As the distant commotion gradually faded away, Fu Wan guessed that Village Chief Fu must have resolved the matter.
Seeing that everything inside and out was neat and clean, Ye Xiaocui finally felt relieved.
Even though we live in the countryside, our home still needs to be clean and hygienic so that we don't let those city folks look down on us.
After the village chief dismissed everyone, he walked back to the door of his house with his hands behind his back, swaying back and forth.
Seeing that Fu Laoda's courtyard was clean and tidy, he, who had been the village chief for most of his life, sensed that something was amiss.
Something's up!
"Ahem, Gouwa, why is the yard so clean today? Are you getting ready for the New Year?"
The old village chief walked into the courtyard and clicked his tongue. He had seen a lot of bamboo tubes drying in the yard when he came in, but now they had been taken down.
The fishing nets that were drying in the sun are also gone.
In a fishing village, which household doesn't have fishing nets drying in their yard?
Fu Laoda turned his back to him and said, "Yeah, my family is preparing for the New Year. What's wrong with that?"
Village Chief Fu chuckled awkwardly. This old Fu was being sarcastic and was still angry that he had tried to smooth things over.
He couldn't do anything about it. To be honest, Old Lady Wang was just being sarcastic and it was at most a moral issue. The old village chief could only scold her a couple of times.
"Alright, alright, I've already scolded Old Lady Wang, and you heard what your aunt just yelled at you."
Don't act like you've taken a bullet. This old man has it tough too!
"Hmph, if she dares to do that again next time, just wait and see if I don't get my revenge!"
"Okay, I'll definitely make sure Fu Lao Er keeps a close eye on her mother, so there won't be a next time."
Now you can tell me what this is for, right?
Old Village Chief Fu smiled ingratiatingly. "People, they love gossip all their lives. There's something clearly happening right in front of you that you don't know about. That feeling is like having a claw scratching at your heart—it's incredibly uncomfortable!"
When Fu Wan saw the old village chief Fu acting like a child in the kitchen, she couldn't help but laugh.
"Father, just tell the village chief. He needs to know about this too!"
As the former village chief of Fu Family Village, it was of course his right to know that such a big event as the county committee was sending people to visit was happening.
"Then I'll tell you. Yesterday we caught a few enemy agents at sea, and they've already been taken away by the comrades at the camp."
This morning, we received news from both the camp and the fisheries administration that comrades from the county committee would be passing through our village this afternoon and would stop by for a visit.
"What, coming to our village!?"
The old village chief was so shocked that his voice rose eight octaves, and his beard stood on end.
Boss Fu raised his eyebrows smugly, "To be precise, they came to my house."
"What do you mean 'your home' and 'my home'? They're coming to our village!" Village Chief Fu was at a loss for what to do with his hands, and his face immediately lit up with a big smile.
"Oh no, I need to go back and change into clean clothes so I can greet the leaders later."
Oh, and by the way, I also need to make sure these people in the village behave properly for me; I can't scare the leaders!
The old village chief paced back and forth in Fu Wan's yard several times, muttering to himself for a while, before turning to look at Fu Wan in the kitchen, who was preparing mantis shrimp.
"Ah Wan, your father isn't kidding me, is he? This is a big deal, you can't joke about it!"
"Hey old man, why don't you believe me?"
Fu Laoda was so angry he laughed. The old village chief Fu didn't even glance at him, only staring longingly at Fu Wan.
Fu Wan felt a little embarrassed by his gaze, and immediately gave an affirmative answer.
"Oh, Village Chief, how could my father lie to you about something this important!"
It's true. I called Leader Zhao at the village committee early this morning and he said he would be coming over in the next couple of days.
My brother went to the camp early this morning to deliver some things, as Commander Sun mentioned this afternoon.
"We can't joke about something this big."
With Fu Wan's reply, Village Chief Fu was immediately relieved.
He waved to Fu Wan and Boss Fu, "Then I'll head back first. I need to explain things to the villagers!"
After saying that, he wiggled his old legs and left quickly without looking back.
"Hey, village chief..." Fu Wan had just filled a bowl with mantis shrimp, intending for the old village chief to take it back to his granddaughter, but he ran off so fast that she couldn't stop him at all.
Fu Laoda shook his head speechlessly, "Forget it, stop shouting. Awan, give it to me, I'll take it to him later."
One thing at a time. Although the old village chief tried to smooth things over today, Liu San Niang also acted as a mouthpiece for her own family.
Moreover, Fu Jian's daughter is really cute, so Fu Wan sent them such expensive mantis shrimp, and Fu Laoda and Ye Xiaocui had no objection.
There were only six mantis shrimp in the small bowl, but it was actually worth almost a dollar.
If it were pork, that would be a full two pounds.
After Boss Fu left, Fu Wan covered the prepared mantis shrimp with a basin.
After Fu Ming finished tidying up the backyard, Ye Xiaocui sent him to Fu Liang's house to pick up the cleaned squid.
"Ah Wan, help me carry that piece of bamboo strip over here!"
When Fu Wan heard Ye Xiaocui call out, she turned around and saw that her mother was pulling a long bamboo strip.
"Mother, where did you get such a big piece of bamboo strip?"
Fu Wan rushed over to help, and Fu Ling and Qin Mingzhu, hearing the commotion, also ran out.
"This was made with my grandma!"
Hearing Fu Ling's proud tone, Fu Wan was also very surprised.
Ye Xiaocui finally managed to drag the bamboo strips out and let out a long sigh of relief after putting them down.
“Lingling is right. These past few days you've been out at sea, and I've had nothing to do at home, so your aunt, Lingling, Mingzhu, and I made a bamboo drying rack at home.”
In layman's terms, bamboo strips are simply bamboo pieces. But the bamboo strips mentioned in Fujia Village are actually a mat-like thing made of hundreds or thousands of bamboo pieces folded and woven together.
This is perfect for drying things. It prevents items from being placed directly on dirty ground, and because it's made of bamboo, it dries things quickly and well.
Before the millennium, such handicrafts were quite common, but with the rapid development of technology, fewer and fewer people are willing to learn this craft.
However, Fu Wan was also very shocked. She had only been away for a day and a night, and Ye Xiaocui had actually made a bamboo strip that was nearly 1.6 meters long. She hadn't rested at home for even a moment!
As they were talking, Fu Ming returned carrying two buckets of squid. Seeing that the bamboo strips had already been taken out, Fu Ming understood what his mother meant.
"Mom, are all these squid dried to the bone?"
"Yes, hurry up, everyone set it up together, and while the sun is shining, let's set it up and put it in the backyard to dry!"
He put the carrying pole aside and resignedly began to place the squid from the bucket one by one onto the bamboo strips.
Drying squid is a meticulous task; each squid must be dried separately. If they are piled together, they will not dry evenly and are prone to mold and maggots.
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