Chapter 42: Preserved Fish

When Jiang Cuihua saw the three large buckets filled to the brim with fat fish outside, she was completely stunned. Her spendthrift daughter had once again wasted money recklessly.

After placing the wooden buckets in the courtyard, Li Chunfang, exhausted from the effort, took a sip of water and caught her breath before saying, “Yinyin, this is all the fish I could get. I didn’t count exactly how many, but I spent all the money you gave me. There’s only 23 cents left.”

She had almost worn out her legs running around all day just to buy these fish.

After speaking, Li Chunfang stuffed the remaining change into Liu Yinyin’s hand.

Liu Yinyin smiled brightly. “Thank you, Auntie! Once the preserved fish are dried, I’ll bring you a couple to try.”

“Oh, no need! Keep them for yourself. My family also has dried fish, so you don’t need to give me any. Just return the wooden bucket whenever you can.” With that, Li Chunfang left in a hurry—she still had errands to run for other families.

Three buckets of big fish and ten pounds of lotus root.

Jiang Cuihua felt a pang of heartache at the sight, but she didn’t say anything. If one had money, it was natural to want a better life.

Liu Yinyin smiled and said, “Mom, let’s put the sweet potato starch noodle making on hold for now and deal with these fish first.”

“How are we handling them?” Jiang Cuihua was still trying to wrap her head around the situation.

Liu Yinyin explained, “…It’s too late to kill and salt the fish today, so let’s keep them alive overnight. Mom, please bring over the wooden buckets and basins from the kitchen. If we keep all these fish crammed in one bucket, I’m afraid they’ll die.”

Jiang Cuihua, still somewhat dazed, went to fetch the items from the kitchen.

The fish in the buckets were all still alive, making it hard to tell exactly how many there were at a glance. With a thought, Liu Yinyin secretly added two more grass carp, each weighing about two pounds, into each bucket from her system’s stash.

The buckets contained grass carp, carp, black fish, and other varieties, all fairly large. Liu Yinyin did a quick count—along with the ones she had smuggled in from her system, there were exactly 40 fish.

Muttering to herself, Liu Yinyin said, “Mom, take two fish home later, and send another two to Gu Cheng’s family. We’ll keep two for ourselves, and tomorrow, we’ll turn the rest into preserved fish.”

That left 34 fish, weighing at least 70 pounds in total—more than enough to make dried fish.

After a moment’s hesitation, Jiang Cuihua suggested, “Since there are so many fish, why don’t we have Gu Cheng take four back to his family?”

Since the couple didn’t live near Gu Cheng’s parents and couldn’t fulfill their filial duties daily, sending extra food would help prevent villagers from criticizing them for neglecting his family.

Liu Yinyin thought for a moment before agreeing. “That works too.”

It had been a long time since she had eaten fish this big, and Liu Yinyin wanted to cook one for dinner.

But how should she prepare it?

Licking her lips in anticipation, she turned to Jiang Cuihua and said, “Mom, could you go home and bring back some pickled vegetables?”

Jiang Cuihua glanced at her and asked, “You’re craving pickled fish?”

Liu Yinyin nodded eagerly.

“Alright, I’ll go get some now,” Jiang Cuihua agreed happily. She was pleased whenever her daughter craved something sour.

“Take two fish home with you, and grab some lotus root too—otherwise, we won’t be able to finish all of it.” Liu Yinyin suggested.

Jiang Cuihua didn’t stand on ceremony with her daughter. She packed up two fish and two lotus roots before heading home to fetch the pickled vegetables.

Since Liu Yinyin had a full range of seasonings at home, Jiang Cuihua brought over a bowl of pickled vegetables and helped prepare the fish and cook the meal.

Before long, a large bowl of steaming pickled fish was ready to serve.

Liu Yinyin sprinkled some chopped green onions and dried chili peppers over the dish, then drizzled hot oil on top. Instantly, a rich, mouthwatering aroma filled the air.

Jiang Cuihua looked at her in surprise. “Since when did you get so good at cooking?”

The pickled fish smelled amazing. Back when Liu Yinyin lived at home, most of the cooking was done by her two sisters-in-law. She rarely had the chance to cook, and even when she did, her dishes never tasted this good.

Liu Yinyin cleared her throat and smiled. “Mom, I had a lot of free time at home, so I spent my days experimenting with food. I even asked Gu Cheng to buy me a cookbook from the county town. It teaches all sorts of cooking techniques.”

To avoid suspicion, she really had asked Gu Cheng to buy her a cookbook. After all, the original owner of her body had at least finished elementary school—she wasn’t completely illiterate.

Jiang Cuihua was amazed. “They actually have books like that? Only rich people would go that far, writing down how to cook in books.”

In her eyes, only city folks bought books to read. Unlike them, most people in the countryside were practically illiterate.

In addition to the pickled fish, Liu Yinyin also stir-fried a plate of oilseed lettuce, with cornbread as the staple food.

She had timed the meal preparation well, but today, Gu Cheng came home a little later than usual.

“Mom.” Gu Cheng sighed in relief upon seeing Jiang Cuihua at home.

“Come eat, the food’s getting cold,” Jiang Cuihua said with a smile.

The factory cafeteria had braised pork on the menu today, so Gu Cheng had bought a portion to bring home. He opened the lid of the lunchbox and placed it on the table, revealing ten or so pieces of glistening, fatty braised pork.

“Oh my!” Jiang Cuihua slapped her thigh. “If I had known you were bringing home braised pork, we wouldn’t have made the pickled fish!”

Dear heavens, with both braised pork and pickled fish, this meal was way too extravagant. Jiang Cuihua felt hesitant to dig in—what kind of household dared to eat like this?

Liu Yinyin, unfazed, picked up a piece of braised pork and placed it in her mother’s bowl. “Mom, try it! The factory cafeteria makes pretty good braised pork.”

Tonight’s meal was indeed lavish. Liu Yinyin almost regretted not steaming a few white flour buns to go with it—cornbread just didn’t quite cut it. If they were going to eat well, they might as well go all out.

“Did Aunt Chunfang bring the fish?” Gu Cheng casually asked. He had noticed the buckets and basins filled with fish when he walked in.

“Yeah, we’re making preserved fish tomorrow. I set aside four for you, along with some lotus root. Take them to your parents tomorrow,” Liu Yinyin said as she took a piece of braised pork, ate the lean part from the tip, and passed the fatty part to Gu Cheng—it was too greasy for her to stomach.

Jiang Cuihua, watching this, couldn’t stop smiling. She assumed her daughter was being considerate of her husband, saving the best part of the food for him. After all, in these times, who didn’t love fatty, juicy meat?

What a wonderful misunderstanding.

Suddenly, Liu Yinyin remembered something and looked at Gu Cheng. “By the way, how is Liu Ergou’s family doing?”

The village had been oddly quiet all day. No news was actually good news—if something had gone wrong, Liu Ergou would have come back by now.

Gu Cheng put down his chopsticks and said, “When I went there this morning, I heard the baby was already born—a girl. The child is fine, but the mother lost a lot of blood and is physically weak, so she needs to stay in the hospital for a few more days.

He couldn’t leave her alone, so I gave him ten extra yuan. After work, I also borrowed some ration tickets from a colleague and took them over to him.”

That’s why he came home late.

“Sigh.” Jiang Cuihua let out a deep sigh. “So his mother is really just going to ignore them?”

Gu Cheng nodded. “When I visited in the afternoon, they hadn’t eaten all day.”

The hospital provided meals for patients, but as a family member, Liu Ergou needed ration tickets to buy food.

“What a shame. That Xin Xiujuan is truly foolish,” Jiang Cuihua said, shaking her head.

Her only son and daughter-in-law were right there with her, yet instead of treating them well, she made their lives miserable.

Did she ever stop to think—when she grows old and sick, would Yang Guizhi even be willing to take care of her?