The next day, Tan Jing took the 30 jin (15 catties) of mutton to the town's black market. Since he only knew a few people there, he didn't deliver it to each stall individually. Instead, he went directly to Hai Ge, the black market's manager and Liu Mingfeng's classmate. He left the 30 jin of mutton there, asked Hai Ge to divide it, and then left. He then went to Zhang Jianjun's place and left him five jin of mutton, which Liu Mingfeng had asked him to bring to Zhang Jianjun. He also delivered five jin to Liu Mingxin.

Liu Mingxin wasn't a stingy person. After receiving the mutton her brother had sent, she immediately gave two jin to her mother-in-law, but not to her sister-in-law. Liu Mingxin knew that if she gave these things to her sister-in-law, they wouldn't end up in the mouths of her nephews and nieces; her sister-in-law would definitely take them to her family.

Wang Jinhua was aware of this situation, so she didn't object to her second daughter-in-law not giving anything to her eldest daughter-in-law. She herself took the meat given to her by her second daughter-in-law and went to her room. Now, looking at the lump of mutton weighing about two pounds that she had placed in the cupboard, she was very happy. At this moment, she saw her eldest daughter-in-law looking furtive at the door, and her expression immediately changed. She slammed the cupboard door shut and locked it. Then she went out of her own house, closed the door, and stood in the yard. She spoke directly to the room where her eldest son and daughter-in-law lived, saying that if she saw her eldest daughter-in-law taking things to her parents' home again, she would tell her to pack her things and go back to her parents' home. They couldn't afford a woman like that. While Wang Jinhua was saying this, the eldest son's children were all in the yard, but they looked numb and didn't say a word.

When Wu Qiaoqiao heard her second uncle mention the village chief's notice, she immediately expressed her excitement and said she wanted to go. Liu Ercheng also mentioned that Feng Mingran had been notified, but not as an educated youth; he would only be notified as Liu Ercheng's son-in-law. After all, they didn't include the educated youth when they went fishing every year. Of course, if the educated youth wanted fish later, they could buy them from the village. For example, Feng Mingran would go winter fishing with them a couple of years ago under this identity. Zhao Xiuxiang originally said she wanted to go, but Feng Mingyue, Wu Qiaoqiao, and Lin Yuwei stopped her, since it was snowing and the place was icy and snowy, and they were going to Hulu Marsh.

Huluze was originally a basin surrounded by mountains on three sides. The oldest people say that it was originally a swamp, which later formed two lakes, one large and one small, over time. From a high vantage point, the two lakes resemble a gourd. Originally, it had no name, but people named it Huluze after seeing the shape of the two lakes.

Although the wind might be less intense in Hulu Marsh due to its terrain compared to flat ground, it's still very cold in the dead of winter. When Zhao Xiuxiang wanted to go with them, Wu Qiaoqiao disagreed. After everyone's persuasion, Zhao Xiuxiang finally agreed. After all, she's not young anymore, and people have to accept their age. If she were to act impulsively and catch a cold, she wouldn't be able to ease the burden on these young people. Wu Qiaoqiao would then have to take care of the child, the pregnant Lin Yuwei, and the sick old woman.

For this reason, Liu Ercheng and Liu Sanqian originally decided not to let Wu Qiaoqiao's family send anyone, given their situation. At most, they would bring Feng Mingran. However, they also knew that both Zhao Xiujiang and Wu Qiaoqiao were strong-willed. Ever since Lao Wu passed away, Zhou Xiuxiang had been going to the winter fishing festival by herself every year. Moreover, this year there was Wu Qiaoqiao, whose skills were better than his and Lao San's. Therefore, Liu Ercheng decided to come and ask.

As expected, after some discussion, it was decided that Wu Qiaoqiao would take Feng Mingran with her, while the other three would stay home to take care of the four children. Feng Mingyue originally wanted to go too, but was persuaded against it by everyone. After all, while they could take a car to get there, they would likely have to walk back. These people had all gone every year and had developed excellent skills in walking in the snow. Feng Mingran had also gone every year during his two years working in the countryside.

He didn't go as an educated youth, but as Liu Jiatun's nephew. As for Wu Qiaoqiao, her family already knew that she was quite capable. So after some persuasion, Zhao Xiuxiang and Feng Mingyue stopped insisting that he go.

Before dawn, every household had already turned on their lights. It turned out that this was the day Liu Yougen decided to go to Hulu Marsh. After all, Hulu Marsh did not belong to their village alone, but was shared by four surrounding villages. They would take turns going first each year. This year, it was Liujiatun's turn to catch the first batch of fish. After today, it would be the turn of the other villages.

After getting up this morning, Wu Qiaoqiao first put on a set of thermal underwear, then a sweater and long johns, and finally a cotton-padded coat and trousers. She then ate breakfast with Feng Mingran, which Zhao Xiuxiang had prepared for them. Since they were going to the lakeside today, eating soupy foods would make it inconvenient to use the restroom later. Therefore, Zhao Xiuxiang prepared some dry food for Wu Qiaoqiao, such as homemade steamed buns made from a mixture of wheat and water. Someone would also set up a stove nearby to cook fish soup, which they could then soak in the buns. For breakfast, Wu Qiaoqiao and the others ate egg pancakes and corn porridge. However, the corn porridge was quite thick this morning, so Wu Qiaoqiao didn't drink much; she mainly ate the pancakes.

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