He went to check the other traps. Some had managed to catch a few hares, but the rest had none. He placed them into the basket on his back, which was equipped with a bamboo covering to prevent them from escaping.

He set the trap again, then carried his basket and left, heading towards the cave he would spend the night in. The game he had caught was all stored there, and he would take it all back when it was time to go home.

————

Having rested enough, Liu Duo leisurely walked to the paddy field to help the transplant the rice seedlings.

The repetitive work was dull and boring, but Liu Duo would always stay close to Ye Ling, as they talked happily.

Liu Duo felt a pang of pain in her right calf. She looked down and saw a black object attached to it, wriggling.

Shocked, she yelled, "Ah!"

Ye Ling trembled in fright at her sudden high-decibel scream, and dropped his seedlings. "Duo Er, what happened?"

The people in the nearby paddy fields all heard her scream too, and looked towards her direction.

"What's going on?" Ye Mo got frightened too, but he did not tremble. He just went to her side and inquired.

"What's that biting at my leg? It's painful," Liu Duo pointed at the thing and mumbled.

Ye Mo and Ye Ling looked down too and found the leech. Ye Mo took hold it it, "It's a leech. When they suck blood, it can be a bit painful, but it's not venomous. We just get rid of it."

And then he tossed it ashore.

"Duo Er, don't be scared. It's gone now," Ye Ling saw the sweat at the tip of her nose and consoled her.

Still quivering with fear, she exhaled in relief. She hated and was most afraid of molluscs like that. She found them terribly gross.

"I'm done. I'll wait for you guys on dry land." Pale in the face, she turned around and went ashore, unwilling to stay in the paddy field any longer.

It was normal to have leeches in the paddy fields. Ye Mo and his brothers were used to it. They found Liu Duo's exaggerated reaction very strange.

Li Chunmei thought, That girl is making a mountain out of a molehill. It's not like she hasn't seen it before. With that scream, she might as well be slaughtering a pig.

The workers nearby all felt that Liu Duo was making a big deal out of nothing. How scary could a tiny leech be?

Liu Duo grabbed some wild grass and wiped away the mud on her arms and legs. She sat on the ground, looking at her calf and inspecting the red spot where she'd been bitten.

She massaged it softly with her finger as she murmured, "I'm never going down there ago! Too scary!"

It was almost noon by the time Ye Mo and Ye Ling came ashore.

"Duo Er, it's not painful anymore, is it?" asked Ye Ling as he wiped away the mud and went to her side.

"Yes, it's fine," she nodded. "Time to go home?"

The two of them had come up, so she got up too and brushed the dirt off her hips.

"Yes, we're going back to make lunch. No one's at home to deliver food to us, so we have to make it ourselves," Ye Ling explained.

Families with many members would usually have their lunch delivered to the farm. This could reduce the time and the traveling to and fro, which would increase productivity.

"Oh."

The three made their journey home. As they passed a fork in the road, they met a young girl carrying a basket.

"Third brother Mo, fourth brother Ling, are you guys going home?" She smiled and greeted them.

Liu Duo didn't know her, so she walked on, ignoring the girl. Ye Mo looked at her coolly. Ye Ling merely nodded in silence.

"Fourth brother Ling, have you guys finished planting the seedlings in the paddy field?" She asked with concern.

"Not yet," Ye Ling uttered plainly.