Chapter Seventeen The Feeling of That Instant

  "By the Songhua River, there are many underground springs that never dry up. Some are at the bottom of the river, but most are near the shore. Because the water comes from underground, it's warmer and can't freeze solid. Why? The water keeps flowing from underground, and just as the surface starts to freeze, new water flows over and melts the ice before it can thicken. It only forms a thin layer of ice on the surface, but without snow covering it, you can still tell. But look at our place - is there ever no snow? If you're not familiar with it, it's a treacherous spot that can be deadly." His voice dropped to a low tone as he continued, "One of my uncles drowned in the warm currents when he was just 14 years old. I never got to meet him, but my mom used to mention it... Ah, never mind." "Little Autumn, in winter on this river, everything else is not scary - ice cracks and all that - but these warm currents are deadly!"

  I was so frightened that my heart is still racing now, and thinking back, I'm a bit scared. My spiritual sense didn't detect any danger either. It seems this isn't a living thing, and it's really hard to sense, also because of my lack of experience. "Autumn-born brother, this warm current is really scary! If we encounter it again in the future, we'll be doomed, and won't be able to pass through! What can we do?" "This requires more familiarity, relying on experience. These warm currents are not all the same length, some are just a few meters or tens of meters long, but the longer ones can stretch for several kilometers. Generally, they're not very wide, just five or six meters, or tens of meters at most, but they're deep! Where there are warm currents, it's always flowing water. If someone falls in, who knows where they'll be swept away to? They have to wait until the river opens next year and the ice melts for the body to float up to the surface. Sometimes, it's found far downstream, and sometimes it's gone forever, swept away without a trace! Isn't that terrifying?"

  Lucky, I picked up a life,"How to do it, how to know which is the warm current?"I listened to Autumn's brother's words and got a little anxious. How can you not be anxious? The future actions will have to go back and forth across the river many times. If this problem is not solved, I won't be at ease. Don't let the devils catch us off guard, that would be too unjust! "There's nothing good about it, you have to pay attention from a distance, usually when the snow on the river surface turns black or dark, it's different from usual, the heat has melted the snow and the top layer is frozen into ice. That must be where the warm current is, so you have to be careful. Just remember all the big and small warm currents in your mind, and you'll be fine."

  "When we encounter a warm patch of ice, we usually take a detour to avoid it. We don't dare to tread on it, as if our lives depend on it. If there's something very important that requires us to cross it, we can only crawl across slowly, holding a long, thin pine stick in our hands. Why? In case we fall through the ice, the stick can be used to support ourselves on the ice surface and try to climb out. But even this is not guaranteed to work, it all depends on luck. Ah, Little Autumn, I know you're brave, but don't go trying it!"

  "What's the point of that, it's too dangerous, I'm not going!" "Right, Autumn Brother, everyone is waiting anxiously, let's hurry back. Did you find a place under the bridge?" I made a guarantee to him and asked again about the most important thing, what was the purpose of coming here? We must always keep our heads clear, right? Not being affected by unexpected things and influencing the main task and goal is one of the basic qualities of a leader!

  "When I came, I had already seen that it wasn't possible to cross the river at Jiangjiazui, but I just wanted to take a look around here to see if there were any whirlpools, afraid that something unexpected would happen to everyone. But good thing, good thing you didn't get swept away!" Autumn Brother couldn't help but scold me again, "Huh, isn't it nothing? And also, Autumn Brother, don't tell anyone about what happened earlier, especially Little Ling." No choice, we have to save some face, "Don't say anything is fine", I pointed at my head again, and Autumn Brother laughed, I felt a bit embarrassed.

  I went to call them over, saying that I got up and was about to run back. "No need to run back and forth, just shout and everyone will understand what's going on," Autumn Brother ran to a higher place, took off his hat, and gestured in the direction of the team. Sure enough, I saw everyone getting up and rushing towards us.

  The two of us walked towards the crowd, and as soon as we met, a few impatient ones shouted loudly: "How come it's taking so long? We've been waiting there for ages, almost frozen stiff! I thought you two had gone fishing!" The crowd burst into laughter. "Don't make a fuss, can't even bear this little bit of patience? What big things can you accomplish?" I said somewhat seriously. If we were on the battlefield, that would be disastrous. Cultivating everyone's composure and patience starts from here. Even if it's not habitual, we have to do it this way. The crowd saw my serious expression and quieted down, looking at me with some curiosity. "Alright, listen to Autumn Brother's arrangement, don't make a mess, each of you stay at your own post and act," I commanded directly without giving them room for discussion. A leader's authority must be used when necessary, and at the same time, I want to leave everyone with this impression: what I say is an order, just execute it. For companions who have been used to being wild since childhood, it may not be habitual at first, but even if it's not habitual, we have to do it. This is the experience of success. The army must have iron discipline.

  Everyone looked at me, I looked at them, no one made a sound, and followed Autumn Brother to the lower net. However, looking at my eyes, there's something strange about it. "What's wrong with this guy? We're always fooling around like this, but today he seems like a different person, so fierce, did he get stimulated by something?" Comrades, I have to do this, and you will understand my intention later. What we are going to face is a group of armed beasts, cultivating team obedience, cooperation, and overall awareness is the first step we need to take!

  After walking nearly a mile, they arrived at the chosen location. Under Autumn's arrangement, everyone unloaded the tools from the sled and assigned tasks to each person. This place was a river fork, where the river surface had narrowed significantly. It seemed that they were going to set up an ice barrier. Autumn specified the location of the first ice hole. I couldn't intervene in this task, all I could do was watch. Why? Because I didn't understand it, being an outsider.

  This is a physically demanding job that also requires technique. The ice chiseling tool must be hung at an angle to create a long, rectangular shape, allowing the ice pick and hook to fit in. If the ice chisel goes straight down, it will not only waste energy but also fail to produce a large enough piece of ice. Instead, it should be chiseled at an angle towards the surface, with a wide opening that tapers downwards. The ice fragments must be constantly cleared away from the pit using an iron shovel. Moreover, one cannot keep chiseling in the same spot, or else the water will suddenly gush up and flood the area, making it impossible to continue working.

  According to the length of the ice auger, an ice hole was drilled at a certain distance, and according to Autumn Brother's calculation, more than 30 ice holes had to be drilled. It seemed that the hanging son they brought this time was long enough. From the first ice hole, more than 20 people, each holding an ice drill, started working enthusiastically according to the calculated distance. The several ice holes near the lower hanging mouth had at least two people working on each side, so as not to delay things, and they could lower the ice auger and hang it while continuing to drill ice holes in front. For a time, the wide river surface was filled with the sound of "cracking" and flying ice flowers. I highly appreciated Autumn Brother's organizational ability. Of course, only boys were drilling ice holes, how could girls be allowed to do such hard work? I was an exception, Autumn Brother didn't arrange for me to do anything specific, and my companions didn't let me do the ice hole drilling work either, saying that my injury had just healed and they didn't dare tire me out. But I couldn't idle around, it would be out of touch with the masses! Besides, it wouldn't look good on the surface!

  Got it, go straighten out the hanging lines. There are several young boys and all the girls over there straightening out the hanging lines. The hanging lines have not been used for a long time, and some places are hooked together. They need to be slowly opened by hand. The broken holes should be mended with net thread, otherwise fish will leak out. The places without lead sinkers should be re-tied with lead sinkers, otherwise the hanging lines will not sink to the bottom of the water, and what's the point of fishing? At this time, the hanging lines have been straightened for over 100 meters.

  "This job, we can do it, I'm doing it right now. Yun Fei came over and said, 'Uncle Qiu Li, you were really awesome just now, your words were so sharp, they stunned everyone! I want to learn from you and be as awesome as you.' This kid had a look of admiration on his face, luckily there was no such thing as fans back then, or who knows what kind of nonsense he would have spouted about me being his most loyal fan. 'Go go, get back to work, with so many people around, we need some discipline,' I said, trying to sound stern. This kid will understand later. I pretended to raise my hand to pat the back of his head, and he laughed and ran off."

  After a short while, I felt like there was an extra person beside me. Turning my head to take a look, it turned out to be that little scamp Xiaoling, who had taken the opportunity to tidy up her hair clip and snuck up next to me. Suddenly, a whiff of feminine fragrance enveloped me, smelling so good, I felt like I was in heaven! And yet, my heart started racing even faster? What's going on? How did this little scamp suddenly become so bold? She never used to be so close to me in front of everyone else before.

  "Autumn leaves", a pleasant and slightly sweet voice, made my heart skip a beat, but my soul didn't fly away. Anyway, I still have some resistance! By the way, only Xiaoling calls me like that, she never calls me Xiao Qiu, it seems to be her exclusive right. "Sister Ling, is there something on your mind?" As a man, I should take the initiative to speak up, can't just stand there like a wooden stake, waiting for the girl to finish talking, that would be unbecoming!

  "Autumn leaves, just now and Autumn Sheng brother how to go so long, your shoes on how there is ice? You will not fall into the warm slippery road?" Xiaoling said, her voice suddenly became anxious, "Nothing wrong? Body wet or not? Shoes filled with water? Not good, quickly take off your clothes and shoes, I'll help you dry! The body is important!" That kind of concern and care, without hiding, a woman's nature, revealed without doubt. Why say that being liked and cared for by women is really a very happy and comfortable thing? But this girl is too meticulous, from the ice on my shoes, deducing so many possibilities. "Ling sister, not so serious, just accidentally stepped on the edge of the warm slippery road, clothes and shoes are all right!" I quickly explained.

  "No way, let me see," she said, and then she came over and casually stuck her hand into my clothes to feel if they were wet or not. Her cool, soft little hands touched the back of my scorching hot body, and I stiffened up at the sensation. It was like ice and fire, two extremes colliding! In a panic, I quickly turned around, and we collided, her two soft and firm... things pressed against my chest. My head spun, and I almost got a nosebleed. This was my first time having zero-distance contact with a girl, and the feeling was just too amazing. Dizzy and disoriented, I was afraid she would fall over, so I hurriedly reached out to support her, but somehow or other, my hands ended up wrapped around her slender waist, and my face was pressed against hers. Her face was burning hot!

  "Let go quickly", I ordered myself, but I overestimated my resistance. At this time, it seemed that men had no resistance at all. My brain was thinking one thing, but my hands were doing the opposite. I hugged her even tighter, and through the thick clothing, I could feel her full and firm breasts, rich in elasticity, and her slender waist, which was full of vitality due to her struggles. Oh God, it was going to be a disaster. This was still winter, when clothes are thicker, if it were summer, I would definitely lose control of myself. Imagining her white and full body, a hot flow surged between my legs, and my little brother had a strong reaction immediately. Control, I controlled, but couldn't hold back, my little brother became even more erect. Although we were separated by pants, Xiaoling must have felt it. Women are devils, but they are the kind of devils I like. She struggled free from my hug and ran to the side with her head down, not daring to look back at me.

  This movie, could have fallen into the eyes of several other girls, they laughed like silver bells, some even clapped their hands, hum, I'm so envious of you, I walked over with a smile, had to explain, "Accidental, purely accidental!" Not saying anything was fine, but once I said that, they laughed even harder, attracting those guys nearby, who all came to take a look, what's the big deal, haven't seen a hug before? Shouldn't have seen such a bold hug, it's my first time too.

  I leaned in close to Xiaoling, wanting to say something, but I didn't know what to say. You just took advantage of the girl and then quietly slipped away without a word, what kind of gentleman are you? "Xiaojie, it wasn't on purpose, I was afraid you'd fall over and wanted to help you," who would believe that? Anyway, I don't even believe myself, let alone say that I just wanted to hug you! How stupid! Xiaoling didn't say anything, her face still had a red glow, with her clear and distinct eyes, she gave me a scolding look, her small mouth pursed as if she wanted to smile but didn't dare, without any sign of anger. Ha! She's not mad at me, or else what can I say? Can't let victory go to my head, but I made this mistake, blurting out a sentence that Xiaoling would often use to tease me: "Your body is really soft." As soon as the words left my mouth, I wanted to slap myself, damn it, isn't this being a pervert? Without those words, everything was still okay, but with them, my true nature as a wolf in sheep's clothing was revealed.

  Xiao Ling's face turned even redder after hearing that, her hands and feet seemed to not know where to go, her eyebrows were slightly raised, but the expression in her eyes was a mix of shyness, anger, and blame. She glared at me with big round eyes and threw out a sentence: "You look pretty honest, turns out you're a bad egg!" Her slender body turned around and ran to the side of that group of girls, huh! She didn't even get angry! It seems like if I had made a bigger move earlier, it probably would have been fine too. This thief's heart and daringness have increased! I don't know what they were saying, but suddenly they burst out laughing, thinking about it, they must be talking about us two from before, definitely is, the laughter of these girls together is still pretty nice to hear, my mood is great, awesome!

  At this time, Autumn Brother shouted loudly: "Is the hanging child smooth?" "Good", the maids answered in unison, "Next hanging child". I listened and thought it was a good opportunity to run away with the guide child. If not, who knows what these maids would say?

  I ran to the front of the ice cave, the long handle had already gone down into the water, Shān Hǔ was using a forked pole to adjust the direction, on that side, Autumn-born brother had already tied up the net with the rope, I looked at the long net sliding lightly and quickly on the ice surface, going towards the slightly pale green river water, our hope began...

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