Yellow peaches submerged in syrup, their sweet aroma intoxicating.
Opening the can halfway, Chen Zhou ate it carefully, savoring each bite.
Dopamine surged in this sweetness, washing away the fatigue accumulated over the day.
After eating five pieces of yellow peaches, he reluctantly set the can aside, saving it in the wooden box in the bedroom, resisting the urge to finish it in one go, and decided to continue his work—digging river sand.
Tightening the string knot of the raincoat around his neck, donning a wide-brimmed hat, carrying a wooden bucket and an iron-tipped wooden shovel, he headed straight upstream.
Going up from Rock Beach, past the deep pool, the river ahead was mostly narrow and deep; the flow was slow, with a tranquil and mysterious surface, calm yet fraught with peril.
Further up, the river widened.
The water depth decreased here, with the flow becoming turbulent, crashing against rocks lodged in the river, creating a spray of waves.
