Chapter 10010 Uninvited Guests
"Tang'er, do you want to go fishing?"
Du Qingtang raised his head from the book and saw Du Qiya standing at the door with a smile on her face.
Although she successfully passed the examination of Qingyuan Academy, the road to the imperial examination was long and difficult. She wanted to improve herself and get a higher ranking in the examination, which would require her to work ten or a hundred times harder.
She had already finished the five questions Liu Tongsheng left for her, and their teacher-student relationship had ended. It was inconvenient for her to go to him for advice, so after much thought, she decided to set questions for herself.
After these days of hard work, she recovered most of the forgotten memories.
Looking back, she had done tens of thousands of imperial examination questions. What a certain type of question tests, how to solve the questions, and how to answer the questions had already been ingrained in her mind, so coming up with a few questions was no problem at all.
By this time, she had finished three questions, one each from the Four Books and the Five Classics, and also wrote a test poem.
"I borrowed a net from my third uncle and caught some fish before the river freezes over. If I'm lucky, I can even sell them in the city for money."
Everyone in the village does this, having a snack every once in a while and selling the leftovers. However, Taoyuan Village has a large population, so each household can only sell three or five times a year at most.
Du Qingtang was about to stop and rest for a while, so he agreed: "Where are the fifth sister and the others?"
"Fifth and sixth sisters' wood carving work has not been completed yet and needs to be sent to the city in a few days." Du Qiya said.
"Call the fifth and sixth sisters to join us." The burden of supporting the family shouldn't fall on a teenage girl. Yuan Shi was the one who should have shouldered the lion's share of the responsibility, but she hadn't done so, making her a very incompetent mother. "Catch as much as you can before the ice freezes over."
Du Qiya agreed and rushed into the kitchen: "Fifth sister, sixth sister, let's go fishing together!"
"The wood carving isn't finished yet."
"What's the point of just me, Tang Ge'er, and Baya? It's more lively when there are more people."
"...Okay, I'll clean it up."
"Great!" Du Qiya cheered, "There's no rush to pack up slowly. It's still early."
The three girls put the finished and unfinished wood carvings into the cupboard to prevent anyone from seeing them and taking them away. Then they went out with Du Qingtang and Du Qiya, carrying the net bag and the small wooden barrel.
Yuanshi looked at the girls' backs as they walked away, embroidering absentmindedly. She accidentally pierced her fingertip, and a round bead of blood oozed out.
"ah!"
Yuan exclaimed and quickly held her index finger in her mouth to stop the bleeding. Thinking of her daughters' indifference and disregard for her these days, she felt a surge of grievance.
"Her father, if only you were still alive."
If you were still alive, how could a little girl like Tang Jie'er climb over her head and act so arrogantly?
Yuan thought again of how fiercely Zhu slapped her. Although she didn't know why Zhu said that, it didn't affect her panic.
Tang Jie'er has been dressing as a man since she was young, and has been hanging out with men all day in the past two years. Apart from Sheng Ge'er, which man would dare to want her?
If Sheng Ge'er didn't want to marry Tang Jie'er, the Du family would be extinct in this generation. Wouldn't she then become a sinner of the Du family? How could she face the Du family's ancestors after her death?
Yuan was frowning, wondering whether she should go to the Yuan family again.
She still had some private money in her hand, just in case of emergency, and she didn't want to take it out, but...
"Why are you home alone? Where's Tang Ge'er?"
A familiar voice sounded, and Yuan's eyes lit up: "Mother Sheng, why are you here?"
The person standing at the door was Zhu.
Besides her, there was also an old doctor carrying a medicine box.
......
The Taoyuan River surrounding Taoyuan Village is about five meters wide. The water flow is not turbulent, and men with long legs can wade directly to the other side.
Du Qingtang and the four girls came to the river and first surveyed the river.
The river water is so clear that you can clearly see the swimming fish and shrimps.
"There are the most fish here, and they don't look very smart. This is it!" Du Qiya took the lead, put down the wooden bucket and waved the net bag, clearly targeting the few fish that were leisurely blowing bubbles at the bottom of the river.
Her movements were skillful and swift, and it was obviously not her first time fishing. She fished at the bottom and caught four crucian carps that were as long as her palms.
"It's too small and there's not much meat on it. Keep it for yourself." Du Qiya curled her lips in disappointment and poured the crucian carp into the wooden barrel.
Du Qingtang leaned over and looked at him: "Buy two more pieces of tofu tomorrow and make fish soup with them."
Du Liuya swallowed her saliva and nodded: "The crucian carp and tofu soup is even better than the braised one, so fresh and tender."
The other three girls were also drooling and spontaneously imagined the wonderful taste of the fish soup.
There were only two net bags, and the other one was in Du Wuya's hand. She was unwilling to be left behind and went to the other side to catch fish.
The result was equally pleasing. A carp and green-shelled shrimp mixed with mud and sand were caught.
"Baya, bring the bucket over here and separate the fish and shrimp."
"Here we are!" Du Baya trotted over carrying the wooden bucket, her pretty face showing an expression of surprise. "We are so lucky today. We caught so much right from the start."
Du Wuya smiled and said, "That's nothing. Baya, just wait and see. I'm sure I'll catch a big fish later!"
Du Baya nodded like a little chicken: "I believe in Fifth Sister."
After that, he fished several more times, and each time he had a good harvest. The wooden barrel was filled to the brim with fish, shrimps, crabs and other seafood.
Fish of all kinds and sizes flapped their tails in the wooden barrel, splashing water onto Du Liuya's face. The young girl wiped her face with her sleeve, giggling happily and muttering to herself, "One, two... eight..."
Du Liuya is illiterate, but she can count, which she learned from her third uncle.
Every day they have to count how many embroidery pieces, wood carvings and straw hats they have made, so learning to count makes it easier.
They scratched their heads while learning, but after they became proficient, they didn't have to rely on Yuanshi every time, because Yuanshi would be impatient and would beat and scold them.
Du Liuya didn't think there was anything wrong with this. It was the same in every household in the surrounding villages. Boys could get ahead by studying, but girls didn't need to. She just needed to marry into a good family, and everyone would praise her family's ancestral graves and then go home and tell their daughters, "You should be like so-and-so in the future, marry into a good family, and then take good care of your brothers."
The girls were either doing embroidery or busy in the kitchen, babbling in response, with lowered eyebrows and submissive eyes, and obeying orders.
Du Liuya thought of this and turned to look at Du Qingtang.
They had no skills and could not provide any help to Tangger, but fortunately Tangger worked hard and was admitted to Qingyuan Academy through his own efforts.
It will get better in the future, right?
It will definitely get better!
"Huh—I'm so tired. Sixth Sister, it's your turn."
The pole of the net bag was very long, almost as tall as Du Qiya. She and Du Wuya were tired from fishing, their arms were too sore to lift them, so they handed the task of fishing to Du Liuya and Du Baya.
Du Qingtang glanced at Du Baya's thin arms and legs and said, "Let me do it."
This girl is two years older than Du Qingtang, but is almost as tall as her. Let alone catching fish, she just hopes she doesn't get dragged into the river by the fish.
Du Baya refused, but she couldn't persuade Du Qingtang, so she had to step aside and help pick up the fish or carry the bucket.
Du Qingtang has many fishing friends and was invited to go fishing during the holidays. He just watched for a long time, so it was natural for him to do it.
The net bag was unexpectedly submerged in the water. With a sudden shovel, accompanied by the sound of "splashing" water, the fish and shrimps made the net bag heavy and fell into the wooden barrel one after another.
Du Wuya and Du Qiya clapped their hands and said in unison: "Tang Ge'er is really amazing!"
The corners of Du Qingtang's mouth twitched. He was just coaxing a child.
"Fifth sister Qi Ya, come and give me a hand. It's so heavy, I can't pull it up." Du Liuya grabbed the pole, her arms trembling and sweat coming out of the tip of her nose.
"Wow—what a big fish!" Du Qiya was ecstatic. "Sixth sister, hold on, I'll come to help you!"
Du Qingtang pushed the crab hiding in the mud and sand into the wooden barrel. Looking up, he saw that the three girls had already worked together to get the fish out.
The silver carp was about two feet long, and Du Qiya and Du Liuya had to use all their strength to control it.
The silver carp was unwilling to give up and swung its tail, and the splashing water droplets reflected a brilliant light.
"This fish can be sold for a lot of money!"
“That’s great!”
The silver bell-like laughter echoed, attracting passing villagers to stop and watch.
In the sunshine, the girls' smiling faces are more brilliant and moving than the light of the water droplets.
......
The fish and shrimps here were almost caught, so Du Qingtang and the four girls moved to the other side to fish.
The villagers who were attracted by the cheers saw that the girls from the Du family had caught a lot of fish. It was hard not to be moved and they joined the fishing team one after another.
Fortunately, there are abundant fish and shrimps in Taoyuan River, otherwise it would have been emptied.
After filling four wooden barrels, Du Qingtang put away the net bag and said, "It's almost done. Let's go back."
"Okay!"
The wooden barrels loaded with fish and shrimp were quite heavy. Du Wuya and Du Liuya sent one back first, and then Du Qingtang and Du Baya also carried the barrels away, leaving Du Qiya to guard the remaining two barrels to prevent them from being taken away by dishonest people. How many copper coins can a fish be exchanged for?
Halfway through the journey, Du Liuya came running towards them, calling out breathlessly, "Baya! Tang Ge'er!"
"What's wrong? Why are you running so fast?"
"My aunt is here!" Du Qiya ran over, holding her knees and panting. "She also brought Doctor Sun with her. He's sitting at the door now."
Du Baya: "Doctor Sun? What is he doing here?"
Du Qiya: "I don't know. I left right after I put the bucket down. I didn't have time to ask."
This Doctor Sun is from the neighboring Xiaoxi Village. When he was young, he worked as an apprentice in a clinic in the county town. After returning, he started his own business and is the only doctor in this area.
He is a good doctor and can cure any disease that is not difficult or incurable. Villagers go to him when they have a headache or fever, and they get better quickly and feel at ease.
Doctor Sun is a kind-hearted man who will treat patients for free who cannot afford medical treatment. The only thing he is criticized for is that he is not tight-lipped. He will tell everyone about any disease he has, as soon as he examines them.
Because of this, he was often scolded and criticized.
When Zhu brought Doctor Sun to the Du family, Du Qingtang knew what she was planning.
"It's good that you came. I was worried that she wouldn't come."
Du Baya was completely confused: "Tang Ge'er, what are you talking about?"
Du Qingtang noticed that Du Wuya had also arrived and shook his head: "Nothing, I'll go see what's going on."
She asked four girls to carry the remaining two buckets of fish. Each girl half moved and half lifted the fish, and half of the fish was brought back.
"Wow, you caught so many fish?" Du Qingtang had just pushed the wooden barrel into the kitchen when Zhu came over, smelling the scent. She pointed at the two largest ones and said in a domineering tone, "Get a basin for each one. I'll take these two back later."
Du Qingtang didn't waste time talking to her and asked directly, "What are you doing here, aunt?"
Zhu secretly rubbed her teeth, resisting the urge to scratch Du Qingtang's face. "A while ago, you said you fell down while walking at night. I was so worried that I couldn't eat or sleep, fearing that you might be hurt. Unfortunately, something happened at home, causing panic among the people. It's only now that things have calmed down. I asked Doctor Sun to come over and take a look at you. I'll be relieved after he sees you."
Du Qingtang: "Don't do this, I'm scared."
Zhu: “…”
The little girl is not very old, but she is very good at talking.
Just wait until Doctor Sun finishes taking the girl's pulse and reveals that she is a woman and not a man, then we'll see how arrogant she can be!
"Come to think of it, Doctor Sun has never taken Tang'er's pulse even once since she was a child." Zhu turned her head and said, "Doctor Sun, you must be very careful later. Tang'er is the only child of the Du family..."
Zhu was chattering away, but Du Qingtang thought she was noisy, so he ignored her and followed her gaze to the door.
Doctor Sun, with gray hair and beard but full of energy, came in carrying a medicine box. Behind him, Yuanshi had tears in her eyes, a mixture of fear and pleading.
The fear was directed at Doctor Sun, and the pleading was directed at Mrs. Zhu.
Unfortunately, Zhu was determined to punish Du Qingtang and let her also taste the taste of disgrace. Without even looking at Yuan, she flapped her arms like a hen and beckoned Doctor Sun to sit down.
"Tang Ge'er, why are you still standing there? Come over here quickly."
Does Du Qingtang dare to let Doctor Sun take her pulse?
Once it is discovered that she is a woman, Du Qingtang will be finished, and the Du family will be finished too.
Du Qingtang and Yuanshi, these two bitches, prevented Sheng Ge'er from going to private school and forced him to hide at home. They deserve to be criticized and have a bad reputation!
Under Zhu's excited gaze, Du Qingtang sat down leisurely: "Then thank you for your help."
Zhu: “???” Is she crazy?
Yuanshi: "Brother Tang!!!"
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