Chapter 68 Water Snake
The time for practicing calligraphy passed quickly, and the sound of bang bang bang reminded the students that class was over.
Sun Boming appeared at the school gate on time, took Sun Shan's lunch box and small stone slab, and quickly returned to Sunjia Village with De Ge'er and his son.
As soon as he entered the yard, he hurriedly put down his things and ran to the fields to work.
Sun Shan was not required to do the farming. Sun Bomin and Su were reluctant to let their son be exposed to the sun and rain, so they told him to stay at home and study hard.
Eldest sister Guyu is busy in the kitchen.
At the age of 15, Huang did not allow Guyu to go out to work on the farm, and asked her to stay at home to raise her. After all, it was time for her to get married, and she had to be raised well in the next one or two years. Similarly, someone had to be left to do the housework, so Huang simply arranged for her eldest granddaughter to stay at home to guard the door.
Guyu brought a bowl of glutinous rice balls with brown sugar water from the kitchen and said with a smile: "Are you tired from studying? Eat a bowl of sweet balls to fill your stomach."
Sun Shan said, "Big sister, let's eat together."
Guyu shook his head and said, "Sister doesn't like to eat, so you eat it. When you're done, put the bowl in the kitchen and I'll wash it later." After saying that, he went out to work without looking back.
Sun Shan stared at the syrup and knew what his elder sister would say. The family's food was closely followed by Sun Shan, even his grandmother Huang.
The method of making glutinous rice balls with brown sugar water is also very simple. Use glutinous rice flour to roll into balls the size of an adult's thumb, boil them with water first, take them out, boil another pot of brown sugar water, and then put the balls into the brown sugar water, and you have a simple and delicious syrup.
Sun Shan's family didn't grow glutinous rice, so Sun Boming went to the county town to buy glutinous rice, then ground it into powder, stored it, and took it out when needed.
Sun Shan quickly finished a bowl of glutinous rice balls in brown sugar water, went to the well to wash the bowl, and put it back in the kitchen.
Since my eldest sister is not here, she should go to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables. These days, Sun Bomin and his friends are busy with farm work, so the cooking work at home naturally falls on my eldest sister.
Sun Shan first completed the homework assigned by Master Zheng. Master Zheng was lecturing very quickly, so one had to pay full attention in class. If one was not careful, one would miss out on new knowledge.
At this time, you have no choice but to ask. Master Zheng will teach you and scold you at the same time.
After finishing his homework, he went to the well to practice calligraphy. After these days of practice, writing calligraphy became more and more handy, and Sun Shan was very satisfied with this state.
When you have practiced enough, learn the knowledge you have not learned before. Study it yourself first. If there is anything you don’t understand, mark it. When the teacher explains it, you will understand it.
Two days ago, Master Zheng gave Sun Shan and his two companions a "couplet lesson", which is a lesson on couplets.
Master Zheng simply introduced the basic requirements for couplets, which can be summarized as the "six aspects".
First, the number of words is equal, second, the parts of speech are similar, third, the structure is symmetrical, fourth, the rhythm is corresponding, fifth, the level and tone are harmonious, and sixth, the content is relevant.
For example, the well-known saying "Heaven is to earth, rain is to wind, and continent is to sky"
Master Zheng asked Sun Shan and the other two to listen more, watch more and pay more attention to what couplets there are around them, and directly told them to read more Spring Festival couplets, so that they would have a better understanding.
Sun Shan knew that the imperial examination also tested couplets, and it would be beneficial to learn to make couplets in daily life.
It was getting dark outside, and suddenly there was a noise. From the sound, I knew that the sisters had returned.
As soon as he finished reading the plan, Sun Shan put down the book and walked out.
Seeing that everyone was very excited, he asked in confusion: "Third sister, what are you doing?"
Xiaoman pulled Sun Shan over and happily pointed to a sack and said, "Dad caught a water snake. It's four feet five inches long and weighs three pounds."
Sun Shan followed the direction of the finger and saw that the mouth of the sack was tied tightly and something was swimming inside.
When he heard it was a snake, he was not afraid and wanted to go up and untie the sack to take a look.
Lixia stopped him and said sternly, "Shanzi, you are short, don't open the sack. If a snake comes out, it will wrap around you."
Sun Shan nodded. That's right. The snake is 1 meters long. How about Sun Shan? Less than 5 meter. The snake is taller than him.
Sun Bomin came in from outside, put down his farm tools, and saw the children in the house gathered around the sacks and looked at them. He ordered them, "Don't open the sacks, don't get close, there are snakes inside."
Su also came in and said seriously, "Don't open the bag. If the snake escapes, you will lose a lot of money."
Seeing Sun Shan was there, he immediately rushed over, carried Sun Shan away, and said nervously: "Shan, don't come near, be careful of the snake biting you."
Although water snakes are non-venomous, people will get redness and swelling if bitten, so Shanzi can't make any mistakes.
Sun Shan asked curiously, "Mother, where did you catch the water snake?"
Su covered her mouth and laughed secretly: "Hehe, the snake swam over by itself. Your father was working in the fields, and suddenly a water snake swam in front of him. Your father spotted the snake's head, immediately pressed it down with his palm, and gently pinched the snake's neck with his other hand, and caught it."
Sun Bomin was also happy when he heard it: "I didn't expect it to be so accurate. He caught it in one go."
Huang also came back from outside, still holding a hoe in her hand, and smiled: "This snake is really big, weighing more than 3 kilograms. I haven't seen such a big water snake in a long time."
Su said to Huang, "Mother, why don't you ask the head of the family to sell it in the county tomorrow? It's worth a lot of money."
Huang also thought so. The rich people in Huangyang County like to eat game, and naturally they also like to eat snakes. Such a big snake is more valuable and should be sold for more money.
Sun Bomin echoed, "Mother, I will go to the city early tomorrow morning and sell it to the restaurant. Uncle Hong San also caught one last year and I heard that he sold it for a good price."
Sun Shan knew that the villagers would not eat the wild animals they caught, and would take them to the county town to sell. More or less, this was also a kind of unexpected income.
The family decided that Sun Bomin would go to sell the snake tomorrow. They tied the mouth of the sack tightly and put a fish cage inside it to prevent the snake from sneaking away.
From beginning to end, Sun Shan never saw the big snake in the sack.