Twenty Pebbles and Salted Fish

The water was clear, but Anji was not foolish enough to jump into it and collect the pebbles from the riverbed. With how quickly the water swept away fallen leaves and big branches, they would also easily sweep her away. Moreover, Anji was no swimmer. She had no rope to secure herself to a strong tree either. Collecting those pebbles was out of the question.

Trudging downstream, she eventually found a small channel where the water had split from the main creek. It was gentler and calmer, appearing friendlier to Anji. Excitedly, she hopped to the side where she could reach her hand into the water and touch the pebbles beneath them. There were all sorts of pebbles, but Yan Ping did not specify what sort of pebbles she wanted. Hence, Anji decided to collect a variety of pebbles ranging from different shapes and sizes to colours.