Chapter 19
The autumn rain fell intermittently, and the stream rose higher and higher, submerging most of the log bridge in just two or three days, almost overflowing the riverbank.
During the days when Shu Wanxiu was forced to stay at home, she smoked two fish and painstakingly made two pairs of straw sandals.
The rain started in the afternoon and ended in the early morning.
The sun finally peeked out after a long absence, but the temperature was still not what it used to be.
She went down the mountain to fetch water and saw that the water level had dropped below the log bridge. After being soaked in water for a few days, the log looked slippery and made people afraid to step on it.
I had intended to cross the stream to find Aunt Chen and ask her when they returned from their parents' home, but I only dared to wait until the sun dried the wood a bit before I could set off.
After the rain, the leaves in the forest were still covered with water droplets. At this time, going into the mountains would surely result in getting soaked, and catching a cold would not be worth it.
Shu Wanxiu moved the reed flowers that she had picked that day, which had not been dried since, to the front of the house to dry. Then she picked some perilla leaves from near her house and dried them as well.
She flitted about in the sunlight like a bee, and Shu Shouyi followed closely behind. The warm sunshine made him feel refreshed and he stretched comfortably.
"Auntie, what else do you need to do?" he asked lazily.
"top dressing."
After several days of rain, the vegetables in the field were battered and damaged by the wind and rain, but they have come back to life after seeing the sunshine.
Shu Wanxiu felt it was time to apply fertilizer, so she scattered all the ashes from cooking fires and the water from washing rice that she had accumulated at home over the past few days onto the vegetable garden.
After resting with Shu Shouyi for half an hour at noon, we found that the ground in the mountains was still wet and the firewood was also damp, so we gave up the idea of going into the mountains.
She patted Shu Shouyi, who was still a little sleepy, and said, "Cheer up, Auntie will take you to the stream to catch fish."
What do children like to play with?
Playing house, riding bamboo horses, flying kites, hopscotch...
Catching fish and shrimp definitely deserves a place among these forms of entertainment, and may even be among the top.
Shu Wanxiu had only gone to the kitchen and the main room to get some tools, but Shu Shouyi had already started urging her repeatedly.
"Auntie, hurry up!"
"Auntie, are you coming or not?"
After responding once and three times, Shu Wanxiu, fully equipped, ran out and, with a commanding voice, declared, "Let's go!"
Upon receiving the order, the first soldier excitedly rushed out.
There's a saying that fish tend to stay near the water's edge during rainy weather, meaning that it's easier to catch fish near the water's edge when it's raining heavily.
Shu Wanxiu valued her life, and even though she knew this proverb, she didn't dare to go out and take risks for those few days because she had neither a raincoat nor a bamboo hat.
Now that the wind and rain have stopped, I wonder if the little fish will show themselves.
Half hoping to gain something and half wanting to have fun with Shu Shouyi, she followed Shu Shouyi and ran quickly to the stream.
"Don't get too close, let your aunt check the situation first."
In recent days, a lot of small stones, dead branches and fallen leaves have been washed down by the heavy rain upstream, so the water in the stream is not very clear. She always lets the water settle for half an hour after she gets home before using it.
Now, if you stretch your neck and peer out from the shore, you really can't see anything.
"Forget it, we'll know whether it's in stock or not once we get our hands on it."
Shu Wanxiu brought two things: a wooden basin for fish and a dark, old bamboo basket for netting fish.
She steadied herself, bent down and gently placed the basket into the water, clinging tightly to the drooping weeds on the bank to retrieve the fish.
When the basket is submerged in water, the water is calm. But as soon as the basket is lifted out of the water, the fish inside sense it and start jumping violently.
"There's fish!" Shu Shouyi screamed excitedly.
Shu Wanxiu also saw it clearly.
There were not only five or six brightly colored bitterlings, but also several stream groupers and small shrimp that were about the length of an index finger!
Both of them got into the swing of things, one netting fish and the other guarding the basin, not even noticing how time passed.
As she walked and moved along, when Shu Wanxiu straightened up again, the scenery around her had changed.
With eyes glazed over, unaware of where they were, their ears, however, were the first to locate them by sound.
"Ding, ding, ding."
There is only one place where you can hear such a regular, powerful, and reassuring tapping sound.
Belatedly, cold sweat trickled down her forehead, which Shu Wanxiu calmly wiped away.
The wooden basin was already more than half full of fish and shrimp; enough to feed each family in the village one bowl.
"Let's go home," Shu Wanxiu said.
She was afraid that if there were any more nets, Shu Shouyi wouldn't be able to lift the basin anymore.
Back on the mountain, the two had quite a bit to do.
Since he had the idea of sending a bowl to each household, he simply squeezed out the gallbladder and internal organs from the fish's belly before sending them over.
This work is meticulous and time-consuming. Fortunately, Shu Wanxiu is young and quick-witted, while Shu Shouyi is young but can sit still.
Without taking a break, the two of them cleaned most of the basin in an hour.
For Shu Wanxiu, netting and processing fish is neither tiring nor troublesome. On the contrary, the social interaction of delivering the fish to various households requires her to prepare herself mentally in advance.
As expected, delivering fish door-to-door was indeed more tiring than fishing – the aunts and uncles all had to politely decline before accepting the fish, and Shu Wanxiu was tired of saying all the polite words.
When it was Pang's turn to come to the village chief's house, Aunt Chen greeted her with a smile and said, "Your matter with me has been settled."
On her first day back at her parents' home, Chen Sanhe spent the morning finding out about the character of Shu Yanrong's family. In the afternoon, a heavy rain made it impossible for her to go out, so she stayed overnight at her parents' home. She only began to exert her efforts the next day.
Chen Sanhe's method was very simple: he directly took the hand of Shu Wanxiu's aunt, Xu Zhen, and led her to visit other people in the village.
When others asked her how she could be so familiar with the Shu family, who had fled famine, since she hadn't been back to her parents' home for so long, she was surprised.
Chen Sanhe would then start by praising Shu Wanxiu, extolling how capable, efficient, and sensible she was after settling in Wupai Village. After elevating Shu Wanxiu, he would turn back to talk about the relationship between Shu Wanxiu and Shu Yanrong, mentioning how the aunt and niece had been taken care of by their uncle's family all along...
That was during a famine! The fact that they could take care of their orphaned niece and grandniece when they themselves were struggling to make ends meet shows that the Shu Yanrong family is of excellent character.
With just this simple method, the situation of Shu Yanrong's family was turned around overnight.
“I mentioned to the old village chief from my mother’s family that they had no house to spend the winter. He said that he originally planned to mobilize everyone to help build a house next spring, but now that everyone is willing to take them in, it’s okay to move it up a bit.”
Shu Wanxiu moistened her dry lips, first thanked them, then thought, "Wouldn't this benefit the Liu family?"
His tone was clearly resentful.
There was no other way; Shu Wanxiu was protective of her own. Her uncle's family had been implicated for so long, and if it weren't for Aunt Chen's willingness to intervene and speak up for them, who knows when they would have been able to turn things around.
Chen Sanhe smiled and said, "Winter is almost here, so who has the time to help other people with their work? Of course, I helped one family, and I'll leave the other one for after spring."
After leaving Pang Lizhang's house, Shu Wanxiu felt as refreshed as if she had taken an elixir.
He still had a smile on his face until he reached the last house—the Xun family's house.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, a big update will be released tomorrow [crying emoji]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
