Chapter 77: Trading Eggs for Fish

Jiang Cuihua regretted for a while before going home and asking Liu Mingyuan to go to the county to collect the grain.

Liu Yinyin had already informed Granny Li in advance.

By now, Liu Mingyuan was quite familiar with the county, so there was no risk of him getting lost.

Around one in the afternoon, Liu Mingyuan returned with the 440 pounds of grain.

Liu Yinyin finally breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn’t a lot of grain, but she could supplement it from time to time, so they shouldn’t run out in the future.

After finishing her classes in the afternoon, Liu Yinyin went home and packed up 100 eggs.

Li Chunfang came to find her, saying she was going to her mother’s village to collect some fish. If Liu Yinyin wanted to trade eggs for fish, she should prepare some eggs now, and Li Chunfang would bring back the fish for her in the evening.

Since the weather was hot, catching fish during the day would make them spoil quickly. It was better to wait until the evening when it was cooler to fish and trade.

After packing 100 eggs for Granny Li, Liu Yinyin went to prepare dinner.

She braised a pound of pork belly and steamed a few cornbread buns.

When Gu Cheng came home, Liu Yinyin couldn’t help but mention, “I heard from Granny Li today that grain prices are going up.”

She only hinted at it and didn’t elaborate further.

Gu Cheng was feeding apple puree to Gu Yanyan. He looked up at her and asked, “You didn’t listen to the radio at home?”

Liu Yinyin felt embarrassed. “…I let Yanyan listen to it.”

After all, she was from the future. She had found the radio intriguing at first, but the novelty had worn off. Sitting there and listening attentively to a broadcast? She really didn’t have the patience for that.

Gu Cheng said in a low voice, “Many parts of the country are experiencing drought. If this continues, it could turn into a large-scale disaster.”

Liu Yinyin hadn’t realized the situation was already this severe. She felt uneasy. “Then what should we do?”

They had stored grain, so the three of them wouldn’t starve. But… as Gu Cheng said, this famine was going to affect the entire country, including Liu Family Village.

Would their family really be able to stay unaffected?

Gu Cheng tightly held her small hand and reassured her gently, “Natural disasters are beyond anyone’s control. But as long as I’m here, we’ll live the same way we always have.”

Hearing this, Liu Yinyin suddenly felt a sense of security. She squeezed his hand back and said, “I believe you…”

“Yinyin!”

From outside, Li Chunfang called out loudly, “Come open the door!”

Liu Yinyin snapped out of her thoughts and quickly got up to open the door, with Gu Cheng carrying their son and following behind her.

Li Chunfang entered with her eldest son, Liu Zhiwen, carrying a bucket of fish. She took a breath and said, “Yinyin, these fish aren’t very big. It’s about four or five eggs per fish. I used up all 100 eggs for the trade, so this is what I got. I picked the freshest ones for you.”

Two buckets of fish, weighing about 10 to 20 pounds in total.

Liu Yinyin hadn’t expected Li Chunfang to use up all the eggs. She went inside and brought out ten more eggs, smiling as she handed them over. “Thank you, Auntie.”

Li Chunfang accepted the eggs and smiled warmly. “No trouble at all. If you ever want more fish, just let me know.”

To be honest, she actually liked helping Liu Yinyin with things like this.

How should she put it? Liu Yinyin was generous and never stingy. Unlike some people who would only give one or two eggs and expect a favor in return.

If it weren’t for family ties, Li Chunfang wouldn’t bother helping those people. Her household wasn’t short of a few eggs, after all.

The two buckets of fish were mostly still alive. Some had just died due to lack of oxygen but were still fresh.

These fish needed to be processed today. If left until tomorrow, more would die.

Gu Cheng placed his son in the baby carriage and helped Liu Yinyin clean the fish.

These fish weren’t particularly big. Liu Yinyin counted—there were 24 in total. Most of them weighed about a pound each.

Only two were slightly larger, weighing about one and a half pounds each.

Out of the 24 fish, six had already died from lack of oxygen.

Just like before, Liu Yinyin thought it over and said, “There are 18 live fish. Four will go to my parents, four will go to your family, and… we’ll keep the two bigger ones for ourselves.”

As for the remaining eight live fish and the six that had died, they would be dried into stockpiled fish jerky.

The weather was too hot, making it unsuitable for making cured fish. The only option was to sun-dry the fish instead.

The six dead fish had to be processed tonight; otherwise, they would start to rot by tomorrow.

Gu Cheng brought out a wooden basin and said directly, “We should process all the fish meant for drying tonight so we don’t have to do it again tomorrow.”

Since he had work the next day, Liu Yinyin would likely have to handle it alone. It would be better to finish everything together tonight.

Sun-drying fish was simpler than making cured fish. The process involved gutting the fish, cleaning them thoroughly, and then marinating them overnight with white liquor and salt. By the next day, they would be ready to dry under the sun.

Gu Cheng took care of gutting the fish, while Liu Yinyin washed and salted them.

By this time, it was already dark. The small family of three sat under the eaves, working under the light of a flashlight. The couple was efficient in their tasks.

After an hour of work, all fourteen fish were cleaned and prepared.

Once they were done, Liu Yinyin quickly tidied up the courtyard. The strong smell of fish was overwhelming after processing so many.

She also couldn’t stand the lingering smell on her hands. She scrubbed them several times with soap before finally getting them clean.

After breakfast, Liu Yinyin carried the fish that had been marinating overnight and hung them on a rack to dry.

Gu Cheng had already left early in the morning to deliver fish to the Gu family.

Once the fish were hung, Liu Yinyin took advantage of the fact that Gu Yanyan was still asleep and carried four fish to the Liu family.

On her way back, she happened to run into Jiang Zhiqing.

As always, he was dressed in a crisp white shirt.

Liu Yinyin had heard from her mother that several girls in the village had taken a liking to Jiang Zhiqing—including her cousin, Liu Hongmei.

Liu Hongmei had high standards and had yet to settle on anyone. But now, she had set her sights on Jiang Zhiqing.

However, it seemed to be a one-sided affection. Jiang Zhiqing didn’t appear to have any interest in her.

The villagers often said that since Jiang Zhiqing was from the city, he wouldn’t be interested in a rural girl.

“Comrade Liu,” Jiang Zhiqing greeted her.

“Comrade Jiang,” Liu Yinyin replied with a slight smile. He seemed quite dedicated to his work. It was only about 7:30 in the morning, and he was already heading to the school.

Jiang Zhiqing was holding two books—one was a Chinese language textbook.

The other… Liu Yinyin had noticed him carrying the same book yesterday. It was a technical manual on livestock farming.

Judging by the content, it seemed to be a guide on pig farming.

“Comrade Liu, may I ask you a question?” Jiang Zhiqing suddenly asked.

Liu Yinyin was slightly surprised but responded, “Go ahead.”

Jiang Zhiqing hesitated for a moment before saying, “I don’t think Liu Family Village can become prosperous by relying solely on farming.”

Land was the lifeblood of farmers, but to be honest, farming alone barely allowed the villagers to make ends meet. When it came to making real money…