Chapter 43 Winter Bamboo Shoots
Liu Yinyin suggested, "Mom, why don't you go talk to her later and tell her that Liu Ergou has no food in the hospital. If you don't want her son to starve to death, send food to the hospital tomorrow."
She thought that Liu Ergou was Xin Xiujuan's only son after all, and it was impossible for her not to feel sorry for him.
"Okay." Jiang Cuihua's eyes lit up, "And talk to her about paying her back."
The braised pork was delicious, but Liu Yinyin preferred the sauerkraut fish. She ate a lot of fish and also sauerkraut.
Jiang Cuihua saw it all and was happy in her heart. She liked both grandsons and granddaughters, but... after all, a woman still needs to give birth to a son to feel more confident.
Don't think that people like Xin Xiujuan are bad, but there are many people in the village who are like her and favor boys over girls, both men and women are the same.
I don’t know what Jiang Cuihua said to Xin Xiujuan, but the next morning, when the couple was having breakfast.
Xin Xiujuan came knocking on the door awkwardly, and Gu Cheng went to open it.
"Well..." Gu Cheng stood straight. He had been a soldier before, so Xin Xiujuan's tone suddenly weakened. "I searched my house thoroughly and finally got these twelve yuan. I'll return it to you first."
She took out a roll of money and gave it to Gu Cheng with a distressed look. There were dimes of one or two cents, all loose change, and it was obvious that it was pieced together from here and there.
In addition to a roll of money, Xin Xiujuan also held a cloth bag in her hand, which she handed to Gu Cheng.
He explained, "Aren't you going to work in the county? It just so happens that I made some food. Please bring it to Ergou for me. And by the way, tell him to come back early."
She didn't mention Yang Guizhi or her newborn granddaughter at all, and even the food she mentioned was just a few pieces of dough.
Gu Cheng was a grown man, so he naturally wouldn't talk nonsense with a woman like her, and just agreed to help her deliver the things.
After Liu Yinyin knew her purpose, she said angrily, "Don't send her off next time. Let her go to the hospital by herself."
Xin Xiujuan is the one who is so carefree about the management of the business that she doesn't even bother to take a look at such a big thing.
"From the look of it, it seems that she doesn't want this daughter-in-law and granddaughter anymore." Jiang Cuihua was an experienced person and understood Xin Xiujuan's thoughts immediately.
Liu Yinyin didn't want to talk about her, she had a headache now.
We have to kill and pickle thirty-two fish today.
"You are a pregnant woman, so I will do the job of killing the fish." Jiang Cuihua was sharpening the knife. Today she was going to show off her skills.
That’s thirty-two fish! Jiang Cuihua was so excited. She had never killed so many fish in her entire life!
Liu Yinyin hesitated and said, "How about asking someone to come over and help?"
With so many fish, how long will it take Jiang Cuihua to catch them all by herself?
"Forget it. Your father has gone up the mountain to chop wood, and your brothers are all at work. I don't feel comfortable asking anyone else to come." Jiang Cuihua said in a disapproving tone.
If others saw the young lady buying so many fish, they would probably be jealous.
Jiang Cuihua was used to the job and was very skillful. She was responsible for killing the fish.
After killing each fish, it must be split in half from the middle to make it easier to marinate and dry.
Liu Yinyin was responsible for cleaning the fish, draining the water, applying white wine evenly to sterilize it, and then sprinkling the fried seasoning on it to marinate it...
The two of them worked for a whole morning before they finished processing all the fish. The fish were piled in a basin to marinate, and they could be taken out to dry in two or three days.
Jiang Cuihua's arms were sore from killing fish, so she had to put the work of making sweet potato vermicelli on hold.
However, no sooner had they finished one task than they started another.
In the afternoon, Liu Yinyin's cousin Liu Xiaoman came. They hadn't seen each other for a while.
Liu Xiaoman had become darker and thinner, but he looked very energetic: "Sister Yinyin, I dug some winter bamboo shoots on the mountain. I'll give you some."
Since the beginning of the autumn harvest, the two men's previous trade of small miscellaneous fish has been suspended.
Later, when Gu Cheng came back, he also learned to catch small fish in the water, so Liu Yinyin no longer exchanged things with Liu Xiaoman.
Besides, the weather is getting colder and it is harder to catch fish in the river.
Seeing Liu Xiaoman carrying a basket of plump fresh bamboo shoots, Jiang Cuihua said with a smile: "The bamboo shoots are growing very well this year. I will ask the boys at home to dig some later. Xiaoman has grown up and is still thinking about your cousin."
Liu Xiaoman scratched her head and smiled.
Liu Yinyin looked at the bamboo shoots in the basket and became eager to eat them again.
Winter bamboo shoots have thick shells and little flesh, and are not as popular as spring bamboo shoots these days.
But in later times, the price of winter bamboo shoots was extremely high, more than ten yuan per pound.
Action speaks louder than words.
Liu Yinyin said to Liu Xiaoman: "These bamboo shoots are so good. I want to dry some of them. Xiaoman, can you send some more bamboo shoots to my cousin later? Cousin..."
It would be a bit inappropriate to exchange it with White Rabbit milk candy again, thinking about the new year.
Seeing Liu Xiaoman's expectant look, Liu Yinyin quickly changed her words and said, "For a basket of bamboo shoots like this, I'll exchange it with two kilograms of eggs."
There were nearly ten pounds of bamboo shoots in the basket, but winter bamboo shoots were cheap this year, only four or five cents per pound when bought outside, so it was reasonable to exchange them for two pounds of eggs.
Her family now has a lot of eggs, and after the autumn harvest, Jiang Cuihua no longer asked her to send eggs to the Liu family.
Therefore, Liu Yinyin's family can now collect a few eggs every day.
Liu Xiaoman's eyes instantly turned into a flame that had gone out, and she said with a hint of disappointment, "...Okay, Sister Yinyin, I'll dig up some bamboo shoots and send them back to you later."
An egg is an egg, it's better than nothing.
This basket of bamboo shoots was for Liu Yinyin, but Liu Xiaoman refused to take any of it.
After everyone left, Jiang Cuihua nagged the girl again: "If you want to dry bamboo shoots, I'll ask your brothers to dig some for you. You don't have to exchange eggs with others."
Liu Yinyin immediately said, "Brothers, you can also send the bamboo shoots you dig here. I don't mind too much. When the time comes... I will exchange them with eggs like Xiaoman."
There aren't many bamboo forests in Liujia Village, let alone winter bamboo shoots, and in fact they can't be replaced many times.
Liu Yinyin thought...it would be good if she could exchange it for 200 kilograms. Then she would dry some of the bamboo shoots and secretly sell some to the system.
Jiang Cuihua was surprised and asked, "Why are you so picky?"
Liu Yinyin blinked her eyes and said, "Store more of them after they are dried. Dried bamboo shoots are durable and can be kept for later consumption."
In the next few years, it will not be so easy to eat bamboo shoots.
Jiang Cuihua muttered, "You are like a hamster now, hoarding everything you see."
It's not that hoarding things is bad, it's just that the girl is a little bit unsure of how to live. Who else would dare to do such a thing?
Liu Yinyin thought for a moment and reminded, "I...some time ago, I saw in a newspaper that there was a famine in some places this year, and it was quite serious.
So, I thought of stockpiling more food, just in case... just in case there is a famine in the village, then I won’t have to worry about going hungry. Mom, you have to be prepared too.”