"Fish caught! Fish caught!"

Someone shouted it out first, and then the crowd erupted in a chorus of shouts: "Fish caught! Fish caught!"

The crowd erupted in excitement, with people from all directions gathering around the fishing area. More and more fish emerged: silver carp, common carp, grass carp, bighead carp, and some other fish that An Moxue couldn't name, each one bigger than the last.

An Moxue had truly learned something new. "Auntie, there are so many fish, we can't possibly divide them all up!"

Aunt Meihua laughed heartily and said, "Silly girl! If we can't finish dividing this, the town will sell it. I heard it's even been sold to other provinces. We'll get a share of the money then! Of course, we'll have to wait until the end of the year."

"There's still money to be shared!"

"Of course, but when can we get our share of the fish?"

"If you want to divide the fish, wait until the first fish are weighed. Once the whole net of fish has been weighed, you can divide them. But if you want to buy more, you'll have to wait until later."

"Oh! When are you going back, Auntie? Let's go together."

"I'll go back after I've seen the first fish."

Aunt Meihua then dragged An Moxue to the weighing area, which was crowded with people.

Then someone announced the number: "Forty-seven catties."

"Forty-six catties and five taels."

"Forty-eight jin."

Someone said, "Last year's was 48 jin."

Another person said, "Shut up! Listen carefully to the numbers."

There was no more sound.

Before long, the village's fishmonger said, "Let's weigh this one and see how much it weighs."

"Forty-nine catties and eight taels." A long time passed.

The head fisherman announced, "This year's first fish in our village is a carp, weighing 49.8 jin (approximately 24.9 catties)."

Suddenly, the crowd surged forward, jostling to see the first fish. An Moxue was also forced to squeeze in and glance at the first fish.

After looking at the fish, An Moxue was pulled out of the crowd by Aunt Meihua. Once outside, An Moxue let out a heavy sigh and said to Aunt Meihua, "Auntie, they're so good at pushing and shoving. I'm going to be squeezed into a meat patty."

Aunt Meihua looked at her and burst into laughter again. After she finished laughing, she said, "No, you won't be able to squeeze in if something happens. Aren't you just waiting to suffer? You have to practice! Let's go home. I wonder if we'll meet any companions on the way?"

An Moxue said helplessly, "Auntie, you can't do this! Is it really necessary to laugh like that? Wait for me a moment, I'll go find the Hehua sisters."

After saying that, without waiting for Aunt Meihua to look at her, she ran to the side to start looking for people, and finally found the Lotus Sisters in front of several horses.

"Hey! Feeding the horses here! Is that fun?"

"This is interesting, so much fun!" Plum Blossom put a handful of hay into the manger.

"I'm going back now, are you going back too?"

"Ah! I haven't had enough fun yet!" Plum Blossom said with some disappointment, and Lotus Blossom also looked reluctant to leave.

An Moxue said, "Then you guys keep playing, I'm going back first."

After saying that, he waved his hand and walked towards Aunt Meihua.

"Auntie, let's go back! They want to stay a little longer."

"Alright, young people like to join in the fun, they don't want to go back. What have you been busy with these days? Why haven't you gone to visit your aunt?"

"I'm staying home and reading. It's too cold. I feel cold everywhere I go and don't want to move."

"That's true, isn't winter in Kyoto less cold than here?"

"No, the coldest period was only about ten days, and it didn't last long. It will gradually warm up in a few days."

"This is nothing! It'll get even colder in a few days, and soon it will be the coldest period of winter! Don't think about saving firewood then; you'll have to burn more. You'll probably have to get up in the middle of the night to add fuel to the fire."

"Auntie, is it so cold?"

"Of course, it hasn't started snowing heavily yet! But it'll be soon. If you have time, go and prepare more supplies, so that if the snow gets too heavy and closes the mountains and roads, it won't be difficult to get in or out. But don't worry too much, if it gets too heavy, there are horse-drawn sleighs!"

"Auntie, is it like this every year?"

"yes!"

......

When An Moxue returned home, although she was sweating all over, her feet were still a little cold.

She poured some warm water and soaked her feet while thinking, wondering if the Tang family would be pleasantly surprised to take her back; perhaps an even bigger surprise awaited them!

Hopefully, these people won't disappoint us and will infect many more people. I wonder how many people came and how many they will come into contact with?

The Tang family, having become someone else's lackeys, should be prepared to be dead dogs!

Is there anything left for me in the village?

......

On the morning of the third day of winter fishing, Village Chief Guo came to inform An Moxue that she could go fishing.

After finishing her preparations, An Moxue paddled her ice sled, carrying a basket, and headed to the Ursu River. The winter fishing was still ongoing and would likely continue for about a week.

There were still many people on the river, but most of them were staff members involved in the winter fishing.

An Moxue found Accountant Chen, who saw her and said, "Moxue! You can exchange for a total of forty catties of fish. The work points have all been transferred. After the winter fishing is over, you can go to the brigade headquarters to check the accounts. What kind of fish do you want to exchange?"

"Uncle Chen, I'd like to switch to grass carp, is that alright?"

"Okay, go over there to pick out the fish, weigh them, and then come back to pay."

An Moxue picked out a few fish, about five of similar size, weighing exactly forty pounds. She paid the money to Accountant Chen and, instead of going home, went directly to the town's post office with the fish.

I mailed two packages to my mother's hospital and three to the military base, along with two New Year's greetings, explaining that these were New Year's gifts and that everyone should receive one and share it.

The post office staff originally wanted An Moxue to send him a fish, but when he saw An Moxue's mailing address, he didn't say anything more.

After mailing the fish, Anmo bought some envelopes and stamps before rushing home.

......

Zhongchuan Tang Family

"Master, I just received a call from Tang He. He said that Tang Hai has been rescued from Tangshan, but his condition is not good," Butler Tang said hesitantly.

“Speak up, what’s there to hesitate about? Two idiots trying to take on a teenage girl, and they’ll only end up getting themselves into trouble. Where’s their shame?”

"Tang He said that the two of them are unable to speak, their bodies are completely limp, and they can't even sit up. In just over ten days, they've become unrecognizable. They're asking you whether they should continue treatment there or come back for treatment. That's the main concern."

"What is it mainly? Can you just tell me already?" the Tang family head said impatiently.

"The main problem is that after several days of treatment, there's been no improvement; in fact, it's gotten worse, with absolutely no effect. So I'd like to ask you to come back and treat me."

"Didn't those two catch anyone?"

"No, the person didn't even go to Tangshan. Tang Hai and the other person were already in a very bad situation, so they didn't have time to look for An Moxue."

"A bunch of idiots, good for nothing but causing trouble. Punish them when they get back. Go, send a few more people over. If they fail again this time, I'll skin them alive when they get back! What can a little girl do to deserve this?"

"Yes, I will arrange it immediately."