Volume One: A Peasant at Dawn Chapter 7: Scissors, Rock, Paper

“Uh... uh...”
Su Wei’s face was flushed crimson, his breath coming in rapid, labored gasps. His eyes widened in terror as his hands instinctively clutched at his throat, emitting muffled whimpers.
The children had never witnessed such a scene before and immediately panicked.
Zhang Qiang, closest to Su Wei, turned pale with fright and stumbled backward, his trembling voice shrieking, “Help, Su Wei is dying!”
“Su Wei! Su Wei! What’s wrong with you?”
“Quick, go fetch the teacher!”
The children gathered anxiously around Su Wei, asking with concern but not daring to get too close.
One brave soul edged nearer, patting Su Wei’s back and calling out urgently, but it was of no use.
It was as if an invisible, merciless hand had gripped Su Wei’s throat, and he could not break free.
The atmosphere in the room grew tense and distressing in an instant.
“Don’t move, I’ll save him!”
Chu Liu, seeing the situation, immediately understood the cause—a foreign object obstructing the airway, resulting in suffocation.
He had to act fast, or Su Wei’s life would be at risk.
Chu Liu swiftly moved behind Su Wei, gently wrapping his arms around him. He measured a spot above Su Wei’s navel with two fingers, placed his right fist against it, and covered the fist with his left palm.
“Scissors, rock, paper!”
“Scissors, rock, paper!”
With each rhythmic upward thrust, Chu Liu called out the words.
“Cough, cough!”
Su Wei coughed violently, and a date pit shot from his throat.
Relieved and grateful, Su Wei glanced at Chu Liu, then slowly sank onto a stool to catch his breath.
He was not one for words, always preferring to play alone or quietly watch others after class.
Today, he had eaten a date, and when something amusing happened, he burst out laughing, which led to the incident.
“Chu Liu, you’re amazing!”
“Was that magic?”
“Were those words some kind of incantation?”
“Nonsense, that’s what we shout when we play rock-paper-scissors.”
The children chattered excitedly, and Chu Liu could only remain silent.
He could hardly tell them it was the Heimlich maneuver.

The principle was simply to increase abdominal pressure, raising the diaphragm and chest pressure, thus forcing the obstruction out of the airway.
As for the chant, it was just a habit from his previous life when he learned this emergency technique.
“Su Wei, Su Wei, are you alright?”
The teacher rushed in, eyes immediately seeking out Su Wei.
Seeing him safe and seated, the teacher’s face registered confusion.
“Teacher, Su Wei choked on a date pit, and Chu Liu saved him...”
The children were still caught up in the excitement, their enthusiasm undiminished.
Noticing the teacher’s puzzlement, they began to recount the scene, describing Chu Liu’s rescue as a medical marvel.
The teacher finally understood but was amazed by Chu Liu’s unheard-of method.
“Chu Liu, this method of saving lives is rare indeed. How did you think to use it?”
Chu Liu was prepared. As soon as the teacher asked, he replied,
“Teacher, I am dull-witted; how could I invent such a technique? This is an emergency method developed by the elders of our village, called ‘Scissors, Rock, Paper,’ passed down orally through generations. I only know the basics...”
Hidden talents in the countryside!
The teacher sighed inwardly and asked, “Does this method truly save lives?”
He realized his question was pointless—the date pit lay on the floor, and Su Wei was unharmed, the best proof.
“Chu Liu, could you demonstrate it once more?”
The teacher knew that such methods were often kept secret, passed only to male heirs, with outsiders barred.
His request was an invitation for Chu Liu to share the technique, hoping it would benefit the people of Dayan.
“Of course!”
Chu Liu began to teach, unafraid to be a teacher for the first time.
He pulled Su Wei over, rolled up his shirt to reveal his navel.
The children burst into laughter.
“Be serious, this is a lesson, not a magic trick,”
the teacher admonished, and the children quieted.
Chu Liu pressed two fingers together above Su Wei’s navel, explaining, “This step is ‘Scissors,’ used to find the precise spot—two fingers above the navel.”
Then he placed his right fist there, “This is ‘Rock,’ preparing for the next step—the compression.”
Finally, he wrapped his left palm over his fist, “This is the last step, ‘Paper.’ Now, you press upward and backward rhythmically and quickly, until the foreign object is expelled.”
Ah!
Others used ‘Scissors, Rock, Paper’ to play games, but Chu Liu used it to save lives.
Such is the difference between people.
The teacher sighed, then announced, “We’ll skip the last class this morning to focus on learning this emergency method. No one is allowed to slack off—if you can’t master it, you won’t go home for lunch!”
The children were thrilled, their eyes shining with excitement.

Paired off, they began practicing earnestly, with a hint of childish playfulness.
“There’s dirt in your navel, hurry and dig it out.”
“No! My mother says the navel is the gate of life—if you mess with it, you’ll get sick.”
“Haha, your navel looks like a frog’s eye—so ugly!”
“Heehee, you’re tickling me.”
The children’s innocent laughter echoed throughout the school.
Chu Liu moved among them, guiding, ensuring each child learned something.
When the lesson ended, the children were delighted.
This was far more fun than the teacher’s usual lectures.

“Chu Liu, come to my house for lunch.”
At noon, Su Biao invited him.
Chu Liu shook his head, “I appreciate your kindness, but I brought wheat cakes and will be full. I’ll practice my writing while you eat. You’ve all studied for more than a year, and I still barely know any characters. If I keep dragging you down, the teacher will throw me out.”
Su Biao clapped Chu Liu’s shoulder confidently, “Then I’ll come early after lunch, and we’ll practice together. I’ll teach you!”
“Alright!”
Chu Liu nodded with a smile.
Though warmth flooded his heart, he doubted Su Biao could really teach him.
Ever since Su Lai Bao brought him copies of the “Three Character Classic” and “Hundred Family Surnames,” Chu Liu had devoted every spare moment to learning characters and practicing writing at home.
Reluctant to waste paper, he brought river sand and created a small sand patch to practice.
Truth be told, learning the characters from those two books was a challenge.
Last time, forced by his teacher, he had memorized both books in a few days, but now, confronted by unfamiliar traditional characters, he had to rely on his memory to figure them out.
He compared them with simplified characters, writing, reading, and memorizing repeatedly.
While other students enjoyed summer vacation, he worked hard to catch up.
He managed to learn all the characters from the “Three Character Classic” and half from the “Hundred Family Surnames” over one break.
If his old classmates knew, they’d probably laugh themselves silly.
But this life was different.
Learning was never easy.
The private school had a sand patch in the courtyard for practicing calligraphy.
After finishing his wheat cakes, Chu Liu planned to practice there.
He had just taken a bite when he noticed a furtive figure outside the classroom.
Who was it?