CHAPTER 425: CHAPTER 0406 THE DROWNING GIRL (1)

Li Yuzhu found it amusing; no matter when, the two brothers always had to take a jab at each other.

"In any case, be careful," Li Yuzhu reminded him again.

"Got it, Third Sister, you don’t need to worry," Li Xingsheng laughed.

As for Li Xing’an, although the task was simple, it wasn’t easy to execute.

If the paint wasn’t applied evenly, it wouldn’t be suitable for writing.

Li Yuzhu decided to personally monitor Li Xing’an as he applied the black paint.

Second Lady Liu, the hired cook, prepared lunch. Seeing that it was time, she struck the brass gong hanging on the tree at the entrance of the schoolhouse.

Prince Luling announced, "It’s lunchtime, everyone go eat."

The children put away their books and dashed cheerfully to the kitchen in the next room.

With a new cook, they were eager to see if the food would taste better.

Li Xing’an and Li Yuzhu entered the schoolhouse.

They wanted to use this break to properly paint the blackboard.

Prince Luling, seeing them busy for a while, also went to have lunch.

Li Xing’an first used charred black charcoal from the stove to draw a square frame on the wall, then began painting black lacquer within the outlined area.

The white wall had already been smoothed evenly, and applying a layer of black paint on top requiring careful control of strength would result in a proper blackboard finish.

Concerned that Li Xing’an might not do a good job, Li Yuzhu repeatedly reminded him.

Li Xing’an grinned smugly, "Don’t worry, Third Sister, this is a piece of cake."

Amused, Li Yuzhu said, "Don’t brag, the students are all watching."

At both doors in front and back, children who had finished eating crowded together to watch Li Xing’an paint the blackboard.

No one understood why Li Xing’an was covering the beautiful wall with a layer of black paint.

Simply applying black paint wasn’t complicated.

Li Xing’an finished within half an hour.

It must be said, the paint was applied quite evenly.

Li Yuzhu stood closely against the wall to inspect if it was smooth; the painted blackboard reflected a sheen of light.

It indicated that it was fairly qualified.

Li Xing’an chuckled and sought praise, "Third Sister, wasn’t my work decent?"

"Not bad, Third Brother, very impressive," Li Yuzhu complimented him.

Li Xing’an laughed, "Of course, I’m way better than that Second Brother."

After the blackboard was painted, it needed three days to dry before it could be used.

If faced with damp, rainy weather, the time would need to be extended until it was completely dry.

In brief, it would be ideal when touching the paint on the blackboard didn’t leave marks on your hand and dust could easily be wiped off.

To prevent mischievous children from meddling and ruining the blackboard,

Prince Luling sternly warned everyone that before the blackboard was officially used, anyone who touched it would be punished with ten strikes on the hand.

Copying books, standing in punishment, or being scolded was not as intimidating as being struck on the hand.

Not a single child wasn’t afraid of getting hand-struck, and they all responded together, "We definitely won’t touch the blackboard!"

Three days later, the blackboard was fully dry.

The chalk that Li Xingsheng made had also dried; though the shapes of the chalk were less than desirable, fortunately, they were still usable. Li Xing’an laughed heartily at them.

Li Yuzhu handed the chalk to Prince Luling.

Prince Luling immediately tried using it.

The characters he wrote could be wiped away with a clean cloth, leaving a pristine blackboard ready for writing again.

Prince Luling was very pleased and praised this method repeatedly.

That day, he began using the blackboard.

The blackboard was nine feet long.

Prince Luling divided the board into three sections with white chalk.

The left side was for the older children’s courses, the middle for the middle-aged children’s lessons, and the right side for the youngest and newest pupils in the school.

Once the content was written on the blackboard, unless required to write, Prince Luling didn’t allow anyone to look down at their books.

This way, not a single child dared to play sneakily.

Nor did any incidents occur of a single problem being heard as several different issues.

When he taught the younger children to read from the blackboard aloud, he would have the older children practice writing or calculations.

When explaining profound knowledge from books to the older children, he would have the younger ones practice writing with the new words on the blackboard.

Without interference, teaching was orderly and systematic.

.

Once the schoolhouse matters settled, the family’s daily routines resumed as usual.

Li Xing’an and Li Xingmao, the brothers, were busy with a cotton field. In a month’s time, the cotton would be ready for picking.

Additionally, they had tilled some land and were busy sowing winter wheat.

The Second Young Master, Li Xingsheng, still took the Second Princess and the Great Princess to the market every day.

On the morning of the second day after the school was completed, Li Yuzhu went to see Mr. Song and settled a few days’ wages with the cook of Mr. Song’s family.

Four days had passed since then. Li Yuzhu decided to visit Mr. Song again to check his blood sugar and blood pressure.

Mu Yuanxiu, upon learning she was going out, insisted on driving a mule cart to take her.

In fact, it had been Mu Yuanxiu who had recently been taking her to Mr. Song’s house.

"Then I won’t be polite." Li Yuzhu smiled sweetly and climbed into the mule cart.

Today, there was a strong wind, and the weather was much cooler.

Li Yuzhu wore a jacket-skirt, with apricot on top and bamboo green on the bottom.

This was a gift from Mu Yuanxiu to her.

Mu Yuanxiu smiled gently at her and took the driver’s seat, guiding the mule cart towards Qingshui River Village.

Entering the village, they passed by a large pond and saw many people gathered by the pond looking at something.

Some stamped their feet anxiously, others shouted for someone who could swim to quickly get into the water.

Li Yuzhu lifted the curtain to look there, "What’s going on? Mu Yuanxiu? Is something happening there?"

"Let’s go and have a look." Mu Yuanxiu pulled the rope tied to the mule’s nose and turned the cart towards them.

Once near, he hurriedly tied the mule to a tree and squeezed into the crowd to see.

Li Yuzhu also quickly jumped out of the cart and ran over.

Everyone was looking into the river, where two men were groping for something.

Someone pointed and gestured, "Here, here, there!"

This was a larger pond in Qingshui River Village, reportedly three people deep in the middle.

The edges were about one person deep.

The pond was the size of five of the Li Family’s residences, like a small lake.

"I just saw her head popping up, and now it’s gone again. Oh dear, let nothing happen." An elderly woman slapped her thigh and stamped her foot, shouting anxiously.

"What’s happening, Auntie?" Li Yuzhu hurriedly asked.

"Mr. Song’s granddaughter, Jinxiu, jumped into the water. This morning, I still saw her picking vegetables in the field, and it hasn’t been long, why did she jump into the water?" The elderly woman was at a loss due to anxiety.

"What?" Li Yuzhu was greatly shocked.

She quickly went to take off her shoes, ready to jump into the water to see.

Mu Yuanxiu extended his hand to block her, "Stay put!"

Unbeknownst to her, he had already taken off his shoes, removed his jacket, and after stopping Li Yuzhu, he took a strong dive into the pond.

"It’s Yuanxiu, Yuanxiu is good at swimming. With him in the water, Jinxiu is saved." Someone exclaimed loudly.

Mu Yuanxiu was an orphaned child; his grandfather was a mason when he was alive, and he followed his grandfather to work in various villages.

After his grandfather passed away, he took odd jobs in various villages, so most villagers in Qingshui River Village and Taohua Village knew him.

"Mu Yuanxiu, once you find Jinxiu, hold her from behind to bring her up, make sure not to hold her face-to-face!" Li Yuzhu loudly advised.

This is the best method for rescuing someone who has fallen into the water, and also the best method for self-rescue.

The person who fell into the water is in a panic, and they will desperately grab onto a straw, let alone a person coming to save them?

They will unhesitatingly cling onto you.

Like an octopus, they will tightly entangle the rescuer, fearing the rescuer will leave them.

But once the rescuer is entangled like this, they cannot move their limbs to swim, and in the end, both people easily end up drowning together.

Many bloody lessons have taught people that it’s best for the rescuer to hold the waist of the person who fell into the water from behind while swimming. This method prevents the rescued person’s limbs from entangling the rescuer.

The rescuer kicks the water with both feet, paddles with one hand, and people with good swimming skills mostly won’t have accidents.

When Li Yuzhu shouted like this, the people standing on the shore didn’t understand.

They thought she was forbidding Mu Yuanxiu from hugging Song Jinxiu.

Someone teased, "Oh, young lady, are you jealous? Are you so afraid Mu Yuanxiu will hug another girl and ignore you?"

Li Yuzhu was at a loss for words. What nonsense!

"This is the best rescue method. If you hug someone face-to-face, the person who falls into the water will wrap both hands and feet around Mu Yuanxiu, leaving him unable to move, then how can he save anyone? He will also be in danger!"

Li Yuzhu was angry, glaring at the young man who spoke glibly.

She pushed another person beside him, who also looked glib, "You hold him face-to-face and see how he swims!"

As she said this, and made the two men make a face-to-face gesture, everyone watching understood.

They no longer made fun of her, and also became more concerned about Mu Yuanxiu.

The young man’s face turned noticeably paler, "Right, right... I’m sorry, I misunderstood."

Li Yuzhu shot him a cold glance and said nothing more, focusing her attention back on the water surface.

She was now worried about Mu Yuanxiu, having no time to bother with such idle people.