This is Qingxia Village.
Without further ado, Chen Gui found Da Cheng's father and surrounded the Eight-Zhang River with a perimeter of about ten zhang. Under his command, Chen Gui, Chen Qingshan, Chen Xian, and Da Cheng's father caught a lot of fish with fishing nets.
Da Cheng's father was very excited: "Not bad, not bad. I really didn't expect that even though our Bazhang River is dry, there are still some fish."
Most of them are small silver carp and crucian carp, each about the length of a palm and weighing less than half a pound.
There are also some crabs, lobsters, snails, and so on.
Looking at the lively fish with eager eyes, everyone chuckled and said, "Uncle Gui, how about we divide these few pounds among ourselves..."
After a busy morning, I weighed about fifty pounds if I didn't work.
Each of the four people can get about ten.
Chen Gui chuckled lightly: "Yes, throw them all into those areas you've fenced off."
Da Cheng's father was startled. "Uncle Gui, why is this? We catch fish to eat, and it's not easy for everyone to have a better meal. Isn't this all for nothing?"
Chen Gui said irritably, "Just do what I tell you to do, and you'll get your share of the benefits later..."
Da Cheng's father felt a pang of heartache. "Qingshan, you throw it away. I really can't bear to watch it; it breaks my heart..."
Chen Qingshan said speechlessly, "Look at your pathetic self. If people from the county really come in a few days, let me tell you... it's not impossible that our village will be eating fish every day from now on..."
Realizing he had let something slip, he quickly shut up.
Da Cheng's father asked in confusion, "What do you mean? Are you just bragging? You eat fish every day? What a load of crap!"
Chen Xian watched as the lively fish were thrown into the enclosure.
He chuckled and said, "Everything is ready, except for the east wind."
He looked at the fireflies flying around.
"Qingshan, have the children get some of that."
Chen Qingshan: "Will this work?"
Chen Gui: "Just do what I tell you to do. It's just for the kids to play with anyway, it'll only take a little effort."
These past few days.
The village was bustling with activity.
There was road repair, opera rehearsals, men taking children up the mountain to cut bamboo poles, children catching fireflies... Even Da Cheng's father would occasionally go fishing in the river with a net, but strangely enough, he often returned empty-handed.
The villagers kept teasing him, "Da Cheng's dad, didn't you say you were the best fisherman in the village? How come you didn't catch a single crucian carp?"
"You guys don't know anything!"
"Hehe, look, you've been hit where it hurts, haven't you?"
It's rare to see meat being cooked at Zhang Daguang's home.
He frowned and said, "Wife, add more oil. How can you stew chicken without oil? Otherwise it won't taste good!"
Dog's mother sneered, "You're just asking for trouble. If you ask me, even boiled meat is delicious. Why put so much oil in it? What a waste..."
Zhang Daguang grumbled, "You won't stop washing the pot from now on, will you? You'll just keep using this pot to cook, making six or seven meals a day. All that oil will be used up, not a drop will be wasted..."
Dog's mother was speechless: "It's one way, but I don't know what's wrong with you. You insisted on buying chickens from the neighboring village of Hongye, and you even bought five at once, all of them roosters. What's the point of buying them? They don't lay eggs. You killed one as soon as you got them. How can we live like this? They cost eight or nine coins a pound, and this meal cost more than twenty coins."
Gou Sheng grumbled, "Mom, when the meat is ready, don't eat any of it, give it all to me! I love it... and my wife loves it too!"
"You good-for-nothing, you've forgotten your mother after getting married!"
He angrily threw the shovel down.
"Do it yourself!"
Zhang Daguang was dumbfounded, but he gritted his teeth and did it anyway.
And you know what? Even a regular free-range chicken, stir-fried in hot oil with just a little salt, tastes absolutely amazing when stewed.
It smells delicious.
The neighbor, Gou Dan's mother, said speechlessly, "It's not like it's New Year's. What is Zhang Daguang's family doing? They really don't know how to manage their money!"
After cooking the chicken.
Zhang Daguang snorted, "Come here, all of you. Do you really think I'm a glutton? Use your brains and think about it. Why did Uncle Gui ask us to raise chickens, ducks, and geese? Besides keeping them for our own eggs, who else would we feed them to?"
Dog's mother sneered, "Of course it's when relatives come to visit, otherwise who would it be given to!"
Zhang Daguang slammed his hand on the table: "That's right! I reckon some people might be coming to our village soon..."
Upon hearing this, the Zhang family members were somewhat puzzled.
"Then why doesn't Uncle Gui just say it directly?"
"That's the problem. Uncle Gui probably thinks these guests from out of town might not come. He's not entirely sure!"
“If he really asks us to buy some chickens, ducks and geese, and those people don’t come, then those stingy folks in the village won’t blame him.”
Gou Sheng's mother's eyebrows twitched.
"Honey, you're so smart! Didn't you want to buy Gou Dan's chickens back then? But Qingshan stopped you!"
Zhang Daguang smiled smugly, "I saw through Uncle Gui's plan at a glance. I think I'm the smartest person in this village!"
The son complained, speechless, "Dad, can you stop nagging? Are we even going to eat this meat? I'm starving!"
"Eat, eat, eat! You're like a starving ghost reincarnated! Can't you be a little more ambitious? Your father's analysis is all very practical. Learn from it!"
Zhang Daguang continued, "Everyone, behave yourselves! Carefully taste our chicken and see if there's anything lacking. Otherwise, if the villagers really come, and the dishes we cook don't taste good, how will we make money!"
The whole family nodded in unison, a rare occurrence.
"So that's what Dad was planning! No wonder we stewed chicken today. Dad is really clever!"
"That's right!"
Under the dim light of an oil lamp, the small farm family ate some meat and chatted idly. The oil lamp flickered and soon the night deepened.
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