Chapter 85 Envy of Si Dan's Father

Grandma Zhao was completely stunned.

"Four Eggs, where did you get this fish?"

There is a river right at the entrance of Dahe Village. The people of Dahe Village may not have seen chickens or ducks, but they certainly could not have never seen fish.

However, the village has a rule that people are not allowed to go down into the river to catch fish on ordinary days. They have to wait for the fish to grow up and then go down into the river to catch fish with fishing nets during the Spring Festival. The fish caught are shared by the whole village. Every year, each family can get hundreds of catties of fish. In winter, they drink fish soup, and the leftovers are made into preserved fish and stored away so that they can still enjoy the fishy taste in the spring.

Normally, if someone has a new mother or something, no one will say anything if they catch a few fish in the river.

But the key question is, there's no water in the river now, so where did such a big fish come from?

Zhao Sidan was soaking wet, but that didn't stop him from squinting his eyes smugly: "Grandma, I caught two fish in the rice paddy, and they're still alive. Mom, hurry up and make soup for my sister-in-law."

Cheng Wanwan told him to raise the fish first. She had stewed pigeon soup in the morning, and he could keep one of the two fish in the afternoon and the other tomorrow.

She sighed, feigning sorrow: "The water was only introduced into the rice paddy less than ten days ago, how could such big fish have grown..."

Grandma Zhao nodded vigorously. That made sense. A small fish like that would take at least three or four months to grow this big. But Si Dan didn't seem to be lying. Grandma Zhao was a little confused for a moment.

“It must be the spirit of Father Mountain appearing…” Cheng Wanwan continued to sigh, “Our family has been going through a tough time. Even in heaven, Father Mountain is still thinking about us, his orphan and his widow. He must have gone to a lot of trouble to put these two fish in our rice paddy… Anything Father Mountain gives must be good. I hope Hui Niang’s baby will be born safely…”

Grandma Zhao's eyes immediately reddened. She wiped her eyes and said, "Youjin was always an honest child. He sent all his war wages back home without missing a penny. Now that he's dead, he's still thinking about his family. My son only cares about others and never thinks about himself..."

Cheng Wanwan thought silently, it seems that in the future, any illogical events can be blamed on Zhao Youjin.

She said, "Mother, please take this bowl of deer blood back and eat it with Father. Hui Niang has enough fish soup here."

The main problem is that deer blood is hot and extremely dry, so pregnant women should not consume it, as it can cause serious problems.

Grandma Zhao placed the deer blood on the table and said sternly, "Your father and I are practically half-buried in the ground, why would we drink this? You can save it for Hui Niang to drink tomorrow, just add more salt, it won't spoil."

After she finished speaking, she turned and left.

Cheng Wanwan had no choice but to process the deer blood, drying it in the sun until it solidified, then slicing it into thin slices and storing it away so that Hui Niang could suck on the deer blood slices to replenish her blood and energy after giving birth.

I was so busy that the morning passed by in a flash.

The family sat around the table for dinner, each person having a wild vegetable pancake and a small bowl of roasted pigeon meat.

There was no soup; it was all saved for Wu Huiniang, but she was still unconscious, so Zhao Dashan fed her mouth-to-mouth, little by little.

Zhao Sidan was furious at the sight.

If it weren't for that bastard Zhao Fugui, my sister-in-law wouldn't have ended up like this.

After he finished eating and washed the bowl, he said, "Mother, I'm going to catch some locusts to feed the chickens."

He carried his basket out the door, but instead of going to the rice paddies, he walked to the big locust tree in the middle of the village.

The sun was blazing, and Zhao Fugui sat under the big locust tree, looking haggard and listless. Many people pointed and whispered about him as they passed by, but he didn't react.

Zhao Sidan called Zhao Dawang and Zhao Erwang over: "Brother Dawang, Brother Erwang, help me pick up stones and throw them at him. When my mother makes something delicious, I'll secretly share it with you."

Zhao Dawang frowned and said, "What if he gets killed?"

"Brother, you're so stupid." Zhao Erwang laughed, "Just don't hit your head, it won't kill you."

The three of them went around picking up stones, all of which were small stones as big as a baby's fist. Half a basket of stones was dumped in front of the big locust tree. Zhao Sidan was the first to throw a stone, but he missed and it landed at Zhao Fugui's feet.

Zhao Fugui jumped up like a startled rabbit and yelled at the three children in front of him, "What do you little bastards think you're doing? Let me tell you, don't think that just because I'm trapped here and can't get out, I can't do anything to you... Ah!"

Before he could finish his words, he let out a scream.

Zhao Erwang burst into laughter: "I hit him in the neck, I threw it really accurately."

Zhao Dawang looked at him with disdain: "Wait and see where I hit him."

His stone landed accurately on Zhao Fugui's crotch. Zhao Fugui immediately covered his vital parts with his hands, screaming in pain.

"Little bastards, wait and see how I'll deal with you!"

Zhao Fugui, ignoring the fact that he was covering his crotch, squatted down and picked up the stone that had been thrown in.

Zhao Sidan walked out with his chest puffed out: "Come on, hit me. If you hit me, my father will retaliate. My father's spirit in heaven is watching. If anyone dares to bully me, my father will definitely not let him go."

It was a bright sunny day, but Zhao Fugui was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat.

He shuddered, dropping all the stones he had picked up to the ground. His eyes darted left and right, as if he were being watched by something dirty.

Zhao Sidan snorted: "Big Brother Wang, Second Brother Wang, we're not afraid of him."

Zhao Erwang blinked his eyes and said, "Sidan, I really envy you for having such a good father."

Zhao Youyin and Zhao Youcai were just about to go to Cheng Wanwan's house to help when they overheard this conversation.

Zhao Youyin was immediately furious: "Si Dan doesn't have a father, but your father is still alive and well. Why are you envious of others? I've raised you for nothing."

Zhao Youcai glanced at Zhao Fugui, who used to be a troublemaker, but now looked like a frightened bird, his face full of fear and panic.

He waved his hand and said, "Forget it, don't bother him. You guys go do what you need to do."

Zhao Youcai actually didn't believe these, but he had to. He thought that his elder brother was more powerful than others. Even if he died, a wisp of his soul could protect his orphans and widows.

Zhao Sidan obediently agreed and went to the fields with a basket to look for locusts.

Zhao Youyin and Zhao Youcai went to Cheng Wanwan's house to wash the ice jelly seeds. After they became familiar with it, this job became easier and easier for them.

Cheng Wanwan was tending a fire in the kitchen, boiling water in a pot, with three wooden buckets stacked on top of it.

This wooden barrel was made by Old Man Zhao. He tied the wooden boards together with wire, and then placed the barrel in a water tank to soak overnight. The wood expanded after soaking in water, and the gaps between each board became very tight. After brushing a layer of tung oil on it, it would no longer leak.

She uses high temperature to steam the wooden barrels in order to dry them out and prevent termites from entering the barrels, thereby extending the service life of the barrels.

Zhao Dashan and Zhao Sanniu did not go to the fields, but instead made adobe bricks in the yard.

This time, Zhao Fugui sneaked in to do bad things, which made them realize that their house had no courtyard wall, only a low fence. If there had been a courtyard wall, Zhao Fugui would have made a noise when he came in, and they would not have been able to miss it.