"Stone, your parents won't be back for a few more days. Let's prepare the fish, meat, and chicken first."

"Go ask Da Shan's dad for a fishing net tomorrow morning; the three of us will go up the mountain tomorrow."

“Grandpa, Grandpa, let’s go too.” As soon as Ping’an heard that they were going up the mountain, he immediately put down his bowl and looked at Liu Aimin with bright eyes.

"Grandpa, I'll go too. I promise I'll be good. I practice my kung fu every day, really."

Pengfei also looked at Liu Aimin with longing.

"Alright, alright, everyone go. Call a few more people tomorrow."

The children were delighted, and the adults, seeing their smiles, thought to themselves that they were willing to go to great lengths to help.

"Grandpa, I can come along too. I'll take care of the three of them." Seeing how eager the children were, Liu Xu naturally wanted to grant their wish.

"Okay, okay, go ahead."

After dinner, they went home. "Auntie, we'll just cook for ourselves at home tomorrow."

"Okay, whatever you say is fine." Hu Aifen had no objections; she was happy with whatever she said.

Back home, Liu Jianguo and his brother shared a room with their three children, while Liu Xu had her own room. It was too cold upstairs, so they would light a fire next door tomorrow.

The next morning, Liu Xu got up early, but she was really bad at cooking, so Liu Jianguo took over in the end.

Knowing they were going up the mountain today, the children got up early and practiced their skills with the stones in the yard.

Breakfast consisted of rice porridge, pickled vegetables, and a stir-fried cabbage dish. There were also pancakes and fried dough sticks made by Er Ya. Anyway, the children ate their fill.

There were plenty of cabbages, radishes, squash, and sweet potatoes in the cellar, which were probably all planted and harvested with the help of Liu Aimin and his wife.

When the family of six arrived at the old lady's house, Hu Aifen prepared pancakes for them to eat at noon.

Stone also brought a small pot, so he could at least provide hot water for the children.

Da Shan's father arrived with three people, chatting and laughing, to gather in the group.

Liu Jianguo introduced the children and asked them to say hello.

Everyone likes well-behaved and polite children.

The three children beamed with joy at the praise.

Because it hadn't snowed yet, Liu Aimin was in a hurry to go up the mountain; otherwise, it would have been too dangerous.

They carried machetes, pickaxes, sickles, and other implements on their backs, but each person, whether child or adult, carried a basket.

We chatted and laughed all the way, and didn't feel too tired.

Cheng Zhiyuan held Liu Aimin's hand and asked, "Grandpa, did my third brother and the others go fishing too?"

"Yes, they also hunted wild boars."

When can I be with Third Brother and the others?

Cheng Zhiyuan was genuinely envious. Ping An, listening from the side, laughed, "Zhiyuan, your kung fu isn't up to par. Third Brother will definitely not take you under his wing."

"I'll definitely practice hard when I get back. I'll definitely ask my third brother to train me next time."

By the time we reached the pond, it was already past ten o'clock. We gathered firewood from the willow catkins and boiled water so the children could have hot water to drink.

"Stone, your wife is really good. She's patient, good to the children, and will definitely turn out well in the future." Da Shan's father had a very good impression of Liu Xu.

"Hehe, yes, he has a good temper."

"Stone, let me tell you, you can't bully someone just because they have a good temper, understand?"

"Don't worry, Uncle, I won't."

The men dug holes in the ice, and the three children were eager to try as well.

Liu Aimin and Liu Jianguo went to cut down trees. They'll need them for a while.

It took another two hours to finally set the two fishing nets.

The hot water and flatbread on Liuxu's side are also ready.

Several people sat around the fire eating.

"Second Uncle, let's go hunt rabbits and pheasants."

My third brother said there are many wild animals here. Would you take us to try it out?

"Okay, but we only have one hour. We need to come back and set up the net. Otherwise, it will get dark and we won't be able to see the way home."

"Okay, we promise to be obedient."

Liu Xu and Liu Jianguo went along too. And sure enough, they actually saw pheasants. Seeing the three children eager to try, Shi Tou handed them over.

Their kung fu skills weren't for nothing; catching pheasants was no problem for them. Their first victory boosted their confidence.

They then caught two more rabbits. One of them was even shot by Zhiyuan. The little guy was so smug, you can't even describe it.

"Alright, we should head back now. We'll be hauling in the nets soon; I wonder if we'll have any catches," Stone said with a smile, calling to the three of them.

When Da Shan's father and the others saw that they had made some progress, they praised the three of them, which made Zhiyuan even more smug.

"Alright, it's time to haul in the nets. I just looked around and there are fish. Let the three of you see our big fish." Liu Aimin stood up, and everyone carried baskets and went down onto the ice.

The job of pulling up the nets was done by Da Shan's father; he was a skilled fisherman.

They pulled it up little by little. Finally, they saw the fish! The children were overjoyed. Looking at the large, silvery fish, wriggling and jumping around, Zhiyuan wanted to pounce on it.

Watching the grandfathers squat down to sort the nets, I was particularly envious, and Ping An very observantly handed me a basket.

Two hours later, the fishing nets were all pulled up, and the harvest was quite good. There were eight grass carp, four common carp, seven silver carp, and one large bighead carp.

It was quite a haul. "Hehe, we're lucky with Shitou. Last time I came, I waited all day and only got three silver carp. Now we have enough fish for the banquet."

Everyone chatted and laughed as they descended the mountain. Once home, Liu Jianguo said to his uncles, "We're not very good at cooking, but when my parents come back, we'll treat you to drinks."

"What's with the formalities? We're all family here. Hurry up, raise the living ones, and freeze the dead ones in the yard."

Sure enough, only one silver carp died. The two brothers moved two large vats out of the storeroom, filled them with water, and kept it alive.

"I don't think the stone will survive either. We have too few tanks, but the fish are big and there are too many of them."

"That's all we can do. Let them freeze after they die."

The willow catkins are being used to start a fire and boil water. The children need a good foot bath.

Dinner was rice porridge again. The children had been very active today, and after eating their fill, they started to feel sleepy.

The next day, he woke up full of energy again, "Cousin, Big Brother, let's go to Great-Grandma's house and ask Grandpa if he's still going out to play?"

"Grandpa and my second uncle went to the market today."

"I want to go too."

The three children discussed it and decided to go find Liu Xu, knowing that their second aunt and second maternal aunt would definitely agree.

"Sure, you can go, but you two must take good care of Zhiyuan. There are a lot of people at the market, so don't let him get lost," Shi Tou instructed the three of them.

"Second Uncle, I will definitely take good care of my younger brothers."

"Okay, let's go then. We'll ride in your grandpa's van, it can hold a lot. We're going to buy eggs, chickens, ducks and stuff."

"Second Uncle, we've never ridden in an oxcart before!"

"No, it's too cold, I'm afraid you'll catch a cold. Let's drive instead."

The group got into the car and headed to the market in Dawan Village.

The children had never seen a large market before, so they were so excited, looking around with wide eyes.