan rushing forward to grab Er Zhu made Yezhi gasp; it was too dangerous. She shouted again for everyone to be careful, but the kids were too caught up in their fun to listen.
At that moment, Xiao Cheng blew a sharp whistle behind her. When all the kids turned to look at him, he called out clearly, "Classmates, gather together!"
Er Zhu was the first to get off the seesaw and jogged over to organize everyone. Xiao Cheng confiscated the cricket bats from One Egg and Er Niu. "Classmates, from now on I will arrange a sports class every day for everyone to enjoy, but we should focus on studying during regular times. Now let's disperse and go home." The teacher's words were not to be ignored; the kids who hadn't had enough fun all left with frowns, reluctant to go home.
"Comrade Ye, let's give it a try!" Xiao Cheng handed a cricket bat to Yezhi. Eager to show off her skills, Yezhi started playing. As she expected, Xiao Cheng often missed catching the ball at first. However, after seven or eight tries, he became more aggressive in his hits. Yezhi ran around trying to catch his balls until she finally collapsed on the ground from exhaustion.
"Comrade Ye, are you okay?" Xiao Cheng rushed over nervously, beads of sweat covering his forehead. Yezhi looked up at him and suddenly remembered that saying: sweaty men are very attractive.
A rumble from her stomach made Yezhi laugh heartily as she pointed at Xiao Cheng, whose face was gradually turning red from embarrassment, and cheerfully said, "Let's go! Come eat at my house."
Xiao Cheng wanted to refuse but found himself being pulled along by Yezhi as she walked briskly ahead. With thoughts of propriety swirling in his mind, his face was so red it felt like it might bleed as he pulled away from Yezhi's hand and quietly walked in front of her.
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