The third brother, Li Aimin, opened the door and saw Niu Juxiang standing at the door. "Aunt, what's the matter?" "What's the matter? It's good news."
Niu Juxiang rushed into the yard while talking, and wanted to go to the kitchen to check. Zhang Xiuzhi stopped her, "Auntie, what's the matter? Tell me quickly, what are you going to the kitchen for?"
"What are you doing? I'm going to look for fish. You have fish at home. I can smell it," Niu Juxiang shouted loudly.
"Niu Juxiang, how did you smell that? There's no fish. Are you looking for trouble?" Niu Cuihua came out and sneered.
"I just smelled it. Do you dare let me go and see?" Niu Juxiang retorted.
"Why should I let you look? Why should I let you into my kitchen?" Niu Cuihua refused to give in.
There were two people arguing very loudly. It was cold and there were not many people outside, so the whole village could hear it. These days, it was not fun to lie down on the bed after a meal. In addition, people were not well fed, so they just lay on the kang all day long. When they heard someone arguing, they all ran out to watch the fun.
Old Man Li's eldest brother, Li Tiezhu, was also called in. As soon as Li Tiezhu entered the house, he saw the entire yard filled with people. Even a group of people were lying on the wall, watching the excitement without a care in the world.
Niu Cuihua and Niu Juxiang were still arguing, and several people trying to persuade them couldn't stop.
"What are you doing? Why don't you go to bed early after dinner? You must be feeling bloated, right?" Li Tiezhu asked anxiously as he entered the room.
"Yeah, Aunt Juxiang, why are you looking for trouble again?" someone in the crowd asked.
"Captain, I'm not the one causing trouble. It's Niu Cuihua. She stole fish from the river and I smelled them." Niu Juxiang answered sternly.
"That fish belongs to us all. She should share it with us all. Now we're all starving, and only they have delicious food and spicy drinks every day."
Niu Juxiang spoke too loudly, and Li Tiezhu's face was covered with spit.
Li Tiezhu wiped his face helplessly. "Where can we find fish these days? Besides, didn't we say in the previous meeting that although the fish in that river belong to everyone, anyone with the guts can catch one or two and take them home? You said her family eats fish, but did you actually see them fishing?"
"That's not the case," Niu Juxiang hummed back.
"It won't end, and you didn't see it. Why are you making such a fuss? If you cause trouble again, I'll deduct cents from your family's salary." Li Tiezhu shouted sternly.
When Niu Juxiang heard that her work points were going to be deducted, she was so scared that her face turned pale and she dared not say a word.
"You just stare at other people all day long. Why don't you work as hard as you do?" Li Tiezhu said nothing more after seeing Niu Juxiang like this.
"Everyone, go away and stop gathering around. Go home and do what you need to do. You've been sitting around all day with nothing to do. Why would you bother worrying about the farm work?"
After that, Li Tiezhu glared at Li Aiguo and walked out.
"Uncle, take care," Li Aiguo hurried out to see him off.
After hearing what the team leader said, a group of people hurried home in a group. Everyone felt a little resentful towards Niu Juxiang. It was such a cold day, but she didn't lie down on the kang to sleep. She was looking for trouble every day and wasting her energy.
Niu Juxiang saw that everyone had left, and her face felt a little unhappy. In the end, she didn't say anything and left reluctantly.
As soon as everyone left, Niu Cuihua hurriedly brought out the meal and asked the eldest son's wife to heat it up. The family closed the door, ate, washed up, and went to bed.
After lying on the bed, Li Aiguo said to Zhang Huilan, "Wife, this is not a solution. Whenever we eat something delicious, Aunt Juxiang comes to make trouble. Although uncle favors us, he is the team leader after all. It's okay once or twice, but if it goes on for a long time, the villagers will have complaints. We have to think of a way to make everyone stop eating something delicious."
Zhang Huilan also agreed with her husband's suggestion, "How about you talk to your uncle tomorrow and ask him to go to the river to take a look. You and your brother just caught some fish there, so there might be more."
"Okay, I'll talk to my uncle tomorrow. I'm not driving a car these days, and the New Year is almost here, so I'll stay at home with you and my daughter. You have to get up early tomorrow, so go to bed." Li Aiguo said as he reached out to tuck the quilt for his wife.
Li Mingxi heard his parents' discussion in the dark and agreed with it. After all, in this era, although most people are simple and kind, there are always some bad apples who can't bear to see others live well. From the overall perspective, it is better to lead the whole village to eat meat together.
As for the river my parents mentioned, I hope there are fish in it. After all, my mother needs nutrition to feed herself every day. If everyone eats meat, my mother can eat better. I just don’t know when I will be able to eat fish.
After dinner the next day, Li Aiguo went to his uncle's house.
"Uncle, you see, everyone is starving right now, and the New Year is almost here. I was thinking, why don't we go to the river to see if there are any fish so we can have a good meal."
Li Tiezhu looked at his nephew standing in front of him with a look of approval.
"I had the same idea. Everyone relies on eating good food during the Spring Festival all year round, but this year the harvest is poor. All the pigs raised in the village have been handed over, so there is no meat to eat. Now we can only rely on fishing to improve our lives. Fortunately, there is a river in our village. You can go door to door and tell everyone to bring basins to catch fish."
After receiving Li Tiezhu's instructions, Li Aiguo took a gong and started beating it while shouting, "Everyone, take your basins and go to the river to catch fish."
When Li Dashu heard about the fishing, he quickly came out and asked, "Aiguo, are you serious? Are we really going fishing?"
"Of course, my uncle said so. Let's hurry up and get our things to the river," Li Aiguo said to the expectant crowd.
When everyone heard the news, they hurried home to get their belongings. When Li Tiezhu arrived at the river, he saw that it was already crowded with people.
After all, no one had eaten meat for a long time, so they were very enthusiastic when they heard about catching fish. When they saw the team leader coming, they immediately made way for him. When Li Tiezhu stood in front of the crowd, he saw that everyone was looking at him with eagerness.
"Chinese New Year is coming soon. No matter if there are any fish in the river, we have to open it and see. Let's start now."
"Great!" A group of villagers were extremely excited. Although it was cold now and there might not be fish in the river, if there were some, wouldn't that be a chance?
Li Aiguo took the lead and led his family to the river to smash a big hole. After a while, he saw a group of fish swimming towards the hole.
Upon seeing this sight, the villagers exclaimed, "There are fish, there are fish."
Upon hearing this, Li Tiezhu immediately ordered several men in the village who could swim to come and catch the fish, and asked the others to stay away. After all, if too many people fell into the river, it would be too late to save them.
He asked the rest of the people to get basins and baskets, leaving only a few men to catch fish on the ice, and instructed a few others to transport the fish to the river bank.
The villagers were discussing, "How can there be fish? There are so few fish in this river in autumn. It's really strange!"
A villager replied, "Never mind. We've caught the fish, so we'll eat it. Who cares where it comes from?"
The men fishing, not minding the cold water, scooped up basin after basin, until all the basins and baskets were full and the fish were gone. Then everyone happily returned to the shore to wait for the captain's instructions.
The team leader first asked his son Li Jianye to lead a group of people with the fish to the team headquarters, and then made arrangements for everyone.
"Let's go to the brigade headquarters now to line up and share the fish," he said and left with the accountant Li Shuanzhu.
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