Luo Li called over a few children from the riverbank to eat snacks. She was the happiest, but at the same time, she regretted eating that bread earlier.

After having some snacks, the children went back to catching fish. When the twins were catching fish, Luo Chen helped lift them up. When the twins got tired, Luo Chen and Luo Yang took over. The division of labor was clear, and everyone had something to do.

When the wooden tub was almost full, Xiao Yunying prepared to head home.

After talking to the children about the smaller fish, I released them back into the water. I picked out two larger ones, threaded a long grass stalk through their gills, and gave them to the two brothers along with the leftover pork jerky and walnuts.

"The river is a bit deep here. You're still young, so you can't come here to catch fish by yourselves. If you fall in, it's no joke. You have to be with a family member, understand?"

"Okay, thank you Aunt Xiao."

"Go home quickly and show your parents the fruits of your labor."

The two children each carried a fish back home. Xiao Yunying poured the fish from the wooden bucket into a basket to drain the water so it would be lighter. Luo Chen and Luo Yang each carried one side of the basket, cleaned the wooden bucket themselves, and led Luo Xin back home.

I sighed inwardly. I had something to do in the afternoon: wash the children's clothes.

But the kids had a great time, so it was worth it.

On the way, Xiao Yunying encountered her second sister-in-law, Wang, who was walking back after washing clothes. Out of politeness, Xiao Yunying greeted her as "Second Sister-in-law," but then didn't know what else to say.

In the original owner's memory, this second sister-in-law spoke sharply and sarcastically, and it was because of her sarcasm that the original owner was unwilling to go home.

Fang, perhaps wanting to ease the awkwardness, took the initiative to ask, "Did Yunying take the children fishing?"

"Yes, the child said he/she wants to eat fish."

"They're pretty good; they've caught quite a few."

She had originally planned to cook them and then send them to her parents to try, but now that she had met her second sister-in-law and the other woman had said that, Xiao Yunying said directly, "Second sister-in-law, take a few back and cook them for the children. The fish are quite plump."

"No need, no need. If the child wants to eat fish, let your second brother catch some."

If her mother-in-law found out that she dared to take her sister-in-law's fish, she would scold her to death.

"Okay then." I'll just make it myself and send it over.

After parting ways with Fang at the intersection, I returned home and, seeing that it was still early, told them to change out of their wet clothes so I could do the laundry first.

Luo Chen insisted on helping her get the washboard and the bamboo tube for laundry detergent. Xiao Yunying gave him a strange look, wondering why this child seemed to want to follow her around these past two days.

Suspicion arose in his mind, and he wanted to see where the things in the house came from.

Fine, I'll just follow along. Washing clothes isn't like doing anything else.

There were quite a few people by the river. She walked upstream for a while, found a secluded spot, put down the wooden basin, and started washing clothes. Luo Chen helped her rinse off the foam.

Xiao Yunying never expected that on her way back, she would run into the same scholar she had met yesterday, Liu Mangxiu.

"Miss Xiao, we meet again."

The dirt road, which was only a little over a meter wide and flanked by fields, was a bit narrow. Xiao Yunying looked at the pedantic scholar standing in the middle of the road and frowned: "Move aside a bit. Can't you see you're blocking the way?"

Liu Ge stepped aside: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."

Xiao Yunying chuckled and tried to walk past him, but as she passed by him, Liu Ge suddenly reached out and grabbed her arm.

Xiao Yunying had been on guard against him, and immediately reacted, kicking him in the stomach.

Luo Chen reacted even faster, raising a washboard and swinging it at Liu Ge's head, slamming him into the nearby field.

Xiao Yunying's foot missed its target, almost causing her to stumble. She said to Luo Chen, "Thank you, but please give me a heads-up next time. You almost strained my back."

"Okay, I'll be more careful next time."

Neither of them paid any attention to Liu Ge, who was wailing in the field, and they carried their things home.

This scene was witnessed by many people, and within half an hour the news spread throughout most of the village, but the story became distorted in the process of being told.

Some people say that Xiao Yunying took a fancy to Liu Xiucai and insisted on washing his clothes. Luo Chen found out, and since Luo Chen couldn't hit his stepmother, he could only hit Liu Xiucai instead.

The two individuals involved in the rumor were unaware that their stories had been fabricated in such a colorful way, and were busy with their own affairs at home.

After handing over the task of hanging up the clothes to the children, Xiao Yunying began cleaning the fish.

She had finished the steamed buns, so she planned to steam rice for lunch. She rinsed the rice first and asked Luo Chen to cook it, keeping the rice water.

Stun the fish with the back of a knife, then wash away the slime on the surface of the carp with warm water containing vinegar. This will prevent it from slipping when scaling.

Remove the gills, cut open the fish's belly, and carefully remove the internal organs, being careful not to break the gall bladder. Make a cut on each side, at the head and tail, and pull out the lateral line.

Rinse the prepared carp twice with rice water to clean it more thoroughly and remove any fishy smell.

Make diagonal cuts on the fish to help it absorb the flavors better, and then rinse it clean with water.

Sprinkle the fish inside and out with shredded scallions, shredded ginger, cooking wine, and salt, rub it evenly, and marinate for a while.

Heat oil in a pan, then place the carp one by one into the pan to fry. Once the bottom is golden brown, flip the carp over and fry the other side until golden brown as well. Then remove them from the pan and set them aside.

Heat the remaining oil in the pot, then add scallions, ginger, garlic, and fermented black beans. Sauté over low heat until fragrant. After that, add an appropriate amount of light soy sauce and oyster sauce, along with some water. To better remove any fishy smell, Xiao Yunying also poured in a can of beer.

After the broth in the pot boils, put the fried fish back into the pot, cover the pot, bring it to a boil over high heat, and then simmer over low heat for a while.

When there's not much broth left in the pot, add a little cornstarch slurry, then turn up the heat to thicken the broth before serving.