C12 They Were Just Opportunists!

As evening approached, after dinner, Dawei gave Ruonan a knowing look and dashed outside.

Hongqu glanced over and asked, "What are you two up to?"

Ruonan hadn't had whole grains in a while, and today's sudden intake seemed hard to digest. Startled by Hongqu's question, she sat down and said, "Dawei said he wanted me to have some meat."

Bang!

Hongqu slammed the table, looking sternly at Ruonan. "Are you trying to fool your old man now?"

Ruonan felt like she and Hongqu had nothing in common. She stood up, ready to leave.

Just then, Chunhua heard the commotion and walked in from outside, noticing Hongqu's flushed face. She waved Ruonan away, saying, "Go feed the cows. Don't hang around here making your dad mad."

Ruonan was more than happy to oblige and headed out the door.

Once she was gone, Chunhua frowned and said, "Can't you talk to the kids without yelling all the time? They're grown up now."

Hongqu, still angry, glanced outside and muttered, "Do you even know what she's up to?"

"What do you mean?" Chunhua looked at him, puzzled.

Hongqu leaned in and whispered a few words into Chunhua's ear.

Wang Chunhua's face turned pale, and she stammered, "Speculation... trafficking, really?"

Zhou Hongqu quickly recounted what he had seen to Wang Chunhua. She frowned deeply, looking at the rain outside that was gradually letting up. "I'll ask Dawei when he gets back. He wouldn't lie to me."

With a pipe in his mouth, Zhou Hongqu pondered, "Could it be that our daughter really picked up bad habits at school?"

He vaguely remembered what those people said yesterday, suspecting she might have learned something unsavory from her classmates.

When Zhou Dawei returned, Wang Chunhua made sure to call him over without Zhou Ruonan noticing.

Dawei, being quite clever, especially after Ruonan had specifically warned him, naturally knew not to say anything unnecessary.

Early the next morning, around five, the siblings took advantage of the darkness to retrieve the traps they had set the day before.

The roads were all dirt, and with the rain from yesterday, the ground was a muddy mess.

With no other choice, Zhou Ruonan tied her shoelaces together, hung her shoes around her neck, and walked barefoot through the mud.

"Hey, sis! Look at all these crayfish, and a few catfish too!" Dawei's excited voice came from up ahead.

Ruonan looked up and chuckled softly, "Look at you, all excited. Let's get them packed up!"

Before long, the woven bag Zhou Hongqu had brought was nearly full.

He hefted it and said, "It's about fifty or sixty pounds."

David Zhou beamed with joy, gathered the net cage, and found a spot to hide it.

In the distance, a rooster crowed, signaling that it was time for people to get up and start their day.

Walking along the path to town, he pulled a dry biscuit from his pocket and handed it to Ruonan Zhou.

"Here, sis, you eat."

Seeing that David was almost as tall as she was, Ruonan smiled and said, "I'm not hungry, you eat it."

She knew David only had that one biscuit, and it wasn't enough to fill him up.

David wasn't sure if Ruonan was telling the truth, but after thinking it over, he started eating.

He believed what he believed, and at this moment, there weren't any complicated thoughts.

"David, when we make some money, let's go have a nice meal."

David shook his head and said, "I want to save up so you can go to college, sis."