A Not-So-Scientific Story (9)

Chapter Six: The Legend Begins Today. That night, the village chief rode his motorcycle, carrying Ah Mao's mother up to the mountain peak. The chief wailed like a century's worth of effort had vanished when he saw the giant egg, intended for the 'grand finale' prize draw at the temple fair, had been torn to shreds by us. Ah Mao's mother, however, was calm. She silently took out three math workbooks and stacked them expressionlessly in front of Ah Mao: "The cram school is closed today, so I've hired you a tutor – these three books." Ah Mao's wails echoed from the mountaintop all the way down to the foot of the mountain, lasting for about ten minutes. As for the rest of us... well, capital punishment was waived, but we couldn't escape a lesser sentence. We helped the village chief reassemble the lucky egg, spending three days and three nights (Ah Fei used two hundred pieces of tape, so the egg now looks like a mummy). However, the price was worth it. Because for the rest of the summer vacation, every child in Shuiwa Village was spreading a legend: "There's a giant, glowing egg on Turtleback Mountain. That night, aliens almost hatched from it, but the Six Braves of Shuiwa Village risked their lives to suppress it!" "Who are the Six Braves?" Xiao Mei asked. "Me, me, me! I'm the Commander-in-Chief!" Tie Tou eagerly answered. "I'm the Scientist!" The Doctor raised his hand. "I'm the Quartermaster," Ah Fei held up his snack bag, "The key to battle is food!" (To be continued)