When Jiang Yi returned home, the backyard was almost finished with the work. He greeted them and went into the kitchen. Soon, the whole house was filled with a delicious aroma.
Jiang Yin took a deep breath. "When did this child learn to cook? Just the aroma makes it smell delicious."
Yang Guoqing said, "Don't keep calling him 'kid.' Ayi is all grown up now. It's not good for him to be the head of the household now that he's married."
Jiang Yin was still a little worried, afraid that Jiang Yi wouldn't be able to handle it all by himself. "No matter how old he gets, he'll still be a child in my eyes. Hurry up and finish laying the last bit, then I'll go in and see if there's anything I can help with."
Jiang Yi chopped the chicken and put it into the pot when Jiang Yin came in.
"Where did this chicken come from?" Jiang Yin noticed because the pot lid hadn't been put on yet.
Jiang Yi said, "I set a few traps on the mountain, and there's a pheasant over there. I've taken them all out. Auntie will take them back to my sister to help her recover."
Jiang Yin: "The deep mountains are too dangerous, you mustn't go."
Jiang Yi said, "Auntie, I know what I'm doing. I won't risk my life."
Is there anything else I can help with?
The loud knocking surprised Jiang Yin. Ah Yi had only been back for a few days, and someone was already coming to her door.
“No need to open the door,” Jiang Yi said coldly. “They come to our door every day saying nonsensical things. Opening the door is just a waste of time.”
It must have been the smoke rising from the chimneys and the aroma wafting out that alerted these people to my home, which is why they came looking for me.
Jiang Yin immediately understood that even if she ran back and forth between the factory and the hospital, these people would always find a moment to ask her about Jiang Yi's next plans.
"If it's a good match, then find someone. You don't know how many people have been asking about you these days, even your uncle has been asked about you several times." Jiang Yin knew her nephew was popular, but she respected the child's wishes.
When I went out today, Guoqing mentioned wanting to be a matchmaker, but she stopped me.
She's an aunt, not a biological mother. She's helping her older brother and sister-in-law raise their child, which is a way of repaying her family, but she never intended to come back to her family home to take charge.
He's my only nephew, and I'd love for him to have a better life. Why would he come here and cause trouble?
Jiang Yi had already thought of a solution: "I'm not thinking about these things right now. I haven't even settled on a job yet, and I'm worried that there might be some abnormalities in the back of my head that I injured before. I don't want to drag others down with me."
These girls are all too proactive. Now, even when he's out and about, he has to keep his eyes peeled for fear of falling into their trap and ruining his reputation.
It's not that he wants to assume the worst about others; if he doesn't, he might regret it later.
"Then let's go to the hospital again. If it doesn't work here, we'll go to the city." Upon hearing this, Jiang Yin disregarded everything else, stopped what she was doing, and stared at Jiang Yi.
The child's complexion is rosy, and he looks better than when he first came back. Maybe we should have him checked again to put our minds at ease.
Jiang Yi: "Okay, I'll go to the city after the New Year."
Jiang Yin said, "That's good. If the timing is right, ask your uncle to take two days off to go with you."
“No need, I’m not a child,” Jiang Yi refused directly. “Don’t worry, if there’s really a need, I will definitely come to your aunt and uncle for help.”
"Yes, we're family, so don't be so polite with your aunt."
The aunt and niece ignored the knocking. After a few more knocks, they realized they had made another wasted trip and the doorway fell silent.
The courtyards on both sides were unusually lively today, with people even competing to see who had the biggest haul.
Some people, for the sake of saving face, gave false reports, making the Hua family even less conspicuous.
Those who didn't go in the morning hurriedly grabbed their gear and headed to the West Reservoir, but this time, they weren't so lucky. Apart from catching a few small fish, they had no other catch.
This made those who passed by in the morning secretly rejoice; this rare harvest made the New Year even more festive.
The problem is that there are a lot of fish to be smoked, and since the salt from the supply and marketing cooperative has been sold out, those that couldn't be bought have to be borrowed from various places.
When they ran out of charcoal, they had to go up the mountain to collect dry branches and build a few simple sheds in the open space in the yard to start smoking the wax.
Of course, the space is only so big, so several families get together to set up a simple shed, but this makes getting around even more inconvenient, as you have to walk sideways around it when you go out.
Just as Hua Guangzong and the others had guessed, the commotion yesterday had become too big, and the next day the authorities sealed off the area around the reservoir in the west of the city, preventing anyone from going up the mountain to fish.
As for when it will reopen, we'll have to wait for further notice.
Tian Guihua patted her chest and said with some relief, "Fortunately, things have been relatively quiet these past two years. Otherwise, if we had to put all these things away, all your work would have been for nothing."
Many things now belong to the collective. The reason they didn't have their gains confiscated yesterday was because they believed that the law doesn't punish the masses.
"Everyone stay home today and hurry up and smoke these fish. We'll pack them up and ship them away later." Hua Guangzong made the decision, and the people in the courtyard shouldn't be stupid. The discussion should have quieted down by now.
Tian Guihua: "That's not necessarily true. I'm afraid those who can't reach the grapes will be sour for who knows how long..."
If you listen carefully, you can still faintly hear shouting and cursing. This sound has been going on since yesterday, which shows how frustrated these people are.
Bai Zhaodi, standing outside the wall, had a dark face and gave Bai Shuangmei a good scolding, "You really are a blockhead. If you had called Jiang Yi out yesterday, your uncle wouldn't have been delayed from going to the West Reservoir."
You've been eating and staying here for so many days, it's been completely useless. You should pack your things and go home."
Bai Zhaodi was increasingly disliking this niece from her maternal family; they had only met once in all these days.
With this kind of progress, even if I stayed at her house for a year, it would be impossible to achieve anything.
Bai Shuangmei felt wronged. "Auntie, I want to work hard too, but Jiang Yi never goes out. Even when we run into him on the street, he avoids us. Today, you see, I knocked on the door for so long, and he wouldn't open it even though he was home. I can't just barge in, can I?"
This old beggar woman always makes me step forward. You should at least help her out a little and think of a solution, instead of just making sarcastic remarks from the sidelines.
Bai Zhaodi squinted at the makeshift sheds in the yard, snorted, and stopped talking. She then led Bai Shuangmei directly to Zhou Jinfa's house.
"Ailian," Bai Zhaodi's voice preceded her arrival, "I came to see how many fish you caught yesterday?"
Bai Ailian heard the noise and came out of the door, revealing a bitter smile, "Aunt, I don't have any fish here. When my husband took Xiaojun up the mountain yesterday, everyone else had already picked them all."
I caught a few small fish in the afternoon, and that was all I had for this meal.
I was planning to go there early this morning, but it turns out they won't let us into the mountain.
"What kind of nonsense is this? It was all agreed that the reservoir would be a place for residents to fish and improve their lives, but now that they've seen people catching fish, they've changed their minds."
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