Chen Lan explained with a smile, "Grandma, the implications of this are huge! Don't rush, just listen to me carefully. Once I've finished explaining, you'll understand exactly what's going on."
Chen Lan cleared her throat and began, "Grandma, first, we need to spread the word about having a fun sports meet in the valley. Let everyone know about it. They'll surely be very interested. Then, we'll announce that this fun sports meet is an important task that needs to be completed with quality and quantity.
Finally, when it comes to setting the participation requirements, we'll mandate that all single men and women in the valley must participate in this fun sports meet. This includes Zheng Sanpao's comrades who recently arrived. The age limit for participants will be between seventeen and thirty-five. What do you think?
Furthermore, all the events in this fun sports meet will have a special requirement: all competitions will be mixed-gender. Grandma, think about it, won't they naturally find someone they fancy to be their partner? Besides, spring planting will take at least a month, giving them ample time to find their partners. If they can't find anyone, we'll assign them. What do you think of this approach?"
The grandmother nodded repeatedly, "Yes! Yes! Xiao Lan, you're right, that's the way to do it. We need to pressure them a bit. Xiao Lan, please continue."
Chen Lan then resumed her interrupted topic, "Grandma, after they've all chosen their partners, you'll need to arrange for people to cooperate with the plan."
The grandmother looked at Chen Lan with confusion and asked, "Need me to arrange people to cooperate? How will that work?"
Chen Lan smiled and said, "Grandma, don't rush! Let me finish speaking. At this point, you should assign several experienced aunties to specifically keep an eye on these pairs. Think about it, if they're partners, they should be familiar with each other, and their relationship should be good, right? Perhaps there's just no one to break the ice. I believe if we have people closely watching them, we're bound to find some clues!"
Upon hearing Chen Lan's idea, the grandmother immediately became excited and clapped her hands gleefully, "Xiao Lan, your idea is excellent! We'll go with this. When the time comes, we'll make sure these 'watchers' treat this as a mission, and we'll catch them all, one by one, sweeping them all up."
The grandmother paused, thought for a moment, and then added, "Xiao Lan, I think, to stimulate their enthusiasm, you should make some sacrifices. Let's offer a grand prize. What do you think of this method?"
Chen Lan imitated the grandmother's gesture and heartily replied, "No problem, everyone can get a prize, that's not an issue. If we can successfully pair up a few couples this time, what's a little sacrifice? It's just a drop in the ocean!"
Thus, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law sat down again to carefully discuss the upcoming details. They decided that the grandmother would first release the news at dinner that evening, announcing that after the spring planting, the valley would hold a spring fun sports meet. This would pique everyone's curiosity, and surely, someone would ask about the specific content of the sports meet. They wouldn't say anything, making it all very mysterious. A few days later, they would announce the grand prize. Once everyone's appetite was whetted, they would then reveal the specific participation requirements. By then, everyone would surely be carefully considering and looking for their competition partners!
Once the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law finalized the preparatory details for the competition, they separated and went about their own tasks.
The remaining task was for Chen Lan to design the events for the fun sports meet. With the aim of both fun and the special significance of this sports meet, Chen Lan racked her brains and came up with a few competition events. The first event was the three-legged race; the second was the crab carrying watermelon; the third was the double ball toss; and the fourth was charades.
After the spring planting was completed, the long-awaited spring fun sports meet finally kicked off.
For this, Chen Lan specifically gave everyone in the valley three days off, so they could have a good time. She also organized cheerleading squads: a kindergarten squad, a primary school squad, a women's squad, a veterans' squad, and an elderly men's squad, to cheer for the athletes on the field.
The cheerleaders, dressed in neat sportswear, sat on low stools by the field, holding small colorful flags, eagerly anticipating the official start of the competition.
Chen Lan then took out a megaphone and shouted, "Competitors, please get ready, the competition is about to begin!
First, we will have the two-person three-legged race, also known as the tied-leg race. Please listen carefully to the rules. The two participants' legs must be tied together throughout the entire race. If the ties loosen during the race, they must retie them on the spot before continuing. Otherwise, the result will not count.
As soon as the rules were announced, the participating athletes paired up and tied their legs. The spectators waiting by the threshing ground were already looking forward to it, excitedly awaiting the start of the competition. With the sound of a whistle, the intense competition officially began.
Some of them, cooperating perfectly, strode towards the finish line. Others, not coordinating well, accidentally tripped their partner, stumbling and nearly falling. Fortunately, their partners quickly helped them.
In one group, the participants were so nervous that they didn't watch their feet and stepped on their partner's shoe, causing it to come off.
In short, the field was full of unexpected situations and fierce competition. This also provided much amusement for the cheerleaders sitting by the field. They would burst into laughter at times, and at other times, they would loudly cheer for the athletes, their voices hoarse!
After nearly an hour of intense competition, the results of the first event, the three-legged race, were announced. The first place went to Lin Mao and Ruyi, the second place to Xiaoshan and Xiaoxue, and the third place to Teacher Zhou's eldest son, Zhou Qimin, and Xu Hao's sister, Xu Liuer.
Following that was the crab carrying watermelon race.
The crab carrying watermelon race, also known as the double-person ball-clipping race, involved two participants holding hands and carrying a ball on their backs. The ball could not leave their backs during the race, nor could it be touched by any other part of their body. If the ball dropped, it would be a foul. The team that reached the finish line first would win.
As soon as the whistle blew, the race began. The participants looked extremely tense, tightly gripping each other's pants and walking sideways rapidly, truly resembling crabs walking. For some pairs, due to poor coordination, the ball kept falling off their backs, and they had to rush to start again.