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墨書 Inktalez
Hehe, is the watermelon good?
The young boy had a basket beside him, filled with carefully selected large watermelons. The basket also contained the remnants of a watermelon he had just eaten. Surrounding him were six other boys and girls, while a crowd gathered about forty meters away in front of the watermelon shed.
Without lifting his head, he mumbled, "Who doesn't know that the watermelons from the Village Chief's House are delicious? The shed at the west end of the village isn't big, and my dad is too shy to ask the village chief for some. The watermelons outside aren't good."
Bright red juice sprayed from the boy's nostrils as he held a half-eaten watermelon and grinned foolishly at the man standing behind him. "Hey, how come you're back?"
Smack!
"Ouch!"
Xu Li slapped the boy, causing him to stumble. "This is my house; do I need to report to you when I come back?"
"Ah, the village chief is back! Run!"
The group of boys and other children from the nearby sheds quickly grabbed their spoils and scattered in all directions. Unfortunately for Sakhalov and a few others, they were caught by the stern-faced Xu Li and dragged into the yard. "Stand still! Wait for your families to come pick you up."
He didn't bother with their baskets of watermelons or strawberries but instead picked two watermelons to take back inside. He sliced them up and shared them with the little ones before sitting down on a chair across from them with a cigarette in his mouth.
The boys and girls stood silently with their heads down, their bellies protruding. Soon, one little girl fidgeted her legs and glanced at the village chief before whispering, "Village Chief Grandpa, I need to go to the bathroom."
"Go on your own."
The little girl pouted. "There’s no paper in your outhouse."
Xu Li instinctively raised his hand to slap her but stopped himself upon seeing her small figure. Instead, he redirected that slap onto Sakhalov's head before heading inside to grab two large packs of toilet paper. The little girl took them and hurried off to the bathroom while Sakhalov rubbed his head, looking pitifully at Xu Li. "Why did you hit me?"
"Because I wanted to."
"Oh."
The little guy could only lower his head and continue standing there. Soon after, another girl went to the bathroom, and like a signal was sent out, Sakhalov and the others took turns running off as well—presumably eager for more watermelon.
After waiting for about half an hour, four men walked into the yard with smiles on their faces. Alexei looked somewhat embarrassed as he quickly pulled out a cigarette to light for the village chief. "When did you get back, Village Chief?"
"Oh, just an hour ago."
Alexei shot a frustrated glare at his own son. While other families had no issues when visiting, it seemed his own was always getting caught. Should he consult a shaman for some advice? His son really was unlucky!
"How did you manage before I came back?"
Xu Li took a drag from his cigarette and scanned their faces one by one. Alexei opened his mouth but sighed instead. "Your cellar is completely stuffed; we cleared out all the potatoes, sweet potatoes, and vegetables inside it. We also got rid of any leftover watermelon juice."
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