RBCT Chapter 10 Sending Fish to Expand Connections
Chapter 10 Sending Fish to Expand Connections
"Oh, it's Zhenshan's kid. Why aren't you staying home in the middle of winter? What do you need Guodong for?"
As Zhou Chunmei asked the question, she opened the courtyard gate.
Suddenly remembering something, he asked in a somewhat serious tone:
"Your father, Zhenshan... is he alright?"
She suspected that something had happened to Li Zhenshan. The whole village had heard about Li Zhenshan's fall and injury half a month ago.
"No, no...no, my father is much better now, thank you for your concern, Aunt Chunmei."
Li Xiangyang quickly waved his hand:
"I wanted to catch some fish to nourish my father, but I caught a few too many. We couldn't finish them all at home, so I thought I'd bring some over."
"This... is not appropriate, not appropriate. Fishing in the dead of winter is not easy. It's better to leave it for your father to eat."
at this time,
Zhou Chunmei also noticed the huge little fish in Li Xiangyang's hand, but although she said she didn't need it, her eyes lit up.
Fishing in winter is difficult enough, let alone catching a small fish weighing over ten pounds.
Although Guodong was the secretary of the commune and his family was much better off than the average herder, they hadn't eaten a single fish dish since winter began.
"My father said that my family was able to rent the ranch this year thanks to Uncle Guodong's mediation in the commune. If I dare to take this fish back today, he will break my legs."
Seeing that Zhou Chunmei liked him, Li Xiangyang stopped being polite:
"Auntie, hang the fish in the kitchen. I'll say hello to Uncle Guodong."
As Li Xiangyang spoke, he forced the fish onto Zhou Chunmei and barged into the house.
"Oh dear, you rascal, you rascal, really!"
Zhou Chunmei complained, but a smile remained on her face. Seeing Li Xiangyang walk into the house, she happily carried the fish to the kitchen.
"Uncle Guodong, are you inside?"
Li Xiangyang knew Chen Guodong was inside, but he still understood the rule of calling out to someone before entering the room.
"Oh, it's Xiangyang. I'm inside... Come in, it's cold outside."
Chen Guodong heard everything that was happening outside, but he didn't rush to speak up. This was a testament to his political acumen honed from years of working on the front lines of the commune.
Plan things out before you act.
He was sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed) making hot milk tea, and when he saw Li Xiangyang come over, he made him a cup as well.
"Come here, Xiangyang, have a cup of milk tea first."
After Li Xiangyang took the milk tea, he asked slowly:
"Your father, how is Zhenshan feeling lately? Is he feeling any better?"
"Thanks to Uncle Guodong, my father's health has improved recently, and he can now sit up on his own."
"It's good that everyone is safe. The policies are now being pushed in a direction that benefits the development of our pastoral areas. As long as everyone is safe, we will all be able to live a good life soon."
"Yes, Uncle Guodong is right. That's why I went to the lake to break the ice and catch fish to help my father recover faster."
"Going to break through the ice in the lake to catch fish...?"
"Yes, I occasionally go to other villages to play, and I've seen other people doing it. Since I had nothing else to do, I went and caught some. Is there a rule against catching fish in the lake...?"
Li Xiangyang pretended to be at a loss, and said that he had made up the story about seeing people from other villages fishing.
of course,
He also knew that there were no regulations from above prohibiting fishing in the lake. Whether it was strictly enforced depended mainly on the attitude of each commune.
The little boy from the Li family suddenly came to visit; it turned out he wanted to ask this question.
Chen Guodong thought to himself.
But instead of answering immediately, he picked up the copper kettle and poured another cup of hot milk tea into Li Xiangyang's cup.
After careful consideration, he whispered:
"It's the dead of winter, with temperatures below minus thirty degrees Celsius. Going out to break the ice in the lake to catch fish to nourish your father is quite a challenge for you."
His filial piety is commendable.
As for regulations in this regard, there aren't any; as long as you don't do anything illegal, it's fine.
"Yes, yes, I will definitely keep Uncle Guodong's words in mind and will never do anything illegal."
Li Xiangyang readily agreed.
With Chen Guodong, the commune secretary, backing them up, they didn't have to worry even if the villagers found out later that they were ice-breaking fish in the lake.
As for whether to catch fish and sell them in town, engaging in speculation, that's the business of the town's management team.
The commune wouldn't care.
"You should take that fish home. Or you can send it to your second uncle."
Chen Guodong wanted to add a polite remark.
Li Xiangyang naturally knew that he was just being polite. There was no such thing as taking back a gift once it was given. Now that the other party had endorsed his fishing trip in the lake, it was even less likely that he would take the fish back.
"No, no, no, my second uncle doesn't like to eat fish. My dad said that his throat has been narrower than normal since he was a child, so he is prone to getting fish bones stuck in his throat."
"Uncle Guodong, I'll head back now."
Having achieved his goal, Li Xiangyang didn't linger any longer. He got up, said goodbye to Zhou Chunmei, and left.
"Zhenshan's little rascal used to be a good-for-nothing, always loafing around. Now that he's married, he's become much more sensible and speaks with great eloquence."
Watching Li Xiangyang push open the door and leave, Chen Guodong couldn't help but comment.
"Not only is she good at talking, she's also very good at dealing with people. Husband, take another look at how big this little fish is."
Zhou Chunmei's tone was somewhat smug.
As he spoke,
They picked up the small fish that Li Xiangyang had given them, which weighed over ten kilograms.
"This...this gift is really too much. I thought it would be just ordinary small crucian carp."
Chen Guodong looked at the little fish, whose legs were even longer than Zhou Chunmei's.
Some were surprised.
.........
In the west room, Liu Xiulan, the wife, was sewing shoe soles on the kang (a heated brick bed), while chubby Li Doudou watched obediently from the side.
She doesn't cry or fuss, and is very easy to take care of.
Thinking about the changes in Li Xiangyang over the past two days, a smile involuntarily crept onto her lips.
She picked up the butter paper package on the table, gently opened it, revealing half a bar of soap that Li Xiangyang had given her that morning, and brought it close to her nose to smell it.
"Mmm, I never expected that soap could smell so good."
I carefully wrapped the soap again, feeling a sense of joy and hope for the future.
"Sister, is sister inside?"
Outside, a slightly childish boy's voice rang out.
Hmm? That's my younger brother Jianguo's voice. What brings you here today?
"They're inside, come in!"
Seeing Liu Jianguo push the door open and come in, Liu Xiulan also got off the kang (a heated brick bed) and picked up a rag to help her younger brother sweep the snow off his body.
"DouDou, little DouDou, you didn't even greet your uncle when he came."
Liu Jianguo casually shook off the snow from his body, dropped the small bag of flour he was holding, and went to the kang (a heated brick bed) to play with his niece.
He just turned 18 this year and hasn't gotten married yet. There are no pastures in their area, so he works in the village with his father, farming.
The whole family is quite hardworking and diligent, and their life is fairly comfortable, better than Li Xiangyang's family.
Therefore, he had some dissatisfaction with his brother-in-law, Li Xiangyang, who was a good-for-nothing. If it weren't for his concern for his older sister and niece, he wouldn't have wanted to even set foot in the Li family's house.
"Brother, you've come all this way, why bring flour? Save it for Dad and Mom. And save any extra money for when you get married."
Liu Xiulan looked at the bag of flour on the ground and said with heartache.
these years,
Li Xiangyang is irresponsible, and the whole family relies on her father-in-law and eldest uncle to support them. They live a very tight life. Her family members can't bear to see her like this and often help her out, which makes her feel a little guilty.
"I'm not in a hurry to get married. I'll wait until I find a suitable wife. Keep this flour; my mother told me to take it with me before I left."
Liu Jianguo picked up Li Doudou and played with her, saying casually.
Liu Xiulan nodded:
"Yes, by the way, how have Dad and Mom been lately?"
"It's great. We contracted four acres of land this year, and the harvest is pretty good. I'm very happy. This flour is made from wheat we grow ourselves."
By the way, how is your father-in-law's health?
"He's much better. I estimate he'll be able to get out of bed in about three months."
"That's good. Your mother has been worried sick lately, afraid that if something were to happen to your father-in-law, your family would be in trouble..."
Liu Jianguo stopped mid-sentence.
"this……"
Liu Xiulan knew what her younger brother meant by those words.
In the past,
Xiangyang doesn't work all day, and the family is supported by her father-in-law and Uncle Xiangdong. If anything happens to her father-in-law, her family will fall apart.
But things are different now; Xiangyang is now capable of taking on responsibilities.
The fish I caught from the river just yesterday and today, if converted into wages, would be equivalent to two months' wages for others.
She said with a hint of pride:
"Brother, your brother-in-law has changed. He's very hardworking and capable. He's earned more than 30 yuan for the family in just the last two days."
"Huh? 3...30 yuan? For two days...?"
Liu Jianguo was somewhat shocked, but more than that, he was incredulous.
Could it be that Li Xiangyang, that scoundrel, went to commit robbery?