After waiting for quite a while, the eight people finally arrived. There was no other way; it would take at least two hours to get there and back, even if they just ran.

The men in the countryside are all strong; they can carry a full basket of fish weighing over 200 pounds with ease.

Zhang Hongmei was so tired when she got home that she didn't want to move. Er Lengzi took two large grass carp, each weighing seven or eight pounds.

"Hongmei, we'll make it tomorrow. We'll come over tomorrow morning to clean the rabbit and fish. You and Erya are both tired today. The canteen even saved some food for us, so hurry up and eat something and rest."

"Sister Er Ya, you can eat mine too. I'm not going. I'm too tired. After the excitement, all that's left is exhaustion."

"You're up to no good. I'll bring it over to you in a bit."

"No need, I can't eat anymore, you eat it all. I need to heat the kang (heated brick bed) to sleep."

After sending the two away, I quickly fed the rabbits that had opened their mouths. I squatted down by the rabbit hutch, watching them eat with relish, and muttered to myself, "Eat up, eat up, tomorrow it'll be your turn to eat."

Then I lit a fire to boil water and gave them hot water to drink.

She locked the door, went into her room, took a shower, and went to sleep. Zhang Hongmei wasn't really hungry; she'd wait until she was well-rested before treating herself.

I woke up, ate my fill, and harvested another batch of soybeans. Then I didn't plant any more. People need to rest, and the land needs to rest too! (Isn't this just an excuse for being too lazy?)

The next morning, Er Ya and Zhu Zi came over and gave Er Ya a bowl of goat milk. Zhu Zi refused to drink it, saying that it was embarrassing for a grown man to drink milk.

Er Lengzi and his five friends arrived as well. Da Shan, limping, was carrying a half-full basin of tofu. Everyone suppressed a laugh. "Da Shan, did you sprain your ankle last night?"

"Erlinzi, get out of here! You're everywhere. You just want to see me make a fool of myself? I'll let you see enough."

Er Ya was peeling potatoes. "My dad said he'd give each of us fifty centimeters and two fish each."

"Such a good thing?" Shuangcun was excited. These fifty centimeters could be exchanged for nearly ten yuan.

Everyone was chatting, but their hands were busy. Er Lengzi killed the rabbit and skinned it, Zhuzi carried water, Dashan scraped the fish scales and cleaned it, Shuangcun washed it, and Erlinzi chopped it into pieces.

Zhang Hongmei was scooping rice from the kitchen. Six strong young men were eating, and the amount of rice alone was eight large bowls. If one pot wasn't enough, they'd use two.

After Er Ya finished peeling the potatoes, she came over to start the fire. Anyway, the yard was bustling with activity, and no one was idle.

Zhu Zi brought the clean steamer into the kitchen, and Zhang Hongmei laid a cloth on it and scooped the rice onto it. She then covered the pot with the lid and placed it on the table.

Clean both pots thoroughly, put water in one of them, and the rabbit meat will need to be blanched in a while.

The rabbit was chopped and washed first, but the water hadn't boiled yet. Zhang Hongmei asked Zhu Zi to peel the garlic, while she prepared the chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, bay leaves, and cardamom.

Once the water boils, add the rabbit meat and cook until it turns white. Use a strainer to drain the water and then remove the meat and place it in a bowl.

The oil in the other pot is also hot. Add the prepared seasonings and sauté until fragrant. Then add the rabbit meat and stir-fry.

I stir-fried all the moisture out before adding soy sauce, because there were other people in the kitchen and I couldn't add any other seasonings, so this was the only way.

All the rabbit meat was coated with soy sauce, then stir-fried for a while, a little white wine was added to remove the fishy smell, and it was stir-fried for a while longer. Then the boiling water that had been reserved was poured in, the steamer was covered, and the meat was started to stew.

"Hongmei's cooking is so good, my mouth is watering."

"You good-for-nothing. Hurry up and take the fish inside."

Er Ya also finished washing the other pot. Zhang Hongmei poured in soybean oil, and Er Ya's heart clenched as she watched. How much oil was that?

Because the fish was big, it was cut into five sections. Er Ya was in charge of coating the fish, Zhu Zi was in charge of the fire, and Zhang Hongmei was in charge of frying the fish.

The scallions, garlic, chili peppers, and bay leaves were all prepared. Only after all the fish were fried until golden brown on both sides were the seasonings added: white wine, brown sugar, vinegar, and soy sauce. The pot was covered and simmered for a while. Then hot water was added, the steamer basket was placed on top, the pot lid was put on, and we just waited.

Er Ya cut the potato into quarters and put them in a bowl, waiting to add them to the rabbit meat later.

Twenty minutes later, salt was added to both pots, along with potatoes.

Zhang Hongmei came out of the kitchen; several young men were tidying up the yard. "Not bad, I'll cook for them again next time."

"How should we eat tofu? Should we put it in fish? Or mix it with scallions? Or stew it with cabbage?"

"Hey girl, who would eat cabbage and tofu stew if there's meat? How about we put it in the fish instead?"

"Okay!"

They came running over as soon as they finished clearing away the stones. "Hey, Er Lengzi, my dad wants you guys over. He'll be giving you work points and fish later."

"Bring Er Lengzi back for me," Zhang Hongmei's voice came from the kitchen.

"Stone, ask Mom to go get it for me."

The remaining six young men went to the brigade headquarters with Shi Tou.

The cafeteria didn't serve fish today; they'll have to wait until the 23rd of the lunar calendar (the day before the Lunar New Year). These guys were secretly relieved, thankful they'd brought home two big fish last night. They could finally satisfy their cravings today.

It was breakfast time and everyone was there. When Wang Hongxi saw them arrive, he coughed and said, "As you all know, it was these eight who caught the fish last night. After discussion, the village decided to give each of them fifty centimeters and two fish."

No one had any objections. As long as they had fish to eat, that was enough; if someone were to sell it, it wouldn't be worth this little bit of money.

The group had already told Wang Hongxi in the morning that they wouldn't be eating in the cafeteria, so no food was prepared for the eight of them.

Shi Tou carried the two fish that his second sister had given him and ran home quickly. He put them in the big vat in the yard and covered it with the lid to prevent stray cats and dogs from taking them away.

The remaining five people also took their fish home. Er Lengzi carried the four fish from the snakeskin bag back to Zhang Hongmei's house.

"I'm giving you all four of these fish, Hongmei."

"You can keep yours for yourself, or should I stew it for you?"

"No need. Didn't you want to make it into pickled fish to give away? Besides, I don't particularly like eating fish."

"Okay, I'll treat Brother Er Lengzi to stewed pork then."

"That's great. You have to treat me to two meals before I leave."

"no problem."

Zhang Hongmei wanted to send pork and fish to Zhang Xingguo, but since the silly boy had given them to her, she sent him two grass carp and one carp. She only needed one carp for herself, and another twenty catties of meat should be enough.

All five people returned, and none of them came empty-handed. Some brought pine mushrooms, others wood ear mushrooms—all local mountain products. This added two more items to the things they were sending to Zhang Xingguo.

Zhang Hongmei didn't stand on ceremony with them; it wouldn't be good to be too distant.

The tofu has already been added to the fish pot, and we're just waiting to eat it soon.

Zhang Hongmei picked up a piece of rabbit meat and let Er Ya taste it to see if it was tender.

After turning off the fire, they waited another five minutes before opening the lid. Zhang Hongmei ladled out a bowl of rabbit meat, a piece of fish, and a bowl of rice, put them in the steamer, and had Er Lengzi take them to her great-grandmother.

The main idea was to make Er Lengzi well-liked by the old lady, so that if he really joined the army, he would have someone to protect him.