The rain was heavy and dense, and the sky was dark, making it difficult to see clearly. They could only grope their way forward. Lu Yunxing, wearing a raincoat, was worried about Qin Xiaozhou going to find her older brother alone, so he led the way. "I know this road well, sister-in-law, just follow my footsteps. My brother said he was going to fish in the ravine, but the rain was too heavy and he told me to go back first. I was thinking of getting a raincoat because of the rain, and then you came, sister-in-law."
Qin Xiaozhou was speechless. They could choose not to eat the fish, but what if people were in danger? She used to think Lu Yunfeng was a steady person, but why was he acting so recklessly today? The two of them rushed to Qingzhugou in the rain. Because of the rain and the darkness, the duck pen was very quiet. The water in the pond was splashing loudly from the rain. All the outlets of the pond had been opened to facilitate flood discharge in the evening.
At this moment, the water in the pool was flowing out of the ravine with great force, and the water level dropped to only knee-deep. The stream in the ravine was also flowing much faster than usual. No wonder Lu Yunfeng wanted to catch fish while the pool was being drained, as the water from upstream was flowing this way.
The road into the ravine was muddy and slippery. After passing the pool and going more than fifty meters in, the bamboo began to grow densely, and the ground was covered with a layer of bamboo leaves, so the mud wouldn't stick to your shoes.
After walking another hundred meters or so, they finally saw the net. The four corners of the fishing net were tied to thick posts by the stream. Lu Yunfeng carried the stick barefoot and drove the fish into the net from the stream above.
The rain pelted him, his hair clung to his forehead and streamed down his cheeks, soaking him completely. It was hard to tell whether he was wet from the rain or from falling into the river.
Qin Xiaozhou had no use for the raincoat in his hand, so he handed it to Lu Yunxing and walked upstream. "I'll go ahead and keep watch. If there's a flash flood, I'll shout and you guys quickly pull in the net."
Lu Yunfeng nodded, "Be careful, don't go too far."
Qin Xiaozhou walked along the bank of the stream. Fortunately, the stream was at the bottom of the ravine, and the small mountain path that the Lu family usually used to dig bamboo shoots was halfway up the mountain. Even if there was a flood, the people on the mountain path would not be swept away for a while, so she felt at ease.
It was completely dark in the bamboo forest, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Whether it was the cold or something else, Qin Xiaozhou felt a chill all over her body and dared not go any further. Fortunately, Lu Yunfeng had come along too. "The rain is coming from the southeast. The water in this ravine only comes from the west mountain in the northwest. Don't worry, there won't be any flash floods on the west mountain for a while. We'll just wait another 15 minutes and then we'll go back with the net."
Okay!
It seems that it wasn't that Lu Yunfeng was being unreliable today, but rather that he was born and raised at the foot of Xishan Mountain and knew the situation of flash floods in Xishan Mountain better than she did.
The pool had been draining for an hour. The water from the Wild Boar Pool in the mountains had already flowed out of Qingzhugou, bringing with it a lot of rain. The three of them took advantage of the time before the flash flood came and retrieved their nets to go home.
He hauled the net up, slung it over his back, and left. When he got home and poured the fish into buckets, he realized there were so many fish—enough for two buckets and a large wooden basin. Qin Xiaozhou, soaking wet, suddenly got excited. "I'll grill some fish for you! Want some, Xiaoyanzi?"
"Yes, yes, yes." Lu Yan pulled the charcoal out of the stove and put it into the brazier. "Sister-in-law, hurry up and roast it."
Wang Lan poked her forehead, "How can you be so greedy, you little girl? You can't do this, or you'll never find a husband who will want you. What will you do then?"
Qin Xiaozhou deftly cleaned and scaled the fish at the kitchen door, gutted it, and took it into the kitchen to marinate it with salt, chili, scallion, ginger, and water. "Tch, they can't even appreciate such a good girl? They must be blind. Our Xiaoyan will never marry into a family without good fortune."
After washing her hands, she comforted Xiaoyan, "Don't be afraid. Your sister-in-law has excellent taste. I will definitely marry you off to a good family in the future. Whoever marries you will be blessed. You can eat whatever you want. There is no need to compromise yourself just to get married."
Lu Yu looked up from her needlework, her eyes gleaming in the firelight.
Whoever marries you will be very lucky!
She had never heard such words before. No matter how much the villagers loved their daughters, they would always say something like, "If you're not diligent, what will you do when you get married?"
It seems that a girl's entire life is about getting married, and she is preparing to get married from the moment she is born.
There's only the saying that goes, "It's your good fortune to marry him," but no man is ever truly blessed because he married a woman.
Wang Lan frowned, "What are you saying? Don't corrupt your sister-in-law."
Lu Yunfeng had already changed his clothes, dried his hair, and used thin bamboo sticks to skewer the marinated fish and put them on the fire pit to roast. There were many people in the Lu family, so they roasted a full ten palm-sized fish. "Grandma, when my little sister gets married, she should naturally marry a good man."
Wang Lan couldn't refute this. The Lu family wasn't the kind of heartless people who would sell their children. Naturally, they hoped that all their younger generations would be good. Besides, Lu Yan was only eight years old now, and the marriage proposal was five or six years away. They didn't even know if Lu Yan would still be around by then. If she wasn't, Zhao Fang was a soft-hearted person, so Lu Yan's marriage would still have to be decided by Lu Yunfeng and Qin Xiaozhou. Therefore, she didn't say anything more.
"Dayun, your aunt's wedding can't be delayed either."
It's unclear when it started, but the Lu family has become accustomed to openly discussing and explaining everything. Wang Lan patted Lu Yu's hand, "Don't be shy, this is a major life event for you, and we want to hear your opinion."
Since ancient times, marriages have been arranged by parents and matchmakers, with parents deciding on their children's marriages. However, in the past few months, Qin Xiaozhou has been more open about things, so Wang Lan didn't keep anything secret either. While everyone was grilling fish over a fire in the kitchen, they casually started talking about Lu Yu's marriage.
Wang Lan is getting old, and she can't keep up with the children's situation and knowledge in many things. So she thought she would discuss it with them. "Dayun, do you see if there are any suitable families in the nearby villages? You can ask around for your aunt. I stay at home all day, and I can hardly recognize any of the children in the village anymore. I can't count on them."
He then said to Lu Yu, "Don't marry too far away. If you marry someone from our village, I can help you out a bit. That guy nicknamed 'Wooden Head' at the village entrance, I saw that he was quite strong when he was young. I heard that he worked at the docks a few years ago. He's eighteen this year. I wonder if he's married yet."
Woody Woody, true to his name, is a piece of wood, always with his head down, never uttering a word. According to other villagers who also work at the docks, Woody Wood only moves when urged by the foreman. In the past two years, when looking for temporary work at the east and west docks, the foreman didn't want him for any of the better jobs. He was only occasionally used when a ship suddenly arrived at the docks and there weren't enough people to work for him. He was sometimes full and sometimes hungry, and he was in a terrible state.
Lu Yunfeng had overheard these words occasionally when he went out for drinks: "Wood is no good, he's not reliable or hardworking."
A man who toils in the fields is not hardworking and reliable; he will starve to death. For a woman to marry such a man is like jumping into a fire pit.
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