On the 28th of the lunar year, it was the day for the Datang Production Team to catch fish. Early in the morning, Zhang Xiaojun brought Fang Fang, Lin Sijun brought Lin Wujun and Li Wanda all came over, they were ready to go to the pond with the Xiao family. However, this year was a little different from previous years. This year, there were more fish in the pond, and villagers were allowed to buy them with money. In previous years, they exchanged them with work points, but work points could be exchanged for food, and many families were reluctant to use work points to exchange for fish. This year, the team leader applied to the commune and allowed to buy fish everyone directly with money.
After all, the fish in the pond are the village's business. Since it is not an individual's business, buying them with money is not speculation considered. Moreover, if there are extra fish, they still have to be purchased from the supply and marketing cooperative. However, the price purchased from the supply and marketing cooperative is cheap, but the price of reselling them is 10 cents more expensive. Now the brigade sells fish directly to the villagers, and the price of fish is set at 30 cents per catty according to the price purchased from the supply and marketing cooperative.
Xiao Shiyi watched his uncles and brothers take off their shoes and roll up their trouser legs. He followed suit. Xiao Shiyi took off his shoes, stood on the ground in his socks, and then began to roll up his trouser legs. His little feet were hooked in his socks because it was a bit cold.
Seeing her son like this, Lin Yiyi couldn't help but asked with a smile: "Eleven, what are you going to do?"
Xiao Eleven shouted, "Let's catch some fish. We need to eat some." As if he could catch a lot of fish.
After hearing what Xiao Shiyi said, looked at him, and then shook their heads in tacit understanding. Is he catching fish? Or is he waiting to be caught by the fish? Lin Yiyi didn't want to go into the pond today, as she was very afraid of the cold. However, seeing that her son wanted to go out to play, she was a little worried, so she had to follow him into the pond. In fact, other three or four-year-old children in the would follow him into the pond village, and then pick up small fish and other things near the shore. Although Xiao Shiyi is a little coquettish in terms of food and clothing, he is not coquettish in character. Lin Yiyi doesn't treat her son coquettishly either. For boys, it's okay to be a little rough, and she lets him play however he wants. Girls should be more careful so as not to hurt themselves.
Lin Yiyi: "Then you should catch more fish today. We will give you all the fish for lunch."
Xiao Shiyi: "Okay, I'll catch a big fish for Yi Yi to eat." He said it with full of confidence.
Lin Yiyi: "Thank you, Xiaoyi."
Xiao Shiyi: “You’re welcome.”
Fang Fang saw Lin Yiyi preparing to go into the pond, and she was also tempted to take off her shoes. In order to avoid getting their shoes dirty, went barefoot in straw sandals. The reason they didn't take off their shoes there was that they were worried that they would not be able to find their shoes after taking them off. Because no matter where you are, there are always people with dirty hands and feet, so it's always okay to be careful.
After was ready, they rested for a while. During the rest time, Qin Xiangju, Grandma Xiao and Grandpa Xiao came. Grandma Xiao did not go into the pond. She was old, and even if she was in good health, she was not suitable for going into the pond. Everyone Qin Xiangju and Grandpa Xiao went out from the Xiao family.
When Qin Xiangju saw Sun Zi's expression, she couldn't help but laugh: "Little Eleven, are you going to the pond too?"
Xiao Shiyi: "Yes." He carried his small backpack. His small backpack was very small. It was made by Grandpa Xiao for him, specially for children like him. Moreover, the small backpack was very light, so he could carry it.
Lin Yiyi looked at him and felt really helpless.
At 7:30, everyone went to the pond together. Lin Wujun and Li Wanda took Xiaoyi with them, and everyone was very excited.
On the way, they met Xiao Jixiang who was carrying a small backpack, and the team became larger again.
When we got to the pond, the water had almost been drained out. The captain said a few words to make things clear, and everyone went down into the pond. The men went to the deep end of the pond, where the fish were the most numerous and the largest. The women stayed to the side, and the children stayed on the river bank.
"Yi Yi, are you going into the water?" Lu Xiaochun walked past Lin Yiyi, a little surprised. This was the first time he saw Lin Yiyi going into the pond.
Lin Yiyi: "Auntie, the child wants to go in the water, so I'll take him to play."
Lu Xiaochun: "The water is cold, be careful, there may be screws under your feet, don't get cut."
After hearing this, Lin Yiyi walked very carefully: "Thank you, Auntie She." Lin Yiyi did not carry a backpack. She followed Xiao Shiyi and threw the fish she picked up into Lin Wujun's backpack. She came mainly to take care of her son.
At the beginning, Lin Wujun led Xiao Shiyi and caught fish slowly. Later, he got interested and Lin Yiyi let him catch fish by himself. She led Xiao Shiyi with one hand and held Xiao Shiyi's backpack with the other. Xiao Shiyi caught fish very slowly. However, small fish fried in oil were also delicious.
Xiao Shiyi was still young and couldn't play in the pond for long, so after half an hour, he got tired. Lin Yiyi carried the child to the shore, washed his feet with water from the military kettle, wiped him clean with a towel, and then put on socks and shoes for him: "You stay here and watch your brother and uncle catch fish, okay?"
Little Eleven: "Okay." He sat on a stone, stretching his short legs and shaking them.
Lin Yiyi took out two sweet potato chips and rubbed them against his teeth: "Eat it."
Xiao Shiyi took a bite and said, "Where's my fish?"
Lin Yiyi brought the small basket in front of him. Although it was full of small fish, his basket was already full. Xiao Shiyi looked at the full basket and was very proud. He didn't care how small his basket was or how big other people's baskets were. In his opinion, his basket was full anyway. But in fact, there was not even a bowl of fish in it.
Xiao Jixiang walked to the shore opposite Xiao Shiyi and said, "Xiao Shiyi, aren't you going to catch fish anymore?"
Xiao Shiyi: "I want to take a rest." Hearing this, the women nearby laughed.
One woman said, "Shiyi, come and catch some fish. Your mother is waiting to eat them." During this time, Shiyi and a few other children often played football in the playground, so the women gradually got to know him and started to joke with him. In the past, Lin Yiyi's family always seemed a little out of their league in their eyes.
Xiaoyi: "My mom told me to take a rest. My feet are dirty and my backpack is full."
Lin Yiyi touched his head and said, "Eleven is so good."
Little Eleven looked up at his mother and said, "Eleven is the best."
After a while, Lin Yiyi thought it was almost done. Lin Sijun and his friends would have to take a bath after catching the fish, so she said to Xiao Shiyi, "Mom is going home to boil water for the uncles to take a bath. Can you come home and help?"
Xiao Eleven looked at his mother.
Lin Yiyi: "Good children will help their mothers when they are busy."
Xiao Eleven: "Okay."
Lin Yiyi smiled.
Xiao Shiyi: "I really can't do anything with you."
Lin Yiyi: “…Where did you hear that?” It's so funny for a little boy to say that.
Xiaoyi: "Dad."
Lin Yiyi thought about it and thought that her brother Yu seemed to have said this. However, it was different for her husband to say it and for her three-year-old son to say it.
My husband said it was a kind of pampering, but my three-year-old son said, isn't this a joke?
Xiao Shiyi didn't know what his mother was worried about. He looked at her with sparkling eyes.
Lin Yiyi picked him up and said, "Let's go home." Then she said to Fang Fang who was still in the pond, "Fang Fang,
We are on shore, let's go home."
It was Fang Fang's first time to play in the pond. If it was any other time, she would definitely give up, but today she thought it was fun: "Here we go."
She walked onto the shore barefoot. As she passed by several people, someone asked, "Who is this? I've never seen her before."
"I don't know him either. He should be a relative of Xiao Laoer's family."
There were two bottles of water in the thermos at home. Lin Yiyi took the thermos to the bathroom. "Fang Fang, take a bath first."
Fang Fang: "Sister, I don't have any clothes." What a miscalculation. If I had known this, I wouldn't have gone into the pond today.
Lin Yiyi: "Why don't you wear mine?"
Fang Fang: "Isn't this a bit bad?"
Lin Yiyi: "Only your outer clothes and the pants underneath are dirty. The clothes inside are still clean. I'll give you a pair of cotton pants and outer trousers."
Fang Fang: "Then I'll wash it and give it back to you."
Lin Yiyi: "No need, my pants are still new, you can wear them. You have just arrived in the countryside, so you probably don't bring many clothes with you. It's fine as long as you don't mind." In fact, she didn't really want to wear clothes that had been worn by others.
Fang Fang naturally wouldn't complain. It's just that the girls in the city have a good relationship with each other and they wear each other's clothes. Besides, Lin Yiyi's clothes and pants look good.
Lin Yiyi brought a pair of white cotton trousers and a pair of navy blue tweed trousers from the room. In those days, she either wore corduroy or tweed in winter because these two materials kept her warm. Fortunately, Fang Fang was also thin. Even though she was two or three centimeters taller than Lin Yiyi, she could wear both cotton trousers and tweed trousers. Cotton trousers had to be worn with socks, which were a little long for Lin Yiyi, but this kind of trousers were a little long, so they were just right for Fang Fang. As for tweed trousers, they were just right for Lin Yiyi. When she wore cloth shoes, they were about two centimeters off the ground, so they wouldn't be short for Fang Fang.
Lin Yiyi: "Put on these two pairs of pants after you take a shower. When you're done, brush your cotton shirt with a brush to remove the mud on the outside. Then put it in the sun and it will dry."
Fang Fang: “Oh.” The elder sister actually gave her such good material to wear. The elder sister is really a good person.
Lin Yiyi, not knowing that Fang Fang was moved, continued to boil water. There were many people taking a bath today, so a lot of water needed to be boiled. However, since there was a water carrier today, she was willing to boil water.
Fang Fang washed very quickly. She only washed the area below her thighs, so she came out ten minutes later. She was wearing Lin Yiyi's pants and she was very happy: "Sister, I just fit your pants."
Lin Yiyi: "Just wear them if you like. You don't have to give them back to me. I only wore this pair of pants twice when I bought them. I haven't worn them since because they're a little long for me." Of course you have to speak nicely. Saying you don't want to wear them and saying you don't have time to wear them are two different ways of saying it.
Fang Fang: "These are my elder sister's pants, how can I feel embarrassed?"
Lin Yiyi could hear the affection in her tone, so she said, "Why are you embarrassed? Aren't you my sister-in-law? Do you dislike me? If you do, there's nothing I can do."
Fang Fang: "No, no, I like them very much. The material of these pants is so good, how could I dislike them?"
Lin Yiyi: "I'm glad you don't mind. Fangfang, you watch the fire and help me look after Xiaoyi. I'll go to the supply and marketing cooperative to see if there's any tofu today. We'll make fish soup for lunch. Fish soup tastes best with tofu."
Fang Fang: "Hey, I'll keep an eye on it, don't worry, sister."
Lin Yiyi carried a basket with two large plates in it and rode away on her bicycle. Two hours later, she came back and heard people chatting at the door. Lin Sijun, Zhang Xiaojun and others had already returned from fishing.
When Lin Yiyi came back, Lin Sijun asked, "Sister, did you buy tofu?"
Lin Yiyi: "The supply and marketing cooperative didn't have tofu, so I went to the county town to buy some, and also bought soda from the state-owned hotel."
Lin Sijun: "Wow, can I drink soda at noon?"
Lin Yiyi nodded, and seeing that they had finished bathing, she said, "Second Army, the water in the water tank has been used up by you. Go and fill it up, and Fourth Army, go and help fetch water."
Zhang Xiaojun: "Hey." Why did he have to fetch water again? He saw that Lin Sijun was bigger than him. Is this how a brother gets cheated? If it was somewhere else, he would definitely refuse, but with his eldest sister, he didn't dare to refuse. He didn't know what was going on, but the girl who used to be manipulated by him now dared not disobey him.
Lin Yiyi looked at the fish and saw three big fish and half a bucket of small fish. Lin Wujun and Li Wanda caught them together. "Is there anyone else selling fish on the playground?"
Lin Wujun: "Yes, they are all very lively."
Lin Yiyi took the basket and money and went out. Before leaving, she said, "Wash the fish, but discard the fish heads. I'll fry them for you later. They're crispy and delicious."
Lin Wujun: "Wash it immediately."
The big playground in front of the village committee office was bustling with fish sellers, not only from the village but also from other villages. However, those with relatives in the village bought fish through people in the village. Lin Yiyi was in the back, and when it was her turn, she said, "Captain, give me fifteen fish."
Captain: “So many?” These fish are big. Fifteen of them must weigh 30 kilograms.
Lin Yiyi: "I have many younger brothers at home. I can send a few fish to them and pickle a few more. There will be only a few left." Besides, it will be fine to raise fish for half a month.
The captain asked someone to weigh the fifteen items quickly, and Lin Yiyi paid 9 yuan to the accountant.
Others who saw this were extremely envious. They would think twice before buying three pairs, but she bought 15 pairs in one go.
Lin Linyi returned home with the fish, took out a bucket, filled it with half a bucket of water, and then put the 15 fish in. She felt very happy watching the fish swimming around in the water. Then she went back to the house, picked up a plate of tofu and went to the old house. The tofu in the plate was not the boxed tofu, but the fresh tofu in the market, which was in line with the times. However, this was also a great opportunity for the system mall.
"Third brother's wife." Lin Yiyi saw Liang in the yard. Liang had already finished her confinement and was now calling Jixiang to take a bath.
Seeing Lin Yiyi coming, Liang said, "Fish are being sold in the playground. Did the second sister-in-law go to buy some?" This year, they did not send fish to the second wife, because this year the brigade can buy fish with money. In previous years, it was with work points, and the second wife did not have work points, so they exchanged work points for fish and sent them to the second wife. But this year, they can buy fish with money, and the second wife will definitely buy them, so they did not send them. Moreover, this year, she just came out of confinement and it was not easy to go to the pond to catch fish. Xiao Bin was not on vacation yet, and they did not have fish at home. Fish also cost money to buy, and it would be meaningless to send fish that you bought with money.
Lin Yiyi: "I bought 15 pairs."
Liang was surprised: "So many?"
Lin Yiyi: "My eldest sister-in-law is going to give birth in a few days. It's okay to keep the fish for a few more days. Maybe it can help her produce milk. Even if there is milk, it can help her replenish her body. Besides, the younger brothers also need to eat, so I just bought a few more."
Liang heard this and said, "Second sister-in-law is really thoughtful." If it were someone else's family, who would care whether their younger brother and sister-in-law had milk or not. But this year their family had money, so she planned to buy a few more and send two more to her parents' home during the New Year.
Lin Yiyi said, "I went to the county town this morning and bought a few pieces of tofu. These two pieces are for you." There were four pieces on the plate, and the other two had to be given to the elders.
Liang: "I'll get you the money."
Lin Yiyi: “No need.”
Liang refused and gave Lin Yiyi 40 cents. Seeing this, Lin Yiyi accepted it and said, "I'm going there."
Liang: “Hey.”
Lin Yiyi: "By the way, I bought some soda at home, and asked Jixiang to come over for lunch and drink some soda."
While taking a bath, Xiao Jixiang said, "Second Aunt, I will come."
Liang didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "This child doesn't know how to be polite at all."
Lin Yiyi: "We are family, why should we be polite?" She went to Qin Xiangju's place. Qin Xiangju also bought fish this year. Like Lin Yiyi, they also planned to pickle some fish, mainly because the family had money. In the past few years, Xiao Daqiang had earned thousands of yuan as a guard at the commune, so he was willing to spend money.
Seeing Lin Yiyi coming, Qin Xiangju said, "I heard you bought 15 fish?" When Qin Xiangju went to buy fish, she heard everyone talking about it.
Lin Yiyi said, "Yes, I plan to make some pickled fish. I need mom and grandma to help me because I don't know how to pickle fish." She handed the tofu on the plate to Grandma Xiao, "I bought this in the county this morning. I thought I could make tofu fish soup for lunch."
Grandma Xiao took the tofu and said, "That's nothing. We have rice in the trough at home. I'll bring it to you this afternoon." After saying that, she went into the house and took the plate of tofu with her when she came out.
After leaving the old house, Lin Yiyi prepared lunch and Fang Fang lit the fire for her. The advantage of having two iron pots at home was reflected at this time, one iron pot for cooking rice and one iron pot for cooking vegetables. However, they had an iron stove at home, so the tofu fish soup was stewed in it.
There are many people at home today, but except for the tofu fish soup, the rest are vegetables, all grown at home, including pepper and salt shredded potatoes, cauliflower soup, pickled cabbage, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, braised radish, plus tofu fish soup, six dishes in total, looking better than other people's Chinese New Year dishes.
After Fang Fang went to the countryside, she felt that the countryside was a mess, not to mention unhygienic and the food was very poor. But after seeing Lin Yiyi's house, she no longer thought so. In fact, Lin Yiyi's food is not particularly good because it is all vegetables, but it looks very colorful and fragrant. Even simple vegetables, such as tomatoes and eggs, can be eaten together. It has a slight sour taste and goes well with rice. She feels that the quality of a dish has nothing to do with whether it is a vegetable or not, but has something to do with whether it tastes good or not.
Lin Yiyi: "Everyone, sit down and eat. Can Erjun open some soda?" There are seven people in the family, not counting Xiaoyi. She took out seven bottles of soda.
Lin Sijun: "I'll do it."
Zhang Xiaojun: “Yes.”
The two brothers quickly opened seven bottles of soda. Lin Yiyi and Xiao Shiyi shared one bottle, and the others each had one bottle. Everyone enjoyed this lunch very much.
Fang Fang: "I haven't had soda for a year. When I was working in the countryside, I would buy soda when I ate at state-owned hotels." You don't need a ticket to buy soda, you can buy it with money.
Zhang Xiaojun wanted to say that he had only drunk soda twice. The first time was when he just got adopted by the Zhang family. His adoptive parents took them to a state-owned hotel for dinner and bought them a bottle of soda. He never drank soda again. The second time he drank soda was because he missed the taste of soda and secretly went to the state-owned hotel to buy it with his own pocket money.
After lunch, Lin Yiyi took out six fish: "Erjun, Fangfang, take these two fish." It's not that Lin Yiyi was particularly generous. The fish the couple caught today could indeed be exchanged for two fish. They were just fishing for Lin Yiyi's sake. These two fish were actually obtained by their own labor, but in their eyes, these were gifts from Lin Yiyi, so they were very touched.
Zhang Xiaojun: "We don't need it." He is always thick-skinned and would also calculate how to take advantage. If it were normal, if someone gave him a fish, he would definitely take advantage of it. But today, he didn't want to take advantage.
Lin Yiyi: "Take it. I'll have a nice meal with Fang Cao on New Year's Eve in two days."
Zhang Xiaojun lowered his head.
Then, Lin Yiyi took out four more fish: "Sijun, two are for you to eat during the New Year, and the other two are for your eldest sister-in-law to nourish her body when she gives birth."
Lin Sijun: "Ah." Compared to Zhang Xiaojun's politeness, Lin Sijun doesn't know how to be polite.
After dividing the fish, everyone went back. One group came and another group left. It was quite lively.
After entering the village, passers-by saw Lin Sijun and his friends and asked enthusiastically, "Sijun, have you been to your eldest sister's house?"
Lin Sijun: “Hey.”
"What did your eldest sister give you?"
Lin Sijun: "He gave my second brother two fish and gave us four fish."
"This fish is really big. Your elder sister is so kind to you. You must be filial to her when you grow up."
Lin Sijun: "Of course, my money is managed by my eldest sister."
Passerby: Young man, no lesbian will be willing to marry you if you are like this.
Troops
The army also has a holiday during the Chinese New Year, but it is relatively short, and the time to go back and forth is not enough to be delayed on the train, so most people don't go home. For someone like Lin Sanjun who has only been in the army for two years, it is even more impossible to go home.
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