Chapter 112: Fang Chang'an, Save Me ("Melbourne Knight" Extra Update 2/10)

Fang Changan had borrowed an unused old basin from Fang Dianqiu’s house and two more from his younger uncle’s place. Fang Dianqiu, Fang Tiantian, and the brother-sister pair Fang Dianzhou came too, and the whole group returned to the river with five basins in hand.

Fang Changming and Fang Dianzhou were both more experienced in this sort of thing than Fang Changan. Trusting their judgment, and after checking the spot themselves, they chose a section about forty to fifty meters east of the low ground near Fang Changan’s house where the water was not too deep and, by the look of it, should contain a good number of fish.

After studying the place, Fang Changan agreed. The water here was neither very shallow nor deep, and a clump of reeds stood in the middle, which looked like there might be fish.

Once the spot was fixed, he stopped Fang Changming and Fang Dianzhou from wading in to dig. “We’ll scoop mud from the bank first, carry it up to the edge, then pile it in and dam the water together later. If we rush in now, we’ll scare the fish off.”

Chen Yu and the others nodded. Fang Changming muttered, “There might be snakes in there. We should scare them away first.”

When the girls—Shen Mo, Wang Ke, and the others—heard this, they looked uneasy. Fang Changan laughed. “Don’t worry. Snakes are afraid of people, especially when there are this many of us.”

The girls stayed quiet, so he turned to them again. “Just bring the mud over first. Once we start the dam, if there are snakes, they’ll run too.”

There were already shallow channels gouged into the bank from digging before. Fang Changan had thought it through and brought out a shovel, but his strength was too weak—one shovelful barely scored less than an inch. Seeing this, Chen Yu said, “Let me.”

He drove the shovel down with a scraping sound, then clattered at it again and again, taking only half loads at a time. In no time, piles of soil were carried to the edge and heaped up. The crew split into two groups, using the reed patch as a center line, and marked off about a five- or six-meter stretch, then hauled mud into the water.

At first the girls stood aside, a bit put off by the dirt. But when they saw that Fang Changan’s team would have to split up—some building the temporary embankment, some moving mud—Wang Ke stepped in to help. Seeing this, Fang Changan said, “No, no, stay over there.”

Wang Ke pouted and ignored him, picked up a basin, stuffed a clump of mud inside, and carried it by hand to the edge. Shen Mo, Wang Yuwei, Zhang Jing, and the others followed suit. They had no basin, so they cupped mud in their hands and carried it over in small portions, happy just to be included.

With more than ten people working together, they dug a broad stretch of pits on the bank, and at last managed to shape two rough dams in the shallows. Fang Changan, Chen Yu, Zhou Yifei, Wang Chuanbiao, and Wu Di each took a basin, planted their feet apart in the makeshift bank, bent low, and flung water out with their pans. The air filled with repeated splashes: “splish, splish, splish.”

It was hard work. Fang Changan had barely gone long before he started to tire when Fang Changming barked, “Brother, you’re too slow. I’ll do it.”

Fang Changan straightened, looked him over, and handed him a basin. “Fine, your turn.”

Fang Changming went back to shore, and the girls, led by Shen Mo and Wang Ke, laughed openly when they saw him step over him. Fang Dianzhou, already warm with advice, told Fang Changan, “Uncle Changan, you need to throw out more each time. At this rate we won’t finish by dark.”

Fang Changan exhaled. “You’re good. You can swap with me later.”

The boys took turns shoveling out water, but the surface lowered slowly. They worked for nearly two hours, while the girls, getting bored, climbed up the bank just to watch. Only then could they see the water inside the improvised basin becoming quite shallow.

Fang Changan straightened up, caught his breath, and looked out. “Almost there.”

Others checked the water, relieved. Wu Di peered in. “Any fish?”

“Definitely,” he said.
“Yeah,” Fang Changming said confidently, “I just saw it. There—there, isn’t that moving?”

Fang Changan glanced. Near the reeds, in the muddied shallows, ripples flashed in the slanting sunlight. It looked like a grass carp, maybe half a span long.

“Fish?”
“Where? where?”

The girls on the bank heard the commotion and rushed over, but before anyone saw anything, Fang Changan felt a strange itch on his calf. He looked down and saw a dark brown mass clinging to his skin, its slender head sunk into his flesh.

He recognized it as a leech, and with a sharp exclamation almost jumped from the water. By reflex he grabbed at it. It was soft and squishy in his hand, but he could not pull it off. It was fastened there as if sewn on.

“Don’t pull, don’t pull!” Fang Changming and Fang Dianzhou shouted together. “Brother! Slap it! Hit it!”

Fang Changan knew the trick but only remembered now. He swung his hand and smacked his calf. The slap landed with a thud and the leech coiled, but stayed attached. Then another slap, and another.

Fang Changan bent further, pulled out, and climbed the bank.

“I’ll do it!”

Fang Changming was quick to jump after him. He grabbed his own sandal, strutted over beside his older brother and, like some swordfighter from a television drama, swung his arm and lashed the sandal against the calf.

“Come on, aim properly!”

His form was almost professional; the slap hurt like a blow, but it still missed the leech.

Shen Mo and Wang Ke came running too, crowding around Fang Changan’s calf to watch. They were curious and nervous; Wang Ke and Shen Mo looked worried most of all.

“Missed… missed,” Fang Changming said with a rueful smile, then, still surrounded, kept the sandal near Fang Changan’s calf and kept striking—“snap, snap, snap, snap”—seven or eight sharp taps right at the leech.

After a few more blows, the thing finally tightened and dropped off. But Fang Changming, unable to stop, brought another slap down one more time.

Fang Changan tapped him lightly on the head, irritated. “Still addicted to hitting things, are you?”

“I’m helping you, can’t you see?”

Fang Changming grumbled. Fang Dianzhou had already picked up the leech and held it out. “Uncle Changan, want to see it?”

“What’s the point? You can’t eat it.”

Fang Changan, far from being amused, waved everyone on. “It’s fine. Keep working.”

“Don’t stand still the whole time. Keep moving now and then, and you won’t get them again,” Fang Changming said.

“I know. Everyone, pay attention too.”

Shen Mo, still worried he was going back in, said, “Maybe stop for a bit? What if it bites you again?”

He laughed. “It’s fine. These things are common in summer. It’s not as hot now, so they’re fewer. Just bad luck—I only lost a little blood.”

There were strange stories online—Fang Lujun and Cong Rong once claimed all sorts of things, like leeches burrowing inside and laying eggs in one’s blood, just to scare everyone. They were trying to keep them out of the water.

In truth, these creatures are not that dangerous. They attach by a sucker and feed on blood, and while they do, they can secrete mild toxins that make you feel little pain. If they feed too long, numbness can spread around the wound from all that venom, which makes you think they have penetrated far inside you. It’s mostly fear feeding on itself.

Of course, this was a river leech. Fang Changan had read that mountain leeches might be stronger, but he had never seen one.

As the water level neared the bottom, everyone was stirred into fresh spirit. The pits beside the mudwork held almost no water now, the bottom visible in the center. Under the sun, the surface glittered in tiny ripples.

Chen Yu, Wu Di, and Wang Chuanbiao could no longer resist and had already stepped in to start catching fish. Fang Changan asked the girls on shore, “Shen Mo, Wang Ke—are you coming down?”

The girls exchanged looks, uncertain. Shen Mo was clearly the one most eager. Summoning courage, she said, “I’ll do it.”

She wore a white tracksuit with English lettering Fang Changan had never seen, and on her feet the same white Nike trainers. All day she had been running in the yard and her shoes were caked in mud. She leaned on Wang Ke, took off her shoes, then her socks, and revealed two pale little feet. She stepped carefully onto the bank grass, looked up at Wang Ke, and smiled with such bright, curious delight—she seemed amazed by the whole experience.

“Roll up your trousers,” Fang Changan said.
“I know,” she replied.

She bent down and folded them to her knees. In the sunlight her fine, straight calves shone like polished jade. Fang Changan watched her and suddenly thought she should not have to step into this muck and water; it felt like a tragic waste of beauty.

“Um… that phrase doesn’t really fit, does it?” he thought.

He watched her spread out her arms to keep her balance, like a fledgling practicing flight, then cautiously go to the edge. Her small feet were already mottled with mud and water. He hurried over and held out his hand. “Hold my wrist. Don’t fall.”

“I’m coming in too,” someone called.

Zhang Jing saw this and waved too. She took off her shoes, rolled her trousers, and came over carefully.

Fang Changan helped Shen Mo wade in slowly, then told Chen Yu, “Keep an eye on her. Don’t let Zhang Jing slip.”

“Got it.”

Zhang Jing was also one of the prettiest girls in class, so Chen Yu immediately moved over and kept close.

Shen Mo, holding Fang Changan’s wrist, tested the water first with one pale foot, then lowered it into the muddy shallows. The surface felt slippery. The sun had warmed the water enough, but the mud beneath still had that cool, damp feel.

She had probably never had this sensation before. She lifted her head, eyes shining, a sweet flush in her face, and in a soft little voice said, “This feels so good.”

“Come in deeper. Don’t be scared, it’ll be even better.”

Fang Changan guided her inward. This portion had already been trampled by everyone during the sluice work, so there were no stones or glass-like hazards from before. Still, he said, “Stay in this area. Don’t wander. There might be sharp stones elsewhere.”

“Mm-hmm,” she answered softly.

Feeling his care, with small dimples and a sweet little smile, she nodded and then let go of his wrist. Standing in the mud, she crouched and scanned the bottom curiously, trying to spot fish.

With Shen Mo and Zhang Jing as examples, Wang Yuwei, Zhou Xiaoyan, and Feng Yanyan also removed their shoes and prepared to go in.

Wu Di had liked Shen Mo since the semester began, but over these weeks he had watched Fang Changan and her grow closer, and Fang Changan had become “Brother Changan” among them. He had no opening, and no courage for more than that.

His coming today was mostly because he heard Shen Mo was coming, but he could not let himself hope. So the naturally beautiful Zhang Jing and Wang Yuwei became his alternatives.

Since Fang Changan had assigned Chen Yu to watch Zhang Jing, Wu Di saw Wang Yuwei preparing to enter and moved over at the right moment, offering his wrist in imitation of Fang Changan.

Wang Yuwei glanced at him and smiled. “Thank you. I don’t need help. I can do this myself.”

She ignored him, slipped in barefoot, and moved carefully. Wu Di hesitated, withdrew his hand, but stayed close at her side, still clearly worried she might slip.

Fang Changan noticed only Wang Ke left on the bank, holding her younger sister Fang Yanan. He was about to speak when commotion rose from the reeds. Both Fang Changming and Fang Dianzhou called out: “Over there! …That way! Two of them!”

The gegeyan, known as yellow catfish, had very hard, sharp dorsal and pectoral fins that could easily tear skin. Fang Changming and Fang Dianzhou had caught these fish before and had been cut by them, so they warned everyone at once.

The girls who had just entered—Zhang Jing, Wang Yuwei, and the others—were startled. Some of Chen Yu’s group of boys knew what it was, some did not, but everyone turned toward the sound.

Shen Mo, who had been searching around for fish, also looked over with curiosity. She saw two fish with broad, flat heads and small dorsal fins standing upright at the surface rushing in her direction.

These fish were slow by nature, and these two were small, no more than half a span long, but in panic they thrashed hard enough to make a commotion.

Fang Changan turned, too, and warned urgently, “Careful, careful! Don’t let it cut you—these fish can slash.”

In truth the water was very shallow and there were several people between them; those two gegeyan could not even have reached Shen Mo’s side. Still, calling out twice in warning cost nothing.

Shen Mo had no idea what they were. But everyone was shouting, and Fang Changan was warning as if in panic, so she imagined it to be something like a water snake and thought it was swimming toward her relentlessly. A moment ago it had seemed fun; now fear and nerves had her hands and feet gone strange.

She stood still, her eyes flicking back at the two darting fish, and then turned toward Fang Changan with both arms outstretched, body leaning forward, looking like a child asking to be carried. Adorable and absurd, she cried out in panic, “Ah! Fang Changan, save me!”