Chapter 5 Chapter 5 Plan Lin Qiuran said seriously: "Mom, I...

Liu thought about it and wondered if it was because Yu had said she wanted to arrange a marriage for Lin Qiuran that day, but Lin Qiuran didn't want to go, so she said she wanted to stay in the Xiao family. Then she could have found another marriage for her, not just with that widower!

Lin Qiuran said seriously, "Mom, I really want to give birth to the child."

Liu pointed at Lin Qiuran's head and said anxiously, "You are so stupid! Xiao Xun is dead, and you still gave birth to a child for him. What will you do in the future? How can you remarry with a child?"

Lin Qiuran took a deep breath and said, "Let's talk about the future later. Let's focus on the present first."

Mrs. Liu was so anxious that she almost fainted. She widened her eyes and said, "You will regret it sooner or later! How could I have given birth to someone so stubborn like you?"

Lin Qiuran patted Liu's hand and said, "Mom, if you're really worried about me, when someone in Linjia Village holds a banquet, please ask if they need a chef. Did I manage the banquet for Xiao Xun's funeral well?"

Liu almost fainted. She stamped her feet and said, "You're really going to piss me off to death."

Liu stuffed the gift money in and left, clearly furious. Lin Qiuran could sense that Liu was genuinely worried about her, fearing she would have no future. But with a sister-in-law at home, everything depended on Yu, and she didn't know who she would marry when she returned.

The guests had mostly left, and Mrs. Sun began to clear the dishes. Some of the utensils were borrowed from neighbors and would have to be returned after washing. Lin Qiuran wanted to help, but Mrs. Sun refused, "You've been busy all morning. I'll do it. You can go and rest."

Lin Qiuran nodded, sat aside to rest, and talked to Sun, "Mom, are there many people in the county town? Are there many people buying things?"

Sun said, "It's okay in the morning. There are quite a lot of people."

Lin Qiuran asked, "Mom, what are the vendors selling?"

Sun thought for a moment and said, "Meat and vegetable breakfast...but I don't have any chicks for sale. I'll ask if anyone in the village can raise some and exchange them for a few."

Lin Qiuran thought for a moment and said, "Mom, I want to cook the remaining fish and let you and Dad take it to the city to sell. How do you think the fish we had for lunch tastes? If it works, let's give it a try."

Since he still couldn't find a way to make money preparing banquets, he had to think of other ways to make money. Lin Qiuran thought selling fish would be a good option.

She looked at Sun eagerly. Actually, Sun didn't eat much at noon, but she looked at the empty plate in her hand, which had nothing in it.

He ate it all up, soaking the rice in the soup. Even though there wasn't much good food in the village, Lin Qiuran's fish was delicious. The meat was tender and flavorful, and the fish didn't fall apart. Sun's fish used to be broken into pieces and had an earthy smell.

Sun said, "It tastes good, Qiuran. You are in charge of all matters at home. You can cook it if you want. Just don't get too tired."

Lin Qiuran was happy. As long as Sun was willing to go to the county town, it would be fine. She said, "It's okay. I don't feel anything right now. I won't do it if I'm tired."

After washing the dishes, Sun gave all the gift money she had received to her. Each family gave a few cents, which was a total of more than a hundred copper coins.

Qian Lin Qiuran accepted it. She counted the remaining fish. She stewed one yesterday morning and ate five today, so there were still fifteen left.

Swimming happily in the barrel, she asked Sun and learned that carp sold for four cents a pound outside, and the ones Xiao Dashi had caught weighed nearly five pounds each. Lin Qiuran planned to sell them at double the market price after cooking them, so she could add more soup for free.

Selling fish was the easiest way to make money. Firstly, there were too many fish to eat, and catching them was free, saving even the capital. Secondly, it was too early to wait for the village banquet. If she made something to sell in the county, maybe someone would think her cooking was good and ask her to cook.

Although she came to the village, she didn't want to stay here for the rest of her life. Since she decided to give birth to the child, she had to make long-term plans.

Could it be that the child would just play in the mud in the village after he was born? That was definitely not an option. Lin Qiuran planned to send the child to school. However, the money he had collected these days was still not enough to buy a house in the county town.

Lin Qiuran wanted to make money. The Xiao family had land, but it wasn't much, and farming wasn't profitable. If Xiao Xun were still around, she could still hunt, but now she had to rely on herself.

The next morning, Lin Qiuran asked Sun to kill the fish, and then he cleaned it carefully, especially the black film on the fish's belly. Once it was cleaned, it would not taste fishy.

She roasted six today, put them in a wooden barrel, and asked Sun and Xiao Dashi to push it to the county town.

Before the two of them left, Lin Qiuran instructed, "Mom, I stewed some vegetables in there. They taste similar to the fish. You can give them to the guests to try. If you really can't sell all the food, come back. Don't wait around. It's hot and it will spoil easily. If you can't sell all the food, we can go back and eat it at home."

Sun and Xiao Dashi nodded and pushed the cart to the county town.

Lin Qiuran stayed at home, thinking about what else she could do. She was pregnant now, and although she had no reaction, she couldn't be too tired, so it would be best to cook at home and let Sun's Xiao Dashi sell it after it was done.

Fortunately, Sun and Xiao Dashi listened to her, but she didn't know how the fish would sell today and whether they could make money.

By the afternoon, when the two still hadn't returned, Lin Qiuran felt a little anxious, wondering if they hadn't sold out and would have to wait forever. If she had known this, she would have gone with them.

After sitting at the door for a while, Lin Qiuran saw someone pushing a cart back in the distance. It was Sun and Xiao Dashi.

Lin Qiuran quickly stood up, opened the door, and let the two people push the cart in. She didn't rush to ask, because she saw the joy on Sun's face, and even if she didn't sell all of them, she probably sold a few.

After closing the door, Lin Qiuran asked softly, "Mom, how is it?"

Sun smiled and said, "We sold them all. One jin was eight wen, so the total was two hundred and fifty-four wen! I also bought a chicken to stew for you to nourish your body. I wanted to buy you breakfast, but I came back so late and was afraid it would spoil. But I bought some other things. Look, there are grapes and watermelon. You can eat them later."

At first, Sun didn't have much hope, thinking that Lin Qiuran's price was too high. Every household could make this food, and according to the villagers' mindsets, they would not go out to buy it even if their own food was not tasty.

She originally wanted to coax Lin Qiuran, and at most she could bring it back to eat, but it went surprisingly smoothly.

The two walked quickly and the fish was still hot when they arrived at the county town. As soon as they arrived in the morning, people came to ask about the aroma. Sun said to them, "This is braised fish made at home. You can take it back and heat it up for lunch."

Although it's twice as expensive as a live fish, you don't have to cook it yourself. Live fish have internal organs and scales that are charged for, but a cooked fish doesn't weigh you down, and you don't have to cook it yourself or spend money on seasoning. The dishes cooked together are also delicious, so I bought one when I first asked.

One after another, they were sold for so much money.

More than two hundred coins, this is not comparable to picking up a Ganoderma lucidum and selling it for ten taels of silver. This was done by Lin Qiuran, and she and Xiao Dashi also contributed.

The fish sold quite quickly, but it took a long time on the road. Moreover, Sun sold the fish and also bought chicken and fruit, so he was late.

Lin Qiuran said, "There are still nine left. Burn them for me tomorrow. Mom, you two can go to the county town again."

Sun nodded. "Okay, how about asking your father to go to the river tomorrow morning to see if there are any fish?"

Lin Qiuran nodded, but didn't hold out much hope, as it was impossible to catch fish every day.

Sun smiled and said, "You must be waiting impatiently. I'll stew a chicken for you... or you can come over. You cook delicious chicken."

Sun wanted to do it, but her skills were not as good as Lin Qiuran's, and she was afraid that the chicken would be wasted.

Lin Qiuran said, "Let's cook it tonight. I left some food for you. Have you eaten yet?"

Xiao Dashi remained silent. Sun smiled awkwardly, "You're back now, right? Why would you need to spend that money?"

Lin Qiuran looked at the things in the car—all bought for her. Sun and Xiao Dashi hadn't eaten. She said, "When we go again tomorrow, you should buy some food outside. Otherwise, if you tire yourself out, you won't be able to go again."

Sun nodded. "It's okay. I'm not hungry. Take this money. I bought the chicken for thirty-one coins, and spent six coins on other things. I still have two hundred and seventeen coins."

Lin Qiuran counted out seventeen coins and said, "I'll take the bulk, and you can use the rest for food. You can't go out without money."

Now all the family money is with her, but Lin Qiuran didn't put it all together. This money was also put away separately, considered as the family's earnings. Qiuran planned to save the rest carefully and return it if anything happened in the future.

Of course, if they live together in the future and need money, Lin Qiuran will not care whose money it is and will definitely use it all.

Sun nodded and said, "Okay, your father and I can't make it back in time, so we'll just eat something outside."

Xiao Dashi smiled. He was very happy today. Xiao Xun was dead, but the child was still alive, so he had to move on. But sometimes he couldn't help but think that it would be better if Xiao Xun was still alive.

Xiao Dashi could only assume that Xiao Xun was fighting outside and had not returned.

In the evening, Sun slaughtered the chicken, cleaned it and gave it to Lin Qiuran.

Lin Qiuran looked at the chicken, wondering how to eat it. He'd had enough of it stewed in clear sauce, and braised chicken was good, but he'd just had braised fish. He didn't have many spices at home, so making braised chicken or a big plate of chicken wouldn't work.

Lin Qiuran didn't want to eat anything too greasy either. She remembered wandering around the village that day. There was a river in the village with lotus flowers in it.

Lin Qiuran: "Mom and Dad, please get me some lotus leaf loess. I'll make lotus leaf chicken tonight."

First marinate the chicken, then stuff some vegetables into its belly. The lotus leaf chicken is light in taste, and the skin turns yellow as it is cooked for a long time. The chicken is softer and more rotten than stewing or roasting, and it has the fragrance of lotus leaves after cooking, so it must be delicious.

Sun had never heard of this way of eating, but she still agreed, "Okay, your father and I will go right away."

Sun asked Xiao Dashi to pick lotus leaves while she dug the soil. Xiao Dashi doubted whether they could be eaten.

Sun said, "Why do you care whether it's edible or not? It's not for you to eat. Go pick some lotus leaves quickly."

Xiao Dashi complained that it was too much trouble and quickly went to the river. While the two of them were doing this, Lin Qiuran marinated the chicken, dug a pit in the yard, and piled up a few stones to make a kiln, intending to roast the chicken here later.

The two of them came back together. Sun asked if she needed help. Lin Qiuran shook her head and first wrapped the chicken with a layer of lotus leaves, and then covered it with a layer of yellow mud. That was almost it.

You can't use fire to burn it, you have to burn charcoal, so you burn wood in the kiln first. When the fire is about to go out, put the chicken in and watch it to make sure the charcoal doesn't burn out.

She was doing this outside while Sun was cooking dinner inside. She divided it into two types: she and Xiao Dashi had two kinds of rice porridge, and she made rice for Lin Qiuran separately.

Lin Qiuran mentioned this several times, but it was of no avail. Since it was made, just eat it. It was a thoughtful gesture after all.

As the sun set, the lotus leaf chicken was ready. Lin Qiuran dug it out, but waited for a while for fear of getting too hot before he knocked off the mud on the outside.

As soon as I cracked it open, I smelled the aroma of chicken. When I tore open the lotus leaf, I found that the chicken skin inside had been burnt yellow.

Lin Qiuran tore the lotus leaf chicken into pieces and brought it to the table, but Sun and Xiao Dashan didn't take a bite. The chicken was bought by Sun for Lin Qiuran, and she and Xiao Dashan didn't need to replenish their bodies.

Lin Qiuran picked up a chicken drumstick. The chicken was tender and fragrant, with a hint of lotus leaf fragrance. "Mom and Dad, you guys should eat some too. It's hot now, so just leave me a drumstick for tomorrow morning."

Sun nodded and started to pick up the meat, but she only ate the chicken heads and the ones with a lot of bones. She would not eat anything else no matter what.

I will eat it when life gets better.

Lin Qiuran had a full dinner and walked around for a few laps after dinner. The next morning, she didn't rush to get up. She just wanted to go there before noon after the fish was cooked. Besides, she had to wait for Xiao Dashi to come back with the fish.

Lin Qiuran had never heard Sun mention that she used to make a living by fishing. She thought Xiao Dashi would not be able to catch anything. "Dad, how are you today?"

The author has something to say:

----------------------

[Panda head][Starry eyes]