The women's hopes were completely dashed, and one by one they immediately revealed their ugly faces.
Watching He Tiantian's departing figure, they couldn't help but mutter and curse, "What a piece of trash! All she caught were some fish!"
"Who says otherwise? Look at her, she's practically strutting around with her tail in the air."
"She's showing off in front of the whole village, letting us know that no one is as well off as her."
Jealousy makes people ugly. As long as the sun shines, these women's words become more and more outrageous.
Once Zhao Tingzhang reached the village entrance, he naturally made an excuse to do other things. He was too embarrassed to stay at someone's house.
After arriving home, He Tiantian poured one of the buckets of fish into the water tank. She then filled the tank with water, so the fish could stay alive overnight.
These fish can just wait to go to the city with the carriage tomorrow. Then the shop can add fish to the menu.
The other bucket contained about ten fish, and He Tiantian took two of them to give to Zhao Xiaohe to take back.
They left two more for Old Madam Song next door, and picked the largest of the remaining two, giving one to Da Niu's family and the other to Tie Zhu's family.
There are four medium-sized ones left, which they can save for dinner.
No one had any particular opinion on how the fish was cooked. They weren't picky about any kind of meat.
There are four people in the family, and we'll be inviting Master Xu over tonight. Four fish should be enough for us.
There's also a pre-built oven in the yard, perfect for grilling fish.
The fish grilled under the stove smelled incredibly delicious.
The two fish prepared for Mrs. Song next door were grilled and the other simmered into a milky white fish, tofu, and egg soup—it was incredibly delicious.
Zhao Xiaolu was in charge of cooking, and He Tiantian helped out in the kitchen.
Although her cooking skills aren't great, she eats a lot. So she'll give Xiao Lü some cooking advice from time to time.
The reason He Tiantian stayed for a while after returning home this time was not only because she had a lot of things to do at home, but also because she wanted to spend more time with Zhao Xiaolü.
Since the two sisters came to their home, they have been incredibly easy to take care of.
It was precisely because she was so carefree that He Tiantian realized she hadn't talked to her two children about her inner thoughts in a long time.
She sat in front of the stove, adding firewood to the firebox while secretly observing Zhao Xiaolü chopping vegetables.
In this era, girls who are fourteen or fifteen years old already look like adults.
Not knowing how to bring up the topic, He Tiantian casually asked, "Did you and Xiao Lan visit your mother before the New Year?"
Zhao Xiaolu nodded. "I've seen it."
In the immediate aftermath of her departure, Zhao Xiaolü thought about it every day. But perhaps as time passed, she only thought about it occasionally.
"Hmm...we should take a look. Did you go home and look at it?" He Tiantian continued to ask.
Zhao Xiaolu paused while chopping vegetables, then resumed her normal actions.
"That's not my home anymore."
I heard that her grandmother helped her father remarry. Zhao Xiaolu saw that woman, heavily pregnant, wandering around the village just a couple of days ago.
He Tiantian knew that they hadn't let go of the past, so she stopped talking about it.
Zhao Xiaolu turned fifteen after the New Year. In the village, girls of that age were almost all starting to look for in-laws and get engaged.
However, no one mentioned Xiao Lü to He Tiantian. Firstly, she wasn't very popular, and secondly, everyone knew about the child's situation.
He Tiantian didn't want the child she had watched grow up to get married so young. But this was just her own thought; ultimately, it all depended on Zhao Xiaolü.
So He Tiantian asked, "Xiao Lü, you're not getting any younger. If you like someone, you must tell your aunt."
Zhao Xiaolu blushed instantly and said in a soft voice, "Auntie, I don't like any of them."
“I know, I mean later.”
"There won't be any more, I won't..."
Before Zhao Xiaolu could finish speaking, He Shitou came in carrying a bundle of firewood, abruptly interrupting, "What are you talking about? You say there won't be any more in the future?"
He Shitou felt that it was still quite uncomfortable to only listen to half of what was said.
Zhao Xiaolu glared at him with dissatisfaction, "It's nothing, I just said we were out of firewood, why did it take you so long to deliver it?"
"Oh, oh, oh." He Shitou quickly carried the firewood over.
Seeing this, He Tiantian didn't know what to say. The first phase of communication had failed.
She just wanted to find out what Xiao Lü was thinking. Of course, she didn't mind waiting a few years before considering it, as long as the child was willing.
If she doesn't mention it later and the child regrets it, then she might not.
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