The village chief had Jiang put her fingerprint on the ledger, and then arranged for Wu Jiahu to help deliver the fish to Jiang's house.
After thanking them, Jiang Yue took her daughter-in-law and children home. On the way, she encountered her mother-in-law and uncles. After a brief explanation, her mother-in-law waved her hand, telling her to hurry back and open the door...
Um~
Her mother-in-law walked very fast, her steps were like the wind, and Jiang Yue couldn't help but be a little amazed.
He sighed, turned around, shrugged, and gestured for his daughters-in-law to continue their journey home.
Wu Jiahu was probably trying to avoid suspicion, so he left very quickly. When Jiang and the others returned home, he hurriedly dumped the fish and shrimp from two winnowing baskets and ran away as fast as he could.
To be honest, Jiang Yue felt that dealing with people like this was better than dealing with those hypocritical people.
"Woof woof woof~"
Little White wagged its tail excitedly, sniffing the fish and shrimp with its bright eyes.
It was clear that Little White really wanted to eat, but without its owner's permission, it restrained its instincts.
"You can't eat it for now. Wash it thoroughly and cook it before eating."
Qingyao squatted down, patted Xiaobai's head, and muttered something.
Little White blinked, as if it understood, and let its little master pat its head.
"Heavy snow, you're scary, aren't you?"
Jiang Yue frowned. She wasn't afraid of fish and shrimp, but this eel was soft and limp, like a snake. She was already lucky she hadn't thrown a brick at it.
"Mother, I'm not afraid. You go back to your room and rest. I'll take care of things here."
Da Xue shook her head. In the summer, she would still go to the river behind the mountain to catch river clams, and sometimes she would catch eels. She would bring them home, and her family could have a fresh soup.
“Okay, you can handle the eels, and I'll kill the fish and scale them. There are so many fish, how can I let you handle them all by yourself?”
Jiang Yue shook her head. If it were just one or two pieces, that would be fine, but this weighs a good thirty pounds.
In addition to eels, there are also many river shrimp. The village chief, being an elder, has given them too much.
"Mother, let me help."
Qingyun rolled up his sleeves; he could help too.
"Mom, I'll boil some water."
Qingyao felt the same way; how could she watch her sister-in-law and mother busy while she slept soundly?
"Alright, Qingyun, you fetch some water and pour it into the basin so your sister-in-law and I can use it anytime."
"Yaoyao, you start the fire; Qingyun, you pour the water, for later use."
“I’ll kill the fish, and you, Daxue, will kill the eels. These things won’t survive overnight without the pond water. Kill them and keep them fresh by freezing them with ice and snow.”
Jiang Yue glanced at the live fish and shrimp scattered on the ground, as well as the wriggling eels, and calmly issued instructions.
By the way, how was the fish smoked?
Never mind, kill it first, then freeze it, and then ask my mother-in-law and the others for advice!
After Shen Shi (3-5 PM) —
The two brothers, Qingshan and Qingsong, drove back with Xiaoma and Xiaohu in their carts, followed closely by Dashi and Xiaoshi's oxcarts. The two oxcarts drove one after the other on the snow, making a crunching sound.
Upon entering the village, everyone simultaneously smelled the fragrance.
Smoke could be seen rising from the chimneys of every household.
After a long day, everyone was eager to go home and have a good meal.
Xiao Ma and Xiao Hu got off the bus halfway there. Their homes were nearby and on the way, so they traveled together.
Qingshan continued driving and said goodbye to his cousin and the others at the fork in the road.
After returning home, the first thing to do was to settle the cattle, ensuring they had enough fodder and water.
"Sister-in-law, what are you cooking?"
"Second brother's back! I'm cooking eel. There's hot water in the pot, warm it up first, dinner'll be ready soon!"
"Oh, thank you, sister-in-law~"
Qingsong took off his hat and scarf, turned his head, took off his gloves and put them on the shelf, then comfortably soaked in the warm water. So relaxing!
A little while later, his brother arrived. He gave up his seat, greeted his sister-in-law, and then went off to chop firewood with an axe.
"Is the water cold?"
She sprinkled some chopped scallions on the snow, put the pot lid on, and turned her head to see her husband staring at her. Thinking that the water in his basin had cooled down, she was about to scoop out a ladle of hot water when she saw her husband shake his head.
"It's not cold, don't waste hot water."
Aoyama smiled. He couldn't help but look at his wife's virtuousness, and he couldn't get enough of her.
Da Xue sighed, "My husband is right, we can't waste hot water."
With the heavy snow blocking the roads, their firewood burned quickly, and they didn't know if the firewood pile would last until spring.
Where is Mother?
After looking around in the east and west but not seeing his mother, he couldn't help but ask her.
"The village opened a pond today and sent a lot of eels and river shrimp to our family. Mom took a basket to Grandpa and Grandma's place."
Da Xue explained, "Of course, my mother-in-law also sent a basket to her own family. She remembers it all."
"I'm going to deliver something to the village chief's house, I'll be back shortly."
Qingshan understood what was going on. After soaking the bones for a while, he put his gloves back on, told his wife where he was going, and then took the string of bones to the village chief's house...
Meanwhile, at the old house, Jiang Yue was invited inside for a long talk.
Inside the small fire pit, the four women—mother and daughters-in-law—warmed their feet, while the men stood a short distance away, partly to avoid suspicion, and partly because Old Master Wu smoked his pipe and they didn't want the fire to bother them...
Matchmaker Yang sent a message through someone, asking the eldest branch of the family to make preparations so that their people could come to Zhangjia Village in the morning to look at the first family's daughter, and then go to Yangjiawan in the afternoon to look at the third family's daughter.
This matter concerns Da Shi's lifelong happiness, and Da Zhou Shi is unsure of the outcome. She wants to ask her third sister-in-law to go along and help her make an assessment.
Xiao Zhou agreed, wanting her third brother's wife to bring her little girl along; the implication was self-evident.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yue thought about it for a moment and then agreed.
Since she has nothing to do at home anyway, it would be good to help her look at the first house tomorrow morning and then visit her brother's family in the afternoon.
Old Mrs. Zhou made the decision, and the matter was settled. Tomorrow, Da Shi would drive to pick up the third son's wife.
Da Shi stood behind his mother, his ears turning bright red, whether from excitement or embarrassment, it was hard to tell.
Needless to say, the little girl didn't even dare to look her third aunt in the eye, she was too embarrassed to ask!
The group discussed what gifts to bring to the woman's family. Jiang Yue didn't participate; she figured her mother-in-law could handle these matters, so she didn't want to embarrass herself.
After returning home, Jiang Yue casually mentioned that she would be accompanying Da Shi and Xiao Niu to look at potential partners the next day. She might be home very late, or she might stay overnight at her brother and sister-in-law's house. If she didn't come back, Da Xue would be in charge of the household arrangements.
No one objected, and that was the decision.
After the meal, the heavy snow froze two fish that were a foot long, and also filled half a bucket with eels and half a bucket with river shrimp.
Leave it outside to freeze overnight until it's rock hard; just thaw it when you want to eat it.
Jiang Yue felt very gratified watching her daughter-in-law busy herself.
I imagine my brother and sister-in-law's family makes a good living raising ducks and selling roast ducks.
Sending some fish and shrimp is enough; the thought is what counts.
After soaking her feet in hot water, Jiang Yue went back to her room and fell asleep immediately, without any insomnia.
I slept soundly through the night without a single dream...
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