Chronicle of the 70s

Li Xianglu raised an eyebrow, indicating for him to continue speaking.

"Because of the rain yesterday, no one went to the fields. Qin Xiaopang and I went to wade in the shallows of the river to catch fish, and that’s where we ran into Qin Miao from Jishui."

"She was chatting affectionately with Qin Xiaopang and even asked about you. That’s why I found it odd and came to ask."

Li Xianglu frowned: "What about me?"

Li Jianqing was puzzled himself why such a question would be asked and scratched his head as he honestly confessed: "It was really strange; she asked whether you were with everyone when the movie was being shown."

Li Xianglu’s eyes slightly widened as she casually inquired: "And what did you guys say?"

Li Jianqing said: "Well, the chubby kid said you and his brother left a little over halfway through because you had a stomachache at the time."

Li Xianglu muttered to herself, this must have been something Qin Xi told his younger brother Qin Zhen at home, and nodded: "Yeah, I had a bad stomach that day, felt uncomfortable. Uncle Qin didn’t feel reassured to let me go back alone, so he asked Brother Qin to take me back."

Li Jianqing asked with concern: "Are you feeling better now?"

Li Xianglu smiled and shook her head: "I’m all better, it’s been days." Changing the subject, she asked: "Did you and Xiaopang catch any fish?"

Li Jianqing became excited when the topic switched to something he was interested in: "We caught two three-foot-long ones, and we grilled them to eat. They tasted really great." Suddenly realizing his sister might feel left out, he became embarrassed but then promised: "Next time I catch some, I’ll definitely bring you some. Qin Xiaopang was the one who said that much fish wasn’t enough even to pick our teeth with, so we might as well just eat it ourselves."