When Zhou Xiaocang returned, Lin Xue had already separated the branches and trunks and bundled them into several large and small bundles.
"I'll pick out these two big bundles. Xiaocang, you and your two younger brothers each take one small bundle, and you can also help your sisters carry two baskets!"
Lin Xue found a relatively smooth wooden stick, stuck one end into the woodpile, and the other end into another bundle.
Then he tested the weight and easily hoisted the firewood onto his shoulder.
"I'll go home first. You guys walk slowly behind me. Remember to be careful on the road and don't fall!"
Looking back at the children, Lin Xue carried two large bundles of firewood and strode down the mountain.
Back home, Lin Xue stacked the firewood behind the eaves. This was where the children usually collected firewood. The Zhou family had also built a shed behind it to prevent the firewood from getting wet on rainy days.
After putting away the firewood, Lin Xue didn't plan to stay at home any longer. She picked up a bamboo basket and headed towards the river.
She had been to this river many times before, mainly to wash bed sheets and duvet covers, as it was too inconvenient to do so at home.
So I had already observed that there should be quite a few big fish in the river.
To be honest, I feel somewhat uncomfortable with this river and snow.
After all, the original owner was drowned in this river, and who knows how many wronged souls are buried here!
But then I thought, the river is flowing, and even if many women have drowned here before, they have long been swept downstream.
"What's dirty won't make you sick!"
Lin Xue could only comfort herself with this excuse; she couldn't just stop eating fish because she felt uncomfortable.
She slowly walked upstream and found the fish trap she had set earlier.
When I picked it up, I saw that there were quite a few fish inside, both big and small.
All the fish were poured into the baskets on my back. There were three fish cages in total, and I harvested half a basket of fish.
She put the fish trap back into the river and then covered her footprints to prevent the villagers from finding it and taking the fish trap away.
Then she carried the fish back to the riverbank, took out a dagger, and began to clean the fish.
When most of the fish had been cleaned, Zhou Xiaoting brought Zhou Xiaomei to the riverbank.
"Sister-in-law, you really are here!"
Zhou Xiaoting quickly came to Lin Xue's side and, seeing what she was doing, hurriedly found a thin stone slab nearby to help her remove the fish scales.
"I've put a few fish traps up here. You guys can come here and get fish whenever you want!"
"But be sure to look around when you take out the fish trap, so that no one in the village sees you!"
"There aren't many good people in this village. If they find out, they'll definitely come and steal our fish!"
Lin Xue quickly processed the fish in her hands, talking to the two sisters as she did so.
"We know that my sister-in-law would never leak this information!"
Although fish has a fishy smell and doesn't taste as good as meat, it is still a kind of meat. How could the two sisters let someone take away the meat they had just gotten their hands on?
"That's good!"
Lin Xue nodded, her movements clean and efficient, and soon all the fish were cleaned.
She threw the basket into the river, washed the fish inside twice more, and then yanked the basket out of the water.
"Let's go back and cook some fish!"
Since they couldn't eat pheasant, Lin Xue didn't want to just eat vegetables, so she decided to prepare a whole fish feast.
"Yes, we haven't had fish in a long time!"
Zhou Xiaomei took the initiative to help Lin Xue carry the other side of the basket, her eyes full of anticipation as she looked at the fish in the basket.
"But we probably can't finish such a big basket of fish, can we? It's still too hot, and it'll spoil if we don't finish it!"
Zhou Xiaoting, on the other hand, was considering whether she could finish the food. She was a thrifty and hardworking girl, so how could she bear to waste food?
"If we can't finish it, we'll pickle it and dry it into dried fish to save for when there's no food in winter!"
Lin Xue, however, was not worried about this problem at all. Not to mention this half basket of fish, even if there were several more baskets, she would have a way to preserve them.
When drying fish, the house will smell quite fishy.
However, the thought of being able to drink a sip of milky white fish soup in winter made her feel that enduring the fishy smell was perfectly bearable.
What's more, she can also sell the dried fish in the county.
I wonder if those big shots in the county town would like dried wild fish.
Back home, Lin Xue started stewing fish.
She has plenty of seasonings in her space, including oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and so on.
Although she didn't want to rely entirely on space for money, she didn't want to compromise herself on these small things in life, as long as they weren't too outrageous.
Zhou Xiaomei tended the fire for Lin Xue, while she started stewing the fish. She also kneaded a large lump of mixed grain dough, which she would stick to the side of the pot when the fish was almost done stewing.
This way, there's no need to prepare a separate main dish.
The taste of potsticker fish is quite good. Not only is the fish delicious, but the potstickers also absorb the aroma of the fish, making them exceptionally tasty.
As expected, the kids ate too much that evening.
Lin Xue didn't overeat this time; she stopped eating after she was full.
After thoroughly cleaning the two large pots, they began making jam.
This busy work lasted until the early hours of the morning.
She gradually sent all the children in the house to bed, leaving only Zhou Xiaocang who refused to leave and stayed in the kitchen to help her tend the fire.
"Sister-in-law, if only our eldest brother were still alive!"
Smelling the sweet aroma of jam wafting from the pot, Zhou Xiaocang's eyes suddenly welled up with tears, which streamed down her face like they were free.
"Ogura, the dead cannot be brought back to life!"
"What's more... your eldest brother's greatest wish is that you siblings can grow up safely and marry a good wife and a good husband in the future!"
"Although your eldest brother is no longer here, your sister-in-law will help you fulfill his last wishes and take care of you until you each start your own families and careers!"
Lin Xue felt genuinely uncomfortable seeing her usually sensible child crying and weeping in the dead of night.
At 15 years old, he would still be in school in later generations!
But at such a young age, they have to shoulder the heavy responsibility of taking care of their younger siblings and become the pillar of the family.
That really put him in a difficult position!
But there's nothing we can do about it. Didn't Zhou Tianli go through the same thing back then?
Moreover, I am here to help them share the burden. One day things will get better, and they will gradually recover from their grief.
Time is the best medicine for healing wounds; it is more effective than a thousand words.
Lin Xue put all the jam into a clean jar.
A sudden gust of wind blew up outside, and soon a light drizzle began to fall.
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