In the morning, Sister Yang made crucian carp soup and fried pickled meat. The staple food is yesterday’s steamed flower rolls. The flower rolls here are usually rolled with two kinds of ingredients, either spicy oil or fragrant beans. The kind of chopped green onion is rarely made in ordinary households.
What I drank was corn batter. I often eat refined grains, but the coarse grains for breakfast have not changed much, and everyone likes to drink them.
It is so rich and comes with two kinds of soup. Sister Yang is worried that some people may not be used to it, or may want to drink both. She was used to getting up early. By the time Li Long and Gu Xiaoxia got up and washed up, the food was already on the table.
"Sister Yang, we will start paying you a salary this month." Li Long said, "It's hard enough to be so busy every day."
"What salary are you going to pay?" Sister Yang stared. ," My wife and I are eating here, and I can still make money by myself. You don’t have to pay for food or rent for living here. How can I get paid for cooking? This is in my hometown, so people don’t scold me. ?”
She pointed at Han Fang again and said:
"You also arranged a school for Xiaofang and bought you clothes. What you are wearing and the schoolbag you are carrying are all made by you. I, Xiaofang, have arrived. The school people thought she was the daughter of a family with ten thousand yuan.
Uncle, don’t talk about this anymore. It’s not that I don’t want money, but I have to be conscientious.”
All right.
At this time, many people are still very simple and talk about repaying kindness. It is estimated that if people knew at this time that there would be people who saved people and were blackmailed in the future, they would be able to scold the eighteen generations of ancestors.
Then let's buy more things for Sister Yang and Han Fang.
After dinner, Li Long wanted to send Gu Xiaoxia to the work, but Gu Xiaoxia refused. Colleagues in older units came here like this, and she didn't want others to say she was squeamish.
"Then walk slowly, the road is slippery now." Li Long warned. He planned not to let Gu Xiaoxia ride a bicycle for a while, and she would have to be picked up and dropped off anyway.
At this time, the snow on the road has been compacted and turned into ice, making it difficult to clean. The snow blowers that came out in later generations have not yet been seen. The county is not small now, but there are not many units. Each unit has a large yard and occupies a long road surface.
It is difficult to remove the ice on the road. There is no large garrison in the county seat of Ma County, so snow and ice removal can only rely on various units, which requires a process.
Sister Yang cleaned up the kitchen and started cooking. Li Long filled the jeep with water and fuel, then started it and drove to the team.
Now that we have started collecting fish, we cannot stop. There should be many people in the team waiting and watching. If Li Long stops collecting fish, some people with ideas will naturally retreat.
When the jeep drove to the Li family yard, the people who came out were Liang Yuemei and my mother Du Chunfang.
"Dad and your eldest brother have already gone to Xiaohaizi." Liang Yuemei explained, "Xiaolong, you go inside first to drink fish soup and warm yourself up."
"No," Li Long waved his hand , "I'll go to Xiaohaizi to have a look."
Everyone knew that making money and completing tasks was important at this time, so Du Chunfang and Liang Yuemei did not stop him.
Li Long left, and Liang Yuemei said to Du Chunfang:
"I, you stay in the house. I will go to the front yard to set up the stove for Xiaolong."
< br> "Okay, go ahead." Du Chunfang was not very good at setting up a stove, so she urged Liang Yuemei, "Put more charcoal, don't be reluctant."
"Hey, I understand." Liang Yuemei smiled. He responded. In fact, I really want to say that my parents-in-law are reluctant to let go. They also have a stove in their house, but every time they are urged by themselves and Li Jianguo to add more coal.
Both my father-in-law and mother-in-law said it was warm enough and there was no need to add too much coal, which was quite expensive.
Liang Yuemei heard from Li Jianguo that the coal in her hometown was indeed very expensive, and the price was several times that of northern Xinjiang. If you can't afford it, just buy briquettes mixed with yellow mud, which is relatively cheaper.
Maybe it’s because I’m used to freezing, so I think adding a little coal is enough.
But how could Li Jianguo and himself be willing to let them freeze? So I had to help them add coal to the stove.
But for Li Long, they were really willing. Liang Yuemei is not jealous at all, Li Long deserves this kind of preference.
Li Long's performance in the past two years is really worthy of this preference. Li Long cared enough about his parents, his brother and his sister-in-law, and his nephews and nieces, especially Li Juan and Li Qiang. In some aspects, he did more detail than himself as a parent.
Really sensible.
When the Lu family's sister-in-law comes to visit, she often says that there are too few families like the Li family where the brothers are harmonious and have no chores at all.
Who has two brothers who don’t quarrel over trivial matters? Every family has sutras that are difficult to recite, but I feel like the Li family doesn’t have them.
Liang Yuemei laughed when she heard this. These days are the happiest times for her. Although she is still tired from working in the summer, she is happy when she is tired.
I feel like life is getting better and better, and I feel like I have something to work on even when I’m tired. The life in front of me is already a beautiful life that others can only hope to achieve.
Nowadays, many sisters-in-law and daughters-in-law in the village come to their homes from time to time to chat while doing work. This did not happen before.
Slowly, the Li family has become a women's home in a residential area.
Liang Yuemei had the confidence to speak directly when the elder sisters-in-law and younger daughters-in-law complained, and she dared to persuade them, thus calming many family conflicts.
Some women are even saying that it would be best for Liang Yuemei to be the women's director.
Liang Yuemei hurriedly declined, it was inappropriate for her. As long as you can live a good life at home. She had not gone to school for a few years, didn't know much, and didn't have many ideas. She just wanted to live a good life for her family.
Li Long walked quickly along the road to Xiaohaizi, and he found that Tao Dayong and Tao Daqiang were indeed together.
The two people were not fishing in the ice hole, but were nearby, more than twenty meters apart, sweeping away the snow on the ice and smashing the ice.
It seems that we are planning to open another ice cave.
Yes, both brothers are great workers. If you just point to an ice hole, it may not be enough.
Seeing Li Long coming, those nearby who were copying fish all said hello.
Everyone who delivered fish to Li’s house yesterday got cash, and everyone is in better spirits today.
These days, I have to pay the public rations with IOUs, and I don’t settle the accounts until the end of the year. No matter what Li Long collects, he never owes a debt. He always pays as he pays, and he has established his credibility in two years.
Although some people complain that Li Long is sometimes too strict when collecting things, no one has ever complained about Li Long's credibility in giving money.
Li Long's behavior in the past two years has subtly left an impression in everyone's mind. As long as Li Long collects things, he will definitely not deceive people.
Don't underestimate this impression, the credibility gained in this way can be overdrawn. For ordinary people, such credibility is really rare.
When Li Long came to Li Qingxia's side, Li Jianguo was stuck halfway through the ice hole and was trying to lift the net.
Seeing Li Long coming over, Li Qingxia smiled and said:
"Xiaolong, your method was good yesterday. Put the net down and wait a while, and then pick it up again. There are more fish than yesterday!”
“Hey, look.” Li Long couldn’t tell whether it was really useful or just luck, so he walked over and took a look.
There were two big fish, a silver carp and a silver carp, both weighing two or three kilograms. Small crucian carp and pike weighing two or three kilograms are all gathered in a pile.
The big fish has been frozen hard. It seems that it should be fished out for a while.
"Brother, can you change it for me?" Li Long asked after seeing seven or eight small crucian carps found in his net.
"No need, just do it a few more times." Li Jianguo was not in a hurry. They were all fish, big or small, so just have them.
Li Long went to clean up Mao Weizi.
The reeds nearby have been collected several times and are gone.
Li Long went further away, and then heard someone making a noise in the ice cave to the northwest.
"...I just said to send the big fish to Li's house. You insisted that it would be more expensive to sell it in the county. This is great. I went to sell it early this morning. It took two hours and we were both frozen. Like a monkey, the result is that half of the fish is not sold! In the end, it is paid to the dealer, and the loss is 80 cents per kilogram..."
"Who could have thought of the county? There are not many people buying fish in the market. In the past, when I went to Shicheng in the summer, all the fish were sold out..."
"Can the county compare with Shicheng? We don't have bicycles or tractors, and Shicheng has ten A few kilometers away. Dad, let me tell you, let’s just sell the big fish to the Li family. It would be better to just take the cash!
If you think about it this way, you will suffer less and don’t have to run back and forth to the county. If we have a bicycle and you say it will cost more to sell it in Shicheng, then I won’t stop you. But now, running back and forth to the county, no matter how hard it is, you won’t be able to sell it. Raising the price will waste time..."
"Okay, okay, whatever you say is up to you. "
Li Long didn't look over there. He could tell from the voices that they were the Zhao family and his son. The two of them caught fish every day or two. In the summer, they would go to the county to sell fish, and in the autumn they would occasionally catch fish. . This winter, I heard that they were caught as soon as the ice could withstand people, but at that time there were not many fish that could be caught by breaking holes in the ice.
After all, the fish were not lacking oxygen at that time.
Li Long was seventy or eighty meters away from them. Their voices were not loud and ordinary people could not hear them at such a distance. Although they watched Li Long clean up Wei Zi, they were not worried about the words being leaked
But Li Long heard it.
Okay, in fact, collecting fish is a win-win situation. They don't have to go to the county to set up a stall to sell, and they can also receive suitable fish.
Arriving at the ice cave with a large bundle of reeds, Li Long put down the reeds where the fire was lit yesterday and started lighting them. Li Long went to Tao Dadai to have a look.
The ice hole has been smashed out of water, but it still needs to be protected and the edges need to be repaired.
Seeing Li Long coming, Tao Daqiang said, "Brother Long is here." Tao Dayong was a little embarrassed, and then he took the initiative to say hello:
"Xiaolong is here. I'll catch fish with Daqiang... help him..." Li Long smiled. It's rare to see Tao Dayong with such a low profile, which is actually quite good. If you want to live a good life, don't think too much. Sometimes I take the initiative to smile, but I really don’t think I’m being so mean-spirited.
"The only thing left is to cultivate. In fact, if you cultivate here alone, you can go over there and fish out of the ice cave." Li Long suggested, "Over there The ice hole has been closed all night, so the fish must have gathered here."
Li Long said this, and the two brothers also reacted. At first, they thought about taking turns to open the ice hole quickly, so they were all here. .
Currently repairing ice holes is a delicate job, so there is no need for two people to take turns.
"Daqiang, you go over there and copy the fish. I'll do it here again, and it'll be fine here." Tao Dayong said proactively.
"Brother, go over there. I have dug several holes in this ice cave. I know how to do it. Go and copy it and see if you can catch fish." Tao Daqiang picked up the net and stuffed it into his brother's hand. , pushed him, "Give it a try, anyway, we don't plan to catch many more fish today."
"That's OK." Tao Dayong held the net and smiled at Li Long, Then we went over there.
Tao Daqiang picked up the shovel and continued to repair the ice hole.
"You repair first, I will replace my elder brother." Li Long looked at it for a while and said.
"Okay." Tao Daqiang responded by grabbing the broken ice from the ice cave water with his net and slamming it onto the ice with his backhand.
He used to be very envious of the brotherly relationship between Li Jianguo and Li Long. Now that his eldest brother has taken actions to change for the better, he is quite proud.
My brother will gradually become more reliable. This reminded him of when he was young, when others bullied him, his brother Tao Dayong would stand up for him and help him fight the older kids who bullied him.
When did the change occur and the estrangement began?
I don’t know if it is really effective to stay in the water for a period of time with a net. This morning, the three people from the Li family found 12 large fish, and the total amount was 17 or 18 kilograms.
The small fish also weighs nearly ten kilograms.
A lot.
When the three people from the Li family walked back carrying the fish, it seemed like a signal to the other people who copied the fish in Xiaohaizi, and everyone packed their things and prepared to go back.
They all think about sending the big fish to Li’s house before lunch.
The weather was cold and the big fish were basically frozen. Li Long felt that there was no need to freeze the fish outside and could just put them in the house.
"Should we make another hole in the ice?" Li Qingxia suddenly asked on the road, "Isn't it enough for the three of us to make a hole in the ice?"
"We are just playing, and the best we can make is the best. "plum Long objected, "Why are you so busy? It's good to take turns. The ice is half a meter thick, and it will take at least an hour to break a hole..."
Li Jianguo didn't say anything, in fact he didn't Thought about this question.
“That’s not when I’m not fishing, so I feel so idle.” Li Qingxia said with a smile.
"Then I'll smash another one in the afternoon." Li Jianguo felt that there was nothing to do anyway, and he only fed chickens and pigs at home. Those pigs have been dealt with quite a bit.
Nowadays, there is so much land planted in summer that the pigs can no longer take care of it. Although if they are not professional pig farmers, the five acres of feed land will be taken back to people, but they no longer care.
Li Jianguo plans to get rid of most of the pigs by next year. Apart from raising two pigs every year for slaughter at the end of the year, they don’t raise much more.
As for Li Long’s wild boar at Laomahao, Li Jianguo never thought about it. That's Li Long's thing, he won't make that idea.
This is the pig I raised. When the New Year pig is killed, half of the pig will be given to Li Long. When Li Anguo and Chen Xingbang's family come over, they can also take home a pig leg.
This is what being a big brother means, you have to take care of everything.
"Then let's smash it." Since his father and elder brother agreed, Li Long didn't insist anymore. It only takes an hour. With three people together, it may not even take an hour. Who knows how strong they are?
Li Jianguo and Li Qingxia went back to the yard behind, while Li Long went to his yard and took out the scale.
Just now he saw smoke coming from his chimney from a distance, and the stove had obviously been set up.
My heart feels warm.
The first person to come over was Liang Dacheng, who came over with a smile and his pocket in hand.
"Hey, the fish is not small this time!" The first thing poured out of the pocket was a silver carp of at least four kilograms. Li Long exclaimed, "This fish head is delicious when cooked."
"Well, everyone was so lucky that they almost pulled people down. ." Liang Dacheng couldn't hide his pride, "Such a big silver carp is rare."
"Well, the others are also good." The remaining carp and Wudaohei are still there. There are five or six items, and it seems that the harvest is indeed good.
After weighing and giving money, Liang Dacheng walked out with the empty bag, and happened to meet the Zhao father and son coming in.
Seeing Li Long, both of them were a little embarrassed. They didn't know that Li Long had heard them. Looking at the plastic sheet Li Long spread out, they poured the fish out of the bag.
The fish are very regular, weighing more than one kilogram, and the largest is less than three kilograms.
There were seven in total. Li Long weighed them, eleven kilograms and eight. He also put a zero on them and gave them twelve yuan.
Both the Zhao family and his son were a little embarrassed and wanted to talk. Tao Daqiang and Tao Dayong came over.
The two people smiled and left.
Twelve yuan. I went to the morning market this morning and even the fish sold at the morning market didn’t even cost 12 yuan, and it was only half a day!
Tao Dayong took the bag and poured out the fish. Tao Daqiang didn't move, and Li Long guessed that there must be small fish in the bag in his hand.
There really weren’t many fish, six, two grass carp sticks, one silver carp, one carp and one five-striped black, so we had all kinds of fish.
Li Long weighed the six fish and found that they were exactly ten kilograms.
I gave Tao Dayong ten yuan. Tao Dayong took it and gave it to Tao Daqiang.
Tao Daqiang took it and gave it to Li Long:
"Brother Long, please avoid these two five-yuan pieces."
"Okay." Li Long took out two five-yuan pieces from his wad of money and handed them over, then handed the big Unity took over.
Tao Daqiang handed one of the five pieces to Tao Dayong.
"Daqiang, this..." Tao Dayong also didn't expect his younger brother to split equally. In fact, four of these six fish were paid for by Daqiang. He himself had little experience, so he was lucky to be able to copy two.
"Brother, take it, don't let Brother Long look at it and laugh." Tao Daqiang said.
"That's...ok." Tao Dayong was a little excited and said nothing more.
After the two people left, the next person waiting outside the courtyard entered the courtyard.
Tao Dayong turned home halfway, and Tao Daqiang asked him to pick up the small fish.
"I brought home a lot of small fish." Tao Daqiang said, "You can take these back and cook them to eat. The fish are small, but they taste good."
"Okay." Tao Daqiang Dayong said nothing more.
Back in her yard, Ma Chunhong heard the noise and saw Tao Dayong coming back with the bag. She took the bag with a smile, opened it and looked at it, and her expression immediately changed.
“I’ve been busy all morning, just get these small fish for you?”
“What? You don’t want it?” Tao Dayong said as he walked into the house, “You don’t want me to give it to Daqiang? Send it over."
"That...that's it. Can’t you just have a bigger one?”
“There are still five yuan.” Tao Dayong took out the five yuan and waved it in front of Ma Chunhong, “Is that enough for Da Qiang and me? , I didn’t get as much fish as he did!”
"Yeah! Five yuan for a morning?" Ma Chunhong knew that this time was not as good as making reeds and making big brooms. There were raw materials at that time. Now I would go out with a shovel to copy the net, and I would have five yuan when I came back. How great!
She immediately laughed.
"Dayong, can you call my brother up..."
"Don't bully me." Tao Dayong was not happy when he heard this, "He wants to pay for it. Go ahead and break the hole in the ice yourself! Xiaohaizi is a big place, let him break it as he pleases!”
Ma Chunhong was a little unhappy.
"Don't show such a face to me! In the past, our family took care of your brother with so many things. What did you get in exchange for it in the end?" Tao Dayong said angrily, "Don't force me to say unpleasant things! If your brother wants to know what's good for him, I will Can I take him with me? Does he know what’s good?”
Ma Chunhong stopped talking.
Do you know?
She couldn't even be sure.
Although she can pretend not to know about her mother-in-law's character, does she really not know? (End of chapter)