vstars Chapter 624: The Bouncing Ball
Chapter 624: The Bouncing Ball
“Why are there still children in the village?”
Xiaoman suddenly stopped, stood on tiptoe, pointed at the village in the distance and shouted loudly.
Uncle Sijiu, who was walking at the front of the group, turned around at the news, a deep smile spreading across his dark face. He fanned himself with his hand, stroking his sunburned forehead. "Why not? Didn't you see us setting up the banquet last night? The little girl in the red coat was even helping to carry the dishes."
Seeing that Xiaoman still looked confused, there were too many people there last night and it was almost dark when she went there, so he didn't pay any attention at all.
Uncle Sijiu explained with a smile, "There are five children among the villagers who were taken in, three of whom are still young. The other two are from Qier's family. His hometown is only a little over 200 miles away from Shibaao. I can't separate the couple when they're already at their doorstep, so I asked him to bring both the children and his wife over."
Jing Changjiang nodded and said, "Thank you for your concern. We can't let soldiers be separated from their families for their entire lives. Also, if a soldier's family is in this situation, have them bring their family over. We'll arrange some work within their capabilities, even growing vegetables and raising pigs."
Uncle Sijiu nodded gratefully and said to Jing Changjiang, "I knew the general had the same idea as me. If the soldiers brought their families with them, they would have wives and children to take care of when they occasionally go down the mountain."
Xiao Man's eyes were indeed very sharp. After walking about fifty steps forward and crossing a slope covered with purple wild pea flowers, they could finally see the situation on the drying yard clearly.
Five children were playing on the rammed earth ground that had turned white from the sun. The dust raised by the ground formed a golden halo in the sunlight. There were a lot of straw and firewood piled on the edge of the drying yard.
"Let's go and take a look." Jing Chunxi suddenly became interested and ran over there with his legs spread out, the gauze on his veil swaying in the wind.
When they entered the village yesterday, everyone walked around the front and back of the houses, but she basically just ran back and forth between the two courtyards, and she and Xu Zize were so busy talking that they didn't even take a close look at what the village looked like. While it was still early, she had to take the opportunity to have some fun.
Xu Zize hurried after them, his dark boots startling a few grasshoppers as they trod across the ridges of the fields. When the general and the soldiers were together, they always talked about the glorious years on the battlefield and the past of life in the barracks, occasionally even telling dirty jokes. Not only could he not get a word in, but staying there would have been awkward. He would have preferred to just stroll around with Jing Chunxi, where he felt more at ease.
Five children were having fun, completely oblivious to the approaching crowd. Four older children sat in a circle, occasionally letting out a giggle. The tallest boy, about eight or nine, was skipping barefoot in the mud, his trouser legs rolled up above his knees, revealing his sturdy, dark calves.
The youngest, no more than three years old, was wearing only a pair of washed-out, open-crotch pants, his round belly stained with grease. He was running around chasing a black, egg-sized ball, which bounced high every time it landed.
"How can this thing jump?" Xiao Man rushed to the front. She originally thought that the jumping thing was a living thing, but when she got closer, she found it was a pitch-black ball with a surface covered with fine cracks, just like an old man's wrinkled face. This thing had never been seen in the capital.
Her exclamation startled the naked child into a plop in the dust. The little creature tilted his face up, covered in grass dust. Surprisingly, he didn't cry, but grinned. His sparse, yellow hair, barely tied into a tight bun, made his baby teeth stand out against the bright white of his teeth.
"I know you!" The other four children rushed over. The only girl was about five or six years old, wearing a brand new red cloth shirt with crooked plum blossoms embroidered on the cuffs.
"My father said you are Harin." She spoke with a strong Lingnan accent, and said "guests" as "Harin".
The little girl looked up and said, her eyes like black grapes rolling around. Her skin was tanned to a honey-colored hue, but her clothes were clean and tidy, without a single patch.
Jing Chunxi squatted down and looked the little girl straight in the eye: "You are the daughter of Brother Qi Er, right? You look exactly like your father." She noticed that the girl had a small brown mole on her right eyebrow that was exactly the same as Brother Qi Er's, and the facial features were also somewhat similar.
"Sister, how did you know?" The little girl clapped her hands in delight and jumped up, the red string in her hair flying up and down. The wind she kicked up carried the faint scent of soapberry.
The other three children also came over. The oldest boy looked down at his muddy knees and took a half step back embarrassedly.
Jing Chunxi took the little girl's hand and glanced at the other children. "You two look like spitting image after 72nd Brother." She pointed at the older boy and the girl in red. The older boy's ears flushed, and he awkwardly pointed at his companions and introduced himself. "I'm Kuan, and my sister's Cuifang. Da Niu, Er Niu, and San Niu are from Uncle Ling's family." He kept digging at lumps of dirt with his toes as he spoke, clearly nervous.
After being pulled up by Xiaoman, Sanniu's first reaction was to chase the large black ball that had rolled away. The ball was currently stuck in the drainage ditch at the edge of the drying yard, covered in grass and mud.
"What are you playing with?" Xu Zize noticed that Brother Kuan was also holding a larger black ball in his hand. It was as big as a bowl and the surface was not smooth, as if it had been repeatedly beaten, or like the shell of some dried fruit.
It was much larger than the one in Sanniu's hand, darker in color, and even had an oily luster, obviously having been rubbed countless times by children's hands.
When Brother Kuan heard the elegantly dressed young man ask, he quickly rubbed his palms on his clothes and carefully brushed the dust off the black ball. The ball had been rolled a thousand times and was already covered in mud and dust. The original black color had been worn yellow and even had a few shallow cracks on the edges.
But even so, it was still treasured by the children. Kuan Ge held it in both hands and handed it to Xu Zize respectfully, with a look of anticipation in his eyes, as if he wanted to see if this city dweller could play with it.
Xu Zize took the ball and immediately felt a strange touch in his palm - it was neither as hard as wood nor as flexible as leather, but rather had a slight elasticity.
He imitated the children and threw the ball lightly to the ground. The black ball bounced high with a "bang", drew an arc in the air, and fell steadily back into his palm.
He raised his eyebrows in surprise and tried again, this time with a little more force. The ball bounced higher and almost slipped out of his hand.
"What on earth is this?" Jing Chunxi was itching to try it out. Without waiting for Xu Zize to try again, she grabbed the ball. She held it in both hands and weighed it, finding it quite heavy.
Then, imitating Xu Zize's earlier move, she slammed the ball down hard. The black ball slammed into the compacted dirt with a thud, instantly bouncing up, almost reaching chest height. She quickly caught it, trying a few more times. Each time, the ball bounced high and steady, as if it held a burst of vitality.
Her movements became more and more skillful, and the ball flew up and down in her hands, causing Xiaoman and the other children to stare wide-eyed. Cuifang clapped her hands and giggled, while Sanniu jumped up and down excitedly, mumbling "Higher! Higher!"