Chapter 70: Discussing Beating the Kids Together

A young boy spoke up, “Sister Song?”

“?” Song Yue looked at the boy. “Little brother, do you know me?”

Shuisheng grinned widely. “Sister Song, you’ve been to my house before, and you even gave us candy. Did you forget?”

Been to his house? And gave him candy?

Song Yue was stunned for a few seconds before realizing, “Oh, your grandpa is Uncle Chen, right?”

“That’s right.” Shuisheng nodded. “My father is the eldest son.”

“I’m Shuisheng, Sister Song.”

Song Yue frowned. “Shuisheng?”

Shuisheng nodded. “Yes.”

Song Yue glanced at the small bamboo basket. “Alright, Shuisheng, how many fish have you caught?”

Shuisheng: “Just one.”

Holding a basin, Song Yue smiled at the five kids. “Hmm, do your families know you’re here by the river? Did they agree to let you come?”

These two questions immediately silenced the five children.

They looked at each other, their faces turning slightly uneasy.

Song Yue raised an eyebrow. “Looks like they didn’t approve?”

The five children lowered their heads and said nothing.

“Alright then.”

Song Yue nodded thoughtfully. “I’ll go tell your parents. When you get home, you’ll get a good spanking, and your butts will be swollen.”

With that, she turned around, carrying her basin, and started to leave.

The five kids’ eyes widened in horror.

Shuisheng quickly ran ahead to block her path. “Sister Song, no!”

“Sister Song, we know we were wrong. Please don’t tell on us, okay?”

The other four hurried to her as well, standing in front of her to plead. “Sister, we know we were wrong!”

Song Yue dropped her smile and put on a stern face. “If you know you’re wrong, why are you still here?”

The five kids shuddered and ran off immediately, not even thinking about grabbing the fish in the basket.

Song Yue called out, “Take your fish with you.”

Hearing that, they hurried back, grabbed the bamboo basket, and dashed away.

Standing still, Song Yue watched them disappear into the distance and shook her head.

Just as she was about to return to hanging up the laundry, she caught a glimpse of a fishing rod moving slightly.

Her brow twitched—was there a fish?

She walked over, set the basin aside, and lifted the rod.

The line instantly went taut.

Song Yue’s eyes lit up, and she pulled up.

A fish leaped out of the water, struggling fiercely.

A crucian carp.

Just a few ounces.

Not even enough to fry.

Thinking she should catch a few more, Song Yue used the bait the five kids had prepared—snails and earthworms—and continued fishing.

She also spaced out the rods a bit more, increasing the distance between them.

And what do you know—

With the rods spread out, it was as if she had unlocked a cheat code. One fish after another got hooked.

In just half an hour, she had caught six.

All crucian carp.

Looked like she had stumbled upon a whole school of them.

Satisfied that she had enough, she prepared to pack up and head back.

Just then, the five kids came running back.

Right at that moment, another fish got hooked as she reeled in the rod…

They all stared at each other in shock.

This time, Song Yue didn’t chase them away. Instead, she told them to wait.

More fish kept getting hooked.

Before long, she had caught another dozen or so.

Song Yue divided the fish among them, giving each of the five kids three big ones.

The rest were hers.

As she handed out the fish, she warned them again—never come to the river without an adult.

If they wanted to eat fish, they should ask their families to handle it. They were not allowed to come alone.

The five kids, overjoyed at getting fish, eagerly nodded and thanked her repeatedly.

Each carrying three fish, they ran home excitedly, eager to show off their catch.

Watching them leave, Song Yue’s lips curled into a smile.

Let them be happy for now~ They won’t be smiling once they get home.

She packed up her fishing rods, hid them in the grass, and left.

Next time, when she had time and wanted fish, she’d come back.

Carrying the basin in one hand and the fish in the other, she returned to the educated youth station.

…

The five kids ran home enthusiastically.

Shuisheng was the first to arrive.

Holding up his three fish, he rushed to his grandma, eager to brag about how Sister Song had given them to him.

And he did brag.

But then, his grandma asked, “Why did Sister Song give you fish?”

That made him slip up and reveal that he had gone to the river.

The next second, his grandma grabbed a broom and started whacking him.

His butt hurt like hell.

The other four met similar fates.

Three of them also let it slip and got beaten.

The last one didn’t even get the chance to explain before getting smacked first.

But beatings were one thing.

Eating the fish still had to be done.

And, surprisingly, after a spanking, the fish tasted even better.

…

Back at the educated youth station, Song Yue set down the fish, washed her hands, and went to hang the laundry.

Then she cleaned and prepped the fish for dinner.

While she was gutting the fish, the educated youths returned from work.

The older ones, arriving first, were surprised to see her preparing fish.

Chen Xue asked, “Song Yue, did you go to the commune this afternoon?”

Song Yue looked up briefly. “No.”

“You didn’t?” Chen Xue frowned. “Then where did you get the fish?”

Lowering her gaze, she continued working. “I caught them in the village river.”

Niu Yifan, a male educated youth, commented, “Wow, Song Yue, you’re amazing. We’ve been to that river many times and always came back empty-handed.”

Chen Xue asked, “Can you tell us how you did it?”

Before Song Yue could answer, Niu Yifan cut in, “Chen, even if you ask, she won’t tell you.”

Song Yue looked up, giving him a light glance.

“If you hadn’t said that, I might have been willing to share. But since you did, I definitely won’t.”

Niu Yifan’s face stiffened. “…”

Rolling his eyes, he stormed off. “Fine, don’t tell. Whatever.”

The other educated youths: “…”

Because of what she said, they all felt a bit annoyed with Niu Yifan.

Since she had made her stance clear, Chen Xue didn’t press further and left.

After a while, Lin He, Li Xinyue, Zhao Zirui, and Liu Wei finally returned.

Li Xinyue commented, “Weird… Was today a planned ‘spanking the kids’ day in the village?”

“On the way back, I heard several kids crying.”

Song Yue’s eyelid twitched a few times.

Li Xinyue turned to Zhao Zirui. “Zirui, you heard the crying too, right?”

Zhao Zirui kept his head down, lost in thought.

Before he could answer, Liu Wei spoke up. “Xinyue, we walked back together. You heard it, and I heard it. Zhao Zirui must’ve heard it too.”

“Right, Zhao Zirui?”

Zhao Zirui remained silent, still looking down.

Liu Wei was stunned.

“?” Li Xinyue frowned and asked softly, “Zirui? What are you thinking about???”