Rebirth: Slice-of-life Cultivation-Chapter 621 - 390: Pouring Water~

June 6, 2014, Grain in Ear.

On Friday afternoon after school, Xue Yuantong unexpectedly didn’t hit the snack streets but instead took a ride home.

Normally, besides playing games in their room, they liked to wander around. Taking advantage of the daylight, Xue Yuantong invited Jiang Ning for a walk at the river dam.

Looking down from the dam, the fields were golden. The wheat spikes, plump with grains, seemed ready to burst.

"Jiang Ning, it’s almost time to harvest the wheat," Xue Yuantong said.

"Yes, it’s close."

"Does your family grow wheat?" Xue Yuantong asked him.

Jiang Ning thought for a while. "We stopped growing it a long time ago, and rented out the land."

His parents worked out of town, so naturally, they couldn’t manage their few acres of land.

"My family still has some. My grandparents grow it in the village," Xue Yuantong said. "Every year, they hire a combine harvester to cut the wheat."

As evening approached, the sun wasn’t as intense, and there were people strolling on the river dam.

She talked to Jiang Ning about her childhood in the village, claiming her family worked in the fields and she would help out.

Jiang Ning remarked, "You were just playing by the fields, weren’t you?"

After chatting for a while, Xue Yuantong looked north toward the Huishui River and noticed a large boat moored near the shore.

"Jiang Ning, let’s go down to the river to see the big boat."

Jiang Ning agreed, and they walked along the small path on the river dam toward the riverside. The dam was about a hundred or two hundred meters away from the riverside, and the path was lined with wheat.

Jiang Ning walked slowly, Xue Yuantong following beside him, hopping and skipping in her sandals like a child, not minding the heat at all.

Her voice was clear and pleasant. "After the wheat is harvested in our village, we burn fires in the fields. It’s quite a spectacle, all aflame!"

"But there’s a downside too," her tone fell again, no longer jumping, all calm and quiet:

"Many years ago, when I was in the second grade of elementary school, someone in the neighboring village used gasoline to burn wheat straw. It was a windy day, and the wind blew so fiercely. It spread the fire to another’s wheat!"

"Several dozen acres of wheat, all burned!

Jiang Ning: "Did people get hurt?"

Xue Yuantong: "No, no one was hurt, but it burned down people’s wheat, and later they had to pay a lot of compensation."

Their steps continued without pause, they followed the dirt path to the riverside. The large boat was to the east, and they turned to head that way.

Nearby were all rough paths, uneven and bumpy, hundreds of meters ahead, a pond blocked their way, where several people of different ages sat fishing. freewebnøvel.com

Xue Yuantong stood by the pond for a while. The water’s surface was calm, and seemingly bottomless. An angler stood up, casting his line and causing ripples.

"Jiang Ning, I feel like the water must be very deep!" she spoke softly, worried about disturbing the anglers.

Jiang Ning scanned with his "Divine Sense": "Maybe two meters deep, not too bad."

The elderly man beside them glanced over.

Xue Yuantong walked a little distance to the south along the pond, where there was a nearly dried-up ditch, about three or four meters wide and two meters deep. Since the banks had been excavated, they were quite steep.

If they wanted to see the big boat, they would need to pass this way.

Xue Yuantong stood on the bank, hesitating to go down the slope, fearing she might tumble down.

"Jiang Ning, you go first." She knew Jiang Ning was exceptionally capable. If it were him, he would easily manage, and then he could catch her at the bottom of the slope, helping her successfully cross and fulfill her goal.

"Yes," Jiang Ning responded, stepped back a few steps for a running start, and lightly jumped directly across to the other side.

Xue Yuantong: "?"

She meant for Jiang Ning to go to the bottom of the slope, not to the other side!

From across the ditch, Jiang Ning looked back at the petite Xue Yuantong and smiled:

"Come on over."

Left with no choice, Xue Yuantong spent five minutes reaching the bottom of the slope, crossed the little stream, and then, with Jiang Ning’s help, struggled up to the other side.

She stood on the bank dusting mud off her clothes, pouting and giving Jiang Ning a resentful glance.

Fortunately, after crossing the ditch and advancing a few dozen meters, they climbed a dirt mound and, treading through weeds, reached the shore where the large boat was docked.

Up close, the ship’s immense size was quite shocking to Xue Yuantong.

The big boat was anchored, tethered to the shore with hemp ropes thick as arms, swaying gently in the evening breeze.

Xue Yuantong looked up; the boat was at least five meters high with structures like rooms on it, currently appearing unoccupied.

Xue Yuantong stared for a while, speculating, "This must be a sand transport ship, right? I heard from my mom that many people who don’t have homes live on these boats."

Jiang Ning nodded, "Yes."

He had a former classmate who lived on a boat. In his generation, he chose to pursue education and managed to escape that fate.

"Jiang Ning, do you know what it’s like inside the boat?"

"No, I’ve never been."

Xue Yuantong glanced at the hemp rope used to secure the sand transport boat, suddenly struck with an idea: "Could I step on this rope to get onto the boat?"

Jiang Ning replied, "If you keep your balance, definitely."

As Xue Yuantong was considering this, a shadow darted out on the boat: "Woof woof woof!"

A black dog baring its teeth and growling at the two on the shore.

Xue Yuantong shuddered, almost ready to run, but remembering Jiang Ning was there, she managed to stop her fear.

The black dog kept barking on the boat, but Xue Yuantong, calming down, realized it only dared to bark and wouldn’t dare come ashore to bite.

She gestured at the dog, which, infuriated, barked incessantly.

Xue Yuantong recalled a movie about a pianist who had lived on a boat from childhood and had never set foot on land.

She suddenly said, "Do you think this dog might have never been off the boat?"

Jiang Ning thought about it, "Very likely."

Xue Yuantong sighed deeply.

After a while in the breeze, she and Jiang Ning headed home.

It was getting dark; her mother would be cooking dinner.

On the way back, Xue Yuantong received a phone call. After a few words, her face lit up with excitement, "Jiang Ning, Chuchu and her family are coming to our house for dinner tonight."