After it got cold, the ducks in the Zhou family could only stay honestly in the enclosure and had no chance to go to the pond again.

  Zhou Xiaoyun still hadn't changed her habit of going to the edge of the pond to play her harmonica, she figured that if she took out her harmonica at home, it would raise many questions from her parents. Plus, with the mischievous Da Bao and curious Xiao Bao, as well as the nosy Er Ya, just thinking about it would be a chaotic scene.

  So after the holiday, Zhou Xiaoyun often took the music book given by Teacher Fang to her own secret garden to practice quietly alone.

  The so-called secret garden was a place where Zhou Xiaoyun often stayed, a relatively secluded corner that she discovered after examining the pond for a long time.

  There are some trees and shrubs around the pond, and Zhou Xiaoyun's secret garden is in a thicket not far from the pond. The shrubbery over one meter high and two tall willows cleverly blocked off this small space that can only hold one or two people. Unless you get within two or three meters, you absolutely won't discover any secrets hidden inside.

  In the past when the weather was warmer, Zhou Xiaoyun would often drive the ducks into the pond and then hide alone, playing the harmonica one note at a time, repeating and practicing repeatedly.

  The harmonica sound is not loud to begin with, and the surrounding area of the pond is a vast expanse of farmland with very few people coming and going. The small woods that Dabao and his friends like to visit are also some distance away from the pond. So, no one has discovered Zhou Xiaoyun's secret of practicing harmonica yet.

  Zhou Xiaoyun loved her secret garden, especially in autumn when the trees were lush and green with wildflowers everywhere, giving it a sense of being a paradise on earth. She privately regarded this place as her own backyard, where she could be completely alone, and always felt an indescribable ease and comfort.

  But now it's winter, and the leaves have fallen off, leaving only bare branches.

  Zhou Xiaoyun found a relatively flat tree root in the small forest and put it inside to serve as her own throne. Sitting on this tree root, Zhou Xiaoyun felt like she had returned to her carefree childhood days.

  For Zhou Xiaoyun's frequent disappearance for half a day, Zhao Yuzhen showed great tolerance. In her opinion, Zhou Xiaoyun is very measured in his actions and will naturally return home on time. When he goes out, he won't be as naughty as Dabao, running around wildly, and must have gone to play with his own friends.

  As a result, Zhou Xiaoyun spent more and more time in the secret garden. She practiced all the songs that Teacher Fang had taught her and could even play some longer ones from sheet music. Listening to the beautiful and pleasant sound of the piano she played, Zhou Xiaoyun felt unspeakable joy and satisfaction.

  She was practicing alone happily, but someone wasn't happy about it.

  During the winter vacation, Wang Jingjing and Pang Niang, Xiao Budian from nearby came to visit her several times, but Zhou Xiaoyun was never at home. After a few times, Zhao Yuzhen also started to feel strange. She didn't understand who Zhou Xiaoyun went out with, so when Zhou Xiaoyun returned home, she asked her: "Big sister, Wang Jingjing came to visit you again today. I told her that you had gone to someone else's house, and she said that she hadn't seen you at Pang Niang's or Xiao Budian's house, so where do you go every day after dinner?"

  Zhou Xiaoyun wore thick and heavy cotton-padded jacket and pants, warm but puffed up like a small ball, not very nice to look at.

  When winter comes, all the children are dressed like this. Zhou Xiaoyun naturally didn't dare to object, and her heart couldn't help but miss the light, warm, and beautiful down jacket, wondering how many more years it would take for it to appear on the child's body again.

  However, such a cotton-padded jacket is not entirely without its advantages. Zhou Xiaoyun stuffed the harmonica into her bosom and from the outside, it was completely invisible. She carried the harmonica with her every day like this, even Zhao Yuzhen didn't discover it.

  After listening to Zhao Yuzhen's question, Zhou Xiaoyun couldn't find a suitable person to use as a shield for the time being. Wu Mei's home was too far away, and it would be obvious that she was lying if she said she was going there. Zhou Zhihai was right next door, so if she said she was going to his house, the lie would be easily exposed. Ah, got it - Feng Tiezhu's home was a bit farther away from her own, about a five-minute walk, and she could use him as an excuse:

  "I went to Feng Tiezhu's home and he wanted me to teach him math problems. I couldn't refuse, so every day I go there to help him with some exercises."

  As soon as Zhao Yuzhen heard that, a chubby boy immediately appeared in Feng Tiezhu's mind. She had only seen this Feng Tiezhu a few times, but his father, Dr. Feng, was an old acquaintance, and Xiaobao often got sick and hadn't bothered him less.

  Zhou Xiaoyun said she would go teach Feng Tiezhu math, and Zhao Yuzhen immediately believed her, even praising Zhou Xiaoyun a couple of times. Finally, she instructed Zhou Xiaoyun to often invite Feng Tiezhu over to play at their home.

  Zhou Xiaoyun felt relieved after passing safely, but she went out less often afterwards.

  If the old man uses Feng Tiezhu as a shield, there is also something improper about it. The parents and Dr. Feng are familiar with each other, if they meet as adults and chat to bring up this topic, won't they immediately see through it?

  It's uncomfortable to be outdoors when it's cold anyway, so let's just go less often.

  Wang Jingjing was delighted to see Zhou Xiaoyun again at home and took Pangniu and Xiaobudian to Zhou Xiaoyun's house to play.

  A few kids play together, besides jumping rope, sometimes they also jump skipping rope.

  The rope is thick and long, every household uses it to tie up the mouth of the bag and tie up the grain heap. Two people swing together in the same direction with force, while others jump on top of it, lively and fun.

  Before long, Zhou Xiaoxia and Zhou Zhihai were attracted to join the skipping rope army. Dabao saw that there were many children in the family making a lively scene, so he didn't go out either. He was in charge of swinging the rope with all his might, and a group of children played together, having so much fun they forgot about everything else.

  Zhou Zhihai's skills were superb, jumping and spinning in circles. Several girls had already jumped to exhaustion, but he was still going strong. Seeing everyone standing around watching him, Zhou Zhihai became proud and started performing high-difficulty jump rope moves.

  Sometimes on one foot, sometimes on both feet, sometimes spinning around, and sometimes with hands on the ground. The audience watched with dizzy eyes, applauding and cheering.

  Zhou Zhihai, who was elated, didn't notice the rope and "thud" fell to the ground, instantly causing a burst of laughter.

  Zhou Zhihai wore a thick cotton-padded jacket and fell down without feeling any pain or itchiness. He stood up, patted the dirt off, and continued to jump.

  The children are all playing very happily, and I just wish the winter vacation could be two months longer.