Chapter 5: Re-division of labor
After being called in and scolded by their mother, Jiang Xiangnan and others hurried to have lunch.
He only drank a small half of the thick paste he had served to his mother, leaving more than half a bowl. He poured it all into the big iron pot, stirred it evenly, left a portion for Jiang Xiangdong who was out to see a doctor, and divided the rest equally into each bowl.
Mom said that now all the food in the house is divided equally, regardless of gender, age or status!
Jiang Xiangnan squatted in the yard, drinking cornmeal porridge in big gulps while looking at Xiaohua.
After a while, he forced a hearty smile and asked, "Xiaohua, you ate a whole egg. Do you want Uncle San to help you eat some of the unpalatable porridge?"
My mother said that we should eat when we are full. If we have a big appetite and cannot eat enough, we can go hungry or find a way out ourselves. We can either go to the city to find a job to earn money, or go outside to dig wild vegetables. As long as we can bring back money or food, we can get some extra food.
He asked Xiaohua for it, which was also the same as "finding a way".
Xiaohua opened her big eyes and looked at her uncle, thinking that although she was young, she was not stupid.
Porridge is a good thing. If she can’t finish it, she can give it to her mother and aunt. Why should she give it to her third uncle? Her third uncle even said that the porridge tastes bad!
Jiang Xiangbei looked at his third brother with disdain, and silently moved away from Jiang Xiangnan.
Third brother is really something. Before, when mother wanted to throw away the flowers and grass, he didn’t even say a word to help. How dare he ask the flowers for food now?
Xiaohua certainly can't finish it, but doesn't there still have sister-in-law? Sister-in-law gave birth just a few days ago and is still in confinement, so she must eat more. Mother gives Xiaohua the same food, which is clearly to subsidize sister-in-law.
Third brother can't even see through this, he is so greedy and stupid!
Jiang Xiangnan, who was despised by his younger brother, touched his nose uncomfortably, and ate the wild vegetable porridge with his head down. Then he said vaguely: "Xiangbei, I will go with you to build the cage later!"
"No way! That's the trap I set in the ground. If you want to catch fish and shrimp, third brother, go set the trap yourself!" Jiang Xiangbei refused without hesitation.
Mother said that everyone should get a share based on their ability, and the more they earn, the more they get. He didn't want to share the fish and shrimps he had worked so hard to catch with his third brother!
Jiang Xiangnan muttered, "Just go ahead and fish. They're just fish and shrimp. I can easily catch a whole basket of them."
The key is that it’s useless even if you fish it out.
The big fish are very smart and hard to catch. The ground traps are full of small fish and shrimps. The miscellaneous fish are pitifully small, only about a finger long at most, with many bones and little meat. If you don't fry them in oil, you can't eat them at all. You can only feed them to chickens and ducks to lay more eggs.
Small river shrimps are slightly stronger, but only slightly. The shrimp shell takes up a large part of the shrimp, and the shrimp tail is only a pitiful tiny bit, not even enough to fill the gaps between teeth. It is also troublesome to eat and not worth the effort.
Oh~
Now is not the time to complain about rotten food. No matter how thin a fly's legs are, they are still meat. No matter how small a river shrimp is, it can still fill the gaps between your teeth!
If you don’t work hard and be diligent, you will really go hungry, and being hungry is not a pleasant feeling.
Jiang Shui looked at his third brother who had become diligent, and looked into the house thoughtfully.
In the past, the food at home was biased towards the older brothers and sisters. She, her sister-in-law, and Xiaohua had very little to eat, and could only eat watery soup to fill their stomachs.
Fourth brother used to go to the fields often to catch fish and shrimps, loaches and eels, and touch snails and river clams. Although these things were everywhere in Xingcheng and could not be sold at a high price, loaches and eels were meat, and occasionally he could peel the tails of the small river shrimps and feed them to Xiaohua to nourish her body. He could also smash the snails, river clams, and small wild fish to get the meat to feed the chickens and ducks, which would help them lay more eggs, which was good for the family.
But mother couldn't see it. Perhaps she thought these were what Fourth Brother should do, so she never gave him any extra rewards, not even any verbal praise. Every time Fourth Brother had a complaint, she would use the fact that we were all family to pressure him. Over time, Fourth Brother did less and less.
I basically don't do strenuous work like catching loaches, eels, snails and clams. I occasionally do it because it's not too tiring to catch fish in the fields. I feed the chickens and ducks with the small fish I catch, and I ask my sister-in-law to secretly cook the shrimp tails for Xiaohua.
The third brother is smart. He is determined not to do anything!
Apart from work in the fields during busy farming season, no other work is done!
He just lies there and does nothing when he has free time. According to Third Brother, it is useless to earn more money. My younger brother is studying in the city and it costs a lot of money. Why should he work so hard to support a whole family?
He is not the only one who eats well, and he is the only one who feels comfortable after a good rest.
What may be bitter first may not be sweet later, but what may be sweet first is truly sweet!
I didn't expect that the lazy third brother would become diligent and go fishing for fish and shrimp.
Jiang Shui smiled and called out to Jiang Xiangnan, "Third brother, try hard. You might be lucky enough to catch a big fish and sell it in the city for money. If you catch enough, you could even build a house."
Jiang Xiangnan snorted and said nothing.
Can big fish be so easy to catch? She is so bold!
Seeing Jiang Xiangnan remained silent, Jiang Shui continued to shout, "Third Brother, you two should go to the capital and find some work. See if there's any wealthy family looking for casual laborers. It would be great to earn some money doing some temporary work."
If she were a man, she would have gone to the capital city to find a job long ago!
After working hard on the land all year round, we only get enough to eat. We can't eat enough, but we won't starve to death either. Why not go to the capital to find other ways out?
Jiang Xiangnan pursed his lips and said nothing, but his mind became active.
In the past, no matter how much I earned or what I gained, I had to give it to my mother, and it would belong to the whole family, leaving me with nothing. But now it's different. My mother means that whoever earns will get an extra share. If that's the case, then the more I earn, the more I can save!
Never mind, let’s start by catching some fish and shrimp, at least to fill our stomachs.
Oh, and there are loaches and eels. These two can be sold for a few coins or even tens of coins in the city. Even with just a few coins, you can buy a pound or two of cornmeal. If you cook a small meal for yourself, won’t you be able to fill your stomach?
Jiang Xiangnan became more and more excited the more he thought about it. He drank the cornmeal porridge in the bowl in one breath, rushed into the kitchen, put away the dishes, grabbed the tools in the yard and ran to the river.
Jiang Xiangbei saw his third brother becoming diligent, and followed him to clean the wild vegetable porridge in the bowl, then rushed out.
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