Chapter 65: Little Seven and Little Eight Fell into the Cesspit

"Fifth Sister!"

At that moment, a crisp voice rang out.

Fifth Sister turned her head and, seeing it was Little Sixth, hurried over, pulled her into her arms, and asked, "Are you guys alright? Where are Little Seventh and Little Eighth?"

"Fifth Sister, they, they... Wuwuwu..."

Before she could finish, Little Sixth burst into tears.

"Stop crying! Finish what you're saying first!"

At Fifth Sister's stern reprimand, Little Sixth instantly choked back her tears. Eyes swimming with water, she said, "They fell into the ice hole!"

"What?!"

Fifth Sister felt as though the sky had collapsed. Panicking, she shouted, "Where? Take me there right now!"

Little Sixth said, "Dad has already carried them to the township clinic."

"Ah?"

For a moment, Fifth Sister was somewhat bewildered. Only after questioning her in detail did she learn the full story.

That afternoon, the three of them were at the village committee office listening to the radio when they suddenly heard that someone had fallen into the ice hole of the small pond right in front of the building. Everyone was in an uproar, and the radio was turned off.

The three girls wanted to go watch the commotion too, but the adults stopped them, allowing them only to watch from the bank. Unable to defy the adults, the three could only squat by the edge and look on.

Once the person who had fallen through the ice was hauled out, the old folks lost interest in listening to the radio. They all sat around the village committee office and began chatting, mostly reminiscing about children falling through ice holes in the past.

After listening for a while, the three found it dreadfully boring. Since Fifth Sister wasn't around, they began wandering aimlessly.

When they strolled to the back of the village, they suddenly spotted a dog chasing a sparrow. Finding it immensely amusing, they trailed along behind them.

One moment they were cheering for the puppy, the next they were shouting at the sparrow to run faster.

The sparrow seemed old, or perhaps injured, and could only fly a short distance before it was forced to land on the ground, giving the dog a chance to catch up.

However, that dog was only a half-grown mongrel with abysmal hunting skills, relying purely on instinct. Though it looked fiercely determined, leaping and pouncing about, the actual results were pathetic, and after chasing for a long time, it still hadn't caught the sparrow.

Plop!

Not only did it fail to catch the sparrow, but one careless misstep sent the dog tumbling straight into an open-air manure pit.

Perhaps because people frequently came by to collect fertilizer, even in the dead of winter with heavy snow blanketing the ground, the liquid manure in the pit hadn't frozen over! Once the puppy fell in, terrified and freezing, it thrashed around wildly, splashing muck everywhere.

Seeing the dog in such a desperate state, the three girls assumed it was going to drown and grew frantic along with it.

Unaware that dogs naturally knew how to swim, their only thought was how to save the creature.

Little Seventh, completely carried away by the scenario, shrieked repeatedly, "Puppy, don't be afraid! Puppy, don't be afraid! Mommy is coming to save you!"

With that, she prepared to step right into the manure pit. Fortunately, Little Sixth grabbed her back just in time.

Being a year and a half older, Little Sixth knew a thing or two about safety and realized how dangerous the manure pit was. She advised, "You guys just stand here and aren't allowed to get close. I'll go find a stick to pull the puppy up."

With those words, she ran off to search for a stick.

By that time, however, the puppy had already scrambled out of the manure pit on its own.

Little Seventh walked over joyfully, not minding at all that the dog was covered in filth, and praised, "Good doggy!"

Meanwhile, Little Eighth spotted the sparrow lingering not far from the manure pit and ambled over on her short little legs, swaying from side to side.

"Woof! Woof!"

The puppy must have been traumatized by its recent ordeal. Seeing the two figures approach, it suddenly let out a wild bark and lunged straight at them.

"Ah!"

"Ah!"

Terrified, both girls shrieked. With two dull thuds—*plop*, *plop*—they both tumbled headfirst into the manure pit.

Fortunately, the pit wasn't particularly deep. However, when people are startled, they instinctively thrash about in panic. Both girls were far too young; even if they usually acted like little adults, when a real crisis struck, they completely lost their heads.

Little Sixth happened to be returning with a stick when she witnessed the scene. Panicking, she screamed, "Seventh Sister! Eighth Sister! Why did you guys fall in too? Hurry, grab the stick!"

She extended the stick toward them, but the two girls couldn't hear a word she was saying and continued thrashing blindly.

"Oh, goodness gracious! How on earth did you two fall into the manure pit?!"

Just then, a villager happened to be walking by carrying two empty manure buckets. Seeing the terrifying sight, her face turned pale with fright. She hastily dropped her buckets, sprinted over, and hauled Little Seventh and Little Eighth out of the pit.

Luckily, they hadn't fallen in long and hadn't swallowed any of the foul liquid. The moment they were pulled out, they burst into terrified, howling tears.

Little Sixth joined in, crying loudly as well.

"Tang Jiancheng! Liu Fangfang!"

The villager was none other than Tang Jiancheng's sister-in-law, Yang Cui. Ignoring Little Sixth, she shouted at the top of her lungs while scooping up Little Seventh and Little Eighth, running toward Tang Jiancheng's house.

Tang Jiancheng was still asleep when he suddenly heard the frantic yelling and sat bolt upright.

"What's going on?" Tang Jiancheng asked in bewilderment.

Liu Fangfang emerged from the small side room, saying, "It sounds like someone is shouting!"

"Tang Jiancheng! Liu Fangfang!"

The anxious cries rang out once more. Certain he hadn't misheard, Tang Jiancheng leaped out of bed and bolted outside.

"Sister-in-law?"

Throwing open the door, Tang Jiancheng saw Yang Cui along with Little Seventh and Little Eighth in her arms. "What happened?"

"I don't know what they were up to, but they fell into the manure pit. Hurry up and change their clothes and give them a hot bath, or they'll be in trouble if they catch a cold!" Yang Cui urged.

Tang Jiancheng took Little Seventh and Little Eighth from her. Taking one look at them, he saw their faces were deathly pale, their lips tinged with blue, and their bodies shivering violently from the cold.

Without a moment's hesitation, he whirled around and sprinted into the house. "Fangfang, hurry up and get their clothes!"

Liu Fangfang, panicked and flustered, muttered, "How could this happen?"

Giving her a stern look without a word of reproach, Tang Jiancheng dashed straight into the bedroom, grabbed his own brand-new, unworn padded winter jacket, and spread it out on the floor. He then stripped Little Seventh and Little Eighth completely bare and bundled them both inside the jacket.

"Sister-in-law, help me grab their clothes. I'm taking them to the township clinic right away!"

With that, Tang Jiancheng scooped up the two children and bolted toward the township clinic.

"Why go all the way to the township clinic? Wouldn't a hot bath and a bowl of ginger soup be enough?"

Yang Cui didn't quite understand, but seeing that Tang Jiancheng was already gone, she had no choice but to turn back to Liu Fangfang and ask, "Has Jiancheng suddenly become this good to his kids?"

"Stop standing there dazed, hurry up and find their clothes!"

Hearing her sister-in-law's prompt, Liu Fangfang finally snapped out of her daze, her entire body trembling. "Okay, okay, okay, Sister-in-law, do you think they'll... they'll... be alright?"

"What are you thinking? Of course they'll be fine!"

Knowing what Liu Fangfang was terrified of, Yang Cui gave her a push to get her moving.

"What's going on? What happened?"

Yuan Yuezhu, Tang Genshui, and Tang Jianbing all rushed out from their respective houses.

"Little Seventh and Little Eighth fell into the manure pit," Yang Cui tossed back over her shoulder.

"Ah? Where are they? Are they okay?"

All three of them turned pale with shock.

"Jiancheng carried them off to the township clinic. He didn't even bring any clothes!" Yang Cui said.

"Jianbing, hurry up and bring some clothes over to them," Tang Genshui instructed.

"Alright," Tang Jianbing nodded.

"What on earth are they doing all day long? Where is Fifth Sister? Wasn't she specifically assigned to watch the three youngest? Where is she? Has she gone off playing again? When she gets back, I'm going to tan her hide so she finally learns her lesson!"

Yuan Yuezhu cursed loudly.

Little Sixth, who had just arrived not far from the doorway, heard those words and lost all courage to go home. She turned around and headed back toward the village committee office, wanting to wait for Fifth Sister.

The moment she reached the village office, she spotted Fifth Sister and poured out the story in breathless fragments.

Hearing that her father had taken Little Seventh and Little Eighth to the township clinic, Fifth Sister felt a wave of relief wash over her.

As for the severe beating she would likely face upon returning home, she didn't care in the least.

It wasn't like she had never been beaten before; what was there to fear?