Chapter 24 Fishing 3
On this day, the entire Gu family was stunned. Later, they came to their senses and started to pick up the fish.
It would be impossible to eat so many fish in one go while they were fresh. Miao Xiujiu quickly made a distribution, clearing out a half-sized water tank and raising some of the fish in it. She would sell them at the market in a few days and make some money.
The rest were slaughtered while fresh and stewed into soup, and the whole family enjoyed a hearty meal first, while the rest were pickled in a pickle jar.
That night was the time for the Gu family to eat fish. Miao Xiujiu and several daughters-in-law were stewing fish in a big pot in the kitchen. They had stuffed the gaps in the kitchen with rags to prevent the aroma from escaping and being smelled by the neighbors.
Liu Guizhi was working hard to burn wood and pump the bellows. Miao Xiuju saw the heavy, old wooden lid of the pot was about to be lifted by the heat from inside and said, "It must be stewed."
As he spoke, he reached out and lifted the wooden lid of the pot. Inside was a whole pot of fish soup. Yellow oil droplets floated on the milky white soup. It was bubbling loudly, and the fish meat that was about to burst from the stew was faintly visible inside.
Miao Xiuju picked up a wooden spoon and scooped a little from it, tasted it, and then smacked her lips: "Delicious, really delicious!"
As he said this, he handed it to Shen Hongying who was watching him eagerly.
Shen Hongying quickly took it and drank a big gulp, almost burning her mouth. Finally, she blew the hot air on it and took a careful sip: "It's so delicious, so delicious!"
Liu Zhaodi was washing dishes nearby. Seeing this scene, she also wanted to have a taste immediately. However, after taking a bite, Shen Hongying actually wanted to have a second bite and had no intention of giving it to her at all. She was so greedy that she couldn't help swallowing her saliva.
Seeing Shen Hongying's greedy look, Miao Xiuju snatched the wooden spoon from Shen Hongying's hand and handed it to Liu Guizhi: "Stop bellowing, come and try it."
As he spoke, he scooped half a spoonful of soup from the pot, in which milky white fish meat was floating.
Shen Hongying and Liu Zhaodi beside them suddenly became jealous. Where is the fish meat...
Liu Guizhi tasted a little bit, then smiled and nodded vigorously.
Miao Xiuju greeted, "As long as it tastes good, don't try it yet. Tell the children to prepare the dishes and chopsticks. We're going to eat. Go and close the door tightly. And be quiet. Don't let anyone hear you eating this delicious food. We're eating fish and soup while others are eating dried sweet potatoes. It would be troublesome if someone gets conjunctivitis."
The daughters-in-law naturally thought that what their mother-in-law said made sense, and they hurried to do as she instructed. Soon, three large basins of hot fish soup and fish meat were placed on the table. The door was closed, and twenty-one people, big and small, gathered around, each taking a bowl and each getting half a cornmeal steamed bun.
Everyone held their bowls greedily, and saw scattered green coriander floating in the milky white fish soup, emitting a fresh and mellow aroma. Everyone couldn't help drooling, and while carefully blowing away the hot steam on it, they sipped it along the edge of the bowl.
"It's delicious! This soup is so fresh!"
"Fish is delicious too. There's a huge piece of fish in my bowl!"
"Yeah, I almost swallowed the assassination..."
The fish soup was so delicious, and the fish meat in it was also flavorful, like white mud that melted in the mouth. The whole family drank the soup and ate the fish meat in big gulps, and then took a bite of the cornmeal steamed buns that they usually couldn't bear to eat. It was an enjoyment they had never experienced in their life.
In my whole life, when has I ever eaten so freely like this? Even if I caught two or three fish, with twenty-one people in my family, I would just give some to the children, and the adults wouldn't even get a chance to eat a few bites, let alone eat as freely as I am now.
As Liu Zhaodi was eating, she suddenly wiped away her tears: "I never thought I would have such a blessing in my life..."
Shen Hongying glared at her: "Look at that!"
Niu Sanni couldn't help laughing: "It's delicious."
The other men beside them kept silent, slurping their soup with loud sounds, and sweat appeared on their foreheads in the cold weather.
The children also ate with great effort, wishing they could have enough in one go.
Miao Xiuju looked at the family and curled her lips. "There's plenty here, more than enough for you to eat. Don't act like starving ghosts! You're such a loser!"
Normally, she never speaks nicely, so even if she says this now, who cares? After all, what goes into your mouth is the good stuff.
After the meal, a large pot of fish soup was finished, and everyone's stomachs were full and their mouths were full of the delicious taste of fish.
After finishing the fish, Miao Xiuju started a meeting with everyone: "After eating, carry the fish bones and other things back to the mountains and throw them away. Don't let anyone see it, otherwise they will definitely ask questions. No one in the family is allowed to tell others that we ate fish like this, understand?"
Everyone wiped their mouths, savoring the fragrance just now, and naturally nodded one by one, without anyone saying no.
Miao Xiuju gave another order: "We ate to our heart's content today, but days like this don't come every day. We can't let you eat like this every day. If you're used to eating fish and meat, don't let yourself be unable to eat sweet potato steamed bread in the future."
Everyone laughed: "How could that be possible! What kind of life are we living on the farm? We are not the masters or mistresses of a landlord's family. How can we possibly eat fish and meat every day?"
Miao Xiuju nodded with satisfaction and began to distribute the fish: "We still have six baskets of fish. Let's keep one in a large vat and eat it slowly. We'll leave one basket and divide it into nine portions. Each of you four daughters-in-law can take one portion back to your parents' home so that they can also benefit from it. The remaining five portions can be given to your brothers to give to your uncles and aunts."
The daughters-in-law were stunned.
They didn't expect that they could still send gifts to their parents' home.
Miao Xiuju was filled with emotion when she thought about this: "We're poor, and we have so many children. We work in the fields, and there's not much left over from the whole year. We feel guilty and weak when we visit relatives, and no one looks down on us. Although we made a little money recently, we still have to think about saving it for the children's tuition. Now we've got such a large pile of fish, but if we sell it in a hurry, we may not get much. It's better to take it to visit relatives and let you sisters-in-law come back to your parents' home."
When the daughters-in-law heard this, their eyes turned red: "Mom, you are so thoughtful. You are really... really considerate of us."
At this point, the women in the family felt like crying, the men lowered their heads, and the children watched from the side without saying a word.
Miao Xiuju suddenly laughed: "But you all have to remember two things."
Three of the four daughters-in-law said in unison, "What's the matter?"
Miao Xiuju looked at her children and grandchildren, then at her daughters-in-law, and finally her gaze fell on Fubao: "How did we get the fish this time? It's all thanks to Fubao's good luck. He caught so many fish for us. This is all brought to us by Fubao. You should remember the well-digger when you drink water, and remember Fubao's kindness when you eat fish. This is all the good luck that Fubao has given us."
The daughters-in-law looked at each other, and Liu Guizhi naturally agreed and nodded heavily.
She felt that her son Fubao was a lucky and blessed child, and he gave her rabbit meat last time.
But Shen Hongying laughed dryly: "Is that so..."
Liu Zhaodi disagreed and secretly curled her lips, but she smiled and said, "Mom is right."
…………
After dinner, it was already evening, and several men began to sort out the remaining fish. Some were gutted and marinated, some were kept in water tanks, and some were planned to be sold at the market tomorrow. They all had to be sorted out.
The women each weighed the pros and cons and knew they could bring four or five big fish back to their parents' home tomorrow. They were all very happy and worked very hard.
But Shen Hongying secretly called Liu Zhaodi over and asked, "Did Fubao really attract this fish?"
Liu Zhaodi sneered: "How could she be so capable? If she were so capable, how could she be kicked out by Nie Laosan's family?"
Chen Hongying thought about it and agreed. "I was saying, how is that possible? She talks as if she was the one who caught the fish. If we're talking about fish, it must have been our Niu Dan who took the lead. Fubao is so small, how could he have that kind of strength!"
Liu Zhaodi agreed, nodding vigorously. "That's right, that's right. I think Mom is like a bewildered person. She insists that Fubao is a lucky baby, as if everything good in our family is related to her. It's weird!"
Chen Hongying: "Forget it, let's not think about it for now. Anyway, we have a share of the fish, so we can take it back to my parents' home tomorrow."
Liu Zhaodi was happy when she thought about this. Her family gave birth to five daughters before they had one son. Her mother always said that she was the least useful among the five daughters. The others knew how to bring things to their parents' home, but she didn't. She didn't know how to help her younger brother.
Liu Zhaodi felt miserable. It wasn't that she didn't want to help. It was just that the Gu family had nothing in her hands. Moreover, she had given birth to three daughters and had no say in her husband's family.
Now, there are five or six big carps. Her family will definitely be happy to see them.
As I was chattering here, I heard a commotion outside, as if a child was crying in someone's house.
Liu Zhaodi and Shen Hongying were shocked and hurried out. At this time, the children of the Gu family also went to watch the fun.
It was dark outside and there was no moon. I saw a circle of people gathered at the well platform. In the middle was Nie Laosan's wife, who was scolding Nie Dashan and his brothers, crying and scolding them.
When the Gu family saw this, they naturally asked about it, and only after asking the people nearby did they understand.
It turned out that several children of the Nie family went fishing in the mountains today, but somehow they walked into the muddy puddle over there. The other children were fine, but Shengyin stepped in.
The children were terrified and held on to the silver, not daring to let go, fearing that she would fall into the water if they did. They gathered all their strength and tried to find a way to fish it out. After fishing for most of the day, they finally fished the silver out when it got dark.
But in the middle of winter, Shengyin was stuck in the cold mud for most of the day, so he was naturally very cold and was sent directly to the clinic in the commune.
Nie Laosan's wife burst into tears and started cursing, scolding Nie Dashan and Nie Dazhuang, the children of her eldest sister-in-law: "You are trying to harm my family's ability to give birth to a silver. Is it easy for me to give birth to a silver? What are your intentions?"
Nie Dashan, Nie Dazhuang and others lowered their heads and dared not say a word.
Human lives were at stake, and something serious had almost happened this time. They were also afraid, so even though they were now covered in mud and were freezing, they did not dare to make excuses.
Nie Laosan's wife cried so hard that she pointed at Nie Dashan's nose and cursed him.
Who knew that while he was cursing, Nie Dashan's mother came.
Nie Dashan's mother is the eldest daughter-in-law of the Nie family. She is also a fierce person. When she first got married, she dared to scold her mother-in-law. Now when she saw her son being scolded, she was so angry that she directly fought with Nie Laosan's wife.
"You don't care about your own daughter, and you let my son take your daughter out fishing. Bah! My son is so young. He's just a farmhand or a servant. Why should he help you take care of your child? Your child got into trouble, and my son got into trouble to save her. You didn't even look at what happened to him, and you even scolded him? How shameless do you have?"
Nie Dashan's mother pointed at Nie Laosan's wife's nose and started to curse her. She cursed with all her might and without stopping, spraying a string of dirty words at her.
Nie Laosan's wife was so angry that her face turned red. She wanted to curse back, but Nie Dashan's mother kept on cursing without stopping. She couldn't even get a word in. Finally, she stamped her feet in anger and said, "It's so unfair, so unfair..."
Nie Dashan's mother: "Huh, justice? Do you know what justice is? I didn't say anything to you, but you're still talking about justice. From the moment you abused Fubao, you've lost your conscience. You deserve what happened to your daughter!"
After hearing these words, everyone around wanted to laugh but tried to hold it back.
Nie Laosan's wife thought about it and suddenly burst into tears: "This life...this life is unbearable!"
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