This year's work points are worth one cent more per centimeter than last year's.
Don't underestimate this penny; for a family, it can add up to more than ten dollars a year.
Everyone had a smile on their face. After distributing the grain and counting the money, they thought that each family had received pork when the pig was slaughtered for the New Year, and that they would also receive a few fish in the afternoon. This New Year was more abundant than ever before.
Gu Zhiyuan's household registration has been transferred to the county machinery factory, and the work points he earned before have all been transferred to Xu Ningyan's name.
Xu Ningyan earns full work points every day, and although she's the only one working, it's still quite a lot.
When exchanging grains, she exchanged most of them for refined grains, rice and flour, and a small portion for coarse grains.
The remaining work points were converted into about twenty yuan.
Although it wasn't as high as other families, this was just her work points, and no one in the village could compare.
The work points of the educated youth were still calculated last. They were not as hardworking as the villagers. Except for a few educated youth who had been in the countryside for many years, the others were lucky if they could get enough work points to avoid starvation throughout the year.
This year, I've earned quite a few work points by going up the mountain to pick wild produce and medicinal herbs.
In the end, even the few female educated youths who received the fewest work points, with a 7:3 ratio of coarse to fine grains, received dozens of kilograms more grain than last year, and each of them also received 2.7 yuan.
Although it was only a few dozen kilograms more grain, it allowed them to eat more and not to mention they would also receive money.
Several female educated youths could hardly believe their ears. After receiving the money, they pinched their arms, as if afraid they were dreaming.
After finally confirming it, he hugged the grain and burst into tears.
The other educated youth had even more complicated expressions.
They couldn't help but feel jealous when Xu Ningyan and Gu Zhiyuan got jobs one after another.
How could a black element and a country girl compare to them? They both have such good luck.
How come these educated youth from the city, with their impeccable revolutionary backgrounds, are inferior to them?
Looking at the extra grain and money they received, they have to admit that they are indeed inferior to others.
Immediately, seven or eight tenths of their jealousy vanished, and one by one, they silently carried their own food back to the educated youth settlement.
After everyone had left, the brigade leader and the party secretary carried several pounds of cured meat and a pig's trotter to Xu Ningyan's courtyard.
The cured pork and pig's trotters were given to the two of them when the brigade distributed the New Year's pigs.
However, since the two hadn't returned, they had helped to marinate and dry the cured meat and pig's trotters. Now that the two had returned, it was natural to give them to them.
Xu Ningyan looked at the cured meat and pig's trotters and knew that she wouldn't get that many work points. This was a subsidy from the brigade, so she accepted it.
The brigade leader and the party secretary were also very busy, as they had to arrange the manpower for fishing in the afternoon. Hearing that the two of them would not leave until the fifth or sixth day of the Lunar New Year, they felt relieved. Anyway, there was still plenty of time to talk. They hurriedly gave a few instructions and left.
After lunch, the village became lively.
Adults, children, and even the elderly who stayed at home to warm themselves by the fire all came out of their homes and came to the village's large pond.
The two large ponds are not far apart, and the water has been mostly drained, revealing a thick layer of silt.
This silt is also a good thing; it will be cleared out and transported to the fields, where it will serve as excellent base fertilizer.
Now only the deepest part of the water remains, with water up to knee-deep; the rest has been exposed.
Besides silt, there were stones, withered lotus stems, rotten aquatic plants, and of course, many fish.
In the pond that hadn't dried up for several years, besides the fat carp, grass carp as long as a person's arm, and grass carp that burrowed into the mud and couldn't be seen, there were also small crucian carp the size of a palm and some wild miscellaneous fish whose names I couldn't identify.
There were even loach, eel, soft-shelled turtle, clam, and tortoise.
Adult men and young boys alike went down into the pond, their trousers rolled up to their thighs, each carrying a basket or hamper.
The boys, barely grown up, were catching fish in the mud, while the men took baskets to places with water. When they saw grass carp and black carp still swimming in the water, they would scoop up half a basket of mud and half a basket of fish.
The fish thrashed about with its tail, splashing mud and water all over the man's clothes and face.
No one bothered to wipe them clean; they just threw the fish one by one into the baskets and then transported them ashore.
The riverbank was crowded with people: women holding children, young women and wives, and elderly people holding their children's hands, afraid that these mischievous little monkeys might accidentally crawl into the pond to play in their cotton-padded clothes.
When a big fish is spotted, people on the shore will shout in surprise and direct those in the water to quickly surround and intercept it.
Some young and strong women, unafraid of the cold, also jumped into the pond to catch fish.
They didn't go into the deep water, but instead scooped for crucian carp in the mud on the shore. In no time, they could catch half a basket of crucian carp, all about the size of a palm or the length of a chopstick.
This type of crucian carp is the best; its flesh is sweet and tender. It can be used in soups, braised, or dried until semi-dry and then pan-fried. Adding chili and vinegar makes it a delicious and spicy dish that goes perfectly with rice.
At this time of year, no one eats soft-shelled turtles or tortoises; they're considered too smelly, and people will just toss them aside if they see them.
Xu Ningyan, however, took a fancy to a soft-shelled turtle. This was a wild soft-shelled turtle, a rare find that couldn't be bought even at a high price in later generations.
Braised soft-shelled turtle with shiitake mushrooms—just thinking about it makes my mouth water.
Unable to resist joining Gu Zhiyuan, who was slacking off below, he asked for one.
Gu Zhiyuan wore a sweater and an overcoat on top, and his pants were rolled up to his knees. Because he was tall and had long legs, he looked exceptionally different standing in the mud, even though he was covered in mud and water from fish splashing all over him.
It stands out like a crane among chickens.
At first, I was a little clumsy at catching fish, but I quickly mastered the knack and caught fish fast and steadily.
Hearing that Xu Ningyan wanted to eat this, he didn't ask any more questions. He put down his basket and stopped catching fish, and went to catch turtles instead.
When people find turtles and tortoises in the mud, they throw them to a drier spot on the shore to avoid being bitten. Once a turtle or tortoise bites someone, it won't let go easily.
Gu Zhiyuan picked out two soft-shelled turtles and a tortoise, tied them up with some dry weeds from the bank, and then handed them to Xu Ningyan.
The other, younger children thought Xu Ningyan wanted to play with turtles and tortoises, and they all offered suggestions.
They say if you flip the turtle over and weigh it down with a stone, it won't be able to flip itself back over. In the summer, the turtle will quickly die from the sun, and then you can play with the turtle shell.
Children in the countryside don't eat turtles and soft-shelled turtles; they play with them like this when they encounter them.
Xu Ningyan had mixed feelings. She glanced at the children and mumbled a few words to brush them off.
Looking down at the two large soft-shelled turtles, each the size of a large bowl, and the turtle, the size of a washbasin, he fell into deep thought.
The people around were having a great time, and those fishing below didn't feel cold even though they were standing in the icy mud and water.
Needless to say, those on the shore were even more excited as they watched basket after basket of fish being hauled up.
Some people are already mentally calculating how many fish each family will get.
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