Shuangling: Braving the Rapids

Upon entering Dingzhai, the two cousins ​​first went to their maternal grandfather's house at Shoufeng.

The moment they saw their grandson, Shoufeng's maternal grandparents were overjoyed. The two elders served them cornbread made from mixed grains, cold mountain vegetables, and two large tea jars of sour berries.

The two cousins ​​enjoyed their lunch, while their grandfather, a know-it-all, quickly tied a long bamboo pole and a sickle together after learning their purpose. The old man joked, "With this 'long hook pole,' we can bring down not only walnuts, but even airplanes!"

After eating and drinking their fill and resting for a while, Yue Chuan took his cousin to the old house. One of them pushed a wheelbarrow and the other carried a long hook pole. In no time, half of the collapsed earthen wall of Yue Chuan's maternal grandfather's house stood in front of them.

The old house was empty and not very interesting. At this moment, Yue Chuan's mind and eyes were filled with the tall old walnut trees at the gate of the courtyard.

"Brother! Look! The tree is full of walnuts!" Yue Chuan excitedly threw down his wheelbarrow and turned to shout to his cousin behind him.

Qin Shoufeng, uninterested in the tree laden with unripe fruit, dragged himself forward a few steps before shoving the long fishing rod into Yue Chuan's hands: "Chuan'er, you pick them first, I need to catch my breath..."

Seeing his cousin panting heavily, Yue Chuan didn't say much. He braced one end of the long hook pole on the ground and used the sickle head at the other end to knock the green walnuts on the branches.

At first, this method worked quite well, and Yue Chuan "eliminated" all the walnuts on the lower branches, but he couldn't reach the ones on the higher branches, which made him so anxious that his bamboo pole kept shaking.

Seeing his cousin's hands trembling, Qin Shoufeng immediately darted to the other side, gripping the bamboo pole tightly with both hands: "Hold on! I'll support you!"

At first, the two cousins ​​weren't very coordinated; the sickle head wobbled violently, always missing the walnut by just a tiny bit. After a few tries, they finally figured it out—first, aim at the branch, then pull down simultaneously, and the branch and walnut would fall together.

"One, two, three, drop!"

"One, two..."

……

As shouts rang out, green walnuts fell with a crackling sound, and in just a quarter of an hour, the first walnut tree was cleaned up.

"Chuan'er, Chuan'er, my arm is so numb, let me rest for a while longer!" After saying that, Qin Shoufeng squatted down on the ground again.

Qin Shoufeng, who was slightly overweight, was a real "rich young master". Unlike Yue Chuan, he did not have to sell walnuts to earn tuition fees. Of course, he would work but not put in any effort and would rest whenever he could.

Yue Chuan didn't blame his cousin. It was already a great favor that the cousin was willing to come along. So, he had to bend down and pick up all the walnuts on the ground himself, putting them into the snakeskin bag one by one.

"Brother, I'm going to check behind the old house. There's a small walnut tree there. I'll climb the tree and pick some, so I won't need the hook and pole for now." As he spoke, Yue Chuan had already moved the bulging sack next to the wheelbarrow.

"Okay, be careful, I'll catch my breath and be fine..." Qin Shoufeng replied, panting heavily.

"I know! You keep an eye on the car and the fishing rod!" After saying that, Yue Chuan went to the backyard alone.

In the time it takes to smoke a pipe, Yue Chuan was already standing on the short walnut tree. He was thin and agile, moving back and forth among the branches like a monkey, and sweeping away all the green walnuts within reach in no time.

Looking at the spoils scattered on the ground, Yue Chuan's eyes were filled with joy. These walnuts were his hope for getting into school, and now they looked more like lucky small bills. What else was there to say? He quickly jumped down and picked them up!

Just as Yue Chuan was about to leap down, a strange noise came from the depths of the woods. He looked closely and his hair stood on end—the creature running wildly in the woods was not some small animal, but a disheveled, bare-chested, and barefoot madwoman!

The woman, her lower body wrapped in a yellow plastic sheet, ran while letting out a piercing scream, and in the blink of an eye, she darted to the tree where Yue Chuan was. She craned her neck to look up, her eyes gleaming with the ferocity of a wild beast, which frightened Yue Chuan so much that he quickly hid towards the treetop.

"No...don't come up!" Yue Chuan shouted hoarsely as he saw the crazy woman clinging to the tree trunk and bending over to climb up.

Hearing the shout, the madwoman suddenly stopped. She tilted her head back and grinned at Yue Chuan, revealing a mouthful of yellowed, rotten teeth. The smile was more chilling than a cry, and Yue Chuan's legs trembled so badly that he almost slipped off the tree.

Sensing the disturbance, the madwoman suddenly exerted force with all four limbs and leaped forward like a wild leopard pouncing on its prey.

Yue Chuan was terrified. By the time he came to his senses, that hideous face was right in front of him, and he could even see the black dirt under the other person's fingernails!

In an instant, the black hand had already grabbed the boy's ankle. Yue Chuan's hands instinctively gripped the tree branch, his right leg kicked wildly, and his left leg slammed into the madwoman's face with a "bang." The madwoman screamed in agony and fell from the tree, wrapped in a urea bag.

Yue Chuan turned his face away, not daring to look at the human-shaped figure on the ground. He turned his head and shouted at the front yard, "Brother! Brother Shoufeng!" His voice cracked and trembled in the walnut grove.

Unbeknownst to Yue Chuan, Qin Shoufeng was crouching against the wall, trembling, gripping a long fishing rod. He watched helplessly as the madwoman lunged at his cousin, but his legs felt like lead—he wanted to call for help but couldn't move them, and he wanted to help but was afraid of getting himself into trouble.

Seeing that his cousin hadn't made any move, Yue Chuan had to think of a way to save himself. In his panic, he grabbed two green walnuts, thinking that he would still have a fighting chance when the crazy woman charged up for her attack.

However, the madwoman seemed to have no intention of continuing to climb the tree. She spread her arms and gestured in the air. Seeing that the boy was unmoved, she became somewhat annoyed and shouted at Yuechuan. Her voice was not as shrill as before, but it was still chilling.

"Get away from me! I don't understand what you're saying!" Yue Chuan roared, his voice trembling with tears, the tree branches rattling loudly as he shook them.

Sensing the boy's rejection, the madwoman became agitated and started banging her head against the tree trunk repeatedly, showing no sign of stopping even as blood streamed down her forehead.

Yue Chuan felt a chill run down his spine again, but just then, a scruffy, slender man suddenly darted out of the woods—the man had a rope wrapped around his waist, his eyes were bigger than cowbells, and he charged straight toward them.

A few breaths later, the slovenly man had already crept up behind the madwoman. He leaped up and immediately tackled her to the ground. Then, he pulled out a rope from his waist and quickly wrapped it around her neck and waist.

The madwoman was tied up, and now she was flailing her arms and legs, whimpering like a wild cat being choked.

Seeing that the crazy woman had been brought under control, Yue Chuan breathed a sigh of relief. At this moment, Qin Shoufeng finally appeared, stepping on the broken walnut shells scattered on the ground, and hurriedly gestured to his cousin: "Chuan'er, come down quickly! Let's go back to my maternal grandfather's house!"

Looking at the green walnuts scattered on the ground, Yue Chuan hesitated – if he just left like this, wouldn't this trip have been in vain?

After much deliberation, Yue Chuan mustered his courage and leaped down from the tree. Clutching two walnuts tightly in his hand, he stood before the madwoman, forcing himself to remain calm, and demanded, "These are my grandmother's walnut trees! You… what right do you have to stop me?"