Chapter 139: Catching Cicada Monkeys

July 12, 1961, Wednesday, the end of the fifth lunar month, evening, after the rain the sky cleared.

Yang Qing got ready, with several baskets hanging from his waist.

Chen Hong wore the same outfit, and taking advantage of the workers not yet off work, the couple hurried all the way to the suburban forest.

By the time they arrived, it had already grown dark.

Chen Hong excitedly took out her flashlight and began searching for the cicada monkeys.

Meanwhile Yang Qing headed toward the frog calls coming from the water puddles in the forest ditch.

When the light shone on it, a plump frog stood there foolishly, and Yang Qing quickly reached out, grabbed it, and stuffed it into the basket.

(Now frogs are protected animals, catching them is illegal, please do not imitate; this is a shared memory of those born before the 80s, because back then it was not illegal.)

(Also, the flashlight can immobilize the frog because the sudden bright light blinds its eyes, which has scientific basis, not nonsense.)

"One."

An auspicious start, making Yang Qing extremely excited, he continued searching along the ditch.

Not long after, another one.

"Two."

As time passed.

"Three."

"Four."

Before, he could barely catch a few all day, but today he had caught a day's worth in no time.

The farther he went, the more he caught.

The joy in his heart was hard to contain.

Suddenly a startled cry came over, startling him and clearing him from his extreme excitement.

Yang Qing recognized Chen Hong's voice, turned his head, and ran toward where the sound came from.

He had no time to worry about whether there were snakes in the grass.

Running up close, Yang Qing already heard the noisy chatter of several people.

"Hand over the flashlight and the cicada monkeys, or don't blame us for being rude."

"The snakes in our hands are poisonous."

Among the several men, only one had a flashlight in his hand.

His flashlight beam shone directly into Chen Hong's eyes.

Chen Hong would not yield, shining her flashlight at them, threatening to hit anyone who moved in the face.

"If you want to take my stuff, see if you have the ability."

"It's just a poisonous snake, right?"

"Come on, throw it over, talking as if I wouldn't dare run."

"I have long legs and run fast; you may not be able to."

In fact, her voice trembled a little from fear.

"Brother, this slut is tough to deal with; let's just drive her away."

"The flashlight battery won't last the night, and more people are slowly coming over."

"If we keep haggling with her, we'll just let others benefit."

The man holding the flashlight shook his head.

"No, she came from that direction after searching, indicating she's already combed a large area."

"There must be a lot in the baskets on her person."

"Rather than searching ourselves, we'd better take hers; a woman, how formidable could she be? Don't be fooled by her stature."

"If we five men are scared by a woman, how will we face people when we go out?"

The other several men, resigned, were using someone else's flashlight to look for cicada monkeys, and since the batteries aren't cheap, they had to obey him; otherwise, what right did he have to bring you along?

"Alright, then let's charge; big brother, you shine on her eyes so she can't see us."

The person holding the flashlight urged.

"Don't worry, my hand is steady; you just go ahead."

"Pay attention; if it doesn't work, throw the snake at her face."

The others nodded.

"Okay, big brother, you've got her covered; we're about to rush."

Saying that, the four men charged at Chen Hong.

Chen Hong spat.

"Damn it, you think I'm dead and won't run?"

Having said that, she turned and ran.

It wasn't that she couldn't beat them; she was simply terrified of snakes.

By the time Yang Qing caught up, Chen Hong was running while looking back, teasing those five men.

"Come on, come chase me; if you catch me, I'll give you all the cicada monkeys."

The five men were panting, their heads buzzing, and they didn't even hear the big commotion of Yang Qing running up.

Yang Qing ran up behind the big brother holding the flashlight, who was panting heavily, and kicked him in the butt.

Ah—woo……

The opponent instantly lost combat ability.

Yang Qing seized the opportunity to snatch the flashlight into his hand.

Three flashlights shone simultaneously at those few men.

The strong light made them instantly lose their sight.

One could only tell where a person was by the light source.

Chen Hong saw Yang Qing excitedly run over.

"Husband, they just bullied me, threatening me with a snake."

Yang Qing kicked that big brother, who had been struck in a vital spot nearby, with his right foot.

"You damn it, dare to bully my wife."

"Wife, beat him."

Chen Hong kicked bang-bang a few times, making the leader big brother howl.

He was shouting wildly in his heart.

"Which gang of heroes are you two? You're so vicious—do your families know?"

They're practically two big brothers.

The four men who had been blinded by the light heard the big brother's miserable cry, then listened to the sound, realized there were only two people, and rushed toward the light source.

Among them, the man holding the snake charged the most fiercely.

"Look at the snake."

They still wanted to scare Yang Qing with the snake.

Yang Qing took a look—what a fine specimen, a fat domestic snake.

He almost drooled.

He reached out.

"Come on, hand it over."

He then caught the snake in his hand.

"Wife, the snake isn't poisonous—I've handed them over to you."

As soon as Chen Hong saw Yang Qing take the snake, she immediately put her mind at ease.

After hearing Yang Qing hand the people over to her, she immediately rolled up her sleeves excitedly, threw the flashlight and basket to Yang Qing, and rushed out.

In the light, Chen Hong grabbed the arm of the man who had snatched the snake with one hand, then spun him around and flung him into his companion.

Plop, the three people rolled together.

The remaining half-grown lad, dazzled by the light, couldn't see anything ahead.

He shouted, "Don't bully my brother."

He charged forward, then tripped over the person rolling on the ground and fell.

Chen Hong strode with her long legs, beating the losers like a dog, kicking them one after another on their buttocks.

The thick meat cushion absorbed Chen Hong's force without killing anyone—exactly the best spot for a martial artist to vent.

Aooooo…

A chorus of ghostly wails and wolf howls rose from the woods, frightening the distant lights away from this area.

Chen Hong stopped only after she had kicked to her satisfaction.

The four men on the ground covered their buttocks and wailed in tears.

"Wuuu…"

"My butt feels numb, wuuu, my butt is ruined."

"Ow, ow, it hurts so much, it's swollen, it's swollen."

The big brother on the ground witnessed his underlings' miserable state the whole time, not daring to even groan; he endured, curled up, and didn't dare make a sound.

Seeing that his wife had had her fun, Yang Qing walked over and handed her the flashlight and basket.

"Had fun, vented your anger?"

Chen Hong nodded, feeling relieved.

"Today's warm-up felt good."

Yang Qing burst out laughing.

Then he kicked a few times at the groaning people on the ground.

"All of you get up, or I'll beat you again."

Several people, covering their buttocks, stood up.

That big brother was still playing dead there, so Yang Qing gave him a few more kicks.

"Wife, his butt is still intact; for fairness, we should also take care of him a bit."

The big brother let out a yelp and stood up.

"No need, no need, big brother spare my life, heroine spare my life."

But in his heart he was shouting wildly: "You guys must be devils."

Yang Qing nodded in satisfaction.

"Today you've been conscripted."

"Go find those cicada monkeys properly; if our basket isn't full today, I'll make you a dish of stir-fried bamboo shoots with meat instead."