The families who caught the big fish were all very happy.

"Mom, shall we have fish this afternoon?" Xia Erzhu asked his mother, Li Xiangcao.

"This fish is so big, it's a shame to eat it. We'll go to the market the day after tomorrow, and we're sure to be able to sell it for dozens of copper coins."

Upon hearing this, Xia Chunmei suddenly remembered that the day after tomorrow was the first day of the new year!

There are two market days a month here, on the first and fifteenth of each month. The market days are slightly different in January, May, August, and December because there are major festivals in these three months.

The market day in the first month of the lunar calendar is only on the fourteenth day.

The market days in May are the fifth and fifteenth of the month.

The market days in August are the first and fifteenth of the lunar month.

There are many weddings and celebrations in the twelfth lunar month, and it is also the Lunar New Year, so market days are the first, eighth, fifteenth, twentieth, twenty-second, and twenty-eighth days of the lunar month.

It's not easy for ordinary people to go to the city. Not only is transportation inconvenient, but they also have to pay to enter and leave the city. So, unless there are special reasons, ordinary people usually don't go to the city.

This has promoted the development of rural markets, and people from all around will come to the market.

The nearest market is located at the entrance of Shiniu Village, not far from Yijia Village, which is also the largest market in the surrounding area.

Xia Chunmei felt that she could also sell fish. After the birthday banquet tomorrow, she would go night fishing and use her magic touch to catch more fish so that she could sell them at the market the day after tomorrow.

Perfect!

...

The sisters Xia Qiumei and Xia Dongmei had a good catch, with three large grass carp, three carp weighing over a pound each, and the rest being crucian carp the size of a finger, totaling about a pound.

The two sisters couldn't bring back all the fish they had, so they had to come back and call Xia Chunmei, who then carried them back with a shoulder pole.

"We ate the small crucian carp, but we'll keep the rest alive. We'll take them to the market the day after tomorrow to change their clothes."

The sisters each had only two sets of patched clothes, and sometimes they didn't even have any to change into.

"Big sister, I'll do whatever you say."

"Yes, I'll do whatever you say."

Xia Qiumei and Xia Dongmei had no objection to this.

Which child doesn't want to wear new clothes?

After lunch, Xia Chunmei took her wood-chopping knife and went into the mountains.

"Big sister, are you going to catch pheasants? Take me with you!" Xia Dongmei also wanted to learn this skill.

"I'm going to gather some firewood. You stay home and take care of your little sister, okay?"

Xia Chunmei had two more chances to use her cheat code today, and of course she didn't want to waste them.

"I'm going fishing. Dongmei, you stay home, wash the dishes, feed the chickens, and take care of your little sister." Xia Qiumei was full of energy, determined to get her new clothes!

The three sisters divided the work and cooperated.

Xia Chunmei collected a load of firewood in the mountains and was about to go home when she used her magic to catch two pheasants that could lay eggs.

This time, she dared not catch too many pheasants to take back, otherwise she wouldn't be able to explain herself.

Xia Chunmei felt she wouldn't need the cheat code again today, so she made a wish that her sister and any seven other people could catch a fish weighing around five pounds. However, these "other people" did not include Xia Chenshi's family.

Good heavens! Not long after Xia Chunmei made her wish, the children who had caught big fish at noon, along with three other children, all caught five-pound fish!

Cheers erupted along the riverbank.

When the children returned home with their spoils after dark, the villagers were all stunned!

Why are there so many big fish this year?

Did our ancestors agree beforehand to unify and bless everyone this year?

The adults decided to buy more fishing hooks and lines when they went to the market the day after tomorrow, so that they could catch more fish to enjoy during this time when their ancestors were showing their blessings.

In the afternoon, Xia Qiumei's luck wasn't so good. Apart from the three bighead carp that Xia Chunmei caught with her "golden touch," she only caught small crucian carp weighing about half a pound.

Xia Qiumei initially thought she was unlucky, but when she learned that Xia Chunmei had caught two pheasants, her gloom vanished.

"Big sister, can we kill a chicken to eat tomorrow?" Xia Qiumei was only thinking about eating chicken.

"We're going to the Wang family's house for a banquet tomorrow, there will be plenty to eat."

What about the day after tomorrow?

“The chickens are kept to lay eggs. You don’t want to eat eggs,” Xia Chunmei analyzed the pros and cons for her. “Think about it, we have no land now, and the vegetable garden is all clean. We don’t even have cotton clothes and quilts to get through the winter this fall and winter. Even if the chickens don’t lay eggs, we still have to exchange them for grain. We can’t eat them.”

Xia Chunmei's "golden touch" can only keep her from starving, but it's not certain that she can make a lot of money.

Even if you catch a hundred catties of fish and a hundred chickens a day, if no one buys them or exchanges them for grain, you can only eat them yourself, and you still can't afford to buy clothes for the winter.

"Qiu Mei, Dong Mei, it's not that your elder sister won't let you eat chicken, but our current conditions aren't good enough. We need to make sure you have enough to eat first, and then prepare food, clothes, and blankets for winter. You don't want to be huddled by the stove in winter, do you?"

"Big sister, I'll listen to you." Xia Dongmei felt that Xia Chunmei's words made a lot of sense.

Xia Qiumei was still unhappy. In fact, Xia Qiumei understood the reasoning, but she still wanted to eat meat.

Xia Chunmei could tell from her expression that she hadn't listened to her.

She didn't know how to educate her child, so she thought for a moment and said, "How about this: from now on, whenever our family saves up one tael of silver or fifty catties of grain, we will eat meat."

Upon hearing this, Xia Qiumei and Xia Dongmei's eyes lit up immediately.

"Then I'll start fishing more tomorrow, no, the day after tomorrow, and exchange it for more food."

Xia Chunmei's words successfully ignited Xia Qiumei's fighting spirit.

"Then I'll stay home and take care of my younger sister, feed the chickens, cook, and wash the dishes," Xia Dongmei said, not wanting to be left behind.

Seeing the two girls so enthusiastic, Xia Chunmei was also greatly encouraged, and then drank another bowl of chicken soup: "Then let's sisters work together and try to eat meat as soon as possible."