I have few friends, but many childhood sweethearts.

Chapter 96. Xiao Ruanwen Encounters Danger

"So this is the sugarcane duck!" Lin Wanning said, spreading his legs and pointing to a large row of sugarcane in front of him.

"That's right, the red cane sugar we usually eat is made from sugarcane juice!" Xu Qingfan explained with a smile.

"The colors are different?" Zhang Yiyi pointed to the two sugarcanes, one green and one black, and tilted her head to ask Xu Qingfan.

"The black sugarcane has more juice and is suitable for eating directly, while the green sugarcane has a higher sugar content and is suitable for making sugar."

"Wow~ Brother Fan, how do you know everything!" Xiao Ruanwen looked at Xu Qingfan with admiration.

"It's just some common sense about life. I remembered it when I was reading about getting rich through agriculture."

"I know, I know! Isn't it that one on the agricultural channel? I saw it last time about building a slide for pigs to swim in during winter!" Xiao Ruanwen said excitedly after recalling for a moment, resting her chin on her index finger.

“Yes, this whole area of ​​sugarcane belongs to our family. You can just pull them up, but be careful not to get pricked by the sugarcane leaves.” Xu Qingfan picked up a hoe and went to dig sweet potatoes from the sweet potato vines next to him.

"Xu Qingfan, should we pull up the sugarcane by the roots?" After the children picked out a thick and long sugarcane, Xia Xiaoxiao turned around and asked.

"Whatever, sugarcane is a one-time plant. If you find it troublesome, just cut off the bottom with a knife." Xu Qingfan didn't even look up, waving his hoe while chanting "eighty, eighty."

Next to the sugarcane field, tomatoes and cucumbers were also planted. The bright red cherry tomatoes were crowded together, glistening in the sunlight. Xiao Ruanwen suddenly had the idea of ​​picking them.

"Brother Fan, is that vegetable garden also our mother-in-law's?" she asked.

Xu Qingfan tilted his head and thought for a moment, then said uncertainly, "It seems to be from our family. It's okay, you can go pick it!"

He remembered that watermelons had been grown on this land in his previous life. Although they looked like winter melons due to malnutrition, since the land belonged to his maternal grandfather, tomatoes must have been grown there as well.

"Yay!" Xiao Ruanwen excitedly picked up her shopping basket and ran over.

Xu Qingfan wiped the fine sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and bent down to pick out the sweet potatoes he had dug out.

The black sugarcane resembled Sun Wukong's Ruyi Jingu Bang (magic staff), which Lin Wanning held and waved with both hands. She excitedly ran over to Xu Qingfan and asked, "Brother Qingfan, how do you eat this sugarcane?"

"Bite off the black skin on the outside, and you can eat the meat inside. Wash it when you get home before eating. My mother-in-law uses organic fertilizer!" Xu Qingfan picked up a few large sweet potatoes from the ground and put them in his vegetable basket, then tapped Lin Wanning's nose with his dirty hand.

The little girl's nose, which was originally moist from sweat, was immediately covered with a muddy mark. "Brother Qingfan, you're so annoying!" Xiao Wanning pouted and complained.

"Alright, hurry up and go home to enjoy the air conditioning after you're done picking. You'll get heatstroke if you stay in the sun any longer." He was about to call out to the little ones to leave when he heard Xiao Ruanwen scream.

"what!!!"

"Waaaaaah~ Brother Fan, come quick! Hurry!! Ah waaaaah~ Brother Fan, come quick!!"

Xu Qingfan looked up and saw Xiao Ruanwen standing there in terror, her face, which had been rosy from the sun, now pale with fright.

"I'm here, what's wrong?" He hurriedly dropped the vegetable basket in his hand and sprinted over at top speed.

"Ah!!!" Xia Xiaoxiao, being the closest, was the first to run to Xiao Ruanwen. Upon seeing the scene before her, the little girl trembled with fear: "Xu Qingfan, Ruanwen stepped on a snake!"

"Waaaaah~ What should I do? I'm so scared, I'm definitely going to die, ah waaaaah. Brother Fan, please save me!" Xiao Ruanwen spoke incoherently, tears streaming down her face from fright.

Xu Qingfan ran up breathlessly and saw that the little girl was standing on the head of a green snake.

The green snake was about a meter long and thicker than a thumb, and it was slowly wriggling in place.

"Brother Fan~ I'm so scared, waaaaaah." Xiao Ruanwen looked helplessly at Xu Qingfan.

To be honest, seeing such a huge creature, not only Xiao Ruanwen but also Xu Qingfan was scared. He forced himself to remain calm and swallowed hard. "It's okay, it's okay, nothing will happen as long as I'm here. Ruanwen, don't be afraid." He turned to Lin Wanning, who was still standing there in a daze, and shouted, "Ningning, quickly get me the hoe!"

"Okay!!!" Lin Wanning overcame his fear, picked up the hoe and ran towards Xu Qingfan.

"Waaaaah... Brother Fan, I'm so scared." Xiao Ruanwen's left foot happened to step on the snake's head, and her thigh trembled violently with fear.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, it's alright, I'm here." Xu Qingfan took the hoe and walked to Xiao Ruanwen's side, pretending to be relaxed.

Seemingly sensing someone approaching, the previously docile green snake suddenly began to writhe violently, startling Xiao Ruanwen half to death. "Awoooooo!"

"Don't be afraid, don't pull your foot back, it's okay, it's okay." Xu Qingfan used the hoe to press down on the snake's vital spot and moved it upwards little by little.

"Waaaaah~ I'll never dare to pick vegetables again!" It seemed that Xu Qingfan's arrival brought Xiao Ruanwen a sense of security, and the little girl said aggrievedly.

"I'm not coming anymore, I'm not coming anymore, Ruan Wen, slowly pull your foot back." Xu Qingfan tried to prompt her calmly.

Honestly, he was terrified. He only knew of one kind of green snake: the bamboo viper. Even an adult could die from a bite from one of those snakes, let alone the two little ones who were still so small.

"Waaaaah, I'm too scared~"

"It's okay, I've already put pressure on it. Slowly release your foot, it'll be fine," Xu Qingfan reminded him as gently as possible.

"Waaaaah~ I can't move my legs, waaaaah!"

Some people become paralyzed with fear, and Xiao Ruanwen was experiencing this at that moment. "It's okay, it's okay, I'm here, don't be afraid." Xu Qingfan pressed down on the hoe with his left hand and slowly squatted down.

Zhang Yiyi, Lin Wanning, and Xia Xiaoxiao were so frightened they forgot to breathe. The three little ones clenched their fists and watched the situation unfold nervously.

"It's alright, it's alright," Xu Qingfan muttered to himself, unsure whether he was speaking to Xiao Ruanwen or to himself.

He held the hoe down with his left hand and slowly pried open Xiao Ruanwen's shoes with his right hand. After prying them open a little, he inserted the hoe a little further in.

It took Xu Qingfan more than three minutes to cover a distance of just a few millimeters. He couldn't tell whether he was scared or from the sun; he was soaked to the bone.

"Haaah~ It's all right now, it's all over!" Xu Qingfan let out a long sigh of relief when the hoe finally replaced Lin Wanning's shoes.

"Xiaoxiao, come and help Xiao Ruanwen, she's alright!" Xu Qingfan stepped on the metal of the hoe and slowly got up.

"Huh? Okay!" Xia Xiaoxiao snapped out of her shock and jogged forward.

Seeing that the green snake had been completely sealed by the hoe, the little girl breathed a sigh of relief and helped Xiao Ruanwen leave the orchard.

"Whoo~"

Zhang Yiyi and Lin Wanning also rushed forward to comfort the frightened Xiao Ruanwen.

"It's alright, Wenwen is alright, everything will be alright with Brother Qingfan here!"

"Don't be afraid!" Zhang Yiyi took out a tissue and wiped the sweat from Xiao Ruanwen, who was paralyzed with fear in Xia Xiaoxiao's arms.

"Waaaaah~ I'm never picking vegetables again!" Xiao Ruanwen cried after regaining some of her composure.

"No, no, it's too scary!" Lin Wanning nodded in agreement.

After they had all gone far away, Xu Qingfan turned his attention back to the snake that was being violently struggled on the ground. "Consider yourself lucky, I'll let you go today!" he said to the snake, and once he was as far away from the snake as possible, he let go of the hoe and ran away!

snake:? ? ?

After the green snake felt the pressure on its head disappear, it cautiously looked around, and after confirming that there was no danger, it swayed away with an indifferent gait.

"Brother Fan, thank you!" When Xu Qingfan returned to their group, Xiao Ruanwen suddenly hugged him tightly.

"It's nothing. Since I brought you out to have fun, I'll definitely make sure you get back safely!" Xu Qingfan gently patted Xiao Ruanwen's back.

"Mua~ Mua~ Mua~" Xiao Ruanwen kissed him several times on the face like a woodpecker. "Brother Fan, you're a hero! Mua~ I love you the most!!"

Xu Qingfan was completely bewildered by the sudden confession. He scratched his head with amusement and said, "It's alright. I was actually scared to death just now. Look, I'm soaked in sweat."

He lifted the top of his shirt, wrung it out forcefully, and sure enough, water came out.

Xiao Ruanwen released her grip on Xu Qingfan, her usual optimistic and cheerful smile returning to her face. As she turned around, she suddenly noticed Xia Xiaoxiao staring at her with a strange expression, tilting her head to the side.

"I also like Xiaoxiao the most, mua~ Xiaoxiao is the best!" Xiao Ruanwen stuck out her tongue shyly, excitedly jumped into Xia Xiaoxiao's arms, and pecked her pink cheeks a few times.

"Ruan Wen, don't you like Ningning and Yi Yi?" Lin Wanning asked, pouting as she held Zhang Yi Yi's hand.

"No way! I like Ningning and Yiyi the most too! I like you two the most, the most, the most, the most!" Xiao Ruanwen did the same thing, hugging Lin Wanning and Zhang Yiyi respectively, and stamping their faces with her kisses.

Xu Qingfan:
[Hello? Is this 110? I think I've run into a jerk!]
"Go back and take a shower, you're all soaked." Xia Xiaoxiao helplessly pulled Xiao Ruanwen, who was jumping around in the crowd, and patiently helped her tie up her long, loose hair.

"Yes! Let's go back quickly. After you shower, I'll roast sweet potatoes for you!" Xu Qingfan suggested.

"Go back, go back!"

"Time for roasted sweet potatoes!"

The children picked up the sugarcane and vegetable baskets scattered on the ground, and Xu Qingfan finally mustered up his courage to retrieve the hoe and tomatoes abandoned in the orchard.

On the way back, the tricycle was loaded with the fruit they had picked. Xu Qingfan pedaled in front, while the four little ones excitedly pushed the tricycle behind.

"Faster! Faster!"

"Hahahaha"

"."

Xiao Ruanwen's eyes were bright, her gaze fixed on Xu Qingfan's back, a feeling she couldn't quite explain well growing in her heart.

She suddenly remembered a line from A Chinese Odyssey: "My ideal man is a peerless hero."
(P.S.: Are there any readers who know AI who could help create an image of the five little creatures pushing a cart?)
Thank you Si Zizai for the 500 Qidian coins.

Thank you to reader 20230809131157437 for the 100 Qidian coins.

Thank you Feng Diao Jiang Xue for the 100 Qidian coins.

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(End of this chapter)