There's a morning market at the village entrance every other day, where most of the vendors sell their own produce, fruits, vegetables, pork, lamb, chicken, and duck. If you go early, you can buy everything.
At first, the Sun family was poor, and Sun Miao'er would never have dared to dream of going to such a morning market. Now that she has some money, she can grit her teeth and go to the morning market. Although she still can't afford poultry, she can still find some fresh and tender vegetables.
Sun Miao'er clutched the five copper coins given to her by Old Lady Sun, just enough to buy two kinds of vegetables, and also bought two coins' worth of wine as Old Lady Sun had instructed.
"How much is this fish, sir?" Sun Miao'er asked. The big carp in the bucket looked very plump, but unfortunately it was belly up and barely moving.
The fisherman stopped cleaning the fish, turned to look at the bucket, and didn't even bother to give Sun Miao'er a glance. "Three coins."
"So expensive? This fish is almost dead. Who would buy a dead fish?" Sun Miao'er looked at the big carp with longing, but unfortunately she only had one copper coin left. She thought about bargaining with the fisherman.
The fisherman waved his hand, "Buy it or don't, it's up to you. Don't block my way!"
Sun Miao'er refused to give up and stepped aside, squatting down next to the stall. Several people came to buy fish, but none of them took a liking to the big flower carp. Seeing that the big flower carp was getting worse and worse, Sun Miao'er felt that she was about to get the fish.
"I can't do anything with you, here's two coins for you!" Seeing this, the fisherman scooped the fish out of the bucket and raised his hand to kill it.
Sun Miao'er shook her head, making a helpless expression, "Uncle, I only have one coin left."
She opened her palm to show the fisherman what little she had left. The fisherman's eyes narrowed, and he threw the fish back into the bucket. "Pah, pah, pah! I'm losing out big time selling it to you for a penny. Hurry up and go, girl!"
Who knew that if the fisherman hadn't thrown it, things would have been better. The big carp, which was already belly up, struggled in the bucket with all its might for a couple of seconds before finally going lifeless and slowly floating to the surface.
"Ha, old man, the fish isn't moving!" Sun Miao'er pointed to the motionless big carp in the bucket. She had finally managed to catch it. You know, she used to be able to wait for three days and three nights, from when the supermarket opened until when it closed, just for a half-price king crab. Let alone a fish that was about to die.
The fisherman had no choice but to scoop the fish out again. Dead fish were worthless, and he was just trying to make a penny from the girl while he could. "Fine, fine, I'm losing money already. Take it!"
Sun Miao'er carried the fish with satisfaction. Today's harvest was quite fruitful. However, since she got it for a penny, the fisherman didn't kill the fish for her. She would have to put in more effort herself when she got home.
As Sun Miao'er passed by a willow grove, the incessant chirping of cicadas filled the air. She walked under the willow trees to avoid the sun, and when she looked up, a cicada that had just molted was hanging right above her head, its chirping making her eardrums ache.
"Scream again, and I'll eat you up!"
Sun Miao'er covered her ears and yelled at the big, fat cicada. As she yelled, a thought flashed through her mind: eat it? Wait, she suddenly remembered that she had eaten fried cicadas several times before. These things were very common in Fushui Village, so it seemed that the people here did not eat them.
But Sun Miao'er knew that cicadas, after being deep-fried until crispy and sprinkled with simple spices, were very delicious, especially the tender meat in the head, which had a strong bean flavor. Moreover, it was said that this thing was also very nutritious and suitable for nourishing the body.
As she was thinking, Sun Miao'er unconsciously swallowed, tilted her head back, raised her hand, and swatted the chirping cicada down, putting it into a small bamboo basket. Looking around, there were quite a few cicadas on the willow tree, but she had to choose the ones that had just molted to be fresh and tender; the old ones wouldn't taste good.
Counting the days, it was just the time when cicadas molted in large numbers. Sun Miao'er put down the vegetables and fish she was holding, hugged the tree trunk, and kicked her legs upwards. The willow tree was not very tall, and the bark was rough. She was able to climb up the tree and touch the branches in no time.
Once up in the tree, it was time for her to show off her skills. She would snap a picture of one cicada here, and another would come to her from there. In no time, her small bamboo basket was full of cicadas. The cicadas gathered in a closed space and chirped noisily.
When Fu Yuchi arrived home, he had already gone to the Sun family's house.
"Grandma Sun, I'm going to give you acupuncture treatment now." She was still wearing a long robe, but today it was light blue.
Grandma Sun looked around but her granddaughter didn't appear. She hesitated to let Fu Yuchi use the needle, asking, "Where did this girl go? Why hasn't she come back yet?"
Just as Grandma Sun was worrying, she heard Sun Miao'er's voice from outside, "Xiaoman, go and clean the fish."
Grandma Sun's brows relaxed, and she placed a hand on Fu Yuchi's wrist. "Doctor Fu, it's getting late. Why don't you stay at my house? We'll treat you to lunch, and then you can see the doctor after you've eaten."
So that's what Grandma Sun was thinking. Fu Yuchi didn't want to trouble her anyway. "Grandma Sun, I still have to..."
"Yu Chi, if you don't give this old woman face, I'll turn against you!" Old Mrs. Sun said seriously. She thought Doctor Fu was very reliable and had a skill. Even if they couldn't get married, it would be good to find someone for Miao'er to rely on in the future.
After all, once he passes away, Miao'er will have no one left to rely on.
Fu Yuchi couldn't refuse, so he had no choice but to stay.
The two siblings were in the courtyard.
"Sister, what a fat carp! It looks delicious!" Xiaoman said as she washed the fish, making no attempt to hide her desire to have it all to herself.
Sun Miao'er poured the cicadas she had caught out of the bamboo basket. These cicadas had to be drowned in water before being put into the oil fryer.
Hearing the cicadas chirping, Xiaoman leaned over and incredulously picked one up, asking, "Why is Sister catching these big, fat cicadas?"
"Cooking," Sun Miao'er replied without hesitation.
Sun Xiaoman hurriedly loosened her grip, and the fat cicada hopped a long way off the ground. "Sister, how do you eat this thing?"
He had always had unwavering faith in his older sister's culinary skills, but today, when she told him that cicada nymphs were edible, a strange sense of panic welled up inside him. He had never heard of such a thing being edible.
"Don't you trust your sister? It's so delicious, you might not have enough to eat." Sun Miao'er caught the cicada that had escaped at the last minute and threw it into the water to soak.
Xiaoman shrank her neck and raised her eyebrows. "I won't eat that, no matter how delicious it is! I'll eat the big carp!"
"Okay, okay, you eat the big carp, and I'll eat the cicada nymphs, alright?"
Inside the house, Fu Yuchi heard words like "eating cicadas," and his handsome face furrowed slightly. He paused, writing a prescription. Outside the window, several magpies chattered, gradually drowning out the conversation between the siblings in the courtyard.
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