The lamb went into the basket, bleated a few times, and then lay down.
Zhang Hongmei led two large sheep, following behind Zhang Liu Erya. They had circled the entire market, and the two were now planning to go home.
I hadn't gone far when I saw Wang Hongxi. "Uncle Village Chief, you've come to the market too?"
"Hongmei, you bought sheep again? With so many sheep at home, you might not be able to afford to feed them later."
"I was thinking of killing two rams for everyone to eat on New Year's Day, and keeping the ewes for milk."
"Good girl, we'll calculate your work points later. Nobody can take advantage of you."
"Anything is fine, it's all about eating."
"Hongmei, you bought sheep again?" Zhuzi came over too.
"Brother Zhu, you didn't buy anything?" Zhang Hongmei didn't even want to answer.
"No, my mom and dad are here, so I don't need them. I just came out to check. Are you two going back? Let's go together."
"It's not good to play outside with the sheep in the wings, so let's go back together, but where is my third aunt?"
“My aunt is still behind us. Come on, give me the basket, and give me the sheep too.”
"Uncle Village Chief, we're leaving now."
"Let's go back."
Zhu Zi carried a basket on his back and led the sheep ahead, with the two women following behind. Er Ya, seeing Zhang Hongmei still wandering around, quickly grabbed her hand and walked away.
Now Zhang Hongmei is more than half a head taller than Er Ya, with thick, black hair. When the two are together, it looks like Zhang Hongmei is the older sister.
Finally, we ran into Li Cuihua, who had also bought quite a lot of things. The New Year's gifts for several families alone almost filled the baskets.
"Er Ya, here's your basket, I'll carry it for my aunt."
"No need, I won by myself."
"Mom, you should just let my brother Zhu carry you. You're sweating from exhaustion."
"Auntie, is there anything else you want to buy?"
"We're not buying anymore. What about you guys? Have you all finished shopping? Then we'll head back."
When the four of them got home, Zhang Hongmei was so tired that she didn't want to move anymore. Er Lengzi also brought the basket and cage back to Zhang Hongmei.
"Hongmei, I'm going to join the army after the New Year. Aren't you envious?"
"I'm not envious. I just want to stay in the village and at home."
"You're promising. You'll start slaughtering pigs at twenty, two a day. I've already asked around, and one place can only sell you ten jin. Is that enough?"
"Eat more if there's too much, eat less if there's too little. Brother Er Lengzi, you still have to kill two rams on the 30th, we'll eat them that day."
"What kind of compensation did the village give you?"
"The village chief said he would give me some points."
"Okay. Otherwise, you won't be able to feed them all. I'm going back now, it'll be time for dinner soon, don't be late."
"Okay. Shall we go fishing tomorrow? I've bought a fishing net."
"Zhong, all you know is eating. I'll call a few more people tomorrow. Otherwise, it'll be dangerous in the mountains."
"Yes. It hasn't snowed yet, so there must be a lot of animals drinking water by the pond. I wonder if our traps have yielded any results."
"No, I'll go check every other day. They've even dug deeper. I'll dig a few more by the pond tomorrow if I have the chance. I'm off."
Zhang Hongmei added bean stalks to the sheep, put in warm water, and even gave the lamb some spring water to drink. Since she had given it to herself, she wanted it to live well.
After cleaning the sheepfold again, he went into his spatial dimension to take a shower and change his clothes. He then took the bowls and chopsticks to the brigade headquarters.
It was still the same old pumpkin porridge, and Zhang Hongmei felt her face turn green with disgust. But there was nothing she could do; she was lucky to have anything to eat at all.
Because the summer wheat harvest hadn't been completed, everyone was going home to cook some more meals for their children to make up for the lack of wheat. Of course, some had already finished eating, so they had to eat in the canteen.
Zhang Hongmei carried the porridge and called Er Ya to go back together. When they got home, they each put a spoonful of brown sugar in their bowls before eating.
"Sister Er Ya, I told Brother Er Lengzi we're going fishing tomorrow. Come over for dinner early, or you'll go hungry."
Just the few of us?
"No, Brother Er Lengzi said it would be safer to call a few more people."
"That's what I was thinking too. Are you bringing lunch tomorrow? How much will you need to make?"
"I still have some cornmeal. I'll steam some cornbread with some sugar tomorrow morning; it should taste good."
"Keep the cornmeal for yourself."
"It's alright, there's enough to eat."
Er Ya arrived before dawn the next day. The two of them cooked quickly, and by the time Er Lengzi and Zhu Zi arrived, the meal was already prepared.
"Going out with Hongmei will definitely mean getting some good food."
"Brother Dashan was wrong this time. There's nothing good to eat, just cornbread."
"Steamed cornbread is a good thing. I drink porridge every day and I can't even remember what steamed cornbread tastes like."
Zhang Hongmei was packing cornbread into a basket and handed one to Dashan, saying, "You try it first."
"No, let's keep it for lunch. Wrap the cornbread in an old cotton coat or something so it doesn't get cold."
"Okay, I know what to do."
The people Er Lengzi called over were all people who had helped Zhang Hongmei build the sheepfold last time. They were all very familiar with Zhang Hongmei, so they were quite relaxed when talking to her.
Eight people, each carrying a machete, a pickaxe, and a basket, went up the mountain together. This was essential equipment for climbing the mountain; you never knew what good things might come up, and it would be tragic if you didn't have any gear to carry you.
Without checking for traps along the way, they headed straight for the pool.
The pool was already frozen over, with a thickness of 20 centimeters. It was safe for people to climb on it without any problem, so the eight of them dug holes in the ice at the spot that Er Lengzi had designated.
Zhang Hongmei felt her arm go numb from the impact of her pickaxe strike. Embarrassed, she glanced at the others, all of whom seemed much stronger than her. Dejected, she picked up her pickaxe again. "No way," she thought, "if they can dig two holes, surely I can't even dig one in the ice?"
The ideal was truly wonderful, but reality was disheartening. It was really impossible; my palms were covered in blisters, and I still couldn't dig that ice hole.
Er Lengzi couldn't stand it any longer. "Okay, Hongmei, you still need to take the cage and scoop up all the broken ice from the ice hole. Be careful not to slip, and make sure your cotton shoes don't get wet."
Everyone watched as Zhang Hongmei's embarrassed face turned even redder, and no one laughed out loud.
After Zhang Hongmei scooped up all the broken ice, several older young men began to cast their nets.
Er Lengzi brought a rope, tied one end to the float, and held the net in his hand.
One end of the net is tied to a pole over two meters long. One person inserts the pole through an ice hole. Because of buoyancy, the pole stays close to the ice. By slowly adjusting the pole's direction, the net becomes visible through a second ice hole. Then, the net is lowered into the water. The pole is adjusted at the second ice hole, and a rope is tied to the end with the net. The person holding the rope walks towards the next ice hole, repeatedly untying and retying the rope. In a short time, the entire net is submerged. The two ends of the net are tied to sticks placed horizontally above the ice holes to prevent the net from escaping with the fish.
This is a great idea; the wisdom of the working people should not be underestimated.
There are five nets in total. Three of them belong to Dashan's family, and the remaining two were bought by Zhang Hongmei at the market yesterday.
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