Chapter 43 It's better to rely on yourself than others

Chapter 43 It's better to rely on yourself than others

After handing the small note to Wang Xiaozhi, and watching her add many symbols to the blank space at the bottom half of the note in a way she could understand, Xie Wanniang began to prepare lunch.

Make a fish ball and winter melon soup, a steamed eggplant with minced garlic, and a stir-fried cabbage with vinegar. Then cook a pot of rice. The three of them ate until their noses were sweating and their stomachs were full and warm.

The thick rice porridge shouldn't be wasted either. It should be carefully poured into an earthenware jar so that Xie Wanniang and Xiao Yang can drink it like water while working in the afternoon. It's both delicious and nutritious.

As for Wang Xiaozhi, who was about to go home after finishing her work, Xie Wanniang gave her a duck, a bag of brown sugar, and two cotton-padded clothes as a thank-you gift to express her gratitude.

The duck was a treat for Wang Xiaozhi's in-laws. After all, Wang Xiaozhi couldn't be in two places at once; during the few days she helped Xie Wanniang, her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law were the ones doing all the chores for her in-laws.

Even her two children are being looked after by her mother-in-law, so it would be unreasonable not to give her some compensation for her hard work.

The brown sugar is for Wang Xiaozhi and her family. Wang Xiaozhi can make it herself to drink, or she can take some out from time to time to give to the children as a treat.

The cotton-padded coats were made by Xie Wanniang over the past few nights by burning the midnight oil, using the leftover cotton and cloth she had.

Children's clothes don't require much fabric or cotton, but Wang Xiaozhi was even happier and more content to receive this gift than if she had received a cotton-padded coat herself.

Without Xie Wan Niang even having to mention it, she took the initiative to tell Xie Wan Niang that from now on, whether it's making tofu, sprinkling rice cakes, making soybean paste, pickling vegetables, sauerkraut, drying vegetables, or anything else, she would take the initiative to remind Xie Wan Niang whenever the time came.

Xie Wanniang thanked Wang Xiaozhi with a sweet smile, but after seeing Wang Xiaozhi off, she immediately took out paper and pen and began to recall and record the things her adoptive mother would do with her and her sisters at certain times in previous years.

The situation is different in ancient times and in modern times. When living in the modern concrete jungle, Xie Wanniang can easily find pickled vegetables or wild vegetables online and have them delivered to her home for a small fee. However, in the rural areas of ancient times, most things had to be made by hand.

It's better to rely on yourself than on others. Instead of expecting Wang Xiaozhi to come and remind her every now and then, she might as well just make a schedule for herself.

Xie Wanniang wrote down everything she could remember on paper, washed her hands, and sat back down at the embroidery frame to continue her work.

She embroidered until it was completely dark. Jiang Yuan returned, covered in cold air and carrying four large bundles of firewood. Only then did she run to the kitchen and quickly begin preparing dinner.

To save time, she made mixed noodle soup for dinner.

Wash the leftover vegetables from making sauerkraut, dried vegetables, and salted vegetables, cut them into small pieces, and put them into a pot. Then add four eggs and some fish balls. A simple but nutritious and delicious dinner is ready.

Hao Yu and Jiang Yuan, feeling it wasn't flavorful enough, scooped some homemade chili oil made by Xie Wan Niang with dried chilies into their bowls, while Xie Wan Niang and Xiao Yang obediently ate their plain, unspicy dumpling soup.

After the meal, Xiao Yang, who had finally managed to get the chance to wash the pots and pans and boil water, stood on a small stool and busied himself in the kitchen. Jiang Yuan and Hao Yu sat at the entrance of the kitchen, skillfully weaving various sizes of baskets, hampers, wicker baskets and carrying baskets by the dim light of the oil lamp inside.

As for Xie Wanniang, she didn't do embroidery either. Instead, she took sorghum stalks, large needles, and thicker, stronger thread, and sat down next to the cupboard to make various sizes of curtains with a wide range of uses.

In addition to these, they also make their own cooking brooms, sweepers, and kang mats to avoid running out of things and having no suitable tools to use in the coming year.

The four of them worked by the light of an oil lamp for about half an hour before going back to their rooms to wash up.

After washing up, Xie Wanniang did not continue embroidering. Now that some ice had formed on the river, it was time to store fresh fish in large quantities. So tomorrow, Jiang Yuan would go to the Tang River and nearby ponds with other able-bodied men from the village to catch fish, and she would need to quickly sort the fish they brought back according to species, size, and freshness.

Those that are valuable, large, and lively can be sold in the town or county seat immediately.

It's not worth much, but it's lively and energetic, so I'll keep it in the bucket for now and deal with it later.

If the animal is already wilted or its belly is turned white, it needs to be slaughtered, cleaned, eaten, or pickled immediately.

The fishing activity will only last for three days, because there are only five unclaimed ponds around their village, and Tang He and his group only occupy a short section of the river.

During these three days, the village head will organize everyone to catch and distribute fish together. Each family can keep the fish for themselves or sell it outside if they want.

People like Jiang Yuan, who are not only registered residents of the village but also help with the entire fishing process, can get about twice as many fish as the elderly, weak, women, and children who stay at home. Moreover, they can choose the fish they want first.

Otherwise, Jiang Yuan wouldn't have taken the time to participate in the fishing activity.

As for Hao Yu, firstly, he had more important things to do (preparing provisions), and secondly, his old injury to his left hand prevented him from pulling the net for a long time.

For the next three days, Xie Wanniang sorted, cleaned, marinated, and dried various river fish, while Hao Yu helped take the fish they planned to sell to the county restaurant every morning for three consecutive days.

The fish sold brought in a total of two taels and six mace of silver. Even so, it was thanks to Hao Yu's help in delivering the fish to a restaurant in the county town that they were able to sell the fish cheaply in town, unlike most families in the village.

As for the fish they kept for themselves, half of them were pickled with a little salt and made into dried fish by Xie Wanniang, 20% were either made into fish balls for storage by Xie Wanniang or cooked in various ways for everyone to eat, and the last 30% were kept in wooden barrels and are still alive and kicking to this day.

After eating fish for three days in a row, Jiang Yuan and his two companions realized for the first time that in addition to the steaming and boiling methods commonly used by the villagers, as well as the braising, frying, and stewing methods that Xie Wanniang had used before, fish could also be pan-fried, grilled, sweet and sour, marinated, and made into fish balls, thus developing more ways to eat it.

After the fishing activity ended, the last batch of fish that Xie Wanniang had selected to sell was taken away by Hao Yu, and Xie Wanniang then returned to her long-term work of embroidery.

To her surprise, the day after Hao Yu sold her fish, Jiang Yuan also went to Tang County with Hao Yu.

The two carried large bags and small packages, along with a lot of things, to the carriage that Hao Yu had rented.