Chapter 11: Taking a Bullet for Zecheng Ge

Xia Ning’an changed ponds today. She went to a pond at the foot of the mountain, threw in some bait, and continued operating as she had yesterday. In less than two hours, she had caught five large catfish, five large grass carp, two large carp, and over a dozen old man fish weighing over a pound. The original owner loved to eat this kind of fish, and she wanted to try it tonight.

There were over a dozen river crucian carp weighing over a pound, and she sent all the small and large crucian carp to the space.

Finally, she kept one catfish and over a dozen large old man fish to take back. She put the rest of the large fish in the space and asked Bond to clean them. She put the small ones in the farm’s pond to continue raising them.

When she got home, she took off her shoes and put them by the well to wash the mud off the soles.

She went to the kitchen and saw that the fire was still burning low. She checked the broth and added some more firewood.

She went to the door of Lu Zecheng’s room and heard the sound of the radio coming from inside. She was about to go do something else when she heard Lu Zecheng’s cold voice, “An’an, you’re back?”

“Huh? Zecheng Ge, how did you know it was me?”

“My ears are very sensitive after I lost my sight. I can recognize your footsteps.”

“Zecheng Ge, you’re amazing. Do you want to come out and sit for a while?”

“Okay.”

“I’ll help you.”

“By the way, Zecheng Ge, I went to the county today and got some antibiotics for you. I’ll give you some every night.”

“Okay.”

Xia Ning’an thought that if she didn’t explain the medicine, everyone would be surprised when he suddenly got better. He didn’t get injections or take medicine, but his eyes and legs miraculously healed. No one would believe it if she told them.

Xia Ning’an pushed Lu Zecheng to the kitchen door and let him chat with her there.

He must have been very bored staying at home alone every day. To prevent him from overthinking, she tried to talk to him as much as possible when she was at home.

They chatted about their experiences in the county today.

Xia Ning’an put the braised pig trotters in a basin, peeled a few potatoes, reheated the braised pork and potatoes, and then cooked a pot of rice and sweet potato porridge. People in this era were tired of eating sweet potatoes, but Xia Ning’an still loved to eat them, especially the ones grown in her family’s private plot. They were delicious.

She took a large head of cabbage from the space and would stir-fry it with vinegar when they came back.

She also asked Bond to process the dozen or so old man fish for her. She would make a braised old man fish with soy sauce tonight.

By the time Xia Ning’an had finished cooking all the dishes, her family had also come back from work.

She took the opportunity to filter the dishwashing liquid she had made yesterday and put it in an IV bottle.

The soap she had made yesterday was also ready to be unmolded. She took it out from the cool place, shook it left and right, and slowly poured the soap out.

Li Fang came over just as she was pouring it out.

“Daughter, what are you doing?”

“Mom, I made some soap. I just finished making it, and I’m about to cut it.”

“What? You made soap yourself?” Li Fang couldn’t control herself and shouted.

“Yes, Mom, look.”

She cut a piece and showed it to Li Fang.

“Look, isn’t it fragrant?”

“It really is. It smells like fruit. My daughter is so capable.” Li Fang said excitedly, turning the soap over and over in her hands. In the countryside, only a handful of families could afford to use soap. Only a few educated youths used it.

Xia Ning’an put the second piece in Lu Zecheng’s hand. “Zecheng Ge, smell it. Is it fragrant?”

“It is. Is it the smell of lemon?”

“Yes, Zecheng Ge, you’re so amazing. You can even smell that.”

Flattery will get you everywhere.

Xia Ning’an praised her little brother until his ears turned red.

At dinner, Xia Ning’an mentioned that she had bought some things in the county today.

Xia Changhai nagged that his daughter should buy things for herself. It was a waste to buy a watch for her second brother.

Xia Ninghao quickly patted his chest and said he would save money to buy his sister a watch.

Xia Ning’an said, “I didn’t see any watches I liked in the county. I saw this one, and I thought Second Brother would like it, so I bought it.”

Xia Ninghao quickly said, “Little Sister, you know me so well. I really like this watch. You don’t know how many people envied me when I went for a walk in the village this afternoon.”

“Second Brother, isn’t your sleeve rolled up halfway cold?”

“How could it be cold? I’d rather wear a vest outside.”

Li Fang was so angry that she slapped her son on the back. “Look at your pathetic self.”

Xia Changhai told Xia Ning’an again not to spend money recklessly, saying that they needed to save money for Lu Zecheng to go to a big city for treatment.

He got up and went into the room to get 200 yuan and gave it to Xia Ning’an.

“Your brother’s watch money will be paid by the family.”

Xia Ning’an was dumbfounded. She was originally giving her second brother a gift, but now the family was paying for it.

“Dad, keep this money. I have money.”

She took out a few bars of soap from the cool place.

“Dad, Mom, this is what I use to make money. It sells very well. People buy it as soon as I take it out.”

“Is this soap?” Xia Changhai said uncertainly.

“Yes, the soap I make has a lot of bubbles. It sells well.”

“No, it’s too dangerous. You can’t go to that kind of place, a girl like you.”

“I cover my face when I go. And I don’t sell it individually. I sell it in bulk. One yuan per bar.”

“Little Sister, you’re amazing. You can make soap and dishwashing liquid.” Xia Ninghao had learned to answer quickly. He was showing off, and you wouldn’t know if he could actually make it.

“Little Sister, is it easy to make this?”

“It’s quite tiring to make, especially when you’re stirring. I made over 200 yuan this time, and I’m exhausted. Next time, Second Brother, why don’t you help me make it?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of the physical labor.”

“Okay, I’ll give you a share of the profits when I sell it.”

“I don’t want a share. You gave me such an expensive gift. Second Brother feels like he can’t repay you.”

“You’d better not repay me. It’s scary.” Xia Ning’an joked.

Xia Changhai, “An’an, did you go to the county to buy medicine for Xiao Lu today?”

Lu Zecheng quickly said, “Uncle Xia, I bought the medicine. I’ll take it after dinner tonight.”

“Good. It’s a good thing you didn’t forget the important thing.”

After dinner, Xia Ning’an told Xia Ninghao to use the dishwashing liquid to wash the dishes tonight. After using the dishwashing liquid, Xia Ninghao kept saying how good it was. Li Fang was also very curious, so she used the dishwashing liquid to wipe the kitchen and kept praising her daughter, saying how capable she was.

“Mom, it’s very simple. Don’t throw away the orange peels we ate today. Save them and you can make dishwashing liquid. After drying them, you can use them to stew meat. It’s very fragrant. It’s also good to soak them in water.”

This way, she could use the tangerine peel to make tea. She used to love drinking tangerine peel white tea and tangerine peel Pu’er tea. She felt uncomfortable if she didn’t drink some every day. She didn’t like drinking plain water. It was just right to take out the tangerine peel first.

After dinner, the family listened to a story together. Li Fang was immediately attracted to the radio and didn’t stop listening until the story was over. Then, Xia Ninghao went to boil water.

Xia Ning’an also took out the toothbrushes, toothpaste, and towels and distributed them to everyone.

Li Fang was reluctant to use such good towels. She quickly put two back. “Your dad and I can use one. One for washing feet and one for washing face. We don’t need to waste them.”

Finally, she took out five large packs of toilet paper. When she first arrived at this house, there was a box on the table with some bean stalks and small wooden pieces in it. She was curious about what they were for. From the original owner’s memories, she learned that this was what people in the village used to go to the toilet in this era. She was shocked. She thought that the first thing she would do when she went to the supply and marketing cooperative was to buy toilet paper. She wondered if there was a lot of paper in the farm. There were places to stay, so there must be a lot of paper, but the quality was too good, so she couldn’t take it out to use.

However, after buying it from the supply and marketing cooperative this time, she compared it and found that the original pulp paper used for wiping hands in the kitchen could be taken out to use. Although the quality was still much better, the texture was rough. It was fine to use the original pulp color.

Conditions were limited in this era. It was better to take things out to use little by little. She would use the better ones later.

Xia Ninghao was very happy to have his own towel.

Before going to bed, Xia Ning’an went to her parents’ room and gave Li Fang 20 yuan.

“Mom, keep this money. After work these days, go to the village and collect some eggs, duck eggs, and old hens.”

“Why spend that money? Don’t we have some at home?” Li Fang asked in confusion.

“Mom, listen to me. Zecheng Ge’s injury won’t heal overnight. We’ll be eating so well every day for a while. It’s inevitable that those women will say some sour things. We’re going to buy eggs and old hens anyway. It’s better to exchange them from the villagers. If we exchange with more people, they’ll remember our kindness. If we encounter some gossipy people, they can say some nice things about us. When you go to exchange things, remember to act pitiful. Say that Zecheng Ge’s injuries are serious, etc. This way, even if we eat good food and drink good wine recently, we won’t be so envied.”

“What my daughter said is right. Do as she said.” Xia Changhai said, looking at Xia Ning’an with a look of pride.

“My daughter is so smart.” Li Fang also immediately understood Xia Ning’an’s intention.